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Topic: That good imagination
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Eden
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posted
Hi, Michael Harrison, I pulled this quote of yours from another thread: quote:
Originally posted by Michael Harrison:
When Paul talked about 'casting down imaginations', he was not Counseling
those of the church to do so. It was not instruction. It was a description of what he was up against, which was a bunch of people who resisted the truth, as the Spirit would have them to understand. So Paul was referring to his "authority" to cast down believers imaginations, which stood in the way of realizing God properly.
I was surprised by that interpretation because I have always mainly thought of it as "casting down my own imaginations."
So when you said that Paul was not counseling the church in this case, but was talking about how he, as an evangelist, had to "cast down imaginations in other people".
So I reposted the passage below again to see:
2 Corinthians 10
1 Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:
2 But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh.
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
7 Do you look on things according to the outward appearance? If any man trusts to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.
Okay, Michael Harrison, to repeat what you said quote:
[quote]Originally posted by Michael Harrison:
When Paul talked about 'casting down imaginations', he was not counseling
those of the church to do so. It was not instruction. It was a description of what he was up against, which was a bunch of people who resisted the truth...
I do think that when an evangelist preaches the gospel (the good news that Jesus died for our sins and rose again for our life, etc.) that the very preaching "casts down imaginations" in other people.
But, even if in this instance Paul was not counseling the church, surely the church also must "cast down its own imaginations".
Even the mind of a new believer in Jesus needs to be renewed with the words from the Word of God, and our bad imaginations must be converted into good imaginations.
The imagination does seemm to be a God-given faculty of our mind, but when the imagination is used negatively, it becomes bad imagination, like Cain's imagination:
Genesis 4
6 And the LORD said to Cain, Why are you so angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? But if you don't do well, sin lies at the door.
But I might ask, is there such a thing as "good imagination in a Christian"? I think so. When I read my wonderful Bible, I end up meditating on it and I imagine ("visualize"?) Jesus sitting in the boat on the Sea of Galilee, or I imagine ("visualize") the 5,000 men sitting in rows of the grass being fed by the 12 disciples with fishes and loaves, these are all good imaginations.
I used to think in my Christian life that "imagination is bad, bad...bad imagination", but now I think that imagination is a God-given faculty of the mind which, when used properly helps us "remember":
Isaiah 46:8
Remember this, and show yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O you transgressors.
Isaiah 46:9
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is no one else; I am God, and there is none like Me.
I think that remembering is a function of good use of the faculty of imagination, but even in Christians like me, there still are "imaginations which could use a good pulling down", Amen?
In conclusion, Michael Harrison, I think that Paul was casting down imaginations in other people (and we the church hopefully are casting them down too in other people), but we ourselves need some serious casting down of our own strongholds of the imagination. ( ![[1zhelp]](graemlins/1zhelp.gif) )
love, eden
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Eden
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I recently read a Christian book which mentioned the following verse:
Genesis 6
5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
That got me to thinking because I have been under the impression that all imagination was bad, probably from this verse:
2 Corinthians 10:5
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
This book made me understand that there is such a thing as good imagination as a good gift from God. In Genesis 6:5 it said,
Genesis 6
5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
But the above implies that when the God-given ability of imagination is used correctly, then it is "good imagination" and Genesis 6:5 could have read:
Genesis 6
5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was good continually.
When we meditate on the Lord and on His Word, we mediate or imagine the Lord and we imagine heaven and we imagine lots of things while we read the Bible. All these are good imaginations.
Only the imaginations which are evil and outside the will of God and His Christ need to be captured:
2 Corinthians 10:5
Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
All our evil imaginations are to be brought under the Lordship of Jesus, but our good imaginations are already under the Lordship of Jesus and have been and were good to use. Imagination is a God-given ability, but it must be used for good, and not for evil, continually.
with love, eden
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