St. John 1:47

            As Nathanael is brought to Christ, we are intrigued with this encounter. Philip brings him to Jesus as we are all instructed to do. Church, may this sink deep into our spirits today – we as His body primarily exist to worship and secondarily to bring humankind to Jesus. If only we can grasp that truth today, we would be so much better off as the beloved community.

            When Philip brings Nathanael to Jesus, note how Jesus takes over. Our mission is to bring them to Jesus. I believe Mark 9:19 powerfully corroborates this. After the inability of the church to help this demoniac, Jesus said “. . . Bring him unto me” (v19). May we never lose sight of this.

            On seeing Nathanael coming, Jesus said, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” (John 1:47). Here we learn so much about Nathanael’s character from Jesus’ revealing words. It is a direct reference to Jacob in –Genesis 32:28, where Jacob is given a new name, according to the Old Testament text. The name was given to him on the night, when God in human form, wrestled with him, and he became through his encounter, a new man – one now ruled by God.

            It must not be missed that the real significance in the name Israel is found by dividing it – Isra,El – Ruled by God. Jacob was his name previously, which meant supplanter, deceiver, heel-catcher – until he found that the real secret of strength lay in him being mastered by God, ruled by God, led by God. It is said that Jacob soon found that God had crippled him to crown him, broken him to make him, and mastered him to give him majesty.

            Today more and more we are getting to realize that to be ruled by God results in great change. A parallel is drawn from the story of Jacob, to teach Brother Nathanael and us further – An Israelite indeed – a man ruled by God in whom there is no guile, no deceit, no deception, no bait, no snare, no double-talking but a sincere, straightforward, open, frank, guileless man with no trickery or double-dealing in deceit. In fact, no man who is an Israelite or ruled by God is full of deceit, guile or deception. It is just a plain fact that anybody who has guile is still not yet quite converted. It is a contradiction in terms. Christians should be guileless.

            The problem is, we still have some Jacobs in the church. They look okay on the outside, but inwardly they are still full of crookedness and deceit. God needs to break them to master them. Some people desperately need a change. In one sense what he was saying could be read this way – “An Israelite indeed, in whom there is no Jacob.”

            May the God of righteousness so transform our lives that it can be said that there is no crookedness, deceit, trickery or lies in us. If Jacob did not experience conversion he certainly would have died at the hands of evil, he had set in motion.

            May the spirit of Nathanael so permeate our twenty-first century church. We need some more real Israelites in the church today – people ruled by God. If people are ruled by God we would have fewer problems all the way round – fewer divorces, less stress, less strife, less confusion and divisions. May God so work in our lives that Jacob would be completely overcome and fully surrender to the beauty of life found in a life fully yielded to God – May this Region be filled with people like Nathanael whose lives are ruled by God.

                                                              Leroy V. Greenaway
                                                     Regional Bishop – Northeast Region

May 29, 2021

H————————————————————————————————H

                                                          PLEASE NOTE

          In collaboration with our District Overseers, the Church of God of Prophecy submits to the wisdom of continuing to ‘Shelter in Place’ for the safety and protection of the flock. This is to be observed until further notice and the present virus is better contained. Should the need arise to meet, we are advised to meet in groups of no more than 10, while we strictly observe the protocols of social distancing, wearing of masks and aggressive sanitizing of our hands and surfaces frequently touched.

          Please let us patiently observe these practices to keep each other safe and alive. We are reminded that we are indeed our brother’s keeper. Stay home! Stay Healthy! Stay Hopeful! We shall soon get through this! Premature re-openings of our churches seem not to be the wisest way to go at this point. Let us continue to pray, caring for each other and staying connected.

Leroy V. Greenaway
Regional Presiding Bishop — Northeast Region