The will,
and the free will.

WILL

Perhaps see earlier section: SPIRIT & SOUL for background.


In a non-Christian:
            genes
            culture
            education
            upbringing
            environment
            circumstances
            influences from people
            temptations from demons
            encouragements from God
            all feed into your soul.

            So your soul acts.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
            But it’s only your soul that acts.
            Your heart/spirit does not act.

 

soul  heart/spirit  mind  emotions  output line is thick because of the emotions

This is the will in action:

            It’s what advertisers, businessmen, politicians, etc,
            predict & manipulate.

            The will forms slowly, with experience.

            Even a neurologically complex animal has a will.
,         ,         Perhaps see earlier sections:
,         ,         ANIMALS ,,,
,         ,         and:
,         ,         REACTING AND RESPONDING. ,,,

            Even an artificial intelligence has a will.
            (It seems like a free will, but actually it’s a will
            because it’s subject to the programmer’s free will.)
,         ,         Perhaps see seventh to ninth cell (starting To have to ‘lobotomise’)
,         ,         of earlier section: SELF-TEACHING COMPUTERS
,         ,         and the link within them.
,         ,         (This link does not open a new tab.)

..

FREE WILL

If you’re bothered about the word ‘aliens’ in the next paragraph
then see second cell (starting I reckon that God deliberately designed)
of earlier section: WE ARE BETTER EQUIPPED NOW TO UNDERSTAND THE TRUTH.


Beings (God, angels, demons, humans, aliens)
have both:
            a will
            &:
            a free will.

In a non-Christian:

world
God’s absence

      activates
      dampens

will
free will



In a renewed-mind Christian:

world
God’s presence

then: free will

      activates
      activates

      overrides

will
free will

will

 

John c8 v36:
If the Son therefore shall make you free,
ye shall be free indeed.   KJV

.

Inside a renewed-mind Christian:

            You (i.e. your heart/spirit) 
            &:
            God’s Spirit inside you:
                       Both agree on everything.
                       Both are right.
                        Both say what they both want to say.
                        Both do what they both want to do.
                        Both express themselves through your soul.

soul  heart/spirit  mind  emotions  output line is thick because of the emotions

.

The will forms slowly, with experience.

But free will comes into existence as soon as we decide
whether to eventually become
completely constructive or completely destructive:

            This is because making that decision
            then gives a bias to all other moral decisions.

            If the big decision could be affected
            by anything we know
            then God would have:
                 o    made something
                       that we then all know about,
                 o    or told us all something
                       so that we all know it,
            such as to cause all of us to decide
            to eventually become completely constructive.

            But he didn’t.

            So, the big decision cannot be affected by
            anything we know.

            So we must make the big decision
            before we know anything.

            So the big decision must be, or be part of,
            the first moral decision we make.

.

 

YOU INHERIT THE QUALITIES
BUT NOT THE PREVIOUS CHANGES

The changes a person makes in themselves
show in their own life
but not in subsequent generations.

            The qualities you get:
                       are genetic,
                       you pass them on.

            The changes you make to them:
                       are not genetic,
                       you do not pass them on.

            Genetic qualities:
                        Usually don’t have much
                       rightness or wrongness about them.
                       You pass them on to the next generation.

            Virtues or vices:
                        Are the changes we make to those genetic qualities.
                        You do not pass them on to the next generation.

Hence someone may inherit:

            Their father’s hastiness.  But not his spontaneous generosity.

            Their father’s hastiness.  But not his sudden anger.

            Their mother’s quietness.  But not her callous plotting.

            Their mother’s quietness.  But not her serving attitude.

Only qualities like hastiness & quietness get inherited.
Not the virtues or vices we make of them.

.

LOVE & FEAR

God has had to do many unloving things.
But, actually, he loves us.
Perhaps see earlier section:
IN JESUS, THE FATHER REVEALS HIS HEART TO US.


Indeed, he loves us unconditionally, self-sacrificially.
This is called agape love.

If you are a believer, who has renewed their mind,
then God’s Spirit is in you.
Hence agape love is how God loves:
            others
            and you
from inside you.

And, if you are a believer, who has renewed your mind,
then agape love is also:
            how you
            love others.

            Your agape love is not:
                       Mere human love.
                       A mere emotion
                       amongst the other emotions.
                       The will in action.

            Your agape love is:
                       Your heart/spirit having renewed your mind
                       with agape love throughout it.
                       Free will in action.

,         ,         ,         ,         Perhaps see earlier section:
,         ,         ,         ,         DO THE EMOTIONS NEED RENEWING? , , , ,

.

 

Fear may stop your mere natural, human, love.
But fear does not stop your agape love.

On the contrary: your agape love stops fear:

            1 John c4 v18:
            There is no fear in love;
            but perfect love casteth out fear:
            because fear hath torment.
            He that feareth is not made perfect in love.   KJV

,,        ,,        In the above Bible verse
,,        ,,        all three instances of the word love,
,,        ,,        are, in the original Greek, agape.

,,        ,,        Perhaps see:
,,        ,,        Interlinear Bible, showing the original Greek: 1 John c4 v18, ,,,,,

,,        ,,        and:
,,        ,,        Encyclopaedia Britannica’s definition of the word 'agape'. ,,,,,

            Fear is in nature.
            Hence fear is in the world.
,,        ,,        Perhaps see earlier section:
,,        ,,        IN WHAT WAYS DID GOD MAKE THE UNIVERSE SECOND CLASS? ,,,,,


                       But believers have replaced:
                                   their concentric circles of selfishness
                                   with agape love.

                       Hence they’ve also replaced:
                                   fear
                                   with agape love.

            Renewing our minds
            won’t make us believers robust, like God.
            But will make us believers not care
            that we are currently temporary & fragile.

            And this frees us – from fearing others
            to loving others.

                       1 John c4 v18:
                       There is no fear in love;
                       but perfect love casteth out fear:
                       because fear hath torment.
                       He that feareth is not made perfect in love.   KJV

,         ,         ,         ,         See the full logic of this
,         ,         ,         ,         in the last eight cells
,         ,         ,         ,         (starting: Technically speaking, you renew your mind) 
,         ,         ,         ,         of earlier section: HOW TO RENEW YOUR MIND.

.

I personally find Stephen’s forgiveness
of those who were stoning him to death
an inspiring example of agape love in a believer:

            Acts c6:
            Stephen, who was a food distributor, a servant by nature,
            turned out to be
            one of the greatest doers of miracles.   my abbreviation

            Acts c7 v60:
            And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice,
                 Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.
            And when he had said this, he fell asleep [died].   KJV

.

 

 

Technically speaking:

      It’s not:
            fear – stops – miracles.


      It’s:
            belief – causes – miracles
      &:
            belief – stops – fear,


      in detail:
            belief – causes – love & power – causes – miracles
      &:
            belief – causes – love & power – which stop – fear.

 

This assumes the believer has renewed their mind.

.

 

 

Andrew Wommack, ever practical, says:
          “Fear is faith in reverse”.

I add:
            Fear is produced by a faith that:
                       nature
                       and the world we’ve built from, & on, nature,
            is stronger than God.

.

 

 

Perhaps see: YouTube: – Dan Mohler on Fear.

I don’t also include a link to Andrew Wommack’s material here
because it’s so thorough & lengthy.
Ideally, go to: A better site than this one
and from there to Andrew’s site.

 

.

 

 

TO OUR HEARTS/SPIRITS – JESUS GAVE FREEDOM.
TO OUR SOULS – JESUS GAVE REST.

 

By getting God’s Spirit into us
Jesus gave, to our hearts/spirits, freedom from the world.
 
            For our hearts/spirits, then:
                       Renew our minds, which control our souls. 
                       Take away, from the world, its control of our souls.

            Matt c6 v33   (Luke c12 v31):
            But seek ye first the kingdom of God,
            and his righteousness;
            and all these things
            shall be added unto you.   KJV

            John c8 v36:    (John c8 v32):
            If the Son therefore shall make you free,
            ye shall be free indeed.   KJV

            John c14 v27:
            Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you:
            not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
            Let not your heart be troubled,
            neither let it be afraid.   KJV

            Gal c6 v14:
            [Paul wrote] The world means nothing to me.   my abbn

 

By getting God’s Spirit into us
Jesus gave, to our souls, rest from the world.
 
            For our hearts/spirits, then:
                       Renew our minds, which control our souls.
                       Take away, from the world, its control of our souls.
 
            Matt c11 v28-30:
            Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
            and I will give you rest.
            Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
            for I am meek and lowly in heart:
            and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
            For my yoke is easy,
            and my burden is light.   KJV
,         ,         A yoke is the collar on a beast of burden (horse, ox)
,         ,         which is connected to the burden (cart, plough).


            Heb c4 v9-11:
            Let us rest from our earthly effort (which is hard)
            and do God’s work (which is easy).   my abbreviation

,         ,         Perhaps see earlier section:
,         ,         SOME OLD COVENANT LAWS SERVE AS SIGNS, SHADOWS,
,         ,         OF THE NEW COVENANT. , , ,

 

.

 

 

THE NEW YOU

 

Any sinful ways you currently have
Or, to be precise, any wrong actions.
See earlier section: THE TWO ACCOUNTS. 

spoil
your perfect relationship with God.

But your sins and sinful ways
do not spoil
God’s perfect relationship with you.

A relationship that was made perfect – by Jesus.

 

Jesus died for everyone.

1)        But believing that he died for everyone
            makes you want to do right, and not wrong, out of:
            gratitude:
,         ,         ,         ,         As compared to: obedience, duty, social acceptance, guilt, law, force, etc. 
,         ,         ,         ,         Perhaps see earlier section: WHY CHRISTIANS AVOID SINNING:
,         ,         ,         ,         and
,         ,         ,         ,         the section after it: HOW CHRISTIANS AVOID SINNING.

            and a renewed mind:
,         ,         ,         ,         Perhaps see earlier section: WHAT IS A RENEWED MIND?
,         ,         ,         ,         and
,         ,         ,         ,         immediately after it: DOING MIRACLES
,         ,         ,         ,         and:  
,         ,         ,         ,         immediately after that:  WHAT IS A RENEWED MIND: SOME DETAILS
,         ,         ,         ,         and
,         ,         ,         ,         earlier section: YOU MUST RENEW YOUR MIND
,         ,         ,         ,         and
,         ,         ,         ,         earlier section: HOW TO RENEW YOUR MIND
,         ,         ,         ,         and
,         ,         ,         ,         immediately after it: HOW TO RENEW YOUR MIND: SOME DETAILS
, ,       ,         ,         ,         and
,         ,         ,         ,         earlier section: PRAYING & FASTING.


2)        Also, believing that he died for everyone:
                       Makes your primary relationship
                       to be with God.
                       Your secondary relationships
                       to be with people.


3)        1) and 2) mean that
            believing that Jesus died for everyone:
                       makes your sin consciousness disappear
                       (though not your wrong consciousness).
,         ,         ,         ,         See earlier section:
,         ,         ,         ,         THE CONVERSE DEFINITION OF A CHRISTIAN
,         ,         ,         ,         See section in webpage after this one:
,         ,         ,         ,         SIN CONSCIOUSNESS. , , ,


Hence you become a new creature.    2 Cor c5 v17    Gal c6 v15.

 

.

 

 

Perhaps see:
YouTube: – The best description of the Gospel – Dan Mohler, , , ,
and:
YouTube: – What believing the gospel really means - Dan Mohler, , , , , ,

Perhaps see earlier section: TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: SINS NO LONGER EXIST  
to understand the difference between: Wommack & Mohler, and Hemans.

 

Perhaps see:
One of Andrew Wommack’s TV programmes on spirit, soul & body.
(link repeated from earlier).

 

.

 

 

GOD’S FREE WILL & OUR FREE WILL

 

GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY

 

I wrote this section particularly for the readers of
the New International Version Bible.
See earlier section: WHICH VERSION OF THE BIBLE TO USE.


Before this Church Age
God was much like some of the kings & queens of old:
            Benevolent to his own nation, Israel,
            but decisively brutal to those that threatened it
            since only decisively brutal seemed to work.
            Exercising justice within his own nation
            but it was often a harsh justice
            since only a harsh justice seemed to work.

But during this Church Age:
            God is entirely loving
            a king to everyone, not only the Jews.

,         ,         Perhaps see: YouTube: – Bill Johnson || DECEMBER 11, 2017 -
,         ,         ,         ,         ,         What Jesus Accomplished Now || Teaching Truth.
,         ,         ,         ,         ,         From   37m 15s   to   47m 30s   is particularly pithy.

,         ,         Perhaps also see earlier section:
,         ,         GOD DOES NOT CHANGE
                   BUT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH US CHANGES
,         ,         and earlier webpage:
,         ,         The Church Age
,         ,         and earlier section:
,         ,         IN JESUS, THE FATHER REVEALS HIS HEART TO US, , .

 

            But is God your loving king?
            Do you subject yourself to him?
            Can he do anything through you?

            During this Church Age:

                       God no longer acts by himself
                       or, perhaps, with people.
,         ,         ,         ,         As he did in the Old Testament and in the four gospels.

                       God acts through people,
                        principally through believers.
 
                        Jesus is the head, believers are the body:

                        Col c2 v9-10:
                       For in him dwelleth
                       all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
                       And ye are complete in him,
                       which is the head
                       of all principality and power:   KJV

                       Eph c1 v19-23    &    1 Cor c12 – c14    combined:
                       Jesus is now the head.
                       And you, the church, are now the body.
                       Hence you, like Jesus,
                       have been given the Spirit
                       so that you too can have the gifts of the Spirit
                       including doing miracles.   my abbn
,         ,         ,         ,         Perhaps see earlier section: CONTINUING THE SON’S WORK.

 

.

 

God’s sovereignty is:
            God being more powerful than anyone else.

But, unlike us:
            God doesn’t necessarily use that power.

            God can do anything.
            But he doesn’t, necessarily, do anything.

            We want to do more things than we can do.
            Our tightest limit is what we can do.

            God can do more things than he wants to do.
            His tightest limit is what he wants to do.

            (Hence I often use the word want, for God,
            as one would use the word can, for a human.)

 

God’s sovereignty is also
God being more intelligent than anyone else.

And, more to the point, knowing more than anyone else,
having the greatest database (even past & future).

            Hence each being has a free will.
            Yet God can, and does, often get us to do his free will.

            For example:
                       God designed the universe
                       so that Satan would encourage people
                       to crucify Jesus.
,         ,         ,         ,         Perhaps see earlier section:
,         ,         ,         ,         IN WHAT WAYS DID GOD MAKE THE UNIVERSE SECOND CLASS?   
,         ,         ,         ,         and perhaps see earlier section:
,         ,         ,         ,         WHY WAS JESUS EXECUTED?


                       Then, after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection,
                       when Satan realised he had actually helped God,
                       he was angry with himself:

                       God had got Satan to do what he, God, wanted
                       even though Satan had retained his own free will
                       throughout.

,         ,         ,         ,         See item 2)
,         ,         ,         ,         of earlier section:
,         ,         ,         ,         HOW DO DEMONS SEE THE FUTURE? , , , , .

 

Hence also in your life, God can, and does,
turn the victories of:
            nature  (perhaps see earlier webpage: The design of everything)

            and the world, the flesh, & the devil (demons),
into the victories of:
            God, & your heart/spirit.

            Rom c8 v28:
            And we know that all things work together for good
            to them that love God,
            to them who are the called according to his purpose.   KJV

For God:
      o    Sees the future better than demons do.
               Perhaps see earlier webpage: Time travel occurs in Heaven.

      o    Is much more able than demons.
,         ,         Perhaps see earlier section: GOD: THE CONSIDERATE DELEGATOR.

            He weaves his activities into demons’ activities;
            uses demon’s activities
            in conjunction with his own activities.
            Or, as Wommack says: “He is like a master chess player.”
,         ,         See earlier section: PATHS & DETOURS.

 

Hence never be thankful for bad things/events.
God did not give them to you.
See earlier section:
SO, WHERE DO TODAY’S BAD THINGS COME FROM?

 

Instead, believe that God:
            wants to use those bad things, for good,
            or:
            wants to correct them.
,         ,         See earlier section:
,         ,         GOD IS ALWAYS CONSTRUCTIVE IN THE LONG RUN, , , , , , .

 

.

 

 

All this makes sense
only if you can see
that God does not run this place:

            God gave this place to us.
            But we then we gave it to Satan.   
,         ,         ,         ,         Perhaps see earlier section:
,         ,         ,         ,         THE IMPORTANCE OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN,,,,,
,         ,         ,         ,         and third cell 
,         ,         ,         ,         of earlier section:
,         ,         ,         ,         THE KINGDOM OF THE WORLD & THE KINGDOM OF DEMONS. ,,,,,


            Hence this is enemy territory.
,         ,         ,         ,         Perhaps see whole of earlier section:
,         ,         ,         ,         THE KINGDOM OF THE WORLD & THE KINGDOM OF DEMONS. ,,,,,


                       John c18 v36    (John c8 v23):
                       Jesus answered,
                        My kingdom is not of this world … ctd   KJV


                       The Earth is God’s,
                       the planet is God’s,
                       nature is God’s.

                       But the world is not God’s,
                       the world is Satan’s.
                       The world is enemy territory
                       that God has to invade
                       to be in.

            Hence God is on a rescue mission.
,         ,         ,         ,         Perhaps see earlier section:
,         ,         ,         ,         WE ARE BETTER EQUIPPED NOW TO UNDERSTAND THE TRUTH.


            Hence God, Father Son & Spirit,
            is automatically undercover.
,         ,         ,         ,         See earlier section:
,         ,         ,         ,         WHAT’S WRONG WITH A VISIBLE SOLUTION?

 

            See: C.S. Lewis: Enemy-occupied territory. ,,,,,

All this becomes obvious
when you consider the resistance that Jesus met.

 

.

 

 

We make the, spiritually intuitive, choice, – to believe.
And, from then on, God guides us.
Perhaps again see earlier section: PATHS & DETOURS.


            God the Father didn’t tell Jesus everything.

                       He didn’t tell Jesus, in advance,
                       that there’d be no fruit on the fig tree.
                       Matt c21 v17-22     Mark c11 v11-25    

                       He didn’t tell Jesus who it was, in the crowd,
                       who had touched him.     Mark c5 v25-34     Matt c9 v20-22

            God only told Jesus what he wanted him to know.
            And we should expect the same treatment.

 

.

 

God the Father designed, then created, matter.

Then he made us out of it.
Perhaps see first half
of earlier webpage: Making the universe.


So, God is the overall planner.

 

But God is not controlling everything:

            For example, God chooses us
            but only like Jesus chose his twelve disciples:

                       Independently of Jesus choosing his twelve disciples,
                       eleven of them chose Jesus, one chose Satan.

                       God foresaw
                       that Judas would choose Satan.   Zech c11 v12-13
                       But God did not make
                       Judas choose Satan.

,         ,         Perhaps see earlier webpage: We choose where we go., , , , , ,

 

.

 

 

You may argue that, in Rom c9 v1-25, Paul does say that:
            God is sovereign,
            controls everything & everyone.

But I say that Paul wrote Rom c9 v1-25 
because he could not see hearts/spirits.

,         ,         See earlier sections:
,         ,         THE THIRD REASON PAUL PREACHED ONLY FORGIVENESS
                   WAS THAT HE DID NOT SEE HEARTS/SPIRITS 
,         ,         and:
,         ,         SEEING HEARTS/SPIRITS 
,         ,         and:
,         ,         SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTIVE & SOCIALLY DIVISIVE.


This meant that thinking of God as completely controlling
was the only way Paul could understand people’s behaviour.

This was exacerbated by him having killed Christians
then changed 180 degrees due to God’s intervention.

More about seeing hearts/spirits in the section after next.

 

.

 

 

REGARDING MIRACLES,
GOING TO GOD IS BEST.

Arranging things so that the sick must
come to Jesus, or to a believer,
means that there are fewer cynical, unbelieving, spectators
because there are fewer spectators:

            This stops the patient ‘catching’ unbelief
            from such spectators.
,         ,         ,         Perhaps see earlier section:
,         ,         ,         UNBELIEF IS A BREAK IN THE CIRCUIT
,         ,         ,         and perhaps consider
,         ,         ,         earlier section: GOD’S SPIRIT GROANING.


            A healing service is best.
,         ,         ,         Perhaps see earlier sections:
,         ,         ,         UNBELIEF, & LACK OF BELIEF, WITHIN THE CHURCH
,         ,         ,         and:
,         ,         ,         GREAT FAITH
,         ,         ,         and:
,         ,         ,         GOOD RELIGION & BAD RELIGION, , , ,

Conversely, this is one reason why,
when Jesus went to the equivalent of a hospital of his day,
he healed only one of the many sick people there:

            John c5 v1-9:
            Jesus visited the pool of Bethesda
            where many sick people lay.
                 (They were all waiting for a rare moment
                 when the water moved, all on its own,
                 and the first one in it got healed.)
            But, Jesus healed only one of them, a cripple.   my abbreviation

,         ,         The last seven words of v3, and all of verse 4, are, I reckon, forged.
,         ,         So I omit them in my abbreviation.
,         ,         Perhaps see earlier section: BIBLE VERSES THAT I OMIT, ,


            Jesus was not able to separate:
                       the cripple (who had some unbelief)
                       from the other patients (who had even more unbelief).

            Not like he was able to separate:
                       the surrounding crowd
                       from the synagogue ruler’s dead daughter.
                       Mark c5 v35-43 , , ,

            Nor:
                       the blind man of Bethsaida
                       from the town of Bethsaida.
                       Mark c8 v22-26. , , ,

            If Jesus had physically carried the cripple out,
            perhaps with help,
            it would’ve given the cripple the impression
            that Jesus could not heal him.

            That would have increased the cripple’s unbelief even more,
            perhaps putting his healing beyond reach.

,         ,         See fourth and fifth cells
,         ,         (starting Hence, if there was unbelief)
,         ,         of earlier section: UNBELIEF IS A BREAK IN THE CIRCUIT.

.

GOD’S KIND OF LOVE (AGAPE LOVE)
AND
MERE HUMAN, NATURAL, LOVE

God has had to do many unloving things.
But, actually, he loves us.
Perhaps see earlier section:
IN JESUS, THE FATHER REVEALS HIS HEART TO US.


Indeed, he loves us unconditionally, self-sacrificially.
This is called agape love.

If you are a believer, who has renewed their mind,
then God’s Spirit is in you.
Hence agape love is how God loves:
            others
            and you
from inside you.

And, if you are a believer, who has renewed your mind,
then agape love is also:
            how you
            love others.

            Your agape love is not:
                       Mere human love.
                       A mere emotion
                       amongst the other emotions.
                       The will in action.

            Your agape love is:
                       Your heart/spirit having renewed your mind
                       with agape love throughout it.
                       Free will in action.

,         ,         ,         ,         Perhaps see earlier section:
,         ,         ,         ,         DO THE EMOTIONS NEED RENEWING? , , , ,

.

 

You can have agape love
even if you have no normal empathy & love.

            Psychopaths, for example,
            have no normal empathy & love, anywhere within them.
,         ,         See   30m 55s   to   46m 30s
,         ,         of: YouTube: – Ch4, PSYCHOPATH NIGHT! [Channel 4], , , , , , , ,


            But, if they become believers & renew their minds,
            they acquire agape love
            throughout their mind & emotions.

            N.B. Psychopathy & sociopathy:
                       Are in the mind, which is in the soul,  
                       are not in the heart/spirit.
                       So they are flesh, not spirit,
                       temporary, not eternal,
                       of this life, of no eternal significance.

            So, don’t worry if you are a psychopath or a sociopath.

            Peter, before & after becoming a believer,
            was a psychopath.  (Proof in next section.)


            And Saul (later named Paul),
            before & after becoming a believer,
            was, I suspect, a high-functioning sociopath.
,,        ,         Proof:   Acts c9 v1-2    2 Cor c9    Philemon note v18-19
,         ,         (N.B. If Paul had been a psychopath
,         ,         he wouldn’t have written:  1 Cor c13 NIV.) 


            Hence Peter (& perhaps Paul, to a degree)
            before & after becoming a believer,
            had no normal empathy & love.

            Psychopaths don’t love other people,
            they own other people, or not, as the case may be.
            And those they own, they can use; life is a game you can win,
            and they get a big dopamine kick from winning:
            getting what they need, & want, from others.

            So, when Peter became a believer and renewed his mind,
            he made his whole mind constructive
            regardless of its configuration.
            Indeed, with no other persons in his mind, not even God,
            only things, & yourself, (as is the way with psychopaths),
            Peter had much more focus than other Christians would.

            In short, agape love, throughout their minds
            & therefore emotions,
            more than made up for
            the absence of normal love & empathy
            that a normal person would have
            in their mind, & therefore emotions.

            Peter & Paul had controlling personalities
            before & after becoming believers.

            But, when they became believers and renewed their minds,
            Jesus’ lordship transformed their controlling
            into good, strong, Christian leadership.

.

Empathy, which is in the mind, which is in the soul:
            is helpful for seeing other people’s souls
            but vital for seeing other people’s hearts/spirits.

            Empathy = continuously putting yourself
            in other people’s places.
            Continuously asking yourself:
                 “Why do they think/feel/act the way they do?”
                 “Would I think/feel/act that way?”
                 “If not, why not?”

                 Your focus continuously going to & fro,
                 to them, to you, to them, to you,
                 building pictures of their interiors,
                 seeing whether they’re morally inside out or not,
                 something you either see straight away or not at all.

            So, ironically:
                 though empathy is in the soul,
                 it enables a very few people to see the heart/spirit.

                 It’s a natural ability.
                 Not a supernatural (miraculous or demonic) one.

,         ,         ,         Perhaps see earlier section:
,         ,         ,         CAN WE SEE THE HEART/SPIRIT?  

,         ,         ,         If you think you can see people’s heart’s/spirits
,         ,         ,         then you must see earlier section:
,         ,         ,         FOUR REASONS WHY WE SHOULDN’T TRY TO JUDGE
,         ,         ,         OTHER PEOPLE’S HEARTS/SPIRITS. , , , ,

.

 

Most people cannot see other people’s hearts/spirits.
Peter & Paul even more so.

Hence they assumed & felt
that they could not see their own hearts/spirits either.

            Hence when they looked inside themselves,
            they thought:
                       they were looking inwards
                       at their hearts/spirits,
            when it was actually:
                       their hearts/spirits looking outwards
                       at their souls.

,         ,         ,         ,         See (diagrams of)
,         ,         ,         ,         first section of earlier webpage: Looking inside yourself 
,         ,         ,         ,         and of
,         ,         ,         ,         earlier webpage: How God Forgave us all.


            Hence they concluded, wrongly, that:
                       just as:
                       you judging yourself
                       ends with you hating your heart/spirit 
                       so also:
                       God Judging you
                       must end with God hating your heart/spirit. 

Blue text copied from earlier section:
THE THIRD REASON PAUL PREACHED ONLY FORGIVENESS
WAS THAT HE DID NOT SEE HEARTS/SPIRITS, , , ,

Hence psychopathic Peter,
on first seeing God’s kindness, in Jesus,
suddenly saw his own sin
and concluded that God/Jesus had it in for him:

            Luke c5 v1-8:
            A miraculously huge catch of fish
            prompted Peter [i.e. Simon]
            to say to Jesus:
            “Get away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
,         ,         [Whereas other sinners immediately warmed to Jesus’ love for them.]   my abbn

Consequently, Jesus later prayed against this weakness in Peter:
            Peter’s loveless, self-conscious,
            lack-of-God-conscious,
            state of mind.

            Luke c22 v31-32:
            And the Lord said,
                 Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired
                 to have you [disciples],
                 that he may sift you [disciples]
                 as wheat [i.e. relentlessly mention your faults to you] :
                 But I have prayed for thee [Peter],
                 that thy faith fail not:
                 and when thou [Peter] art converted,
                 strengthen thy brethren.   KJV

.

MORE ABOUT PETER, PAUL, & PSYCHOPATHY ETC

I reckon that psychopaths, & to a lesser degree sociopaths,
don’t possess empathy-facilitating mental models
of other people & of God
but instead have mental lists
of other people & of God.

            So it’s not that they don’t love other people
            (they don’t hate them either).

            It’s simply that, for them,
            other people don’t exist, not as people.

                       Everyone else are things: potential possessions,
                       working toys, that they understand the workings of
                       but don’t personally relate to:

                       Hence psychopaths & sociopaths
                       like people who have a lot of buttons to press.

                       However, God is a person too, with buttons.

                       Hence, if psychopaths & sociopaths:
                                   have good hearts/spirits,
                                   believe,
                                   and have renewed their minds,
                       then their faith is powerful.
                       See:  Acts c5 v12-16  &  Acts c19 v11-12. ,,,

            (In comparison, we ‘normal’ believers:
                       having mental-models of everyone,
                       notably of God,
            will take a while to catch up.)

.

Psychopathic (& sociopathic) believers,
if spiritually immature,
try to be in control
of even the way God relates to them:

            They insist, more than most:
                 that they are not unconditionally loved,
                 that they must do something,
                 that Forgiveness is not entirely free.

            But, when they finally believe,
            in their hearts/spirits and minds,
            and so have the real God (i.e. God’s Spirit) in them,
            then their God complex can’t help but vanish.

            I show this change, in Peter & Paul,
            in the next two cells.

Peter, before Pentecost:

            o    Was the only disciple to walk on water.     Matt c14 v29  

            o    Angrily refused Jesus to, humanly speaking, fail.
                 Matt c16 v22     Mark c8 v32   

            o    Argued against Jesus washing his feet.     John c13 v1-17 

            o    Peter, though standing next to Jesus
                 and having heard all of Jesus’ preaching
                 on loving your enemies,
                 tried to cut someone’s head off.
                 Though Peter was a fisherman, he had a sword,
                 and cut off the ear of one of those sent to arrest Jesus.
                       He was probably aiming for the head or neck
                       since it’s hard to cut off an ear.
                       And the sword was sharp
                       so Jesus’ command to stop was timely.
                       John c18 v10-11  and:  Luke c22 v35-38  &  v47-51  combined.

            o    Peter led the other disciples
                 in confessing allegiance to Jesus.  
                 Matt c26 v31-35     Mark c14 v27-31.  
                 Luke c22 v31-34     John c13 v36-38.  
            o    But later, after following Jesus to his accusers,
                 came out with a bald-faced lie
                 that he didn’t even know Jesus,
                 in order to save his own skin. 
                 Matt c26 v69-75     Mark c14 v54-72.    
                 Luke c22 v54-62     John c18 v15-27.

Peter, after Pentecost:

            o    Was the first to miraculously heal & preach.   Acts c2 

            o    Continued in that fashion.

            Mind you, Peter’s change and growth were not instant:

                 o    Acts c5 v1-10:
                       Peter, by the power of God’s Spirit,
                       punished Ananias & Sapphira, for lying to God,
                       by making them drop down dead.  my abbreviation
,

                 o    Peter was readily sucked into
                       legalism, ‘man pleasing’,
                       which led to a rebuke from Paul   Gal c2 v11-16 
                       which, it seems, Peter accepted   2 Pet c3 v15-16, , , , , ,

Paul, before his Damascus road experience:

            o    Was a destroyer of the church.    1 Cor c15 v9    Acts c22 v4 

            o    Oversaw Stephen’s killing
                 with satisfaction.    Acts c7 v54 – c8 v1    Acts c22 v19-20 

,         ,         o,      Also click on Bible references in fifth cell
,         ,         ,         (starting Peter, before & after becoming a believer,)
,         ,         ,         of previous section:
,         ,         ,         GOD’S KIND OF LOVE – AGAPE LOVE, AND MERE NATURAL HUMAN LOVE.
,         ,         ,         (This link does not open a new tab.)


Paul, after his Damascus road experience:

            o    Was (one of) the leading builder(s) of the church.

            o    Readily suffered persecution
                 (as promised by God     Acts c9 v16)
                 perhaps more than any other believer.     2 Cor c11 v16-33 

 

,         ,         ,         Perhaps read about Christian ‘violence’
,         ,         ,         in: Wommack’s online commentary on Matt c11 v12, , , , , ,

.

To conclude, the apostle Peter,
being psychopathic,
when he was a new Christian:
            was not the kind of person
            that most Christians today
            would invite round for tea,
            ask him to heal your sick or raise your dead
            Acts c3 v1-8     Acts c9 v32-43 
            but, other than that,
            not let him into the house.

            He had already been changed, by God’s Spirit,  Acts c2 – c 3,
            when, by the power of God’s Spirit,
            he killed Ananias & Sapphira.
            Either that, or he approved of God doing it.  Acts c5 v1-10,,,,,

But, happily, Peter eventually mellowed & quietened down.
Perhaps see the cell, starting For example: with the perspective,
of earlier section: THE EFFECT OF THE BIBLE WRITERS ON THEIR OWN WRITING. 
Perhaps also see Peter’s epistles:  1 Pet c1 – c5   and   2 Pet c1 – c3. ,,,


            So, Peter must have gradually changed,
            must have managed his psychopathy.

            Indeed, he eventually loved people
            with an agape love.
            (His epistles are brilliant.)

.

 

 


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