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Hi, Jacob - - - Yes, I would say Peter means we all are in the priesthood of Jesus. Every one of us ministers God's own grace > "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." (1 Peter 4:10) And God's grace is God Himself affecting our character to be more like Jesus so we please God like Jesus is so pleasing and love like Jesus, more and more as we grow in this grace. So, this is how we are serving God in His special way, all the time while we live in this grace. You say there can be ways we choose to serve God in a specially devoted way. Yes, there can be fasting and missionary exploits and other serving. However, we are all one body, in Jesus; so we will not get isolated but more sharing and caring with each other during our special things of service. Anyone doing a special devoted thing will have help of prayer and grace and God's word through others.

The theology of Paul is a match with the theology of each other book of the New Testament.

For each of the seven churches in Revelstion, it seems Jesus had the same things to say for all the members of each church. Because they did have unity - they could all have the same faults and/or good things that Jesus says to each church. But for doing God's will - He has us helping one another to get real correction and to grow in Jesus. So, righteously isolating ourselves is not an option. We need to submit to how God brings us together and coordinates us in His own peace > "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." (Colossians 3:15) So, I would say we need to get with God so He is personally sharing with us and guiding our relating with one another. "for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13) Jesus Himself has claimed in prayer how our Father does this with us > John 17. So, our true unity is deeper than doctrine and practice. "Test all things; hold fast what is good." (1 Thessalonians 5:21) Make sure with God about what He knows is "good", and He will join us with others who are submitting to God in His peace.

"Practice makes perfect." All the time, we can be prayerful to choose and do what God has us doing in His peace. And then - - - after we have been doing all the little things in submission to how God guides us in this peace . . . if a big thing comes, just keep on submitting to God in His peace and see what He does with us. And yes God will use His word, plus God will use us to share as family helping each other, so we grow in loving and sharing and helping as Jesus' family. After all, Colossians 3:15 says we are called "in one body" to be ruled by His peace. So, yes God in ruling us in His peace will have us coordinated with one another. So, this is not an isolated thing, with you on your own. And you will need to use sense, indeed, in relating with other family members and other Christians in working things out. And yes as Deborah has indicated, there are things to discover > you will not know what you are choosing, really, that God will be getting you into. He will bring us to more and better than we could plan ahead of time. And it will be for all the loving of different people who will be included in the process. And as we mature in this, then we will be able to handle more which God will bring . . . like how you had a small bicycle ready for your little child when your child was ready; but then comes the adjusting and correction and sharing with others.

Not by yourself . . . because God wants us to share and care as family in Jesus. So - - - discover which people help you, and maybe with them see what you can do . . . maybe in a home group or just making sure you share after church with the ones who are good for you. They can be in a church with others who are even just plain wrong. So, you will need to be able to love and care for and pray for ones who turn out to not be right. Jesus wants us to develop in loving any and all people . . . right? But make sure you share with the ones who help you. These can be in different churches. And the real ones will honor you to evaluate and make sure about them and others. You can test leaders, but it is possible the mature ones in a church will be sitting in the back of the church; and they might be mentoring the ones up front.

. . . describe . . . I would say it does not directly say this, and this is not the focus and main point of this scripture; but you could use it to help to support **Biblical** "once saved, always saved". But I see the emphasis here is about how we in Jesus are destined "to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." (in Romans 8:29) This is saying that God has guaranteed that people predestined will be conformed to the image of God's own Son. I see this to mean possibly a lot more than an individual being saved and justified and going "to Heaven". This guarantees how God our Father will change us to become in our character like Jesus and to love like Jesus, now, in this life. After all, we have 1 John 4:17 > "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17) This is included in how God saves a person. And this says "in this world" we "have" become perfected in God's love. So, for anyone sure to stay saved, this is included.

Our Apostle Paul says > "All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." (in 1 Corinthians 6:12) So, part of defensive warfare is to make sure we do not allow any things of this life to have power over us. We do not let ourselves be under the power of people and things which would get us into workaholic stuff or stress or burn-out. And do not let things get us into unforgiveness or lusts and demands for different sorts of pleasure and controlling people. But stay submissive to God instead . . in His peace > "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." (Colossians 3:15) This is God's own peace, therefore almighty to guard us in our minds and hearts > while we obey how He has us pray > "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7) So, while we obey God in this peace, we have almighty protection in the "minds and hearts" of our personality.

God can not change. And God can not give in to evil > "God cannot be tempted by evil" > in James 1:13. And God in us shares with us how He is in almighty immunity against evil. As we grow in His perfect love, we more and more share with God in how He is > "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17)

When I think of spiritual warfare, I think of Ephesians 4:31 > "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice." (Ephesians 4:31) Paul here does not say to struggle with or try to negotiate with and appease anger and bitterness. But put them away > just get rid of them . . . how God who is almighty does this easily and breezily and beautifully. And then is when we can love the way Jesus in us has us loving > "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32) We get rid of what is anti-love by means of God getting rid of it, and then we have God instead affecting us so we share with God Himself making us kind and tenderly caring while sharing with God in how He forgives. This makes us strong in Jesus. In us is where we need to win, then, especially. "for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13) We trust God, then, to do all He means by His word . . . in us in our character so we are strong in Jesus > "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." (Ephesians 6:10) And by being strong in Jesus we have His defense of His own immunity almighty against how Satanic things would affect us spiritually and emotionally and in our feelings and thinking. In His love we have almighty immunity against fear and all its different ways of "torment" > "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18) So, most of all, for defense, I would say, is to have the immunity of God's love in our character.

One basic is the person is conscious. But why is the person tormented, even before the day of judgment? The person's character makes the person able to suffer. The person has not been resurrected in one's body; however, the person has one's spirit with character not in God's love, therefore not having Jesus Christ's "rest for your souls" (in Matthew 11:29).

You say here this is from the "KJV". I am not sure this is a quote from the King James Bible > let me check > "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3) But I would say your meaning is correct. With God, we have the ability to perceive Him and His goodness, even by sharing with Him so we are experiencing Him and His goodness . . . which is in His love > "Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:5) And yes His goodness is in this love.

"Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:31-32) To me, it seems ones can get angry and struggle in their bitterness and unforgiveness and other emotional torment. They can fight for getting their own way, and hope this will solve their anger and unforgiveness problems. But God's word does not say to negotiate for what we want in order to solve an anger or fear problem. But we need for evil things to "be put away" from us. Just get rid of it, do not try to struggle with it or control it or negotiate to satisfy it, but get rid of it. And God is the One who is almighty to put away any sort of anti-love feelings and emotions and ideas and thinking. And God in us is able to change us into how He has us being "tenderhearted" and "forgiving" > forgiving "even as God".

Yes, I am finding, lust can keep me from how I can be in God's love. And then I am weak and degraded so I do not do well with people, plus I am not in the goodness and rest of Jesus in God's love.

Jesus says we hear His voice and will not follow another. So, first trust Jesus, all the time. He guides us according to all He knows His word means . . . better than we can understand Him. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6) So, from this I see how we need to stay attentive to Jesus and submit to how He personally guides us, all the time, including in our thinking and feelings and emotions > "Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ." (2 Thessalonians 3:5) In God's love gentle and humble and kind we have feeling and emotion and thinking gentle and humble and kind to us and making us gentle and humble and kind with any and all people. So, this is included in the meaning of God's word . . . which God does with us in sharing with Him. So, knowing God's word includes experiencing how God does what He means by His word > "for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)

And saying only God is good could have been meant to help the man to appreciate what Jesus would say later. The man was considering his riches to be good, I would think. And Jesus was giving him a seed to help him realize that the good he really needed is God and how he could be sharing with God in His love. With God in His love we grow in how He cures our character so we become and discover how we can relate like Jesus relates with our Father and loves tenderly us who are His adopted family while also loving enemies. He so changes us so we obey Christ's example > "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma." (Ephesians 5:2) We do not get ourselves to do this; but God alone is good to get us to do this and He shares with us His ability to love like Jesus.