Tag: jesus

Posted in theology, word of the week

Sunday Word: Peace

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

When we discuss other words representing the fruit of the Spirit, such as love, peace, and joy, we think we know what they mean, but often times these culturally embedded words have a totally different flavor when used from a biblical context. It is true of the words pertaining to the Fruit of the Spirit. Even these ‘simpler’ biblical words are misunderstood.

Let’s look at Peace

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

What does ‘peace’ mean? I hear people saying in their decision-making, “I have a peace about it.” Is Galatians talking about that kind of peace? Or, is it the peace that comes after a war or a struggle with someone?

The Greek word as it’s used in the verse is (they think) from eiro. It means in this verse, a harmony and an accord.

Once we possess the Spirit, we are no longer at enmity against the Lord. (Ephesians 2:16). We have peace with Him since we are no longer rebelling against Him. We have relational peace. Strong’s defines it partly as:

According to a conception distinctly peculiar to Christianity, “the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoerer sort that is”: Romans 8:6; namely, is used of those who, assured of salvation, tranquilly await the return of Christ and the transformation of all things which will accompany that event,

John Gill Comments on the two kinds of peace, peace with God and peace with each other, on the Gal 5:22 verse,

which is another fruit of the Spirit: and designs peace with God in a man’s own conscience, produced there by the Spirit of God, in consequence of peace being made by the blood of Christ; and that through the application of the blood of Christ for pardon, and of his righteousness for justification to the soul of a sensible sinner by the blessed Spirit, the effect of which is peace, quietness, and tranquillity of mind; also peace with men, with the saints, and with all others; for such who are under a work of the Spirit of God, and are influenced and led by him, seek after the things which make for peace and edification among the brethren, and are desirous if possible to live peaceably with all men: hence appears another grace in them,

But beyond that, as the verse in John 13:34-35 says,

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

We cannot have peace with one another if we are feeling less than loving.

What was “new” about this commandment? Love wasn’t new, it is in the Ten Commandments. What was new was the depth and the extent of the love Jesus commanded His people to do. Jesus loved His own to the end, fully and consistently and completely. He gave the sop to Judas. Giving the morsel to someone at a dinner was a manner and custom in Israelite banquets. The host showed utmost respect and love to a person, by personally handing him a morsel, sometimes even placing it in the recipient’s mouth himself. Judas was to betray Jesus in mere hours, but Jesus still loved Judas to the end. He gave him the sop. THAT is the new kind of love.

The fruit of the Spirit is all one fruit. It isn’t that we work on peace one week and then patience the next… The first fruit mentioned is love. ALL other fruit stems from this one fruit. If we are loving we will be patient, we will be joyful, we will be gentle, we will employ self-control, and so on. Jesus was at peace relationally with Judas the Betrayer and demonstrated that peace through His loving act of giving the morsel.

Peace with one another is to be sought because we love.

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Here is a wonderful 45 minute sermon by Harry Walls at Grace Community Church about the kind of love Jesus expects from us.
Connecting with Quality Love by Harry Walls

Here is an article about Peace from Compelling Truth:
In What Way is Peace a Fruit of the Spirit?

peace verse.jpg
EPrata photo
Posted in theology, word of the week

Are you curious about angels?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Angels are innumerable, powerful, nonhuman beings created by God to serve His ordered purposes. Scripture portrays them as named, hierarchical spirits who worship, judge, minister, and wage warfare. Some rebelled and became demons. Angelology, the study of angels, is legitimate but requires biblical caution and careful discernment of sources.

Continue reading “Are you curious about angels?” →
Posted in end of days, end of days. prophecy

When the Scales Fell: Meeting the Jesus Who Always Was

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Before I was saved, the whole Jesus thing was pretty mystifying to me. It seemed so complicated, and weird, too. I mean, the blood and everything. [shudder]. And I definitely did not agree with the doctrine of sin, that notion that I was a bad person from birth and that I did or said or thought wrong things? Come ONNNN, man. I’m a nice person, not one sin in me. Not like that person over there. Or there. Or there…

The thing I thought was most weird was Jesus. I used to wonder, God must be pretty lame to keep trying things that don’t work. Humanity was created and then right away, fell into depravity. They got so bad that He sent the flood. Then He tried the temple and the Law and that didn’t work. So finally He sent Jesus, hoping that would stick. I’m not kidding. Before I was saved, and the scales fell from my eyes, that is what I thought.

I never knew that Jesus was not first born 2000 years ago.

Therefore it is of particular joy to me that I revel in verses that illustrate that Jesus was from the beginning. He wasn’t non-existent then born on that cold night in Bethlehem when the angels proclaimed His arrival to the shepherds. He was with God from the beginning.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” (John 1:1) How lovely to reflect the same language God used in Genesis 1: “In the beginning…”

“I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began.” (Proverbs 8:23).

As Matthew Henry says, “The Son of God declares himself to have been engaged in the creation of the world. How able, how fit is the Son of God to be the Saviour of the world, who was the Creator of it! The Son of God was ordained, before the world, to that great work. Does he delight in saving wretched sinners, and shall not we delight in his salvation?” How wonderful that Jesus was anointed from the beginning to do the great and monumental work of saving humanity.

“And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:17).

Other versions say “in Him all things hold together.” He is not only before all things in honor and grandeur, but He is before all things in existence. Before the sun, before the earth, before the stars were made…He was, and is and is to come!

He is our timeless Jesus, who was before Abraham, before John (His forerunner), who was part of God’s plan since the beginning to redeem humanity to His bosom. Far from being a series of stumbling lurches toward the end of time, God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are progressing in an orderly plan that is unfolding with humanity as its central work. His justice prepared this plan. His love has sustained this plan. His grace permeates this plan. His longsuffering has kept this plan. And in the end, His wrath will execute this plan.

THIS is the God I fully hurl myself toward, lovingly and fully, submitting to His attributes and His incomprehensible foreknowing. He knew I would. He knew that on the appointed moment I would become His. It was His plan all along.

He was since the beginning. You may be coming late to the party, but you still have time until you draw your last breath to become a knowing participant in His plan and to be saved from your sins by repenting of them. His love never fails.

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:12-13).

Posted in theology

Balancing Shrewd Discernment and Holy Integrity

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as wary as serpents, and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16).

Did you ever wonder what this means? I do.

Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown Commentary says,

be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves—Wonderful combination this! Alone, the wisdom of the serpent is mere cunning, and the harmlessness of the dove little better than weakness: but in combination, the wisdom of the serpent would save them from unnecessary exposure to danger; the harmlessness of the dove, from sinful expedients to escape it. In the apostolic age of Christianity, how harmoniously were these qualities displayed! Instead of the fanatical thirst for martyrdom, to which a later age gave birth, there was a manly combination of unflinching zeal and calm discretion, before which nothing was able to stand.

Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 36). Logos Research Systems, Inc.

So clear! I like this comment.

The Apostolic Age has passed, but in this day and age of the Church Age, how can we do our diligence and be wise as serpents and innocent as doves?

Firstly, we need to balance shrewd discernment with holy integrity in today’s challenging world. The world is one of the deadly enemies the Bible lists, along with the devil and our flesh. (1 John 2:15-17, Romans 7:15, Galatians 5:16). The world is against us and challenges us at every turn.

Christians must recognize danger- not solely physical danger but spiritual danger from false doctrines and deceitful teachers. We should use wisdom in all our relationships, act with integrity, and avoid compromise. Wise as a serpent means we combine caution with strategic awareness in a meek, non-aggressive spirit.

Following the directive to be wise and innocent given by Jesus really involves everything He and the Apostles said to do and doing all in life with Jesus in mind: such as having a meek and gentle spirit, being holy as he is holy, not lying, loving our neighbor… And so much more.

No one said the Christian life was easy. Pursuing all these things and then balancing them properly seems impossible. But we have an aid that no one else has: the Holy Spirit! Appeal to Him each day, multiple times per day, for wisdom tinged with gentleness, with gentleness tinged with shrewd wisdom. He is a good God and ready to help those who, with pure motivations, seek to obey and love Jesus with all our heart, mind, and soul.

EPrata painting. serpent
EPrata photo: Eurasian collared dove
Posted in theology

Virtual Voices and Real Warnings: The Problem with AI Theologians

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Last August 2025, about 6 months ago as of this writing, Ben Kayser started a website and Youtube channel called “Reformed and Dangerous.” From his ‘About’ he stated, “AI-powered songs and rap battles where Scripture meets swagger. Watch pastors, theologians, and historical figures face off in lyrical showdowns on Calvinism, theonomy, church history, and the gospel.”

Recently Kayser put up a ‘rap battle’ between John MacArthur and RC Sproul. He creates AI (artificial intelligence) videos of the theologians saying the lines. These ‘rap battles’ never happened in real life. They are all virtual, thanks to AI.

John MacArthur was a well known and widely loved pastor of Grace Community Church for 56 years. He passed into glory 7 months ago. RC Sproul was pastor of St. Andrews Chapel and founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries. He passed into glory 9 years ago. The two men were good friends, despite their different theological interpretations of eschatology and baptism.

After MacArthur’s passing a few months ago, almost immediately there was an influx of AI generated videos of a virtually created MacArthur preaching. Some of the videos stuck close to his years-long stated doctrinal interpretations. Others took liberties and put words in the artificial MacArthur’s mouth he never said or believed.

This was a problem. MacArthur’s close friend and manager of MacArthur’s digital recordings at GTY.org, Phil Johnson, put out a warning to the public regarding these AI videos, writing at ,

“YouTube is overrun with videos purporting to be John MacArthur—but produced by AI. These do not reliably represent John MacArthur’s opinion. The only way to be certain any recording is legitimately John MacArthur’s is to get it from http://gty.org. “

So enter in ‘Reformed and Dangerous’ rap battle AI generated video. In the Youtuber’s mind, I’m sure there was no malicious intent. It was just another of his hugely popular videos, and instead of creating videos of long passed theologians John Calvin or Charles Spurgeon, this time Sproul and the newly passed MacArthur were featured.

His video caught the attention of GTY Director Phil Johnson. Apparently in the background, Phil had asked the Reformed and Dangerous publisher to remove the video. R&D did so. Kayser put out an explanation for the public as to why he took it down, right-click on the link in the embed to go to Twitter/X. You can also read the read his explanation on Facebook here.

Phil wrote an essay about the issue. He said that prior to MacArthur’s death, the elders and he had a discussion about AI. Johnson said,

“John was never a fan of Siri or Alexa, and he certainly did not want to lend his face, voice, or personality to an AI-generated cyber-pastor or digital rabbi.” … Johnson is not in favor of AI generated rap battles “because doing something in John MacArthur’s name that we know with absolute certainty he would disapprove is no way to honor him.“

Phil’s essay is here at his Pyromaniacs blog.

VIrtual reality is interesting to me. First, as Christians we need to be as Matthew 10:16 says, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as wary as serpents, and as innocent as doves.” We cannot be gullible. We must determine what is real and what is virtual. Scam phone calls, fake videos (and Youtube is overrun with them), fake news, and more plague our lives these days. This is one of the downsides of technology, which otherwise has many great advantages.

Second, virtual reality on earth is like earth’s life being virtual as heaven’s life is real. We Christians are sort of living in a virtual reality while the actual reality is heaven. Earthly life is not meaningless, to be sure. It is preparation for heaven. But earth’s life is as virtual as AI compared to heaven. A pale copy! Dear reader, always remember our citizenship is in heaven. Our real life begins the moment we are translated to heaven and we see Jesus face to face.

Meanwhile on earth, as sin grows, fakery grows. Liars, cheaters, deceivers abound. Watch where you step.

Posted in theology

The Danger of Spiritual Mothers Who Lead Astray

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

SYNOPSIS

Reflecting on Revelation 2, I examine Jezebel of Thyatira, distinguishing her followers from her ‘children,’ a second generation of false teachers. Citing verses, commentators and modern examples, the piece warns that Christ patiently allows repentance yet ultimately judges churches and the people that tolerate doctrinal pollution within them.

Continue reading “The Danger of Spiritual Mothers Who Lead Astray” →
Posted in theology

The Algorithm of the Tongue

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

SYNOPSIS

I witnessed a Facebook controversy where a local restaurateur’s accusations went viral worldwide, then collapsed under video evidence. The episode illustrates social media’s power to spread gossip, destroy reputations, and implicate hearers, urging Christians to remember God’s omnipresent witness and use words only to edify others.

Continue reading “The Algorithm of the Tongue” →
Posted in false doctrine, galatians

Not Another Gospel—Not Ever

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

We tend to think of Revelation being the “hard” chapter. But Paul’s little missive to the Galatians has some tough language in it, and stern words for the Christians of his day and for Christians of all time. Paul sends curses out twice in this short passage. False doctrine is extremely important to tend to. A little leaven spoils the whole lump.

Paul wrote:

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:6-9).

Paul mentions here that:

–Christians desert solid doctrine
–Christians accept a different gospel
–Christians be warned that some come in who trouble us
–Christians be warned that some who come in purposely distort the Gospel
–Do not ‘dialog’ with the Gospel-perverters. Instead, let them be accursed!

“Have you ever noticed how difficult sometimes it is to reject a false system because the people in it are so nice? Paul says, “I don’t care if it’s me or if it’s a beautiful angel from heaven, let him be accursed.” So many buy false doctrine because the package is so nice. Don’t you know Satan knows that?” (source)

Far from being tolerant, having a ‘let them be mentality, or promoting inclusiveness; Christians should be exclusive to the Gospel only, intolerant of false doctrine, and vigorous in defending Christ.