LESSON 19
THE HOLY SPIRIT
By Rev. G. E. Newmyer
INTRODUCTION TO LESSON 19
After getting this far one might ask, “Don’t you think it’s a little late to talk about the Holy Spirit?”. No, we’re right on time; before we venture into Letters we must gain an understanding of the Holy Spirit, how He affects our new Life in Christ. The theological title of this study would be Pneumatology, or the study of spiritual beings, or spirits, more important it’s considered the title used in the Doctrine of the Holy Ghost, but to keep it simple we merely called it “The Holy Spirit”.
We know having the Holy Spirit is indispensable, but why? Jesus said that born of the flesh was flesh, but that Born of the Spirit is Spirit, two different natures. All of mankind is born of the flesh, making mankind fleshly in nature, but in order to identify with a God who is Spirit, ones soul must be Spirit. Natural man assumes man has a “spirit” of God, but the Bible tells us natural man is run by the spirit of man, also known as the spirit of disobedience. Jesus provided us a means to be loosed from the earth by having heaven loosed in us.
Attempting to be a Christian without the Holy Spirit ends in witchcraft. There are some who wear a mask or righteousness, but inside Satan still rules, thus all the person did was learn to speak in religious terms people would accept. There is only one way anyone can make the Change into the nature of Christ, it’s by the Holy Spirit. In this lesson we’re going to learn of the Transforming and Transfiguring which takes place to form us into God’s son; as we join the Process with anticipated victory. The heart of being a Christian is having the Spirit of Christ, which is the very meaning of Grace. However, we’re also going to see what happens when we remain “Corinthian” in nature, or resist the Process. If we’re ready, as we should be, let us begin.
LESSON 19 – THE HOLY SPIRIT
We should define the word Spirit, in the Bible we find the Spirit of God as well as the “spirit of man”, the word Spirit appears over 450 times in the Bible, the essence of the Christian experience is being Born Again to have the Spirit of Truth in us in order for our souls to be Spiritual in nature, but when we were in the world we were captured under the “spirit of disobedience”. Often the term “spirit” refers to ones outward expression of something internal at the moment, metaphorically it refers to the heart, or the place where the intent takes place, thus we say they have a “spirit of joy about them”, pointing to the essence of the person. However, we also know there are evil entities who are spirit, but they are not spiritual since they tempt man with things common (worldly) to man. We also know there is the Spirit of Christ, or the essence of Christ in us defined as the Holy Spirit of Promise. Therefore, the spirit must be identified in conjunction with the realm it represents in order to determine what type of spirit it is.
In Corinthians Paul tells us the “spirit of man” knows the things of man, yet is completely ignorant of the things of the Spirit of God, but the Spirit of God knows the things of God (I Cor 2:12-14). Then he told us the spirit of the world is opposed to the “Spirit that is of God” (I Cor 2:13). In Romans he told us the Spirit of God dwells in us by the Spirit of Christ (Rom 8:9). Then he said, The Spirit bears witness to our Spirit telling us we are sons of God (Rom 8:16). So, where does the Holy Ghost fit into the premises? If the Record has the Holy Ghost, but the Witness has the Spirit, how do we know the differences, if any? The Spirit of God bears witness with the Spirit which is of God, meaning the only way anyone is going to be a son of God is by having the Spirit which is of God in them. The translators often used the lower case “s” so the novice could make the distinction between the Spirit of God and the Spirit in us. In Romans 8:16 the reference is not to the Holy Ghost bringing the Seed (Word) of God to our hearts, rather it points to the entire Record, connecting it to First Corinthians 2:11-12, as the Spirit of God identifying to the Spirit which is of God.
James taught about the “spirit dwelling in us lusting to envy” (James 4:5), helping us identify this “spirit” is the phrase, “ye lust and have not”, with “you ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, so you may consume it upon your lusts”, with “every man is drawn away by his own lusts” (James 4:1-4 & 1:14). We also note this “spirit” which lusts to envy, is not lusting to jealousy: the Greek word used for Envy is never translated as jealousy, because envy and jealousy are two different things. In reference to man, jealousy is the fear of losing something man thinks he possess, with God it’s an awareness of someone or something attempting to take something or someone He does possess. Envy in the evil sense is wanting something someone else has, or has the potential to have, but lacking the wherewithal to obtain it. This type of envy produces two things, a mindset to discredit what they envy, or destroy the person who has what they envy. Envy in the good sense is seen as a zealous mindset to obtain what is promised by God by a lawful ability to obtain it.
In the case of the “spirit lusting to envy” the word Envy is never seen in a good sense, rather this envy is incapable of doing good, it’s always based in a selfish or malicious manner. If the Envy is incapable of doing good, the lust motivating it is also incapable of good, making the spirit the fallen nature of man, or the spirit of man. When we get to James we will find other identifying areas, but we know James is talking to “brethren”, the differences show if one is motivated by the spirit lusting to envy they will seek the things of God, but for self-based purposes. Does it mean the spirit lusting to envy dominates us? Not at all, the point is we have power over the spirit lusting to envy, thus the wicked use the spirit lusting to envy, until it becomes the spirit of the world, becoming a he in the world. However, if we have the Word in us we can seek the Wisdom of God by faith, while rejecting the spirit lusting to envy.
James begins with ask in faith, ending with the “prayer of faith”, do the two relate? Yes, the entire letter is obtaining and walking in the Wisdom of God, but in order to do so one must have the Spirit which is of God. James shows us the Spirit which is of God is also termed the Word, or the Logos in us (James 1:21). Therein lays the dilemma, how can any person who is a human receive the Spirit which is of God? This is the very evidence of the first Adam being a living soul, rather than a quickening Spirit (I Cor 15:45-48). Jesus was declared the Son of man by the family line to David, but the Spirit of Holiness declared Him the Son of God by the Resurrection (Rom 1:3-4). Therefore, no one received the Spirit until Jesus was glorified (Jn 7:39), thus we must die in order to have Resurrection power. The entire premise of the New Testament is the Blood of Jesus, by His Blood the Glorified Jesus made it possible for us to be Born Again to bring to pass the prophecy, “let us make man in our Image”, as we are being formed into the Image of God’s Son by the Spirit of Truth in us.
We must believe Jesus is raised from the dead, thus the Cross is the beginning of change. We cannot have the Spirit until we are dead, but in order to be free of the second death we must have the Spirit. God provided the means, we impute the flesh dead by the Cross of Jesus, then we have standing for God to grant us the Spirit. It is both a belief and faith issue, we believe what Jesus promised, but in order to impute death to the Old, we must do it by faith. When we came to the Cross we were flesh minded, then we imputed the flesh dead, to receive the Spirit, then our souls become Born of the Spirit to become Spiritual in nature. This lesson goes into the Promised event, Paul told us the Promise is having the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13). In the Book of Hebrews we find people in the Old Testament who had faith, did some remarkable things, but their faith was not enough to gain the Promise, yet the Faith of Jesus did.
We will also look at the few who enter, yet reject the purpose for their own natural agenda. If the Holy Spirit is of God, it means the Holy Spirit will never go against the principles of God. If someone assumes the Holy Spirit told them something against the principles of God, they don’t know what spirit they are of. The other side of the coin is holding to the spirit lusting to envy, in some attempt to save the old man rather than be Saved. The blind leading the blind is not the reason we were Born Again, we accepted the purpose, we didn’t make it up. We are the only people on the earth with the promise of God secured in the Blood of Jesus to reach a full and complete reconciliation unto God.
There is no way any of the attributes of Grace, or Liberty are going to be effective for us unless we are Born Again. The washing of the Water by the Word is conducted by the Word in us, meaning we must be Born Again to be cleaned. James also points out how the Word in us is fully capable of saving our souls (James 1:21). The battle is to resist using the old defeated spirit which is flesh based; who no longer rules over us, but it still entices us. Therein lays the real danger, the point of James 4:1-4; we have the power to either use the old spirit, or not. The spirit lusting to envy is connected to the world (James 4:4), Paul called it the spirit of the man, which can become the spirit of the world (I Cor 2:10-12). When the spirit of man becomes the spirit the world it will produce the “he of the world” (I Jn 4:1-4). The weapons of its warfare include the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, showing what the lust to envy involves. When we were in the world the spirit of man guided us, ruled over us, we were slaves, but then we came to the Cross wherein we gained authority over the spirit of man, it could no longer dominate or control us, thus to use the spirit of man would be a violation of the basis of the New Covenant. God has given us the Spirit of Truth, thus the Greater He in us is fully able to defeat the spirit of man, or the he in the world. We have victory at every point, if we receive it, then allow the Process to work in us. Of course we will be enticed, but James tells us to Rejoice, since we are the only people who can be free of whatever caused us to fall.
If Paul tells us the Spirit of Holiness declared Jesus the Son of God by the Power of the Resurrection (Rom 1:4), does it mean Jesus wasn’t the Son of God prior? The point is how the Resurrection completed the act of the Cross, making room for the Declaration. We must start at the Cross as equals, no one any better, or worse; however, unless we accept the Resurrection we have fallen short of the Promise. The Spirit made the Declaration based on Resurrection, thus the same Spirit who raised Jesus will raise us. The Greek word for Declaration is Horizo, it doesn’t mean the Act, but what the Act accomplished. The same Spirit of Holiness is our Seal of being in the Process to become Spiritual in nature. There is no way any of us can have the Spirit without having the Power of the Resurrection, the Declaration is the evidence of the Power of Christ.
The title “Spirit of Holiness” is found one time in the entire Bible, which is Romans 1:4. The only way we are going to have the Power, is to have the Spirit, thus the disciples had authority, but were told to wait for the Power. The Spirit is also the proof of the Resurrection of Jesus, the very means we know Jesus is raised from the dead. How then do we get it? We ask, how then does it come to us? The baptism with the Holy Ghost (Acts 10:45-46, 11:15-17, 15:8 et al). The Holy Ghost is not the Gift, the Gift of the Holy Ghost is granted by the Holy Ghost to identify us with God. Since God is Spirit, we must be Spirit to join to His family. How does it fit with the saying of Jesus, “a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see Me have” (Luke 24:39). Being a Spirit refers to our nature, the resurrected body is a heavenly New flesh and bone void of death and corruption. We have a flesh formed of the earth, for the earth, but Jesus has a Body for us like unto His, thus as He is now, so are we by faith. Our preview of what is to come is in us now, we have a soul, we have flesh, we gained the Spirit in the New Birth to separate us from the flesh of the earth as we are being prepared for the resurrected body. Jesus did not say, “I am not Spirit”, He said, His flesh and bones were not the same as Spirit, they could see and touch Him.
Peter tells us the Holy Ghost is the Author of the Scriptures, thus it takes the Holy Ghost to interpret them, yet we know the Bible defines itself (II Pet 1:19-21). Interpretation, or translation are different, we can define a word, yet not know how it’s applied to the mystery. We can translate a document, yet never know what the author had in mind when it was written. The interpretation tells us what the Author was thinking when the document was written, thus we don’t ask the person who framed the painting what the artist was thinking, we ask the artist. There are some who attempt to promote a theological idea by making their own translation, we call them “cultist”.
We have our work cut out for us, beginning with a interesting truth of the Holy Ghost being behind the men who wrote, yet the term “Holy Ghost” is a New Testament term, it’s not found in the Old Testament; it’s used some 89 times, generally it refers to God delivering something, such as the Sower bringing the Seed, or a Filling believers with courage and ability at the moment to deal with the masses; the Holy Ghost also appoints people to the Offices on behalf of Jesus (Acts 13:1-3). It was the Holy Ghost who placed the Word in Mary, filled Jesus for the wilderness experience, yet the Spirit came on Jesus in the form of a Dove. The Spirit is usually connected to a Sacrifice, we gained the Spirit based on the Sacrifice of Jesus, but we also give ourselves as a living sacrifice, which is our reasonable (logical) duty. The Holy Ghost filling Jesus opened the ministry for the Son of man, the Holy Ghost bringing us the Seed opens our time of Grace for our reconciliation with God. In no way does it mean Jesus became the Son of man by the baptism, it means the ministry for the Son of man opened when the Holy Ghost filled Jesus. Ministries are headed by the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit is saving our souls, also manifesting in those one on one contacts, or as John put “confessing Jesus has come in the flesh”, meaning Jesus in us as the Word (I Jn 4:1-4).
The same is true with John the Baptist, he was filled with the Holy Ghost, yet he didn’t heal the sick, or raise the dead. The Apostles before the Cross were not filled with the Holy Ghost, yet they did heal the sick under the Authority of Jesus as the Son of man. The Holy Ghost will never fill anyone beyond the calling, or beyond the task required. John the Baptist was a witness to the Light, he was able to make statements regarding Jesus no other person could lawfully do, but the authority of his ministry was limited to the tasks. When Nathanael said, “you are the Son of God”, Jesus responded with “Son of man” (Jn 1:49 & 1:51). When Jesus began speaking of the Cross and Resurrection the disciples were not allowed to mention those matters. First they didn’t understand them (Mark 9:32), second spiritual matters to the natural mind are foolishness (I Cor 2:14). Before Pentecost the disciples lacked position, thus no one can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost, showing the disciples before Pentecost lacked the Gift of the Holy Ghost (I Cor 12:3).
The first time the title Holy Ghost is used is in Matthew 1:18, but since Mark was written first we could say as far as time relates, the first time it was used was in Mark 1:8. God having purpose we find something interesting, in Matthew the title relates to the Birth of Jesus, in Mark it relates to our New Birth, thus they do relate one to the other. John 7:38-39 talks about the Living Water, we find the “Holy Ghost was not given”, yet we know John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost. We can see this could also read, “the Holy Ghost has not yet given”. The verse tells us the Holy Ghost had not yet Given the Spirit, since the Spirit is the context of John 7:38-39. Jesus was filled with the Holy Ghost, the saints in the Old Testament had the “Spirit of the Lord” come upon them for specific purposes, much different. The prophetic messages of the prophets of Old pointed to the “Spirit of Christ”, thus many if not all of the prophecies pointed to Jesus, the purpose of all purposes. The Holy Ghost was behind the scenes as the Author of the Scriptures, but the revealing of the importance of the Holy Ghost was not granted to man until Jesus was glorified by the Resurrection.
The Living Water is not Water (Mercy) alone, it’s Water (Mercy) with Life (Spirit). Water being a metaphor for Mercy shows in order to have Mercy with Life coming from within we must be Born Again. We can operate from Mercy without the Spirit, but in order to introduce Life to the Mercy, we must have the Spirit. This would also connect to the Father (Mercy) and Son (Blood), showing why we can’t deny either, we must accept both by the Holy Ghost to have the Witness in order to complete the Report (I Jn 5:7-8).
The Resurrection of Jesus opened the Day wherein man could have the Spirit which is of God, as the Holy Ghost planted the Seed (Word) of God in us. This also shows there was no “spirit of the world” until there was first the “Spirit which is of God”. Meaning the “he in the world” is a product of the spirit of the world, but it began with Judas the son of perdition.
The Cross is always our starting point, but the Resurrection of Jesus produced the Door for man to enter heaven, there is no other way. Even on the Last Day, those who did not partake of the First Resurrection must face Jesus, then find their name in the Book of life to enter the resurrection unto life. Therefore, on the Last Day there is a resurrection Unto Life, yet there is one Unto damnation, thus even the damned receive a resurrected body, showing Life makes the difference. What a special people those who are Born Again are, they are separated unto God as “sons of God”, free of the second death.
Faith in God is holding the Vision God has for us, the point in the future where our Hope waits. God has a Plan for us in the Record, thus the Record is maintained by the Father (Mercy), the Word (Grace) and the Holy Ghost (Deliverer of the Seed); the Witness to the Record is the Water (Mercy), Blood (Grace), and Spirit (New Man). The Record is being conducted by the Witness, it then becomes our task to have the Witness in order to see the Record complete in our lives. Never confuse the Record for the Witness, the Record makes the Declaration, the Witness carries it out. God has Declared us Justified by what Jesus did for us, but the Witness is bringing the Declaration to pass.
The term “Spirit” usually refers to Grace, or Salvation, Peter said the holy men of old were moved by the Holy Ghost, yet we know the title “Holy Ghost” is never seen in the Old Testament (II Pet 1:21). This same Peter said those men of Old had the Spirit of Christ in them (I Pet 1:11). If we didn’t know the Holy Ghost gave those men the words regarding Christ we would assume they were Born Again, but they were not. Those men of old spoke by the Holy Ghost regarding Christ, which was yet future tense to them. The purpose is Jesus, we are being formed by the Spirit into the image of God’s Son, so Jesus can have many brethren (Rom 8:29).
The Holy Ghost has many areas, He functions by reproving the world, yet filling us to deal with the masses (Acts 6:3 & 4:31), appoints to the five fold offices (Acts 13:1-3), brings the Seed, and teaches us by comparing spiritual to spiritual. The Holy Spirit in us is the Seal of Grace, saving our souls, manifesting in those one on one situations. The Holy Ghost is the Comforter (Jn 14:26), the Spirit of Truth in us is Another Comforter (Jn 14:16 & I Jn 4:1-4), they each have functions. The Seed of God is the Gift of the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost is not the gift, but brings it. The Seed of God is the Word, the same Word in us is fully able to save our souls (James 1:21), the same Word is dividing asunder (Heb 4:12), the self same Spirit manifesting (I Cor 12:7-11). Since the Spirit is centered on saving us, it also shows an unclean spirit is opposed to salvation.
We can also see how the function of the Holy Ghost as the Comforter deals with us as He brings us to the Cross, but once in the Family, Another Comforter guides us, as the Spirit in us is bringing light to the phrase, “That Born of the Spirit is Spirit”, in essence we could say our souls were flesh, since we were born of the flesh, now our souls are being formed into Spirit by the Spirit which is of God (I Cor 2:10-12). We can hold up our hand, then say, “that born of the flesh is flesh”, thus our souls associated with the world by the flesh, but now we can say our soul is being converted to a spiritual nature by the Spirit in us, so we can say we are becoming Spirit within (Jn 3:6).
Jesus told us the Holy Ghost as the Comforter would teach us all things (Jn 14:26), but the same Comforter would reprove the world (Jn 16:8), yet the Spirit of Truth will guide us, then He defined the Spirit of Truth as Another Comforter (Jn 14:17 & 16:13). John told us the Spirit of Truth is the Greater He in us (I Jn 4:1-5). The functions of the Holy Ghost explain how we can be Born Again, filled with the Spirit, yet filled with the Holy Ghost many times as well (Acts 4:31&13:9). If the Holy Ghost and Holy Spirit were the same, how could we have the Holy Spirit, yet be filled with the Holy Ghost? The Holy Ghost brought the Seed, the Seed birthed in us is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, Spirit of Christ, the New Man, the Greater He, or the Word. The Spirit of Truth does not grant us an Office, His function is to save our souls, and manifest the Witness of Jesus in us. The Holy Ghost grants the office positions on behalf of Jesus (Acts 13:1-3), and empowers us to deal with the masses. Simply we don’t want to discount the filling of the Holy Ghost after we are Born Again: when we deal with the masses we must be filled with the Holy Ghost. Therefore, we have One Spirit within, but we can be filled many times with the Holy Ghost.
Perhaps one way to understand the phrase, “that born of the Spirit is Spirit” is view who Jesus was talking to. Nicodemus was a master of Israel (Jn 3:10), the word used for Born in both phrase “born of the flesh” and “born of the Spirit” is the Greek Gennao, meaning to be born, but in a Jewish sense it means to convert, or cause a change in direction. This would be the context Nicodemus understood, since he felt to reenter the mother’s womb was the answer. The New Man connects to the Water and Blood joining to the Report in heaven. We must have the Mercy of the Father, the Blood of the Son, and the Holy Spirit in order to be a Witness. Therefore we can see how Jesus said He had flesh and bones not as a “spirit”, but He is nonetheless Spiritual in nature, thus as Jesus is, so are we in this world based on having the Greater He in us.
What about all those references in the Old Testament about “giving up the ghost”? The same context is found in the New Testament as well, but it’s not the “spirit”, rather in the Old Testament it’s either the Hebrew word Gava meaning to Perish, or the Hebrew Nephesh meaning a separating between the soul and flesh by death of the flesh. In the New Testament it’s the phrase Expsuche, meaning the soul exited, or the soul and flesh being separated. The second death is much different, yet it too is a separation; thus the first death is the separation between the soul and flesh, the second death is a complete separation from any and all attributes of God.
The best example of man is defined by Paul, the first Adam is of the earth, the second Adam is of heaven. As the earthly so are those who are earthly, but as the heavenly, such are they who are also heavenly (I Cor 15:45-19). The first Adam was a living soul, the second Adam a Quickening Spirit, thus showing the first Adam did not have a spirit, until the fall, then the spirit of man guided the life of mankind. We have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly (I Cor 15:49).
Paul shows nothing can separate us from the Love of God found in Christ Jesus, thus in order to not be separated from the Love one must be in Christ Jesus. The second death is a complete separation from any and all attributes of God including the Love found in Christ Jesus. It becomes the blackness of darkness, so far from Light there isn’t any light whatsoever, yet it’s eternal, or always in the Now, void of time as man knows it.
If we said “God has enlightened me, I now see Jehovah is my Covenant God, and El watches over me”, would we be talking about several gods? No, we would be using the various points of authority of the One God. We find the same with the Holy Ghost, the functions of the Holy Ghost are based on authority, as well whom He is dealing with. The Comforter is the Holy Ghost (Jn 14:26), but the Spirit of Truth is the New Man, or Another Comforter (Jn 14:17 & I Jn 4:1-4). There is also the Spirit of God, which points to the entire Report, as the Father, Word and Holy Ghost, thus Paul said we are Baptized, or brought into the Body by the Spirit of God, so we could obtain the Spirit which is of God.
The term Spirit is also defined as an invisible element projected from the character, temperament, essence, or nature, in the New Testament we find many areas relating to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, the Word, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit, the New Man, Another Comforter, all pointing to some function regarding the Spirit in us. In respect to God we know there is the Holy Ghost, thus He is the invisible projection of God’s Holiness, the essence of God’s Nature, as the display of God’s Character; therefore, Paul tells us the New Man is the result of the New Birth (created or formed; same Greek word) after God’s True Holiness and Righteousness (Eph 4:24). We are not raised by the Holy Ghost, but we are raised by the Spirit. The Spirit rested on Jesus, but the Holy Ghost filled Him. The Spirit represented the goal of the ministry, the Holy Ghost the ability.
The term Spirit is also defined as the vital principle by which the body is animated (active), but it would be more the outward appearance of something related to the expression of the soul at the moment. Adam was active, but he was a Living Soul, not a Living Spirit. In the Old Testament there are several words translated as Spirit, in Genesis 1:2 the Spirit hovered over the waters, the word Spirit there is the Hebrew Ruwach, which is the word most often associated with Spirit. There is an “evil spirit”, the “spirit of jealousy”, and so on, all types of the essence of a person being displayed by their personality, or character.
The term “Holy Spirit” is much different, it’s not commonly used, rather it’s only used seven times in the entire Bible, three times in the Old (Ps 51:11, Isa 63:10 & 63:11), and four times in the New (Luke 11:13, Eph 1:13, 4:30 & I Thess 4:8). Since Luke was Paul’s scribe we find the term Holy Spirit is a Pauline phrase, but one of great importance. Giving us a better definition of Holy Spirit: it becomes the essence or ability of being Born Again. Whereas the spirit of man is the spirit lusting to envy, thus the ability of the spirit of man is based on the lust to envy, but the “Spirit of Christ” is based on the ability of Christ. The same is true with the “Spirit of Truth”, truth becomes the functional ability, yet Jesus is Truth. The New Man is known as the Spirit of Christ, Holy Spirit, Greater He, Another Comforter, the Word, Spirit of Truth, all depending on the position, or Authority being used. Therefore, Paul doesn’t tell us the Holy Ghost raised Jesus, rather he uses the title “Spirit of Holiness” (Rom 1:14). It would be the same difference as the Spirit of God, and the Spirit which is of God. The Spirit of Holiness is the essence of the Witness, thus we find the Spirit of God bears witness with our Spirit (Spirit which is of God) saying we are sons of God. The Holy Ghost doesn’t bear witness, rather the entire Report as God is Spirit bears witness to the New Man indicating the purpose for us being Born Again is to be a son of God.
Of course we could say the translators all got together and figured if they used the title Holy Spirit seven times it would show the completed Image of God is the New Birth. However we know better, it’s another mystery opened by the Holy Ghost. Over the years the concept of the “Holy Spirit” has seemed to be used with more frequency than it was in the Bible, but when we examine the usages in the Bible we find the title is very special. It’s given only to the “sons of God”, who are being formed into the Image of God’s Son by the self same Spirit.
Since Psalm 51:11 is the first place the title Holy Spirit is used, we should begin there. When we put Psalm 51:11 with 51:10 we find it relates to the New Testament, Jesus said from the heart comes no good thing, Paul said we must believe from our heart; the only way both can be right is if God creates in us a New Heart, one capable of believing the Resurrection of Jesus based on first hand experience, indicating why Paul said, “Spirit of Holiness”. The word “create” in Psalm 51:10 is the Hebrew Bara, which we know means to make something from nothing, thus showing the New Heart is not the old heart made New, it’s so New it was never before, Paul called it circumcised without hands, as a removal of flesh then the induction of Spirit (Col 2:11). We find the plea of Psalm 51:11 is “take not Thy Holy Spirit from me”, it’s not taking the Holy Ghost, or Spirit of God, but the Seed sown; relating to the ability of the New Man, making it a request for God to keep us on the path of Grace, no matter what it takes. Jude reflected on this, by telling us there are those not able to hold to the Spirit because they separated themselves, thus separating oneself, and being separated are different (Jude 19). Did they separate themselves from the love of God? Paul said as long as they are in Christ No, but he didn’t say, “from the Spirit” (Rom 8:35). He also said there were those, through their own unbelief, who separate themselves, as the branches cut off (Rom 11:20). The wording shows we may separate ourselves from the Spirit, but it doesn’t mean God refuses to love us, God will continue to reach out to bring us back. In the parable of the Sower we find all sorts of grounds, some rejected the Seed sown, some accepted it. It’s the context of Psalm 51:11, the request is made in the Psalm, we accept it, keeping us conjoined to the Spirit in us.
When we put it all together it does show us the New Birth is a very precious gift. The spirit of man listens to the things of the world, or is involved in the affairs of natural man, showing the spirit of man knows the things of man, but is completely ignorant of the things of the Spirit of God, which pertain to the old man (I Cor 2:11-12). The old heart of flesh was incapable of truly believing in the Resurrection, since it feared death (Heb 2:14-15). However, the Spirit of God knows the deep things of God, as well as the things of man, thus the only way anyone is going to know the things of God is by having the Spirit which is of God. Therefore, we heard the Gospel, asked for the Holy Spirit of promise, the Holy Ghost brought the Seed, we received a New Heart, meaning we received a Spirit conducive to God’s Spirit. From there the Process of growth began until we were Born Again, as the Process to become spiritual in nature began, each step brings us closer to being Spirit in nature as our souls remain conjoined to the Spirit. Our souls were conjoined to the flesh for years, we acted fleshly, concerned ourselves about worldly fleshly matters, because the flesh is earthly. When we received the Spirit our thought process is being changed to spiritual matters, thus the Holy Ghost doesn’t teach us by comparing natural with spiritual, or spiritual with natural, but spiritual with spiritual.
Once God created the New Heart in us the path was opened, our prayer of, “not my will but Your will be done”, was the same as saying, “Take not Your Holy Spirit from me”. The premise calls for a prerequisite, one must have the Holy Spirit before they can say, “take not Your Holy Spirit from me”. If this was an impossible task, why even say it? It’s the same Holy Ghost who brings the Seed, who moved the scribe to write the words. This is simply saying God will not some day say, “you know what? I think I will take the Spirit away from them”, just as we know He won’t say, “I separate you from My love”. The Psalm gives us a positive statement, if we receive it. We will drift from time to time, we will be enticed, we will make mistakes, but we will repent and continue on in the process. God is not going to take His Love, or the Holy Spirit from us, rather it’s we who can separate ourselves, yet it’s not an easy chore, one must work continually, or be a “worker of iniquity”. Our prayer is for God do what is necessary to keep us joined to the Spirit, if exposure, so be it, if a wilderness, so be it, whatever it takes to bring us to the result of our faith, even the salvation of our souls (I Pet 1:9).
The only way we are going to know the Will of God is by the Spirit in us, but having the Spirit and being Spiritual are different (I Cor 2:9-14). The evidence is of course the Corinthians, they had the Spirit, but were not Spiritual. The Corinthians were carnal, yet to be carnal minded is death, because a carnal mind is an enemy of the Spirit (I Cor 3:14 & Rom 8:6). The Corinthians were in a dangerous position, using natural carnal reasoning, or natural intellect to define spiritual matters; yet they had the Spirit, but were so carnal it proved they were not in the Process, how could they be Justified if Paul said they retained envy?
Psalm 51:12 points to the New Testament in the phrase, “Restore unto me the Joy of Thy Salvation”, truly Salvation is a New Testament resource, yet we also find it’s not “restore unto me Salvation”, but the “Joy”, which is found in being Born Again. With this addition we find even when we lose our joy, even when we want to give up, the prayer of “take not Your Holy Spirit from me” continues on, until we are Restored by Grace. In Psalm 51:12 the Hebrew word for Salvation is Yesha, it means Salvation, Prosperity, Peace or Safety. In the New Testament the word would be Eirene translated as Peace, it too relates, but it doesn’t mean Salvation, rather it means A state of tranquilly (exempt from rage or havoc), safety, prosperity, while not fearing God is destroying us, yet holding a healthy fear of God based on our respect for God and His Covenant.
Isaiah 63:10-11 is a prophetic verse, the circumstances also relate to the Book of Hebrews, as well as Paul’s teaching in Ephesians. It would almost appear Moses was Born Again, but it’s not the case, as evidenced in John 7:38-39. However, from the wording in Psalm 51, “rebelled and vexed His Holy Spirit”, then “Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within him”, we find this is not “within them”, but “him”, as in a relationship. The metaphor “sea” points to the Gentiles, rather than the Jews as the sand of the sea. Paul told the Ephesians, “ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph 1:13), then “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God” (Eph 4:30). The word Grieve is the Greek Lupeo meaning to make sorrowful, or to bring sadness. The Hebrew word for Vexed is Atsab meaning to Grieve, also going back to “take not Your Holy Spirit from me”. In this case we find the Holy Spirit will not be taken, rather if we grieve the Holy Spirit, yet He will turn and become our enemy. We grieve the Holy Spirit by disrespecting the Gift, such as doing the works of the spirit of man which consists of using unbelief, corrupt words against members of the Body, or by walking in carnal ways, while claiming to be a “child of God”. Jude also said there are those who twist the Grace of God into lasciviousness, a form of envy (Jude 4). The use of the children in the wilderness is akin to us in the Body, the same premise Paul used with the Corinthians (I Cor 10:1-11).
Luke 11:13 shows the title “Holy Spirit” refers to the New Birth, thus Isaiah 63:10-11 is prophetic, like many prophetic areas it points to an actual historical event, yet projects the event to the future. The children failed to believe, Jesus said we in the Body must continue to believe to fit “shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). Isaiah 63:9 shows God “saved” the children, the same context Jude uses (Jude 5), yet they rebelled against the Spirit of God, or better the purpose for God saving them from Egypt, thus defining the phrase as prophetic in nature. We are Saved form the world to the have the Spirit in order to reach Salvation, we in the Body as a wilderness experience, thus belief and faith are mainstays to our walk.
Isaiah 63:8 and 63:9 really don’t match what God did with the children, but the verses do match what God does with us. In verse 8 we find the word “Savior”, which is the Hebrew Yasha meaning One who saves, it was used to show one saved from moral troubles and conflicts, confirming the definition of Holy Spirit. In Isaiah 63:9 the word Saved refers to the act, not the person doing it, or the person saved. The Hebrew Yasha is the prime word for the Greek Hosanna, thus God did save the children from Egypt, but it wasn’t the completed venture, the purpose was to get them into the Promised Land. The prophet speaking about the wilderness shows a place between places, much like the Body, thus the use of the Hebrew Yasha would be more fitting if they had entered the Promised Land, rather than the Wilderness; therefore, it’s more of a prophetic utterance to a people yet to come, yet connecting to the failure of the children in the wilderness as a warning for the people to come. This is confirmed in the last place in the Bible where we find the title Holy Spirit. In First Thessalonians 4:8 we read, “He therefore who despises (rejects), despises (rejects) not man, but God, Who has also given unto us His Holy Spirit”. This also defines the Holy Spirit as the Word in us; thus the Holy Spirit is the New Man, who holds the True Holiness and Righteousness of God, the very products it takes to be Justified by God.
Since the attack against the Holy Spirit was rebellion based on unbelief, we should know rebellion is an act against authority, it’s not the same as usurping authority. Rebellion uses a lower authority in an attempt to overthrow a higher authority. Usurping authority is using the authority of another; both are dangerous, rebellion more so.
Since the New Man is the Holy Spirit created (formed) after God’s True Holiness and Righteousness (Eph 4:24), it stands the New Man is completely incapable of doing evil, being unholy, unrighteous, or telling us to commit acts against the principles of God. The goal of the New Man is to save our souls in a Lawful manner pleasing to the Spirit of God. However, it’s not a one prayer endeavor, it’s a Process, since the New Man is the Word in us is being engrafted (James 1:21). The New Man is the voice of the Lord in us, the New Man hears from ABBA Father, then tells us what He heard. The Law of Moses was a barrier between the people and God, the New Man is joining God to man.
When our souls enter the Justification process the Spirit in us becomes the element God uses to deal with us, thus the Witness is not “flesh, blood and soul”, but Water, Blood and Spirit. It’s the New Man making us sons of God, at times we may not feel holy, but God sees us as holy based on our potential in Christ. The Father is not going to deny His own Ability, just as Jesus will not deny Himself. The Book of Hebrews confirms this, showing the only way God talks to man in this Season is by Jesus (New Man). No other sect, organization, religious activity hears from God, they hear about Him, but only the Christian has the internal link to the throne of Grace. Surely we are a special people, as Peter points out (I Pet 2:9). It’s nothing to brag in, since bragging would be pride related, negating the purpose, rather it’s something to consider when going through trials and tribulations.
When we engage in self-righteous activity we are independent of the Spirit, but when we walk in God’s Righteousness, we are in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not an automatic injunction into our souls, like any relationship it takes time for the two to be One. Our “natural side” sees it as competition, the same as some do with their marriages, but it’s suppose to be unity unto completeness. Our souls are not competing with the Spirit to determine which one is more holy or righteous, our souls should be in submission to the Spirit knowing where the holiness and righteousness lay. Jesus told us to seek First, above all, the Kingdom of God, which is within, or the product of being Born Again, then seek God’s Righteousness, which keeps us from running off seeking our own. When we have the Spirit, we have the Kingdom of God, but when we walk in the Righteousness of God we have entered the spiritual realm (Luke 17:20-21).
We read where we have access by the Faith of Jesus, yet we know we have our measure of faith. The Faith of Jesus is proven, He sits at the right hand side of Majesty on High; our Measure of faith is important, but it’s nonetheless earthly, making it incapable of obtaining the Promise (Heb 11:39). However, we read we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise (Eph 1:13). The same Spirit who raised Jesus, will raise us, yet the ability was not presented to us until after the Ascension. Putting all this together we find the Faith of Jesus saw beyond the Cross, Grave and Resurrection, His faith was not afraid of death, rather it reached to the conclusion, making it possible for us to apply our measure of faith by the New Man to walk the same path the Faith of Jesus left for us.
All a person is, can be summed up in: What does their character tell you? Are they nice? Are they corrupt? Are they helpful? Are they deceitful? Are they a hindrance? Are they full of Mercy? Are they the personification of Love? What Confession does their way of life tell you? What do their words tell you? The Word of our Testimony is not what we say, it’s what others say about us. We often think of niceness, or bitterness, or happy, or sad as projections of a person’s personality, but the source of the personality is the person’s character. If one is more prone to anger, than they are to being happy, we know not to rock their boat. If one is more inclined to be concerned about others, than they are their self, we identify them by the attribute of Mercy. If one lies about everything, or everyone, or if they unteachable, nasty, arrogant and prideful we can identify them to the spirit of man. If a person can never admit they are wrong, or unwilling to change, we know they are stubborn, guided by the wrong spirit. The New Birth is more than enhancing our nature, it’s a New Nature, the same nature as Jesus, but the New Birth does not give us a new personality, it will bring our personality into the New Nature. The New Birth does not give us a new soul, rather it heals and saves our soul. The Completeness of the “Image of God” is found in the Spiritual Nature of those who are Born Again. The Living Soul is the foundation, it is not the completed Image, if it was, there would be no New Birth.
We are Born Again into the Nature of Christ, we are being Justified by the Spirit of Christ in us, which consists of the washing of the water by the Word with the application of the Blood of Jesus. When we see terms like the “Spirit of Truth”, or “Spirit of Christ” we know they are one in the same, so why not just say “Spirit of Christ”? Because we are reading about a particular function of authority regarding the Spirit, or a part of the Nature pertaining to the function. For instance, if we look at First John we find two very different spirits, as we’re told to “believe not every spirit, but to try them” (I Jn 4:1). From this we can see there are various types of “spirits”, but what is the context of First John? Do we try the spirit in another person? Or do we try the spirit in reference to us? John talks about two brothers, both say they are in the light, but one hates his brother, although he says he is in the light, he is in darkness (I Jn 2:11). John also tells us those who are antichrist came from us, but were not of us (I Jn 2:18-19). Two people in the same realm, one of them has refused the presented Light unto a change in nature by retaining the spirit of man as a coworker. Yet, the allegory shows we must be able to judge the spirit we are using; are we nasty, hateful, bitter, attacking? Wrong spirit. The Spirit we want is the Greater He, the one of the Light.
Being “Anti-Christ” doesn’t mean they are anti-God, or anti-Jesus, they are anti the very anointing bringing a change in nature. They will use intellect as a counterfeit, rather than submit their intellect to the Spirit. It doesn’t necessarily mean they will attack the anointing, it means they refuse it for the “he of the world” which is a product of the spirit of the world. They entered the kingdom of heaven with the exact same opportunity as anyone else, but they refuse to yield to the Spirit, becoming Anti (against, or opposed to) the Anointing unto Salvation (I Jn 2:19 & II Pet 2:18-22).
The kingdom of heaven is a place, the Kingdom of God a personage, we are in the kingdom of heaven, the Kingdom of God is within, thus one can be in the kingdom of heaven, yet not have the Spirit, or refuse to have the Spirit (Rom 8:1, Jude 12, & 22-23 et al). The word Try in I John 4:1 is the Greek Dokimazo, among other things it means To discern, or having the ability to make a distinction between elements. The test is not between fifty spirits, but between two. Do we, or the other person show the attributes of the Greater He, or is it the he of the world? The he of the world is opposed to the Greater He, thus there are elements to identify the “he of the world” as we will see.
Jesus said the Spirit of Truth (Greater He in us) will not speak of Himself, but what He hears He will speak (Jn 16:13). From Whom will He hear? The Holy Ghost will teach us all things, bringing things to our remembrance (Jn 14:26). If the New Man will not speak of Himself, it means He holds the Remembrance. The opposite would of course be the spirit of man promoting natural man, or the person. If someone is bragging on their faith, or prayer life it’s not the Holy Spirit talking. The Holy Ghost teaches by comparing spiritual to spiritual, thus the Holy Ghost is spiritual, the Holy Spirit is spiritual, the comparison is between the two, giving us the test of the Spirit. If the words spoken by us or the other person are not conducive to the Holy Ghost, they are using the wrong spirit.
The he in the world uses the things of the world as religious counterfeits, it brings fears or concerns about the world into the Kingdom. Surely we can discern those elements; however, the deception of the spirit lusting to envy makes it somewhat more difficult to detect. It may sound wise, almost right, but the direction is not, it promotes the flesh, or the self. John tells us there are many false prophets who have gone out into the world, but if they went out into the world, does it mean they came from us? Yes, since First John 2:19 says they did, thus the test is between the Spirit of Christ as the Greater He, or the spirit of error as the he in the world (I Jn 4:1-4 & I Cor 2:12). The he of the world is used by the spirit of the world, thus the spirit of the world is opposed to the Spirit which is of God. If one listens to the spirit of the world they may be religious, but void of the Spirit; they center their religion on the flesh, yet they consider spiritual matters foolishness. Those who have the Spirit of Christ will confess (a life style or nature) Jesus Christ has come in their flesh (I Jn 4:2). Does this mean they will say Jesus Christ appeared in the flesh? No, it means we as people will confess by our life style and nature the Spirit of Truth is Jesus in us. The same Spirit of Truth is called by John the “Greater He” (I Jn 4:2-4), thus the Victory is having the Greater He in us. The spirit of antichrist is the result of someone attempting to use the spirit of the world in a religious manner. They are not demon possessed, they have retained a nature opposed to the spiritual matters of God. On the other hand if one retains the spirit of man, they are ignorant of the spiritual things of God, as were the Corinthians.
John also says everyone who believes Jesus is the Christ, is born of God (I Jn 5:1). This is why the disciples before the Cross were not allowed to tell anyone about Jesus as the Christ of the Cross and Resurrection. No one can legally, or honestly confess Jesus as Lord, but by the Holy Ghost (I Cor 12:3). Anyone who talks by the Spirit of Christ in them, whether in new tongues, unknown tongues, prophecy, or any spiritual manifestation never calls Jesus accursed (I Cor 12:3). Therefore, we find after the Rapture if anyone says “here is Christ”, or “there is Christ” it would be illegal, they are not to be believed. However, in this Season we point to our hearts and say, “Here is Christ”, thus if we have the Spirit of Christ allowing us to make a lawful Godly confession. Two seasons, one for the Holy Spirit unto Salvation, the other unto Judgment.
The person who says they are in the Body, yet slanders, lies, uses deception, or continually uses the wiles of the devil to get their way would be run by the spirit of man, but if they come against the anointing (Holy Ghost) they are of the spirit of the world, the same spirit is called the spirit of antichrist (I Jn 4:3 & I Cor 2:12). The “spirit of error” refers to the error of using natural means to define spiritual matters, thus the spirit of antichrist is a flesh centered nature, yet it’s not New, rather it’s the refusal to accept the New. The spirit of antichrist trusts in the self by using the wisdom of the world, but the Spirit of Christ removes the Self, while using the Wisdom of God; the spirit of antichrist uses self-promotion, the Spirit of Christ promotes Jesus. The Spirit of Christ is attached to the Fruit of the Spirit, the spirit of antichrist is attached to worldly lusts (I Jn 2:16). Therefore, it’s important for us to study the Holy Spirit, by allowing the Greater He in us to gain the victory over the spirit of man.
One of the first things we see in reference to First John is how he correlates the “Spirit of Truth” to the “Greater He” in us (I Jn 4:1-4). We are a people who have the Power of the Resurrection birthed in us; the same Spirit who raised Jesus will raise us (Rom 1:3-4 & 8:11). Jesus as God the Son holds the combined Authority of the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost. Jesus told us to go in His Authority, but He also tells us to Tarry for the Power from on High to carry out the Authority; the Power is the New Man, by the Holy Ghost.
Since the inception of the Church there has been one thing separating the Body of Christ from all the religions in the world, the constant Witness of the Holy Ghost proving the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus is real, coupled with the ability to impute the old nature dead to acquire the New Birth. However, we all know sometimes things go awry, but it doesn’t mean personal Recovery or Revival can’t take place. Really, when things go awry it’s time for Recovery, or internal Revival. The basis for the Holy Ghost giving the Palmist the saying, “take not Thy Holy Spirit from me”, is based on this very issue. We may turn from the New Man, we may run from the New Man, but as long as it’s Day, God will not take the Spirit from us. Jude shows there are some, few as they may be who separate themselves, meaning they are unable to hold to the Spirit, but it’s not God’s doing, we have the Keys. In order to separate ourselves we must work continually at holding to the he in the world, not an easy task considering the Greater He is Greater.
It was once said, “the only difference between the New Testament and the Old is the Holy Ghost”. It’s like saying the only difference between life and death is breathing, without the Breath we are dead, plain and simple. The Holy Ghost was manifested to mankind based on Jesus being Glorified, yet the Holy Ghost also planted the Seed unto the New Birth, which is our means of Salvation called Grace. Grace has a Purpose, it changes our nature into the Image, by making us sons of God.
Before Pentecost there were wars, but not in a constant state, or worldwide. Wars, rumors of wars, pestilence and famine are reproving the world continually, they show the nature of man is still based on the spirit of man. As strange as it may seem, as long as there are wars and rumors of wars we know it is yet Day, the time for either Jew or Gentile to be separated from the world, by becoming members of the Kingdom. However, when the Holy Ghost went out to Sow the Word, the Beast of the Sea also generated the spirit of the world to invade the Body, to discredit the Christ nature, or as John says, “the spirit of antichrist”, the spirit of man is not the problem, the spirit of the world is. John also told us the love of the world, is not conducive to God (I Jn 2:15), since the world is made up from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life (I Jn 2:16). Therefore, the spirit of man knows the things of man, but the spirit of the world loves the things of the world.
Natural man has a connection to his surroundings, the flesh, formed of the earth. All the way back in Genesis we recall how God formed the flesh of man from the elements of the earth, then God breathed the breath of life into man, making man a Living Soul. The flesh of man is earthly; if the earth could visit other planets, then man could, if the earth couldn’t, then man can’t, unless man takes the atmosphere of the earth with him. We know this to be true, no one walked on the moon in a jogging outfit, they had to have the same earthly air in order to breath. God did not take man to heaven to give him the breath; no, it was all done here on the earth. The Living Soul is great, but it’s still earth bound, not heaven loosed. On the other hand the Power from on High brought the Passport to heaven in the New Birth.
We as Christians are called to a life style by a character through a Nature within us working in us 24 hours a day, this Nature is granted in the Spirit, yet the old nature was in the process of forming us into what it wanted. The Spirit given us through the New Birth has a main purpose, to save our souls, yet this is a Covenant, it still takes our cooperation in the Process. Not works of the flesh, but faith, belief, and obedience, which are enemies to the old nature, but points of victory for us.
Under the Law of Moses man had written elements he could see, then he could force himself to follow those rules, but it was hardly a Nature, rather it was a means to control the flesh to a point. Doing things by Nature means we do them without thinking, Jesus went about doing Good, not because He had to think about what “good” was, rather it was His Nature (Acts 10:38). The same Nature is ours in the Process of Grace, whether we know it or not we do good things without thinking about them. When we have to sit down and think about what “a good work” is, we will also want some recognition for our “good works”. The old nature will do all sorts of things, yet it does them for self-glory through self-righteousness. The New Nature does things as Jesus would, as a way of life by the New nature. This nature change is something we submit to, we know there is a change going on; based on some of the “old things” we simply don’t what to do anymore, we lost the desire by imputing the flesh dead on the Cross. The old saying, “Well God made me this way”, may or may not be true. If we’re talking about the old nature, God didn’t make us that way, rather God is trying to save us from the old nature. If we’re talking about the Spirit of Christ in us, then Yes, God did make us that way.
Any of us can fall into the trap of carnal religious thinking, supposing we’re the ones who make the change possible. Cult systems exist on three pillars, one is faulty end-time thinking, another is self-righteousness, the last is their writings which they hold above the Bible; all are based in self-righteousness making them think they can make their own change in behavior, but it’s a change in habits, not nature. Self-righteousness is a primary danger to the Christian, thus we are told to seek the Righteousness of God. Paul tells us the Jews were so involved in seeking self-righteousness, they missed the Righteousness of God (Rom 10:1-4). We can have a Zeal for God, yet if we are using self-righteousness as our means, we are still self-driven, ending none the better.
It’s true, before Jesus came as the Word made flesh, self-righteousness was all man had, but Jesus put an end to self-righteousness. Therefore, self-righteousness produces a haughtiness; since it’s flesh related it also produces religious conceit. Using elements of the self produces a deceptive religious nature, causing the commandment Thou shall not covet to fall; we are accounted as dead by the Law, but not by the Cross. Why? Without the Spirit we will use the flesh, yet the flesh is governed by the spirit lusting to envy, thus Envy and Covetousness are bound one to the other. The deception is thinking we’re holy and righteous because of our fleshly deeds, when in fact we are flesh based, unable to do the will of the Spirit. Not good, not good at all.
The problem with self-righteousness is we change the outside, but deep inside the rage of the wild unsaved soul still exists. The mask then becomes what we believe we are, although we have made a self-transformation appearing as righteousness, inside the old man reigns (II Cor 11:13-15). We begin to believe the lie, but those who truly have the Spirit discern the mask, just as Paul did (II Cor 10:7 & 10:13-14).
Jesus told us to seek First the Kingdom of God, and His Righteousness; First John tells us the Blood of Jesus is cleaning us from all unrighteousness (I Jn 1:7-9) adding all unrighteousness is sin (I Jn 5:17). The flesh has a potential to seek it’s own righteousness in order to gain the feeling, but it’s an affront to the Righteousness of God, thus the Righteousness of God is the ability to come boldly to the throne of Grace as a holder of Grace, something taking the same Righteousness Jesus holds (Heb 1:8).
The New Birth grants us many things, the Spirit of Christ, the Righteousness of Jesus, the Holiness of the Father, the awareness and clarity of God’s Wisdom, and many more things, all of which no man was privy to until Jesus was glorified by the Resurrection (Jn 7:37-39). Our time in the time of man is special, the world may appear upside down, inside out, but it’s the world, the Kingdom of God is right side up as it cleans us from the inside out.
We are birthed by the Seed of God given by the Holy Ghost, we are not birthed into the Holy Ghost. We can also be “filled with the Holy Ghost” giving us a type of division and power to deal with the masses, yet one can be filled, but not have the Holy Spirit. The proof is John the Baptist, he was filled with the Holy Ghost, but he was not Born Again. The Holy Spirit is the birthed product, Paul defines the “manifestation of the Spirit” as those one on one events, but he defines the “operations” of God as the things done in the gathering (I Cor 12:6-11 & 12:28). In Acts the disciples were Born Again, then prayed for boldness to speak the Word and heal regarding the masses, then they were filled with the Holy Ghost (Acts 4:29-31). Jude told us to pray in the Holy Ghost to build our most holy faith (Jude 20), but we also pray in the Spirit (I Cor 14:15). The only way we are going to pray in the Holy Ghost is by having the Spirit within, but it doesn’t mean we pray in the Spirit to reach the Holy Ghost. When we pray in the Holy Ghost it’s for the masses, defined for us in Jude 21-23. We pray to build our faith, not begin it, the purpose is to keep us in Love and Mercy so we can be an example to others, thus giving us the ability to toss the Net. Of course we don’t become “judges of the catch”; on some we will make a difference, yet others will refuse to release their spotted garment, nonetheless we pull them into the Rock, granting them opportunity (Jude 22-23).
The Holy Ghost is part of the Record in heaven, the Holy Spirit (New Man) is part of the Witness on earth. The Water in the Witness connects to the Mercy of the Father in the Record, the Blood in the Witness connects to the Word in the Record (I Jn 5:7-8). There is no Manifestation of the Holy Ghost, but there is the manifestation of the Spirit. There are gifts differing for each Born Again Believer as actions of Grace, or better the Charisma of Charis, making the person Charismatic. These are the attributes of being Born Again, or character traits of the New Man, found in Romans 12:6-21 as prophecy, not the Office, rather it fits with First Corinthians 14:3. Any prophecy in this regard is always according to the “proportion” of faith (Rom 12:6). The word Proportion is the Greek Analogia, meaning the Distribution of the Logos, or within the confines of the purpose of the Faith. It is not to enhance the ego, or exalt the person above measure; it will not lead one away from the Lord. The next is ministry, this type of ministry is being able to assist the person on the path of Righteousness (Rom 12:7). Then, teaching on teaching, and there are two different words for Teaching used here, the first teaching is the Greek Didasko meaning To impart instruction, the second Teaching is the Greek Didaskalia meaning What is taught, or the Doctrine, thus this would match teach only the things of the Spirit. This is not the office of teacher, although the call is the same, this is the ability to teach in a one on one discipleship in accordance with the Doctrine of Christ. Next is Exhorting, in accordance with the purpose of Exhortation; the word Exhorting (Exhorteth in KJV) is the Greek Parakaleo meaning to call to ones side, to pray for, or entreat. Yet, the Greek word for Exhortation is Paraklesis meaning Admonition, or A persuasive stirring address, meaning to build the person in Christ, even if it takes a rebuke. Next is giving with simplicity, the word Simplicity is the Greek Haplotes meaning without hypocrisy, coupled with an honest heart based in generosity. Then ruling with diligence, as being an example. Then showing Mercy, we already know the meaning of Mercy. The other areas show how the character of Christ operates, it is not slothful in business, rejoices in hope, is patient in tribulation, continues instant in prayer, takes care of the saints, thus showing the Charisma of Charis pertains to saints caring for saints (Rom 12:13). In reference to the dealings with people the Christ character blesses when persecuted, it will always bless and curse not, it will rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep, it will not “mind the high things” nor seek superiority over people, nor to dominate people, it will recompense to no man evil for evil, it will not avenge itself, it will not be overcome with evil, but it will overcome evil with good. (Rom 12:6-21). An interesting attribute of God’s Wisdom is seen as “full of mercy” (James 3:17), linking the Charisma to Wisdom.
The Manifestation is based in the same Spirit (New Man), this is how Jesus is manifested by the Spirit in us, or proving Jesus in our flesh (I Cor 12:7-11 & I Jn 4:1-4). The area in Romans 12 is for the saints, by the saints, the Manifestation is by the saint, for anyone in need. The Charisma of Charis is a nature, in the realm of the Manifestation we can have one manifestation, then nothing, or many at one time on any day of the week, then nothing. The Spirit will manifest when needed: a word of wisdom tells the person how God desires for them to deal with an event or person. A word of knowledge is information regarding something, or someone. The Faith noted is not some super faith in us, rather it’s when we speak the Rhema and faith comes to the person we are speaking to. The Gifts (plural) of healing (singular) refer to many gifts, but one healing, indicating physical, mental, or even casting out a devil, which is a healing, thus a healing is a restoration. In the operations of God we find gifts (plural) of healings (plural), but it’s for the gathering, the manifestation is for those one on one contacts (I Cor 12:28 & 12:9). A miracle is producing something where there is no basis, receiving the Spirit is a good example of a miracle. We had no basis upon which to receive, we imputed the flesh dead on the Cross then believed we received. Prophecy in this regard is the same as the one found in Romans 12, but rather than saint to saint, it’s saint to whomever. The discerning of spirits is the awareness of the spirit the person is using, or the spirit using them. An example of this is would be the sorcerer Elymas who was not demon possessed, but was nonetheless using the spirit of man (Acts 13:6). Then we find tongues with interpretation are by the Spirit (I Cor 12:10, 14:1-2). The Manifestation is for every Born Again saint in the Body, it is not an office, it is an attribute of the Spirit in us brining the Witness of Jesus.
How then does the wondrous thing called Grace come to us? It begins with an Authority centered on Life coupled with the proof of the Resurrection. By the completely innocent death of Jesus we find Life, yet no one can be Resurrected until they first die. In truth the proof of the Resurrection is having the Spirit in us. We are in a win-win situation by the Authority of Jesus through the Power granted by the Holy Ghost. The very Name of Jesus is so special we have missed much of what it stands for. There are religions in the world who presume they are the only way, but they don’t have the Name (Authority) to grant them the Way. The Name of Jesus refers to the Authority, Jesus said there is only One Authority whereby anyone can claim the Spirit of God. The Authority is all God, “name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost”, which became joined for the Body in the One Authority Jesus gave us, thus we don’t have to guess at which Name of God we should use, we know it’s the Name of Jesus.
Today more than ever we need to understand what God is doing in our lives, as well what He is doing in the Body of Christ, and why He is doing it. It’s simple to figure out what God is doing in the world, He’s still reproving it, but what is going on in the Body? With each passing day we are closer to the Rapture, is there something God is doing right now to draw us closer to Him? Yes, but what is it? Is there also a falling away from the faith? If so, what does it entail?
The Holy Ghost will not teach us things opposed to the Bible, but He will, and does teach us things which expand the Bible in our lives by the Proceeding Word. The Holy Ghost converses with the Spirit, thus it’s spiritual compared to spiritual, as the Spirit teaches us, while forming our souls into the spiritual. The Bible is like an onion, each layer opens up something special, but the context never changes. The onion will not change to an apple, nor will it run off to hide itself. Paul told us eye has no seen, not ear heard, neither has entered the heart of man, the things which has prepared for them who love Him, but God has revealed them to us by His Spirit (I Cor 2:9-10). Which Spirit? The Spirit of God through the Holy Ghost to the Spirit which is of God. God desires for all His children to know all about Him, but the method He has designed is by the Spirit.
The ultimate purpose for the Holy Spirit is the saving of our souls, but what does it entail? Often it seems like our minds reach to the breaking point, our faith seems to be right at the border where we cry out, ”I don’t know who I am anymore!”. Guess what? We never did, who we thought we were, we found out we were not, but like Peter in the last chapter of John we had to reach Clarity of who we were, in order to grab God’s vision regarding who we can be in Christ.
When we found who we really were, we just gave up, or finally reached a place where we stopped attempting to control God, as we finally submitted to the Process. For the most part we had no idea we were fighting God, we thought it was the devil. We held to the junk we brought out of Egypt, but when the event didn’t please us, we got mad, then attacked. We knew there was a Process, we wanted God to do it, but we wanted Him to do it our way. Sin has no power over us when we receive the Cross, but it’s not the power of sin becoming the problem, rather it’s the tares, hurts, wiles and deeds of the flesh; there is a transfiguration process from the flesh to the Spirit defined as warfare.
The Mirror of God is a means God uses to expose those things hidden in us, but most of the time God uses an elephant to expose the flea. The natural mind could mistake the flea for the elephant, but the purpose of exposure is so we can see what others see, then submit to the cleaning of the Blood of Jesus, coupled with the washing of the Water by the Word. We see or hear someone, then off goes the alarm inside, “If ever I hate anything it’s their attitude”, yet the elephant just exposed the flea. It’s time to deal with it, it’s time to be free of some Ishmael, or Pharaoh trait we brought with us. God will expose in many ways, but it’s up to us to see the exposure before correction can be established.
Two very important areas must be taken into consideration before one ventures into a study of the Spirit. In John 7:39 we read, “But this spoke He of the Spirit which they who believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified”. It would appear the Holy Ghost was not active in Old Testament times, which we know is not the case, since Peter says the men of Old were moved by the Holy Ghost to write the words (II Pet 1:21). What we do find, is the Holy Ghost was not known to the men of Old, rather the title is specific to the New Testament. When Elisabeth saw Mary the Holy Ghost filled Elisabeth, but she didn’t know it was the Holy Ghost (Luke 1:39-45). With Mary the Holy Ghost “came upon her”, or overshadowed her (Luke 1:35). Yet in John we read, the Holy Ghost had not yet been given, indicating the Holy Ghost had not yet given the Spirit. The key to John 7:39 is the wording, “should receive”, not has received. Jesus was glorified by the Resurrection, thus anyone after the time until the close of the Day has the opportunity to be Born Again. The spirit of man came about as a result of the fall nature, the spirit of the world didn’t come about until the Holy Ghost began to reprove the world, thus the Beast of the Sea sent the “he of the world” into the Body as the tares to oppose, or slander the work of the Holy Ghost in the Body.
Does the Spirit come with water baptism? No, in Acts the Holy Ghost brought the Gift to Cornelius with the signs following, then Peter said, “can any man forbid water”, then he baptized them in water under the Authority granted by Jesus (Acts 10:45-47). Peter later defined the experience Cornelius had as being baptized with the Holy Ghost, what could Peter do, but accept Cornelius into the Body by water baptism (Acts 11:15-16). Another example is Simon, who believed the signs, was water baptized, but was rejected when it came to the baptism with the Holy Ghost (Acts 8:13 & 8:18-25). No one could receive the Holy Spirit until there was a God granted basis allowing them to impute the old nature dead, in order to gain the power of the Resurrection. Paul shows us the Spirit of Christ is a product of the Spirit of God, if we don’t have the Spirit we are no part of God (Rom 8:9-11).
In John 1:12-13 we read, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He Power to become sons of God, even to them who believe on His name: which were Born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”. This shows the means to be a “son of God” is to be Born Again by the Power from on High, meaning one must haves the Spirit in order to be spiritual in nature. Then in Luke 11:13 we find the result of the Gift by the Holy Ghost is the Holy Spirit, or “Spirit Holy”, whichever, it’s still the New Man. From the verses we find one had to Believe on the Name of Jesus, yet Jesus had to be Glorified by the Resurrection before anyone could be Born Again. How is anyone going to get the Spirit to be a son of God, before the Spirit declared Jesus as the Son of God? In the Old Testament a “son of God” pointed to someone who worshipped God, in the New it means one who can worship God in Spirit and Truth, by the Spirit of Truth.
Once the Cross and Resurrection took place the basis for one to Believe in the Cross and Resurrection was presented. Belief is based on information or experience of an event or person in the past, faith reaches to the future hope, yet both have their power in the Now. However, in order for one to truly believe Jesus was raised from the dead they needed the Same Spirit who declared Jesus raised from the dead. Which takes a “cutting away” of the old nature, known metaphorically as the “circumcision of heart”, then bringing a New Heart making a New Creation, as in never before.
How do we rid ourselves of the flesh, to obtain the power of the Resurrection? By imputing, but in order to “impute” the things of God one needs something presented by God, plus God’s permission. In our case it begins at the Cross, we impute, or account ourselves dead on the Cross of Jesus, thus completing the purpose of the Law of Moses (sin and death), yet we find Jesus Lives, thus we live by Him as His Body. To assure us the imputing is real, Jesus gave us His Body to operate in. This action is termed, “picking up our cross”, so do we drop down dead? No, by the Cross of Jesus we gain the result of the Victory through faith. Although we are not dead, we are calling something yet to be as an is by the Cross of Jesus. Jesus died in physical death on the Cross, if not we have no basis to impute the flesh dead, yet in truth Jesus didn’t die, His flesh did. Jesus through death defeated him who had the power of death, that is the devil (Heb 2:14); once death is accounted, the same premise holds for us, we defeated death, by death. Then comes the grave to begin the process of removing the things of death, then the Power from on High based on the Resurrection to gain the Spirit to live the Life of Christ. The debt we pay is the first death, but the Spirit saves us from the second death.
In Romans Paul defines this area in specifics, by using Abraham as an example. If there are none righteous, how then was Abraham imputed righteous? Answered for us in Romans, God saw the belief of Abraham, then God accounted the belief as righteous, granting Abraham the ability to enter Covenant, so it could be by faith. The man was not righteous, his belief was. Once the righteousness was imputed to the belief, then faith could enter, allowing the Covenant to be presented. Thereby, the Covenant came by belief, but the Promise by faith; however, the Covenant could not come until God viewed Abraham as having right standing to enter Covenant. The same is true with us, by accepting the Cross of Jesus by our belief, we then gain a position where it can be by faith. With Abraham’s Covenant, the basis was still to believe, even to the point of being fully persuaded what God had promised, God was able to do. This carries over to us, if we Believe the Spirit of Truth who raised Jesus, will also raise us (Rom 4:22-24). From there our faith has a knowledge foundation to reach to the hope set before us.
In Hebrews 10:38-39 we find the just live by faith, it’s the just who hold, “unto the saving of our soul”. The Greek word for saved is not Sozo or Soteria, but Peripoiesis meaning To redeem a purchased possession. When we accepted the Cross of Jesus with all the conditions, Jesus purchased our soul, then the Holy Ghost gave us the Spirit to secure us into the Covenant, thus the Spirit is redeeming (saving) our souls.
The New Birth is not a re-born dead spirit, it would not be a “birth”. The New Birth is so New it was never before, thus Grace to the New Testament saint is not like the grace found in the Old Testament, rather Grace and Truth came with Jesus (Jn 1:14). Through the Born Again experience we move from grace to Grace. Just as we were not “flesh” before conception, we were not Spirit before the Seed of God (Spirit) was planted. Paul called the product of the New Birth the “New Man”, John called it the “Greater He” in us, Jesus termed Him “Another Comforter”, Luke called Him the ”Holy Spirit”, the same Spirit is also termed the Spirit of Truth, the Word in us, or Spirit of Christ. The purpose is to bring our souls into a Spiritual condition as the soul and Spirit become One, thus, when the time comes to receive our Resurrected Bodies, it will be a translation, not a wreck.
The Scriptures say the first Adam was a “living soul”, not a quickening spirit. If Adam had a spirit what happened to it? Some tell us it died, but can you kill a “spirit”? If so, God can die. The famed lie of “God is dead” was based on the same misunderstanding, someone said Adam had a spirit but it died, thus God being A Spirit can die as well. Also it would mean the Spirit given us could die, yet we know the Spirit has freed us from the second death by inducing Life into our souls. Adam began the plan, but he is an example of how much we need the Spirit. “Well I heard in the original Hebrew it says God breathed spirit into Adam”. Not so, we have the original Hebrew, it’s still Chay Nephesh, or a living soul or the breath of life, but the term “Ex-Psuche” means the soul out comes, meaning the flesh can no longer exist without a soul. No where in any manuscript, Jewish or Christian, do we find the Hebrew word used mainly for Spirit in conjunction with Adam’s creation. God breathed into Adam, then Adam gained the breath of life, thus Adam had abilities above those of the animals, but he was still a living soul. The fall caused our souls to “enter” death by sin, the Cross removes us from the realm of death and sin; therefore, at the Cross we are given back the Living Soul condition based on the “forgive to forgive” Mercy position; making us sons of men, but the Resurrection Power makes us sons of God.
Although the ability to be Born Again was given in an instant we find some evidences of a change taking place, such as speaking in unknown tongues, or a joy unspeakable, or some other sign deep within, yet the fullness of the New Birth is not instant. There is a growth Process to take place, one explained by Jesus in the Parable of the Sower. Some of us receive the Baptism with the Holy Ghost, speak in other tongues, then immediately think we’ve completed the task. Not so, the Letters to the Corinthians show they were “brethren”, spoke in other tongues, had the Spirit, yet they were not spiritual. When we reach the spiritual stage it means our Nature is more prone to see and do things spiritual in nature, than follow the flesh. Does it mean when we are so spiritual we float around? Not hardly, it means we are becoming Spirit within, not without. This is still a process, thus we may be spiritual now, yet in two minutes carnal, or carnal now, and in two minutes spiritual. Discerning keeps us from calling the carnal, spiritual, or the spiritual, carnal.
The Parable of the Sower shows us the Word is the Seed of God, the Seed is the Spirit of Christ. The Sower is the Holy Ghost, thus the Holy Ghost plants the Seed in us. What about the Process? When the New Man first began the cleaning and saving process we were pleased to see elements go we always wanted to go. We were full of Joy, we Rejoiced, Sang and Danced, we just crossed the Sea. However, three days later we came across some bitter water. What now? Murmur, complain, better off in the world, didn’t know this was part of it, must be the devil. No, the Spirit exposed things we thought were “good”, but were from the wrong nature. We liked the feeling those things brought us, but the feeling was a trap. The biggest is self-righteousness, the “good feeling” we obtained when we did something on our own we termed a, “good deed”. It made us feel special; however, faith comes by hearing, if we haven’t heard, then it’s not faith, it’s the sin of presumption.
James writes to brethren, yet he says they can be led away by a lust. There are lusts hiding in the corners, when it’s time the New Man will allow them to surface, so they can be dwelt with. If the lust of pride comes out as pride, it’s exposed for what it is. However, many lusts are deceptive in nature, they often surface as one thing, when in fact, they are something else. The lust of self-righteousness may surface as the lust to control. We can remove all the apples off the tree, thinking we’re healed, then as more grow, we panic, again we remove the apples, yet they grow again; because the tree remains. We have to allow the Spirit to remove the branches, trunk and root; as we learn to discern.
The flesh gave us “feelings”, but when the Spirit begins to Wash us with the Water, or as the Blood of Jesus begins to clean away the unrighteousness, the flesh will retaliate to show it’s supposed power. At times anger arises to defend the stronghold, with others it’s self-pity. Does the Spirit give up? No, rather the Spirit will bring Clarity by dividing and separating. When we see what God sees, we then join to the Spirit, rather than the flesh. However, we need a teachable, willing mind to accept all God wants for us, whether we understand it or not.
We want a change in Natures, not habits, entailing submission to the New Man on our part. The New Man is God’s side of the New Covenant; we are to seek the Kingdom of God, and His Righteousness, our responsibility in the Covenant: since the New Man is created (or formed) after God’s Righteousness meaning the Kingdom of God is within. We in the Body are covered by an Unction, or an anointing over the Body of Christ based on the Authority in the Name of Jesus, but there are other anointings as well. There is an anointing unto Salvation, which is the anointing of the New Man. There is also the anointing to conduct the duties of an Office, the anointing for the moment to conduct some special God granted task, as there is the anointing of the Holy Ghost to deal with the masses. One of the requirements for the deacons was to be filled with the Holy Ghost, since they would have to deal with the masses (Acts 6:3). If we can understand the divided principles, then we can understand why a leader under the anointing will have people healed, coming to the Lord, or set free, yet the same leader is in bondage to the flesh.
Paul told the Galatians, “he who ministers the Spirit”, rather than “he who is under the anointing”, or “he who gives the Holy Ghost”. In the context he was speaking of cooperating with the Spirit in him to bring forth spiritual things. However, the evidence in both the Old and New Testaments tell us the one anointed need not be spiritual, although the anointing comes from a spiritual source. Moses was anointed, as was David, yet they were not Born Again, or spiritual. Often the anointing comes based on our position, not our condition (John 11:50-51).
Jesus said the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him, because He was anointed. The Anointing came first, then the Spirit, the same is true with us. By our acceptance of the Cross and Resurrection we find the Yoke is broken because of the Anointing, granting us the anointing, then the Holy Ghost plants the Seed. However, Jesus said the Spirit was upon Him, not in Him. We find an Anointing or Unction over the Body, but it doesn’t mean everyone in the Body is Spiritual, as evidenced by the Corinthians.
As we found the title “Holy Ghost” is used 89 times in the Bible, all of which are in the New Testament. The Book of Acts uses the title 41 times, showing the Book of Acts is a Holy Ghost operating manual for the Body. It’s the Book of Acts giving us evidence regarding the functions of the Holy Ghost, as well as the differences between water baptism, and the baptism with the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost has the ability to grant certain attributes to those who are called, but have not yet entered. The attributes are more related to the Net, it doesn’t mean the Holy Ghost will grant someone the ability to heal, rather it’s to Hear. On the Day of Pentecost the disciples received the Holy Ghost with the Gift, as they spoke in unknown tongues when the Spirit gave them utterance, thus the Spirit gave them the utterance, not the Holy Ghost. There were three groups: those who had the Holy Spirit as they did the speaking, those who heard then gained the interpretation, then those who mocked the proceeding. Those who heard and received the interpretation were not Born Again, thus they did not have the Spirit, yet Paul says the Spirit gives the Interpretation. The Spirit of God interpreted the tongues for the one group, yet because there was a third group who felt the “speaking” was a bunch of gibberish, we find the Spirit of God made the distinction so we wouldn’t run off saying tongues were languages of the day. When the interpretation came as “speaking the wonderful things of God”, the disciples had the confirmation, this was God: no one speaking by the Spirit can call Jesus accursed. The disciples were the Rock, or Body before, but Pentecost gave birth to the Church by granting the Spirit as the Power from on High. No one is going to be “of the Church” unless they have the Spirit of Truth. Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Ghost and Fire, as He builds His Church.
It becomes evident, we must separate the different elements for clarity; the act of Communion is a perfect example, the Body came first, then the Blood. Jesus didn’t mix the Bread into the Cup, they were separate; therefore, the Body was being formed before the Cross, thus, Jesus said, “Upon this Rock I will build My Church”. It’s not to say putting the wafer into the wine is wrong, nor is it saying if one does not break the bread, they are wrong, it says the way Jesus did it, He separated the Bread as the Rock from the Blood as the New Covenant. As we found in Matthew, the tenses show the Rock was there as a foundation established with the disciples in the earthly ministry, but they didn’t have the Holy Ghost, nor were they Born Again, but they had the Name of Jesus based on the Mercy of the Father. The Church was yet future tense (I will build), meaning it was birthed on Pentecost as the Holy Ghost gave the Holy Spirit of Promise. Perhaps this explains the “Lord, Lord haven’t we” people, they did Acts by the Name of Jesus, but so did Judas; it was Judas, Judas failed to deal with.
The Church was not built “in” the Rock, it was not built “next” to the Rock, it was not built “under” the Rock, it was built On the Rock. The Church is not built from the world, one has to be of the Rock to be picked to be of the Church. James says even the devils believe there is One God, but he also said faith without works is dead. We can have the faith to do all sorts of things, but if we fail to direct it toward God as members of the Body it’s still operating in a dead state. If we use our faith to promote our religious thinking, as did the Pharisees, it doesn’t mean we put it in God. Our measure of faith is designed to follow the Spirit along the steps left by the Faith of Jesus, or as Paul said faith to Faith. Since our faith is by measure we can put it most anywhere, we can put some in ourselves, in our theology, our intellect, our ability, then what is left over we put in God. The result is by what measure we measure, if we measure very little toward God, we will fall the first time adversity, or a test comes.
With this we have another mystery, if Jesus builds the Church, who builds the Rock? Those of the Rock build the Rock, but only Jesus builds the Church. We are not going to make ourselves the Church, we are not going to form ourselves into the Church, we are formed by the Spirit into the Church. We are called fishers of men, we are the ones who cast the net (Jude 22-23).
Other than water the only requirement for water baptism is for the candidate to proclaim their belief. We as members of the Body do not make the determination who can or cannot enter the Body, we greet them by water baptizing them, when they say they believe, as Simon of Samaria proves (Acts 8:13). Jesus baptizes with the Holy Ghost and Fire, thus He makes the determination regarding who gets or doesn’t get the baptism, as Simon of Samaria also proves (Acts 8:19-22). Water baptism is our way of greeting someone into the Body, the baptism with the Holy Ghost is Jesus’ way of beginning the building process onto the Church.
We must also keep in mind we are “servers” not “saviors”. Jesus presented the Good News, as did Paul and the others, no one shoved it down anyone’s throat. Of course we can’t go unless we’re sent, in order to cast the Net we must be made “fishers of men”, thus we entered the Rock to be discipled in how to cast the net. The Net is relative to the task, it may be one or two fish, or one or two thousand, the catch doesn’t matter, casting the net does.
Why be Born Again? To get our souls saved, surely we can’t ask the darkness to make us Light. More important the earth is natural and physical, it came from a spiritual source, but it was not intended to be Spirit or Spiritual, thus Adam had a physical body, but he was a living soul. Heaven is for the spiritual people of God, in order to get us from here to there, we need the Spirit. On the last day there is a resurrection unto Life, but there is one unto damnation as well (Jn 5:29). The word “damnation” is the Greek Krima meaning a sentence of Judgment; it’s not the proclaiming of judgment, but the actual sentence. There is a difference, hell is seen being judged on the Last Day, then tossed into the Lake of Fire, which burns without ceasing, thus hell is the place the judged wait to be judged. The prince of this world is judged, but the sentence will not be imposed until the Last Day. The point is the resurrected body is not going to get us off the earth, the Life of the Spirit coupled with the resurrected body will.
With the New Birth we have Life, there is no question about it, the goal however is to obtain Life More Abundantly. The Corinthians had Life, but in order to have it more abundantly they had to become spiritual in nature. With the New Birth we gain God’s True Holiness, the very essence of God’s Mercy. We also gain the Righteousness of God, as the scepter to the Kingdom. The Righteousness of God is not something to be proven in acts, it’s already proven in Jesus, thus we can’t use self-righteousness to take the place of the Righteousness of God. Jesus made it possible for us to have His Righteousness, thus all forms of self-righteousness became sin (I Jn 5:17).
Self-righteousness is for the moment, the act is done, the reward is complete, yet the same reward is dead, meaning the person has to start all over again. Keeping one sabbath day didn’t mean a thing, keeping them all was the call. If a person kept one day, the act was dead the moment it was done, they had to keep the next, and the next and so on. They gave a sacrifice, but the act was dead when it was done, meaning they had to give another. Yet, the Righteousness of Jesus is Life, it’s not based on something yet to be done, it’s based on the continual Ways of Jesus, as a Now. The Faith of Jesus is the same, our faith reaches to the Hope, but the Faith of Jesus has obtained the Hope. Jesus isn’t waiting to be Resurrected, or defeat death, thus His Faith shows it’s not only possible, it’s done. Our faith then joins the Faith of Jesus, giving us the title, “The Faith”.
Why is the Faith of Jesus so important? Our measure of faith has not designed to gain heaven for us, yet Jesus sits at the Right Hand of Majesty on high. The Faith of Jesus, like the Righteousness of Jesus is proven. We accept them by our measure of faith, just as we accept the Love of God, rather than attempt to earn it.
The forming of the flesh of Adam shows us God had a Plan before the Fall, thus He made the flesh of Adam earthly and temporal. If not, then Adam’s flesh would have been like his soul, not only a direct creation from God, but eternal, not subject to death. Our souls are a different story, they are not temporal, but eternal. However, they are not immortal until they are connected to the Spirit of Christ. Immortal means without any sign of corruption (death), indicating without beginning or end, often the Greek word meaning Immortal was translated as Incorruptible (void of death). Eternal means without end, but it can be corruptible or incorruptible, yet still be without end. The Word of God is both Eternal and Immortal, we have the Spirit of Christ in us, thus if the Word of God is both Eternal and Immortal, so is His Spirit. We find the Seed of God is “incorruptible”, if the Seed is, then the saved soul is too (I Pet 1:23). Our goal is not so much to be Eternal, but to be Eternal and Incorruptible (Immortal).
Life is absent Death, Life more Abundantly is Life in heaven, completely void of any conscience of sin or death. Death is not a cessation of conscientiousness; the first death is the soul separated from the flesh, called “giving up the ghost” in the New Testament. We found giving up the Ghost is “ExPsuche” or out the soul goes, yet there is a second death, if there is a second the first cannot be a cessation of conscientiousness. The unsaved separated lost soul continues in a place where the worm dies not, where there is gnashing of teeth, which means eternally in the fear of death, yet aware of it (Mark 9:44-48).
One of the six basic elements of the Doctrine of Christ is knowing there is “eternal judgment”, if eternal, then it’s without end (Heb 6:1-2). However, it also shows if there is Eternal Judgment, there must be Eternal Life, making Eternal Life the same as having an Immortal existence. If someone denies eternal judgment they are opposed to the Doctrine of Christ, as well as lacking knowledge regarding Eternal Life.
The Doctrine of baptisms contains important issues, especially in reference to the Spirit. Baptism is a Token or Sign regarding a Covenant, or an aspect of the Covenant. Circumcision of the flesh was a Token to the Abrahamic Covenant, it didn’t mean the person had the Covenant, it means they had a right to it. Neither did it mean they held the Law of Moses, the Law of Moses entailed a different Token. Paul points out how Abraham received the Covenant, then came circumcision, it was not the other way around, thus circumcision didn’t bring the Covenant, it was the token regarding the Covenant. The same is true with the Sabbath Day, it’s the Token for the Law of Moses, whether one gives sacrifices or not doesn’t connect them to the Law of Moses, keeping the sabbath day does. One cannot legally tithe under the Old Covenant, yet fail to keep the Sabbath Day. Will they get a benefit from their Tithe? Yes, but if they don’t keep the Sabbath Day they are a thief. One can give “tithes” under the priestly Order of Jesus as a Cheerful Giver, yet they are not be a thief, they are a saint. A leader in the Body can Take tithes, but they are also subject to the curse of the Law, or they can Receive tithes as a blessed priest unto the Lord. The word tithes without the Commandment means a gift given for the benefit of a ministry, but when we add the Commandment it falls under the Law of Moses with a specific percentage. The only place one can give tithe under the Law is the one and only storehouse in Israel. Far better to be a priest under the New Covenant, with a New nature making us a blessing.
We have a New Birth Token as well, the “Seal” of the Holy Spirit providing the evidence of being New Covenant people. Paul said after we believed, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Eph 1:13), but we also find another verse saying, “grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Eph 4:30). Putting the two together we find the Seal is Unto the day of redemption, yet it’s a Seal or Token indicating we are in the Covenant. The primary key is to believe, the same key Abraham used, so it might be by faith. Abraham was not Born Again, thus his promise was natural and earthly, not heavenly. The premise is the same, the man believed, God imputed righteousness, so it could be by faith.
We know the title “Holy Spirit” is special and limited in usage in the Bible, a Seal is the mark of ownership, thus the New Man is the Holy Spirit becoming the Token from God showing we are His workmanship being formed into sons of God by the Spirit. With the Seal comes the Change through Growth, Training and Forming. The beginning is based in Mercy, when we couple the New Man with Mercy, we find Living Waters flowing from within. Mercy and Grace are different, yet connected, thus we come to the throne of Grace to Obtain Mercy and Find Grace (Heb 4:16). The Father’s Mercy forgave us, but the proviso was for us to forgive as well. The Cross is the standard of Mercy, the Resurrection the standard of Grace. God’s forgiveness of our sins has been in effect since the Cross, but became beneficial for us when we received. Everything to do with the Cross and Resurrection is at hand, our belief put them in hand. The ministry of Reconciliation is based on this issue, God did not impute our sins on us, we don’t impute trespasses unto other people, rather we are focused on reconciling them (II Cor 5:18-19). The old man fights Mercy more than he does Grace; the hardest thing for man to do, is forgive. Retribution, Justice, Validation, Self-pity, or being considered a “Victim” are all traits of someone who has failed to forgive. It’s a hard issue at best, there are those who simply refuse to forgive, or they set boundary lines: “If they cross me one more time, I will get even”, or “I will forgive them when they tell me they are sorry”, or “as soon as they apologize I will forgive them”. We have two areas, if we have aught we go to the person making amends, or we forgive in prayer, but we never tell them “I forgive because my God has said so”, since the statement is manipulative, saying we are so holy, but they are so evil. Unforgiveness is akin to taking poison hoping the other person dies, not real smart.
Grace was not the issue before the Resurrection, Jesus taught on it, spoke on it, but the disciples had no idea what He was talking about (Mark 9:32). The Gospel before the Cross was Mercy based, the healings were Mercy based; Jesus forgave sins on earth, not in heaven (Luke 5:24). The Cross and Resurrection opened the ability to have our sins forgiven in heaven, as we received the granted victory over death, which opened the Door to bring the Gift of the Promise from heaven to earth. However, Grace doesn’t negate Mercy, some are so centered on Grace, they forget Mercy. There is a great and wonderful Power and Authority in Mercy, the only difference between a vessel of honor and one of dishonor is Mercy, not Grace (Rom 9:21-24).
Mercy is part of the character of God, the sons of God must maintain their Mercy attribute as sons of men. The Beatitudes are the very least Commandments, it doesn’t mean they are inferior, it means they are the least we can do. The acts of Mercy are within our power the second God forgives our sins, thus Mercy is an action. John tells us those who are antichrist deny both the Father (Mercy), and the Son (Grace – I Jn 2-22-23). We can have Mercy without being Born Again, but add the Spirit to Mercy will gain a Life of Joy unspeakable.
The Holy Ghost is The Comforter, we have Another Comforter in us, but we must also couple the aspect of Authority. We are people with Authority (New Man), but we are subject to Authority (Holy Ghost). The New Man is a creation, or formation (Greek word means both), but Jesus as the Word is not Created, rather He took on the form of man. The New Man is the Seed of God, like the Sower (Holy Ghost) He manifests as the Greater He in us (Holy Spirit). The Name of Jesus keeps all this in Order. The Name of Jesus is the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, thus it’s still one Name by which mankind may be saved. For some reason we look at “the Name of Jesus” as semantics, we presume by saying “the Name of Jesus” we have to say it Greek, or Hebrew, rather we find it pertains to Authority, thus we believe in the Name meaning we believe the Authority found in the Name. It’s not semantics, but positional authority. The Father gave Jesus a Name above all names, the Name includes the Authority of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, meaning the only place one finds the Authority of God granted to man is in the Body of Christ.
Some assume the concept of the “Name” is a form of identification, rather than a place of Authority. God doesn’t need a Passport to tell people who He is, when God shows up, all know it. The “names” of God refer to the Authority for the time and activity of God for the situation, or for the people. Moses knew God as Jehovah, but Abraham did not, thus Abraham called places Jehovah. If it’s the case and it is, why didn’t God rebuke the man? “What, you called the place Jehovah-jireh (Gen 22:14), My name is Jehovah, you need some correcting”. Not so, it was a place of authority, the “name” is not some form of Identification, but the position of authority required. The false concept of “don’t you think God would like to be called by His name?”, lacks knowledge regarding Authority and Power. Therefore, if we are New Testament people we don’t run around seeking some special Name of God, especially when God used the Name for another people, in another time, in another realm, we have the Name of Jesus relating to earth and heaven. However, one must be in the Body before the Name of Jesus is effective (Acts 19:13-16). Can one use the Name of Jesus, yet not be spiritual? Yes, the disciples did before the Cross, the Corinthians prove it as well, they were in the Body, had the Spirit, but they were also carnal minded, yet to be carnal minded is death, making the carnal mind an enemy to the Spirit (I Cor 3:3, 3:16 & Rom 8:6). Can one be in the Body and not have the Spirit? Yes, Simon Magus was water baptized by a member of the Body, but was rejected when it came to obtaining the Spirit. The Wicked lack the Spirit, yet they came from us, but were not of us.
The Spirit gives us the Adoption premise, the Adoption is not the Spirit being adopted, but the soul being adopted by God as a result of having the Spirit. The Spirit is the connection between us and God, thus we no longer need the Law of Moses, or the temple on the earth, we have the very essence of God in us. We become a tabernacle, while the Body of Christ is a temple. The only way anyone can be a Christian is by the Spirit, any attempt to claim the title “Christian” without having the Spirit is witchcraft, defined as the natural attempting to act spiritual.
We must know Faith is a New Testament pillar, the people of Old had faith, but it was the measure of faith regarding natural things, as the Book of Hebrews shows, yet faith was not a pillar for them, it is for us. Faith is not easy, thus some run to the Law of Moses to gain some form of self-righteousness, rather than hold faith in God. Why? Control, they want to control the blessing, or have a hand in obtaining it, which is the heart of self-righteousness. However, the Law of Moses will not grant us Life, it will grant us a means to retain long life on this earth, but not thereafter. The Law of Moses will bless the doer, but when death comes it becomes the Judge (Rev 20:12). The Law of Moses was designed to define sin, then apply death to the human race, it was not designed to provide Salvation or Grace. It was a product of God’s Mercy, but given to a people who lacked Mercy. The Bible speaks of Life and Grace, but reading about life isn’t going to grant it (Jn 5:38-42). We must ask for, and receive the Spirit in order to gain Life more Abundantly.
Perhaps one the hardest premises for us to grasp is the word “Process”, although we would love to have a microwave experience, we find something left in the microwave too long has a tendency to explode. Process entails a great deal, we may think something in our life must be cleaned now, but God is working on another element. “Oh man, it’s nothing, I can handle it God, I need help here, come on now”. We have no idea what we can handle or what is handling us. Process can also be “little by little”, or it can seem like we’ve made great gains all at once, but the overall process is still building and adding the Good, to be void of the bad.
The Ten Commandments are a written conscience without feeling; the New Man in resident is our God centered conscience with the feelings of our infirmities, thus feelings have two sides. Joy is a feeling, Peace is a feeling, but sin has feelings as well. However, the New Man isn’t moved by the feelings of the flesh. He will expose the flesh, not to embarrass us, but to save us. Deep down inside we know God is for us, but it’s the traits of the retained old nature questioning the method God is using. “Will I be hurt in this?”, “Will I lose my job?”, “Will I be embarrassed?”; the old nature is based in fear, it fears what the world will do, what man will do, it demands complete awareness of the method and result before entering the process. Faith knows God is working on our behalf, thus it remains centered on God, not the self. Faith takes a step toward the hope knowing God has been there to build the platform for our faith to stand.
The path of righteousness has areas of cleaning and exposure, from time to time some left over pride, or a lust sits in the shadow, yet the Light of the New Man exposes in order to clean us. The cleaning of the Water by the Word in us is removing those spots and wrinkles by the application of Mercy (water), but the Blood of Jesus is cleaning us from all unrighteousness; in each case we become more spiritual in nature. Justification is a Process, as such it grows, as it grows we grow. Paul said he would not have the Novice to teach, so does a Novice remain a Novice forever? No, we know better, they Grow. The entire principle of the Sower shows a process of growth, we are always growing, although it may not seem like it at times. If Patience is to have her perfect work, then walking in God’s Wisdom is also a process, we don’t give up because we missed it, we learn, we grow as we continue on.
We also know Paul told us to be angry and sin not, but what does it mean? If our anger acts for us, becomes our motivation, or causes us to react, then we have sinned. If pride or stubbornness guides us, causes us to act or speak, they rule us as well. Whenever some emotion governs us, rules us, or controls us, we are slave to the emotion. However, we have power and authority over those rulers, rather than governing us, they now become tools of the trade. An ungodly use would be someone who governs our emotions to get what they want.
As kings we can allow or reject residents in our kingdom, if we grant anger residence it will become a principality, but if we allow Peace residence it will be a prince in our kingdom. There is no reason for any ruler of darkness to guide us, control us, or have us do for the devil, what he cannot do. Some of us think the term “rulers of the darkness” means some Whacko or devil, but rulers are things of darkness ruling the mind of man, Paul defined them as wrath, anger, bitterness, and other lusts or traits of the old nature, including fear. If fear or anger rule us, they will dictate what we do, how we do it, thus they become a ruler over the king. In the Kingdom we have authority and power over the things of darkness, but if we grant them permission by using them for our benefit they will soon rule over us. Once they gain the ruling position they will guide us, instruct us, ending as the source of our decisions.
There is good news, when our emotions are saved, they become subject to us, not the other way around. Through the saved emotions we find anger is a sign post, it warns us of something God is displeased with, yet anger out of control is destructive. Using anger to get our own way is never Godly, it borders on the devilish. The same is true with the spirit lusting to envy, the Wicked are such because like us they have power over the spirit lusting to envy, but unlike us they use the spirit to their advantage, until it turns to be the spirit of the world. When we were in the world we were slaves to the spirit of disobedience, but that was then, now we have power over the darkness.
A principality is a place within a nation, a prince is know by the principality they represent, thus Jesus is the Prince of Peace, but He is also the King of kings. Peace is not all the Kingdom consists of, a vital area nonetheless. Therefore, a Principality is not the entire kingdom, meaning we can allow some element of darkness a place in our lives, fear, unbelief, pride, anger, or some other element, thus it is not all we are, but it does have a place granted by us in our kingdom dominion.
We must Believe in the Name (Authority) of Jesus, before we attempt to apply the Power. The disciples were first granted Authority, then Power, it can’t be the other way around. Authority is the granted permission from the proper order allowing us to function in a given area of Authority; Power is the ability to carry out the Authority in accordance with the provisions and restrictions outlined in the Authority. The Centurion didn’t order his house servants to go to war, neither did he order his soldiers to clean his house, proper knowledge and application of authority was termed by Jesus as “Great Faith”. Power used outside of the confines of Authority is rebellion, power used without authority is witchcraft. We are given authority, but the authority has guidelines. We are not given authority to destroy people, nor to build our pride, ego, or use the rulers of darkness to our advantage.
In the process of learning we must also be able to detect the wiles of the enemy. We found in Proverbs how Wisdom and the Strange Woman make the same approach, but with completely different motives (Prov 9:45 compared to Prov 9:16-17). The old man works under a cloud of deception, the New Man is open, thus when we are One with the New Man we are open before God (Heb 4:12-13). The training will allow us to detect the voice of the stranger, as the Word discerns in us.
The old man has a power and authority, but they are only effective in darkness. The New Man operates with a greater authority and power, thus He is referred to as the Greater He. Two completely different forms of energy, the New Man is based in God’s Righteousness, the old man seeks self-righteousness; the New Man holds God’s Holiness, the old man seeks false holiness; the New Man walks in faith, the old man walks in deception; the New Man is open, the old man uses hidden agendas; the New Man is self-less, the old man is self-centered; the New Man is the Spirit of Truth, the old man is the spirit of man, also know as the spirit lusting to envy, or spirit of disobedience.
When the New Man is in residence in us, so is division, clarification and exposure, all through the greatness of Grace. Light will always dissipate darkness, turn on a light, and where did the darkness go? Under a table? Where? It didn’t go anywhere it was dissipated, but turn off the light, darkness enters. The earth was darkness until God said, “Let there be Light”; God did not begin the work of creation until Light appeared, the same is true with us. When the New Man brings the Light of Life, those dark areas are exposed. For the most part we go into shock, presuming all we are is evil. We are making elephants out of fleas, those hidden things are darkness lack power or authority when exposed by the Light they may appear bigger then they are. Paul tells us to put off the old man and his deeds, or metaphorically send the bondwoman and her son away, meaning we have the power to so.
The Word in us discerns the intent, but the old man hides intent. Often we can see what appears to be two exact actions, but the intents producing the actions are different. An example is found in Luke Chapter 7, where we find a Centurion’s servant is sick, yet the religious leaders ran to Jesus for help. Wait, these were the same people who were attempting to stop Jesus, now they want Him to heal someone? Their motive was simple, the Centurion “loves the nation and built a synagogue” (Luke 7:1-5). They were moved by what the Centurion did for them, thus their motive was greed. Would Jesus allow it? Surely He would walk away. Not so, the Centurion gave because he loved God, not because he loved the Pharisees. What the Pharisees did with the gift was on their head, not the Centurion’s. Jesus wasn’t going to hold the greed of the Pharisees against the giving heart of the Centurion, thus Jesus acted based on the faith of the Centurion, not the greed of the Pharisees. When the Pharisees had sick Jews in their synagogues, did they run to Jesus? No, even when Jesus healed one of their own, they got mad. Why all of a sudden now they are concerned? They were looking at what they could gain from the Centurion if Jesus healed the servant, James defined it as being partial. Surely the Centurion would give them more, after all they were the ones who sought out Jesus. However, the Centurion was not moved by the acts of the Pharisees, he was moved by Jesus. Therefore, Jesus used opportunities to expose, heal, set free, accomplishing many things for our betterment.
The Spirit filled saint feels they are doing what God wants, but so does the Whacko. What is the difference? The intent, the motivation behind the thought, not the thought itself. The thought can seem Godly, but the intent can be formed by the old man based on some deceptive self-interest. Without the Spirit in us there is no way we will be able to truly define, or detect our intent. The feeling will cover it, self-righteousness will cover it, our own self-deception will cover it. The Spirit in us is Light, nothing escapes the Light.
For the most part we can spot the self-nature in another, but we tend to miss it in ourselves. Deception is the biggest weapon the enemy uses, it causes us to be stubborn and unteachable, while thinking we are holy and wise. Simply looking for verses to support our thought is not sound, we know cults use verses all the time to “prove their point”, but we also know they either ignore, or change verses exposing their error. The biggest test is our application of Scripture, do we demand narrow Bible evidence from others, yet we use the broadest meaning possible? Most of us know these as traits, or the signs of a hypocrite, yet we must ask ourselves, Do we demand our mate to follow certain guidelines, yet we don’t apply those same guidelines to ourselves? Do we live a “do as I say, not as I do” life? If so, we need the Word in us to bring us into perfection. The same Word operates in conjunction with the Wisdom of God allowing us to deal with events and people without hypocrisy; therefore, we find the Wisdom of God is the New Man in operation.
The Pharisees used Scripture against Jesus, but Jesus used Scripture to expose the Pharisees. Was Jesus wrong? No, we know the Pharisees used Scripture to cause harm, Jesus used it to bring exposure unto correction to save the religious leaders. Both used Scripture, but with much different intents. Even the devil quoted Scripture, but he did so to entice, or entrap. Simply being able to quote Scripture doesn’t prove a thing, it’s the application telling us the ways of a person.
As soon as the Word in us begins to operate, the old nature will say, “Look no one has this new revelation, you will look so wise”, “there is nothing like this out there, you are so special”. The Spirit knows there are no new revelations, only knowledge concerning what is already written. The old man says, “Wow are you going to look great when you teach this”, the New Man says, “there are those who need this, they will grow”. The old man uses the “self”, the New Man is “self-less”. The true heart of a teacher is not based on what they think is important or not, it’s based on what will benefit others. What good is an unteachable teacher?
Sound Doctrine is always the key, we know how fables become unsound doctrine. Paul warned Timothy of those who would reject sound doctrine, but he also told Timothy to study to make himself approved. How was Timothy to know “sound doctrine”? By having a good study discipline guided by the Holy Spirit, we never study to prove ourselves right, or someone else wrong, nor do we study looking for the great revelation to make us popular, we seek the Truth, to be set free. If we have a premise, find the evidence to authorization by knowing the Godly example, then follow it. Self-made actions lack authority, one operating outside of the Authority, is operating outside of the Name of Jesus.
The Apostles did things openly, the Pharisees did things in secret. There is a vast difference between “what can we do to help?”, and “what can we do to stop them?”. The Early Christians did meet in what some term “secret”; however, those were their church services, they were only secret because the civil authorities were out to destroy them. “So much for obey the civil authorities”. Wait, they had the “if clause”, when they were caught, most of them accepted the “if” clause of death, rather than deny Jesus.
The secret meetings of the Wicked are much different, they pray as well; however, they pray to have people removed from their local church, or to have the pastor teach as they see fit, or they pray against people; they blame all things not pleasing to them on people or the devil, but they tend to make people their enemies. Would we invite the devil to sit at our dinner table? Why then do we invite him into our Prayer closet?
The Word in us is not the Bible in us, neither is the Bible the “Word of Life”, Jesus in us is the Word of life (I Jn 1:1). The Pharisees felt since they read about life, they had it, but Jesus said they had not the Word of life in them. Anyone can make the Bible say what they want it to, but no one can make the Word say, or do something against the Nature of God. The Word in us keeps the Integrity of the Scriptures intact, the Word in us will not attack the written Word (Scriptures).
The old man says he doesn’t like trouble, but really he loves to stir up trouble, he is his own tornado maker. Whether the trouble is within us, or causing trouble and turmoil without, it’s the same old mind game of strife and division. We hate “self-pity” and “strife”, yet we find ourselves in self-pity, or going about bringing strife. If we are drawn away into self-pity or strife, we are drawn away by a lust, yet the lust has a “feeling”. We hate self-pity, but we love the feeling it produces. “Oh I hate the way I feel”, yes but you do it to get the feeling to hate yourself. We use what it takes to get the feeling, or to get the response we want from others. We hate strife, but we love the feeling it produces, thus we love to see others entangled in strife. At times we love the misery the feeling brings, we presume we must be punished, yet God won’t do it, so we do it for Him. The feeling of being superior is a lust as well, we do or say things to belittle people, just to feel superior over them. Pride refuses to accept forgiveness without punishment, thus pride also feels if it’s punished, it has earned forgiveness. Once the feeling of misery enters, we then suffer needlessly, yet thinking we’ve earned the forgiveness. The lust seeks the feeling, the evil intent is to produce something to get the feeling. Emotions are feelings, saved emotions are beneficial, yet unsaved they are destructive.
We can even fall into the trap of thinking by giving our opinion to someone on how we think they should handle an event is ministering. Godly ministry is when we hear from the Spirit, then tell the person how God wants them to deal with the event or person. We could even give them Scripture, yet add our opinion. All we did was attempt to make the person handle the event the way we think we would, yet we have no idea if our little “formula” will work or not. If it does, we take the glory, if it doesn’t we blame them for not “doing it right”. Ministry is never our opinion on matters, it’s God’s desire in the matter. Ministry is serious, we are involved in the life of the person, what we say, or don’t say will have impact. Ministry is not a time to play “great healer”, it’s a time to allow the New Man to manifest.
Training is found in the saying, “train them in the way they should go”. We can teach our children in several ways, but the one they pay attention to is the “word of our testimony”. Someone said something to us, or even our children, then we demand an apology, thus we just taught our children to seek validation before forgiving, or we teach them how to retaliate, rather than forgive by applying Mercy. Opportunities come to us daily, Godly Wisdom trains us to deal with them in a Spiritual manner.
Control is not the same as discipling, again it’s based on the intent. If we think merely telling people what to do is control, then Jesus was a control freak. However, If we manipulate people, or the event to appease our self-pleasure, it’s Control. If we get mad because people are doing what we want, it’s Control. Discipling people is for their benefit, in order to assist them on the path the Lord desires. There are times when someone gives us a suggestion, or an act of discipling from the Lord, but we don’t like what they said, so we’re not going to do it. In order to justify why we’re not going to do it, we say they are Controlling. Are we not then controlling how God disciples us? Yes, God will use someone who is controlling to show us how controlling we are.
Usually when we look at self-righteousness, we think of it in a religious sense, but there are other indicators showing a person is prone to self-righteous behavior. If we do something for someone, yet we except something in return, whether it be a favor, or some special recognition, or standing based on the deed, it’s the mindset of self-righteousness. It’s not the same as a “workman is worthy of his wages”, in that case it’s an agreement to work for pay, or pay for work. Self-righteous behavior is doing things to gain the feeling of being “good”, then expecting some special glory for the act. Doing Good Works from the Spirit does not seek the rewards of man, rather we labor based on our gratitude for what Jesus did, not what we can gain from others.
There are those who do use deceptive control, then attach “so saith the Lord” to their self-desire. The only way we will be able to tell if it’s the Lord or not, is by the Spirit in us. Many cult systems operate this way, the leader wants people to do as they want, thus the add “so saith the Lord”, yet it’s control in proxy. We can see how being Born Again has many advantages, without being Born Again we are left to our opinions: hardly validity.
The spirits (hearts) of the prophets are still subject to the prophets, giving prophesy based on someone’s desire is a far cry from the prophetic voice of the Lord for direction. If we think prophecy by faith is Godly, we are mistaken, the term indicates we are like the false prophets of Old, saying things to make God perform. Prophecy comes from God, not toward Him, thus the other prophets judge.
We need Godly, Spirit filled people to assist us, thus we do not forsake the gathering, since the purpose is to exhort one another (Heb 10:25). If we gather to be exalted, or to gain the feeling, we have failed to fit Hebrews 10:25. Just coming together is not the heart of Hebrews 10:25, it’s gathering to exhort one another. There can be fifty thousand people gathered, yet none of them exhorting, or there can be two exhorting one another, the latter is fulfilling Hebrews 10:25.
The “word” of pleasure, rather than the Word of Truth is a lust searching for self-pleasure. In the days of Jeremiah some of the people came to him asking him to inquire of the Lord to see what they should do. The city was under siege, things didn’t look good in Jerusalem, but worse in Egypt. The people told Jeremiah, “Whether it be good or whether it be evil we will obey” (Jere 42:6). After ten days Jeremiah came with the Word of the Lord, telling the people the Lord said for them to go into Egypt, there they would escape the evil. The word wasn’t what they wanted to hear, rather than say, “No, I don’t think so”; then told Jeremiah, “you speak falsely” (Jere 43:2). They said they would obey, but what they wanted was confirmation from the Lord to do what they wanted. When Direction came, they rejected it, then used self-justification in their attempt to slander the prophet so they won’t feel responsible. Wanting to hear the Word of the Lord is one thing, wanting God to confirm our folly is another.
The “spirits of the prophets” are still subject to the prophets, but what does it mean? In Ezekiel the Word of the Lord came to the prophet, but the false prophets said the Word of the Lord came to them as well (Ezek 12:21-24). The false prophets were speaking “flattering divination” by giving false prophecy to the lustful desires of the people from their own fears and desires. God said they “prophesy out of their own hearts”, then He said “Woe unto the prophets, who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing” (Ezek 13:2-3). They had seen Vanity (Pride), speaking a “Lying divination” by saying “The Lord has said”, when the Lord had said nothing to them (Ezek 13:6). This defines the heart as the spirit of the person, but further we can see they were attempting to get God to perform to their words. We can make the same mistake, we want something, so we speak assuming by our speaking it will come to pass; it’s not faith, but presumption. The sad part is if it does come to pass, we used witchcraft, since faith comes by hearing, the only thing we heard was the lust enticing us.
We tend to do the same when the Spirit exposes a lust in us, we attempt to enter self-justification with all the excuses. If the lust is being exposed, it’s a sure sign there is a lust, yet we know everyone is drawn away by their own lusts. If there is no lust in them, they can’t be drawn away. The Lust itself is merely the desire, it’s what the lust desires, or the source of the lust telling the tale. If the lust is to envy in an evil sense, then the source is evil as well. When exposure comes, we can’t ignore it, justify it, or run from it; it was exposed so we can be cleaned in order to be set free.
Our souls were designed to serve, yet they were also designed to hold authority, as the Spirit holds the Power. The training we go through separates us from the rebellion of the world: the premise is to bring the soul and Spirit into one Spiritual entity as One.
Discernment by the Spirit is a key issue in all this, we must see things as the New Man sees them, while at the same time being open to exposure. This is the process of our souls becoming Spirit in nature; we are the “ground”, from time to time the ground gets some strange seed, or a weed, or a stone of stumbling. This is a covenant, we have the keys, thus the New Man won’t turn the keys, we have to. At times we give the New Man blanket permission to remove all hindering elements, but when He begins, we get mad. “The devil’s trying to stop me, but I’m a child of God, and I will do what I want to do”. Wrong, the saying is the fruit of a lust exposed. “Well, it’s not really control, it’s my gift to maintain security over events”. Wrong again, we want God to do the work, but do it our way, the same error regarding the children in the wilderness. It becomes deceptive control, the more we ignore the exposure, the bigger the weed grows, the lust needs to be taken away, not used. We must be teachable as we aware of the cleaning process; it’s not to harm us, or shame us, it’s to save us from the hidden things of darkness.
As leaders we want to view the anointing on the Offices, and the anointing on Helps. Both the Bishop and Deacon have an anointing to complete all the tasks required in the area of Helps. The Offices have an anointing granting them the ability to complete the tasks of the Offices. The anointing, regardless of the area is the God granted power to complete a task for God within the authority of the position. When the Holy Ghost fills us, it’s to instill the anointing required for the task to benefit the masses. The Holy Ghost will not go beyond the call of the task, thus John the Baptist knew the limits of his calling.
The title Christ means Anointed One, we are called Christ-Like or as it’s commonly known, “Christian”, but why? If Jesus is The Anointed One, then from Him comes all anointing, it stands to be a Christian means we are Anointed. We run around looking for the anointing or the glory, yet if we have the Spirit we are already anointed, we have the glory. Romans 8:18 says the glory which is in us will be revealed, thus in order for the revealing to take place we must already have the glory in us. How can this be? The New Man is the evidence of many things, the seal of the Kingdom, being anointed, the glory, the ability, the very evidence of Jesus being raised from the dead.
We are told the Unity of the Faith, with the Unity of the Spirit are the two Unities we are afforded. We will not find a unity of the mind, or the unity of the flesh, or the unity of opinions. The same is true with the Witness on earth, it’s the Water (Mercy), Blood (Grace), and Spirit (Born Again), it is not the soul, flesh or theological opinions (I Jn 5:6-8).
We can find people from all denominations gathering in large groups, all with one mindset in one accord, there we will also find the Corporate Anointing of the Unction. They could be there to be healed, see a healing, be part of a healing, or they may be there to praise, be part of the praise, to simply listen to praise, yet they may not be in one accord theologically, nonetheless they are in one accord at the moment while engaging in Godly activity. The Unction will manifest, producing many things, healings, breaking bondage, or other elements of the corporate ministry. Jesus told the disciples signs follow those who believe, thus the speaker may not believe, but if the one listening does, the sign will follow the one who believes.
The anointing of the office grants us the ability to perform the duties of the office, the Anointing of the New Man gives us power unto the saving of our souls. The Unction on the Body gives us power to lay hands on the sick, cast out devils, and the other aspects of Mercy. We find the disciples doing many things before the Cross based on Mercy, yet none of them were Born Again, nor were they filled with the Holy Ghost. Therefore, we find there is still a power and authority in Mercy found in the Name of Jesus.
Keeping the aspects of the anointing in order helps us in this process, it also keeps us from attempting to make one fit another. The anointing on the Office (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Teacher & Pastor) is specific in nature, the person in the Office is covered, or has the mantel of the Office, thus the person isn’t anointed, the position is. Even Judas was anointed to do certain tasks based on his position, not his goodness. His office did not include betraying the Lord, or operating outside of the calling. When Judas moved outside of the authority on his office, he entered Iniquity. The same is true with Helps and Governments, if we make the Bishop or Deacon rulers over the Offices, it’s out of order, making it rebellion.
The Offices are referred to as the Doma gift, the Greek word Doma means a present or gift, with the greater emphasis toward the character of the gift. The quote in Ephesians 4:8 is taken from Psalm 68:18, only in the Psalm we read, “has received gifts”, but in Ephesians 4:8 it says He “gave gifts”. On one hand it would seem like a conflict, but it’s not, Jesus received the Name above all Names, then gave gifts. In Ephesians 4:7 we find we are given Grace according to the measure of the Gift of Christ, but the word Gift in the verse is the Greek Dorea, not Doma, as Dorea puts the emphasis on the gratuitous character of the giver.
After we find Jesus gave Doma unto men, we read, “He gave some”, the word Gave is the Greek Didomee, meaning to bestow a gift connecting it back to verse 8 (Eph 4:8 & 4:11). We find Doma points to the Gift bestowed on the Offices. The Offices are five in number, Apostle, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers (Eph 4:11). These office positions are assigned by Jesus through the Holy Ghost (Acts 13:1-3), they are not appointed by man, yet they are confirmed by leaders. The Offices have a power and authority, but limited to the perfecting of the saints, the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ. The Offices were called Administrations of the Lord by Paul in First Corinthians 12:5, the word Administrations is the Greek Diakonia meaning the service of ministry. The authority and power will not go beyond the intended purpose, they do not allow the person to betray people, to dominate, deceive, manipulate, rob, or trick the people of God. The Offices are filled by those Jesus picks for the reasons He has, each office is set specifically for the Body; the Evangelist is designed to build the Body.
There were apostles before the Cross, but Jesus appointed the Offices when He ascended on High, thus before the Cross He appointed men, after it was positions filled by people (Eph 4:8). The Offices for the New Covenant had roots before the Cross, but changed dramatically on Pentecost. Prior to the Ascension it was limited to the twelve subjects, but after it was the gift of the Office making the person. The error in Acts 1 was attempting to find a person with like qualifications as Judas, but the system changed as Acts 13:1-3 shows. Rather than find one like the person who filled the office, they listened to the Holy Ghost to find who He appointed to the position.
There are variables to consider as well, all those who are Born Again are to lay hands on the sick, cast out devils, and do many other things. During the earthly ministry the 70 went out to do specific things, not the same as the apostles, but nonetheless they were ordained and anointed for the task (Luke 10:1-12). One command missing from the 70 which was found with the 12 was, “casting out devils” (Luke 10:9 & Matt 10:8). When the 70 returned they were amazed, telling Jesus, “even the devils are subject to us through Your Name” (Luke 10:17). It wasn’t the 70, their training, or their theology, it was “the Name” granting the ability. The Name gained in Authority from the Son of man, to the Son of God when Jesus ascended. When the Spirit was granted on Pentecost the awareness, position and condition of those who received the Spirit changed considerably.
The 70, like the 12 at the time were not Born Again, they didn’t have the Power from on High, yet they found the Name worked. Their confidence in the Name grew based on what the Name did, they also placed their focus on the Name, not their ability or lack thereof. Although Jesus would tell them they would have power to tread on serpents (slandering, malicious) and scorpions (deceptive), and nothing could hurt them, He reminded them it was far better to place their interest on knowing their names were written in heaven (Luke 10:20). They found The Name did things, but Jesus said it was suppose to, it was designed to, it would not fail, but it was more important to know our names were written in heaven. In their case it was based on Mercy, yet in our case we have a Better promise. We see many wonderful things, some are incredibly amazing, yet we know our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. How do we know? “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Rom 8:9), with, “for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom 8:14), with, “the Spirit (Spirit of God) bears witness with our Spirit (Spirit of Christ or New Man), saying we are children of God” (Rom 8:9 & 8:16), with, “and if children, then heirs” (Rom 8:17). Our confidence is based in being Born Again, as we are being Justified by God as proof of our acceptance by God.
The presence of the Unction produces an overpowering anointing functioning for the benefit of the Body. Therefore, we have the Unction as a covering empowered for specifics, but the Covering is not the same as the indwelling. The New Man will manifest, but the main concern is to save our souls. The anointing for the Office works when the call is for the Office to work when the person in the Office follows the procedures, thus the person in the Office can see all sorts of things going on, yet when the Office isn’t working they themselves are miserable, or feel defeated. They have mistaken the Corporate Anointing, or the Anointing in the Office for the Charis Anointing within. Each Anointing has specifics, the anointing for the Office is not unto salvation, it is to assist the saint in their walk unto salvation.
The Unction over the corporate gathering can be functioning in an extreme powerful greatness when the principles are operative, yet when we get to the parking lot, we are none the better, still sad, still thinking we’re defeated. The Unction over the Body and the anointing in the Office work based on the operational authority granted by Jesus. The Name of Jesus is over the entire Body, covering all those in the Body whether they are spiritual in nature, or carnal. The Corinthians had the same Unction as the Ephesians, they were in the same Body. However, it didn’t mean the Corinthians were spiritual in nature, rather we find they were carnal. The Body is the place between places, thus Jesus gave the Bread, then the Cup, since the Cup represented the New Covenant. Therefore, we find one can be in the Body, operating in Mercy, yet lacking Grace. If they lack Grace, they lack the Spirit, yet the Spirit is the Seal of the New Covenant. Some stop short, thus the Offices are sent to assist us in our walk of faith, so we don’t stop short.
Not everyone is appointed to be in an Office, giving a Word doesn’t mean one is a Prophet. The Office of Prophet is also specific, they deliver doctrine (Acts 15:32), and give us direction (Acts 21:9-16). The Apostle gives Commandments, and establishes bodies in virgin areas. If someone begins a body in a city which already has several other bodies, it doesn’t mean they are an Apostle. The Evangelist casts the net to build established bodies, but each of us have the ability to cast the net into smaller groups (Jude 22-23). Philip was a deacon, yet he was the only person in the Bible called an Evangelist, he didn’t begin new bodies, he reached into areas to build bodies already in existence (Acts 8:4-16). The Pastor is the shepherd, making sure the flock assigned to them has all the spiritual assistance needed. The teacher teaches the doctrine delivered, they don’t make up doctrine, they teach it. Each of the offices have specifics, yet a person can hold more than one office, nonetheless the office forms the person.
The positions of Helps includes the Bishops as the overseers of helps, with the Deacons who do the helps. The five fold Offices are termed Governments, yet both Governments and Helps are important (Acts 6:3). Governments also appoints Elders, being an Elder is not an office, it’s a position of assistance. Elders are suppose to have the evidence of God’s Wisdom, they rule by example, giving suggestions to leadership. There is no mention of an “elder board” in the Bible, yet cooperative governmental order is found in Acts 6:3, and 15:5-21.
We must keep the various anointings in the positions where Jesus established them. If not, we could confuse giving a Word as a sign we are a Prophet, then off we go making up words, or allowing some lust to counterfeit the voice of the Lord, just so we have something to say. When the Corporate Anointing is working, yet we feel alone, lost and without hope the second we leave the meeting, it’s a sure sign we either don’t have the Indwelling, or we are not walking in it. Without the indwelling Spirit the covering will remain over the Rock until the time the Spirit is taken, but because it is corporate we may feel the Lord in gatherings, yet not when we get to the parking lot. This causes us to run all over seeking meetings, just so we can validate our existence in the Body. We “feel” the Unction, presuming it’s the Spirit, but it’s the Unction, nonetheless it’s a better feeling what we had in the parking lot. The misnomer “Charismatic butterflies” refers to those who jump from meeting to meeting looking for the “feeling” of the Spirit. They are not Charismatic, since their running about shows they lack an active Charis in their lives. They run to mountain tops looking for the glory, rather than looking inside; they are seeking a feeling which they obtained in the corporate Unity of the Unction. What they need is the indwelling Spirit, the Gift of the Holy Ghost unto salvation, drawing them into the Unity of the Spirit and Faith. They spend their time looking for the “things of God”, rather than seeking the saving of their souls by the Spirit. They want God to save them, only do it their way; it won’t work, we must submit to the New Man, enter the wilderness of training, seek the cave of the calling, while allowing the New Man to save our souls.
Revival is a wonderful thing, attempting to manipulate one to happen isn’t. We can pray until our lips fall off, but if we are out of Order, Revival will not come. The second we get our house in Order, the Holy Ghost will visit us with Revival. We study the great revivals to find the “key”, was it prayer? Was it shouting? Was it money? In each case we find the house was in order, positions operating in their positions, the leadership doing what leadership should do, helps doing what helps should do, congregation doing what the congregation should do. Order, not fancy ways, brings revival.
One of the biggest battles comes after the battle, the time when victory is in hand, it’s when we hear the voice of self-importance, “Boy it must have been your great faith”, or “aren’t you glad your prayer life is so strong it got you through this?”. God got us through it, our faith and prayer life are important, they put us on the path God has prepared, but it’s nonetheless God who delivered us (II Tim 3:11).
Is there an authority in the Law of Moses? Yes, the Law of Moses has a power and authority built in, just as the Ten Commandments do. God placed the power and authority in the Law as it relates to “sin and death”; therefore, the power and authority of the Law of Moses cannot save us, it cannot bring heaven to us, it cannot bring the New Birth. God never intended for the Law of Moses to accomplish those tasks, thus the Anointing for the Law of Moses is vastly different from the various Anointings we find in the Body of Christ. Therefore, the Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments are not only against us, they are nailed to the Cross (Col 2:14-17). If we pick points from the Law of Moses to gain by, then claim we are Christian, we are split between two matters. Rather than pick up our cross, we remain in a position where death rules. The Law of Moses is good, it came from God, but it’s now from whom it came, but to whom it was directed.
In order to gain Life we must travel to the Grave to gain Grace, since Grace is the power of the Resurrection. Paul said he was crucified with Christ, showing a position of death, but then he added, “nevertheless I live”, showing a type of resurrection. It didn’t mean he was resurrected, rather he knew within him was the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead (Gal 2:20).
All this takes a mind renewal experience, which only the New Man can produce. The word Renewed in Romans 12:1 means To Renovate, or clean out the old, while leaving the structure. It doesn’t mean we go back to diapers, it means the New Man will remove the old, then replace the void with attributes of the New, or better, remove the fleshly by bringing in the spiritual. The real key is always the Agape Love of God manifest in the person’s life, but “Love” alone doesn’t prove one is Spiritual, since there different types of love. It must be Agape, the self-less love seeking the well being of another (Ph’l 2:2-5). However we don’t want to be ignorant of the other matters, knowledge is a vast treasure chest giving us information relating to the awareness of matters. If the Holy Ghost brings things to our remembrance, there must be something in our remember. What do we do at Communion? Remember all Jesus did for us, as we allow the Spirit to judge us.
The natural mind looks at the unseen as “spiritual”, or someone who thinks they can talk to roses or flowers as “spiritual”, it’s not the Bible definition of Spiritual. The Greek word for Spiritual is Pneumatikos meaning Spirit motivated, or governed by the Spirit of Christ. Paul made this clear in Corinthians, since the Holy Ghost teaches by comparing spiritual to spiritual (I Cor 2:13), but those things taught of the Holy Ghost are discerned by the Spirit (New Man – I Cor 2:14). The Natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit, since they are “spiritually discerned”; therefore, only those with the Spirit can be Spiritual in order to Discern spiritual matters. The separation by itself shows natural minded people don’t have a clue regarding spiritual matters, how then can they call anything “spiritual”?
Anyone who speaks by the Spirit (New Man) whether it be prophesy, teaching, unknown tongues, or ministry will never call Jesus accursed. The word Accursed in First Corinthians 12:3 is the Greek Anathema meaning doomed to destruction, useless, against a vow taken, thus no one speaking by the Spirit, whether in the understanding or not attacks the Body of Christ, or defames the anointing in any way. Perhaps it’s why Paul desired for the Corinthians to speak by the Spirit all the time, their words from the carnal were not Christian. Also, no one can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost (I Cor 12:3), thus Paul covers both issues, the Seed planted, and the Sower who brought the Seed. Anyone can say, “Jesus is Lord”, but making Him Lord takes the Holy Ghost teaching us through the Spirit. Paul gives us two areas, both based on speaking. One shows we can speak by the Spirit while not fearing what we’re saying, the other is we can’t say Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Ghost. If we hear and obey, we are servants, but a servant who can’t hear the Master, can’t obey. There is a difference between obeying the Bible as we see it, and obeying the Lord.
Paul shows the Corinthians there are Different Administrations, but it’s the same Lord (I Cor 12:5 & Eph 4:11). Then the Operations of God for the various bodies is found in I Corinthians 12:28, first the established Apostles, Prophets, then Teachers to teach the Commandments and Doctrine. After those things are in order then we will have miracles, then gifts (plural) of healings (plural), helps and governments in order, then different tongues, unknown, new and in the understanding, but none of them carnal. We have the words of the Apostles in the Letters, the Prophets have already delivered doctrine, now it’s teaching.
Paul then asks a series of rhetorical questions, each with the answer built in. Are all apostles? No, it’s obvious since the ones he was talking to were not. Are all prophets? No, are all teachers? No, since Jesus gave some to be. Now more questions, if not all are prophets, or teachers, then not all will have the gifts of healing operating at the same time, nor will all have the ability to speak in tongues or interpret at the same time, but neither do we find “none will have”, rather there is an order, all things done in order simply means all the things of the Spirit, by the Spirit. When the operations are in Order, there are healings going on, but if all have the gifts of healing, who will they heal? If all speak in tongues, who will interpret? If all interpret who will speak?
The gifts of the Spirit, the Offices of the Lord, the Operations of God are all areas within the Body for the Body. Each has an anointing and position; however, then comes the Manifestation, or Exhibition of the Spirit in us, as the New Man witnessing Christ in us the hope of glory (I Cor 12:7-11). Paul connected verses 3, 4, 5 and 6, then separated verse 7 with the conjunction “but”, showing this is still a Spiritual area, but different. The prior areas were all by saints for the Body, here it’s by saints for everyone, whether in the Body or not. We could be talking to a co-worker and get a word of knowledge or wisdom for them; we could be ministering to an unsaved family member and have a manifestation of the Spirit take place. We could also be speaking one on one to a brother or sister in the Lord and have a manifestation take place. The Manifestation of the Spirit being for all men shows it’s the method God has given the Believer to witness Jesus to anyone whether they are in the Body or not. It was the manifestation working through John and Peter at the Gate Beautiful, it was the manifestation through Paul detecting the devil in the damsel, another manifestation through Paul with the man who received the faith to be healed. This area is not an Office, it’s from the Gift within each person who is Born Again. One might not be an Apostle, or a Prophet, but all those who are Born Again can allow the Spirit in them to Manifest. We went over the various areas prior, but the point is if we are Born Again we should expect these Manifestations to happen.
Are there things we can produce, or hold in our minds hindering all this? Yes, the Old Testament has many allegories and examples of what we face. We know they were real people in real situations, but they were also principles and allegories. Ishmaels are carnal products of manipulation testing the promise of God. Ishmael was a real person, he was half Egyptian (world) and half of the man who would gain the promise (Abram), but he was not of the Covenant (Abraham); although Ishmael was circumcised, he was still not of the Promise, but of the household. We will produce an Ishmael when we test the Promise, yet we can be an Ishmael when we mock the Promise. Ishmaels are products of “someone do something”, thus all of us produce our own Ishmaels. We think we must do something, so talk to ourselves, then claim, “a step of faith”, when it’s presumption. God spoke to Hagar and Abram about Ishmael, God even heard Ishmael, but God never spoke to Ishmael, thus Ishmaels are not a product of God speaking, thus they are not of faith.
The Cross of Jesus was self-less, it was not suicide, suicide is an act to escape something, Jesus gave, much different. The self-less Sacrifice of Jesus gave us the ability to impute the old nature dead allowing us to complete the purpose of the Law of Moses, moving us to a place where Life waits for us. In the Process the New Man will expose the Ishmaels we have produced by our lack of Patience. Some Ishmaels are produced by carnal means attempting to reach spiritual places. The old man uses principles as well, validation is one of them. We want someone to at least acknowledge we were wronged, of course we say we have forgiven all, but we haven’t. It’s also important to recognize when we did wrong to another, we admit it, then pray for one another so we may be healed (James 5:16). We may have forgiven the person who did the damage, even forgiven the event itself, but there were others who could have stopped it, yet they didn’t. We want them to admit they failed us, to give us our validation of being a victim. All we did was transfer the blame from one area to another, we haven’t forgiven. When our words burst forth with the accusation of the past, it’s a sure sign unforgiveness still has some roots within. Seeking validation either produces pride in the effort, or depression in the failure. If God has forgiven us, we have no choice in the matter, we must forgive.
We want to be good ministers of the Gospel, to be used freely of the Lord, it takes a training with the cleaning. It does little good to minister through our pains, lusts, wild emotions, or the desire to obtain validation; all we do is make ourselves another victim. Unsaved emotions attempting to minister ends in a wreck, not a healing. Does it mean we have no past pains? Not at all, it means we minister by the Spirit, not through the victim mentality. If we attempt to minister through past pains, we will make ourselves a victim all over again, or consider ourselves worse off than the one we’re ministering to. The method for any Born Again Believer to minister is by the Manifestation of the Spirit (I Cor 12:7-11), not through unsaved emotions or past pains.
When God does something we like, we’re quick to give a “good testimony”, but when God asks us to do something we don’t want to do, we fight, cry, or get mad. When God does something we don’t like, we claim it’s the devil, or we’re being attacked, simply because it doesn’t please us. Faith pleases God, whether we’re pleased or not. We will not impress God, nor will we excite Him, since the word Excite points to controlling the emotions of God, it’s not going to happen. The Holy Ghost, Father and Word are the Godhead, the 70 didn’t excite Jesus, they were excited. There is what is termed a “Jezebel spirit” or attitude which endeavors to control people, by her words she caused the prophet of God to run, at times the Jezebel mentality thinks it controls God. When the prophet knew what she did to him, he wanted to die. We find the Jezebel mindset reverses the order, rather than the Holy Ghost causing us to be excited, it will turn it around assuming we can excite the Holy Ghost. Faith entails keeping our eyes and desires on God regardless of the event or circumstance. It’s not the event, but how we deal with it. Some of us think faith is something God gave us to avoid events, or get our own way; wrong, faith is the element giving God the glory regardless of the event. There is a vast difference between destroying the works of the devil, and being destroyed by the works of the devil.
Ministry by the Spirit is vital, no one can minister effectively until the self nature is out of the way. When someone begins to pour their heart out, yet if we are carnal, we will consider how it effects us. The victim mentality looks for a place to insert self-pity, someone we are close to is sick, but for us it’s “woe is me”. They are sick, not us, but we took on the “suffering victim syndrome”. Someone else lost a cat, we lost five. Someone lost a friend, we lost more. Someone is sick, well bless God we’re sicker. The self desires to be more the victim, yet we can’t minister through our victim mentality, just as we can’t minister through a lust.
The victim mentality also causes us to view everything as if we are always the victim, if God is cleaning us, we assume we’re being beaten to death. If anyone corrects us, we think they are abusing us. If they disciple us, we think they are controlling us. The Spirit starts with the concept of “Behold all things are New”, but we have to accept the premise, knowing this is a Process. Yes we were victims, but the victim died on the Cross as the minister was being Born Again.
The victim mentality also connects to what some call “generational curses”, yet if all curses are hung on the Cross how can we be cursed? How can anyone curse what God has blessed? It’s not so much a curse, but a thinking we maintained from the environment of the family order. True, Noah cursed Ham’s generations, by cursing Canaan, but Canaan was the youngest, thus the words of Noah were more prophesy based on the nature of Ham; in the world there are generational curses, but we’re not of the world. However, if believe we are cursed, we will act like it, even if we’re not. If we believe we are a failure, we will act like it, even in the midst of a victory. The victim mentality always seeks to be the victim, or martyr, always worse off than anyone else. As a man believes so is he, as we have believed, so we speak. Everything produces after its own kind, by our words we are justified or condemned: principles stand regardless.
The same is true regarding self-justification, or all those “spiders on the wall” as the protectors we form to keep egos from danger. When we are hurt we want to protect ourselves from future pain, so we build a wall around our ego, then we put “watchers” in place. These watchers are reasonings regarding the past events or the people who hurt us. They have identifying markers we put on them, when someone or something comes close to the “reminder spider”, it defends our egos, as we weave a web of protection, which is really deception. Anyone who touches the “wound” has taken on the form of the attacker, thus we attack back. Our defense is up, our natural weapons are ready, when confronted, we strike the venomous blow. Anger comes to the surface, or self-pity, or any number of emotions we have learned to use against people. We think we are killing the spiders by attacking the person or event, all we’re doing it giving the spider more power. The spiders hold the wall together, thus when we figure out God’s desire is not only to rid us of the spiders, but to see the wall fall, then we can begin to work with God, rather than fight Him.
In the process of salvation some of the lessons may seem tough, but the tougher the lesson, the greater the gain. If we’re merely seeking what “feels good” to us, we will miss the plan of God. We must seek God’s definition of Good, the flesh thinks if it’s pleased, God is pleased; yet the New Man gains a joy unspeakable when God is pleased.
We have the division, but is there more to this division? Yes, the Word in us is the Holy Spirit (New Man); who is always active, but we also have a duty. We put aside filthiness, and superfluity of naughtiness, then Receive with meekness the Engrafted Word which is able to save our souls (James 1:21). Clearly we have to do something, we have to put off, meaning we have the authority and power. We also have the power and authority to receive with meekness the engrafted Word. The Engrafted Word means the Spirit and Soul working as One. There is a great activity going on by God in our lives, yet most of it is in the unseen area. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, but it’s also the very evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1). The basis for the unseen is the Holy Spirit in us, the goal or unseen hope is the saving of our souls, whether we like the event or not isn’t the question, whether we gain what God has for us is.
However, it does little good to pray for God to expose and remove deception, if we are not easily entreated: when exposure comes we will reject it, make excuses, enter self-justification, or begin to form a hard heart in the area of exposure. We could be soft hearted in some areas, but when something comes up in the area of the hard heart our attitude changes from “bless you sister”, to “I come against you in the Name of Jesus, I’m saved, you are attacking the anointed” Meow, hiss, bite, devour. Generally speaking we don’t mind having a word of exposure for someone else, but when the word comes to us, we get mad. Exposure is the first step to being healed, all of us have tares planted by the enemy, or his workers. For the most part the tare planters had no idea what they were doing; neither did we when we were planting tares. It’s also possible we misinterpreted what someone said, or the event, or made them the “bad guy”, then planted a tare in ourselves. The Spirit of Truth is cleaning the house (soul) as He forms us into the Image of God’s son. It’s this area some of us lack knowledge, when exposure comes we either fall into self-pity, or presume the devil just attacked us. Self-pity isn’t the answer, neither is giving the devil credit. We must be open, so we can teach others to be open, so they can be healed as well.
Within the realm of the saving of the soul we find the healing of the soul, the healing of our minds, with the healing and saving of our emotions. Emotions are important, after all God has them; however, when our emotions govern our words, actions, or responses, we’re in trouble. Also using emotions, saved or unsaved as a basis of ministry is failure in the making. Our emotions are beneficial, but only when they are saved, so they can be used accordingly. A healed soul stops looking for validation for our position, it stops bringing up the same hurts over and over. It stops equating the blessing in hand to personal holiness or an advantage over others. If something bad happens we must stop attempting to find blame, even in ourselves, rather we seek God for the solution, as we refuse to exalt the pollution. At times we produce the same failures, just so we have an excuse not to move forward in the Spirit. The Word will expose those areas, but we must hear, then obey in order to be free indeed.
When things aren’t going the way we want, the first thing we do is look for someone or something to blame, which ends producing Ishmaels. If we listen to the Spirit we will learn form the event, then gain a healing. Even a temptation has a route of escape, a another lesson to be learned (I Cor 10:13 & James 1:2-3). Anything governing how we react, or how we respond has power to rule us, including misconceptions of past events we have held for years. We have memories, for the most part we think they are Truth, but when we were in the world we judged people and events by the wisdom of man, forming strongholds, illusions, or misconceptions. The New Man begins by healing our souls as He removes strongholds; however, He doesn’t remove our minds. The misconceptions or strongholds are removed, thus our memories then become beneficial to us, rather than haunting us. The renewing of our mind, is the Transfiguration or change from one mindset to another (translated as Transformed – Rom 12:2). Rather than view the events or people from the wisdom of man, we now see them from the Wisdom of God, thus we find Purpose, rather than bitterness.
What else can stop us? Unbelief? Yes, it always does, but there is a worse enemy in the kingdom of heaven, Iniquity. Jesus talks about the workers of Iniquity, but He doesn’t talk about the “workers of sin”. Sin is a transgression, or Trespass, which is an unlawful entry into a place we should not be. Iniquity is an unbalanced position, doing one thing, yet failing to do another we’re suppose to. Simply failing isn’t the question, many of us have failed, but we failed because we lacked the wherewithal to do the job. We had a sponge, instead of a hammer. Iniquity is internal, it’s a self-based failure motivated by the darkness (Hab 1:3); however, when we add the title “worker of iniquity” we find this failure takes time and effort, becoming a way of life. It is not something we just failed to do, the workers of iniquity work at not doing the Father’s will, it’s why Jesus called them “workers”. There are traits accompanying the attitude of the unteachable, as they hold more to traditions than truth; they exist in anger, attacking, setting traps, lying in wait to deceive, yet at the same time they do things. The next section will cover the extreme of these workers, but for here we must know the Word in us is working to save of our souls. The New Man in no way is going to encourage us to commit iniquity; like Jesus, the New Man hates iniquity (Heb 1:9).
On the other hand we could hear a Word of encouragement, but then allow the old nature to tell us, “It won’t work, it’ll go sour, it always does”. All we’re doing is exercising the old nature, while setting the stage for failure. We proclaimed failure before we started, a sure sign of unbelief ruling the nest. All we have to do is fit the call, not make it. The other side of the coin is pride, proclaiming the work is done, before it begins.
The saving of our soul knows the old nature is there, we define it, recognize it, but we don’t dwell on it. It almost sounds like we’re paranoid, but really we’re a people between two nations, the old is flesh centered, yet termed dead, the New One is Life. Esau and Jacob are examples of two nations from one womb, Esau was first to break the womb, but God considered Jacob first, thus God loved Jacob, but hated Esau before either did any good or evil (Rom 9:11-13). This Scripture shows they were born into the sin nature, but had not sinned. True God knows the future before man does, but the concept also shows Esau had the birthright in hand, it was his without any effort on his part, but he failed to respect it. He knew it was his, or he would never have given it away, thus before the prize was in hand, he allowed his flesh to sell his inheritance. The same is true with a few in the kingdom who are the workers of Iniquity, thus we find the Book of Hebrews using Esau as an example someone who sells their birthright for the flesh, causing them to fail at (fall from) Grace (Heb 12:15-16).
Being Born Again is the greatest gift anyone on earth could have, it’s so powerful and wonderful the entire history of the universe centers around it. We must respect it, appreciate it, yet understand it was presented to complete the prophesy, “let us make man in Our Image”. We place our Hope in the Lord, yet faith is the substance of things Hoped for (Ps 131:1-3). This process is called the Metamorphosis, or renewing of the mind. We need a New Mind of Christ to go with the New Man, this mind counts the victory in hand, before the battle begins. The old man counts the failure in hand, before the battle begins. It does little good to be Born Again, yet retain a carnal mind.
If the premise of Greater is He in me is true, if the premise of Christ in me the Hope of Glory is true, which they are, then the Manifestation is the outward exhibition of what is already in us. We are not sent to destroy the devil, we are sent to destroy his works. Those works are the deeds, methodology, or wiles, but if we continue to use them, how is it destroying them? It stands, our biggest enemy is the old nature housed in the flesh, it just keeps running around pumping air into dead rats. For the most part if we want to see the real enemy face to face, all we need to do is look in the bathroom mirror.
The metamorphosis of the mind is not the same as the saving of the will, or the saving of the emotions. When we are crucified with Christ sin loses it’s power, the mantel of sin is the flesh, if the mantel is imputed dead, the performance is dead as well. The old man is only effective in darkness, when Light comes he loses his effectiveness. The only exception would be the Wicked who have made entry, yet retain the old authority of darkness. However, we are not of them who draw back to perdition, but of them who believe unto the saving of the soul (Heb 10:38-39).
As an example of the Engrafted Word we can use is the principle of the saving of the emotions. The principle begins when we gain the revelation (clarity) of, “For every one who uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongs to them who are of Full Age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb 5:13-14). Peter said we should desire the Sincere Milk of the Word as newborn babes, the word Desire is always coupled with the Will (I Pet 2:2). However, the Greek word used for “Word” in First Peter 2:2 is different from the one used in Hebrews. Peter tells us to seek the Word (spoken Logos) as we did when we were babes, showing we continue to seek those who speak the Logos. Wait the Logos is milk? Yes, the spoken Logos is milk, but coupled with the Rhema it becomes Meat. Milk is hearing, meat is doing, meaning the Rhema is the application of the Logos.
When we hear by the Rhema, we are adding the desire to do what we heard; faith is then applied to accomplish the task. The same principle is seen in the Book of Hebrews, the Milk must grow to Meat, but we must not reject Milk. In Hebrews it’s not discerning good or evil, rather by using the Word (Logos) of God our senses are being trained, as we become reactionary to the Word as a part of our nature. Rather than attacking, we respond by the Word. The Greek word used for Full Age in Hebrews 5:14 is Teleios meaning Complete, or Mature, it doesn’t mean one has reached the pinnacle of their growth, only they have passed the “little children” stage. A sure sign of Immaturity is the constant endeavor to have our own way, or getting mad when things don’t go our way; whereas a mature Christian deals with the event in a Godly manner.
This brings us to the Isaac-Ishmael Principle, two elements within the same house, but with different mothers, one subject to the Covenant, one not, yet both developed into nations. We know when anger begins to boil inside we have one voice saying, “use it”, another saying “don’t do it, discern this, show Mercy”. What’s going on? Are we nuts? No, the old man uses the wisdom of man by the spirit of man; yet the New Man is using the Mind of Christ. Ishmael is an allegory for the flesh, Isaac an allegory for the Spirit. The Covenant regarding Isaac was different, there was no cursing mentioned, thus Isaac never had his named changed. Both Abram and Jacob had their names (authority) changed, thus Isaac is an allegory used by Paul to show the purpose of the Promise was the one son of promise, not two (Gal 4:22-5:26). Ishmael refused to submit, rode on the back of his mother, mocked the son of promise, yet God said he would be blessed for Abraham’s sake. Ishmael’s appear as blessings, but they carry many hindering areas as well, the only reason they appear to be a blessing is because we birthed them, yet they ride our backs, or mock us. We must be able to discern the difference between the Isaac and Ishmael.
The old man was correctly described by Jesus as a Worm (Mark 9:44-48), the product of the Worm (old man) is Wormwood (bitterness – Prov 5:4). The saving of the soul is a method God uses to change us from the Worm, to the Butterfly, from useless to useful, from unprofitable to profitable. It begins with the Washing of the Water by the Word, then continues in the Cleaning of the Blood from all unrighteousness. There are things we must do, we bind the strongman, or limit him by imputing him dead on the Cross of Jesus.
The saving of the soul brings clarity: the Wisdom of God is the manner in which we operate from clarity. The Corinthians were carnal and unable to detect the false, but Paul discerned false apostles had invaded the Corinthians by the very manner in which the Corinthians related to him. They were being used by the false, like most carnal people they became messengers of those using them. The false apostles were self-transformed, they wanted the position, but didn’t want to give up their old nature. They were used by the spirit of the world, they liked the feelings of being superior, or appearing morally correct in the eyes of man, but those were still pride based, and ego centered. Paul pointed out how they appeared one way, but inside Satan (old man) still ruled. The Word in us divides and separates for the purpose of clarity, we will never be able to assist our neighbor with the twig, when we exalt the telephone pole in our own eye.
It’s the sacrifice opening the process of nonconformance with the world, bringing us into conformance with the Spirit. There are several words in Romans 12:2 where we find this conformance; the word Conformed is the Greek Suschematizo, which is a compound word broken up into Sus Che Matizo relating to the Greek root word Psuche or Soul. This one word along with the word “World” tells us it doesn’t matter at what point during the our Season when we read this, it applies. The world is the world, the spirit of man is the spirit lusting to envy, but the danger is the spirit of the world. The world may grow in worldly knowledge, but it’s still run by the same spirit of man. There are many things going on in the world, most of which make little sense, but the world is the world, it’s not suppose to make sense. The Holy Ghost reproves the world, but grants us the Seed of God. The purpose for the Seed is to remove us from the world, so we are not condemned with the world. The word for World used in Romans means the dispensation, or an age, thus we are on this earth, but we are not suppose to be of the world. Regardless of the time of man; this present Age began on Pentecost, it will remain until the Rapture. The world to come will be the Night, the people will conform to the world then, since the Mountain of the Lord will sit on the mountains of the world; however, in our age the devil is not bound; defeated yes, bound no.
God isn’t looking for clones, He loves the differences between us, but He also wants us to have the Foundation of Christ, allowing us to conformed into the Image of God’s son as the Spirit brings our minds, wills, emotions and personalities into line with the Promise. Paul was still Paul, but he acted like Christ; John was still John, but he acted like Christ; Peter was still Peter, but he acted like Christ, all these nature changes came after Pentecost, but prior to Pentecost, Judas was still Judas and acted like the devil, yet Peter was still Peter, and acted like Peter. It would take a change in realms, natures, personages and character, which happens when we are Born Again.
We are not to fashion ourselves after the soulish realm of the world, which includes it’s logistics, reasoning, mental aspersions, goals, fears, desires, concepts, actions, or nature. The word for Mind used in the verse in Romans is all inclusive, it’s not the same as the Greek Noumenia, which only applies to the planning and plotting of the devise. There is the Noumenia of God, the Noumenia of man and Noumenia of the devil, giving us three Noumenias, all having their own concepts, power and authority; therefore, the Noumenia of man and the Noumenia of the devil are interrelated in the old man; whereas the Noumenia of God is found in the Mind of the Lord (I Cor 2:16). The word for mind used In Romans is inclusive of the aspects of our mind, will, emotions and every thought. We can’t renew our knowledge, yet leave our reasoning as it was, then assume we have been conformed to the Word in us. We can’t conform our reasoning and leave our imagination alone. We can’t move from the world to religion, using the same ways, assuming we are Saved. We either allow all of our mind to be renewed, or it will remain with the wiles of the enemy lurking in the corners. We give ourselves a living sacrifice, which is our reasonable (logical) service.
On the same note, we can also conform to a religious mind, and be none the better. Our relationship with Jesus must not be through a group, or some efforts of another person. Jesus gave Peter a commandment, in so doing He gave it to all of us, we Follow Jesus, not men, or groups formed by men. When we form our relationship with Jesus through organizations, or systems, we will associate with the dogma, tradition, rites, and dress codes of the sect. We will look like them, act like them, and think like them, but it doesn’t mean we think like the Word of God. It doesn’t give us the right to reject them either, it means our association with the Body and our relationship with Jesus are separate. The goal is to think with the Mind of Christ, act in the Character of Christ, and have the Ways (fruit) of God’s nature, all of which are found in the New Man.
The word Prove in Romans 12:2 is the Greek Dokimazo meaning one who has been tested in order to prove something, it goes further than simply saying something. It only applies to those who have been tried and found able to prove the Word is in them by their Ways. The word Good means distinguished as a Good character, thus we gain the character of Christ in the New Birth. The word Acceptable is also rendered as Well-pleasing, meaning one who Knows the Will of God, recognizes it as they walk in it.
Through Submission and Obedience to the Spirit, we receive the Sprinkling of the Blood. Both submission and obedience are acts of our will, but the Sprinkling is an Action by the Holy Ghost (I Pet 1:2). Moses sprinkled the people and the “book”, the Holy Ghost looks at us as the Book containing the Word, He sprinkles us as well. The Sprinkled sacrifice is acceptable to the Father, it’s not only presented holy, but kept so by the Blood of Jesus.
Humbleness is before Obedience, Jesus Humbled Himself and became Obedient unto death, even the Death of the Cross (Ph’l 2:8). Could Jesus stop the Cross? Yes, but did He? No, it’s the point. Like submitting, when we are forced to submit we are slaves, but when we make the choice to do so, it’s based on our will. Jesus became Obedient because He desired to please the Father, yet He had the power to call down angels to stop the entire process, or He had the Power to submit and allow it to happen. Do we also have the power? Yes, we can resist God, or submit, the choice is ours.
The word Perfect in Romans 12:2 means the Goal, or Completeness, it points to the Greek word Sozo used in James 1:21, translated as Saved. It refers to the one reaching the purpose to be whole and complete in Jesus. The word Perfect doesn’t mean one who has finished the race, as much as it means one who knows and holds the purpose of the race. We assume we must be Perfect, but here we find the issue of Faith looks unto perfection, knowing we have perfection in us making us perfect. Faith knows as long as we are reaching for Perfection in a lawful manner, we are what we seek.
This connects to II Corinthians 3:18 where we find we are being changed from glory to glory, into the image of God’s son to be a son of God. The word for Changed in II Corinthians 3:18 is the Greek word Metamorphoo which was translated as Transformed in Romans 12:2, from this word we get the English word Metamorphoses. This compound word is made up from Meta meaning Modified or changed by association, not merely a change, but what comes from the Association to bring about the change. Morphoo means To be fashioned into something different; therefore, this is a process of change by association, with the purpose to be changed into something completely different from our old nature. When the process is complete, the final product will surface. Paul said the glory in us will manifest, it’s the same principle. Making a self-change, or being self-transformed is not the same as Metamorphoo; self-transformed is by association to a religious conceptual thinking pattern, termed in the Greek Metaschematizo, or a change produced by ones mind, rather than the Spirit. Self-transformed tends to appear righteous, but the means, method and heart of the person is still pride based. They are the false apostles Paul saw in Corinth, they seek their own righteousness by promoting their own religious agenda, by using the spirit of the world (he of the world).
The process of the Word is not immolation, or being a victim, rather it’s being a servant with One Master, Christ Jesus; immolation takes place when we allow ourselves to be conformed to the world’s religious concepts. We don’t forsake the gathering of the brethren, simply because we like fellowship with like minds for the purpose of exhorting or encouraging one another in the Christ nature (Heb 10:25). If the gathering is not for the purpose of exhorting each other, it’s out of order, or we are. If we fellowship just so we are exhorted, we missed the point. We Exhort one another, simply going to church so we can be exhorted, without desiring to exhort others, is still self-based. How many people does it take to make a gathering? Two or three gathered together in the Name of Jesus.
The process of the saving of the soul is a Transformation and a Transfiguration, in Matthew 17:2 the word Transfigured is the Greek word Metamorphoo. While studying the concept of Metamorphosis we find three different English words in the Bible, yet all are the same Greek word, “be ye Transformed”, “be ye Changed”, “He Was Transfigured”, giving us Process. The Holy Ghost didn’t make a mistake in the translation, He wanted us to see the growth process. The first two show a progression, the last the result.
In Galatians 4:19 Paul said, “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you”. This verse lights up the realm of spiritual awareness, by showing the progression. Paul is travailing regarding the Birth Again, does it mean they can be Born Again, Again and Again? Hardly, Paul is looking to the restoration of the Galatians, into the purpose of why the Birth took place in them; therefore, he calls them Little Children, rather than Youngmen or Fathers. The Greek word Paul used for Formed in Galatians 4:19 is not Metamorphoo, but Morphoo, the root word to Metamorphoo, the word Morphoo means A change directly. Paul is asking the Galatians to reenter the forming process, so they can discern what they were about to do. If we have a friend or relative under the hand of some cult we pray for them to gain Clarity to their position and condition. Once they See, they will leave.
Metamorphoo is connected to the Change, Ephesians 4:23-24 gives us intent, method and purpose as we read, “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness”. The word Renewed is the Greek Ananeoo, which is only used here in Ephesians: it means to make young, or to make new again. This can’t mean renewing the spirit of disobedience, making the verse counterproductive. If the call is to Put on the New Man, what has it to do with the Mind? If the Mind is interior, why would putting on the New Man renew the mind? The old mind is flesh based, the soul remaining carnal can’t understand spiritual matters. Rather than being self-transformed, we find the call it to submit to the New Man to be transformed. The renewing is to put off the wiles of the old man, while putting on the attributes of the New Man. Our Attitude changes when the Spirit renews and changes our thinking; yet in order to be Renewed, we must make the choice. We don’t want to use the carnal, or natural methods to make the change, but we do want the change, thus our decision to allow the change to take place places us in the process of Metamorphoo.
Attitude is important, some of us were taught to believe in unbelief, or to believe in someone’s opinion, but the renovation of our mind is a stronghold removing process. The Holy Spirit will have us search out and confirm our doctrine, to make sure we haven’t picked up some opinion, or tradition we call doctrine. It can be a shock, or a multiple cleaning experience. Our “hero” said something we took on face value, we never studied to determine if it was correct or not, we filed it away under Truth, but it wasn’t truth. God will take us on a file searching, cleaning process to remove all those opinions we held as doctrine. It’s good, very good, but at the time it may not seem so.
Romans 6:4 says “Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death”, into death? What happened to Life? Our water baptism had many “symbols”, death of the old is one, but our baptism did not accomplish the task, rather it was our Token to enter the process in order for it to take place. Then we can receive with meekness the Engrafted Word, which is able to save our souls. Before Jesus was Resurrected the Cross had to take place, the same is true with us, we are not going to receive the Power of the Resurrection until death takes place. In our case it’s the imputed death of the old, to receive and enter the New. This is the beginning of the change, or the metamorphism of our Gethsemane, a place of pressure where the baptism of Fire becomes effective.
Romans 6:4 continues with, “Like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life”. Wait, doesn’t Romans 8:18 tells us the Glory is within? Yes, the same Spirit who raised Jesus. Ahh, the next step, is Paul saying we can walk in the Power of the Resurrection now? Yes, how else can we claim the New Life? The Greek word for Newness used in 6:4 is not Ananeoo, but Kainotes, which means a complete newness of life. “Sounds like a mind game”, it would be if Jesus never went to the Cross, or if He was not Resurrected, but Jesus did go to the Cross, He is Resurrected, it’s not a mind game, but faith.
If we walk in the Spirit, the gift makes room for itself. If we fight from the wrong position or sit in corrupt thought processes, the gift has to fight to gain room. It’s always the gift making the person, the person never makes the gift, or the office. Paul said we are given Grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ, thus Christ is included in the Gift (Charis), but then we find Jesus gave gifts (Doma – Offices) unto men (Eph 4:7-12). Two different gifts for two different purposes; however, can one be in an Office, yet be wicked? Yes, Judas, Korah, and Balaam prove the point. Although the Office is in the hands of the person, it’s the Office making the person, the person doesn’t make the Office. We can submit to the anointing of the Office, allowing it to work, just as we can submit to the New Man unto the saving of our souls, or we can resist either.
Judas was a member of the ministry, ordained by Jesus. When Judas remained in the confines of the Office, it worked, but he went outside the authority of his office to betray the Lord, he entered rebellion. When he continued to make his rebellion work for him, he entered iniquity. Korah was a man whose family order was given the duty to carry the things of the Tabernacle, but he lusted for the position of Moses. He moved beyond his calling, attempted to remove a God appointed man from a position so he could possess it. Korah is an example of the “spirit of takeover”, the person who moves into a local body with the purpose of taking sheep, Jesus called them wolves. Korah didn’t misuse his position, he sought after a position not afforded him. After all Korah was of the tribe of Levi, he had change of the elements of the Tabernacle, a man of the cloth, a prayer warrior don’t you know, but his envy overcame him. Balaam never gave a false prophecy, we still use his prophecies, “God is not a man that He should lie” for one. However, Balaam was not a teacher, he moved outside of his calling to get what he wanted by teaching Balak how to place a stumbling block before the children (Rev 2:14). All three men had positions, yet all three are examples of someone in an office, who remained corrupt by refusing to judge their ways.
We have seen someone in an Office operate under the anointing, then all of a sudden they say some real nasty things about people, or introduce a fable saying “the Lord told me this”. What happened? They moved from the anointing of the Office to their personal opinion. The problem develops when we can’t discern the difference between the anointing of the office, or the opinion of the person. From the various verses we can conclude Judas was well liked among the brethren. “Wait, where does it say that?”. He influenced the other disciples to hold indignation against Mary when she anointed the Lord for burial. At the table Jesus said, “he who sups with Me”, then Judas went into the dish like a bird after fish, yet none of the disciples looked at Judas as the traitor. Why? No one thought it could be Judas. Jesus said if it were possible the false could fool the elect. How? Personality, they appear to be nice, funny, likeable, but it’s a mask of niceness, scratch it, and out comes all the hate, bitterness, slander, or manipulation. Only the Word in us can discern the thought and intent: not only in us, but in others as well.
On the same note we could reject someone because they don’t make us laugh, or we didn’t get the “feeling” we’re looking for. Someone said something, then our anger came as the shield of our pride. It’s exposure, if we have the Spirit we know it’s time to be free by the Power of His Christ, on the other hand we could reject the person. “I don’t like the way they dress”, “they’re not funny, how can they teach?”, “I didn’t like what they said”, “who do they think they are?”, “A woman? They are suppose to remain silent”, “I didn’t get goose bump one, it’s not be the anointing”. All these are carnal voices making judgments from the wrong realm in order to reject what the person said. The carnal mind will not accept the person is from the Lord, thus giving them the excuse to reject the words spoken, a very big mistake, we are to Discern, in order to Learn. The cleaning process takes a scrubbing by the Rhema through the experiences of Mercy. Life will scrub away death, Mercy will scrub away bitterness, Grace will scrub away all forms of darkness. The word for Washing means To use a harsh stone to remove deep stains; we’re not talking about a shower, or a gentle bath, this scrubbing seeks out those hidden hindering elements setting themselves against us (Eph 5:26).
The saving of our soul brings our souls into the nature of Christ, because it’s what we desire. We want to be used of God, which is a desire to operate in the New Nature, but there are those who want to use God, they still hold to the old nature. The Word is Sharper than any Two Edged Sword, fully able to divide for clarification, it’s not a Sword, but sharper than one. The Word in us will Merismos, granting us clarity where we can view the intent, thought and source, not only in ourselves, but in others as well; however, it must begin with us, before we attempt to apply it to others. Faith entails many things, Belief entails many things, but in order to enter Faith and Believe in the Name of Jesus we must have a Blessing attitude.
The principle regarding the two natures is found throughout the Bible, we know about the Isaac-Ishmael, and the Jacob-Esau principles, but there is also the Hagar-Sarah principle Paul also talked about, the Hagar-Ishmael principle, there is the David-Saul principle, the David-Goliath principle, and so on, all giving us many useful allegories so we can see there is a battle to be fought and won.
In First Corinthians 10:13 the premise some of us forget in the time of temptation. Paul says “there has no temptation taken us, but such as is common to man; but God is Faithful, Who will not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able”. If we left it there, it would seem we are to use Will Power to overcome, but Paul didn’t stop there, rather he added “but Will with the temptation also make a way to escape, it we may be able to bear it”. God will not lead us into temptation, but He will lead us out of it, if we Hear and Obey. God didn’t bring the temptation, neither did He bring those horrific events in the world, but He nonetheless can use them. God saw the event or the temptation long before we were involved, yet He made a way of escape, then interjected a learning process for us. The person who says, “Man I just escaped, am I lucky or what?”, has failed to give God the glory, they haven’t learned a thing: the spiritual child learns by giving God the glory.
The Book of Hebrews tells us there are two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, two things so entangled in the nature of God, He can never deny them (Heb 6:18). Where is the nature? In the Believer by the Spirit, since God cannot lie regarding these two things, neither can the New Man. The word Immutable could also read Unchangeable, it comes from the Greek word Ametahetos, which is a compound word referring to God’s Spoken constitutional will (Greek Boule), showing He will not go one way or the other to change these two things. This word is Unchangeable, Not able to be changed, based on an Oath from God. These two promises are “Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee” (Heb 6:14). The Blessing is found in the New Birth, the multiplying in the saving of our souls, God has sealed us with the Holy Spirit of promise to confirm the oath. The two areas of blessing and multiplying become a Hope and an Anchor to our souls (Heb 6:19). Experience brings Hope, but the Anchor keeps us in place during the storm. We can remain steadfast when we know it’s God doing the work, all things are beneficial, all things are gain.
Do the un-regenerated persecute the regenerated? Of course, it happens all the time, but for those who endure the persecution and affliction, the Root grows deeper, as the Root grows it also finds things in deep places (Mark 4:16-17). Those who hear from the old man enjoy religion, but refuse to submit, they have no root (Mark 4:17). Do we think God only sold 120 tickets to the Upper Room? If the people of the nation would have accepted the Lord’s Word, there could have been an entire Nation in the upper room, but they made a decision to yell out “Crucify Him”, rather than “Save us”. Their Salvation was before them, but not forced on them.
Since the Word of God is Life, Quick, Powerful and Sharper than a two-edged Sword, it stands the attributes of the Word must relate to a process of effectiveness. We already know the Word refers to the Greater He in us, so let’s keep it in context. Within the concept of Life we find the Light of God, in the Light is His Love, thus God is Love and Light. The Greek word Zao is used for Life comes from the Greek Zao from which we get the English word Biography (a story of someone’s life), the Word in us will produce our Testimony of Life. A Biography is not something we write about ourselves, that would be an Autobiography, a Biography is when someone else writes about us. The Record in heaven is our real Life record, the Witness is bringing it to pass. Paul had confidence in the Record in heaven, not the soulish conclusions of man.
The Greek word used for Sharper is only found in Hebrews 4:12, it means To cut as a fine instrument, much like a scalpel, but it doesn’t mean to separate into parts, it means to open up for an examination. The Word of God brings clarity, but we must be meek and ready to hear, thus God’s Wisdom brings us to a point to be easily entreated. The word Engrafted calls for a meekness on our part, which entails a soul ready to receive the productivity of the Word in us. Our submission will allow the Word to break strongholds, expose lusts, heal wounds, remove tares, pains and wrong thinking we have retained, bringing us in order with God. This shows the Righteousness came with the Seed of God, it’s not something we earn, it’s something we accept, thus God’s love is not something we earn either, it’s something we receive.
This brings us to the action of the Transfiguration, the soul hears the Revelation, then attempts to jump to the Manifestation without the Transfiguration taking place. The Transfiguration comes after the Mount of Olives (Mercy), not before. The Transfiguration is a process, it entails mercy, faith, hope, love and the all important, “waiting on the Lord” on our part, with the Work of the Spirit on God’s part. During the waiting the soul has a tendency to Faint, give up, or attempt to use carnal means. For consider Him who endured such contradiction of sinners, against Himself, lest you be wearied and Faint in your minds (Heb 12:3). Wait, wait, wait on the Lord, in His timing He will tell you what to do, what to say, and where to go. Tarrying is often one of the hardest works of faith, anyone can jump out of the boat, it takes a good steward to remain with the boat until it reaches the destination.
When our own soul brings those deceptive suggestions, we must rebuke it; What? Speak to our own soul, who has heard of such a thing? The sons of Korah presented some of the Psalms, as they wrote, “As the hart pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after You, O God” (Ps 42:1). Then the soul becomes disquieted in the time of waiting, we read, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? and why are you disquieted in me?” (Ps 42:5). Instead of building the pollution, the solution is found in “hope you in God, for I shall yet praise (give thanks) Him for the help of His countenance” (Ps 42:5). Does it end there? Hardly, now we take our souls to God and say, “O my God, my soul is cast down within me: there will I remember You from the Land of Jordan…” (Ps 42:6). Remember all the times God delivered us? Remember all the times the training produced a Godly result? If we listen to the Holy Ghost He will bring things to our remembrance. Then we talk to our souls, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? and why are you disquieted within me? hope you in God: for I shall yet praise Him Who is the health of my countenance, and my God” (Ps 42:11). There is a time to place a Watchman on our lips, putting our eyes on the standard (the Cross) before us (Hab 2:1-2).
When we submitted to the baptism with the Holy Ghost to obtain the Spirit, did we forget the Fire? The fire of God burns away the wood, hay and stubble. The children in the wilderness forgot His works, they believed not His Word (Ps 106:24). They murmured in their tents (souls), they hearkened not unto the Voice of the Lord (Ps 106:25). He gave them their requests, but He also sent leanness into their souls (Ps 106:15). Their flesh was full, but their souls were empty of God’s delight. Did God not save them from the hand of them who hated them? Yes (Ps 106:10). Did He do great and mighty works for them in Egypt? Yes (Ps 106:8-9). Did they appreciate it? No, they forgot all He had done, they failed to Remember, causing them to enter idol worship, producing their own snare (Ps 106:36-37).
What should they have done? In your patience possess you your souls (Luke 21:19), or as the TR reads, “no way shall perish in the patience of you, you will gain the souls of you”, showing Patience brings endurance to stay the course. Patience doesn’t stop to walk on water, it gets to the other side.
James says the fruit of Righteousness is sown in Peace of them who make Peace (James 3:18). When we see the armies gather, don’t panic, gain patience to possess your soul (Luke 21:20). James said Let patience have her perfect work, but the work comes from the trying of our faith (James 1:3-4). The word Patience is the Greek Hupomone meaning To preserve, or Stay the course without moving from side to side, or stopping mid-way. Patience is not merely holding the same attitude, after all one could be angry all the time. Patience in a Godly sense means enduring with a stable intent in clemency and gentleness, holding a willing heart ready to apply Mercy as we stand in Faith regardless of the event until we finish the course.
Matthew 16:24-26 connects to Matthew 26:41; Jesus said “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his Cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”. What do we possess which we can give God to redeem our soul? Nothing, absolutely nothing, yet God has given us a creation from Him, our souls, we give our souls to the Lord, He blesses, breaks, brings into a spiritual nature, willing to do the work of the Lord.
Jesus is our Sabbath, He will give us rest, but we must change yokes (Matt 11:28-30). Now wait, the yoke is destroyed, right? Yes, for the sake of the Anointing, thus we find even though the old yoke is destroyed, we must put it off; we will not find rest for our souls while the old yoke remains. Jesus used two different Greek words for Rest in Matthew 11:28-30; the first word for Rest means to find a place to be Refreshed, a tranquil place to ponder in quietness. The second usage means a place of Intermission or Recreation. We need to be refreshed, there are times when we need to slow down. The word Burdened refers to a ship so full of freight it begins to sink. Sounds familiar, but the key word for the yoke Jesus gives us is Easy; in the Greek this word means Pleasant, Profitable, or Having nothing harsh, it becomes Useful toward others; the Yoke of Jesus is a pleasure leading us into the Good things of God.
Our soul will always magnify something, but it better magnify the Lord (Luke 1:46-47). Once our soul runs off magnifying something or someone other than the Lord, we will use the old nature to enter the play zone of the devil (darkness). We must bring our soul under submission to Jesus, the Shepherd (Pastor) and Bishop (Overseer) of our souls (I Pet 2:25). It seems strange to use the soul to cause the soul to submit, yet it’s done by the measure of faith, thus it must be by Faith, not will power. The Greek word Pheumatikos means Charismatic, or Grace Motivated, the word Automatic means Self Motivated, we desire to be Motivated by Grace, not the Self. However, if the Spirit is saving our souls, what is He saving us from becoming? What happens when we refuse to bind the Strongman? What happens when we allow those strongholds to build, or refuse to allow them to come down? What is the danger in accepting the spirit of the world? What happens when we allow the old nature to rule? Clearly we must Bind the Strongman, and put off his deeds.
SUPERSOUL – THE DEMONIC PSUCHIKOS OF HELL
In First Thessalonians 4:14 Paul said, “for if we believe Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him”, then in 4:15 he spoke of another group, “we which are alive and remain”; however over in 5:6-7 he told us not to sleep, but watch and remain sober, what gives? When the Rapture comes there will be three groups in the Body; in Romans he told us about those who mind the flesh, and those who mind the Spirit, then in Ephesians he talked about those who lie in wait to deceive. Those who sleep in Jesus walked in Mercy, but for one reason or another, not their fault were robbed of gaining the Spirit to be among the Dead in Christ. However, in Corinthians he spoke of those who are run by the spirit of the world, they are opposed to the Spirit which is of God (I Cor 2:11-12). James said we can’t have friendship with the world, yet claim God (James 4:4). John said if we love the world, the love of God is not in us, for the world exists in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life (I Jn 2:15). There are the Wicked in the field, they are the “he of the world”, run by the spirit of the world, it brings the fears and cares of the world into the Body, it attempts to move us from the Spirit to the flesh, or worse attempts of involve us in the cares of the world.
Both Paul and John told us when the Rapture comes we will be removed from the earth to meet Jesus in the air, yet the “rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished”, referring to those who sleep in Jesus (Rev 20:5). At the Judgment we find all sorts of groupings, among them are those who sleep in Jesus. Yet, there is a third group in the Body, the drunken who go into the Night (I Thess 5:7). They are the ones who lie in wait to deceive, they retained the spirit of man, until it became the spirit of the world. Peter said they were saved from the world, but are again entangled in the world (II Pet 2:19-22). Jesus called them workers of iniquity they energized the power of darkness by putting on a mask of righteousness, but inside Satan still reigns (II Cor 11:13-15).
The Spirit is Justifying us so we can fit “the Just live by faith”, but there are those who draw back to perdition, they are the “sons of perdition”, those who have a Judas nature, we call them “supersouls”. However, the term “supersoul” is like the term “spiritual warfare”, we won’t find the exact term in the Bible, but we do find the concept. The Greek word Psuchikos goes a little further than Psuche, Psuchikos is defined as Natural but when we add both James’ and Jude’s comments we find the Psuchikos can become more powerful than one can imagine. Although they are few, the concept shows they entered the Body, giving them the same ability as anyone else who enters. They have authority over the spirit lusting to envy, yet they accept the spirit of the world, they are worldly in nature, thus they are of the wrong spirit making them supernatural, but not in mercy. Therefore, Paul tells us they are formed into vessels of dishonor, rather than vessels of mercy.
James tells us the wisdom of man is earthly, sensual (Psuchikos) and devilish; Jude expands on this, telling us there are those who separate (divorce) themselves, who are sensual (Psuchikos). Jude also says there are those who crept in unawares, thus they are “in”, but they also turned the Grace of our God into lasciviousness (Jude 19 & 4). They prove there are some in the Body who not only don’t have the Spirit, but they use the ways of the world to their advantage, even if it’s against people in the Body, they are spots in our love feasts (Jude 12). John said those who are antichrist came from us, but were not of us (I Jn 2:18-19). They retained the he of the world, while rejecting the Greater He. Just another example of those who reject the Spirit, yet wear the mask of righteousness. In each case we find they are within, they had the opportunity, the ability was granted them, the path was open, yet they were not in this for the sake of Christ, they entered for the sake of power, validation, to appear morally correct before men, or to feel superior over people, or some other self-based reason. They are over concerned about the affairs of the world, Paul told Timothy “no man who wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life (world)” (II Tim 2:4). We are called to pull them from the world, but the spirit of the world attempts to make the Kingdom the world.
Yikes, it’s all over, we’re doomed! Not hardly, the Broken Body of Jesus will happen, the enemies of Jesus will be made His footstool, there will be a falling away from The Faith, no one is going to stop it, it’s in the Plan, it must be. However, we need not be the ones who cause the Body to be broken. The truth remains, they make the choice to become sons of perdition, even after they are presented with the evidence of their error. Hebrews 10:38 tells us the Just live by faith, thus we find Life, Faith, are in the Just (Justified), but we are not of them who draw back to perdition (sons of perdition, or born back into perdition), but of them who Believe unto the saving of the soul. Therein lays the difference, the sons of perdition are not seeking the saving of their souls, they want their souls to become Godly, without God. Paul said they will sit in the temple of God, claiming they are God. The prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel defined them many years prior (Isa 14:12-16 & Ezek 28:2-10). They are real, but praise ye the Lord, the main function of the New Man is not only to remove us from them, but to remove us from being one of them. The truth remains Greater is He who is in us, than he in the world. The he of the world is a product of the spirit of the world, opposing the Spirit that is of God (I Cor 2:12).
When we were in the world we did things by the nature of the world, we didn’t think about them, we just did them. For the most part those things were more than habit, they were by nature, as part of our character. There were those things we thought about before doing them, as we pondered the reward, or the duty, or the hazard to ourselves, then we did them if we had to, or did them because we could see some gain in the doing. When we obtained the New Nature we find ourselves doing good deeds without thinking about them, because they are part of our character. We didn’t ponder the reward, we obeyed by nature. We may be surprised at how many “good” things we do without thinking about them. The Lord may even tell us, “you gave me water when I was a thirst”, we ask, “when Lord?, “if you have done it to the least, you are My brethren”. Often those little things we do by the New Nature are adding up faster than the things we think about doing. Simply, we just do them, we give a word, a smile, something we don’t think about, or ponder. Our nature in the process of being Justified is changing each day, thus as another day goes by we gain whether we know it or not.
The “supersoul” on the other hand thinks about the self-reward, how they will be honored for the doing, how they will be lifted up by man, or lifted by their own pride, they work to impress man, they seek to be validated by mankind, they presume they are the head of the Body, or they think they are the purpose for the Body, assuming without them Christianity would not exist. They like the feeling of bringing fear or terror into the Body, the world is run by the spirit of fear, just watch the news. However, we are a people of faith, the danger is the introduction of fear into our minds. The Wicked are so concerned about the affairs of the world, they are more involved in the world, than the Kingdom.
They loved the old nature and twisted it into a religious mode, thus they are self-transformed, they’re in this for Power, or self-enhancement. They are all self, the Simon Magus of our time. Their “spiritual” abilities (if any) are Mystic, mind games, or magic, they are the ones who could even fool the elect if it were possible. Paul called them false apostles, with a mask of righteousness, but inside Satan still reigns (II Cor 11:13-15).
They are not Novices, nor Babes, nor just carnal, they have learned how to use the spirit of man, by being used of the spirit of the world. They too have an authority, but rather than being subject to the Spirit, they made the choice to be opposed to the things of the Spirit. They manipulate as a matter of nature, they twist Scripture to their own destruction; where can we find them defined? Isaiah 14:12-14 speaks of Lucifer, the “son of the morning”, or the “morning light”, in either case we find he is of the Morning, which means he is in the beginning of the Day, yet related to the Light of the Day. Lucifer is a man (Isa 14:16), he says within himself how he will ascend, or exalt himself and his throne, or be Superior, the same description Paul uses in Thessalonians (II Thess 2:24), they are natural, supposing spiritual matters are foolishness. During the Day they are confined to the Body, for good reason, but when the Rapture comes they shall be revealed (II Thess 2:3). The mystery of Iniquity is around now, but the sin comes in the Night, when they appear as the Beast of the Earth. The Beast of the Sea has the power, authority and seat of Satan, the Beast of the Earth is the he of the world, using the authority of the dragon.
Ezekiel adds to this, but speaks along the same terms in reference to the Prince of Tyrus. A Prince is known by the realm they represent, called a principality. Tyrus was a real place, a Gentile place by the sea, representing the sea (Gentile world). The word Tyrus or Tyre means Rock, but it’s a counterfeit of the Rock of Christ, it fits with the words of Jesus, they will say they are Christ like, but they will lack Christ in them. The “Prince of Tyrus” is then associated with a Rock, but has failed (iniquity) to join into the purpose of the Rock. Since there is an association to the Rock, we know they not only had opportunity to obtain the saving of the soul, but had the power to be justified as well (Heb 10:38-39). Rather than joining to the Purpose of faith, even the salvation of their souls, they became the “synagogue (gathering) of Satan”, seen both in the Day and Night (Rev 2:9, 2:13 & 3:9). They seek religion, or a sense of being moral in man’s eyes, they want to empower their own nature, thus after the Rapture they will run to the only religion on earth, where they worship at their feet (footstool) of the Sixth church. Then they will do as before, allowing their corrupt souls to rule, they will look for the opportunity to takeover another body, when the Seventh church surfaces, they will move in, as Sudden Destruction begins.
The Prince found in Ezekiel 28 also says in his heart how he is God, but God says he is a “man” (Ezek 28:13). Paul used the same general terms when defining the son of perdition, showing the son of perdition opposes and exalts himself above all called God, or is worshiped: so he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself as God (II Thess 2:3-4). Where does he do this? In himself, it’s a stronghold converted into an illusion by religious antics to impress their own self. It’s the same attitude of the spirit of the world; they look down on other members of the Body, unless they can be used in their self-exaltation. This son of perdition ends in perdition, because he worked at his iniquity, becoming a “man of sin”, who exalts the number of a man. We can see this goes much further than someone who is carnal, or natural in their thinking. The spirit of man is ignorant of the spiritual things of God, the spirit of the world is opposed to the Spirit which is of God, much different, thus the spirit of the world produces the “supersoul” or Super Psuchikos, making the concept clear.
What makes a Supersoul? When we were in the world we were run by the spirit of man, but when we came into the Kingdom the old spirit lost it’s power to dominate us. It still makes suggestions, but it’s all it can do. The Supersoul takes the principles of God then twists them into the worldly realm by the spirit of the world as a counterfeit to the Spirit which is of God. Rather than the spirit of man ruling over them, they are used by the spirit of the world to gain for their advantage. Therein lays the danger, they actually have power over the spirit of man, but they turn it into the he of the world by using it under their control as they use the wiles of the devil in a religious manner. They pray for people, but remark it’s their prayers accomplishing the deed, not the power of God. They say their faith is the instrument God uses to benefit the people, rather than Christ benefiting the people. Our prayers and faith are vital, but God is still the source.
The carnal minded still have lusts they refuse to deal with, as did the Corinthians; Babes are no different, John wrote to the Children about the spirit of antichrist, since they are in the vulnerable area. These Supersouls like to prophesy, but they speak to a lust, enticing the person to follow their lust. Their words seem like “encouragement”, but they point to a false direction. They allow people to think of them more highly than they should, thus their victims are drawn away by their own lusts. Some of the supersouls are termed “Whackos”, some begin cults, some hide in the Rock waiting for the chance to deceive.
In Second Thessalonians 2:7 we find the Wicked are being restrained by the Holy Ghost (now let in the KJV), yet we also find this Iniquity is already at work. Why would the Holy Ghost keep these Wicked, these enemies of Jesus, in the kingdom of heaven? To keep them in a place where they are subject to a greater Power, the time to repent is still now. Jude tells us to pull them in, yet do so with fear, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh (Jude 23).
These supersouls know how to manipulate, they are the ones who turn the Grace of our God into lasciviousness (Jude 4). Why even know about them? James, First John, II Peter, and Jude spend a great deal of time defining them, thus the Holy Ghost spent a great deal of time warning us about them. If the Holy Ghost wanted us to know about them, we better take heed by understanding they are the enemies within the house, they are antichrist in nature, the sons of perdition who become the Beast of the earth. We may discern them immediately, but the purpose of knowledge is to help others.
If we are the Justified, we live by faith, those who are Justified will be glorified, but the Wicked think they will be Glorified by self-justification. The forgiveness of our sins is important, but it’s also a Beginning, not the finish. First John makes a division between those in the Light, and those in the Darkness, yet both are termed “brothers”. Paul made a distinction between the vessels of honor and those of dishonor, the only difference is Mercy, thus the basis of our Love must be Mercy (Rom 9:20-21). Both the Wheat and Tares are in the same field, as the good fish and bad fish are in the same net. John shows there are some who say they have the Light, yet go about slandering the brethren, or discrediting the Body, showing they are still in darkness, regardless of what they say. All this shows we judge the fruit, or ways of a person, not the person.
Are these supersouls in the Church? No, not at all. They are in the Body, they are the ones Jude tells us have “spotted garments”. They entered the kingdom by the Mercy of God, making them free of the Law of Moses, but they refuse to submit to the Law of the Spirit; therefore, Jude says they separate themselves, not having the Spirit (Jude 19). Clearly they moved past the Cross, but they didn’t move far enough: the threat is not in the world, but the world in the person. Instead of following Him who was on the Cross, they think they are the Cross. Since they are free of one law, yet refuse to accept the other, they are Lawless. They see themselves over the Law, to them it’s Liberty, but it’s a ticket to the lake of fire.
First John tells us we should have Fellowship one with another, but it also shows we should have Fellowship with the Father. How? By treating the people of God, in the same manner as God does. Jesus told us to love one another as He loves us; we find the Wicked love themselves, or use love as a means to trap the ignorant. They move into a body with all the pleasing words, or tears, yet they are there to steal the ignorant sheep. They love pride and power, they love to be honored, they love anyone who worships them, or gives them honor and glory. The seeds of this self element is what the New Man is removing from us, thus all of us have the potential for sin as First John says, but if we are Born Again we cannot sin. Go figure? The potential to fall into sin is in the flesh is real, but the Greater He is fully able to overcome the he in the world. Therefore, the Wicked reject the Greater He, as they retain the he in the world, yet attempt to pass him off as the Greater He.
The New Man identifies these Supersouls to us, not for us to shake our finger at, but so we won’t be caught in their web of deceit. Paul says they lie in wait to deceive, they have used deception for so long, they have become deceived. They actually think their slanderous ways are a gift from God, if they sell the Dove they think it’s a means God gave them for advancement of their ministry. There are signs to their folly, Paul was able to see the masks of the false apostles, although he wasn’t in Corinth at the time. It’s how we respond after the detection; we can react carnally, or respond spiritually, the latter is far better. Knowledge is the awareness, wisdom the ability to deal with the awareness. If we see, yet know not what to do, we are observers, we must remain as such. However, if we are given something to say by the Holy Ghost, we speak as an oracle of God.
Why call them Supersouls? We are in this to get our souls saved, they are in this to keep their souls the way they are, except they want to infuse their souls with more power. They are the Simon Magus minded, they seek Power for evil reasons. For the most part these people are “likeable”, they use personality, or pleasing talk to trap their victims. Like the damsel in Acts, they prophesy to capture the mind of a person in order to control the mind of another. They are the voice behind the weak leader, they tell the leader what to say, and how to say it, they control leadership to get what they want. In the Night they will be the voice behind the image making desolation.
Jesus never made a theatrical performance when He cast out devils, or when He healed the sick. The Wicked make it theatrical; do they cast out devils? Yes, they are in the Body, but they make it a “side-show”. The least in the kingdom has the power to cast out devils, walking in the Christ nature is our goal.
It doesn’t take long in reading Second Peter, First John, or Jude to see there is a group within the Rock who are opposed to the Spirit, while at the same time claming they have the Spirit. Jesus said they would come “in His Name” saying they are Christ, it doesn’t mean they will say they are “the Christ”, only they are of the Body operating under the Unction over the Body (Matt 7:21-23). Nearly all of them will swear on a stack of Bibles what they are doing is a service to God, but their Ways give them away. This is the exact danger Paul warned the Novices about, they are more the victim than the perpetrator. As novices they have yet to face pride, they desire to be honored before men, thus they tend to pick up any teaching seemingly to be popular at the time. Paul says they will be lifted up with pride, then fall into the condemnation of the devil (I Tim 3:6). Unless they are rescued and restored they will follow the voice of the stranger, swearing it’s the Voice of God. It’s not those being taught by the Novice who are in danger, it’s the Novice. The anointing works, it’s suppose to, but the Novice thinks it’s them, or their great intellectual endeavors opening the door for pride to enter, capturing the soul in self-exaltation.
The metaphor Sea means Gentile, but the metaphor Earth points to a place neither the Sea, or the Sand of the Sea, it is the location upon which the Rock sits. There is no “beast of the Sand of the Sea”, neither is there a “Beast of the Sky”, or a “Beast of the Heavens”, really there is no “Beast of the Rock”. There are only two, the Beast of the Sea (world), and one of the Earth. The Earth? Wait, remove the Rock and what is left? Earth, the same element God used to form the flesh of man, thus the he in the world is still flesh centered. They are left behind at the Rapture, yet Jesus didn’t leave them, they left Him. Paul says they fall away from the Faith, not faith in general, but The Faith, the very means we have for access and boldness (I Tim 4:1). In II Thessalonians 2:3 the term “fall away” means a divorce, under the marriage laws the purposed bride cannot divorce, thus they make themselves “not of law” or Lawless, separating themselves.
Rather than bind the strongman, they use him, yet go about binding everything else. Rather than loose Mercy, they loose their pride. Although they promise us Liberty, they are still in bondage to the flesh (II Pet 2:19). They love the things of the world, yet they bring fear regarding the cares of the world. Some of them have taken this to another height, they have loosed the strongman to the point they have become Supersouls. Once any of us have been around a supersoul, we notice they all have the same character. They appear righteous on the outside, they may even be funny, or very personable, but then we discern something else, a puffed out chest, an ego, a mask, or a desire to be more than a member of the Body, they seek to be special above the Body. They may have the “hidden revelation”, the “only truth”, they want to be the Messiah to the Messiah, which is really a sign of their hidden pride and envy. They want to be the only Church formed by their hand, they desire to be superior over all, a controller of all, to have something none of the rest of the Body has, they think God has given them the members of the Body as their servants. They also think the same rules governing the rest of us don’t apply to them, they think God is a Respecter of persons, their person. They think it’s their job to destroy what they presume are the harmful elements of the Body, yet they are the harmful element.
Keeping us from becoming a part of them is the very reason the New Man takes us through wildernesses, sometimes several times. We’re being cleaned by the washing of the Water by the Word. This is important, many of the New Testament letters concern these figures. The Corinthians were invaded by these false apostles; the Galatians were bewitched by them; the Romans nearly became them, both Jude and Peter warn us of them. First Peter talks about the victory when we allow the New Man to do his job, but Second Peter speaks of the Wicked. First Peter talks about the work Jesus did with Peter, but Second Peter talks about the work Judas did with Judas. We want to be First Peter people, yet be aware of those found in Second Peter.
John calls them “antichrist”, Paul called them “vessels of dishonor”, Jude called them all sorts of things. They are natural, not spiritual, but they speak of the spiritual, they even say they are spiritual, but they lack spiritual attributes. It’s important to know these fish left the sea, but retained the Authority of the Beast of the Sea. Not all in the world are joined to the Beast of the Sea, but all in the world are under the spirit of disobedience. The Wicked have escaped the world, yet we’re not to confuse them with potential converts still in the world. John says these antichrists came from us, yet they retained the world in them (I Jn 2:19 & 4:1-4). They attack us with the he in the world, but we have the Greater He, thus the Greater He is fully able to save our souls, as we grow until we become Youngmen who have overcome the Wicked, then grow to become fathers (I Jn 2:13-14).
This is a battle of natures we seek the New Nature, but the Wicked retain a death grip on the old nature. What hope do we have? Greater is He in you, than he in the world. The Wicked lack the Greater He, because they desired the he of the world. The very premise behind First John is how any of us can fall into an area where we are either borderline wicked, or have engaged in wicked activities, yet the Blood of Jesus will clean us from all unrighteousness. The Wicked are a different bread, they love the feeling they obtain from belittling people, or feeling superior, or the fear they introduce into the Body. They love pride to the point, they often mistake it for the anointing.
The Wicked are engaged in the sin unto death, they worked their iniquity; allowing it to produce the unpardonable sin until it becomes a part of their nature. The Wicked, like the Pharisees of old are so convinced they are doing God a service, they will crucify us to protect their religious agenda. The one sign of the Pharisees being like their father the devil, was their attacking, nasty, prideful manner. To each other they were “nice guys”, but when someone opposed them, they turned like a mad dog ready to devour. Yet, there was another example, the father of all the sons of perdition, Judas, the traitor. The Pharisees didn’t sit at the Lord’s table, but Judas did. The Pharisees didn’t accept the calling, but Judas did. The Pharisees didn’t cast out devils in the name of Jesus, but Judas did. The Pharisees didn’t accept the office, but Judas did. The Pharisees were called of God, but they refused to enter in, yet Judas was not only called of God, he accepted the call as he entered in, it was after his entry when he worked at his iniquity, until the time when his own deception deceived him. Judas felt he was doing something great and honorable for Jesus, but he failed to honor Jesus in the process. Judas was present during most of the teachings of Jesus, he was privy to information the Pharisees were not. Judas was water baptized, accepted the premise behind his baptism to the degree he baptized others (Jn 4:2). When Judas discovered his folly, he repented himself, but did so in front of the same religious rulers who crucified Jesus. Judas wasn’t sorry for what he had done, he was sorry it didn’t turn out the way he wanted (repented himself, or self-repentance). His remorse was self-based, he even felt the money was the cause, so he attempted to give it back, a sign of what he felt repentance consisted of, as he tried to buy his way out.
This complexity shows the Wicked are like unto Judas, they came from the world, but retained the “he in the world”, indicating how they made the decision to use the spirit of the world. Judas began the position of son of perdition, it’s not the same as one from perdition. We all came from perdition (world), Judas, like those who follow him, re-enter, thus becoming a son of perdition. This clue shows they are not Born Again, but re-born of the world, bringing them into the he of the world.
The Wicked fight one way, we another; their hidden agenda is to get us to use the same weapons they use. Like Satan they come as an angel of Light, but their ways show the old man still reigns in their heart. They want us to react in some natural manner, but our first rule is, “don’t react to the attack”, it only feeds the fire. Jesus responded to the attacks, the Pharisees reacted by attacking. The second rule is to judge ourselves to determine if any of the traits we are facing could be the mirror of God exposing something in us. Next we want to find the Precious, so we can help others.
If someone has pushed our button, then there was a button to push. We need to know what was in us causing us to react, rather than respond. On the same note, we don’t become paranoid, supposing every evil we see in others is something in us. It may or may not be, thus we don’t ignore it, neither do we become paranoid, we discern, so we won’t burn.
The Wicked are the personification of a carnal mind hidden by many masks of self-righteousness. Paul calls them lawless, because they refuse to follow the Law. In their eyes they are not subject to the same requirements as the rest of us, they have made themselves responsible to their own agenda, yet expect all to follow them. They use two approaches to set the gates of hell in local bodies, they invade ministries to take control, or introduce fears of the world. They also use the anointing on the ministry as their own (usurping authority), they never gain permission, yet they use the name of the local church or ministry. They also begin systems by using twisted Scripture, or traits they say elevate their group above the Body. They gain converts by enticing the lusts in the convert, cult systems all have a lust of superiority, they seek something making them more special than the rest of the Body, a revelation, a book, the only ones with the Truth. The Wicked do the same with the added element of destroying what they control. The Corinthians were carnal, they used division and strife which became the open door for the false apostles, thus they not only attracted the Wicked, they accepted them into the midst (II Cor 11:13-15). We must be able to discern these serpents, but remain the dove. It’s easy to slip, or find ourselves attacking them, but it’s exactly what they want. When we use their means against them, we are just like them. When we use the weapons of our warfare which are mighty through God, we not only fend off the attack, but we can also reach out to restore the fallen one. If they refuse to be restored, their blood is off our hands, but if we refuse to restore, their blood is on our hands.
Their ways, not their acts expose them. They will hold a John 7 meetings, lie, use deception, or other demonic means, then act as if it was all “the Holy Ghost”. They use self-justification, assuming the lies, tricks, slander, and deception were really reproving others by the Word. Does it sound so strange? Didn’t Judas assume his actions were approved when he heard “what you do, do quickly”? They have played with darkness for so long they think the voice of the stranger is the voice of God, they can’t tell the difference between a Word from the Lord, or a word from their own unsaved soul. Before Pentecost Peter was natural, he held all the natural elements. Peter he had a revelation from God, and a word from Satan, yet he couldn’t tell one from the other. It took Jesus as the Word to point out which was which. The followers of the Wicked can’t discern either, like sheep being led to the slaughter, they follow blindly.
The Wicked will deliver whatever the carnal minded want, they move about with a type of “Jesus Christ and His traveling puppet show”, they seek to entertain, mystify, and play mind games. They are “mystic”, not spiritual. Examples would be Simon Magus (Acts 8:9), who entered the Body by water baptism, but was rejected when it came to the baptism with the Holy Ghost because his heart was not right (Acts 8:21). Jude gives us examples of the Wicked, yet in we find God talked to these people, as He did to Balaam the prophet, Core (Koran), and Cain the brother of the man of faith (Abel). All were in touch with God, or God talked to them, yet all became examples of the Wicked.
Spiritual Wickedness is the iniquity to become spiritual after becoming a living soul, it can only be committed in high places. When the Wicked left the world they entered the high place, but as we found in Proverbs they are the “strange woman”. They use the same invitation as Wisdom, but their motive is much different. They want to sit in secret places, they are the ones who pollute the Lord’s table (Mal 1:7-12). For this reason we find Paul telling the Corinthians there is an unworthy condition one can enter regarding Communion, it’s when one thinks they are above the Table of the Lord, or they really don’t need to remember what Jesus did, they want to remember what they did.
Now a dilemma, if we are to worship at the “footstool” of the Lord, why is it His enemies are His footstool? In this Season we all began at His Footstool, in the Next the same Footstool becomes the place for His enemies. The footstool of the Lord is the earth, thus we are here at His footstool, but it’s not our goal; therefore, after the Rapture we find the majority of the Rock is gone with the Spirit, then the independent rocks who are left behind to surface as the Beast of the Earth as they become the Lord’s Footstool. The command remains, work while it is yet Day, for the Night comes when no man can work.
God doesn’t form them into vessels of dishonor because He doesn’t like them, rather the formation came after the person has spent years forming themselves against applying Mercy. Give Mercy and we are ready for the potters hand to form us into vessels of honor. Slander, trap and deceive, and we leave no choice for the Potter, but to form us into vessels of dishonor. Did they have a calling from God? Yes, did they have an anointing? Yes, but they bartered their life away to become the image of the spirit of the world, becoming the he of the world ending as the Beast of the earth.
Now we can see how important our wilderness experiences are, better to have sand in our sandal, than tares in the mind. The events we think are so belittling are really events cleaning of us of pride, or keeping us from being among the Wicked. Is God doing a good work in our souls? Yes, once we see what the Spirit is doing in our lives we will not only submit to the cleaning, but enter it with a Joy.
Deception is a wicked tool of the enemy, it never allows us to see ourselves as God does: the New Man begins to divide and separate so all things become open. Those many masks we used all of sudden fall away, some times many will fall, other times one by one, but as they fall we find who we were, to know who we can be in Christ. If we carry the masks, or excuse them, we will simply ware a religious mask pretending we are something we are not, failing to be open before God (Heb 4:12-13).
This is incentive, it enhances our prayer life. This is the very aspect of “led me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil”. The New Man will expose lusts, wounds, pride, and the other natural elements from the imputed dead flesh which seem to remain. When the exposing is going on the first thing we think is “I am so evil”, no, not the case, if the Spirit of Christ is dealing with us, we find He is removing the hindering elements.
The “test of the spirit” in First John approaches this very area, the Wicked reject the Greater He, while holding to the he in the world. They come to meetings, they even speak, yet what they say sounds close, almost good, but there is a hook hidden in their words, a hook set to pull us back to perdition. We have the knowledge, God gave it, let’s not reject it.
Psalm 37 defines the word Meek, since the Earth is a metaphor for the kingdom of heaven, we find we have Inherited the Earth. The Remnant will Inherit the actual planet, but after the Rapture the entire premise of the Cross changes. While it is yet Day anyone can accept the Cross, but in the Night no one will be able to Crucify the Son of God. The Night is designed to make the enemies of Jesus His footstool, when He returns to the earth, all those who joined the Beast of the Earth are seen in the lake of fire. John tells us there are antichrists, they came from us, but use the ways of the world (I Jn 2:18-19). It doesn’t mean they stopped acting religious, nor does it mean they backslid, it means they returned to the ways of Perdition (Heb 10:38-39). First we must have a “knowledge” of these supersouls, then of their deeds in order to detect them, more important is not being involved in their folly. It’s one thing to detect them, another to help them.
The Book of Revelation calls them the Balaams, or Jezebels (self-appointed), as it warns us of their “doctrines”. If the people in the churches noted in the Book of Revelation had knowledge, the doctrines of the Balaams and Jezebels would not have made entry. The sons of perdition are not demon possessed, they hold to the spirit of the world, thus they use the working of Satan. We can’t cast the “works” out of them, they must make the decision to be free. Therefore, we find Jesus didn’t cast the devil out of Judas, or the Pharisees. Unlike the Pharisees, Judas was ordained to cast devils out, yet he became one (Jn 6:70). Judas proves Matthew 7:21, he cast out devils and did many wonderful things, but failed to do the will of the Father.
They gather in different sects, they can claim to be Charismatic, or Spirit filled, or even non-Charismatic, yet they have found how to use the soul to counterfeit the Spirit. They’re able to “fake” the experience, God didn’t give them a devil, they are attempting to make the spirit or the world the New Man. We know it’s not possible, but they are run by the challenge to become Christ like, without Christ in them. They use natural reasoning to define spiritual matters, with the intent to be greater than the whole.
When one of these supersouls runs us out of our own church, we are overcome, when they hold their meetings of condemnation and slander, yet we accept their lies, they have won. When we buy their tapes and books slandering the brethren, we have given them honor and glory. All they want is for us to join their thinking, thereby giving our wills to them. One day we find ourselves speaking ugly of the brethren, how did it happen? Being discipled by the Wicked produces a slandering behavior. On the same note if they slander us, yet we retort with slander, we are no better. There is a way to overcome them, a way to defeat their demonic prayers against us, a way to avoid being like them. They do bless God with one side of their mouth, it’s the other side cursing man. If we speak the truth in love, listen to the Spirit, respond accordingly, we will gain. We may not remain in the same local body, but we gain nonetheless.
They war, or cause wars among the Body, they are working to divide and split the Body, but their evil was worked into the plan. We know the Body must be broken, but we don’t want to go into the Night with them. They are “gate keepers” but their gates are the gates of hell, they place gates of division and strife on the pathway forcing the Babes to either become stalled in the traditions of men, or flounder around in the doctrines of devils. They send the winds of doctrine to confuse, or misdirect the Babes. They bring the cares of the world to confuse the Babes into going in a different direction than following Jesus.
They are so self-deceived they presume they are the Glory of God, yet their words of hate, bitterness, slander, pride, ego and self-righteousness betray them, yet without them we would not be able to apply Mercy, neither would the Body be Broken. Therefore, like the Pharisees at the Cross, the Wicked have a purpose.
Will the Wicked hear from God? Yes, at times they are right on, yet at times they are so far off it’s pathetic; however, as time moves on they become more self-deceived, the voice of their own unsaved soul begins to counterfeit the voice of God, soon they can’t tell the difference. Is it strange? Not at all, Caiaphas the high priest gave a prophecy based on his office, but Jesus still said Caiaphas would do the lusts of the devil. The office will work, but the person in the office must work out their own salvation by fear and trembling.
When they listen to the spirit of the world enough, God’s voice is no longer heard. They presume the voice of the spirit of the world is the voice of God, then they presume they can project their desires into their prayers, assuming they are the Holy Ghost. Like the false prophets of Old, they speak their desires assuming God will perform. They pray not to the Lord, but as if they were the Lord. Ever have anyone tell you, “the Holy Ghost has told you….”, when you know the Holy Ghost hasn’t? They prayed their demonic prayer, presuming they were God sitting in the temple calling themselves God. When we tell them, “No”, they think we don’t hear from God. The danger of self-deception is so great, we find when they begin to deceive others, they become deceived.
Any study such as this can be taken two different ways, but only one brings a benefit. We can look at the various elements of the Wicked, then attempt to find someone they match in order to condemn them, but in the process we end condemning ourselves. We can be aware of these traits so we can hear the Spirit in order to not only be protected, but preach the truth in love to the Babes. The key is always, “Greater is He in me”, the Greater one holds victory in this area.
Our basic foundation of Faith is holding to a God Is belief, thus we find the Supersoul teaches many “God Isn’t” concepts, with a bunch of “devil is” traits. They promote unbelief, yet they use the word “Faith”, but they have no idea what “The Faith” is. Jesus told us to “have faith in God”, the supersoul tells us to have faith in all sorts of things, but God. They are tricky, they use deception, they come with a hidden agenda, but by the Word in us we can discern them and their agenda.
We know God’s Love believes all things, as it Hopes for all things. We know Faith is the confidence of things Hoped for, yet Godly faith still works by Love. Therefore, Love is the center post of Grace, the promoter of Mercy. It’s this premise of Faith, Mercy and Love separating the Believer from the Supersoul. Jesus said they shall know us by our Love, He didn’t say by our bumper stickers, dress code, hair style, talk, or the building we hold services in. The Wicked are known by their ways as well, their lack mercy, they make jokes about other members of the Body, they mock, or despise dominion as they speak evil of dignities (Jude 8). They talk about faith and hope, they even talk about Love, but they don’t walk in them. Their concept of faith is getting what they want, their concept of hope is getting what they lust for, their concept of love is being loved and honored by others.
They know what moves the unsaved emotions of people, they find popular concepts and teachings. They begin by teaching the basics of those issues, then slowly slip in their fables, establishing strongholds, in so doing they promise liberty, but they deliver bondage. Sadly some of the things they project work for a time, but then the victim is worse off than they were before. They gained some ground, but lost the battle. They were out of debt for a while, but then sickness, or more debt, or some other evil overcame them. They thought the devil was on the attack, then off they go with the same old witchcraft digging a deeper pit. These Wicked love to quote other people “in part”, then add their own concepts. What they say sounds almost right, but almost is just outside of right, rather than being right. They use words to their advantage, not to edify, but to entrap, or promote their prideful agenda.
The spirit of error produces many “I don’t believe” concepts; when our statement of belief has “we don’t believe”, or statements suggesting unbelief, it’s the wrong tree. What would be a suggested statement of unbelief? “We believe this is not”, or “We believe this is no longer”, or statements using the word Believe, yet suggesting unbelief. Reading a footnote in any Bible with the suggestion of, “this is doubtful”, is still a corrupt seed, once the seed takes hold we will begin to Doubt the Bible, once we do they we will begin to erode away our faith. If it were possible they could fool the elect.
The Supersoul or Super Psuchikos is also known as one who operates in the Supernatural, but calls it Spiritual. Casting out devils is not spiritual, it’s supernatural, even Judas cast out devils. Therefore, we do operate in the supernatural, but we also operate in the spiritual. Like their father Judas, they cast out devils, on the other they are one.
Mental implantation is another trick of the Wicked, they overhear things, or sit the pastor down allowing them to talk, by so doing they pick up little things relating to the congregation. They get up acting like they just got a “word” from the Lord, but all they are doing is using the table of probability. Chances are someone is suffering from something, all one has to do is keep their ears open, they’ll hear about it. They use trickery and deception to make the novice and babe think the spiritual is being conducted, when in fact it’s deception. On the good side, the one hearing can believe, the signs follow those who believe.
They can do the Acts of God based on the anointing over the Body, the Acts will work, they are suppose to, but as Jesus pointed out in Matthew 7:20-21, the acts were there, the ways were not. They love Power, but they don’t love God. The Christian is suppose to be Pneumatikos (Spirit motivated), not Psuchikos (Soul motivated), the supersoul falls into the area of Auto–Matic, or Self-motivated, thus Peter says they are Self-willed (II Pet 2:10).
The so-called New Age is about as New as the Fall, it’s our fear of it making it new to us; thus the Wicked induce fear into the Body, we were not afraid of witches or the New Age until someone produced the fear. Does the devil know this? Look around, all some Wicked one has to do is say, “it’s New Age”, and we beat a path to the nearest door. They don’t know New Age, from Aged Cheese, but they use the fear of the New Age to rob us of our faith. The enemy knows what fears, if any, we have, he uses the spirit of man to entrap the victim under the spirit of the world.
The mystics who read cards, along with the “future tellers” are not supersouls, since they are outside of the Body, but there is a type of comparison. The mystics outside of the Body use devils, as the devils tell them about a person’s past, what the person did in private, what was said in private. The victim hears the secrets then thinks the mystic is “spiritual”. The mystic begins to invoke things about the future, the victim will complete the things of the future based on the suggestion, since they have become a mental slave to the self-imposed prophecy. This is the type of divination the damsel attempted who followed Paul around. The supersoul is different to a degree, they use demonic ways, not devils, as they prophesy to a lust, or to an envious desire where the person wants to do something based on a lust. They want a ministry greater than all others, they want to sing like the birds, but they have a voice like a frog. The supersoul will prophesy to those areas, thereby trapping the person into the lust. True, everyone is lead away by their own lust, but the supersoul uses the lust in other to gain self-importance.
Since these supersouls have supernatural power, can we overcome them? Yes, if we stick to the spiritual weapons of our warfare, which are always mighty through God. Supersouls establish strongholds in others by teaching deception, they even have their victims combat strongholds with strongholds. We end with “it seems to work, it must be God” attitude, but in essence we are using the working of Satan to come against the works of the devil. What may appear to work today, all of sudden becomes bondage tomorrow. Mercy, Love, Hope, Truth and Faith are more powerful than any weapon the supersoul can dream up. The Truth remains, Greater is He in us, but we must listen to the Greater, allowing Him to guide us. Paul’s method was preach the Truth in love, a powerful weapon.
Isaiah 41:11 says “Behold, all they were incensed against you shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they who strive with you shall perish”. The phrase, “were incensed” comes from the Hebrew word Charah which points to the fire of anger just after it has been ignited, showing they use anger and manipulation as weapons, they desire to overpower, or overwhelm us, but Peace and Love are more powerful than all the anger of the he in the world.
God will bring exposure to their folly, but once the exposure comes they have a choice, to admit they are operating from the wrong source, or ignore it. Each time they ignore or excuse the exposure, their hearts become harder and harder, God will form them into vessels of dishonor. They may be lawless, but they still received the Mercy of God to be pulled from the fire, thus they are required to show Mercy to others. A vessel of dishonor is one who freely received the forgiveness of sins, but refuses to show Mercy to others. Instead of refusing to impute sins on others, they go about imputing sins on others.
The rest of the verse in Isaiah tells the story, they shall be ashamed and confounded. The word Ashamed is the Hebrew Bush meaning To be disappointed or To be humiliated. What they get away with in this Season isn’t the issue, being stuck as the drunken in the Night is. This is still the Day of Salvation, God’s longsuffering for them to repent is still at issue. It may seem like they are getting away with murder, or it may seem as if God doesn’t care, but this is not the time of judgment. Correction, yes; chastening, yes, judgment, no. God’s desire is for all come to the saving knowledge of the Gospel, so none will be lost, which includes the sons of perdition. However, the reality of God knows the lake of fire will exist.
Back in Isaiah the phrase “Shall perish”, is the Hebrew Avad, showing the downfall of people or nations, the Greek equivalent is Appollumi meaning Perdition. Man’s natural reasoning and wisdom is to “fight fire with fire”, but it’s the deception behind the attack. When we use the wiles of the devil to fight the devil, he could care less; he will fake a temporary defeat just to keep us using his wiles. We used manipulation to control another person, then felt we won; we used deception to make our point, thinking we’re clever, yet we were doing for the devil, what he can’t do for himself. Cult systems use those very tactics, they attempt to control the conversion in the area they want, at the same time using manipulation and deception to do it. “Don’t you think the things going on now are terrible”, “Yeah, but God’s in control”, “Are you saying God has done this?”. Bang, another trap slams shut. If we listen to the Holy Spirit we will not be “hung by the tongue”. The Wicked will cause the Apostasia, or Apostasy, which is a falling away from The Faith (II Thess 2:3), it’s not falling from the measure of faith, it’s using the measure of faith in place of the Faith of Jesus. We see it today in some translations who take great pains to remove the Faith of Jesus from their works, yet they are falling from The Faith.
We cannot make up our own methods of warfare, if we find the premise, find the method God desires. Often Warfare is simply using something of God to counter something of the enemy. If they use hate, we use love. If they lie, we tell the truth. If they form events to destroy us, we find the escape God has provided. If they use deception, we use clarity. There are times when we use the term “Spiritual warfare”, but all we did was find an acceptable method to vent our anger, rather than deal with it. Anger without cause, or out of control gives power to the enemy, Peace overcomes him. Hate toward others gives power to the enemy, Forgiveness defeats him. Truth is a hammer to the stronghold, it will win in the end. Paul tells us to be angry and sin not, we sin when our anger speaks, acts, or causes us to make decisions.
We study to make ourselves approved, not before men, but before God. Like the net we find good theologians and bad theologians. Paul was a theologian, thus simply being a theologian doesn’t mean anything, it’s whether they are run by the Spirit or not. If we are suppose to study to make ourselves approved, then all of us are to be theologians. Even naturally minded scholars can help us define a word, but they can’t help us with the mysteries. However, the supersoul also studies the Bible, but only to use it for self-gain in some degree, they make a lie, then believe it, then bring about fables to promote their selves, while at the same time causing others to fall from the Faith.
If a supersoul can get us into unbelief, we will lose the foundation for our faith, without faith we have no hope, without hope we will perish. Faith is a substance, but without knowledge we have no place to put our faith. Our belief is in the Now, as is our Faith, they are different, but connected leading us from belief to faith, so it can be of faith. When someone places the intellect of man higher than the Bible, they are centered on natural reasoning. Scholars confirm the Bible, they don’t take the place of it.
If faith requires the phrase “things hoped for”, yet we have no hope, what good is faith? How can they do this? They will teach a concept based in some imagination, but in order to introduce the imagination, they must first get us into a state of unbelief. They begin by teaching us not to believe in something, or question the validity of Scripture, or they will begin by teaching us to become something we’re not suppose to be, such as Adam like. It’s still unbelief, since it suggests a position falling short of the God granted position of being Christ Like. In truth desiring to be Adam Like is Iniquity, it’s obtaining the living soul, but rejecting the quickening Spirit. Once we take of those seeds of unbelief, then the supersoul can bring in their imagination and fable. We will plant the corrupt seed in our minds, then form our own stronghold. Of course if we submit to the New Man the lust which the supersoul seeks will be removed, meaning their temptation then becomes a test for us.
They seek the lust of being superior, the special of the special, the only ones in the entire Body who have the Truth. When we listen to the Spirit, the fables of the supersoul are seen as fables. This only shows the importance of the saving of the soul, we must submit to the New Man, as we allow Him to form us into the Image of God’s Son. How do we know if it’s the New Man bringing us into the image of God’s Son, or if its’ the old man attempting to make us the Image of Lucifer? Character, correction, conviction, truth, awareness, with knowing we have the Spirit. Is our character enjoying seeing members of the Body being defeated? Do we rejoice in their iniquities? Do we pray against people? Do we use the things of the world to bring fear? Are we manipulative? Deceptive? Do people tell us we are deceptive or manipulative? These areas are not conducive to the Character of Christ. Do we belittle people, make fun of them, talk ugly about them behind their backs, then think we heard God tell us, “they deserve it”? Not conducive to the nature of Christ. Do we plan out ways to trap people? Not conducive to the nature of Christ.
The correction of God is something we should Joy in, James tells us to Joy when we are caught in different temptations. Why? It’s conviction, God is not allowing us to play wicked mind games. Praise the Lord, He cares enough to bring the exposure allowing us to be free. It doesn’t give us the excuse to allow the lust or the temptation to complete it’s end, but it does show if conviction is there, so is the Spirit of the Lord.
Most Cults, or the Wicked teach faulty end time thinking, they think we will be overcome, or destruction is at the door, or we can force Jesus to return. They mix the Old into the New, to arrive at a Night-Day theology. It’s not just the end time teaching, but the heresy or fables regarding the end time bringing fear, thus fear is a weapon used to control people. Some are so angry at the world, they want to see Jesus come and destroy the world, yet the world is the place we toss the Net. We were warned how this type of attitude is a “Woe”, not a blessing (Amos 5:18).
These people assume Jesus isn’t able to handle the Body, so they use their self-transformed self-righteousness, or carnal reasonings to accomplish what they think Jesus should do, the exact mindset Judas held. They will either cause a takeover, or attack other ministries with the false assumption of protecting the Body, in so doing they are deceived into thinking they are the Head of the Body. Once their fable takes root, they presume they are far above the other members of the Body. They begin to dominate feeling everyone has to gain their permission in order to operate; this is the same false thinking the Pharisees had when they approached John the Baptist. Psalm 24:1 tells us, the world and they who dwell therein are God’s property. How can we judge or come against the world if it belongs to God? Psalm 24:2 says “it”, but 24:1 is pointing to the earth as one element, then to the world as another. Ah, we find two “it” subjects, the first “It” shows the kingdom of heaven (earth) was Founded On the Seas, not in them. The second “It” points to the world as the flood of people, yes the same flood coming after the Woman, but doesn’t the Book of Revelation also show the kings of the world are still completing the will of God? Yes, Revelation 17:17 clearly shows the army of the Lord in Jacob’s trouble will be the world, they are the same ones who gave their kingdom to the Beast. How can it be? God has plans, one for us, one for the Remnant, one for the world, one for the sons of perdition, and one for the Woman. Submission tells us not to hinder the plans of God, regardless of which area they are in. We operate in our realm, in the manner we are called to. Rebellion is using a lower authority to overthrow a higher authority, thus submission keeps us from rebellion.
Now we can begin to understand why it’s important to separate the Body from the Church, the Birth of the Church came on Pentecost, but the Body began the day Jesus opened His earthly ministry by accepting the two disciples from John’s ministry. By the separation we can see how the Wicked are among us, but not of us. They are in the Body, but not Born Again. They were presented the “seed”, but we also know the Parable of the Sower shows receiving the Seed is the first step, there is more to the process. If the cares of this world can choke the seed out of us, yet the Wicked are run by the spirit of the world, it makes sense they have allowed the spirit of the world to choke the Seed out of them. They have no root, since they no longer have the Seed. They were given the “Seed”, they did enter the Body (kingdom of heaven), they escaped the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but they returned to the ways of the world, thus joining to the spirit of the world, to become a he of the world (II Pet 2:18-22 & I Jn 4:1-4). The closer we get to the Night, the more of the “drunken” we will see, is it bad? For them, not for us, since it proves the time is approaching. The vessels of dishonor only prove there are vessels of honor. Our desire is to be like Jesus, their desire is for Jesus to be like them.
In Acts 16 Paul came across a certain damsel, one who had a “spirit of divination” or the mental ability to enter the mind of another to project her will through them, she also made much money for her masters by soothsaying (Acts 16:16). Her divination worked, or she wouldn’t have made “much money”. She was associated with the temple of Apollos, the “divination of the snake” was her trade, meaning she would mesmerize her victim. She began by making a factual statement, but the emphasis was on the men, more than God. She was looking for a weak spot in the ego of Paul and Silas, attempting to energize a lust by making them superior. However, in order for the evil plan to work it took something in Paul to become entrapped by her words. For Paul it became a test, thus she couldn’t tell the future, or she would never have attempted to entrap Paul. The trap would have been to open the door for this damsel to interject her form of Salvation as a fable. The premise was “show us the way to Salvation”, if the damsel was successful she would use Paul to point to her “way”. The same premise was used at the temple of Dianne, as in the temple of Apollos. The Wicked use their prayer life in the same manner, they make up their mind what they think should happen, then they begin to pray their will into the lives of others, thank God for the helmet protecting our minds. It’s a far cry from praying for God to intervene in the life of another, to interjecting ones will into the life of another.
Paul by the Spirit saw the intent and purpose of the damsel. the efforts were defeated when Paul cast the devil out of her. Did she have a type of supernatural power? She had to, she made her masters much money, but her power failed in the face of a Spirit filled child of God. Paul ran into others who used the power of darkness as well, there was a Jew, called of God to enter into the covenant, but one who made the decision to use the power and authority of darkness. Elymas the sorcerer was using his wicked supernatural power to control one Sergius Paulus, a deputy of Paphos. When Paul preached the Truth of the Gospel, Elymas resisted him. Then Paul filled with the Holy Ghost said to Elymas, “O full of subtlety and all mischief, you child of the devil, you enemy of righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a season” (Acts 13:4-11). The word Subtlety is the Greek Dolos meaning To bait, defraud, or use Fraud or Deceit. The word Mischief is the Greek Pauo meaning A failing to cease from something, it’s the same word translated as “you not cease”, only in a different tense. Using it in reference to Mischief it means the act itself, using it in the phrase “you not cease” means an act of the will. Why did the Holy Ghost intervene? Sergius was a deputy, he was over the masses, Elymas was controlling the masses through Sergius, thus the Holy Ghost set Sergius free, while setting the masses free as well.
This Elymas was a Jew, a false prophet by trade (Acts 13:6), who used acts of sorcery. The Greek word for Sorcerer is Magos, the same word used for “Simon Magos”. It was used in reference to the priests of the Persians, or Babylonians who were enchanters, magicians, the Chaldeans called them Sopohos (wise – Dan 2:12, 2:18, 2:27). Magos was the same name used for the Magi who came to find Jesus, thus we find two sources of the supernatural. The Magi weren’t looking to tell the future of Herod, or Jesus, they were following the Star to find Christ. Same title, different intents. The false who engage in the mystic methods cause the demonic to counter the Charismatic, anyone who attempts to be spiritual without the Spirit is engaged in witchcraft.
What makes the difference between Elymas and the damsel? The damsel was possessed, Elymas was not, thus Paul having the Spirit was able to discern. It would seem strange to us to see Paul cast the devil out of the damsel, yet cause Elymas to be blind. Why not cast the devil out of Elymas? There wasn’t one, just as there wasn’t one in Simon Magos, thus we find various areas. Both Simon the Magician and Elymas the Sorcerer used the power of darkness, but neither were demon possessed. So, if we’re not suppose to curse, what was Paul doing making Elymas blind? Paul didn’t, the hand of the Lord was on Elymas “for a season”, what was in him became his own eyes, thus Elymas was attempting to blind the people to the truth, what he attempted to do to others, fell on him, thus it was punishment (Acts 13:10-11).
If we Mind the Spirit we can also discern, meaning clarity always begins at home; we must remain open to exposure. If we ignore exposure, we will never see how God is exposing the Wicked. If we ignore the signs of our own pride, we will ignore the pride of the Wicked. If we ignore our own strongholds, we will ignore the stronghold of the Wicked. The Spirit of Truth is leading us into Truth, the Wicked into a Lie. They will believe the great lie in the Night, they have been trying to get us to believe their lies for years. Whatsoever a man sows, so shall he reap.
A small word of warning, these supersouls are not to be confused with the Babe in Christ, or someone going through exposure, someone in the wilderness, the carnal Christian, or the ignorant of spiritual matters as were the Corinthians. Although the carnal Christian is the target of the supersoul, as the Corinthian church proves. When the soul is being exposed, most, if not all of us will react from the flesh, but these supersouls don’t appear on the outside to be operating from the flesh, yet they are. They use supernatural endeavors, not spiritual awareness. They live behind a mask of religion, they use phrases, titles, words, and the rhetoric, but they mix the natural realm into their concepts and words.
The Babe in Christ wears their soul like a jacket, the one going through exposure is obvious, these supersouls are not obvious. When truth comes what is on the inside will begin to surface, their ways will be exposed, then we can detect their hearts. Since the supersoul is a mentalist, they have mastered the ability to wear a mask, yet the Word preached in love will still expose their thoughts and intents. When they speak, the Spirit will show us the intent behind their words; therefore, like Jesus, we will answer their intent. Once these supersouls see we know them, it won’t take long for them to expose their real inner self. Will they run and hide? Some will, others will attempt to hold their John 7 meetings, but nonetheless their ways will be exposed for those who really want to see. On the same note those with the lust to be superior will fall in line with the supersoul, they will follow them like little puppies, while rejecting the call to follow Jesus.
However, the supersoul is not demon possessed, they are self-possessed. These mentalist use divination to implant ideas and thoughts to control the mind of another; however, it’s very important to know they can only use a person, if the person has a lust in the area being enticed. We read this in James, we can only be drawn into the trap when we have a lust in us, thus the trying of our faith is removing lusts. The detection of these evils is by discerning of spirits, an ability found in the Manifestation of the Spirit. Through the Spirit we can discern if it’s the spirit of error, the voice of the stranger bringing a dart, or God doing a cleaning.
Mentor worship is a device the supersoul uses, they will quote the Bible, but they also quote the men and women of God, usually out of context. They look for those who have the propensity to make idols out of the men and women of God, then use mentor worship to their advantage. In all this, we must also remember how God will deliver His own. God will send Truth to the victims, just as He will send Truth to the supersoul. How do we know if we’re using mentor worship? The second our mouth says, “they are my hero”, or if we think our hero can do no wrong, or we hold their words over the Bible, then we know we’re fallen into mentor worship, which also means we have a lust wanting to be worshipped by people. The clue is desiring to make someone a hero, means we want to be one as well, thus by association we enhance our pride.
Deception is a tool of darkness, self-deception is a destroyer of Truth. Whatever the supersoul says, is truth to them, regardless of how much Bible evidence is used to expose their fables. They simply refuse to hear, their strongholds or fables are their truth, when exposed they make their attacks personal in nature. They are not easily entreated, they reject knowledge to keep their strongholds. It also stands, they look for strongholds in others to use for their benefit. They will project their fables, then get mad because you won’t Hear, but the truth is they refuse to face the Bible evidence of their folly. They want the secret revelation so they can stand above the Body, or be honored and praised by the Babes. They suffer from the lust of being superior, but refuse to face it, rather they love the feeling they get from it.
How do we combat these vessels of dishonor? What is the one thing they lack? Mercy, be an example of walking Mercy, by speaking the Truth in Love. It sounds so simple, yet it’s a battle. Our own flesh wants to rip them to pieces, but we can’t, we don’t war against flesh and blood, we have a Power within far greater than the urge to destroy. The Wicked still have time to repent, if they do, they go with us, if not they become the Beast of the Earth in the next Season.
Paul tells us to war against the wiles, but he also tells us about those who lie in wait to deceive, then he tells us not to fight flesh and blood. Sounds like he did, but wait, did he? We war against the wiles overcoming us, not the person bringing them; they are merely the tool. The word Wiles means the Method of Operation, the manner in which the enemy works. In legal circles it’s the “M.O.” of the person, or what identifies the person to the crime. If they lie in wait to deceive, they are also forming “winds of doctrine” as they look for those who chase the winds. The winds of doctrine are fringe elements which mean little, but become the center of attention to take us away from the meaning of the doctrine.
If we could only understand how much power lays in the Mercy, Love, and the Light of God, or how much is found in Submission, then we could walk in the Power, Strength, Might and Glory Jesus has already given us. All we need to win has been granted in the New Man, we don’t need more glory, we need to submit to the glory within. We don’t need more faith, we need to walk in the faith given us. We don’t need more anointing, we need to submit to the anointing we already have. It comes down to the work of the New Man in us, as the holiness and righteousness of God will rid us of the wiles of the enemy. The New Man is our source of overcoming, we are required to cooperate with the process.
Are there other wars regarding the soul? Yes, the Saving of the Soul is primary (Heb 10:39, James 1:21 & I Pet 1:9), then the soul is preserved blameless (I Thess 5:23), then comes the Prosperity (advancement) of the soul (III Jn 2), with the Metamorphose of the soul (change of thinking – Matt 17:1-4 & Rom 12:2), giving us an Anchor to the soul (Heb 6:19), with the Weaning of the soul (Ps 131:2), this will stop the fainting of the soul (desire to quit – Heb 12:3, Gal 6:9, Ps 27:13 & Isa 40:28); the cleaning of the Blood will Remove all evils from the soul (Luke 21:19), then we have Rest for our soul (Matt 11:29), to Purify the soul (I Pet 1:22), where we find we can obey Jesus, the Shepherd and Bishop of our soul (I Pet 2:25 & Matt 26:41), then the soul will willingly desire to Magnify the Lord at All times (Luke 1:46-47). These twelve areas will bring us into the area of obeying the Lord and enjoying it. The Wicked are seen as “covenant breakers”, so we should find out what a Covenant is.
COVENANT RELATIONSHIPS
In this study we want to view Covenants as they connect to Relationships. When we speak of the signs (tokens) of the many Covenants God has made with man, we will also find similar signs in the heathen cultures. Does it mean God copied the heathen? Of course not, but we find many natural thinking intellectuals assuming the people of God have copied other cultures. Mark 16:16 tells us even if the world has “washings” the process of baptism is still associated with the Body of Christ, thus it’s only effective for the Body. If their “washing” is not a Token to the induction into the Body, then they took a bath, had a swim, or held a religious ceremony amounting to nothing. The Body of Christ is the only organization on earth who has the God given authority to water baptize.
In order for the phrase “shall be saved” to apply to anyone they must be baptized (identified) into the Body, then they must continue to believe; this concept is the first introduction to a Covenant for any new Believer. The New Covenant is based in the Blood of Jesus, but Jesus came by both Water and Blood. The Water (Mercy) has Covenant contracts relating to the Body in the New Covenant. The terms and conditions of the New Covenant do not apply to the Old, the terms and conditions of the Old, do not apply to the New. Jesus gave us the Least Commandments relating to Mercy, thus Mercy is the mainstay of the Body as the entrance to Grace. The word Least doesn’t mean inferior, it means they are the very least we should do.
The Covenant with Abraham was based on the token of circumcision of the flesh, an act done on the male child on the eighth day after their birth. Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day (Luke 2:21), giving Him full right to the Abrahamic Covenant. If God finished His work on the Sixth day, then rested on the Seventh, why have Abraham conduct circumcision on the Eighth day? Could it be God was looking to a New Beginning wherein man could be circumcised of the heart?
We know there are some similar wordings between the Old and New, we know there is a Tithe under the Old, and tithes under the New. We know there is a circumcision just for the males under the Old, and one for the entire Body of Christ under the New. The one under the Old availed them nothing before God, but it did grant them permission to enter the Abrahamic Covenant, which Covenant God made with Abraham, not Moses. The one under the New is a cutting away of the fleshly heart, making room for a heart fully able to believe Jesus is raised from the dead, marking us with the token (Seal) of the Holy Spirit. Even after we are sealed, we can grieve the same Holy Spirit, thus the beginning is not the end, it is a Process.
The eight day old child had no say so, but neither did they have any works upon which they could demand circumcision. Abraham did all the work for them, he believed, righteousness was imputed on him, he gave the sacrifice, he stood as the Covenant receiver as he accepted the token of the Covenant. In our case it’s not when we are eight days old, but what Jesus did on the Eighth day of the week of the Cross. Jesus made Covenant with the Father in His own Blood, He gave Himself as a Sacrifice for many, He administered the Covenant by presenting us the Cup, the Scepter to His Kingdom is His Righteousness, the Seal of the New Covenant is the New Man, the same Spirit of Holiness who declared Jesus as the Son of God by the Resurrection (Rom 1:3-4).
The Covenant Abraham had with God benefited generations to come, they weren’t there, they had no actual part in the works, yet they had to receive the Covenant, even after they had the token (circumcision). Circumcision is like the Sabbath day, it gave one right to enter the Covenant. In our case, Faith and the Seal of the Spirit gives us the right to enter the New Covenant. The Covenant with Noah was grand, the one with Abraham was great, the one Jesus obtained for us is far greater than all the other Covenants put together. Yet, because it’s New we find it was never before, meaning it was not attached to any prior Covenants before Jesus took on flesh as the Word made flesh for us.
Abraham’s Bosom was not in heaven, it was above hell, but still within speaking distance of hell. The souls of the saints under the Altar of God are far from hell, yet they speak to the Lord (Rev 6:9). Therefore we find there are Covenants many, some between God and man, some between man and God, and some between man and man.
The Covenants God has made with man were to separate man from the world, even the Jewish Covenants were to separate Israel from the world. The Flood was a means to separate Noah and his family from the world as well. So, what was the first Covenant? One with Adam? No, there was no Covenant between God and Adam, God served Adam, and Adam had Commandments placed on him, but there was no Covenant language between God and Adam. The first covenant was based on “bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” (Gen 2:23). Marriage to the Jew is considered a “contract”, thus a Covenant is like unto a contract. A Covenant must have duties for all parties, or it’s not a Covenant. The Law of Moses was a Covenant in and of itself, it has built in Power and Authority, and a realm (Principality): yet, its nailed to the Cross (Col 2:14-16), so does it mean it no longer exists? Not at all, since it’s also referred to as The Books, then seen on the day of judgment. The word Principality points to a place, not a person, a prince is known by the principality they represent. The Law of Moses has a realm where it has power and authority to operate, until a doer dies. Once the person dies, the Law of Moses is no longer an effective tool, rather, it turns and judges the doer. Once we accept the Cross of Jesus and impute the flesh dead, we have completed the purpose of the Law of Moses, allowing us to move to a different realm free of judgment.
Paul’s comments to the Galatians shows doing requirements in one Covenant when you claim another can be dangerous. The Cross is the point of division like no other, Israel was separated from the other nations on earth by God, but Israel was not separated from the earth. The Cross has the ability to remove man from the earth, but it also has a “cross piece” or an intersection. The intersection meets at the Heart of Jesus, the place where the Blood and Water came from, but it also shows a joining. Mercy on the earth is how God moved us from the earth to the Cross, Grace is an upward movement which begins from above. Mercy takes us to the intersection, joined with Grace it moves us past the intersection to heaven. It doesn’t take away from Mercy, but it shows the New Covenant has a uniqueness between Mercy and Grace.
Timothy was a troubled young pastor, who moved quickly to lay hands on some he felt were mature enough to be deacons, but they were teachers of the Law, knowing little or nothing about Grace. His first recourse was to write a farewell message to Paul, then run, but Paul encouraged him to remain and correct the problem. In order to assist Timothy, Paul told him of a few attributes one should see in someone who is ordained to a position in helps. These were not qualifications to obtain the position, rather they were signs showing one was suited for the position. These were not teachers in the Office of Teacher, but they nonetheless taught in deed and word. A deacon and a bishop should be apt to teach, or better, able to disciple others.
In First Timothy Paul advised the young pastor, “lay hands suddenly on no man”, it was not, “watch out who lays on you”, it was “watch out who you lay hands on”. Then Paul added something making little sense in the natural, “drink no longer water, but use a little wine, for you stomach’s sake and your often infirmities” (I Tim 5:23). The verse appears to be so far out of line with the context, one might dismiss it. Until we break it down, as we look at the metaphors. The word “stomach” points to an opening, often referred to as the route to the “mouth”. Then we find the word “water” means Waterpot, or what holds water, not simply the water alone. Then the word Wine metaphorically means the Cup of God, but the word itself means Wine and Water mixed, thus we take the Lord’s cup to avoid the cup of God’s wrath. Rather than pick or assign people based on emotions at the moment, or simply to fill a position, Timothy was to take his time, seek the Table of the Lord and discern. Timothy moved as a waterpot, but forgot the elements were required. Rather than mix Grace with his Mercy, he ordained several he should not. Mercy overlooks sins of the person, as it forgives, but the Covenant as it relates to leadership is stricter; some men’s sins are open beforehand, others keep them hidden within, thus we must have Grace (Spirit) mixed with Mercy in order to discern.
The ordaining of these deacons (teachers) seemed like the right thing to do, Timothy needed help, they were willing to help, but he failed to consider: What would his actions do for, or against the congregation? Grace is centered on the people of God who accepted the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus, thus we can’t fill slots just to fill slots. Timothy doesn’t say he heard, “Separate unto me….”, from the Holy Ghost, since the Holy Ghost is the one who places people in Offices (Acts 13:1-2), in this case it was the assignments in the area of Helps, which entails appointments by leaders (Acts 6:3). The Offices are appointed by the Holy Ghost, the Helps positions and Elders are appointed by leadership, thus Timothy didn’t need to hear from the Holy Ghost, he did need to hear from the Spirit in him before he laid hands on anyone.
Every Covenant has requirements and duties, or it’s not a Covenant. Within the Covenant one finds some duties relate to certain people in the Covenant, not to others. The Babes in Christ are not under the same duties as the Youngmen, because of the growth involved. It doesn’t make one better than the other, it does show our duties increase with growth.
Over the years God made Covenant with man, and man has made Covenant with God, and man has made covenant with man. The Bible shows many, there were the Covenants God made with Noah, Abraham and Moses, the covenant Jacob made with God, and one Joshua made with other men which turned on him. Seeing then how there are various covenants, we must understand them, to whom they are directed, or to whom they are not directed. An important issue, so important the Galatians were about to fall from Grace by moving to an Old Covenant, yes even a Covenant God made with Abraham (Gal 4:10, 5:2 et al). Some Covenants incorporate others, some divide, and some make all other Covenant requirements unlawful, which was the case with the Galatians, and us.
Covenants are made between parties, the Covenant at the Cross was cut between the Son and Father, with the Holy Ghost carrying out God’s Covenant duties. Does it mean we do nothing? Not at all, even the circumcised of the flesh required the Jew to accept the Abrahamic Covenant. Understanding what we are to do, and what God is doing keeps us from frustration. We know the elements of “Covenant talk” are based in “you do”, “I do”. For instance Jesus said, “seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness”, then added, “all these things shall be added unto you”. Our part is the seeking, God’s part the adding. If we reverse it, we are Covenant breakers, not Covenant doers.
All Covenants have rules, whoever brings the covenant has the power to change it, or dissolve it, but the one who accepts it must complete their part of the covenant, they have no power to change, or dissolve it. An example is the everyday contract, which we know is a covenant; we want a new car, the dealer has it, but he wants money which we don’t have. A bank has the money, they said they would supply us the money so we can obtain the car. Once the dealer is paid, we take the car, the covenant is complete. Was it a covenant? Yes, the dealer had a price on his product, we said we would pay a certain price, either the price posted on the car (not hardly), or the one we negotiated (more than likely). The dealer accepted our offer, his part of the bargain was then to deliver the vehicle to us upon receipt of his money. But we didn’t have the money, the bank did. The bank could care less about the dealers credit, but they did care about ours. The bank set forth rules, they would give the dealer the money on our behalf if we paid back a certain amount to the bank. The covenant of repayment was between us and the bank, it did not involve the dealer. The dealer set the rules on the covenant we had with him, he set the price, or accepted our offer. The dealer had all sorts of options, he could refuse the offer, increase the price of the vehicle, sell it to another, or even give it away. We had none of those options, thus the power of the covenant was in the hand of the dealer. The power of the covenant between us and the bank is in the hands of the bank. They set the payments, how and when they are to be paid, the interest, and other rules. We agreed to the rules, we didn’t make them. Once all these matters were in hand, the vehicle was delivered into our hands, but did we own it? No, the bank did, until it was paid off. The covenant with the dealer was short lived, but the one with the bank is much longer. In each case whomever made the covenant rules had the power of the covenant. Moses didn’t make the rules, God did, then God gave the Covenant to Moses, then Moses gave it to the people, thus it’s the Law of Moses, not the Law of God. Noah didn’t make the rules, God did; Noah obeyed his side, then he was delivered from the destruction. We don’t make the rules in the New Covenant, we accept them.
With any covenant we find the requirements of the parties, the ability or duty to carry out the requirement. It does little good to ask a bank for a loan if they have no money, thus we find the ability to carry out the duty is just as important as the awareness of the requirements. What good would it do to seek the Kingdom, if there was none? What good would it do for God to tell us to seek the Kingdom, if we lacked the ability to obtain it? God didn’t ask Noah to stop the rain, but he did tell Noah to build the Ark; therefore Noah had to do something. God didn’t tell Abraham to form Isaac of the dust of the earth, but he did expect him to carry out his part of the covenant. God will never ask us to do something we can’t do; He will always empower us to complete whatever He asks us to do.
The Cross of Jesus produced many facets of ability, when Jesus said, “Father forgive them….”, the Mercy of God was then empowered on earth from heaven. When we accept the Cross of Jesus we are granted the imputed ability to make the firm decision to forgive as we are forgiven. Once we receive the Cross the ability to forgive as God forgives is granted by the breath of Jesus, the breath is in fact saying, “As the Father has forgiven, so can you”. The breath being a product of the Cross begins our Covenant walk, becoming our first real act of Mercy. The breath empowers us with the ability to not only forgive, but to remit sins done unto us. When we refuse to forgive we have rejected the Mercy from heaven, thus we have bound ourselves to the earth. Jesus gave us the keys, we must use them. Binding and loosing are earth to heaven, heaven to earth obligations, they have nothing to do with hell. By the decision to apply Mercy we loose God’s Mercy from heaven, but if we refuse to forgive, we bind God’s Mercy to heaven.
Grace (New Birth) depended on the Resurrection of Jesus (Jn 7:38-39), so did the Father pace the floor wondering if Jesus was going to be successful? No, Jesus was talking Covenant before the Cross (Mark 9:31). It was the devil who felt he could stop what God had ordained (I Cor 2:8). Those who use the wiles of the devil think the same way, they presume faith is a means to stop what God has ordained.
Let’s change the situation some, the bank calls us, saying, “you know what, we think you’re a good person, so we’re sending you the owner’s certificate on the car, and we’re just going to write off the debt”. Can they do that? Yes, they were in control of the covenant. What if they call and say, “you know what we really don’t like you, so we’re adding a couple of thousand dollars to the contract”. Can they do that? No, because there are laws governing the enforcement of contracts, just as God has placed laws governing the conduct His Covenants. God placed limitations and requirements in force so our confidence in Him can be firm. We know God isn’t going to say, “Oops, guess what, back in 1923 I changed the Covenant, you can’t be Born Again, sorry”. We also know God isn’t going to say, “guess what, we had a board meeting and decided there isn’t going to be a catching away, you are going to die in your sins”. God firmed the Covenant in the Blood of His Son, the rewards and responsibilities are unchangeable. There are two immutable things becoming an anchor to our soul, two things in which it’s Impossible for God to lie, “in blessing I will bless you”, and “in multiplying I will multiply you” (Heb 6:14 & 6:18-19). God is not going to decrease the Covenant, the Body is purposed to gain, the reasoning for the Church is to be a Blessing. We have a great opportunity, if we receive it.
From all this we find there is a party who presents the covenant and the regulations of the covenant, whoever has the power to change or dissolve the covenant is the Covenant maker, but whoever accepts the covenant must accept all the conditions, knowing they have no power to change, or dissolve the contract. It’s important since we find man making covenant with God all the time, nations begin by such covenants, but since it was man who made the covenant, we find man can change it. Of course if man changes the covenant, man also is taking the chance of removing God from the covenant. In those cases God can’t make change, but God is only obligated to His side when the party on the other side keeps their part. If man makes changes in the type of covenant, God then has the right to accept or deny the Covenant. The same is true with us, if God changed the Covenant we would have the right to accept the change or cancel the Covenant. However, God changes not, a conviction we hold by faith, the New Covenant will not change. However, in reference to man’s covenants made with God, we find they go along fine, blessing and protection, then man makes changes opposed to God’s nature, God then is excused from keeping covenant. When the protection is voided by the acts of man, something happens, but then man says, “Why would God do this?”. Man voided the covenant, then blames God, the natural state of man is incapable of understanding spiritual matters.
A covenant depends on each subject needing something the other has, then they make agreement to supply the need of the other. Covenants are mutual, like a contract there must be mutual benefit, or there is no contract. A contract telling us to pay the bank money, when no service or goods have been rendered is illegal. The elements of a Contract demand for one to supply before the other has to pay. The same is true with the New Covenant, what if Jesus had not submitted to the Cross, or shed His Blood, there would be no basis for the New Covenant, since the premise was established saying there is no remission without the shedding of blood (Lev 17:11 & Heb 9:22). Covenants like contracts have areas of requirements to make them legal. God makes covenants based on position, condition and circumstances; the Law of Moses was until death, the Law of the Spirit grants us imputed death to bypass the Law of Moses by having Life in Christ.
The covenant lays out the rules and conditions agreed upon; in the case of Abraham it was his family lines, in the case of Noah it was to preserve the human race; in the case of Moses it was an introduction of a Law to stand between man and God.
Now if Grace is not by works, why then do we see how we are suppose to do works? Grace cannot be obtained by works, but Grace has her works, or better the works of Grace are done by Grace, just as the works of Mercy are done by Mercy. Grace being spiritual in nature cannot be obtained by natural or carnal means. A work of the flesh is anything we do through the flesh to gain God’s favor, yet works of the flesh are temporal. We do something to obtain self-righteousness, but the moment we receive, the work is complete, and we’re right back where we started. This was evident in the Law of Moses, they had to keep every sabbath day, once the day came, they were right back at zero again. The tithe under the Law is the same, each substance obtained required a payment by Commandment. Neither Belief or Faith are works of the flesh, they are mental in nature. Belief and faith are based on the soul, the created element, rather than the flesh, the formed element. However, we do have duties as kings and priests because we have obtained the positions, but they are not acts of self-righteousness, they are duties to regarding the positions.
Mark 16:16 is based on Covenant talk, Jesus said, “shall be saved” as His part, but our part is to continually believe once we’re in the Body. Even the command to “Tarry until you receive Power from on High” is Covenant talk. We Tarry, the Power comes from on High. We can’t do a thing without Authority and Power, but God cannot show His love through us, without us.
We are told to deny ourselves, and pick up our cross, so are those works of the flesh? No, they are based on rejecting the flesh, not using it. The Cross refers to death, the wages of sin are death, thus the Cross gives us the ability to call (impute) the old nature dead, while we remain in this body. The “substitution” death of Jesus was a free will sacrifice, not suicide. The Covenant between the Father and Son did not call for Suicide, yet Jesus was granted the Power to lay down His life for others. Jesus gave mankind something no other person could give, suicide is an escape into death from life, Jesus gave us eternal life by His death, completely different. In essence Jesus gave us His Body, thus we impute the Old dead, as we enter the New Body of Christ unto Life.
The Cross is always a place of death, but it’s also the place wherein we receive the “living soul” condition. It’s still a “covenant” based on Mercy, which is reflected in the manner of forgiveness. We forgive, to be forgiven, thus our part is to remit the sins done unto us, then God will loose His Mercy in us.
The Abrahamic Covenant came long before the Law of Moses, yet the Token to the Abrahamic Covenant was incorporated into the Law. The Covenant of Mercy is incorporated into Grace, the token for Grace is the Holy Spirit, the token for Mercy is forgiveness. Mercy was the manner in which the disciples operated before the Cross, but it did not grant them a “quickening spirit”, nor did it make them “spiritual”. The disciples before the Cross were still natural; they had no idea what the Cross and Resurrection entailed. Once the Cross was fact, it also became a foundation for belief; once the Resurrection was evident, it became foundation for belief. In order to reach the spiritual position we must move to the Resurrection, thus Paul said we must believe Jesus was raised from the dead. We would think it was as important, or more so, to believe in the Cross, but the Cross without the Resurrection proves nothing. The ability to enter the New Covenant is secured by the Holy Spirit, the Gift of Grace given by the Holy Ghost. We are declared and sealed by the Holy Spirit showing we have the Token of the Resurrection.
Jesus said the New Covenant was based in His Blood, the Body is between place called the kingdom of heaven. It’s a wilderness in itself, the evidence would be the children in the wilderness. The Body is not Egypt, but neither is it the Promised Land. No where do we find the “Body” in heaven, but we do find the Bride. The Covenant is recorded in the Record, the Witness is carrying out the Covenant on earth (I Jn 5:7-8).
However, we must know what Covenant we seek, or if there are contracts available within the Covenant. Since we come boldly to the Throne of Grace to Obtain Mercy, and Find Grace; and since the Blood of Jesus is the New Covenant of Grace, it stands there is also a Mercy Contract based in the New Covenant as an incorporated element. The Mercy contract has duties, thus Jesus said, “this is My Body, take eat”, then He gave us the Cup. What came first? The Bread? Or the Cup? We come boldly to obtain the Bread so we might find the Cup. We are the Bread, the Rock, or Body, the place from which Jesus builds His Church. No one is going to be formed into the Church unless they are first of the Body; however, the Body will be broken. The part which ascends will be the Bride, then those who sleep in Jesus, sleep through the Night, but those who remain as the drunken in the Night become the Beast of the Earth. The Blood is a different story, it will always remain holy and unbroken, thus we are sprinkled with it, we can even be covered by it, but we are not the Blood. The Body is Mercy based, it rests in the “least commandments” given by Jesus on the Mount of Olives.
Jacob presented a type of covenant to God, but it was based in the Covenant God made with Abraham; however, there was no provision in the Abrahamic Covenant for “you will then be my God”. When Jacob had a rock for a pillow, he said if God took care of him, then he would give God tithe, if God proved Himself, then he would make God his God. We already know it was deceptive; where was Jacob going to give the tithe? The First Church of Bethel? No, there wasn’t one synagogue around, no storehouse, only Jacob. Jacob would take the ten percent from his right pocket, then put it in his left. God did honor the request, but Jacob thought he was talking about “money”, wherein God asked for the sons of Jacob. Did God know? Yes, He also knew Jacob had no right to alter the Covenant, but the Covenant did allow for God to receive the “tithe”.
The Covenant between God and Noah was simple, “build the ark, fill it, and I’ll save you”. Noah did, thus he and his family were raised above the destruction. Noah was also told he could eat meat, but there were restrictions as well, the meat had to be cooked, and it could not be human. On the same note Noah found meat could also eat meat, thus before and during the flood the lion would lay with the lamb, after the flood the lion would eat the lamb.
Noah’s Covenant was specific to his family, but effected the entire world, making it associated with the world being destroyed by “water”. In Noah’s time before the flood there was only one type of nationality, there were no Jews. The Covenant with Abraham was specifically for his promised son, through his son’s offspring; the one with Moses was specifically for the nation Israel. The New Covenant is different, it’s opened to Jew and Gentile alike. Each Covenant has a token, purpose and specifics. If a Covenant allowed inclusion of another, then it was included, but if it called for exclusion, then any attempt to force an inclusion would be illegal. The Abrahamic Covenant was inclusive with the Moses Covenant, but neither included the Noahic Covenant. The New Covenant is inclusive, any Covenant before the Cross ends at the Cross (Col 2:14-16).
Covenants are based on mutual needs, but not necessarily on relationships, or having fellowship. We can borrow money from a bank based on a contract (covenant), but it doesn’t mean we fellowship with them, nor does it mean they are like “family”. To them we are a piece of paper owing them money, to us they are a business we owe money to. The process is based on Promises, we promise to pay, they promise to deliver. If we pay, and they don’t deliver, we take them before the Judge; however, if they deliver and we don’t pay, they take us before the Judge. When man makes covenant with man, neither of the persons involved in the covenant really know what the future holds, but God’s Covenant’s are based on God’s Knowledge. The Covenant with Noah was based on the future, the one with Abraham on the future, the one with Moses is based on the limited future (until death), the New Covenant is based on the hope set before us (future of eternity).
One can keep the Abrahamic, Noahic and Mosaic Covenants in one grouping, but they can’t introduce the New into them, or them into the New. Why? Different locations (principalities) are involved. The Old is for carnal, fleshly, natural man of the earth, the New is for the spiritual people of heaven. All the Covenants are by God, but it’s not from whom they came, but to whom they were directed. The Old allowed man a means to place some restraints on the old man, the New gives us a means to be free of the old nature. We bind the old man (strongman), the Law of Moses merely restrained some of the violent behavior of the old man. Anything related to the earth, whether man’s covenant or God’s, is still split between blessing and cursing. The New Covenant is centered on Blessing alone, void of any cursing. Covenants are limited by means and need, the Law of Moses never promised the Spirit, nor did it promise Life Eternal, thus it was unable to deliver them.
The Body is the place where we are separated from the world, into a place where sanctification becomes a condition through Mercy, leading us to Justification by Grace. It’s also the place where we face the old man and his wiles in order to defeat them. We have the advantage, when we enter the Body the old man becomes ineffective. The old man has a place of power, yet his power is only effective in his principality of darkness. Mercy grants us Light, thus the Light vacates darkness, or makes the darkness ineffective.
The Power in the Name of Jesus is effective to those in the Body, if one is outside the Body of Christ the Authority (Name) will not work, as the seven sons of Sceva found out (Acts 19:13-16). The Name is the Authority, but we need the Power to couple with the Authority for us to be effective. The Cross is a barrier, the only way the devil can have place in our lives, is if we give it (Eph 4:27). There was no Pharaoh in the wilderness, but Korah was there, Balaam was there, the children made the golden calf there. The Wilderness is the place wherein we are set free of the golden calf, the serpents, the Balaam attitude, as well as the other wiles of the enemy.
The New Testament is full of Covenant conditions, for example one of the most used verses in the Bible is John 3:16, wherein we find God so loved the world He sent His only begotten Son, but the Covenant condition is found in John 3:18 wherein we are told to Believe. Since God sent His Son based on Love, it stands the First Covenant condition is to Love the Lord our God, the Second is to believe in the Lord. We conclude the Body is based on Love and Mercy for each other; however, if we jump into the premise of entering Covenant with our local church, or covenant with others in the Body, we will find ourselves in bondage to a man made covenant. Why? The New Covenant does not grant us the premise of having covenant with one another, rather we meet in the Unity of the Faith by the Spirit. Therefore, we are to owe no man anything but to love him, since loving one another is our covenant responsibility.
Covenants require some token or sign to show one is in covenant, or has a right to it. The Abrahamic Covenant required the circumcision of the flesh at the age of eight days old, the Law of Moses required one to keep the sabbath day, God provided the rainbow in the Noah Covenant. The New Covenant requires water baptism to be inducted into the Body, then the baptism with the Holy Ghost as God’s token of the New Covenant as we are sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. Along with the baptism with the Holy Ghost we find the “circumcision not made with hands”, as a removal of the old heart, to enter, “create in me a new heart, Oh God”. Water baptism is a token, not a performance, the water didn’t save us, God did. The water didn’t impute us dead on the Cross, we did. The Water is a token of Mercy, thus the Body is the place of Mercy, the Blood the place of Grace.
It is wonderful to be involved in the Unity of the brethren, but the only methods open are the Unity by the Spirit in the Faith of Jesus ( Ps 133:1, Eph 4:3 & 4:13). If we try to love one another through the old man we will always seek the self-benefit, our Unity will be with religious ideas. If we allow the Love of God to flow through us by the Spirit, then we can love as Jesus loves us. We in the Body have relationship with each other based on love, mercy, and a mutual concern. Our relationship with God is based on sharing the same Love God has for His own, our relationship with the Body is based on our Second Love, which is holding like concerns and goals in the process of Mercy. To ignore our First Love, yet hold to our Second will draw a rebuke from the Lord. To take our First Love and make it the Second will also draw a rebuke from the Lord (Rev 2:4). We must keep things in Order for us to enjoy the Order of God. Fellowship with God is another matter, it begins when we treat the people of God, in the same manner as God does.
Within the Covenant we find areas where God says, “you do this, and I’ll do that”, or “I’ll do this, and you will do that”. We saw the example of seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His Righteousness, thus it contains a “you do”, then comes “and the things will be added”, which is a “God do”. Another area would be forgiveness, which is first a “you do”, before God says He will. We are given the Keys to the Kingdom, but once we enter the house do you need the keys? No, the keys gain entry. When the Son was on the Cross He made the request, “Father forgive them”; the Son didn’t say, “I forgive you”. After the Resurrection Jesus breathed on the disciples (not in them), saying “receive ye the Holy Ghost”. We know it was permissive in nature, thus Jesus did His “do” first, the permission was granted, thus the ability was granted to remit the sins done onto us. Next would come the “you do”, which would be the application of the ability to remit the sins done unto us. It shows us Covenant relationship talk, I did, now You do. Jesus will not forgive others for us, He will not validate our hate, He will however breath on us so we can forgive. If we are having a hard time forgiving, we must receive the Breath of Christ.
Covenants do not have automatic acceptance, one must receive, or present the Token in order to have a right to enter and remain in the Covenant. The Token or Sign of the Covenant gives the person right standing regarding the Covenant. Each Covenant had a sign, even Noah’s had a sign, the rainbow, but still a sign. When one enters a Covenant their concerns are no longer at issue, rather the other person has taken those concerns. The Law of Moses would bless the person who followed the outlined requirements, the ability to bless or cruse was built into the Law. On the same note the New Covenant can only bless, there is no provision for a Curse.
Mark’s account has many Covenant conditions presented, as do the other three, but there was one most of us are familiar with. Mark 11:22-26 relates to Covenant talk, it begins with “have faith in God”, which is a “You do”. Then we say to the Mountain “Go”, we didn’t say “come here”, or “move over”, or even “Go where you will”, it was specific in nature, it was “cast into the Sea (world)”, again it’s a “You do”. Adding our belief in what we said, then the concept of refusing to doubt are still “You do”. So far it’s a bunch of you do’s but wait, who is going to move the Mountain? We said, we believe, but who moves it? Covenant, we doubt not, which points to the process, showing our confidence in the Covenant knowing once we do what we are required to do, God will then do the things He said He would, thus He will move the mountain. We may believe what we said, but then faith becomes the issue; do we doubt God is able? If so we will attempt to move the mountain ourselves. If not, we will hold our faith in God for Him to move the mountain.
Next is the premise of why we believe what we say, and how we say “go” to the oppressing mountain; when we stand praying we forgive, so our Father in heaven can forgive us, for if we fail to forgive, we have bound the Father’s forgiveness in heaven, making it impossible for the mountain to move (Mark 11:24-26). Jesus said, “Therefore”, linking it together, the Mountain is vengeance, unforgiveness, validation, vindictiveness, or justice, all elements of the world. This is the same as “remit the sins of others”, but it shows we must make the decision for the mountain to go. The Faith in God is a now confidence regarding God being able to move the mountain, finding He is a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. This entire element is not to receive the mountain, but believe we told it to Go, by making the decision to forgive. The evidence of our decision is found in our prayers of forgiveness, therein lays the purpose of the teaching. The Covenant says you forgive, then God will for give you, or You do, He will. The main entry into the Kingdom is based in this one Faith premise, forgive as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.
Our main thrusts in the Covenant are Belief and Faith, yet Faith has two pillars, believing God Is, and God Is a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Belief is the foundation for Faith, thus without Belief our Faith will fail in the face of the trial. The “God Is” part is Now, thus it connects to our Belief in the Promise of God for us. Belief is a type of Covenant, since we need something from God in order to believe. God delivered the evidence for our belief, we accepted it, making our foundation secure. Since we’re talking Covenant it seems we find a “you do”, “God do” element in faith as well. We diligently seek God, He rewards. What about the “God Is” part? It’s our part of the Covenant seen in the Now of the event, it’s up to us to believe God Is, the devil isn’t, we’re not, man isn’t, and surely the world isn’t. God asks us to look to Him regardless of the event, seek Him regardless of what it looks like, then He will make Himself known. The Rewarder part isn’t going to happen if we are not diligently seeking God. Diligently demands for us to place our focus squarely on God.
A Covenant is never based on similarities, or the same strength for a like strength, it’s based on the strength of one filling the weakness of another. What possible weakness could God have? He left at the Ascension, but we also find Jesus never did one miracle or healing after the Resurrection, the duties changed to His servants on earth. The Power from on High is the granted ability from God coupled to the Authority from God in order for us to do our part.
Our prayer of “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”, is a Covenant request on our part before we receive the Kingdom. We are not only asking, we are saying we will accept the Kingdom and accomplish the Kingdom matters by the Spirit according to the Covenant. If we weren’t needed by God on this earth, then the Cross would be the place where our physical bodies die, then we immediately enter heaven. However, God needs a voice in the land, a people to cast the net to a people who cannot hear God except by the voices of the saints.
Everything God did was Lawful, not one detail, not even the very smallest was out of line with the Law God had placed into effect. Even the law of “everything producing after its own kind” was a blessing on one side, and a cursing on the other. Natural produces natural, it can never produce spiritual, but on the same note that Born of the Spirit is Spirit. No where are we going to find those two principles reversed. God produced the natural from the spiritual, but the natural could not produce the spiritual. Man uses a tree to make a chair, but the chair cannot make a tree. The principle was set, the ability to have the Spirit and be Spiritual was not available until Jesus was glorified by the Resurrection. Therein lays the real foundation, Jesus as the Son of man presented God’s Mercy, died on the Cross for the sins of mankind, was buried, then was raised on the Third day allowing mankind to follow the path by faith to become Born Again. Until the event took place several things were not available to mankind, we could not impute the flesh dead, we could not be Born Again, we could not enter that Born of the Spirit is Spirit. If the Holy Ghost brings the Seed, how can the phrase “Born of the Spirit” fit? The premise is our souls are Born or generated to be Spirit by having the Spirit.
God needed a “voice” in the land with natural connected abilities, but was spiritually motivated. We agreed to give Him the voice, in return He promised to save our souls. Since we are also individuals, we know each of us has some personal conditions in the Covenant. We don’t make up our own, or attempt to insert our agendas rather we find the personal conditions through prayer. Peter heard his, John heard his, the rest of the disciples knew theirs. The Present (Doma) is given to the Body, thus Jesus gave some, not all, to fill the offices, yet there is a duty and place for every person in the Body.
When Jesus said, “what is it to you?”, He separated what He was going to do with one disciple, from what He was doing with another. How He worked with John, was not going to work with Peter, thus Peter was not to make any attempt to form a formula from what Jesus was doing with John. It shows us there are provisos, or attachments in the Covenant for each individual who enters therein. Attempting to copy another person is a trait of the flesh, it’s frustration in the making. Paul didn’t tell Jesus he wanted to be an apostle, he was told he was going to be one. Jeremiah didn’t tell God, “I am no longer a child, but a prophet”, it was God who told Jeremiah. Peter didn’t want to preach like Paul, and neither did Paul follow Peter around to learn how to preach like him. Both men wanted us to seek Jesus, but neither wanted us to be clones of other disciples. When we hear, or even say, “I want to be exactly like that preacher”, we are not allowing God to form us into the unique gift He has for us.
Covenants have regulatory enforcements, in Noah’s it was the flood, in Abraham’s it was God would curse him who cursed Abraham, under the Law of Moses it was the curse. However, Jesus has made us kings, the regulatory enforcement regarding the conditions of the Covenant as they relate to us as individuals is enforced by us as individual kings. If we don’t want to do this or that in our kingdom, we have the power to refuse it, we’re kings. Of course we will face the King of kings, our regulatory rules and conditions better match the Covenant Plan He holds. It explains much for us, since there are two sides to the coin. On the one hand we have no one to blame, we know what the Covenant calls for. We are told to Believe in the Name, then the Name will activate in our lives. We seem to forget the Authority of the Law of Moses is still there, but the Authority of Jesus is greater, it’s still here as well. On the same note as kings, we make rules, if we say there is no water baptism in our realm, then we made a rule, yet it’s a violation of the Covenant, but nonetheless a rule. We may feel comfortable, but we will have to explain why we made a rule opposed to the Commandment, “teach, baptize and teach”.
Understanding is a training issue, belief is the stabilizer to faith, as is faith the stabilizing agent in the process of understanding. Usually in the training process we find the process, no one is called in the morning and ordained in the afternoon. There is a training to take place, there are times when we accept the calling then attempt to form conditions, finding ourselves with all sorts of self-induced problems. Learning the Covenant conditions is part of the training process: what are the duties and limits regarding the Body? The Office? The Blood? The Blood has limits? Yes, the Blood will not condone sin, it will not engage in self-righteousness. To say we are tempted to do evil by the Blood would sound stupid, yet we say things close to it when the event doesn’t go our way.
Paul said the vessels of dishonor are so formed because they fail at Mercy, thus they received Mercy from God, but refuse to give it. What would they be called? Covenant breakers, those who lust to have, but refuse to give. This shows how Mercy has a Covenant condition, but it also shows when we move to Grace we retain the Mercy condition. We come boldly to the Throne of Grace to Obtain Mercy and Find Grace, they are connected. We are never told to come to the throne to ignore mercy, and use grace. Nor are we told to reject mercy to find grace. We must be balanced, Mercy and Grace, Ways and Acts, Water and Blood.
The Blood of Jesus opened the Promise for the Father to send us the Holy Ghost with the Gift to produce the New Man in us. Without the New Man there is no way for us to know the things of God, or for us to know the things God has for us. Once the New Man became our heart, we became circumcised of heart, then we have a guide and instructor in the things of God. So then is it automatic? No, of course not, we know our side of the contract is to Believe and have Faith, but will faith alone save us? No, we must add something to faith to complete it. What is it you ask? The Wisdom of God. God’s Wisdom allows us to deal with people and events in a Godly manner, it’s vital when representing God. Our faith is yet future, but it has a Now evidence of the source of our faith. If we are using the wisdom of man, we show our source is the spirit lusting to envy, but if we display the Wisdom of God, we show the source is the Word in us, thus the Word is fully capable of saving our souls (James 1:21).
Man’s wisdom has three elements, first it’s earthly because man is earthly, then we add sensual (natural, or soulish), since man is natural, but then we must also add “devilish”, because man’s wisdom lacks Godly awareness (James 3:15). On the other hand God’s Wisdom is much different, where man’s wisdom uses masks, or deception, God’s Wisdom is pure, open and to the point. Is God’s Wisdom based on Covenant? Yes, we must ask in faith before we receive, then we find God “upbraideth not”, this is the same Greek word used in Mark 16:14, when Jesus upbraided the disciples, only in a opposite concept. God will give us His Wisdom, the result is dependent on us, thus God gives more than needed, but what we do with it determines our desire; we are expected by faith to use it in accordance with the will of God. However, James warns us, it will not work effectively if we attempt to consume it on our own lust. Of course we have not the Wisdom of God, because we failed to ask (James 1:5 & 4:1-4). Three areas, all based in Covenant, we ask, God gives, we don’t ask, God doesn’t give, if we ask to consume the product on a lust, we asked amiss. Nonetheless in order to have, we must ask.
When we look at the Bible we see the “Old Testament”, and the “New Testament”. The word “testament”, really means “covenant”, thus the Old Testament speaks of the Old Covenant, the New Testament of the New Covenant. The word New means New, it’s not an extension of the Old. Simply because the Old is a shadow, it doesn’t mean we jump back to partake of old covenants. The New gave us Separation, not inclusion; the Token of the Separation was John the Baptist. Jesus said the Law and Prophets were until John, but Jesus also said the New Covenant was in His Blood. John’s baptism ended when he was put in jail, the baptism in the Name of Jesus didn’t begin until the disciples were endued with Power from on High. Like the Red Sea, there was a border, or a division between the Old and New, called John the Baptist. Although the Law and Prophets were until John, we find the least in the Kingdom is greater than John.
How then can some of those who say they are of the Body, do such evil things and get away with them? The Unction on the Body, this is still the Day of Salvation. Simply getting away with it during the Day, doesn’t mean one won’t pay for it in the Night. When Jesus gave us His Body He never said it was the New Covenant, so why even give it? Isn’t the Body a type of relationship? It must be, we are the Bread, we are suppose to be One in the Body, it is the One Body of Christ, the Rock upon which the Church is built. “Wait, I think we have something here, Jesus will build His Church from those in the Rock, but we build the Rock from the Sea”. By George, I think you got it! Someone can bring millions into the Body, yet go about slandering the rest of the Body, they will lose any reward they think they’ve gained. The Covenant and the regulatory enforcement are different, yet connected. The Covenant stands, the rules and regulations stand. We can’t change, “deny yourself” to “enhance the self”. Although we can make a rule in our kingdom to enhance the self, and feel comfortable, it doesn’t mean the rule is Godly.
Mercy being the glue to Grace, has a Contract based in the Preparation. Mercy didn’t stop at Grace, it’s still in full force and effect. It becomes the Token or Contract to get us through the Door to the Kingdom. Therefore, there is a Contract in a Covenant, each of us as individuals take of the Cup, but as a unit we are the Body. The Bread is the empowered Mercy of the Father based in the Name of Jesus, it is the Unction over the Rock for all the members of the Body. The Bread is lateral, it connects the members of the Body, but the Blood connects us as individuals to God.
The Old Testament gives us a shadow, yet within the shadow there are specifics. We find the children spent forty years in the wilderness, because they caused a “breach” of the promise (contract – Numb 14:34). The word “breach” means a change in purpose, it doesn’t mean one has rejected the Contract (Covenant), it means one has attempted to change a provision relating to them. Nonetheless we find one generation had a contract within the Covenant, showing each of us have certain clauses and provisions pertaining to us. A ministry, position, the means of deliverance, all are focused on each of us being a nation within a nation. No two people have the same hurts, pains, or needs, yet in general we all have pains, hurts and needs. Each of us as individuals have a position and calling, it takes personal promises and conditions for us to accomplish the goals. One person may need one thing, another something different, or they could need the same thing, but in different amounts or manners. God has taken care of all the details, we accept what is right and just for us.
We know God loves us, but we also know God will chasten us based on His love. God’s love is Unconditional, but knowing what it entails depends on how one views the word Unconditional. The word Unconditional doesn’t appear in the Bible, but neither does the word Responsibility, thus we must view it as a Concept. God so loved the world He gave, so what did the world do to gain His love? Nothing, the people in the world, good, bad or indifferent were “creations”, thus a Creator loves His creations. Some of us have kids who tend to go a little sideways, but we still love them. Perhaps the clue could be found in the word Conditional, which means among other things, based on rank or position; meaning partial, yet the faith of Jesus proved God was not partial (James 2:1-3). Therefore the “giving” of Jesus was predicated on His love, it’s the Gift calling for the accountability. If God’s Love is unconditional why did Jesus connect “he who believes on Him is not condemned: but he who believes not is condemned” (Jn 3:18)? If God’s Love is fully unconditional why did He hate Esau, yet love Jacob? We cannot be separated from God’s Love in Christ, but it’s by Grace through Faith we are saved. God gives His Grace to whoever asks for it, the Cross is open to all, Jew or Gentile, it would be Unconditional. However, we can’t say there are no Conditions, since we also find the “workers of iniquity”. If we confuse God’s Love as Grace, we error. We can’t use the excuse of Unconditional Love as a false sense of security to avoid the call, we receive God’s Love, we don’t earn it, thus it is unconditional. God isn’t going to say, “well let’s see, you’re a little poor, I don’t think I will love you”, or “looks to Me like you’re a sinner, I refuse to love you”, He grants His Love to us, but we must receive it. On the same note we can’t discount how He hates Esau, who gave up his birthright.
The New Covenant grants us the New Man (as we know), within the New Man we have the attributes of Jesus. We can be “sons of God”, because we have the same Spirit as the Son of God. We are not “the Son”, but “sons” by Adoption. We are “sons of men” by the Mercy of the Father, but we are not “the Son of man”. The Father gave us the identity of His family order, the Spirit in us proves He has accepted us in His family. The term “son” is not limited to gender, it refers to “order”. If we sit with Jesus, and if Jesus sits on the Right Hand Side of Majesty on High, what does it mean? “Man, I’m like God, don’t mess with me”; hardly the attitude of the Christ nature. Jesus never said, “I’m the Son of God, don’t mess with Me”, nor did He say, “I come against you in the Name of Jehovah”, nor did He say, “How dare you touch God’s anointed”. The second we use the position out of Order, we set ourselves out of position. If we respond from within the position, we will use both the position and language of a “son of God”.
Do we think we impress God for doing what is expected? Not at all. Jesus pleased the Father, He didn’t impress Him. The Father never said, “This is My Son, in whom I am extremely proud”. Pride always has some self-element, when we say we’re proud of our children, we’re also saying we did a great job in raising them, thus we are deserving of credit. Pride always seeks glory or honor, perhaps through the backdoor, but nonetheless it seeks to take the credit. It the person is good, it’s God who did it, not us. Being pleased, and being proud are miles apart. Our Covenant demands for us to put away deeds of the flesh with the old nature, as the unfruitful works of darkness, then walk as children of the Light.
Did Jesus do away with the Old? The Book of Hebrews says so, but did Jesus destroy the Old? No, Jesus didn’t destroy the Old, rather it was Blotted out as it relates to us in the Kingdom. It was nailed to the Cross, thus Jesus also Spoiled principalities and powers (Law of Moses and The Ten Commandments), having made a show of them openly, triumphing over them In It (the Cross – Col 2:14-15). The word Spoiled could also read, “Having Stripped”, it’s the Greek word Apekduomai meaning To put off, To strip, figuratively it means to “put off the old man”. The Cross gave us a point of division, from the Old Covenants to the New, from the world to the kingdom; thus the condemnation and accusation of the Law and Commandments stopped at the Cross.
The New Man is not “recreated”, or “reincarnated”, but New, thus he is called “New”. The New Man, Seed, or the Word, God gave us is just for us, the Seed knows how to save our emotions, knows all the deep things within us, knows how to assist us on this road to Salvation, knows how to manifest at the right time, knows what God has for us, yet the New Man is not a bunch of different spirits, it’s the Same Spirit of Holiness, meaning it will not do something outside of what the Spirit of God would do. We can listen, or refuse to listen, the choice is still on our side of the Covenant.
A Covenant between two entities is dependent on the other, one has the strength and ability of what the other lacks, an exchange of vows takes place, thereby each party knows what they are getting, as well as what is expected of them. A Token is presented showing both sides accept the Covenant as presented. In the world it’s a signature, or security, in the Kingdom it’s a Token relating to the Covenant. God has already told us all the particulars of the New Covenant, what is expected of us, and what we should expect of Him. The Covenant is not Unconditional, as man views unconditional. Just as there were conditions on contracts in the Old, there are conditions in the New. What proof do we have of this? Much, “For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but the world through Him might be saved. He who believes on Him is not condemned; but he who believes not is condemned already” (Jn 3:17-18). The premise is there, God sent, but the “he who believes” becomes the one who receives, thus it was conditional upon the one word “Believe”. The same premise is true in water baptism, other than water, the candidate must believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
We can now look deeper into the elements of a Covenant, before there can be a Covenant there must be three factors, first there has to be a Need for the Covenant, there has to be a joining of at least two to make the Covenant, and there must be terms relative to the Covenant. The New Covenant is really between the Son and Father, with the Holy Ghost as the overseer, but we enter the Covenant by a process called “Adoption”. We are viewed like the Son in order to become sons by the Spirit adopting us into the family.
The Covenant allows for tests from God, but it doesn’t allow us to test God, or tempt Him. Will there be a test of Mercy? Tell me about it. “Well, I tell you what, I was attacked, and I went to the Throne, and I gave them so much mercy it was pathetic, and they turned right around, smirked, and slandered me to the bone, so much for shaken together and running over”. Wait, the Scripture says “men” will return it, not “them”. What we expected was for the person to fall on their knees, reporting God was among us of a truth, what we got was more attacks. Let’s be honest, did we give them mercy based on God giving it to us? Or did we give it wanting to see them humbled beyond reason at our feet? Ahh, we used it as a weapon to gain our own recognition and validation, thus our intent was in error, then exposed. The premise was correct, give mercy, but the intent was to gain validation, making the reasoning in error. We do use Mercy as a weapon, it must be a weapon of Peace and Righteousness. When Jesus granted Mercy on the Cross, how many fell on their faces? How many ran to take Him down? How many mocked Him the more? Does it mean the Mercy of Christ from the Cross didn’t work? Hardly, from His Mercy millions came to the Lord. Simply because it didn’t appear to work at the moment, doesn’t mean it didn’t work.
Our Covenant demands Obedience, even to the point of bringing our thoughts into the obedience of Christ. Obedience is something the old man is incapable of, if we Love God we will do as He says; He told us to deny our self, pick up our Cross, thus there are duties in the Covenant. The mere act of picking up our Cross shows two things, we accept the death of Christ in our place, and we accept the Mercy provided by the Cross.
When we want the car to move, we have to make sure it has certain things: a motor, gas, and so on. The car without the equipment to make it operate is useless, so it is with us; without the Cross we cannot impute the old nature with the flesh dead. Without the Resurrection we have not promise of Life.
There are some things God will not do, He will not seek the Kingdom for us, it’s our side of the Covenant. God will not put off the old man, nor will He put on the New Man, it’s what we’re suppose to do. The New Covenant has Duties, not works of the flesh, but duties to rid us of the flesh.
Jesus made the offering, the Father accepted it, the Holy Ghost confirmed it, we are asked to join in, but we can’t join unless we do something or have something giving us a Right to the Covenant. In legal terms a Contract is not a valid contract unless both parties benefit in the exchange. The Covenant is recorded in the Record in heaven by the Father, Word and Holy Ghost, we have the Witness in the Water (Mercy), Blood (Grace) and Spirit (New Man). It’s how the New Covenant is to be worked out, any attempt to use the flesh, soul, or spirit of the world is illegal.
The Covenant allows us to walk in the Name of Jesus by the Spirit, something not granted to any human before Jesus made it possible. All earthly religions, regardless of the religion can do no better than give a person a feeling of accomplishment based on self-righteousness. It doesn’t get them to heaven, or off the earth. The end is still death and the grave, in most cases, death, grave and hell. God has provided us an ironclad, rock solid, cannot be annulled Covenant secured by the most precious element in all the Universe, the Blood of Jesus; as the precious Lamb of God. Does it make sense for God to send His Son, watch Him die on the Cross, then say, “why not give them forty or fifty ways”? No, if God sent His Son, it’s the means He presented for man to reach Him, it is conditional. Our Covenant has a goal, reaching the end of our faith even the salvation of our souls. A Covenant requires both Power and Authority, so shall we study on.
POWER AND AUTHORITY
This area of study may seem somewhat convoluted at times as we jump about in certain areas to show the background of a particular premise, or how the premise was either used correctly, or misused much later. However, we need to study these areas so we can fit the pieces together so we can walk the straight path to glory. All of us want to run the race, but we must also desire to run it Lawfully. In most studies we begin with a Premise, but in this case we must join two premises. The first point is based on Jesus telling us, “Go in My Name”, which is granted Authority to do something. They had authority in the Name of Jesus regarding Mercy prior to and after the Cross, but the addition of the Authority in Name of Father, Son and Holy Ghost in the Name of Jesus relating to Grace, which came after the Resurrection (Matt 28:19-20). Therefore, the Body of Christ became the official established place where one finds the Authority of God. No one is going to get a separate Authority from the Father, nor from the Holy Ghost, they are combined in the One Authority. Does it mean we can’t pray to the Father? Or pray by the Holy Ghost? Not at all, it means the Authority of Father, Son and Holy Ghost is presented in the Name of Jesus for His Body and Church. It’s still one Name, thus the only Authority God has granted during this Season is in His Son (Heb 1:2). Communication and Authority are different, and not to be confused. Authority is the granted permission to do something from an Authority with the legal right to grant Authority. The Father will talk to us, the Holy Ghost will talk to us, but for our Season the premise is Grace, the Blood of Jesus, the Saving ability of God for mankind. Although someone may have Authority, it doesn’t mean they can act, rather they need the Power in order to carry out the Authority. This is clear in Acts, the disciples had Authority, but they were told to wait until they received the Power from on high. They had Power on earth before the Cross, or else they would not be able to cast out devils, heal the sick or preach the kingdom at hand (Matt 10:5-8). It didn’t mean they could understand or carry out spiritual matters, rather their granted Authority and Power related to the Mercy of the Father forgiving sins on earth.
Authority and Power must join in a lawful manner, or rebellion will be the result. It’s clear the disciples before the Cross cast out devils, healed the sick, and preached, so why wait for a power from on high? Why even wait for the Holy Ghost? The conclusion shows there must be a difference between God’s granted Authority and Power on earth, and God’s granted Authority and Power from heaven to earth. There are no devils in heaven, there is no sickness in heaven, those are earthly elements, yet casting out devils, and laying hands on the sick are vital elements to the Ministry Jesus granted every person who accepts the Cross. This study in no way is belittling the importance of casting out devils, but we must also consider, Judas cast out devils, yet Judas was unable to deal with Judas. Granted Authority and Power from heaven granted us the Spirit, it’s the Spirit (Word) in us saving our souls, granting us heavenly insight, God’s Wisdom, God’s Knowledge, and many other attributes all Spiritual in nature. One can be in the Body yet mind the flesh, or remain carnal, as the letters to the Romans and Corinthians prove. They had the Authority and Power under the Unction upon the Body to operate as members of the Body, they can lay hands on the sick, water baptize others, even cast out devils, yet without the Spirit and being Spiritual they really don’t know why they are able to do those things.
Each area of Power and Authority has importance, each has guide lines detailed for us in the Bible, each retained in the proper manner spell Victory. This study is to seek those guide lines, as we remain within the confines of the Authority granted to us.
Looking at Matthew 10 we find Jesus gave power (Greek Exousia, meaning Authority) to His disciples to do many things, but the authority was restricted to the things and places. At the time they were not Born Again, they didn’t have the Holy Ghost, but they had Authority to preach, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”, but they were not told to Teach, nor did they preach on the Cross and Resurrection. They were told to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils, freely they received, freely they were to give (Matt 10:6-8). What did they receive Freely? Money? Surely if Jesus had power on earth to forgive sins, He forgave the sins of His own disciples on earth (Luke 5:24). They received Pardon, or Mercy on earth, then they were able to freely give to others. The ability for them to remit sins done unto them, or to understand spiritual matters was yet to come after the Cross and Resurrection, prior their authority was based on displaying the Father’s Mercy. Their activity shows even the Novice, or Babe in Christ who has received the forgiveness of sins by the Mercy of the Father has Authority to operate in Mercy.
Jesus also told them they would be delivered before the councils, but they weren’t (Matt 10:17). He also told them they would be scourged, but they weren’t (Matt 10:17). He then told them not to worry for the Spirit of their Father would speak for them, yet they couldn’t be Born Again until Jesus was glorified (Matt 10:20 & Jn 7:38-39). They went out, they came back, yet none of them were cast into jail, sent before the council, or scourged. Neither were they brought before governors or kings for the sake of Jesus. Was Jesus wrong? No, Jesus prophesied about the time after they would receive Power from on high. After Pentecost they were cast into jail, placed before governors, Paul had to face Nero. Therefore, although it didn’t come to pass then, it did come to pass.
Nonetheless we travel to Matthew 28 where Jesus told these same disciples (excluding Judas of course) how All Authority (power) had been given to Him, by the Name (Authority) of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost they were to go out under the granted Authority which then became the Name of Jesus. One has to notice the Son was included in both areas, thus the Son received a Name (Authority) above all Names. First John 5:7-8 tells us the Record in heaven is comprised of the Father, Word and Holy Ghost. We know the Word is the Son, so why not say Son? The Word of God became the Son, when the Word was made (formed, not created) flesh (Jn 1:14). The Witness on earth is the Water, Blood and Spirit, do these relate one to the other (I Jn 5:7-)? Yes, the Mercy of the Father is seen as the Water, the Word as the Blood, the Holy Ghost brings us the Spirit. The Record has taken all events into account, yet to fit the Record we must have the Witness. The Authority coupled with the Power from on high is the ability of Grace in us.
The disciples were given Authority boundaries, they were to teach all nations, not just Israel, then to baptize those who believed in “the Name” of the Father (Mercy), Son (Grace), and Holy Ghost (power from on high) in water, welcoming the converts into the Body, then teach them to observe all the things Jesus commanded. However, Jesus didn’t tell them to heal anyone, raise anyone from the dead, or cast the devil out of anyone. Yet in Acts we read where Peter’s shadow healed, how he and John went to temple, at the Gate Beautiful healed a man. Peter raised a girl from the dead, Paul cast out devils, not counting Philip the Evangelist who cast out devils, healed the sick, and baptized many in water, including a Gentile Eunuch. Had they all gone crazy? No, not at all, the Authority granted in Matthew was to make disciples, the Authority over the Body is to do the works of the ministry. They were just as capable of casting out devils before the Cross as they were after. The only hindrance was their own unbelief, but the Power from on High made the greatest change of all, thus casting out devils is nothing compared to making disciples while being led by the Spirit. It was the Power from High producing the New Birth, the Power to carry out the Authority in a lawful manner.
The Authority also granted them permission to baptize, yet in John’s account they were already baptizing people well before the Cross (Jn 3:22-24). They were not baptizing people in the Name of Jesus before the Authority was granted in Matthew 28. John’s Baptism was vital, but it was timed. If someone conducted John’s Baptism after the Cross in ignorance it would still be illegal, but if they knew of the requirement of Belief by the candidate, yet used John’s Baptism, they engaged in a heretical baptism. Paul re-baptized the disciples in Acts 19 in the Name of Jesus, since they were baptized under John’s baptism. We can do something of God, but in the wrong time, or wrong area. Meaning we are committing an illegal act. Doing the Law of Moses is not illegal, for those under the Law, but it would be an illegal act for us who are not under the Law of Moses. Doing the Law of the Spirit for those who have the Spirit is lawful, for those who don’t have the Spirit it’s unlawful. Authority grants us Standing, or a Right to conduct a lawful act, the Power is the ability to carry out the Authority.
It doesn’t take long in studying the Book of Revelation to find evil has a power and authority as well, it also becomes clear one can use power from one source, and authority from another. The son of perdition comes with the working of Satan, yet we also read in the Book of Revelation how this “Beast of the Earth” uses the Authority (power in KJV) of the Beast of the Sea. Therefore, it’s not merely the Authority, but who gave it, thus the Authority of darkness is limited to one thing, destruction.
Our Authority is from Jesus, we operate in the Name of Jesus, because we are members of the Body of Christ. Our Power is from on high, but when the disciples were granted the Greater Authority where was Jesus (Matt 28:18-20)? On the earth, thus Matthew 28 is the granted Authority, not the Power. When the Power was given, where was Jesus? He had ascended, thus the Authority came from Jesus, the Power from the Holy Ghost. In Acts chapter one the disciples wondered if Jesus was going to restore Again the kingdom to Israel, but He answered with a warning. It was not for them to know (experience) the Times or the Seasons which the Father has put in His own Power (authority). But they shall receive Power, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon them. This doesn’t mean the Power first then the Holy Ghost, rather it shows the Power comes After the Holy Ghost is come upon them, the purpose was to be Witnesses unto Jesus. The restoration of Israel is something the Father has put in His own power, not in our power. We are to know about it, but not do it, or be caught in it.
The Holy Ghost brings the Seed of God, which is always the Power unto Salvation; the same Seed makes us a Witness for Jesus unto Salvation, not unto Judgment or Destruction. Our Authority and Power are confined to the area of Salvation alone, we are not granted Authority to destroy. What other Authority is specific in nature? The Offices, after Jesus took captivity captive, He gave gifts (Doma) unto men, which we know as the five fold offices (Eph 4:8-11). The purpose was for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ: till we all come in the Unity of the Faith, and of the Knowledge of the Son of God, unto a Perfect (complete) man, unto the measure of the stature of the Fullness of Christ (Eph 4:12-13). The Office does not have the authority to appoint to the Offices, nor does it have the authority to remove anyone from the Office.
Leadership has the authority to grant Helps positions (Bishop and Deacon), and to appoint Elders, but leadership does not have the authority to appoint anyone to any of the Offices, only the Holy Ghost can (Acts 13:1-3). Leaders confirm as they hear from the Holy Ghost, but to take it upon their selves to appoint to the five fold ministry would be usurping the authority of the Holy Ghost.
There are many areas of granted authority and power, but they are predicated on position. Husbands are to love their wives, thus Jesus has granted an authority and power for them to do so; just as wives are to submit to the husbands, which also takes an authority and power. The same power an authority is granted unto all Believers in the Body, since they are to love one another, and submit to one another.
If the husband doesn’t know what love consists of, or if the wife has no idea what submit means, how can they do either? Authority or not? Peter tells the husbands to honor (treasure) their wives as unto the weaker vessel (I Pet 3:7). Does it mean the wife is weak? No, the concept means a treasured possession, one put in a place of protection. However, controlling the wife and protecting her are different. The word submit means not to cause hindrances, or to engage in debates, it doesn’t mean to be a doormat. Jesus loves the Body, but He doesn’t control it, dominate it, or force it to do as He desires. This is clear in the seven letters to the seven churches, Jesus never said, “obey or else”, but He did say, “repent”, “he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit (of God) says to the churches”, thus Jesus gave requests, not demands. Jesus allowed Peter to be Peter, John to be John, the forming process is based in a change of nature, not a forced change. We must desire the change, then submit to it. To force a mate to be what we want, is neither love, nor submission, surely not granted under the authority given us as Believers.
When we remain in our given area all things work together for good, when we presume we can make up our own rules, or move outside of the given realm, things may still seem to work, but not to the potential God intended, we must give account in the end. Power used outside of Authority is rebellion, misuse of authority is witchcraft. The term “usurp authority” is not misusing our authority, it’s attempting to use someone else’s. If we are a teacher, do we attempt to be the prophet? If we are helps, do we attempt to be the pastor?
Balaam wanted to make gain, he felt his position gave him the right to “earn a living”. He pushed the calling beyond the limit, yet God told him to, “Go”, only because God knew Balaam was going anyway. We said it may be convoluted at times, here is an example. The jump from Numbers to the Book of Revelation shows us why Peter said, “Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness” (II Pet 2:15). Peter gives us the intent of Balaam, as Balaam was going to use his power to sneak out from under the granted authority, by using his position to venture into an area where he had no authority. We find some other interesting clues in Peter’s words, Peter isn’t talking about someone who didn’t have authority and power, rather he says they were once in the “right way”, then they have gone astray like Balaam, or followed after something luring them in the same manner as Balaam was lured. Balaam being a prophet was also connected to the third family of Abraham. Balaam knew what God has blessed, no one can curse. However, he knew there had to be a way around the position so he could make his personal gain. The word “wages” could stand for money, but it could also stand for other things as well. It comes from the Greek Mistos meaning a wage, or reward given. Balaam was going to make personal gain, no matter what, yet he was so deceived he felt God approved of his actions. God didn’t ordain Balaam’s actions, Balaam twisted the Word to fit his purpose, then supposed God would honor him. At first it worked, but then the path started to narrow. The voice of a donkey spoke to the prophet, one donkey talking to another, who has heard of such a thing? Balaam has his clues before him, it took a donkey to see what the man couldn’t.
In the Book of Revelation we find it was the Doctrine of Balaam, not the man’s office or even his prophecies becoming his error (Rev 2:14). Prophecy is not Doctrine, rather Doctrine is what we teach, so what did he teach? He taught Balak how to get what he wanted, even if he had to get the people to curse themselves. What was the office of Balaam? Not a teacher, thus he went around his calling to get what he wanted.
Faith works, it was designed to do so, thus Power works, it was designed to do so. Faith in anything but God becomes mind power and witchcraft. Power and Authority have guidelines, they keep us from running after a Balaam heart, or a Jezebel mind. We are told faith comes by hearing, but what would happen if we reversed the process? Could we say something, thinking God will hear and obey us? Yes, but it’s witchcraft since it twists the precept by reversing the authority of faith. It’s by faith we please God, but it’s not the other way around, where by our faith we get God to please us.
John the Baptist had authority and power but it was restricted in nature, he didn’t cast out devils, or lay hands on the sick. Yet the disciples of Jesus, and even the 70 Jesus sent out did. John was filled with the Holy Ghost, but the Holy Ghost will not go beyond the limits of the authority granted the person. The disciples had granted authority and power do cast out devils, but they were not filled with the Holy Ghost. Whereas John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost, but didn’t cast out devils. In John’s case he made statements regarding Jesus, thus no one calls Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost. In John’s Account Nathanael said “thou are the Son of God”, but Jesus responded with “Son of man” (Jn 1:49 & 1:51). Nathanael at the time lacked the authority or revelation to make the statement, later Peter will make the statement, but by revelation from the Father for a specific reason. All this shows Authority to operate has guidelines, we cannot assume since Jesus gave us Authority we can as we please. We cannot use the Name of Jesus as if it’s some weapon to be used against flesh and blood.
Although we tend to think of Power and Authority are the same thing, we find they are different. We can have Authority, but no Power. An example would be a Law granting someone the ability to do something, but they lack the power to carry it out. Another example would be a policeman; the Policeman is granted Authority to make arrests, give citations, and direct traffic, but without the signs of his power he lacks the ability to enforce the authority. When we see the uniform, the vehicle, the badge or all of them together we immediately know Authority and Power was granted to the person holding them. Anyone can say, “stop in the Name of the Law”, but only those with Power and Authority granted by the Law can do anything about the command. If a talking bird said “stop in the name of the law”, we would laugh, but if a policeman in full uniform said, “Stop in the Name of the Law”, we would stop, or at least know we were breaking the law by ignoring the command.
There are those who pose as law enforcement officers, they have a badge and uniform, but they lack the Authority, they would be operating unlawfully, although they might have the outside appearance. Paul talked about false apostles who come with the self-transformed outward appearance of righteousness, but inside Satan still reigns, they would be Wicked or Unlawful (II Cor 11:13-15).
Also we know a policeman has the “power of arrest”, really they can arrest anyone for anything, whether the person arrested did the deed or not. The Authority over the policeman is the court system, thus the courts determine if the arrest was lawful. For the arresting powers to be “lawful”, they must operate within the guidelines of the Authority granted. No policeman in their right mind would arrest a thief, then charge them with murder. The authority is limited to the violation and procedures regarding the violation, just as they have procedures within the guidelines of the authority in other areas. No policeman would direct traffic in such a way as to cause an accident, they know the Powers over them would hold them responsible. The granted Authority is designed to keep the Power within the guidelines, thus making it Lawful. Wow, it was easy, short lesson. Not so, there are elements of both Power and Authority which are important to our Christian walk.
The Centurion knew if Jesus spoke, the Authority of Christ would manifest. For some reason we forget how Precious and Important the Name is. Some of us tend to pull it out like a six-gun for the shoot-out, but we must consider every Name God used in the Old Testament stood for some area of Authority, yet Jesus said All Authority was found in His Authority. Then He told us to Go in His Name! Jehovah, El, Elohiym, or any number of titles were all placed in The Name of Jesus. If we say, “In the Name of Jehovah”, we would be violating the Authority granted Jesus. The Father gave Jesus a Name above all names, all usually means All. We do not have authority to use the name of Jehovah, or the title El, or Elohiym, it is not the Body of El, it’s the Body of Christ. It doesn’t take away from the Father, rather it speaks of Authority only, we know the Power comes from the Holy Ghost, but the context shows the Authority is a Body granted ability. If we take this concept beyond the Authority issue, we would be in error as well. If God walked into a room He would not have to produce His passport for identification. The issue is Authority, not some form of identification. The premise, “well don’t you think God would like to be called by His name?”, lacks knowledge regarding the Authority of God. What Name would you use? Abraham didn’t know God as Jehovah, but Moses did. Would you use El? Elohiym? The Hebrew, Greek, what? If you call on the name of Jesus in our language and it worked, we stick with it.
If Jesus included the Gentile and Jew in the Body, He also included all the languages. It’s not whether one says “Jesus” in one particular language or not, it’s whether they have the position to use the Name. If we said, “come out in the Name of Jesus” and the devil came out, it worked, we need not find some “special” name to use to make us feel superior over the rest of the Body. The lust of being superior over people needs to be dwelt with in the Name of Jesus.
First John says the antichrist nature denies both the Father and Son, thus we can’t presume Jesus is the Father, or the Father is Jesus. However, we must know we operate under the Authority granted the Son unto Salvation.
During the Day the Father is not off working separately, the Holy Ghost isn’t running around making converts in some other religious body; the granted Authority is in the Name of Jesus centered in the Body, from the Body comes the Church, from the Church comes the Bride of Christ. If the Bride is Christ like, then it stands she must come from the Body of Christ. Not all those in the Body are of the Church, but all those in the Church are of the Body. There are religious orders many in the world, but only one heard, “All power (authority) is given unto Me”. When we say, “In the Name of Jesus”, we are invoking all the Godly Authority on earth and in heaven. No wonder we can come boldly to the throne.
Mark 11:22 and following, have become important verses of late, they are a result of what happened to a Fig Tree. The metaphor Fig Tree, as we know, stands for the religious order of Israel. Jesus said something to a real fig tree, the next day Peter made an observation, then made a comment. Jesus said “say unto this mountain”, not just any mountain but “this mountain” (Mark 11:23). Peter, like us, probably stood there thinking, “I said fig tree, where did He come up with a mountain?”. Peter said something based on his observation, Jesus taught him about authority, and how operating in the proper authority can change the way you observe things.
Peter saw something, made a conclusion and voiced it, but did he make a correct evaluation? Or did he just accuse Jesus of going beyond the granted Authority? In order to find out we must venture into the study. The Fig Tree wasn’t told to “go”, yet Jesus said the authority granted was to see something “Go”. This is one of those areas where we see we can have what we say, but what did we say? Come here mountain? No, it was Go. The lesson continues to the area of forgiveness, thus the authority referred to Mercy. When we pray, we forgive, in order to be forgiven (Mark 11:25-26). The Mountain sits on us, it blocks our vision, it can’t determine what we are seeing, is really what we are seeing. Jesus made a statement of fact, Peter saw it as cursing. Peter told Jesus, “the tree you cursed”, but did Jesus curse the tree? If Jesus had the Authority to Bless and Curse not, how could He curse the Tree? If we have been told to “Bless and Curse not” how can we curse? Is faith cursing? Cursing by a Christian is an act of Power outside the granted Authority, becoming rebellion, or a misuse of Power. Jude tells us even Michael knew better, rather Michael said, “the Lord rebuke you” (Jude 9). Jesus made a statement of fact regarding the Fig Tree based on His observations made in the temple. If we saw two cars headed for each other and said, “they’re going to hit”, did we cause them to hit? Or did we make a statement of fact?
Peter said many things before the Cross, if we think he was correct all the time we error. On at least one occasion Jesus rebuked Peter by saying, “get you behind Me Satan, you are an offense unto Me; for you savor not the things of God, but those of men” (Matt 16:23). Also when Peter saw the Transfigured Jesus he wanted to build three tabernacles, but the Father say, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear you Him” (Matt 17:5). Peter “said”, but the Father said “hear”. When Peter made his observation of the Fig Tree he allowed a mountain to interpret what he saw, rather than see “faith, hope and love”, he saw “curse”. Peter’s conclusion prompted Jesus to say “Have faith in God”. What? What has faith to do with the Fig Tree? Everything, the Fig Tree didn’t call for, or depend on faith. A change was taking place, there was a place for the mountain, but not in the Rock. The tense shows the mountain is something over us, as an object placed between us and heaven, thus it restricts heaven’s flow to us, or stops us from reaching heaven. Jesus will show Peter what motivated Peter’s thoughts, even if Peter didn’t know. James and John wanted to call fire down from heaven, because a prophet of old did, but they heard Jesus came to bring life, not take it (Luke 9:54). Right premise, wrong time and timing. We can have what appears to be a sound Godly premise, but be applying it under the wrong authority at the wrong time.
Was Elijah wrong in calling fire down? After all the False Prophet causes fire to come from heaven, maybe Elijah was a false prophet? Not hardly, Elijah was in a time and season, he had a message regarding what was to come, but he was not what was to come. Jesus said the message came by John the Baptist, John was not Elijah, only the Elijah message came through John. Yet, the least in the Kingdom is greater than John. Wanting to be “Elijah like” is the wrong desire for the authority granted us. Simply finding something in the Bible doesn’t mean our authority will allow us to do it. Calling fire down is one example, cursing is another. We are given an Authority purposed unto Salvation, not Judgment or Damnation.
Peter understood the Fig Tree, deep within he wanted to see the tree cursed, but Jesus told him “have faith in God”, or better, turn from the concept of cursing, to having faith. This is clearer when we find the teaching is really centered on forgiveness (Mark 11:25-26). What does “when you stand praying forgive” have to do with “say unto this mountain”? What does it have to do with Peter’s observations? Everything, Peter made an observation based on an emotion, Jesus didn’t have to read his mind, He discerned Peter’s motive, thus Jesus is answering the intent of Peter’s statement, while informing Peter what the intent was. When all we see is vile, corruption, evil doings, error, or desire to see the vile, our thoughts are cursed based. We must say to the Mountain, Go, then put our faith in God to remove it. The mountain will go, it may take a couple of exposures, but nonetheless it will go.
When John and James wanted to call fire down, Jesus told them, “you know not what manner of spirit you are of” (Luke 9:55). What? Cast the devil out of them quickly. No, it’s not the context, it’s reasoning and conclusions based on a nature. They had a premise, “like Elijah did” (Luke 9:54), they even had authority, but they were about to go outside of the authority by using the wrong power. They wanted Jesus to “command” them to call fire down, which would have caused Jesus to operate outside the authority of “bring life”. It would have destroyed the entire premise of the Cross, for Jesus came to save man, not destroy mankind (Luke 9:56). James and John were upset, how dare these people reject Jesus (Luke 9:53)? A little fire will correct their behavior, not much, just enough to let them know they did wrong. For Peter it was watching the religious leaders mock his Lord, they deserved to be cursed. When he saw the fig tree, he felt it was cursed, but it was not. It failed to produce the good first fruit, thus it could not produce proper second fruit. A fig tree is incapable of producing fruit will dry up from the roots, until it’s transplanted, even so, it may bring forth leaves, but it will never again produce fruit. Therefore, we find Faith in God must entail understanding within the operation of Authority and Power.
Jesus sent out the seventy, when they returned they were amazed at the Authority they held, even the devils were subject to them through the Name of Jesus (Luke 10:17). We know by now the term “Name” refers to Authority, but Jesus told the seventy, “rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). Having authority over devils is not wrong, limiting ourselves to the premise is. The seventy also heard how the Name of Jesus gives us “power” to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the “power” of the enemy (Luke 10:19). It could be real handy if you’re called to the wilderness to preach. No, we know the metaphors relate to malicious people (serpents), or those who are deceptive in nature (scorpions). We also find the words “power” are different Greek words; the first use of power in the phrase “power to tread” is the Greek Exousia meaning Authority, but the second word Power in the phrase, “power of the enemy” is the Greek Dunamis meaning Power. Both Authority and Power are granted, but limited. We are not allowed to tread on a brother or sister in the Lord, we are not allowed to make serpents tread on the scorpions, we are not allowed to use the “power of the enemy”.
God’s reciprocal procedure was evident in the Temple cleaning, the Power and Authority granted under the Old Covenant was still in the Temple, but the religious rulers were not operating in accordance with the granted Authority. God presents, man receives. God presented the proper means under the Authority, but the religious rulers went outside the Authority, thus Jesus cleaned the temple twice. The first time it was “My Father’s House”, next it was “My House”, yet the religious rulers were in charge. If God was solely in charge, the Temple would have remained clean, but we can see the Authority for the Temple came from God, meaning the ownership was still God’s, yet it was placed in the hands of the “Fig Tree”. The example for us is obvious, the Body is given to us, just as the Temple was given to Israel. The Church is not given to us, we are given to the Church. Much different.
So, which was greater? The Law of Moses? Or Rome? On the surface it would appear Rome was, but the Jews were able to bring about the Cross by using the granted permission of Rome, represented by the soldiers of Rome putting Jesus on the Cross. The religious rulers used a method of the world to put pressure on Pontius Pilate to get their way, yet the Jews were conquered by Rome. They Usurped the authority of Rome, which means they used another authority not granted to them to gain what they wanted. Just as Jesus warned them, they would do the lusts of their father the devil, by using the authority of the devil to carry out their plans. However, it was all in the plan, what appeared evil on the surface we find God used to bring about the greatest Good mankind could hope for.
There are times when God “allows”, but it doesn’t mean God either condones, or causes. God used Balaam, Korah, and the children in the wilderness as examples for us. If God is so powerful, why not make the children in the wilderness mix the word with faith? Why not make Korah obey Moses? The children had the faith to cross the Red Sea, why not make them continue in faith? They had choice; having choice is one thing, the result of choice another.
Just prior to saying, “have faith in God” Jesus entered the temple and cleaned it, but if this temple was the House of God, why would there be a need to clean it? After all God is the Power of all Power, and the Authority of Authorities. Shouldn’t the Power and Authority of God be greater than the ability of man to turn the House of God into “a den of thieves”? (Mark 11:17). Surely God is able to “rule His own house”. Once we understand this we can understand why Paul called the Corinthians the “temple”, they had the Spirit, but were still carnal, they were in need of a “temple cleaning” .
What caused Jesus to say the Temple had become a “den of thieves”? What did the religious rulers steal? They used their granted position as a means to bring about their prosperity at the expense of God’s people. They had a Commandment to take tithe, but they didn’t have a Commandment to rob widows. We are told to Receive tithe, not take it (Heb 7:6-9). One would think if they had Commandment, surely they could extract funds. Not so, they had Commandment to take tithes, so those under the Law who paid tithes could provided for the Temple. It did not included selling doves, exchanging money to gain the advantage, or selling. The Temple was in the hands of the religious leaders, thus God “corrected” them, He didn’t destroy them. Later God removed His hand from the Temple, and the Romans destroyed it in 70AD.
When John the Baptist came face to face with Jesus, he said, “I have need to be baptized of You” (Matt 3:14). John knew what type of baptism Jesus would do, thus John was not talking about water baptism, rather he wanted to be baptized by Jesus with the Holy Ghost and Fire. Did John go outside his authority? No, he didn’t say Jesus must, he said he had need. John had the authority and power to baptize Jesus in water, thus Jesus submitted to the baptism of John, but it was not time for Jesus to baptize anyone. Jesus said, “Suffer (or allow) it to be so Now: for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt 3:15). John did one type of baptism, but preached how Jesus would baptize with the Holy Ghost and Fire, thus he had the Promise, Jesus being there provided the ability, but the timing was not yet (Jn 7:39). Therefore, one can have the Authority, but the Power to perform is based in the Timing. To make “sons of God” before the Resurrection was within the ability, but within the timing, thus it would have been illegal.
At the Ascension of Jesus the disciples were told to “Tarry” until they were endued with Power from on high; however, Peter was still natural Peter, and made the decision to have a Board Meeting to fill the vacated slot of Judas. Jesus never told them to have a meeting, never told them to fill the slot of Judas, but in Peter’s mind it seemed filling the vacated slot was the right thing to do at the time, it seemed to be something they had to do in order to continue as “12” (Acts 1:17-21). How many of us think there are things we must do, before the Promise can manifest? We think we have to make the prophecy come to pass, yet prophecy proves itself by coming to pass. We are impatient, assuming God is not able to bring the prophecy to pass, so we venture beyond our authority. We are told to give prophecy, not make it come to pass.
We find several good lessons from Acts chapter 1, first Peter was still Peter, even after being told “feed My sheep”. He was still attempting to control things, or use his own reasoning. This is not “Peter bashing”, merely showing how any of us without the Spirit of Christ remain natural and unable to understand spiritual matters. The error was attempting to replace the man, the Holy Ghost will fill the position (Acts 13:1-2).
Peter had been granted power and authority before, but it was limited and restricted, none of the disciples ever had the authority to fill an Apostle position (Matt 10:5-15). Then he and the others were granted higher Authority, yet the Authority did not allow them to appoint anyone to the Offices of the Lord (Matt 28:18-20). In Acts chapter 1 Peter was still operating under authority, but without Power from on high to give him understanding. Therefore, Peter had the authority to “Go ye into all the world”, but he didn’t have the Power to accomplish the goal. His attempt to replace the person was absent Authority, really it’s the only time we find any leader appointing anyone to any of the five-fold offices. The leaders appoint Bishops, Deacons and Elders, not Apostles. Rather than hear, “separate unto me”; in Acts chapter 1 they cast lots, or voted. They prayed, had Scripture, but never heard from the Lord. The last thing the Lord told them to do was Tarry, not vote. God was not going to answer a prayer outside of the Authority granted, they had the breath of Jesus to remit sins done unto them, Peter merely took it further to show they had remitted by replacing Judas, thus he went beyond the confines of the authority.
What was this “power” they were to Tarry for? The Spirit, the gift of the Holy Ghost. When the Holy Ghost came it all changed, as evidenced in Acts 13:1-3, when the Holy Ghost “said” Separate unto Me; no one there said, “Peter cast lots, so don’t listen to the Holy Ghost, let’s cast lots”. No, the Holy Ghost picks whom He desires, but when Peter was casting lots the Holy Ghost had not been given. Peter had Scripture to back him up, not just one verse, but several. They prayed, they were of one mind, but they were operating outside of the granted Authority.
We also find the “meeting” rather than following the command “tarry” didn’t stop the Pentecost experience, nor the promised Power from on high. Why? The leaders were surely out of order, but the congregation was not. The One Accord in prayer was completing the purpose of the Ingress Aires (Jn 20:21-23). The Holy Ghost came based on the completion of the command “receive ye the Holy Ghost”, but the command of Tarry was still there as well. The natural mind will hear “Tarry” then presume, “well, we’re not going to other houses, we’re right here, so this meeting is still tarrying”. No it wasn’t, to Tarry means to Wait.
The meeting to fill the slot makes natural sense, but lacks spiritual sense. In Acts 1:19 Peter said, “It is known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem…”, thus the reasoning was, “how can we operate without filling the slot, all the people will think we have not forgiven Judas”. Peter felt there had to be a sign of “forgiveness”, some element for the disciples to point to, showing the people they have forgiven all who have trespassed against them. However, filling the slot of Judas didn’t prove a thing, after the Holy Ghost came the name of Judas was not even mentioned, the people could care less, the signs and wonders got their attention.
Peter’s other point of reasoning was based on something the Holy Ghost said through David (Acts 1:16); however, he forgot the Proceeding Word, which was “Tarry”. Any of us can do something “God said” to another, yet find we are in rebellion. God can tell us “pray with your mate”, yet we run off to read our Bible for hours. After all, what could be wrong with reading your Bible? If it’s to avoid what God has told us to do, it’s still rebellion. We’re not belittling Peter, or saying Jesus was better off leaving Peter a fisher of fish, rather we’re showing we can have Authority, yet without the Power we will end trusting our own talent or ability, giving birth to an Ishmael. The Power grants many things, for one clarity regarding the Authority.
To examine this event further, as it applies to some of us, we all know there are times when we allow our minds to run off into an imagination, where we make decisions based on our reasoning, which decision is nonetheless outside of the granted Authority and Power. Does it mean we will be cast aside? Perhaps Jesus will remove us from office? Break our legs? No. Repentance, “motive” tell the story. Peter wanted things to be right, but he made the mistake of using his natural reasoning to determine the definition of “right”. The Right thing in the eyes of Jesus was to Tarry until the Power from on High could connect to the granted Authority.
In Mark 16:14 Jesus upbraided the disciples with their unbelief because of their hardness of heart. In the very next verse He says, “go ye into all the world”, which is the same thing we found in Acts 1:8, but didn’t He just upbraid them for their unbelief? Yes, but then He says “Go”? Send these unbelieving people out to preach? Who has heard of such a thing? How many apostles were of the Rock at the time? The eleven unbelieving ones being upbraided. Did Jesus know they would fall into unbelief? yes, but the lesson is for us, as we find the rebuke cured the unbelief of the disciples. How did He upbraid them? By telling them the signs following those who believe, even if these eleven didn’t believe, someone would.
The Process of the Name had to begin with these disciples, the water baptism in the Name of Jesus means someone who has the Authority in the Body is the only one who can baptize others into the Body. Therefore, the only leadership in the Body at the time were these eleven, the Covenant was being tested. Jesus needed them to build the Rock, so He could build the Church. If they remained in the house and died of old age, all would be lost. Could Jesus do it all over again? No, the Cross was once, no one, not even Jesus can crucify the Son of God twice. Wait, it was the Son of man on the Cross. True, but the Cross is connected to the Resurrection, thus to Crucify Jesus twice, is also to make Him be Resurrected twice to prove He is the Son of God.
Then Jesus opened the entire matter, if someone is baptized into the Body, and they continue to believe, the phrase, “shall be saved” will apply to them; however, if they are baptized into the Body, yet fail to continue to believe, they shall be damned. Clear Motivation, Mark ends showing how the signs followed the disciples, which in turn also shows they repented and believed. If nothing else, it shows unbelief and belief are a matter of choice. The disciples allowed unbelief to enter in, yet Jesus didn’t tell them, “Well boys, now you’ve gone and done it, since unbelief has entered I must go and find some new apostles”, no He gave them the command. Why? Covenant. They made the commitment, Jesus was keeping His side, even if they were slipping from theirs. This also shows Jesus didn’t have other disciples tucked away somewhere, it was centered on the eleven. Also, Jesus didn’t make them believe, it was their side of the Covenant to believe. If we are in a state of unbelief, we need to make the choice to believe.
How about Paul going to Jerusalem? Do we find Authority in his mistake? Yes, when Paul got to Jerusalem where was the Holy Ghost? Not with Paul, the Holy Ghost told him not to go, if he went, how could the Holy Ghost honor his decision? One thing for sure, Grace was not Paul’s to cast away, or give up based on his selfless act. Paul was not wicked, he was not attempting to twist grace into lasciviousness, rather he believed the Rapture was near, he was willing to give up his place in the First Resurrection for his Jewish brothers. However, although he preached, no one came to the Lord. If any were to come to the Lord, they were not going to come through the preaching of Paul.
When the Holy Ghost tells us something, yet we cast it off, we can’t expect the Holy Ghost to honor our rejection of Authority. If we are a people of Authority, we are also under Authority, we must obey, if we want to remain as a people of Authority. The night following Paul repented, then the Lord came to him, telling him about Rome. Some of Paul’s best teachings came after the event, thus what appeared to be evil, God was able to turn to Good for our benefit.
The Power from on high carried more than the ability to speak in other tongues, in truth speaking was merely a “sign” of the experience. Not to say it’s any the less, only it wasn’t the entire purpose. Tongues and prophesy are signs showing the Token from God was planted, it’s an assurance of the Seed being in place. The 120 could have stayed in the upper room enjoying the moment, but they didn’t, they seized the moment, then the Body grew by 3,000 in one day.
How often have we said, “In the Name of Jesus”? What are we saying? In the Power of Jesus? No, the metaphor Name means Authority, we are speaking as members of the Body of Christ. The Unction is upon us, the call to be Witnesses of Jesus is our purpose, so are we? The disciples before the Cross went out and preached, cast out devils, healed the sick, but it would take the Power from on High before they could be Witnesses (Acts 1:6-8). They had to have the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead in order to have a position to speak of the Cross and Resurrection.
The Church is built by Jesus on the Rock, we cast the net to build the Rock. Jude tells us “of some have compassion making a difference, and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh” (Jude 22-23). When we cast the Net we get some good fish, some bad. Does it give us the right to cast the bad back into the Sea? No, once they enter the Body they have the same opportunity as anyone else, but it doesn’t mean we either refuse to cast the net, or cast out what we think are the bad fish, our authority is to cast the net, not examine it.
If Jesus said the gates of hell shall not prevail, why does it appear a majority of the seven churches not only have the gates prevailing, but some were even promoting them? Because Jesus said He would build His Church on the Rock, thus we have two things, the Church and the Rock. The Rock as we found is Christ, or the Body as Paul defines it, within the Body we find churches many, but upon the Rock there is only One Church. Jesus never said the gates will not come against the Body, or the Church, only they would not prevail, then He limited the “shall not” to an “it”, not a “them”.
The gates of hell refer to death and division; gates are not offensive, unless you take them off the hinge and beat someone with them. The gates Jesus talks about are big, very big, they were used to separate the people outside the city from those within, showing a form of division. Have the gates prevailed in the Body? Yes. Have they in the Church? Not at all. We can focus on the Body and forget it will be Broken, but the Church will not.
What about the Authority over the Body? Are there examples or teachings for us? Yes, Paul gives us many, one is basically metaphoric, but being metaphoric it can be misinterpreted. Paul used metaphors and allegories in many of his letters, the metaphor “head” refers to Authority, the metaphor “horn” refers to Power, we will be able to add to our metaphor list from First Corinthians 11. First Corinthians 11:1 says, “be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ”. Paul isn’t telling us to follow him, it would be a violation of the command of Jesus, “Follow Me”. Paul is telling us to look at him, see how he follows Jesus, then use the example as we follow Jesus. This is for the individual, some of us follow leaders, but the command is to Follow Jesus. In essence we walk with Paul as Paul walks, rather than place him between us and God.
Then Paul gets into an area that could be misconstrued to mean a “husband and wife” alone, but if it’s the case then the entire teaching removes widows, single women, and single men. Paul just told us to Follow Jesus, thus the concept is a mystery regarding Christ and the Church, but in First Corinthians 11 metaphorically leadership as the husband, and the congregation as the wife.
Going further it would appear as if Paul is building some sort of monster, taking the head from a woman, and putting it on a man? Not so, these are metaphors regarding Authority in the gathering and the responsibilities thereof. If we keep the context in line with Authority, these verses make sense, bringing clarity to the phrase, “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also says the Law” (I Cor 14:34). If the Law of Moses was nailed to the Cross, how can Paul bring it back? This same Paul told the Galatians circumcision and keeping days as outlined in the Law, were not only wrong, but would cause the Galatians to fall from Grace, yet he tells the Corinthians to do just that? It just doesn’t fit. Adding how he said, “there is neither male nor female in Christ”, but then he turns right around and says there is. These verses in Corinthians go much further than gender, connecting to the proper use of Authority. The most obvious is how the women are to remain silent, but if their “head” is the man, with the face on the head, with the mouth on the face, then it’s the “head” must remain silent. Must be more to it, Amen?
Paul begins by telling us Christ is the “head” of every man, which is our first clue (I Cor 11:3). The metaphor Head pointing to Authority helps us, since Jesus is the “Head” of the Body. The man isn’t Christ, his head (Authority) is. Then Paul tells us the “head” of the woman is the man, thus the woman isn’t the man, her head is. Then the “head” of Christ is God. Each of these speaks of Authority, not Power, certainly not power to dominate, or control. Back in Matthew Jesus said the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost was now the Name of Jesus, Paul is saying the same. The Anointing or Unction over the Body is the Authority granted the Body, but the Authority is under the Authority of God.
Next Paul talks about the “covering”, as it relates to the “head”. The first aspect of “covering” is not a good covering, rather it’s some form of separation, something artificial, or not conducive to the granted Authority of Christ over the Body. If leadership places a carnal Yoke between Christ (authority of the Body) and God they have hindered not only the Authority but the Anointing. In the case of the Corinthians it was remaining carnal, which caused division and strife. The proper “covering” is seen in the metaphor “hair”, which relates to the anointing, or something not artificial.
This is an important issue since some of us think the Anointing comes with Power, but we find it comes with the Authority. The yoke was destroyed because of the Anointing, thus the yoke was destroyed so the Anointing could be applied, granting us Authority, yet in Corinth they placed a Yoke back in place, hindering the anointing. Isaiah 10:27 gives us a progression, first the burden shall be taken away from off the shoulder (government), then the yoke from the neck, which relates to our study here in Corinthians, so the anointing can flow from the Head to the Body. The government is on the shoulder of Jesus, it’s between the Head and Body, it is not the Head, it’s not the Neck, it’s not both shoulders, it’s one. If the government (leadership or husband) puts a Yoke on the Neck, it has placed something restrictive between the Head and Body, separating themselves, as they hinder the flow from the Head to the Body.
The Yoke is at the Neck, which connects the Head to the Body, if the Yoke is broken the connection between the Head and Body flow without restriction. The rest of Isaiah 10:27 tells us, “and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing”. It doesn’t say “by the anointing”, rather the Yoke must be destroyed to allow the anointing to flow from the Head through the Neck past the Shoulder to the Body.
When each of us as individuals came to Jesus the Yoke was destroyed to grant us the anointing, placing us in a position to have the Spirit. However, here in Corinthians we’re talking about the shoulder, thus this has nothing to do with our personal relationship with Jesus, it has to do with the congregational setting. We’re not to forsake the gathering, but the purpose is to exhort one another, here we find there can be a hindrance to the purpose. The premise of the women learning at home has to be a clue, they are getting nothing in the gathering. If the leadership (husband) have hindered the flow of authority, the women (congregation) must remain silent, not for their sake, rather we find they shame the leadership. The connection between prayer and prophesy from chapter 11 to chapter 14 has to be made, or we lose the importance of the teaching.
Authority is then linked to the anointing, but what else? Great Faith, when Jesus heard the Centurion say, “I am a man of authority, and am subject to authority”, the knowledge of how Authority operates was considered Great Faith. In Corinth they were carnal, meaning they lacked Great Faith. Connecting to why Paul told them to follow Christ, as he does. Paul respected the Authority, the Corinthians were not.
This teaching in First Corinthians teaches us the importance of Authority, or the danger in the misuse of Authority. We will have the rhetoric, sermons, but if the people are gaining nothing it means the Authority is hampered. At first the leadership blames the people, “dumb people aren’t getting it”, but Paul is showing if the leadership has allowed the traditions of men, carnal viewpoints, unbelief, doubt, or anything outside of the granted Authority to Yoke the flow, the people are kept in an ignorant state. Authority is granted permission to speak, the Power behind the words brings the effectiveness, thus without Authority the words fall to the ground.
Authority and Power combined is the basis of Order, without Order we can’t function in the Power with effectiveness. The context begins to open up when we see the metaphor Head as Authority, and how a False Covering produces a separation between Authority granted, and Authority received. When we add the metaphor “Hair” we find the Authority and the Anointing are linked. Placing the metaphor together we find the man as the husband is the leader of the congregation, with the wife seen as the congregation. The leaders have Christ as their head, the congregation have the leaders, but this is only the gathering, rather than the individual lives of the members. The leaders have a two fold responsibility, as “husbands” they must make sure they have no covering on their Head (Christ), but as individuals they must be covered by the Unction.
We must keep this in context, this isn’t talking about our relationship with Jesus, it refers to the gatherings in the Body, or how the Body operates in the assembling of one another. This same context was seen in First Corinthians 10:17 as the Body, it continues into chapter 11. The leader praying or prophesying with a false covering between his head (Christ) and God dishonors his Head (Christ). This doesn’t say they can’t pray or prophesy, it means if they have allowed a false covering to separate or interfere when they do pray or prophesy they dishonor Christ, the Rock (I Cor 10:4). The separating covering can be many things, such as Old Covenant deeds, self-righteousness, pride, self-enhancing motives, a love for power, lacking a true concern for people, fables, deeds of the flesh, carnal ordinances, filthy lucre, teaching the traditions of men as doctrine, taking the oversight of the congregation by constraint, or some other out of order hindrance. On the same note, if they make sure there is no false covering separating them from Christ then they can Pray and Prophesy in abundance, bringing Honor to Christ (I Cor 11:4).
The leader should not cover his Head (Authority, Christ), for “he is the image and glory of God” (I Cor 11:7). Wait, go back, the head of Christ is God, but here it’s the “image” of the Glory, not the image of God’s son. Christ as the Rock is the image and glory of God, but the congregation becomes the glory of the leader. This indicates as the congregation goes, it’s a direct reflection of the leadership. If the Leader has the glory, it will reflect on the congregation. The leader may think the fault lays with the congregation, but Paul shows the congregation as a reflection of the glory presented to them. This same context is seen between a “husband and wife”, yet it too is a mystery concerning Christ and the Church (Eph 5:32).
The authority granted in marriage, is seen as the husband loving his wife, as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it, and the wife must submit as unto the Lord (Eph 5:21-22). For some reason we can preach “love one another”, and they all yell “amen!!”, or “submit one to another”, and hear “preach it”, but when it comes to “husbands love your wives, wives submit to your husbands” we hear, “hang the idiot, vote them out, out we say, out!!!!”. It still relates to Authority, why does the husband have an example, but not the wife? The husband has Christ’s love for the Church, but the wife doesn’t, why? Wait, maybe she does, if we keep it in context we find, as the husband loves, so will the wife submit, as the wife submits, so will the husband love. It’s the same concept we find here, the glory is reflective. If the husband fails to submit to the Lord, what example does the wife have? If the husband is so carnal he can’t understand the type and manner of love Jesus has for the Church, how can he love his wife? This leadership and congregation concept of husband and wife must be kept in order, or else how can the two be one?
When the husband loves his wife as Christ loves the Church, the wife has no problem in submitting; if the husband truly lives by his words. The same case in Corinth, the Leaders are the example, if they hold fables, anger, full of pride, ego and arrogance, the congregation will reflect those very traits. If the leadership teaches traditions of men as doctrine, the congregation will receive it as doctrine. What if we know it’s wrong? What if we see something is completely out of order? What do we as the congregation do? Vote them out, cast stones of theological abuse at them? No, we are to “remain silent”, why? The leaders don’t work for us, they are responsible to the Authority over them. As a congregation we are bound, but not as individuals. Now it makes sense, the congregation in Corinth wanted to do something, Paul is teaching them, they must remain silent, as if they are under the Law of Moses, since their leadership is carnal, requiring carnal ordinances. The context is still the gathering, thus Paul tells us to go home to learn and pray. In our prayer closet we can pray for the leaders to be enlightened, or for God to send a prophet to bring clarity or exposure, for the Holy Ghost to intervene by bringing correction unto perfection, whatever, we find if we are bound in the gathering, we can’t pray of prophesy. This is interesting since the two signs of having the Spirit are seen in Corinthians as praying and prophesying. If the leadership (husband, or head of the wife) has used a false covering, we as the wife (congregation) must remain as if shaven, or void of the anointing (hair). It remains very clear, the congregation must remain silent, yet they are the ones losing in this. For this reason Paul rebukes the carnal Corinthian leadership, telling them the congregation must remain silent as under the Law. Why? The Corinthian leadership had separated themselves from Christ, they are yet carnal, acting as mere men. If the carnal mind cannot understand spiritual matters, how then can they follow the Law of the Spirit? They can’t, the point for them to be under the Law of Moses. They misused the authority granted, limiting the congregation, but is it right? No, should not the Woman have long flowing hair? Yes, but if her head is the husband, who then should have the hair? If the man by nature should have short hair, yet his head is Christ, who then is suppose to have the short hair? If we see Christ is the Rock, or Body, we can also see the Head as Jesus, the Head of the Body. Jesus has all the Anointing, complete Authority, but the shoulder has placed a Yoke on the Neck. Paul ends his teaching by saying, “I praise you not, for you come together not for better, but for the worse” (I Cor 11:17). This is still connected to the prior verses, thus we’re not talking about the husband and wife as genders, but about Authority. Back in First Corinthians 10 Paul talked about the Cup and Bread, then when we get to 11:20 he goes right back to the Cup and Bread. Order is found in Communion, the place of remembrance, repentance and restoration. The cure for out of order Authority is found at the Table of the Lord, a lesson in and of itself.
This concept of the Body in Unity without hindrances is something Paul taught more than once, can the hand say, “because I’m not the foot” it is not of the Body? No, can the eye say, “I don’t like the hand, thus it’s not of the Body”? No, Jesus put us in the Body as He sees fit, it’s His Body, but there are responsibilities for those of us in the Body. The Leadership gift is known by us by the Greek word “Doma“, the Doma gift is not Grace, rather the Offices are presents to the Body, sent to assist those who are in the Body. The five fold ministry cannot save, it was not designed to, rather the Authority is specific (Eph 4:11-12). However, if one of the leaders places some self-importance, the Law of Moses, fables, carnal endeavors, personal agendas lacking Godly authority, or some other hindrance between their head (Christ), and God, they have put the yoke right back on the Neck, placing undue burdens on the shoulders. The Yoke restricts flow, it’s anything not conducive to the nature of Christ.
An understanding of the differences between Authority and Power helps us in our quest to be all Jesus said we can be. We may hear, “go”, then run out the door, failing to hear, “Tarry”. The Power give the Authority effectiveness, but the Authority gives the Power full operational ability.
THEOCRACY – GOD’S ORDER OF GOVERNMENT
God established a leadership quorum as a method of Theocracy; in God’s form of government God is always the Head. From the Head we find two branches, governments and helps, on the base of this Godly trinity triangle we find the Elders, three orders within the government. The offices of Government consist of the Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. In Helps we find Bishops and Deacons, then Elders appointed from both groups. Each of the three areas supporting the other with the central theme of building the Body of Christ. No man appoints to the Offices, it’s strictly up to the Holy Ghost (Acts 13:1-3); however, leaders do appoint to Helps and Elders.
Since the best form of government is God’s, it stands the first place we will find the functioning order is in heaven. The heavenly order is shadowed on the earth in the Body of Christ, it is not shadowed in the Law of Moses. The heavenly order is strictly Blessing, the Law of Moses is split between cursing and blessing, the heavenly order is spiritual in nature, the Law of Moses is carnal in nature, the heavenly is centered on Salvation, the Law of Moses on Judgment. We can’t view the Law of Moses to determine God’s form of government, but Paul tells us there is a Godly form of government established by God for the Body of Christ (I Cor 12:28).
Simply, “Theocracy is God’s form of government”, this is not a definition, it’s a description. We could stand with the description, yet not know exactly what the term means, thus we must know the definition. We have examples of Theocracy, first of course is Heaven: if Theocracy is working anywhere it’s in heaven. Next the earthly ministry of Jesus, then the operation of order in the Book of Acts.
The Tabernacle was a type showing the three fold order, there was the courtyard, the holy place and the holy of holies. If there is a holy of holies, surely there is more than one type of holy. In the Book of Revelation, and other places we find the phrase, “holy, holy, holy” usually with the phrase, “is the Lord God Almighty”. Not only do we find a shadow of the Trinity in the phrase “holy, holy, holy”, but also in the title, “Lord – God – Almighty”.
The Tabernacle was a type of Theocracy, the watchers at the gate had their positions of helps. Those who carried the Tabernacle would also be positioned in helps, where would Moses be if no one could move the Tabernacle? The Holy Place had it’s form of Theocracy as well, the priests had duties assigned to them, each was equally important. Not all were in charge of the Menorah, not all were in charge of the Shewbread, not all were in charge of the Golden Altar of Incense, but all had something to do.
Bible Theocracy is defined as: Where God chooses, calls and equips certain people to be leaders, or rulers over His people; He delegates and invests in the Office certain power and authority to do His will, those in the Offices are commonly known as Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers in the role of Governments, and Bishops and Deacons in the role of Helps, with Elders assisting in the operations; in every group God places a mantel of leadership upon one leader, this does not exalt him or her above the others, but makes him or her a chief among equals, for the betterment of the Body. There are leaders within the orders, for instance the Bishop is the leader in helps, but the Elders come from Helps and Governments. The checks and balances are throughout the system, the prophets judge the other prophets, the Elders suggest to leadership. The position is respected by all, maintained by Godly authority and supported by the anointing. The mantel is the Office, it’s always the Office making the person, not the other way around.
However, there are divisions, First Corinthians 12 begins with a division, being ignorant of the division brings confusion, being wise removes confusion. No one who speaks by the Spirit of Christ can call Jesus accursed, yet no one can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost. This doesn’t mean mouthing the words, “Jesus is my Lord”, it means living them. Without the New Birth ones religion becomes their lord, or they become the lord over their religion. When Jesus is Lord the ways of the servant prove it. For those who are servants, there lays other areas regarding the reward for their servitude.
There are gifts in the Gift of Grace by the Spirit (I Cor 12:4). To view these we must travel to Romans 12:6-20. These “gifts” are the attributes of the nature obtained by the Gift of Grace (Charis); meaning the gifts are the Charisma of Charis. They are prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhorting, giving, ruling, and mercy. These are not issues of Government, they are the attributes in each Born Again Believer as kings in the Kingdom. As kings we can say, “well, no prophecy here”, just as we can say, “mercy reigns as a prince with me”, thus we allow or disallow as we rule; however, we will have to face the King of kings.
The next area in Corinthians is administrations, or offices given by the Lord. The Offices are found in Ephesians 4:11-12 as Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. In the Operations (I Cor 12:28) of the Church we find Apostles, Prophets and Teachers, so did God forget the Evangelist and Pastor? Not at all, it’s understanding the positions. The Apostle brings commandment and opens up virgin areas, just as the apostles did. “Now wait, they started in Israel, it’s hardly virgin territory”. It is when you are talking about what they were preaching. Prophets give the Body direction, they also deliver doctrine as did Judas Barsabas and Silas in Acts 15:32. The Evangelist seeks converts for established bodies, as did Philip in Acts 8. Philip didn’t begin the First Church Of The Eunuch, rather he baptized the Eunuch at the request of the Eunuch. The Pastor is the shepherd over the flock, we tend to label the Pastor as the “preacher”, but there is no office for Preacher, we are all preachers of the Gospel. The Pastor guides the local flock, as they watch over them, mainly in prayer and making sure they are equipped, as Peter points out, or as James demonstrated. The Teacher gives us insight to the Scriptures and Doctrine, they don’t take the place of the Scriptures, they don’t attempt to replace them, they expound on them. These offices are not for all, not all are apostles, yet all have a position in the Body. We all begin as Sheep, thus Jesus made disciples who later became leaders. Jesus as our Shepherd makes Sheep, then the Sheep become Shepherds (leaders).
Within the Operations of the Father after the Apostle, Prophet and Teacher are established, we will find, miracles, gifts of healings, being done by the two fold operations of helps and governments, with the final area of different tongues and interpretation (I Cor 12:28). This is the operations, or the manner in which God desires the gathering to operate, thus in the gathering we must have interpretation so all can benefit, but this doesn’t include our private prayer life.
Leaders, even Apostles are not to appoint to the Offices, only Jesus can give these gifts. The reason we cannot appoint to the Offices is simple, Authority, we have the Spirit, we are not the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost brought us the Spirit, thus the Spirit in us cannot take the place of the Holy Ghost, it would be usurping authority, something the Holy Spirit will not do.
It seems like we covered the Spirit (gifts), the Son (offices), and the Father (operations), but wait here is something in First Corinthians 12:7, the “manifestation of the Spirit”. The manifestation is the Witness of Jesus exhibited by the New Man in one on one situations, as an Order of Theocracy. The Operations and the Manifestation have some like areas, but we do see differences. In the Manifestation it’s gifts of healing, but in the Operations it’s gifts of healings (I Cor 12:9 & 12:28). Both have “gifts” but the Manifestation is one healing, showing a one on one situation, whereas the Operations are “healings” showing the masses.
The Government order is provided for the group, the kingly principle is for the individual. The problem arises when someone has formed rules as a “king” then attempts to enforce them over the group. A person may respect one day over another, for them it’s is a “kingly rule”, they have to keep it between them and the Lord. They are not to think by keeping the day they are any more or less than the rest of the Body, neither are they to make it doctrine. The same is true when a person doesn’t keep one day over another, they too are not to suppose to think they are holier than those who do. The Holy Ghost instates Doctrine, then uses the Prophets to deliver it. Kingly functions are not to be mixed into governmental functions.
Helps was first established by the Apostles in Acts 6:3, but Jesus had His helps as well (Matt 27:55). The Helps are the Deacons, the overseer of Helps is known as the Bishop, both are appointed by leadership. The Offices are different, Paul never sent anyone to appoint Pastors, Evangelists, Prophets, Teachers (in the office) or Apostles, those areas are the Doma (gift) appointed by the Holy Ghost on behalf of Jesus. Leaders only confirm the position, they don’t grant it (Acts 13:1-3).
The so-called qualifications are not elements one must meet to gain the position, but areas seen from the person’s nature to show they belong in the position. It’s obvious when reading Timothy or Titus how certain elements are not see. If the Commandment is, “Ye must be Born Again”, why don’t we see it? In Acts 6:3 the requirements to obtain the office was to be “full of the Holy Ghost, and wisdom”. It wasn’t Born Again, although it’s obvious they had to be since they were also full of the Holy Ghost. The order was established to be over “this business” (Acts 6:3). What business? “there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because the widows were neglected in the daily ministration” (Acts 5:1). The appointment was to deal with people in the Body regarding matters of the daily ministration, thus they had to be Born Again, they also had to have Wisdom as the sign of the Holy Ghost using them to deal with the masses. For what reason? They would represent the Body to those who wandered in from the outside, thus they were usually the first seen by the public. If someone entered the service and found some legalist pounding them half to death with rules, regulations, or making fun of them, it would be the impression they acquired of the entire Body.
Elders come from both Helps and Governments, they are also required to have the evidence of God’s Wisdom in their life. They make helpful suggestions, they don’t dominate the Offices. Peter as an elder made a suggestion to James, who was the Pastor (Acts 15:7). James saw the wisdom and accepted it (Acts 15:14), then the people saw the wisdom of the leaders, and accepted the decision (Acts 15:31). Elders are picked by the Governments, as are the Bishops and Deacons. It would be upside down and out of order for a Bishop, Deacon or Elder who was appointed by leadership, to be over leadership.
The first order of our individual Theocracy in Salvation is, “the Spirit bears witness to our Spirit”, then our Spirit guides our souls in the order of authority, and leadership. The New Man doesn’t make up his own agenda, he hears and guides us on the path. Our souls are either going to follow the order by submission, or interject carnal opinions; the latter is a reverse of the established Order God has set forth. The soul may presume it’s the leader, but really our soul is helps, the New Man is governments.
The order for the Body was defined by Paul as Christ (Anointing) as the Head, then the leaders, then the congregation, yet the leader is no more important than the congregation. The leader came from the congregation, not the other way around. Where would the leaders be without the congregation? The Book of Acts taught us the importance of helps, as well as displaying how order removes disruption and strife (Acts 6:1).
Are there Twenty-Four elders in heaven who represent the leadership roles over the masses? Yes. Do they tell God what to do? Hardly, do they hold meetings? No, elders are not suppose to dictate, they suggest, as examples. The twenty-four Elders in heaven agreed with the Lord, cast their crowns before the throne and worship. They did not tell the Lamb what to do, they did not tell the Throne what to do.; therefore, their “ruling” is by example not manipulation or governmental.
In the order of things in heaven do we find angels above other angels? Yes. Do all the heavenly elements center around God, or operate for God? Yes. Was the entire effort in the wilderness centered around the holy of holies? Yes. Were all subject to God? Yes. Is the purpose of the Body to promote Jesus? Yes, then each has an order of government coupled with responsibilities, with the granted authority and power to carry out those responsibilities.
The family of Kohath was assigned to carry the things of the Tabernacle, among them was Korah the grandson of Kohath. What would happen if the order of Kohath decided they weren’t going to carry the things of the Tabernacle? What would happen if the high priest decided not to enter the holy of holies anymore? We know what happened when Korah the grandson of Kohath made the decision to have the position of another, thus whether we say “no I’m not going to”, or “I want what you have” we lack spiritual guidance and awareness of our own position. If we just accept the premise of being called, then allowing the anointing of the office to form us we will save ourselves from some hard times, and difficult moments. A square peg attempting to fit the round hole is frustration in the making.
The Holy Ghost will operate in the areas where Theocracy is in order, whether in the gatherings, or with the masses. If our worship service is in order, but nothing else is, the Holy Ghost will operate during worship, and nothing else. If our worship and pulpit are the only areas in order, then the Holy Ghost will operate in those areas. The pastor calls out, “the anointing is here today”, the guy in the first row says, “I don’t feel a thing”. The Pulpit is in order, the pew is not. If the teacher says, “the Holy Ghost is here today”, where was the Holy Ghost before? Why is it such a surprise?
The order can be momentary, the week prior there was no order, today there is, thus the Unction works where there is order. We have to seize the moment, but it begins by having and maintaining Order in government.
Revival is not the same as Evangelism, Revival by the word’s nature means to Re Live again, or to restore. Most Revivals begin by bringing order back to the local Body. In the Book of Revelation we find Jesus making suggestive corrections to several of the seven churches, thus Restoration to gain Order was the call. Revival is the result of the Holy Ghost operating from proper Order; if we are carnal, murmuring, bickering, inducing strife, what kind of Revival would we produce? At times people are more concerned with their name being spelled right in the bulletin, then being in Godly order. We pray, beg, yell and teach expecting Revival, it doesn’t happen, we then use emotionalism to make it happen, the result lasts about as far as the parking lot. Establish Order in government and helps will produce Holy Ghost Revival.
Evangelistic efforts depend on eagerness; do the people want God? The more they want the Truth, the more the Holy Ghost will move. Faith comes by hearing, thus one can read verses aloud, if the people are eager for God, they will hear, faith will come to them. Signs follow the Believer, even if the speaker doesn’t believe (Mark 16:16-18).
Congregations remaining Out of order are invaded by natural thinkers, or “take over” artists who wear the mask of righteousness, but are looking for a place to gain self-importance. When we allow Balaam, Jezebel, or the doctrines of men into our group, we have opened ourselves up to the gates of hell. Reject the God sent teacher, and we leave the door open for the take over of the wicked. Theocracy in the hands of man is no longer Theocracy but carnal religion. Giving the devil opportunity is not wise, of course there are some bodies so out of order even the devils don’t like to be around them.
Order in the things of God is a willingness to experience God in a Godly manner. We can be eager, yet use carnal methods, and be none the better. We will have emotional experiences, but they will fade. Emotional revivals seem to be very exciting for the moment, but within hours, or days the impact is gone. Man doesn’t begin revival, rather people are used of God to bring revival.
Authority and Power are different, and being out of order doesn’t mean we won’t have Power. We can use Power outside of the confines of the Authority, as Korah did, or as Judas did, but it doesn’t mean the actions are holy. Judas had authority to do certain things in certain places, he did not have the authority to betray the Lord. Judas was a member of the Ministry, he had responsibilities and duties. He went beyond his authority into an area causing him to lose what little he thought he had.
Stephen ended in a dispute with certain of the synagogue, he preached his one and only recorded sermon, they was stoned to death. His last words were, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” (Acts 7:60). His very last act was one of Mercy, he displayed a Christ nature to those without Christ, becoming an example of a Christian to the public. Did it violate his Helps status? He wasn’t operating in helps, he was a person with the Holy Ghost in a place as a Christian. He “preached” and discipled the masses who were outside of the Family, but they refused to hear, rather they attacked, destroying their hope. They were even in One Accord, so were they in proper Order? No, they had no authority to kill someone for preaching (Acts 7:57).
Philip is a different case, Philip proves one can be assigned to helps, yet be assigned an Office. Paul held many offices, Peter was an apostle and elder, as was John. Philip is an another example of a person in helps, but also holding an office, thus he is the only man in the Bible called an Evangelist. If one wants to know what an Evangelist does, they need to read Acts chapter 8. If we are assigned to helps, yet feel the Lord calling us to an Office, one doesn’t negate one position for the other, we can operate in both, we can also operate in more than one Office.
The counterfeit of theocracy is a dictatorship, as strange as it may seem. However, we know God sits on the Throne, the angles don’t, neither do the twenty-four elders. No one voted the Father into position, and no one voted Jesus into position, but the Father placed the Son at His own right hand. A dictatorship is a one person ruling order, without the voice of the people, but it’s carnal, self-based, and motivated by pride, ego and arrogance, therein lays the counterfeit. Theocracy is void of any self-importance as it hears the voices of the people. Moses was told God heard the cries of the children, thus the Bible shows God does hear, the question is “just because God is talking, does it mean we hear?”. God heard the cries, then sent Moses as His representative, Theocracy in action.
A dictatorship would be one person who claims to be an apostle, prophet, teacher, or spiritual guide, who refuses to listen to elders, or rejects discipleship. Some call them a Whacko, others call them Cults, but a Cult is simply a group who uses God as a means to enhance their self-righteousness, or exercise the lust to be superior. The seeds of a cult are found in the heart of pride, the desire to be special among the special, the “only” ones of the Body doing the will of God. The ones with the special, or secret order, the ones who have all the holiness, the only ones who see all the “evils”, thinking they are so above us all, they are the Head of the Body. A very dangerous thought process, very dangerous indeed.
Theocracy is based on the spiritual wisdom of God, motivated by His love, mercy and grace by the Holy Ghost. Two governmental orders can be found in the Body, one of God, the other a counterfeit in the hands of man. When the congregation or the leadership vote on any matter, it is not Theocracy, but a republic. The only place in Acts where a vote was taken was in Chapter One, before the Holy Ghost came. People who are not Born Again hear nothing but their own opinions, they make appointments based on opinion, which is always dangerous.
Timothy was excited, he appointed some who should not have been. Paul gave him qualifications one should see in those appointed, if they lacked those areas, then should step down. Timothy was told to mix the water with the wine, although Mercy is an attribute and required, we can still find ourselves making appointments because we want to fill positions; ending in big trouble. Apply Mercy, but also Apply Grace for the understanding, really the biggest disservice one can do is appoint someone to a position they are not ready for, or designed for. Their joy turns to bitterness as they end struggling in a place they should not be.
When the disciples voted, several things stood out, the disciples were told to tarry, not vote. Second the Holy Ghost had not yet fallen, thus the Gift was not yet granted. Third they were voting on filling a position only Jesus can fill, lastly they were attempting to replace the man, not fill a position. They prayed, had Scripture, but they were out of order. Later in the Book of Acts we do find Theocracy when the Holy Ghost says, “Separate unto Me” (Acts 13:1-2). Two completely different forms of government, the first was a republic lacking spiritual authority, the last was spiritually motivated within the bounds of heavenly authority, yet both involved “Appointments”. The difference? The Holy Ghost as the essence of God, the deliverer of the Gift, the appointer of offices for the Lord, the teacher and guide over the Body. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit which is of God, the New Man, the Glory in us, delivered by the Holy Ghost, thus we only see the title “Holy Spirit” seven times in the entire Bible, it’s a very special title assigned to build us into the Church.
Republics seek confirmation from people, rather than affirmation from God. After Pentecost we find the disciples operating in proper Theocracy, we also see how the congregation agreed with the decisions of the Apostles, rather than hinder, or rule over them, or vote. The Apostles didn’t say, “What do you people think?, they told the people the decision. The decision was Wisdom based, the people knew it. The people weren’t asked to vote on the decision, but they did accept it. However, the Book of Acts also shows the leadership listening to the congregation, thus it’s a two way street, proper Theocracy has the leaders as servants of all, yet given an authority in the Doma (office gift) to lead, since the Office is respected, the Congregation listens, and submits. Grace is a gift, but the Office is also a gift (Greek Doma), not a gift so much for the person in the office, but a gift makes the leader a leader for the benefit of the saints. The word Doma means Gift or Present, but in the context in Ephesians we find Jesus “gave” based on the meaning of Doma, thus we refer to the Offices as the Doma gift, rather than the Charis gift. The Office is not designed to make the person in the office famous, or rich, but the Office does have specific authority to accomplish the goals of perfecting the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ (Eph 4:12). Are the leaders outside the Body? No, they are members of the Body. One reason we read about Stephen is to assure us the “work of the ministry” isn’t restricted to the Offices, there are Helps as well.
Leadership is not a license to control, dominate or dictate. The old man and his friends love to control, or have the final say in the matter, the unsaved soul will gather with those of like reasoning. There is a vast difference between Control and Discipleship; control is when the self is involved, we want people to do what we want so we feel better. Discipleship is bettering the disciple for the work ahead of them, much different
Jesus “gave” the offices, He doesn’t dominate them. A person in the office is anointed by the anointing on the Office, but what they do with the Office is like unto the “talents”, they must answer in the end. Judas is a prime example, what Judas did, Judas did, he had the power to remain at the table and say No to the devil, or say No to God. The power was in his hands, the authority granted him the right to use the power within the confines of the granted authority, yet he could also use the power outside of the granted authority. Could Jesus have broke his leg? Yes, He could have, but He didn’t. Could Jesus have said, “Judas if you do this thing, you will die”. Yes, He could have, but He didn’t. Why? The power of the office was in the hand of Judas, the authority was already known to Judas, the man was responsible for his actions, thus it took his position to betray the Lord, or obey the Lord. It was the Office position granting him audience before the religious leaders, thus the religious leaders wanted someone close to Jesus, one of the disciples or an apostle, Judas was the one. He had training, experience, the teachings of Jesus. What would have happened if Judas ran to the Cross and asked Jesus to forgive him? Jesus would have, since the blanket statement was “Father forgive them, they know not what they do”, He didn’t say, “Father forgive all but Judas, he knew what he is doing”. However, Judas didn’t run to the Cross, he ran from it. The wording “draw back” in the phrase “draw back to perdition” means they sneak back undercover, attempting to fool or trick everyone into thinking they are Christ like, when inside Satan rules.
Judas is also a mark of the difference between “nice” and “good”. No where do we find anyone rebuking Judas, he was liked, the evidence was when he said “Why was this waste of the ointment made?” (in reference to the oil being applied to Jesus), the rest of the disciples murmured against Mary (Mark 14:5 & John 12:4-6). Judas said it because he wanted his hands on the money, but the disciples response shows how they liked Judas and joined with him. Many who run the risk of hell do so, because they confuse nice with good. Because people like them, because they haven’t really done anything illegal in the eyes of the world’s justice system they think they are “good”. They are not Good, only God is Good, in order to be Good, one needs to have God. Jesus went about doing Good, thus He is Good. However, Barnabas was also called a “good man”, because he was full of the Holy Ghost and faith. What made Barnabas good was the Holy Ghost, not the personality of Barnabas. Judas may have been likable, but his heart was evil. Judas had power over devils, he simply didn’t want to take authority over himself.
In the Book of Acts the leadership was seeking ways to “do” things, not to stop them. The second we grant the power to stop anything on a one vote basis, we have given power to the enemy. If all it takes is one vote to stop, then we have allowed a hindering agent to enter in. It’s worse than majority voting, at lease with the majority the masses would be heard. Whether we call it, “no rule”, or “ruling by the masses”, or simply seeking unity in the masses, if we allow one carnal minded person a vote to halt any activity the Lord desires, we will have to answer for our own folly. The “power to stop” is the power to hinder, if we allow a “one vote” can stop all activity we are out of order.
If we are in Unity, how can one vote stop everything? Did anyone ever consider the “one vote” may be out of order, the rest In order? When the power to hinder is given into one hand, is a very dangerous mode of government, just as the power to do in one hand is very dangerous. In Acts 15 James didn’t say, “sit down Peter, I say what to do and not do”, neither did Peter say, “I’m an apostle, no pastor tells me what to do”, they looked at the problem then sought a Holy Ghost solution to help the people.
In First Corinthians 12:28 the placement of the Apostle, Prophet and Teacher is not by mistake, there is no one vote rules all, just as there is no one vote can stop all. The Apostle was the first position appointed, for good reason. How can we have local bodies, if no one is sent to establish them? Next comes direction and doctrine delivered, which is up to the Prophet. Then the true check and balance, the Teacher, to determine if the Doctrine is sound, if so, they teach it accordingly. What good is an unteachable teacher? What good is a prophet who refuses to deliver doctrine? The positions each check and balance the others. The Apostle gave the commandment, the Prophet bears witness, then delivers it as Doctrine, the Teacher tests it to the Doctrine of Christ, then teaches it. When it’s in order the congregation can pray, prophesy, and do many wonderful things, all in Order and Decently.
The term “bears witness” becomes very important in the decision roles, yet it’s not the only means. When Peter had his vision on the roof, he didn’t run to James and say, “does it bear witness?”, yet the witness came when the men from the house of Cornelius came to Peter’s door; therefore, God did confirm the vision to Peter. We can run around seeking to find someone, anyone who can “bear witness” and miss the witness standing before us. Ears that hear, are coupled with eyes to see. Let’s face it there are times when “bear witness” is nothing more than running around attempting to get someone to go along with our carnal plan. “Does it bear witness? No?, you’re not of God, hey does it bear witness? No, you’re not of God, hey does it bear witness? It does, finally a prophet of God”. Sound funny? We do the same with our fleeces, we keep changing them until we find something coming close, and we run off saying God has ordained our mission. Order has limits and rules, if we make a fleece, stick to it, whatever the outcome accept it.
When we allow the unsaved soul to run things, or become a leader, we’re in trouble, usually completely out of order. One thing worse than carnal leadership is natural leadership. First John gives us a ruling order, in heaven we have the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost, they are One and bear Record (I Jn 5:7). Since they are One, we find the Word doesn’t dictate to the Father, or the Father to the Word, or the Holy Ghost to the Father, they are in Unity as One complete God, all in all. God the purpose, God the mind and God the source, one God all in all.
A Record is a listing of events, or words recorded, thus the plan of God is complete, as the Father, Word and Holy Ghost all agree as One to the result, no vote needed. On earth we find the Spirit (New Man), birthed by the Holy Ghost as the Word in us, the Water, which is the Mercy of the Father, and the Blood of Jesus, as the Grace of God, these three, the New Man, the Father’s Mercy, and the Blood Of Jesus agree “in One”, rather than As One (I Jn 5:8). What “one” do they agree in? The person who is Born Again, this agreement is a Witness of God, which Witness we have in us (I Jn 5:7-10). There was no vote taken, not even on our part, we asked, God gave, we received. The soul has no vote in the matter, it either submits or rebels, it is not a Witness, but it can join to the Witness and be saved.
We have some positions in the Body today, which aren’t mentioned in the Bible. We have also moved some positions out of their intended order, into another, and wonder why we lack power. We can’t elevate positions outside of God’s intended theocracy, it only makes the position an idol. We can’t seek a position based on the importance of the position: pride seeks a position for the glory of the position, not for the service involved. None of the apostles came to Jesus and said, “You know what, I think I’m a prophet”, even Paul remarked how he was made an apostle, he didn’t seek it. If we are seeking a position, we have to ask why? Is it for our glory? Or the Lord’s?
There are times when we’re in the gathering, or a meeting and see occasional power displays, but then things go right back to the same old flatness. Then there are the emotional displays often becoming confused for the anointing. Emotionalism is not the anointing, it’s the old man exercising himself, Emotionalism and Enthusiasm are different. When our government is out of order, we will not function as we should. When helps are either made slaves, or become some ruling order dictating rules to the Offices, we are out of order. When the authority is out of order, we have put the Yoke back on the Neck of Government.
As far as misuse of titles, we took the title of Elder, then elevated it to “ruling elder”, yet no where in the Bible do we find a “Ruling Elder Board”. Elders can come from either governments or helps; John called himself an Elder, yet we know he was an Apostle. Today we see “ruling elders” in many local bodies, and “bishops” teaching and preaching, which is not the position of a bishop. Bishops are overseers regarding helps, thus they are appointed by leadership. At times we get locked into some “position of the month club”, whatever is fashionable at the time, apostle this month, prophet the next, bishop, and then around the tree one more time. What about First Timothy 5:17 where it says the elders rule? Ahh, the word rule is the Greek Proistemi meaning To aid, thus we must separate helps, elders, and governments, or we end with an upside down ministry. We must also keep these orders in the proper realm of authority. This issue of Authority is so important, Paul saw the failure of proper authority as the very reason the Corinthians had the Spirit, but were not spiritual. Their leadership was so far out of line, they had separated themselves from their head (authority). The result was the congregation (wives) had to remain silent. If being carnal minded is death, yet the Corinthians had the Spirit, but were yet carnal, were they not attempting to mix death into the Spirit? Yes, it became the basis of the rebuke, either become spiritual, or face the consequences.
Out of order bodies leave their doors wide open for the False to enter, then the false in their sneaky fashion take control. The Greek word Psithuristeas is akin to the Greek word Psuche, it means a secret slanderer, or an accuser who is a backbiter (Rom 1:30). How is this done? By deception, they use jokes, or other means to slander, yet it doesn’t appear on the surface: they come into the local body, establish themselves, then begin to backbite the pastor. They gather like minded people to them, as the wolves they are, they set out to divide and steal the sheep.
They also joke about other groups of the body to a group who will accept them, but it’s still slander, if we agree with them, we are more the slanderer. A backbiter never confronts anyone to their face, they go about slandering people behind their backs. The term, “laying in wait to deceive” means one makes plans to deceive, so they can control the conversation, or their attack, or to trap others by their deceptive ways. A backbiter sits in board meetings slandering people, but then tell the person, “hi brother, we sure love you”. They pat us on the back, but they are merely looking for a soft place to insert their dagger of slander.
Perhaps the best example of being out of order is the church of Corinth. The Lesson on Corinth takes a deeper study on this area, but here we want to view some of the out of order conditions, as they effected their position. By now we know the metaphors Husband and Wife stand for the leaders and congregation; we know how the head refers to Authority (I Cor 11:1-16). When the leadership inserts a false covering between their head (Christ) and God (Head of the Body), they shame their head (Christ), they don’t shame themselves, they shame their Head (Christ). The congregation is then in a position where they cannot pray or prophesy, rather they have to learn at home, while remaining silent in the gathering (I Cor 11:2-16). Although the ability to pray and prophesy is based in having the Spirit. The out of order leadership hinders the Holy Spirit by which we are sealed, this alone should bring the incentive to correct those out of order areas.
Does it mean we can openly rebuke out of order leadership? No, First Corinthians just told us to remain silent, but we do have places of hope, the Communion Table, and our prayer closet at home. Of course the Table and Prayer Closet are not to be used in a manipulative manner, we seek clarity, wisdom, and mercy on our leadership, believing God is able to bring correction and order. Of course the teaching is restrictive to the gathering, thus the out of order assembly calls for the congregation is to remain silent.
Our example of not tossing the leaders out on their ears is found in the ministry of Jesus. Could Jesus have stopped Judas? Yes, but it would have been out of order. Could Jesus have stopped Peter from denying Him? Yes, but it would have been manipulation, and completely out of order. Leadership is not to dominate, or lord over the congregation, or be motivated by filthy lucre, but be of a ready mind, easy to be entreated, as an example to the flock; regardless of the size of the flock (I Pet 5:1-4).
Prophets are a part of the Order in the Body, and thank God for prophets in the land, but Prophets prophecy In Part. The role of the Prophet is directional, in their role they bring expansion of doctrine as did Judas and Silas in Acts 15. The test is whether the change violates the Doctrine of Christ or not. If it does, they are false, if they lead us in the wrong direction, they are false. Giving a word of knowledge, or wisdom means the Spirit in us manifested, it doesn’t mean we are a Prophet.
The chore for the brethren in Acts 15 was to present a set of guides which didn’t lead one back to the Law of Moses, yet didn’t lead them back to the world either. The guidelines had to be within the authority of Christ, in no way could they cause a separation or false covering between the head of the leaders and God. Their list complete, prayed over, and agreed to, in reference to the Doctrine of Christ, had to be delivered. The Apostles didn’t deliver it, the Teachers didn’t, the Prophets did. Prophecy based in edification, exhortation and comfort can come from any member of the Body being used of the Spirit, but the Office of Prophet is much different, it’s guided by the Holy Ghost.
Godly government is not under man’s control, rather it must be under God’s control. If one can’t hear the Holy Ghost, how can they lead? On the same note, does God allow the workers to govern the administration? Why even have leaders, if they are controlled by others? Paul’s warning to Corinth points out this very issue; the husbands (leaders) were out of order, yet it effected the wives (congregation), thus it’s better for the congregation to remain silent. The leaders have their position of service, the congregation have their position of service, neither are granted the power to control the lives of others. Neither do have the authority to do as they will, then claim “it’s of God”. We are the Body of Christ, and subject to the Head of the Body, we must submit one to the other, or find ourselves out of order, lacking authority and power.
What about ungodly authority? Do we run from it? Do we submit to it? Listen to the New Man, he hears from the Holy Ghost. We may be under ungodly authority to learn what not to do when we become leaders, we may be there to pick up the pieces when it all falls apart, or we may be in a place we shouldn’t be. Knowledge is awareness, we may see something out of order, yet not know what to do about it. We lack wisdom to deal with it, thus we observe, we do not act.
The Apostle Paul also made it clear, a novice must not teach, going further than Sunday School, it means they shouldn’t disciple others. The warning is not how the people will be in danger, rather, he shows the novice being lifted up with pride, will fall into the condemnation of the devil. The Novice might have the authority for a position, but they are not trained, nor do they have the experience of power. A prideful novice will jump out of the boat prematurely and begin to make displays of self-importance. They see the anointing work, presuming it’s based on their intellect, or study, allowing pride to take its hold.
Titus was sent to make elders, but he was not sent out to make Teachers, Pastors, or Evangelists. The qualifications in Titus are specific for Elders and Bishops, and included the area of the aged women, but no where do we find Titus being given authority to appoint any governmental office. He was really sent to finish the work, not begin it. How important is it? So great we find many who are called of Jesus for an office walking away because someone who didn’t understand these areas told them they failed to meet the so-called “qualifications”. Woe to the one who hindered a child of God from becoming what God called them to be. The qualifications for the Offices are known to Jesus, surely Judas didn’t fit the “qualifications”, but Jesus ordained him.
On the other hand we have Timothy, who had appointed some carnal nightmares, thus in his case the “qualifications” we find they are what the Office forms the person into, rather than seek them in a person before the enter the position, we look for them after then have the position to determine if they fit the position. Once Timothy had the “qualifications” in hand he felt he could weed out those he appointed, but his intent was based in his disappointment. The second letter to Timothy shows how Timothy was attempting to clean up the mess, but he slipped into using the “spirit of fear”, rather than the Spirit of Christ. It would have been far better to lay hands slowly, after viewing the person through the eyes of Mercy and Grace, thus the warning and experience of Timothy shows what happens when we act based on personalities, or ordain too quickly, or place people in positions in a local body without exercising spiritual awareness.
Timothy is a great leadership lesson, first it was “I’m out of here”, but then when Paul gave him the qualifications he began using them as a whip of fear to control, but in so doing he would soon be subject to the same spirit. Paul instructed Timothy by the Holy Ghost, he expected Timothy to do the same, but Timothy was fearful to begin with, he wanted to run, but when he was given the upper hand, he was about to use fear as a power to control. Timothy would never have appointed the carnal minded if he wasn’t fearful of what people might think. Paul’s answer is simple, Bread and Wine, get it right in the Authority, then the Power will work accordingly.
Theocracy like theology, or knowledge can be found in two separate veins, first is God’s, next is man’s. When theology became a science it lost it’s ability to gain the clarity of God’s desire for the moment. They had God’s desire for yesterday, but they didn’t know God’s desire was for Now, causing them to reject the Proceeding Word. The very early schools of theology, such as Origen, Lucian and Nestorian placed their efforts on God himself (thus the term theology), much later the stress fell to the mind of man without clarity from God. Theocracy in the hands of God is perfect in all its ways, in the hands of carnal man its imperfect in all its ways. However, the truth remains, this is the Day, repentance can always bring us back to a place to hear, do and understand.
The basic description of Theocracy is “God’s form of government”, however, there is much more to the definition than the description. Theocracy without the Holy Ghost cannot be in accordance with God’s rule. Paul give us three areas as foundation to Theocracy, first the gifts of the Spirit, next the Administrations of the Lord, then the Operations of God, all being watched over by the Holy Ghost giving us Order (I Cor 12:28).
The government rests on the shoulder of the Body, but if the foundation isn’t the Rock, we end with a type of soulish democracy formed after the world. Each Theocratic order has gifts to fit the order, each position within the order has authorities fitting the position. In the offices the person is not anointed, the office is, but for those who are Born Again the anointing is within, thus Paul divided the Theocratic order from the Manifestation of the Spirit.
The Body also has an anointing over it, which anointing covers anyone in the Body until the Rapture. Then the Anointing unto Salvation ends on the earth, as the anointing unto Judgment begins.
There are those who are in this for power, social prestige, the feeling of importance, they love the feeling they get from thinking they are morally, or intellectually above us all. They love the Lord, but they love the pleasures of the self more. They are self-run, self-willed, and rebel the moment responsibility is applied. They are still using the old man, like Balaam, or Korah they are a people of authority, but refuse to submit to authority. They are masters at using emotions to get the response they desire, they cry on cue, they shout at the darkness to get the emotional response, they are actors, they are not preachers.
Korah had authority in his called position, but he assumed his authority gave him the right to attack, control, and dominate other positions within the grouping. He used the power of his position outside the granted authority, in the New Testament he is used as a type and shadow of one who seeks the position of another without the authority for the position. It’s the same as the self-driven person who seeks an office, but lacks the ability or calling for the office.
Some in positions think since they have a position, they can attack others in position, not so, it’s still a failure remain within the confines of their authority. It doesn’t mean we can’t rebuke when the Lord leads, it means we don’t have a license to attack, or usurp authority. A disciple never has the authority to rebuke the master, but the master never has the authority to abuse the disciple.
Korah is a perfect example of “God knows”, God knew what Korah would do, before Korah knew he would do it, but God allowed Korah to make his own decision in the matter. Simply because God Knows doesn’t give man a right to attack, slander, or fall into iniquity. Some use the excuse “oh well God knows”, but God knew what Judas would do, and yet allowed Judas to do it. God knew what Balaam would do, and what the devil would do, and what Adam would do, so what? They all paid for their iniquity. Ignoring the deeds of the old man when they surface is a failure to walk in the authority granted us to reach Salvation. The Cross is a mass barrier, the devil, the works of the devil, the darkness, the old man, the wiles of the old man, sin, even the old nature lost their power and ability the second we accepted the Cross of Jesus. The problem is some of us don’t believe it, what a person believes, so are they. Using the authority of the old man in any degree is still using the authority of darkness. Not wise at all.
Authority is Theocracy’s badge, misused authority is an attempt to overthrow the government God has established. The Authority in the Name of Jesus produces Acts, being in the Name produces the Ways. However, the Name (authority) of Jesus works for those in the Body, regardless of where they stand with Jesus. This conclusion is based on the disciples before the Cross who used the Name of Jesus with effectiveness, yet among them was Judas (Luke 10:17-20).
Was Paul an Apostle? Yes, but he was also a teacher and prophet, yet he submitted himself to James, the Pastor in Jerusalem. Was Peter an Apostle? Yes, but he still had to answer for eating with the Gentiles after the conversion of Cornelius (Acts 11:1-4). Did Peter say “wait I’m am Apostle, I don’t answer to you”? No, he gave a detailed account of the event (Acts 11:4-18).
A Pastor attempting to enforce his authority will push it into the soulish realm, ending fighting everyone, including himself and God. A Prophet attempting to be a Teacher is out of order, thus when a Prophet teaches on a prophecy they gave, they usually miss the point of the prophecy. A prophet is merely the voice used by God, the prophet didn’t come up with the prophecy, thus it takes the Holy Ghost to bring the intent and meaning of the prophecy. Personal prophecy or speaking in unknown tongues is by the Spirit in us, thus it takes the Spirit to interpret. However, in the Offices we find the Holy Ghost appoints, thus the Holy Ghost brings the interpretation regarding the prophesies of the Prophet in the Office.
When anyone in a calling allows the Authority to operate, then the power of the Gift will manifest. In the world one must use the power and authority, but in the Kingdom one is used by the power and authority. Therefore, submission is a key element, we are the tools used by the Authority of the office, it’s not the other way around. Submission within the gift stops debates, power struggles, or the carnal fighting from going on behind the scenes. Submission is a powerful weapon, it will halt abuses and defuse aggression.
Power struggles are always soul based seeking to bring division. The authority granted us is for Unity, not division, but when it’s twisted into the self-nature it will divide. Splits within a local body are based on power struggles, people with their own personal religious agendas, or an overwhelming lust to control. It doesn’t mean all involved in the split are self-run, it means in order for there to be a spilt there has to be someone who is self-run, or using authority in an ungodly manner. Someone assumes they should be the Pastor, they hear from a lust, then form plans of a takeover. They used authority, but in the wrong manner. Leaders are appointed by God, they serve us, but they don’t work for us.
Discipleship is always the foundation for good leadership; the disciples were taught to trust God by watching Jesus trust the Father. They were taught submission by watching Jesus submit, after Pentecost they were taught to understand by the Spirit. They were led by the Holy Ghost, thus the training continued, it didn’t end on Pentecost. How many of the disciples were cast into jail before Pentecost? Not one, but after? How many of the disciples were killed before Pentecost for standing on the Word? True Judas died, but it was self-inflicted, he was hardly standing on the Word. Not one disciple was injured, much less killed before Pentecost, but after? The difference is the Hoy Ghost plus the Spirit, it always is. After Pentecost their discipleship became a way of life; Jesus didn’t make leaders, He trained disciples, who became leaders by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Both Paul and Barnabas were apostles (Acts 14:14), after preaching in many cities they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch confirming the souls of the disciples (Acts 14:22). Before making any of the disciples elders they warned them how a disciple must enter the Kingdom of God by much tribulation. Then the Elders were appointed, thus the Elders were first disciples, it’s not the other way around (Acts 14:22-23). The making of an Elder is not an Office of Governments or Helps, rather it stands as the suggestive arm for leadership.
Grace is the gift, but there are different Greek words for the English word Gift. For instance the Greek Charis is translated as Gift and Grace. In respect to the gift for the offices it’s the Greek Doma. The Greek word Dosis refers to the act of giving; Dorean is an adverb meaning giving without charge. Dorea means giving freely or free gratis, it places the emphasizes on the gift itself. Doreomai means to make a gift of something or someone. Dorema is the thing given by the Doreomai. Doron means a gift to express honor. There are two verbs translated To Give; Didomi has a variety of meanings depending on the context, and Doreomai means to grant, showing the generosity of the giver. James 1:17 reads; “Every good gift (dosis), and every perfect gift (dorema) is from above”. Dosis is the act showing the intent of giving, which intent is always benevolent, purposed to do good for others, although it depends on how it’s used to determine if it remains good. When Dosis reaches its intended goal it becomes Dorema. Dorea involves the very Character of God’s intention, it doesn’t involve all of God’s Character. God intends for all His gifts to do good, it’s man’s handling of the gift determines if God’s Will in the gift is complete. God is not sorry for giving the Gift or Calling, what we do with it, determines our end.
Charis is perhaps the most well known Greek word for Gift, but the meaning may not be. Charis demands Rejoicing, Joy, Peace and Blessing, it’s termed Grace and the famed “unmerited favor” definition, but the nature of Grace is a granted Gift from God Spirit in nature, based on God’s love for us alone, to bring both He and us Joy and Fellowship in a Spiritual Unity. Grace is the Gift, thus Grace and the New Birth are the same, making result of Grace the Spirit of Christ in us, something none of us deserve. Grace is not only a Gift, it’s a nature by having the New Man.
The Holy Ghost initiates, motivates, connects, produces, encourages, and teaches through the Gift, as the gift activates unto it’s purposed goal, it’s our faith bringing us into union with the Gift to reach the goal. Charisma is Charis with the suffix Ma, showing the action or result based on the action. The Gift is Charis, the activity of Grace is Charisma, thus there are gifts in Charis to perfect the Gift of Charis. The Doma is a gift given to some to enhance the ability of many, it was used in more places than the offices, but best describes the office as a gift, rather than the person in the office as the gift.
Those within the Office are neither better, or any the less than anyone else in the Body, rather they have been called to serve so the Saints can be edified, allowing the saints to build the Body. Assuming the Office is given so one can dominate, or control the congregation is foolishness. For whatever reason God has, He picks some for the Office, it’s not our position or right to question, debate over, or become jealous about, it’s our duty to know the Gift (Doma) is a call to train those with Charis. The mistake Judas made was thinking the calling of the office was his holiness, it’s a mistake every leader must beware of. The Office is not Grace, it’s not Salvation, it’s a tool to assist the saints. The Office has an anointing and power on the Office, just as Aaron’s robe had a protective power. When Aaron and Miriam challenged Moses, Miriam broke out with leprosy but Aaron did not. It wasn’t until the robe was removed from Aaron when the price of his folly was paid. Leadership has a protection, but it is not a sign of the person’s relationship with Jesus, nor a sign of their holiness or righteousness.
When Ezekiel saw the whirlwind, he also saw Theocracy at work (Ezek 1:4). Ezekiel saw four living creatures, all separate, yet all moving straight forward in unity (Ezek 1:9). Each creature was a type and shadow of the Gospel. They had burning coals of fire, the appearance of lamps. The coals represent the prayers of the saints, and the lamps the seven churches (Ezek 1:13). Ezekiel saw one wheel upon the earth, and the appearance of wheels, with the appearance of the works as one wheel in the middle of another (Ezek 2:15-16). The two wheels worked one with the other, yet they were separated, giving us “helps and governments”. The wheels of Theocracy spin around the throne of God, God is always the center, always the goal and always the force behind perfect Theocracy.
When Theocracy is in order there is a protection, or hedge around the protected of God. When the servant of the prophet saw the enemy round about, he didn’t run to his own cave for protection, he ran to the one with the anointing (II Kings 6:15-18). The enemy circled the mountains, but God’s chariots of fire were round about the prophet (II Kings 6:17). There is a difference, the chariots of fire circled the prophet not the enemy, when the enemy was subdued, the prophet of God extended Mercy (II Kings 6:21-22). The anointing on the prophet provided protection, but both the prophet and his servant had to remain in the anointing to be protected.
Elisha was a man of God, but only because of the calling and anointing, not because of the man; therefore, the calling and anointing made the man, the man didn’t make the calling or the anointing. There was something in the heart of Elisha causing God to pick him, but the something was only known to God. We tend to say, “I wouldn’t pick that one”; but we’re not the one doing the picking, we’re not God, thus we only confirm whom God has already picked. Samuel found it out, when God picked David, not one person there, including the prophet of God thought David could ever be a king. God looks on the inside, man looks to the outside, the prophet obeyed the voice of the Lord by confirming God’s choice.
Does God’s system always work? Yes, but we must enter it before it works for us. Does God’s plan always entail blessing? Yes, but we must enter it to obtain the blessing. Mark was sent to minister unto Paul, did he complete the course? No, (Acts 13:5, 13:9 & 13:13). Mark was later restored, after he grew up in the Lord, as he knew it was better to serve than complain. However, Joshua was the minister to Moses, did he do his job? Yes; he not only saw the promise land, but he became the leader of the people (Joshua 1:1 & 1:6-16). Mark was in the upper room, he received the Spirit. However, as far as serving we find Joshua, who was not Born Again, who completed his course. The Spirit didn’t force Mark to serve, yet Mark grew in the guidance and instruction to become beneficial. The Holy Spirit will not make us obey, the Holy Ghost will not force us into an Office. Paul was open, he said, “Lord what would You have me do?”, the Lord responded, Paul accepted.
Moses was the leader in the wilderness, but he acquired the position by being known as the Servant to God (Ex 14:31); as Joshua was known as the servant of Moses (Ex 33:11). Before Joshua became the leader, he was first a loyal and dedicated servant to the man of God. Joshua knew the mantel was on Moses, the way to obtain his own mantel was to serve the one who held one. Joshua didn’t use the mantel of Moses, rather God gave Joshua his own.
There were two dramatic changes in the Body, neither of which took a vote from the masses. Peter going to Cornelius was a drastic change in the process of the Body, the door to the Gentile was being opened, yet Peter didn’t feel he had to gain approval from the others regarding what the Lord told him. Prior no Gentile had received the Spirit, no member of the Body would be caught eating with a Gentile, they were sent to the Jews. However, we must also conclude from the Scriptures Peter had no idea the Lord was going to give Cornelius the Spirit. As far was Peter was concerned he was not to treat what God has cleaned as common (worldly). Peter was just as surprised as anyone else when the Holy Ghost brought the Spirit to Cornelius and his house.
Although Peter didn’t obtain permission from the elders to go to Cornelius, he was questioned regarding the event when he returned. Peter left nothing out, he rehearsed the matter from the very beginning to the very end, this doesn’t mean he ran the events over in his mind, it means he left nothing out when he spoke to the elders upon his return (Acts 11:1-4). If Peter was an Apostle, why would he have to answer to anyone? Why did he feel he should rehearse the matter? The Body is not one person over another, as the world terms leadership, but parts working together to obtain the goal. How can these Elders question the Apostle? How dare they. Don’t answer them, you’re above all that Peter, you’re the anointed apostle. However, Peter knew he was a man with authority, but also under authority. He answered the elders, when the elders heard it was God, they were satisfied.
When Paul declared the closing of the door for the Jew, and the opening of the door to the Gentile, it changed the course of gaining entry into the Kingdom by removing the Gospel of the circumcision, yet no one wrote letters to Paul, or fought it (Acts 28:26-31). Was it a major change? One of the biggest of all time, but did Paul ask Jerusalem for permission? Did he take a vote? No, he was moved by the Holy Ghost, thus casting lots or guessing at what God desires is not theocracy, it’s man’s way of appeasing the soul of man. The letters after the fact show Paul’s prophecy was accepted, the Gospel to the Gentile became The Gospel of Peace. It in no way means when some Whacko makes a decision, we follow like dumb sheep, rather it shows the other leaders at the time were also hearing the Holy Ghost.
On the same note one cannot use “so saith the Lord” to get their own way, or to make their own self-based changes. When Paul spoke it was based on the Holy Ghost with the circumstances supporting the prophecy. If any other prophet of the Lord would have judged Paul’s words in error, we would have read about it. The prophets still judge the prophets.
Theocracy is a combination of Submission, Responsibility and Accountably. How does it begin? The position is first imputed on a person in the “calling”, but it is not imparted until the training process is complete. Paul preached in small gatherings before he was appointed an Apostle, but the same man said he would not have a Novice to teach. Wow. Wait, Paul was not a novice, he spent nearly his entire life learning the Scriptures, after his conversion the Spirit brought Life to the verses, producing a man who was not a novice.
The leaders are accountable to the Chief Shepherd (I Pet 5:4). Any leader has two possible methods of operation; they can feed the flock of God taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind, neither being lords of God’s heritage, but examples to the flock (I Pet 5:2-3). They can also use carnal methods to enforce their authority, taking the oversight by constraint, using their own will, looking for the self-benefit in filthy lucre, not with a ready mind to be accountable, ending as lords over the flock using manipulation to dominate, instead of being an example, they can project a “do as I say, not as I do” mentality. Whichever, the truth remains, they will face the Chief Shepherd to receive the reward of their doings, some the crown of glory, some the sword.
It’s just important to care for our Godly leaders, when we do God cares for us (Ph’l 4:6, 4:14 & 4:19). Does the term Filthy Lucre mean the leader should not be paid? Hardly, the term doesn’t mean money alone, thus it’s not Lucre, but Filthy Lucre. If taking money was a sin, Paul was up to his neck in sin, thus it can’t be money, rather Filthy means one doesn’t care where the money comes from, or what strings are attached, or what they have to do to get it. If they have to preach a certain way to get paid, they will, if they have to say certain things to get paid, they will, if they have to refrain from saying to get paid, they will, thus they make the lucre filthy.
Paul refused money from Corinth, because of the strings attached, but he received from Philippians and other churches. The elder who labors in Word and the Doctrine of Christ is worth double the honor, don’t ever muzzle the ox (I Tim 5:17-18). Only carnal churches refuse to honor their leaders (II Cor 7:1-10 & I Cor 4:8-14). When we preach to get money, we are in this for filthy lucre, when we preach to please the “big givers”, we’re preaching for filthy lucre, when we preach to see people come to the Lord to receive His saving Grace, regardless of the money or personal reward we are a saint of God.
What about the congregation? Are they responsible? Acts 5:1-5 is an example of theocracy at work, who did Ananias lie to? The Board, the Apostles, the deacons, or God? (Acts 5:3-4). If Theocracy wasn’t involved how could he lie to God? He made his vow to the men of God, many of us assume we are making vows to men, when in fact it’s to the position, calling, or gift, not the person we’re speaking to. Always pray before making a vow, we could be binding ourselves to a wreck. This is a simple premise, one overlooked by carnal minds, but considered serious by the spiritual. When the Philippians needed help in areas not financial, they still knew to give of their material things to the man of God, then God would provide their rescue (Ph’l 4:2 & 4:16).
When Paul was in Thessalonica, who took care of him? (Ph’l 4:16 & I Thess 2:9). What type of labor did Paul do in Thessalonica? He preached the Gospel night and day (I Thess 2:9). How could he do it without the help of the Philippians? When Paul was in Corinth he worked as a tent maker, but why? Did he use the money for himself, if so he lied to the Corinthians, when he said “I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service” (II Cor 11:8). Paul worked to make sure his people were cared for, in so doing God cared for him, but as far as the carnal church? Paul refused their lucre, they would use their money in some attempt to control Paul. Paul knew better, he would rather suffer before taking their lucre.
Theocracy has many titles, topics and subjects, but the one word causing us either hardship or joy; peace or disruption is the word “Order”. If we are out of order in our family life, prayer life, church life, or calling, we will be out of order with God. If we allow God to bring Order, we will have order in our family life, prayer life, and all areas concerning God. The Apostles knew something was wrong when the Greeks came to them with complaints, but instead of rejecting the Greeks, or the complaints, they made a Godly decision keeping the Body in proper Order, then miracles began to happen (Acts 6:2-7). It was still in the very early days, thus we can get out of order, but it doesn’t mean it’s all over, rather it means we can be restored to proper order.
There is a reason for us to enter Theocracy and have things in Order. The Dictionary tells us the word Order means a Row, Series, Rank, Class, or Arrangement; Something set in place to bring harmony, An established function of authority, A body or society of persons living in function under Order, or to Arrange method to regulate and conduct a function. The Greek language has six words relating to Order, all of which are important to Theocracy. There is Diatasso meaning an order of appointment, such as ordination (Acts 7:44, I Cor 7:17 & Titus 1:5). This places a person in the order, it doesn’t make the order subject to the person. Then Epidiorthoo meaning To proceed in correcting order; this Greek word is only used once in Titus 1:5, which reads “for this cause left I you in Crete, for you to set in order the things wanting (left undone)”. This completes the order, thus if there are parts of the order we have left undone, God will send someone to finish the work, or assist us in bringing proper order. Then the Greek Kathexei meaning A succession of the order, or those who follow after in the order established (Acts 3:24, 11:4 & 18:23). Then Stoicheo meaning a line or rank of people, with a leader(s), with the remaining members forming the Order, as a file of soldiers, consisting of those in higher ranks, on down to those in the lower ranks (Rom 4:12, Gal 5:25, 6:16 & Acts 21:24). Then Tagma meaning to arrange in a orderly manner (I Cor 15:23). There are times when we have all the pieces, but in the wrong order, or as some put it, not having our priorities straight, then God brings Tagma to put things In Order. Lastly is Taxis or the setting in order, it refers to adding pieces to complete the Order (I Cor 14:40). All these help us understand why God shakes all that can be shaken. There are times when nothing is shaken off, rather it is shaken into order. We can have G where B belongs, or J where A should be, God will shake them into the proper order to produce the Godly result.
God’s Theocracy is not only for the local church, but for the many facets of our walk as well. It’s not only a subject for the leader, but for all those in the Body. Each letter written to a church centers around Order in Theocracy. The spiritual reproofs, correction, edification and encouragement all focus on Theocracy and proper Order. Paul told the Corinthians “Let all things be done decently and in order” (I Cor 14:40). What order? Theocracy, God’s Order.
God has established an order, even in the wilderness. Moses had Aaron and Hur to support him, with Joshua as his minister. Jesus picked three men out of the twelve for special training. The trio of James (not James the Less), John and Peter were the three Jesus took with Him on special assignments. Jesus had the Three, the Twelve, the Seventy, the four thousand and the five thousand. The Three were taught the Ways of God, the Seventy did the Acts of God. It was the Seventy who came back rejoicing about the ability of the Name of Jesus. The 4,000 received from Jesus, they didn’t make the same mistake as the 5,000. The 5,000 followed Jesus to gain the bread and fish, thus they didn’t know the Ways or Acts, they just wanted the “goodies”. Taking this to the Body, the 4,000 and 5,000 show up Sunday morning looking to be ministered to, or searching out the goodies; the 70 show up Sunday night, the twelve show up Wednesday night, the Three show up whenever there is a need. Which group requires the most knowledge on the Ways? The twelve, they love God, they show up to learn the Ways, the Three are already operating in the Ways and Acts. The 4,000 show up to partake of the Word and benefit, but the 5,000 show up at all the prosperity meetings, the healing meetings, all the praise and worship meetings, but they never show up when the Ways of God are taught. The 5,000 are yet Babes, unable to understand the importance of the Body or the Blood. Therefore, the 70 and 4,000 will minister to the 5,000, while the 3 and 12 minister to the 70 and 4,000.
In light of this Jesus said, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they exercise authority over them are called benefactors, but you shall not be so” (Luke 22:25-26). Clearly this is an Authority issue, not a power issue. When we use our position to gain lordship over the flock, or use fear tactics and manipulation to control the flock, we’re using the authority of darkness. The methods of the Gentiles are not the methods of God, a mixed seed is still corruptible (Deut 22:9).
Leadership in the Body can only be held and maintained by those with servant’s hearts. He who is Chief among us, let him know how to serve (Luke 22:26). We know how to serve by serving, discipleship consists of learning how to serve. There must be a Godly way to have a Godly man or woman formed into a leader without us doing the forming, but nonetheless helping. There must be a method wherein man is not the center of the process, but God is. There must be a teaching method for discipleship wherein the teacher is merely a guide, not the source. A method where the person being discipled is face to face with Jesus, without the hand of man in the way. There is, it’s in the Bible. Did Jesus allow His disciples to make mistakes? Yes, the best example is Peter. Jesus prayed for Peter, but did Jesus stop Satan from sifting Peter? No, the lesson was far greater for the sake of God. Although Satan did sift Peter, it was Jesus who healed him. There was a purpose, as Jesus said, “When you are converted, strengthen your brethren”. There are times when we tend to be overly protective of those being formed into leaders, we need to pray, know when to speak, and when to allow things to take their course.
Jesus was Servant among them all; He said “Even as the Son of man” thus He didn’t serve as the Gentiles do, He served based on God’s mercy. He never trained by cruelty, force, or manipulation, He was an example, yet it was obvious He had authority, power and position. Could Jesus use power anyway He wanted? Yes, He told Peter He had the power to call many angels down, but did He? No, there are things within our power, but not beneficial to God or us. Jesus didn’t think on His own things, but on the things of others (Ph’l 2:4). This Mind of Christ must be in us by submitting to the Lord through the Spirit.
Jesus humbled Himself and became Obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross (Ph’l 2:8). The Father exalted the Son After the Son humbled Himself (Ph’l 2:8-9). Does this mean the Logos wasn’t in the beginning? Hardly, the Logos was In the Form of God, the Logos thought it not robbery to be equal to God, but the Logos took on the flesh of man and became “A Servant” (Ph’l 2:6-7). Was Jesus still God in the flesh? Yes, but He took on the form of a servant, and maintained it until the purpose was complete. From the highest of all Jesus submitted to become the lowest of all to serve, in order to please the Father; in turn the Father exalted the Son back to the Right Hand side of Majesty.
Jesus emptied Himself of deity to be found in the form of man; He suffered, and was tempted as you and I, yet never fell to temptation. One might say, “Well it was Jesus”; however, we also know “Greater is He in me”. When the people attempted to make Jesus king, He walked from them. He won’t allow man to exalt Him, He was only interested in pleasing the Father. If we desire leadership so we can be exalted, we error. In our case we are the lowest form, but with Jesus in us we are elevated to the right hand side of Majesty.
Whatever pain Jesus suffered, He knew the Father is a Rewarder of them who diligently seek Him. Jesus was looking to the needs of others, whether He worked all day, ministered to thousands, there was always enough left to serve the disciples and minister the more. Jesus did empty Himself of deity, but was Resurrected as Deity (Rom 1:3-4). He is our example, we offer ourselves a Living Sacrifice, which is the only reasonable (logical) thing we can do. If anyone has a desire to be a leader, they must, without exception be a emptied servant rather to be filled with the Holy Ghost and power.
The disciple learns their life is not their own, they are bought with a price. During the earthly ministry Jesus called those who followed Him, Disciples (under training) and Apostles (sent ones), He didn’t call them prophets, pastors, teachers or evangelists. Can one be an apostle. yet sent to a specific area? Yes, just after Pentecost the apostles were sent to the Jews alone, but then the Holy Ghost removed the borders, then they were sent into all the world. However, some were sent to specific locals, others like Paul were sent to the Gentiles alone, as Peter was sent to the circumcised. However, all the apostles were sent to virgin areas, even before the Cross. Can an Apostle be sent to an area with bodies already established? Yes, to bring Commandment, but the Prophet and Teacher will confirm the Commandment is of God.
Did any of them think their position gave them the right to dominate others? No, did Thomas write back and say, “You know Luke is spending too much time writing about Paul, there are others out here you know?”. No he didn’t, yet the man went to India and preached with the same results as Paul. Thomas, like the others was not concerned with how many people knew what he was doing, he was concerned with how many people came to know Jesus by what he was doing.
Can a leader still be in training? Yes, before the Cross the apostles were still apostles, but they were also disciples. Luke 14:25-35 lays out some of the requirements for leadership, one cannot be a leader, unless they are discipled correctly. Any leader must count the cost, although Grace is a gift, keeping it does cost, just as leadership is a gift, but nonetheless costs us. We count the cost, can we finish the building? No, God can, but it takes a decision to hate (love less) our father (past life style), mother (religious thinking), wife (world), children (Ishmaels), brethren (thinking more about what God is doing with a brother, than with us); sisters (looking to other servants or handmaidens of the Lord to do our work for us), and even our own life (souls). These requirements determine if we desire to serve, or desire to be served.
Home fellowship leaders are no different from other leaders, they need to be trained in the position they have accepted. They must make the same decision to enter God’s will and be crucified with Christ. We must enter the death of Christ; no longer inserting our opinions, self-wills, or self-determinations. Then Jesus will raise us up, and bring us into leadership. God is interested in disciples, not self-based controllers, He wants servants not masters, He desires to Birth us into a New nature, not enhance the old.
A leader and a ministry must be closely connected, the attitude of the leader will reflect on the ministry. A leader must have a blessing attitude, as they walk in the fullness of Mercy. This is a positive motivation, not a negative demotivater. There is much said about positive thinkers and negative thinkers, the thinking alone is not the only factor. The word Negative means Expressing denial, refusal to do something, refusing consent, one who lacks positive attributes, denoting subtraction, or removing from the total, which connect to unbelief and doubt. The word Positive means Confident, fully assured, real, based on experience, not based on opinion, one who proceeds in a set direction, it denotes adding to, rather than taking away from. Positive is not a “yes man” to men, but a “Yes Lord” to Jesus.
Any ministry must die, then be resurrected, but this doesn’t mean we kill the ministry, nor does it mean we invite some son of perdition in to murder it, it means we allow the Holy Ghost to crucify it. This doesn’t mean the ministry will cease to exist, it means the carnal activity will cease to exist. When the death pains come, let them, but don’t enter sorrow, be glad, for the Resurrection into the newness is at hand. The ministry begins like unto the Son of man, then comes the Spirit and the Resurrection to bring it into a spiritual nature.
When a ministry is Born Again by the Spirit, then the Power of the Resurrection with the Revelation of Eternal Life become an immovable force to survive the boat rocking storms. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those Planted in the House of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God (Ps 92:12-13). Self-righteousness never endures, rather we must be Planted (Engrafted) in the House of the Lord by the Spirit . A brutish (senseless) man knows not, neither does a fool understand this (Ps 92:6). When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; they shall be destroyed forever (Ps 92:7). But, the Lord is the Most High for evermore, join Him and endure (Ps 92:8).
This brings us to Psalm 51, with the question “Why?”. Each has to ask, “Why do I want a ministry?”, we also need to ask ourselves, “Why am I in this?”. Why did we enter the Body? Why do we want to serve in an Office? If our reasoning is God based we can enter Psalm 51. We want God’s Mercy and Lovingkindness to blot out our transgressions, before we can help others with theirs. We need the washing of the Water by the Word to scrub us clean, as the Blood of Jesus removes unrighteousness, as the Spirit guides us into truth. The Water, Blood and Spirit still bear Witness on earth (Ps 51:1-2 & I Jn 5:7-8). Being open before God is always a key to an honest ministry (Ps 51:3). We fight to remain free of becoming a supersoul, or falling into their traps. We must keep in mind the ministry is God’s, we’re merely workers and caretakers. The moment we assume “it’s my ministry”, we will demand for God to serve us (Ps 51:4-6). The renewing of the mind is the same as a renewed spirit (attitude), every day is a new day in Jesus (Ps 51:10). The purpose is to fill the net, for the day will come when He who now lets will take the Bride home, thus we pray for God not to take His Holy Spirit from us, but to take us with the Spirit at the Rapture (Ps 51:11). This shows it’s not God who takes the Spirit from us, rather it’s the self-willed ones who separate themselves from the Spirit. The Joy of the Lord will carry us through the various tests, holding to the Ways of Christ will open the ministry. Attempting to get the Holy Ghost to follow our agenda is foolish, allowing the Holy Ghost to guide us in the agenda of God is wise.
Psalm 51:13 shows the purpose of all this, to teach transgressors the Ways of God, the Acts will come, it’s the Ways people need to know. Spiritual conflict is a battle to remain spiritual, we trust in God to deliver us from the Wicked (Ps 51:14). Condemning the Transgressor, and showing the Praise of God are different. God isn’t looking for some great self-effort on our part, He is looking for the broken attitude (spirit), a contrite and humble soul, a servant who operates out of love, not hate (Ps 51:17). We pray for God to do Good unto all, rather than justice unto any. After the broken and contrite heart, comes the sacrifice, attempting to give the sacrifice while pride and ego reign produces a carnal leader (Ps 51:19).
The Old Testament tells us God did establish priests, pastors and prophets, but they left their callings (Jere 2:8). The priests didn’t look for the Lord, they twisted the Law to fit their self-gains, the pastors transgressed, the prophets prophesied by Baal for profit (Jere 2:8). God said He would give pastors (plural) according to His heart, who will feed the people with knowledge and understanding (Jere 3:15 & Ps 51:13).
The verses in Ezekiel 34 are prime examples of how a leader goes astray; the shepherds of Israel did feed themselves, they failed to heal the diseased and sick, failed to heal the broken, neither did they seek those whom the devil had driven away. However, God came in the flesh to become the Great Shepherd (Ezek 34:12-16).
The Greek word Poimaino often translated as Shepherd means To tend or take general care of the flock, it doesn’t mean to Teach, it means to watch over. It’s from this word we get Poimen or Pastor. Peter was called to Pastor in the last chapter of John, which added to his position, it didn’t take away from it. Peter was not a Pastor, but he was called to be a Shepherd, thus a Shepherd makes sure the lambs and sheep have a place where they can receive the Good Word of Life. Peter told us about how a Shepherd leads by example, yet his Pastor was James.
Jesus is both the Bishop and Shepherd of our souls, why both? The Bishop relates to Helps, He is helping us in the process of the saving of our souls; as our Shepherd He is watching over us making sure we have all it takes to win. The Archipoimen (Great Shepherd) is Jesus (I Pet 5:4), yet He has given Some to be Pastors (Shepherd helpers). Jesus is always the Great Shepherd of the sheep (Heb 13:20), but He appointed Pastors to watch over the flock under His leadership.
In conclusion we will look at Ordination, and how it effects each of us. First off no human has the right to place people into the Doma Offices, they merely confirm the obvious calling Jesus has given the person. There are several Greek words used for the English word Ordain, all of which are important; the Greek Cheirotoneo means Stretching out the hands, connecting to John 21:18, and the doctrine of the laying on of hands (Heb 6:1-2). In John 21 we find the ordination of Peter, as the confirmation, “but when you shall be old, you shall stretch forth your hands, and another shall grid you” (Jn 21:18). The word Another refers to Another Comforter, thus one requirement of ordination in this case is not only to be guided by the Spirit, but to Allow the Spirit (New Man) to guide and instruct us. Of course they must also have the signs of the Holy Ghost as the ability to deal with the masses in a Godly manner. Without first being Born Again the rest would be out of order.
The Greek Ginomai means To come into existence, or pass from one state to another. Ordination calls for us to leave the past behind, as we surrender ourselves to Jesus for whatever work He so desires. The Greek Diatasso means to Appoint or Set in order (Titus 1:5). This area is the one where we do set people as Elders, Bishops, or Deacons. The purpose of Ordination is to set things in order. The Greek Kathistemi means To be set in an office, relating to the Doma Offices. When Jesus Sets someone in Office, no man can remove them, only Jesus can remove them from office. David couldn’t remove Saul, although David was the appointed and anointed king. God placed Saul in position, thus God would have to remove him. David understood Authority, the understanding kept him in his position during the tests, even during those most dangerous and hazardous situations. Whomever puts the person in the office is the only one with authority to remove them, thus if man removes us, it was man who put us there. If it’s the case, it’s better to be removed.
The Greek Kataskeuazo means To prepare a vessel or build, thus ordination is not the finish of the work, but the beginning. The Greek Krino means to Sit in judgment, or to separate, or to judge in one’s own mind. When faced with the qualifications we must judge in our own mind, “do we have sufficient to finish?”, if we look inside and see the Greater He, then we do. If we think we can do this by mind power, or intellect, we will either fail, or become so carnal the only one who can stand us is Satan.
We must also be open for Jesus to judge us at any time. The Greek Horizo means a Limit or Boundary, calling for us to know the Limit of the calling, and not venture past it. The Greek Poieo means The completed action of God, this is the goal of ordination. The Greek Prographo means To write openly or make public the notice, we must make known to the members of the Body any ordination effecting them. The Greek Proetoimazo means To make ready beforehand, or foreordain, meaning God has already ordained, man merely confirms. The Greek Tasso means to Place or set in a Certain order, rather than a general order.
What about Helps? They also fall within the order of ordination, calling for the laying on of hands, as Timothy found out. The placement of Helps is very important, in this regard we find one warning concerning ordination, yet it’s the greatest caution of all as it applies to Helps and Government appointments. We know about the problems of Timothy, but his warning was lay hands suddenly on no man, it was not “watch out who lays hand on you” (I Tim 5:22). The word Suddenly is the Greek Tacheos meaning hastily, or without due consideration. Simply because it appears someone may be beneficial to the Body, doesn’t mean they will be.
The Doctrine of the laying on of hands will be covered in the study on the Book of Hebrews, but for here we ask, what if the one doing the ordination, and the one being ordained are miles apart. The purpose of laying on of hands is presentation, in the cast of ordination, if the one doing the ordination presents the person to the Lord by prayer, as well as to the people by certificate, the obligation is complete. In any case, the one doing the ordaining must have ears to hear, one sign Paul notes is prophesy (I Tim 4:14). Paul recalls his own experience when he and others heard the Holy Ghost say through the prophets, “Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them” (Acts 13:2). It still comes down to spiritual awareness of matters concerning the people of God. We are not to become paranoid, nor refuse to lay hands on anyone because we don’t want to make a mistake, neither are we to sell ordination papers as it they were a magazine. Listen to what the Spirit of God says, and obey.
By Rev. G. E. Newmyer © 2003
