MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
The Seven Baptisms
Written by: Max Klein
Baptism means identification or association:
Introduction:
1. This meaning began in Homer's time. Homer wrote of the one-eyed giant, Cyclops who had trapped Ulysses and his men in a cave and was eating them one at a time. The ingenious Ulysses devised a plan. He had his men sharpen a large log and together they rammed this log into the eye of the one-eyed Cyclops rendering him blind. They identified (baptized) the sharpened log with Cyclops’ eye which changed Cyclops from a seeing giant to a blind giant. Having blinded the Cyclops, they were able to maneuver their way out of the cave. Another example by Homer: Homer's Odyssey, book 9, used baptism for hot metal identified (baptized) with water when a smith dipped a piece of hot iron into water. This is how a blacksmith would temper swords in the ancient world. After this identification, the sword was made stronger and so less likely to bend.
2. Xenophon said that the Spartan military recruits after finishing infantry training would identify (baptize) their spears with pig’s blood. They would run by a barrel of pig’s blood and thrust their spears into this blood. This ritual, identified their spears with killing and the soldier’s readiness for combat with the enemy.
3. Euripides used the word for a ship identified with the bottom of the sea when it sank. Before sinking, the ship was valuable; after sinking it had no value at all.
4. So "baptize" in the classical Greek meant to identify one thing with another so that the characteristics of the original thing were altered. Therefore, the interpretation of the word "baptism" is identification with something that brings about a change.
5. There are a number of cognates related to this Greek word such as bapto, baptizo, baptisma, baptismos, baptistes, and embapto. A few examples follow:
6. John 13:26, “Jesus then answered, ‘That is the one for whom, I shall dip [the future of the Greek word bapto] the morsel and give it to him. So, when he had dipped [the aorist participle of bapto; the sop now takes on a new meaning that of honor] the sop [the morsel], He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.”
To give someone a sop [a special bit of food usually a piece of bread or meat with a tasty sauce] was the highest honor of a banquet. At a banquet a special piece of bread or meat was prepared along with a special sauce for the guest of honor who would then honor someone by giving it to that person. Jesus as the guest of honor took this sop and dipped it into a special sauce and gave it to Judas. In this way, the Lord Jesus Christ honored Judas as a member of the family of God, and for his ministry as an apostle to the Lost Sheep of Israel. This honor should have given Judas second thoughts regarding his plan to betray Jesus to the Sanhedrin.
7. Matthew 3:7, “but when he [John the Baptizer] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism [identification: the Greek word baptisma], he said to them, “You brood of vipers [poisonous snakes], who warned you to flee from the wrath to come [Baptism of Fire: identification with the fire of Torments and then the Lake of Fire]?”
8. Hebrews 6:1-2, “Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teaching about Christ, let us advance to maturity, not laying again the foundation [of the basics such as]: a change of thinking about dead works [just as an unbeliever must have a change of mind about Christ to obtain salvation, so the believer must have a change of mind about legalism (dead works) in order to obtain the spiritual life], and of faith toward God [Faith-Rest Drill], (2) doctrine of baptisms [the Greek word baptismos; a reference to the seven types of baptism as found in Scripture] as well as the laying on of hands [ritual rebound in the age of Israel], and of resurrection from the dead, and of eternal judgment [the Great White Throne Judgment].
9. Matthew 3:1, “In those days John the Baptizer [the Greek word baptistes; when John baptized someone into the Jordan River, the converts were identified with the plan of God and his kingdom.] came proclaiming [as a herald] in the desert of Judea.”
There are two categories of identification in Scripture namely an actual identification or a real baptism and a representative identification or a ritual baptism which uses water.
The four real or actual identifications with something that has significance.
1. The Baptism of Moses: 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 presents the baptism of Moses, "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; (2) and all were baptized [the Greek word baptizo] into Moses in the cloud [the Lord] and in the sea." This was a real identification in which Moses was identified with the Lord and the open path through the Red Sea and the Jews were identified with Moses. By the way, none of the Jews got wet, only Egyptian unbelievers who were immersed in the water as a means of death.
2. The Baptism of the Cross is found in Matthew 20:22, “But Jesus answered [Salome by addressing her sons] and said, “You [plural: a reference to James and John] do not know what you [James and John] ask. Are you [James and John] able to drink of the cup [bear the punishment of all the sins of the world] that I am about to drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism [the sins of the world identified with Christ followed by the Father judging them] that I am baptized with [identified with]?” They [James and John] said to Him, “We are able. [the dumbest statement that James and John ever made]” [I selected the longer text as did Jerome.]
3. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Retroactive Positional Truth and Current Positional Truth) occurs at salvation for Church Age believers only.
Colossians 2:12. Having been buried [aorist participle] with Him [Jesus Christ] by means of the baptism [God the Holy Spirit identified us with the burial of Jesus Christ as part of our salvation] by means of which [Baptism] you have been raised up [main verb] with Him [in union with Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of the Father] through faith [at the point of salvation] in the operational power from the source of God who has raised Him [the humanity of Christ was given a resurrection body] out from the dead [physical death].
Romans 6:3-9:
Romans 6:3: Or do you not know that all of us who [a correlative] have been baptized into [identified with] Christ Jesus [Current Positional Sanctification: we are in union with Christ in his life in heaven], have been baptized into His death [Retroactive Positional Truth and so identified with his substitutionary spiritual death on the cross]?
Positionally, (in union with Christ) we share His righteousness, heirship, priesthood, destiny, election, eternal life, royalty, sonship etc. All these making us a new spiritual species in Christ Jesus. The plural correlative hosoi (ὅσοι) means that if we were identified with Christ in heaven and we were, then also we have been identified with Christ in his substitutionary spiritual death in which he removed the power of sin nature. Thus, the sin nature should not have power over our lives.
A few more points will be noted:
1. Note that the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation enters the believer into union with Christ at the right hand of God the Father which union is called current positional truth.
2. This verse also mentions identification with Christ in His spiritual death on the cross which identification theologians call retroactive positional truth. Retroactive positional truth also includes identification with Christ in His physical death and burial as well.
3. Identification with Christ in His death, then, has a two-fold connotation namely all personal sins were judged at the cross and since that is the case, God the Father is free to provide in grace, the Recovery Procedure. The second connotation is that good and evil were rejected by Jesus on the cross since good and evil are a part of Satan’s policy and plan. On the cross, Jesus relied on the proto-type spiritual life which operated under the two power options namely God’s power system.
4. So, the old sin nature’s ruling power over the Christian has been broken since all sins were judged on the cross and the Recovery Procedure has been provided. So, Retroactive Positional Truth has destroyed the sovereignty of the old sin nature over the life of the Christian.
5. Also, since Jesus rejected the good and evil policy of Satan so should the believer reject Satan’s policy of good and evil as the believer applies Retroactive Positional Truth.
Romans 6:4: Therefore, we have been buried together with Him through the identification [Baptism of the Spirit] into His death [physical], in order that just as Christ has been raised up from the dead [on Resurrection Sunday], through the glory of the Father [through the Father’s power], [So also we, the dead in Christ, will be raised from the dead by the power of the Father, and those alive at the Rapture, by the power of the Holy Spirit.] in this manner we also might walk in newness of life [Experiential sanctification should reflect our future ultimate sanctification.].
Christ had to die physically “and Jesus having shouted clearly with a loud voice said, Father, into your hands I deposit my [human] spirit, and having said this, he exhaled” (Luke 23:46). This last exhale caused His soul and spirit to depart from his mortal body resulting in physical death. Just as Christ had to die physically in order to obtain his resurrection body, so we must depart from our body of corruption, or mortality in order to receive our eternal body called our resurrection body.
The Newness of Life:
1. The newness of life provided through the baptism of the Spirit includes positional freedom from producing good and evil. Not only are we free from the tyranny of good and evil but we are also free from having to produce good and evil.
2. The believer has no obligation to improve the devil’s world through social action, socialism, welfare state, communism, environmentalism, or any social gospel, social action, getting involved, etc.
3. The human race is protected from Satan’s policy of good and evil through the laws of divine establishment which promote freedom instead of improvement at the cost of freedom.
4. In addition to the Laws of Divine Establishment the believer is insulated from good and evil positionally through the baptism of the Spirit.
5. Divorced from the Old Sin Nature positionally and its useless activity of human good and the function of evil, the life of the believer can be devoted to glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ through maximum knowledge and application of Bible doctrine.
Romans 6:5: For if we have become united with Him [Christ, the new husband] in the likeness of His death [the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross], and we have, and not only this, but also, we shall be [united in the likeness] of His resurrection [Current Positional Truth: in union with the resurrected Christ].
Romans 6:6: Be knowing this [through Retroactive Positional Truth], that our old man [our former husband, the sin nature dates back to the Garden] has been crucified together [with Him], in order that the [human] body, with reference to its sin nature, [the sin nature located in the body] might be rendered powerless [when we use Recovery Procedure and the two power options], that we should no longer be slaves to the sin nature.
“Our old man has been crucified with Him” meaning that the power of the sin nature has been broken on the cross. Since the power of the sin nature was broken by the work of the cross, we as believers have no excuse for not executing the spiritual life. We will not be able to say to Christ at our evaluation that our sin nature was too powerful for us to execute the spiritual life.
A few points for further clarification:
1. Retroactive positional truth is that phase of the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation which identifies the believer with Christ in His spiritual death, physical death and his burial.
2. In the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross all the personal sins in human history were imputed to Christ, but at the same time the other two trends of the old sin nature were not imputed for judgment.
3. Good and evil is the policy of Satan as the ruler of this world and the function of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life. In fact, the sin nature functions as the agent of Satan.
4. Good and evil were not imputed for judgment on the cross. Hence, in the spiritual death of Christ on the cross they were rejected to remain an issue in the angelic conflict, rejected to be perpetuated in human history as an issue every believer must face, and either overcome through the intake of doctrine or be entrapped by ignorance of doctrine and therefore lose out in glorifying God in time.
5. We are identified with Christ in His spiritual death, which means that we must understand that our sins have been judged and that good and evil has been rejected.
6. It all adds up to the fact that the sovereignty of the old sin nature over human life has been made powerless through retroactive positional truth.
7. The imputation of all personal sins of the human race to Christ on the cross means that the believer through the rebound technique is instantly forgiven sins, cleansed from all wrong doing which includes Satanic good and evil, restored to fellowship and filled with the Spirit.
Romans 6:7: For we who have died [the Christian is identified with the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ: theologically called Retroactive Positional Truth] have been acquitted [positional deliverance] from [the power of] the sin nature.
A few points for further clarification:
1. A dead person is discharged from the obligations of his former sphere of life. This is why the word “death” is used in this context. It is not a literal, physical death we are discussing but identification with Christ in His death.
2. As unbelievers we were under the authority of Satan as the ruler of this world, and under the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
3. Both the power of Satan and the old sin nature have been abrogated through the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation.
4. This passage, then, emphasizes the annulling of the power and the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
5. Positionally, the power of the sin nature has been broken. Experientially, the old sin nature controls to the extent that we fail to understand and utilize the provision and support of logistical grace.
Romans 6:8: Now if we have died with Christ, and we have [retroactive positional truth], we also believe that we shall live in association with Him [the instrumental of association; a reference to Current Positional Truth].
In this verse, the 1st Class conditional sentence shows the relationship between Retroactive Positional Truth with Current Positional Truth. The protasis, the ‘if’ clause states the reality of Retroactive Positional Truth and the apodosis, the concluding clause states the doctrinal inference and the reality of Current Positional Truth. While Retroactive Positional Truth presents positional rejection and separation from good and evil as the policy of Satan and the function of the old sin nature, Current Positional Truth relates the believer to the function of the royal family of God. In other words, they have separate functions.
Romans 6:9: Knowing that because Christ has been raised from the dead [He received a resurrection body], no longer can He die; [physical] death is no longer a master over Him.
Analysis:
1. Retroactive positional truth destroys the sovereign authority of the old sin nature over human life. Current positional truth, on the other hand, destroys the limited authority of physical death in human life.
2. Instead of being ruled by the old sin nature located in the cells of the human body and influencing our souls toward sin, good and evil, we now have a new sovereign, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are identified with Him in His deaths, in His burial, resurrection, ascension and session.
3. Before salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit our lives were under the absolute rule of Satan who is the ruler of this world and under the rule of the old sin nature which is the ruler of life, and under the limited rule of physical death. All of that, of course, has been changed since salvation.
4. Now both retroactive and current positional truth have abrogated the authority and power of these former rulers. The power of Satan over our lives has been broken through identification with the rejection of good and evil namely Satan’s policy and plan and through our position in union with Christ. The power of the old sin nature is broken through retroactive positional truth and the power of physical death is broken through current positional truth.
5. Therefore, having studied these things by principle and by implication we are now ready for application, verses 12 & 13 specifically.
6. Having been positionally liberated from the sovereignty of the old sin nature as an absolute ruler, and the authority of physical death, we must recognise and apply doctrine for the experiential victory commanded in verses 11-13.
Galatians 3:25-28, “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under the authority of [have need of] a school bus. (26) For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For all of you who were baptized into Christ [identified with Christ through union with Him] have clothed yourselves with Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek [no racial distinction], there is neither slave nor free man [no social or economic distinction], there is neither male nor female [no gender distinction]; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [All Christians have the same privileges and opportunities to execute the spiritual life.]”
Current Positional Truth, Elaborated:
In the Church Age, Current Positional Truth establishes our relationship with Christ as opposed to religion. It refers to the Church Age believer in union with Christ and is the key to understanding the Church Age and how the royal family came into being. Therefore, it is the basis for distinguishing between Christianity and religion. Christianity is a relationship with God without merit whereas religion is a system of works to gain the approbation of God. Never shall the twain meet!
The mechanics of Current Positional Truth is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, whereby the Spirit enters us into union with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For also by agency of the one Spirit we are all baptized [identification resulting in becoming a new spiritual species] into one body [in union with Christ], whether Jews or Greeks [racial distinctions are removed], whether slave or free [class and economic distinctions are removed], even all were made to drink [the aorist passive, the voice of grace] the one Spirit [The Holy Spirit did not ask us whether we wanted to be put into union with Christ or not.].” Ephesians 4:5, “One Lord [becomes our Lord positionally at Salvation]), one faith [faith alone in Christ alone; Acts 16:31], one baptism [Baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at salvation].”
Current Positional truth guarantees that there will be no judgment for believers in eternity, Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Thus, the condemnation which occurred at the first birth was removed at the 2nd birth. As a result of being born with the sin nature and the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin, we were condemned to the Lake of Fire for all eternity, but now that has been removed. Romans 5:12, “For this reason just as through one man [Adam] the sin [nature] entered into the world [procreation], and so spiritual death through the sin [the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin to the sin nature], and so spiritual death spread to all mankind, because all sinned when Adam sinned [since we were all genetically in Adam when he sinned, we will receive Adam’s Original Sin].” However, at our spiritual birth, the 2nd birth, our pre-salvation sins were all forgiven including Adam’s Original Sin. After which, the Spirit entered us into union with Christ where there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1).
Current Positional truth qualifies the believer to live with God forever. To live with God forever, the believer must have eternal life and God’s perfect righteousness, 1 John 5:11-12, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life, and this life is in his son [Since we are in union with Christ, we share this life.]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].” 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And He [the Father] made Him who knew no sin [perfection] to be a sin offering [imputation of sins on the cross] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [current positional truth].” To live with God forever means you must have His life, and you must be as righteous as He is.
Positional truth guarantees the believer’s eternal security, Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death [nothing in death] nor life [nothing in life] nor angels nor principalities [ruling angels] nor powers [human organizations] nor things present nor things to come (39) nor height [nothing in heaven] nor depth [nothing in Hades] nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal life in Christ is for all eternity!
Positional truth belongs to all categories of believers whether they be apostate, mature, immature, spiritually adult, or carnal. Since Current Positional Truth occurs at the point of salvation before experience in the Christian life begins, it doesn’t depend on that experience. 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus [at salvation], called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.” So, even though you may be carnal or in reversionism, you still have positional truth. Being in union with Christ has nothing to do with what you do [experiential righteousness], or don’t do [failure to execute God’s plan]. Current Positional sanctification is completely the work of God the Holy Spirit and so is not based upon our volition, but on the sovereign decision of God. We make the decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but we don’t make the decision to enter into union with Christ “all were made to drink the one Spirit” as per 1 Corinthians 12:13. God the Holy Spirit graciously did that for us and so it cannot be undone.
Current Positional truth creates a new spiritual species in Christ as per 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power; behold, new things have come to pass.” You become a new spiritual species at salvation by being put into union with Christ. It is what God does for you, and therefore it is grace. It is not what you do after salvation, such as the self-righteous works of legalism. The “old things” have to do with spiritual death and those things related to that death; the “new things” refer to things you receive at salvation such as the 40 assets and the unique spiritual life.
Positional truth should motivate the production of divine good and a pattern of life compatible with royalty as per Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his creation, having been created in Christ Jesus [a new spiritual species with many assets] for the purpose of divine good production [via experiential sanctification] which the God [the Father] has prepared in advance [in eternity past, God the Father provided election and predestination as part of our Portfolio of Invisible Assets], that we in the sphere of them [election and predestination] may pattern our lives.”
Even though a Christian may die the Sin on to Death, he will not lose his position in union with Christ (1 John 5:18-20), and so cannot lose his salvation. In order for a believer to lose his position in Christ, he would have to sin in that status, but since the believer cannot sin in union with Christ, he cannot lose his position in Christ and so cannot lose his salvation. Thus, it is comforting and reassuring to a believer to know that even though a loved one may have died the ‘sin on to death’, he has not lost his salvation.
Because we are in union with Christ, we share His:
1. Eternal life, 1 John 5:11, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life [At salvation, God the Father imputes this life to the human spirit], and this life is in his son [The Christian also shares the life of Christ through union with Him]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].”
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth and the life [eternal life]; no person [in human history] comes face to face with the Father [having an eternal relationship with the Father] except through Me.’”
2. Perfect righteousness, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And he (God the Father) made him [Jesus] who knew no sin (perfection) to be a sin offering as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him [positional truth]. Sharing the righteousness of Christ, we become the objects of God the Father’s love as per Romans 8:39.
3. Election, Ephesians 1:4, “just as He [the Father] has elected us for Himself in Him [Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world [in eternity past], that we may be set apart [experiential sanctification] and blameless [ultimate sanctification] in the presence of Him [Father].”
4. Destiny, Ephesians 1:5, “By means of love, He has predestined us for the purpose of adoption as adult sons to Himself through Christ Jesus our Lord according to the grace purpose of His will.”
5. Sonship, Galatians 3:26, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
6. Heirship, Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit Himself testifies together [bears witness] with our [human] spirit, that we are the children of God. (17) Now, if we are children and we are, also heirs, on the one hand heirs of God [the Father], and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed [if it is true that], we suffer with Him [pass all three stages of undeserved suffering], that also we might be glorified with Christ.”
7. Sanctification, 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.”
8. Priesthood, Hebrews 7:12-19, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change in the Law also. (13) For the One [the Lord Jesus Christ] concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe [the tribe of Judah] from which no one has officiated at the altar. (14) For it is evident that our Lord has descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests, (15) and this is clearer still, if another priest arises similar to Melchizedek, and there has, (16) who has become a priest not on the basis of physical requirement [a reference to the Levitical Priesthood] but on the basis of indestructible life [the Lord’s priesthood is forever]. (17) For this reason, it is witnessed, ‘You are a priest forever similar to the order of Melchizedek.’” [We are in union with Christ. Therefore, we are royalty and priests forever. We represent ourselves before God as royal priests.] (18) For, on the one hand, there is a rescinding of the former commandment [the Mosaic Law that authorized the Levitical priesthood] because of its weakness and uselessness (19) (for the Law brought nothing to completion), but on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope [the second door of hope for the Church Age believer—a personal sense of destiny—by which we enter the adult spiritual life] through which we draw near to God.”
Hebrews 7:26-28, “For it is fitting that we should have such a high priest, impeccable integrity, the One who cannot do evil, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; (27) Who does not need daily, like those Levitical priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He [Jesus] offered up Himself. (28) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of His [God the Father’s] oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has become perfect forever [Jesus Christ is a perfect high priest].”
9. Royalty, 1 Peter 2:9, “ But you and only you are an elect [elect by God the Father] race [as a new spiritual species], a royal priesthood [since Jesus is a king-priest], a holy nation [God’s entity: a nation of priests: every Christian is a priest], a people for God’s own possession [a protected people], so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him [Christ] who has called [in eternity past] you out of darkness [spiritual death and the Cosmic Systems] into His amazing light [his plan];”
10. New Spiritual Species, 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power [Old Covenant]; behold, new things have come to pass [This would include the New Covenant to the Church.].”
Current Positional Truth changes our relationship with Angels.
1. Through current positional truth the believer is higher than angels positionally.
2. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, and so superior to all angels. By virtue of being in union with Christ, every believer is now positionally superior to angels.
3. Positional truth has fulfilled the believer’s triumph with Christ in the angelic conflict. We are victorious with Him already.
4. Furthermore, positional truth demands compatibility with experiential righteousness. Therefore, the believer’s walk on this earth must be compatible with positional truth since we have perfect security in Christ, we have the freedom to choose for Jesus Christ, to love Jesus Christ, to respond to His love, and to fulfill our purpose on this earth.
What positional truth is not?
1. It is not an experience, emotions or ecstasies.
2. It is not progressive; it cannot be improved in time or eternity.
3. It is not related to human merit or ability.
4. It cannot be changed by God, man or angels. It is eternal in nature.
5. It is not obtained gradually as you grow in grace, but in toto at salvation.
6. It is not known apart from the metabolization of doctrine.
7. From understanding the doctrine of positional truth, we progress in our spiritual life, but we cannot improve it since it is perfect at salvation.
8. We are not in Christ because of what we do (execution of the spiritual life) or fail to do (fail to execute the spiritual life), but because of what God has done.
A few points of explanation:
1. The conclusion from positional truth, whether retroactive or current, is that the Christian must apply these doctrines to his spiritual life.
2. In Romans 7:1-4 where we have an illustration of a woman whose first husband has died freeing her to marry another. This is what actually happens to us as believers at salvation. The old sin nature is the husband up to the point of salvation, but at the moment we believe in Jesus Christ positionally the sin nature is dead, as it were, the first husband has died and we have a new husband through union with Christ. Retroactive Positional Truth removes our first husband, the sin nature whereas Current Positional Truth enters us into union with Christ, our new husband.
3. The old sin nature-husband is still around, still seeking to regain his control over his former wife, the believer. But union with the second husband, the Lord Jesus Christ, has broken the first husband’s authority over the former wife.
4. The Baptism of Fire:
Matthew 3:11, “On the one hand I [John the Baptizer] baptize you [believers] by means of water because of a change of thinking [about Christ], but the one coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals I am not worthy to lace [loosen, remove]. He himself will baptize by means of the Holy Spirit [a reference to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Church Age] and by means of fire [a reference to the Baptism of Fire at the 2nd Advent].”
Baptism of Fire: The baptism of fire (identification with fire) is defined as the judgment of unbelievers both Jew and gentile at the Second Advent. They will be removed from the earth and placed in fire for 1000 years until the Last Judgment, Luke 3:16-17; Mathew 25:31, 33. The analogy to the Baptism of Fire is found in Matthew 24:36-41. The one left in the field is the mature believer; the one taken is the unbeliever.
Parables of the Baptism of Fire:
1. The wheat and the tares (the unbelievers), Matthew 13:24-30, 36-40.
2. The good and bad fish (unbelievers), Matthew 13:47-50.
3. The ten virgins: five wise, five foolish (the unbelievers), Matthew 25:1-13.
4. The sheep and the goats (the unbelievers), Mathew 25:31-46.
5. The talent test, Matthew 25:14-30. The one talent man represents the unbeliever.
If Jesus Christ had not been rejected by the Jewish people, then the age of Israel would have continued until its completion (the Tribulation completes the age of Israel). (However, they did reject Jesus Christ as Savior and Messiah and so the client nation was destroyed, and the Church age was intercalated that is inserted before the age of Israel was complete.) After the completion of the age of Israel at the end of the Tribulation, comes the wrath of God namely the Baptism of Fire when the Lord removes both Jewish and gentile unbelievers from the earth and identifies them with fire forever. After which, the Millennial reign begins.
The Three Ritual Baptisms. None are extant at the present time. They are representative identifications in which water is used as a training aid to represent some principle of doctrine.
1. The Baptism of John is found in Matthew 3:2-6, “Saying, ‘Change your thinking [regarding Christ] for the kingdom of heaven is near.’ [The future king was already on the earth] (3) For this is what was communicated through Isaiah, the prophet saying, ‘The voice of one [John the Baptizer] proclaiming loudly in the desert [of Judea]. Prepare [the aorist tense is a one time-decision] the way of the Lord [an idiomatic expression for salvation]. Keep on making upright [the use of the Recovery Procedure followed by the development of experiential righteousness] His paths!’ (Isaiah 40:3) (4) Now, John himself kept on having a garment of camel’s hair [very uncomfortable] and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. (5) Then [after John went where God wanted him to be] Jerusalem kept on going out to him [face to face] and all Judea and all the districts around the Jordan. (6) and they were being baptized [identified with the kingdom] by him [under John’s authority] in the Jordan River [where Israel crossed when they entered the land], and they kept on confessing their sins [post-salvation confession of sins].”
MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
Colossians: Chapter Three
A verse-by-verse commentary by Max Klein
Let us bow our heads; If we need to use the Recovery Procedure as found in 1 John 1:9, let us do so at this time that we might be in fellowship. (pause) Father, we thank you for the privilege and opportunity to study your word and for the freedom that you have provided for us here in Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.A.; furthermore, we express our appreciation to God the Holy Spirit who will enlighten us regarding the message this morning. We as priests pray this through the person of our Lord Christ Jesus, our High Priest, Amen.
Apostasy in the Land: Penned by R. B. Thieme Jr.
In times of apostasy government seeks to control its citizens from the cradle to the grave. Free men are treated as criminals, and criminals are treated as free men. Freedom of thought, decision, and speech by which the Gospel and Bible doctrine are communicated merge into the shadows of tyranny and slavery.
The tentacles of socialism and bureaucracy strangle and destroy free enterprise. Freedom to succeed or fail in life through one's own motivation and decisions is neutralized.
Individuals no longer take the responsibility for their own decisions and actions. Apostasy and evil, along with dishonesty and hypocrisy, immorality and greed, power lust and racial prejudice, become the tools of politicians and the dissension of the hoi polloi.
The heritage of regeneration is traded for Esau's mess of pottage. The glory of God is exchanged for the arrogance of the social gospel.
These historical trends provide a system of temptation luring the born-again believer into that sphere of emotion combined with arrogance called Christian activism. The plan of God is buried in the potter's field of whitewashing the devil's world.
Believers in Jesus Christ are distracted from God's will, plan, and purpose for the Church Age by trying to reform Caesar and ignore God. Suddenly God's plan for the believer is covered with the spider webs of neglect and put in the mothballs of false doctrine.
Spiritual values related to Bible doctrine are exchanged for chasing butterflies whose gossamer wings carry the heavy burden of redistribution of wealth all the way back to the island called Utopia. The Supreme Court of Heaven sends bolts of lightning in the form of the law of volitional responsibility and divine punitive action to the wayward children of God.
When this punitive suffering called divine discipline is ignored, and carnality is perpetuated, the loser-believer marches to the beat of a different drum and gets his bugle calls from the cacophony of heavy metal and hard rock.
What is the legacy to the generations of apostasy in this great dispensation called the Church Age? The sin unto death! They are entombed in the barren field of spiritual failure where once that fertile field of metabolized Bible doctrine produced the remnant according to the election of grace–invisible heroes fulfilling the will of God through the spiritual mechanics of the plan of God for the Church.
But now unbroken clods of human lust bury the loser-believer in the tragedy of lost opportunity for becoming winner-believers and invisible heroes.
The only bulwark against the onslaught of apostasy in the land is the believer advancing to spiritual maturity.
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Peter 3:18)
Prayer of Praise:
Father, I acknowledge your perfect provision to bring the unbeliever to the saving work of the cross via the Five Theistic Arguments that the unbeliever may use at God-Consciousness (awareness) to become aware of your existence. If the unbeliever after becoming aware of your existence does not desire further information, there is nothing else that can be done! On the other hand, if the unbeliever after reaching God-Consciousness should desire more information, I know that you will bring the gospel message to him at the right time under the concept of normal evangelism. However, if this particular unbeliever should reject this gospel message due to his having accumulated some scar tissue between the period of God-Consciousness and gospel hearing, you will then provide some pressure to break-down that scar tissue via Crisis Evangelism. If this should fail, there is nothing else that can be done since rejecting the gospel at Crisis Evangelism would completely fill the soul of the unbeliever at this time with scar tissue which tissue would have completely destroyed any possible further use of faith. Father, thank you for this perfect provision.
Father, the weak link is not in your provision, but in the volition of the unbeliever. With that in mind, I pray that the unbeliever might reconsider all that you have provided for him by way of the five theistic arguments and the gospel itself so that he might not only come to understand you, but also your plan for him.
There are five ways in which any normal human being can attain an awareness of God. These five ways are called in theology theistic arguments for the existence of God.
1. The Religious Argument. The religious argument contends that God exists because mankind universally believes in His existence. Creatures do not crave what does not exist, and men seek after God. Even religious instincts indicate the reality of a Supreme Being. The concept of man seeking God is found in Jeremiah 9:13, John 17:17, and Acts 17:27.
2. The Moral or Anthropological Argument. This argument says that to a greater or lesser degree man’s soul possesses both volition and conscience with an urge to choose right over wrong. The structure of human society is based on the recognition of virtue and truth. This structure has no explanation apart from the existence and influence of a Supreme Being with perfect and eternal integrity. A material, ungoverned universe can know nothing of moral values apart from the absolute righteousness of a Supreme Being. Acknowledging the existence of virtue and truth eventuates in becoming aware of the source of virtue and truth. Jesus said to him [Thomas], in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth and the life; no man comes unto the Father except through Me.”
3. The Ontological Argument. Ontological reasoning says that since the human mind possesses the idea of a perfect and absolute being, such a being must exist. Apart from the religious and moral tendencies, the existence of God is a necessary idea to the human intellect, and beyond the relative which mankind measures there is the absolute which gives value and character to the relative.
4. The Teleological Argument. This argument is the fact that the universe, by its telescopic and microscopic wonders, always form arrangement, purpose, and adaptation, which connotes a designer. Structure in the universe demands a designer. The more we discover about the perfect structure of the universe in science, the more we recognize the need for a designer. The order of the universe can no more be accidental than the shuffling of twenty-six letters of the alphabet into a beautiful poem. The chemical contents of the human body are never accidentally combined to form man.
5. The Cosmological Argument. This reasoning states that the intuitive law of cause and effect demands the existence of God as the initial cause. Order in the universe demands both a creator and a preserver. The universe presents an overwhelming demand for belief in the existence of God. John 1:3, speaking of Jesus Christ as eternal God, says, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”
Colossians 3:1-3
If therefore, you have been raised [via the Baptism of the Spirit] in Christ and you have [In union with Christ, Current Positional Truth], keep on seeking to possess the above things [the Portfolio of Invisible Assets] where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of the Father [Session as the result of Ascension]. (2) Keep thinking objectively about the above things [the Portfolio of Invisible Assets], not things on the earth [do not be distracted and hindered by the Cosmic System]. (3) For you have died [Retroactive Positional Truth], and your life is hidden together with the Christ [we must relate our lives to Christ] by means of God.
Εἰ οὖν συνηγέρθητε τῷ Χριστῷ, τὰ ἄνω ζητεῖτε, οὗ ὁ Χριστός ἐστιν ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ θεοῦ καθήµενος· (2) τὰ ἄνω φρονεῖτε, µὴ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· (3) ἀπεθάνετε γάρ, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ὑµῶν κέκρυπται σὺν τῷ Χριστῷ ἐν τῷ θεῷ.
1. Being in union with Christ as He is seated at the right hand of God the Father, demands a new mental attitude.
2. To "possess the above things" requires the utilization of divine power, functioning in God’s system of power which requires cognition of doctrine, having right priorities, avoiding distractions, avoiding fear etc.
3. The Christian comes to realize that through his receiving of Escrow Blessings, he glorifies God to the maximum. This provides strong motivation to gain his Escrow Blessings via the Portfolio of Invisible Assets.
4. The royal family should have a very strong, positive mental attitude no matter what our circumstances or pressures.
The Portfolio of Invisible Assets: a brief introduction of the Primary, Secondary, Personnel and Unique Assets.
Primary Assets: Escrow Blessings, Election and Predestination;
Secondary Assets: Volitional assets (how one uses his volition on a moment-by-moment basis), Production assets (Christian service as a result of spiritual growth), Suffering for blessing assets (the three undeserved suffering tests) and Invisible Impact assets (individual, national, international and angelic); (acronym: VIPS)
Personnel Assets: one’s spiritual gift designed for the coordinated function of believers especially in a church but also in other Christian organizations as well;
Unique Assets: 1. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit; 2. The Protocol Plan of God; 3. The Equality factor in the Plan; 4. The Ten Problem Solving Devices; 5. Our Unique Royal Commissions: we are both royal priests and royal ambassadors; 6. The Mystery Doctrines of the Church Age; 7. The Indwelling of all three members of the Trinity; 8. The Unique Availability of Divine Power; 9. The Dispensation of no prophecy rather of Historical Trends; 10. The Dispensation of Invisible Heroes.
Portfolio of Invisible Assets taken from ‘Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary’ page 199.
“Illustrative language for the spiritual wealth designed by God in eternity past for each Church Age believer (Eph. 1:3–8). In financial terms, a portfolio is a group of securities held for investment; “portfolio” designates the holdings of an investor and is a synonym for those riches. By analogy, God has lavished the riches of His grace upon all members of His royal family. Every believer in the Church Age, without exception, is made fabulously wealthy. The more the believer advances in the knowledge of God and His plan, the more real and useable his invisible assets become and the more fully he executes God’s purpose for his life. Holdings that compose the believer’s portfolio are categorized as follows: Primary Assets—prepared for every Church Age believer. Escrow blessings are the special, supergrace blessings on deposit in heaven, to be distributed by Jesus Christ as the believer attains spiritual maturity. The distribution of escrow blessings brings glory and praise to God (Eph. 1:3, 6). See escrow blessings. Election and predestination are the acts of God in eternity past that established His sovereign will and provision for Church Age believers (Eph. 1:4–5). By electing believers, God has expressed His will for them to receive His highest and best—particularly, the conveyance of their escrow blessings in time and eternity. Through predestination, God has provided everything necessary for them to execute His will and receive those escrow blessings. The assets of election and predestination guarantee that all Christians have the same privileges (e.g., royal priesthood, positional sanctification) and opportunities (e.g., logistical grace, the unique spiritual life) to fulfill their destiny in Christ. Because election and predestination are part of a larger illustration called “computer of divine decrees,” they are sometimes referred to as “computer assets.” See election; predestination. See also divine decree. Secondary Assets—added to the portfolio in response to the believer’s positive attitude toward God’s will. Volitional assets refer to the strengthening of positive volition itself. For the believer growing in grace, the desire to know and love God becomes its own asset and a driving force in life. Confidence from his own cumulative experience of God’s grace strengthens the believer’s determination—his positive volition—to keep on fulfilling God’s purpose. See also volition. Production assets highlight the availability of God’s own strength for serving Him. Legitimate Christian service—empowered by the filling of the Holy Spirit and motivated by Bible doctrine—is performed through a wide range of activities, including witnessing, working in the local church, charitable giving, foreign missionary service, and others. See Christian service. Assets related to Undeserved suffering allow the believer to benefit from God-designed pressures in his life. God graciously provides the right type and degree of suffering to stretch the advancing believer beyond his human resources, compelling him to rely solely upon the grace of God and to learn the all-sufficiency of God. See suffering (for blessing). Personnel assets are designed for the coordinated function of the Body of Christ, particularly in the operations of the local church. At the moment of salvation, God the Holy Spirit bestows at least one spiritual gift upon the believer. The more the believer advances toward spiritual maturity, the more effective is the function of his particular gift. Spiritual gifts, in all their variety, unite the Church into a team of mutually supportive believers (1 Cor. 12). See spiritual gifts.”
The following doctrines will be presented: 1. Baptism of the Spirit, 2. Union with Christ via Positional Truth, 3. Escrow Blessings and 4. Ascension and Session.
Baptism of the Holy Spirit: Retroactive and Current Positional Truth.
Romans 6:3, "Or do you not know that all of us who [a correlative] have been baptized into [identified with] Christ Jesus [Current Positional Sanctification: we are in union with Christ in his life in heaven], have been baptized into His death [Retroactive Positional Truth and so identified with his substitutionary spiritual death on the cross]?"
ἢ ἀγνοεῖτε ὅτι ὅσοι ἐβαπτίσθηµεν εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν, εἰς τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ ἐβαπτίσθηµεν;
Positionally, (in union with Christ) we share His righteousness, heirship, priesthood, destiny, election, eternal life, royalty, sonship etc. All these making us a new spiritual species in Christ Jesus. The plural correlative hosoi (ὅσοι) means that if we were identified with Christ in heaven and we were, then also we have been identified with Christ in his substitutionary spiritual death in which he removed the power of the sin nature. Thus, the sin nature should not have power over our lives.
A few more points will be noted:
1. Note that the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation enters the believer into union with Christ at the right hand of God the Father which union is called current positional truth.
2. This verse also mentions identification with Christ in His spiritual death on the cross which identification, theologians call Retroactive Positional Truth. Retroactive Positional Truth also includes identification with Christ in His physical death and burial as well.
3. Identification with Christ in His death, then, has a two-fold connotation namely all personal sins were judged at the cross and since that is the case, God the Father is free to provide in grace, the Recovery Procedure. The second connotation is that good and evil were rejected by Jesus on the cross since good and evil are a part of Satan’s policy and plan. On the cross, Jesus relied on the Proto-type Spiritual Life which operated under the two power options namely God’s power system.
4. So, the old sin nature’s ruling power over the Christian has been broken since all sins were judged on the cross and the Recovery Procedure has been provided. So, Retroactive Positional Truth has destroyed the sovereignty of the old sin nature over the life of the Christian positionally.
5. Also, since Jesus rejected the good and evil policy of Satan so should the believer reject Satan’s policy of good and evil as the believer applies Retroactive Positional Truth.
Romans 6:4, "Therefore, we have been buried together with Him through the identification [Baptism of the Spirit] into His death [physical], in order that just as Christ has been raised up from the dead [on Resurrection Sunday], through the glory of the Father [through the Father’s power], So, also we, [ the dead in Christ, will be raised from the dead by the power of the Father, and those alive at the Rapture, by the power of the Holy Spirit.] in this manner also might walk in newness of life [Experiential sanctification should reflect our future ultimate sanctification.]"
συνετάφηµεν οὖν αὐτῷ διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσµατος εἰς τὸν θάνατον, ἵνα ὥσπερ ἠγέρθη Χριστὸς ἐκ νεκρῶν διὰ τῆς δόξης τοῦ πατρός, οὕτως καὶ ἡµεῖς ἐν καινότητι ζωῆς περιπατήσωµεν.
Christ had to die physically “and Jesus having shouted clearly with a loud voice said, Father, into your hands I deposit my [human] spirit, and having said this, he exhaled” (Luke 23:46). This last exhale caused His soul and spirit to depart from his mortal body resulting in physical death. Just as Christ had to die physically in order to obtain his resurrection body, so we must depart from our body of corruption, or mortality in order to receive our eternal body called our resurrection body.
The Newness of Life:
1. The newness of life provided through the Baptism of the Spirit includes positional freedom from producing good and evil which the former husband, the sin nature demanded. Not only are we free from the tyranny of good and evil since we have divorced our former tyrannical husband, but we are also free from having to produce good and evil.
2. The believer has no obligation to improve the devil’s world through social action, socialism, welfare state, communism, environmentalism, or any social gospel, social action, getting involved, etc.
3. The human race is protected from Satan’s policy of good and evil through the Laws of Divine Establishment which promote freedom instead of improvement at the cost of freedom.
4. In addition to the Laws of Divine Establishment, the believer is protected from good and evil positionally through the Baptism of the Spirit. Divorced from the Old Sin Nature, our first husband through Retroactive Positional Truth and its useless activity of human good and the function of evil, the life of the believer can be devoted to glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ, our new husband through maximum knowledge and application of Bible doctrine. A new power, the power of the Holy Spirit and metabolized doctrine, has replaced the power of the old sin nature, so that we have an option to go with the old sin nature or to go with the two divine powers.
Romans 6:5, "For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death [the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross], and we have, and not only this, but also, we shall be [united in the likeness] of His resurrection [in union with the resurrected Christ; Current Positional Truth]."
εἰ γὰρ σύµφυτοι γεγόναµεν τῷ ὁµοιώµατι τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἐσόµεθα·
Romans 6:6, "Be knowing this [through Retroactive Positional Truth], that our old man [our former husband, the sin nature dates back to the Garden] has been crucified together [with Him], in order that the [human] body, with reference to its sin nature, [the sin nature located in the body] might be rendered powerless [when we use the Recovery Procedure and the two power options through which we obtain spiritual adulthood], that we should no longer be slaves to the sin nature."
τοῦτο γινώσκοντες, ὅτι ὁ παλαιὸς ἡµῶν ἄνθρωπος συνεσταυρώθη, ἵνα καταργηθῇ τὸ σῶµα τῆς ἁµαρτίας, τοῦ µηκέτι δουλεύειν ἡµᾶς τῇ ἁµαρτίᾳ·
“Our old man has been crucified with Him” meaning that the power of the sin nature has been broken on the cross. Since the power of the sin nature was broken by the work of the cross, we as believers have no excuse for not executing the spiritual life. We will not be able to say to Christ at our evaluation that our sin nature was too powerful for us to execute the spiritual life since the Two Power Options are much more powerful than the sin nature.
A few points for further clarification:
1. Retroactive Positional Truth is that phase of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation which identifies the believer with Christ in His spiritual death, physical death and his burial.
2. In the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross all the personal sins in human history were imputed to Christ, but at the same time the other two trends namely good and evil of the old sin nature were not imputed for judgment.
3. Good and evil is the policy of Satan as the ruler of this world and the function of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life. In fact, the sin nature functions as the agent of Satan.
4. Good and evil were not imputed for judgment on the cross. Hence, in the spiritual death of Christ on the cross they were rejected to remain an issue in the Angelic Conflict, rejected to be perpetuated in human history as an issue every believer must face, and either overcome through the intake of doctrine or be entrapped by ignorance of doctrine and therefore lose out in glorifying God in time.
5. We are identified with Christ in His spiritual death, which means that we must understand that our sins have been judged and that good and evil have been rejected.
6. It all adds up to the fact that the sovereignty of the old sin nature over human life has been made powerless through Retroactive Positional Truth.
7. The imputation of all personal sins of the human race to Christ on the cross means that the believer through the Rebound Technique (the Recovery Procedure) is instantly forgiven of his sins, cleansed from all wrongdoing which includes Satanic good and evil, restored to fellowship and Filled with the Spirit.
Romans 6:7, "For we who have died [the Christian is identified with the Substitutionary Spiritual Death of Christ: theologically called Retroactive Positional Truth] have been acquitted [positional deliverance] from [the power of] the sin nature."
ὁ γὰρ ἀποθανὼν δεδικαίωται ἀπὸ τῆς ἁµαρτίας.
A few points for further clarification:
1. A dead person is discharged from the obligations of his former sphere of life. (No longer should the Sin Nature function as the sovereign over our life) This is why the word “death” is used in this context. It is not a literal, physical death we are discussing but identification with Christ in His death.
2. As unbelievers we were under the authority of Satan as the ruler of this world, and under the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
3. Both the power of Satan and the Old Sin Nature have been abrogated through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation.
4. This passage, then, emphasizes the annulling of the power and the authority of the old sin nature positionally as the sovereign of human life. Experientially, removing this power of the sin nature requires the use of the Recovery Procedure when necessary and the consistent advance via the Operational Spiritual Life.
5. Positionally, the power of the Sin Nature has been broken. Experientially, the Old Sin Nature controls to the extent that we fail to understand and utilize the provision and support of our spiritual life.
Romans 6:8, "Now if we have died with Christ, and we have [retroactive positional truth], we also believe that we shall live in association with Him [the instrumental of association; a reference to Current Positional Truth]."
εἰ δὲ ἀπεθάνοµεν σὺν Χριστῷ, πιστεύοµεν ὅτι καὶ συζήσοµεν αὐτῷ·
In this verse, the 1st Class conditional sentence shows the relationship between Retroactive Positional Truth with Current Positional Truth. The protasis, the ‘if’ clause states the reality of Retroactive Positional Truth and the apodosis, the concluding clause states the doctrinal inference and the reality of Current Positional Truth. While Retroactive Positional Truth presents positional rejection and separation from good and evil as the policy of Satan and the function of the Old Sin Nature, Current Positional Truth relates the believer to the function of the royal family of God which is to execute the thinking of our new husband.
Romans 6:9, "Knowing that because Christ has been raised from the dead [He received a resurrection body], no longer can He die; [physical] death is no longer a master over Him."
εἰδότες ὅτι Χριστὸς ἐγερθεὶς ἐκ νεκρῶν οὐκέτι ἀποθνῄσκει, θάνατος αὐτοῦ οὐκέτι κυριεύει.
Analysis:
1. Retroactive Positional Truth destroys the sovereign authority of the old sin nature over human life. Current positional truth, on the other hand, destroys the limited authority of physical death in human life.
2. Instead of being ruled by the old sin nature located in the cells of the human body and influencing our souls toward sin, good and evil, we now have a new sovereign, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are identified with Him in His deaths, in His burial, resurrection, ascension and session.
3. Before salvation and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit our lives were under the absolute rule of Satan who is the ruler of this world and under the rule of the old sin nature which is the ruler of life, and under the limited rule of physical death. All of that, of course, has been changed since salvation.
4. Now, both Retroactive and Current Positional Truth have abrogated the authority and power of these former rulers. The power of Satan over our lives has been broken through identification with the rejection of good and evil namely Satan’s policy and plan and through our position in union with Christ. The power of the old sin nature is broken through Retroactive Positional Truth and the power of physical death is broken through Current Positional Truth.
Union with Christ: Acronym: RHIP Creeds
Because we are in union with Christ, we share His:
1. Eternal life: 1 John 5:11-12, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life [At salvation, God the Father imputes this life to the human spirit], and this life is in his son [The Christian also shares the life of Christ through union with Him]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].”
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth and the life [eternal life]; no person [in human history] comes face to face with the Father [having an eternal relationship with the Father] except through Me.’”
2. Perfect righteousness: 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And he (Father) made him who knew no sin [the impeccability of Jesus] to be a sin offering [paying the penalty of all sins] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him [positional truth]. Sharing the righteousness of Christ, we become the objects of God the Father’s love as per Romans 8:38-39, “So, [for] I stand convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither present things nor future things, neither power, (39). Neither height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God [the Father] which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.”
3. Election: Ephesians 1:4, “just as He [the Father] has elected us for Himself in Him [in union with Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world, that we may be set apart [experiential sanctification] and blameless [ultimate sanctification] in the presence of Him [Father].
4. Destiny: Ephesians 1:5, “By means of love, He has predestined us [in Christ] for the purpose of adoption as adult sons to Himself through Christ Jesus our Lord according to the grace purpose of His will.”
Adoption Roman style: The Biblical connotation of adoption is based on the Roman aristocratic function of adoption. The Latin “Adoptia” is the exact equivalent of the Greek “Huiothesia”, meaning to adopt as an adult son. This was usually done when the son reached the age of fourteen. It conferred adulthood on a natural child or on a child adopted as the heir. A wise Roman aristocrat could adopt as his heir anyone he deemed worthy. So just being the son of an aristocrat did not mean you would inherit your father's land, wealth, or title; you had to be adopted. Roman aristocrats would adopt whomever they considered most worthy to carry on the family name and wealth. Therefore, the family fortune and opportunities were passed down through that adopted person. If you adopted your own son, it was the highest honor you could confer on him. Adoption was the ceremony of proclaiming the heir to the estate.
During the Roman ceremony of adoption (adrogatio) the entire family was assembled, including everyone who might have been the heir. The father would recognize his adopted son, using his new name, declaring him to be his new heir. He would then give him the toga virilis (toga of manhood) a white linen robe with a purple border, and put the signet ring of heirship on his finger. These two gifts meant that he was the permanent heir. The law could not be reversed, so that as long as he lived, he was the heir.
Adoption conveyed aristocracy, special privilege, and rank. The lowest person in Roman society, if he had ability, could be adopted, and therefore have the greatest of opportunities.
Historically, the believer is adopted as an adult son of God at the point of his salvation. From the viewpoint of God’s omniscience, his adoption was entered into the divine decree billions of years ago. The omniscience of God knew that he would believe in Jesus Christ and so entered that information into the decree (the divine computer) billions of years ago. The sovereignty of God then said, “Elected and predestined” and the printer printed “This Christian is elected and predestined.” In time the person via his human volition believes in Jesus Christ as his savior and enters into union with Christ. Adoption takes place in union with Christ as a result of his having been predestined in eternity past. Adoption anticipates great blessings and wears God’s signet ring on his finger. The Christian in union with Christ is royal family of God, eternal aristocracy.
5. Sonship: Galatians 3:26-28, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For all of you who were baptized into Christ [identified with Christ through union with Him] have clothed yourselves with Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek [no racial distinction], there is neither slave nor free man [no social or economic distinction], there is neither male nor female [no gender distinction]; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [All Christians have the same privileges and opportunities to execute the spiritual life.]”
6. Heirship: Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit Himself testifies together [bears witness] with our [human] spirit, that we are the children of God. (17) Now, if we are children and we are, also heirs, on the one hand heirs of God [the Father], and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed [if it is true that], we suffer with Him [pass all three stages of undeserved suffering], that also we might be glorified with Christ.”
7. Priesthood: Hebrews 7:12-19, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change in the Law also [the Levitical priesthood finds its instructions in the Mosaic Law; the Royal Priesthood of the Church Age finds its instructions in the New Testament Epistles]. (13) For the One [the Lord Jesus Christ] concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe [the tribe of Judah] from which no one has officiated at the altar [during the Age of Israel]. (14) For it is evident that our Lord has descended [sprang-up] from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests, (15) and this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, and there has, (16) who has become a priest not on the basis of physical requirement but on the basis of indestructible life [The priesthood established by Jesus Christ is eternal and will function in the eternal state]. (17) For it is witnessed [God the Father is addressing the humanity of Jesus Christ; a quote from Psalm 110:4], ‘You [the singular pronoun referring to the High Priesthood of Jesus] are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek [the King of Salem (later became Jerusalem) and a Gentile believer-priest: Melchizedek is the type or antecedent type of the antitype, Jesus Christ, the reality of what was prefigured (shown before] in the Old Testament].’ [Since we are in union with Christ, we share this priesthood which will be forever. It will be the only priesthood functioning in the eternal state] (18) For, on the one hand, there is a rescinding [abrogation, an official nullification] of the former commandment [the Mosaic Law that authorized the Levitical priesthood] because of its weakness and uselessness (19) for the Law brought nothing to completion, but on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better confidence [confident expectation and absolute confidence of the adult spiritual life of the Church Age] through which we draw near to God [have a wonderful personal relationship with God].”
Hebrews 7:26-28, “For it is fitting that we should have such a high priest, impeccable integrity, the One who cannot do evil, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; (27) Who does not need daily, like those priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because He did this once and for all when He offered up Himself. (28) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of His [God the Father’s] oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has become perfect forever.”
8. Royalty: 1 Peter 2:9, “But you and only you are an elect [elected by God the Father] race, a royal priesthood [since Jesus is a king-priest], a holy nation [God’s entity: a nation of priests what Israel was intended to be], a people for God’s own possession [a protected people], so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him [Christ] who has called [in eternity past] you out of darkness [spiritual death and the cosmos systems] into His amazing light [his plan];”
As a result of the above, we are sanctified: 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified [set apart as a new spiritual species] in Christ Jesus, called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ [an idiom for faith in Christ], their [Lord] and ours.” We are a new spiritual species as per 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power [Old Covenant]; behold, new things have come to pass [This would include the New Covenant to the Church.].”
What positional truth is not?
1. It is not an experience, emotions or ecstasies.
2. It is not progressive; it cannot be improved in time or eternity.
3. It is not related to human merit or ability.
4. It cannot be changed by God, man or angels. It is eternal in nature.
5. It is not obtained gradually as you grow in grace, but in toto at salvation.
6. It is not known apart from the metabolization of doctrine.
7. From understanding the doctrine of Positional Truth, we progress in our spiritual life, but we cannot improve it since it is perfect at salvation.
8. We are not in Christ because of what we do (execution of the spiritual life) or fail to do (fail to execute the spiritual life), but because of what God has done. It occurs at salvation before any Christian experience.
Through union with Christ, Christ becomes our new husband.
1. As believers we all have an ex-husband, the old sin nature; also, we have a new husband, the Lord Jesus Christ. The believer has died to his first husband through divorce though the sin nature is still very much alive. Thus, there will always be an inner conflict between the two husbands as long as we are on this earth.
2. At salvation the believer through the Baptism of the Spirit is no longer under the sovereignty of the old sin nature. Retroactive Positional Truth constitutes a divorce. Identification with Christ in His spiritual death is rejection of the first husband; identification with Christ in His physical death and burial is separation and divorce from the first husband. Identification and union with Christ are proofs of the believer’s marriage to the second husband.
3. The old sin nature-husband is still around, still seeking to regain his control over his former wife, the believer. But union with the second husband, the Lord Jesus Christ, has broken the first husband’s authority over the former wife.
4. At salvation the believer becomes subject to the power and sovereignty of the Lord Jesus Christ through current positional truth. Therefore, at least theoretically, we are living to please our new husband.
5. The analogy in the context, then, is obvious. The believer is analogous to a married woman who prior to salvation has been under the authority of the first husband, the old sin nature, but now, after salvation, the believer is placed under the authority of the second husband, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Escrow Blessings:
Introduction:
There are four parts to the definition of escrow.
1. An escrow is a written agreement entered into by three parties, the grantor [God the Father], the grantee [you], and the depositary [our Lord Jesus Christ as the escrow officer], for the transfer of certain benefits.
2. The sealed agreement of God the Father as the grantor, generally accompanied by the deed, bond, or chattel (tangible property except real estate) to be conveyed, is made contingent on some future happening or on the performance of some act by the grantee, and is delivered to the depositary and held by him pending the occurrence of that event or the performance of the required act by the grantee. So, when the believer reaches spiritual maturity, the event required by the Grantor, the Lord Jesus Christ as the Escrow Officer will begin distribution of Escrow Blessings.
3. When the event has taken place or the grantee has performed the specified act, the depositary delivers to him the agreement and the deposit.
4. The depositary or custodian is allowed no discretion, but must follow strictly the terms of the agreement as it concerns the other two parties. In other words, the escrow officers must adhere to the agreement.
5. The date of our escrow blessings is eternity past.
6. The conditions of the escrow are fulfilled by us in the execution of the unique spiritual life of the Church Age. First reaching spiritual maturity at occupation with Christ at which time distribution of Escrow Blessings begin and are only enhanced after the Christian passes Evidence Testing.
Scripture.
1. The sealed agreement of God the Father as the grantor is found in the following verses: Ephesians 1:2-3, “Grace to you for your benefit and prosperity [escrow blessings] from God the Father [the grantor of our escrow blessings] and our Lord Jesus Christ [the depositary for escrow blessings]. Worthy of praise and glorification is the God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us [Church Age believers] with every spiritual blessing [escrow blessings] in heavenly places in Christ [a reference to Christ as the Escrow Officer].”
2. Ephesians 1:18, “I also pray that the eyes of your heart [the thinking portion of the soul where metabolized doctrine is located] may be enlightened so that you may know what is the confidence of His election [know the objectives of the system] and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints [temporal and eternal Escrow Blessings].
3. Ephesians 3:16, “that he may give you on the basis of the riches of his glory [God’s love for us in eternity past] that you might receive strength [through doctrine and reciprocal love] with power through the personal agency of his Spirit in your inner being [the Holy Spirit is the agent of producing this power in us],”
4. Philippians 4:19, “My God will supply [make full, fill up] every need of yours on the basis of His riches [God the Father as the Grantor] in glory by Christ Jesus [the Escrow Officer].”
5. Colossians 1:27, “to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of the mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ in you [the indwelling of Christ, the escrow officer], the confidence of glory [of receiving escrow blessings].”
6. In 1 Corinthians 2:9, escrow blessings are a part of our portfolio of invisible assets, “But just as it has been written [Isaiah 64:4; 65:17] things which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard [empiricism as a system of perception] also the things which have not entered into the right lobe [stream of consciousness] of man [rationalism as a system of perception] all which the God has prepared for those who love Him [Escrow Blessings for time and eternity for those who love the Lord Jesus Christ].
7. This same principle existed for the Jeshurun [experientially righteous] believers of the Old Testament, Proverbs 8:18, “With me [the personification of Bible doctrine] are riches and honor [escrow blessings for time], enduring wealth and prosperity [escrow blessings for eternity].”
8. The escrow blessings deposited by God the Father in eternity past are called in Ephesians 3:8, “the inexhaustible riches in Christ.” Our escrow blessings have been deposited with or in Christ.
The Eternal Escrow of eternity past.
1. There is an eternal escrow, an escrow established in eternity past and three parties involved in that escrow. The grantor is God the Father, who has placed Himself under legal obligation in eternity past to provide two categories of special and unusual blessings, both temporal and eternal, for the grantee, the believer who fulfills the protocol plan of God. The depositary or custodian is God the Son. In eternity past, both categories of blessings were deposited with our Lord Jesus Christ in escrow, pending the grantee’s future advance to spiritual maturity. The grantee is the Church Age believer. Under the protocol plan of God and the sovereign will of God, expressed in the doctrine of election, the Church Age believer is obligated to fulfill the contingency prior to the transfer of blessings from escrow.
2. So, the escrow blessings were transferred in eternity past by the grantor, God the Father, and delivered to the depositary, Jesus Christ, pending the performance of the grantee, the Church Age believer in the protocol plan of God.
3. Temporal escrow blessings on deposit are transferred to the believer when he fulfills the protocol plan of God in time, not to be confused with logistical grace blessings given to all believers.
4. Eternal blessings are transferred to the mature believer after the Rapture at the Evaluation Platform of Christ, where the winner is awarded special rewards namely his escrow blessings for eternity.
5. The sealed agreement with two categories of blessings were delivered to Jesus Christ in eternity past. This emphasizes grace namely God has created escrow blessings for all Christians in the Church Age even though he knew most would not fulfill the conditions of the escrow.
6. First, God created the blessings, even before He expressed His sovereign will in election and before He designed the protocol plan of God in predestination, Ephesians 1:3.
7. Sharing the righteousness of Christ is the target or basis for the transfer of temporal blessings to the mortal body and the target for the transfer of eternal escrow blessings to the resurrection body. The mortal body with its soul has the capacity to enjoy the escrow blessings for time and the resurrection body provides the capacity for the eternal escrow blessings.
Amplification of the Escrow Analogy.
1. In eternity past, the blessings deposited in escrow were made contingent on the future performance of the obligee. In other words, your advance to spiritual maturity in the protocol plan of God is the contingent for the transfer of your blessings out of escrow to you.
2. Spiritual maturity is the point that we leave behind the lesser blessings of logistical grace and move into the sphere of the superior blessings.
3. Therefore, when the grantee, under the enabling power of the Holy Spirit and momentum from metabolized doctrine, attains spiritual maturity, he receives the first installment of blessings from the depositary, Jesus Christ. The second installment is conveyed to him at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
4. In summary, God the Father is the grantor who delivered in eternity past to God the Son, the depositary, both temporal and eternal blessings for every believer in compatibility with His sovereign desire in election. This is the Magna Charta of Christianity.
5. These blessings are held by Christ as the depositary, pending the grantee’s fulfillment of the protocol plan of God.
6. The temporal blessings in escrow must not be confused with logistical grace blessings. Ephesians 3:20 describes these greater blessings as “exceedingly abundantly above all we could ever ask or think.” By contrast, logistical grace blessings are sustaining blessings.
7. God’s highest and best is in escrow for you, and He has provided you with equal privilege in the royal family of God and equal opportunity in the protocol plan of God to receive these escrow blessings.
Election, Predestination, and Escrow Blessings.
1. The sealed agreement of eternity past is therefore analogous to a modern escrow. The grantor, God the Father, deposited these two categories of blessings in escrow for every believer, pending his advance to spiritual maturity by the use of His equal privilege and equal opportunity.
2. In coordination with these special blessings deposited in our Lord Jesus Christ as the depositary, God the Father elected the believer for these blessings in eternity past.
3. God the Father willed the highest and best for every believer and put that highest and best into escrow before He elected that highest and best. In other words, He showed His good faith by depositing in escrow your highest and best first. Then He elected us, giving us equal privilege and equal opportunity, along with the protocol plan of God as the vehicle of conveyance.
4. Under predestination, God provided the protocol plan of God as the means of conveyance, the means of the grantee performing the required act to receive these blessings.
5. The combination of escrow blessings, election, and predestination in eternity past guarantees the conveyance of those blessings to any Church Age believer who is a winner.
6. Not all grantees are winners. In human history, the sovereignty of God and the free will of man coexist by divine decree. You can use your free will to completely fail to receive these blessings. Therefore, in eternity there will be winners and losers, rich and poor forever. The tragedy of this is that all believers have the equal privilege and opportunity to receive their escrow.
The Spiritually Rich and the Spiritually Poor.
1. The spiritually rich are those winners in the protocol plan of God who receive the transfer of their blessings from the escrow.
2. The spiritually poor are losers in the cosmic system who are still supported by God’s logistical grace. Although they have equal privilege and equal opportunity, they don’t receive their escrow blessings simply because they’re negative, through either ignorance or cognizance.
3. The spiritually poor cannot lose their salvation and will receive their resurrection body at the Rapture, but they will not receive their escrow blessings at the Evaluation Platform of Christ.
4. In this context of the escrow, cosmic believers are double losers and the poorer for it. Their first loss is in time. Though they had equal privilege and opportunity at salvation, they failed to fulfill the Protocol Plan of God. Hence, their escrow blessings for time remain on deposit forever as a memorial to their failure and lost opportunity. They are a double loser because, as a result of not having received their escrow blessings for time, they won’t receive their eternal escrow blessings either.
5. Hence, losers are under divine discipline in life. Although their names are still recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life, they are omitted from the honor’s list in eternity.
6. Logistical grace extends equal opportunity to every believer, beginning on the day of his salvation, to receive his escrow blessings. Every believer is kept alive by logistical grace long enough so that he could become a winner.
7. Therefore, every loser is a loser by his own decisions. Every believer must take this responsibility for his own decisions in eternity future.
8. Some believers exploit the equal opportunity of election and predestination and fulfill the Protocol Plan of God in time. Losers do not.
9. Time provides the opportunity for the grantee to attain God’s highest and best under election.
Relation Back Doctrine.
1. This legal doctrine states that the escrow is irrevocable from the date of deposit into escrow.
2. That which God the Father deposits into escrow with our Lord Jesus Christ cannot be withheld from us once we have fulfilled the obligations of reaching spiritual maturity.
3. We must fulfill the obligations of the escrow document prior to the distribution of our escrow blessings.
4. The date of deposit (eternity past) is the date of irrevocability. The date of conveyance is the date of the fulfillment of the conditions--the day you reach spiritual maturity.
5. If the conditions are not fulfilled in time, then the escrow blessings remain in escrow forever as a memorial to lost equal opportunity. The loser believer can see his escrow blessings on deposit in heaven forever as a memorial to equal opportunity. The loser believer does not lose his salvation, but does lose his escrow blessings for time and eternity. He will live forever in heaven with only lesser blessings.
Concluding Principles.
1. The fulfillment of the protocol plan of God in time leads to a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom.
2. This dramatizes the importance of the spiritual life under the enabling power of the Holy Spirit and the consistent perception of doctrine and its spiritual metabolism.
3. Nothing dramatizes the Protocol Plan of God more than the spiritual blessings held in the eternal escrow.
4. What brings your blessings out of escrow?
a. Stay in the protocol plan of God; quickly rebound to get back in after sinning.
b. Remain under the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.
c. Metabolize the doctrine you learn.
5. How will you know when you’re in spiritual maturity? You will recognize your spiritual blessings!
6. Your escrow blessings are actually a conveyance from the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, the depositary, to the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ in you by virtue of your union with Him. So “in Christ” has added significance as both positional truth and escrow truth. As He Himself said, “I am the truth...”
7. The challenge is found in Hebrews 10:35-36, “Therefore, do not throw away as worthless your confidence, which keeps on having great distribution of blessing. For you keep on having need of perseverance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive the deposit which was promised.” The greater blessings in life are not a matter of prayer, but the execution of the unique spiritual life of the Church Age.
Escrow Blessings with more Elaboration:
Escrow blessings are infinitely superior to all other categories of divine blessings for both time and eternity. There are no set of circumstances that can hinder the conveyance of your escrow blessings. You will receive your escrow blessings as a mature believer even though the rest of the nation may be falling apart all around you. Escrow blessing is a metaphor designed to explain the ultimate blessings available to every Christian in time and eternity.
A metaphor is the application of a phrase or a concept to an object or concept it does not literally denote in order to suggest a comparison. Escrow is defined as a deed, a bond, or other valuable assets in the form of a written agreement delivered to a third person by the grantor, to be delivered to a party of the second part on performance or fulfillment of the escrow conditions. Escrow conditions for us are the execution of the protocol plan of God under the concept of equal time, equal privilege, and equal opportunity. Race, culture, sex, and economic standing are no hindrance to the conveyance of your escrow.
God the Father created an escrow that He might bless us to the maximum. So, the grantor is God the Father who deposited in heaven in escrow greater blessings that stagger the imagination for both time and eternity. Each believer is a grantee. God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, is the escrow officer and the depositary of these blessings. These blessings remain on deposit until we fulfill the conditions of the escrow by executing the protocol plan of God.
Metabolized doctrine leads to blessing both for time and eternity. During our post-salvation experience as believers, through maximum doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness, we grow up. We grow spiritually through the various categories of Bible doctrine. Spiritual growth is accelerated by using the Problem-Solving Devices in time of problems, heartaches, difficulties, and trouble. We are tested periodically by God, which helps accelerate our spiritual growth. God never blesses us in time until we have the capacity. Capacity for blessings is in the soul and depends on metabolized doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness. At spiritual maturity we receive our escrow blessings for time which blessings are roughly doubled after passing Evidence Testing. Immediately after the rapture of the Church, the mature believer receives the distribution of his escrow blessings for eternity. These blessings were irrevocable as of eternity past. If they are not conveyed, then they remain on deposit forever in the heavenly hall of records.
The believer who attains spiritual maturity is classified as a winner, one who glorifies God through the execution of the protocol plan of God, and as an invisible hero who has maximum impact on human history when he reaches spiritual maturity and maximum impact upon angelic history when he passes Evidence Testing. The combination of these two impacts glorifies God to the maximum. The first thing God ever did for us is the means of glorifying Him. Billions of years ago, God the Father actually deposited into escrow for you as a Church Age believer, greater blessings in two categories namely escrow blessings for time and escrow blessings for the eternal state. Ephesians 1:3, “Worthy of praise and glorification is the God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.” The term “spiritual blessing” is used because God is the source, not because they are necessarily “spiritual” in nature, for they include many temporal blessings.
Spiritual blessing means maximum awareness of life. You are very much alive, and you savor every moment of life, whether in adversity or prosperity. You have zest for life and an enjoyment of every moment of life, regardless of what it brings. This zest for life excludes being depressed or upset by the ups and downs of life. Spiritual blessing means orientation to objective reality, a maximum amount of objectivity in your life, and the accumulation of all the characteristics of spiritual adulthood. This means a combination of all the characteristics of spiritual self-esteem, spiritual autonomy, and spiritual maturity which results in maximum contentment, tranquility, and happiness in life regardless of your station, circumstances, or status quo in life. Spiritual blessing means maximum use of the Problem-Solving Devices provided by God for spiritual adulthood. (These Problem-Solving Devices are used in varying degrees until you reach spiritual maturity when they are used to the maximum.) The use of these Problem-Solving Devices gives you an edge on life which no one else has. In a moment’s time, you can use occupation with Christ, your personal sense of destiny, plus H, personal and impersonal love, doctrinal orientation, grace orientation, the faith-rest drill, the Filling of the Spirit, and rebound; all of which produce a fantastic confidence that is unique and exclusive to spiritual maturity.
Spiritual maturity means maximum blessing in the relationships of your life with God, people, and self. Your relationship with God is fantastic and is based upon a tremendous confidence that, while you have never seen God, you know Him and understand Him as He wants to be understood through the mystery doctrines of the Church Age. You will be blessed in your contacts with all kinds of people, both loving and antagonistic. People can no longer disturb you or cause you to be disillusioned nor cause you to react with self-pity. Furthermore, you have a relationship with self that is honest and virtuous.
Some of the spiritual blessings specific to spiritual maturity include the following:
1. Maximum contentment, the stability of happiness.
2. Maximum tranquility, the backbone of happiness.
3. Maximum poise, the overt manifestation of happiness.
4. Maximum capacity for life, for love, and for happiness. This is having a zest for life simply because you’re alive, regardless of the circumstances. Your consciousness of just being alive in relationship to God gives you a zest for life that no system of adversity or suffering can disturb; even in suffering this blessing is never lost.
5. Maximum production in Christian service from true motivation. This results in receiving gold, silver, and precious stones at the Evaluation Throne of Christ. Your Christian service is related to whatever is your spiritual gift so that you are not in competition with other Christians.
6. Maximum function of your spiritual gift. If you attain spiritual maturity, don’t worry about your spiritual gift; God will see to it that you are using it.
7. Personal sense of destiny. You cannot reach spiritual maturity without having a personal sense of destiny. It’s a wonderful warm feeling to know that you have arrived at your destiny without becoming arrogant or vain. You also have a tranquility regarding death knowing that you have no control at all over the time, manner or the place of your death for death and resurrection are strictly the Lord’s victory.
8. Maximum virtue instead of self-righteousness.
9. Maximized personality identification.
10. As an invisible hero, you have invisible but real impact in four categories: personal, national, and if a missionary international and finally angelic.
11. The ability to interpret historical trends and to evaluate life from the divine viewpoint.
You are not in any way influenced by the worst things that happen to believers e. g. (exempli gratia) arrogant self-righteousness, pious hypocrisy, legalism, human good produced out of fellowship rather than divine good produced in fellowship, crusader arrogance, and all the other functions of pseudo-spirituality. Instead, you have maximum grace orientation to life; maximum dependence upon the grace policy of God, therefore, eliminating human dynamics as having any part of the spiritual life, and maximum utilization of the unique features of the great power experiment of the Church Age. You live within your human limitations in life. You live within the limitations of your environment, and you do so without embarrassment, regret, inordinate ambition, or inordinate competition. You have a dynamic spiritual life (not necessarily a dynamic personality) which glorifies God in every circumstance. Therefore, you have finally arrived at complete niche orientation, at the point where you can say God’s plan has been executed in your life. Other spiritual blessings include cognitive invincibility, mental stability, orientation to reality, and grace orientation to life, which includes grace thinking and subsequent grace motivation, grace decisions, and grace actions.
Therefore, you have maximum control of your life through the function of the Problem-Solving Devices of spiritual adulthood. This eliminates the three Cs of the disorganized life: (1) Competitiveness from arrogance, a destroyer of life. (2) Comparativeness from subjectivity. (3) Conspiracy from inordinate ambition.
Categories of Temporal Blessings or Prosperity.
1. Although the emphasis is on spiritual blessings, God does provide the mature believer with temporal blessings as a promotion. However, if God doesn’t promote you, you’re not promoted. God doesn’t promote any mature believer above his limitations, or into a sphere of activity where he would be distracted or his spiritual life neutralized.
2. All mature believers have spiritual prosperity, which is maximum occupation with the person of Christ. Spiritual prosperity means equating living with dying and adversity with prosperity.
3. Temporal blessings vary with the individual mature believer and with his environment. But some of the categories can be noted.
a. Establishment prosperity include the blessings of privacy and freedom, the enjoyment of both life and property, protection from crime, reprisal, violence, and vindictiveness from others, contentment under national disaster and acceptance by one’s own peers, whether they like you or not.
b. War and national emergency prosperity include the blessings of efficiency, success, promotion, and for some leadership, whether soldier or civilian.
c. Professional prosperity is maximum success or efficiency in a profession, whether law, medicine, engineering, science, military, teaching, law enforcement, athletics, art, music, literature, etc.
d. Business prosperity, where pertinent, means success in business as an owner or an executive of a large corporation, success as a salesman, administrator, laborer, etc.
e. Social-blessing (prosperity) is the possession of loving, faithful, reliable, and stable friends, and maximum enjoyment of your relationships with them. It is the ability to handle all sorts of social situations with them. Your great happiness and enthusiasm for life is expressed both vocally and in silence with friends.
f. Romantic prosperity can mean a wonderful relationship with a member of the opposite sex where happiness replaces sinfulness, the whole realm of emotional sinning, mental attitude and verbal sins. Those are the areas that destroy romance much more than the obvious overt sins of unfaithfulness and adultery. Romantic prosperity is perpetuated under all circumstances of adversity and prosperity. This includes sexual prosperity in marriage, or it could just mean peace from a nagging wife.
g. Mental prosperity is the ability to concentrate, to organize both your thinking and your life, to synthesize, to analyze; greater cogitation and perspicacity, courage, which is the ability to think under pressure, the function of wisdom in the exercise of the intellect, the development of common sense and an excellent sense of humor. Mental prosperity includes freedom from the mental sins of fear, worry, and anxiety. The development of normality in life comes from thinking objectively. You will become more observant and aware of others, and therefore not do the things that hurt them. You will have a relaxed mental attitude and a true sense of humor.
h. Cultural prosperity is maximum capacity for good entertainment, the enjoyment of the best in music, art, literature, drama, history, and whatever your hobbies may be, from horticulture to equitation.
i. Health prosperity is given to some mature believers, but if you have violated too many principles of health already you may not have good health, but you will have the ability to cope with your lack of good health. This prosperity means nervous energy and nervous stability, though not necessarily freedom from pain. You can be in good health and have pain. An abundance of nervous energy and stability is a characteristic of all great men of history.
j. Leadership dynamics, though not for everyone, is a blessing for some by virtue of either their genetics or spiritual gift, or it can be acquired. This is the ability to take any assigned responsibility and do it efficiently, cheerfully, and effectively. Therefore, it is the ability to assume authority and responsibility without loss of virtue and integrity, and without tyranny. This is true leadership, not micromanagement or petty bureaucratic behavior.
Several passages refer to some of these prosperities.
a. Proverbs 8:18, “Riches and honor are with Me [escrow blessings in time], enduring wealth and virtue [escrow blessings for eternity].”
b. Psalm 23:5-6, “You have prepared for me a table [blessing] in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed my head with oil [promotion]. My cup [of blessing] is overflowing. Only prosperity and grace pursue me all the days of my life [escrow blessings for time], and I will remain in the house of the Lord forever [escrow blessings for eternity].” This completes our study regarding Escrow Blessings.
The impact related to spiritual maturity and escrow blessing is as follows: personal, national, international and angelic impact.
Personal Impact is a category of blessing by association with the winner or invisible hero. Everyone who has contact with him has contact with an invisible hero. All relationships and contacts with an invisible hero result in blessing. There are two categories of blessing by association and/or personal impact namely direct and indirect. Direct blessing from God to those persons associated with the winner or invisible hero. This means fantastic blessing is given to those who are undeserving but who have a relationship with a mature believer. This includes family, friends, loved ones, business associates, and pets. Indirect blessing from God comes by means of the mature believer. Because he possesses all the virtues of spiritual maturity, the mature believer is thoughtful, considerate, kind, tolerant, and often very generous, though in a quiet way. Because of his attainment of spiritual maturity, he shares his wisdom in conversation, and shares whatever else he has. Therefore, to be in his presence is a pleasure. You can count on him not to verbally sin against you or stab you in the back. The mature believer shares both his virtuous personality and his material blessings with those associated with him. He is a source of stability in the life of those around him.
There are six areas of blessing by association.
a. The spiritual periphery refers to those associated with the mature believer in the local church, prayer meeting, prep school, mission board, or in some Christian service organization.
b. The family periphery refers to those associated with the mature believer as husband, wife, father, mother, children, relatives, and even pets.
c. The social periphery refers to friends associated with him.
d. The geographical periphery refers to those associated with the mature believer in his neighborhood, city, county, state, or nation.
e. The professional or business periphery refers to those associated with the mature believer in business, in schools, on athletic teams, medical clinics, law firms, law enforcement organizations, engineering firms, banks, corporations, symphony orchestras, and military organizations.
f. There is blessing by association after death. Those loved ones who are left behind receive the greatest insurance policy provided by association with the mature believer. This could be classified as heritage blessing for the next generation of those who have been associated with the mature believer. Blessing by association continues after the death of such a believer; it extends to the next generation, and sometimes even to the third. This explains how bereaved ones associated with the dead mature believer, regardless of their spiritual status (even unbelievers) receive blessing and prosperity by association. Again, this is part of the explanation as to why some wicked prosper.
National Impact of the Invisible Hero.
1. The mature believer or winner in the protocol plan of God becomes a part of the pivot in the client nation to God, and if he passes Evidence Testing becomes a member of the Pleroma Club (those receiving the fullness of blessing from God).
2. The size of the pivot in the client nation becomes the basis for blessing or cursing to that nation. A large pivot of mature believers means national blessing, national prosperity, and historical preservation. A small pivot of mature believers means the administration of national discipline from God. (This also applies to the number of Pleroma believers)
3. The principle is that as goes the believer in the client nation to God, so goes that client nation.
4. As the pivot shrinks, the client nation to God declines and is eventually destroyed by the administration of the fifth cycle of discipline.
5. Reversionism and apostasy among believers result in national disaster, while having anywhere from 5% to 10% mature believers means national prosperity.
6. This can be called the salt principle, as per Matthew 5:13 or Mark 9:50, where we are said to be “the salt of the earth [land].” This is the pivot and pleroma principle.
7. The client nation to God provides many wonderful things such as: freedom for evangelism, for Bible teaching and the function of the local church, for missionary activity, and for Christian service; free enterprise; and fulfillment of manifest destiny. So, a client nation to God has tremendous responsibility even internationally.
International impact occurs through missionary function.
1. One of the important functions of a client nation is to send out spiritually mature missionaries.
2.The mature missionary must have wisdom and avoid legalism, making an issue only out of the Gospel and doctrine. He must understand salvation, the mystery doctrines of the Church Age and of course the spiritual life as found in the New Testament epistles, and to be able to give a clear exposition in the native language.
3.When mature believers go to non-client nations as missionaries, they are the real source and usually the only source of blessing to that non-client nation.
4. So, through indigenous modus operandi to non-client nations, there is blessing for nations that have no other source of blessing other than the Laws of Establishment. A non-client nation can be blessed by association even with just one missionary who is a winner and an invisible hero.
Angelic Impact of the Invisible Hero taking Evidence Testing:
Evidence testing is Satan’s cross-examination of every witness presented by God in the historical trial of all fallen angels. In human history, man’s thoughts, motives, decisions, and actions are entered as evidence, exhibits, precedents, and arguments in Satan’s appeal trial. Every believer who attains maturity is an argument or witness for the Prosecution against Satan. Evidence testing is Satan’s cross-examination of every witness presented by God.
No believer qualifies as a witness until he has attained spiritual maturity, tantamount to the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God. The three stages of spiritual adulthood (spiritual self-esteem, spiritual autonomy, and spiritual maturity) are the prerequisites for facing and passing the three categories of suffering for blessing, providential preventative suffering, momentum testing, and evidence testing. Passing evidence testing as the highest category of suffering for blessing results in the doubling of your escrow blessings.
Every believer who attains spiritual maturity is a witness for the prosecution, either in the formal trial of Old Testament history, or in the rebuttal phase of the First Advent and Church Age, or in the closing argument and summary phase of the Second Advent and the Millennium.
Evidence testing in two categories is Satan’s attempt, through his cross-examination to discredit those believers who attain spiritual maturity. It appears that Satan in most cases administers evidence testing, but under restrictions imposed by God before the evidence testing begins. For example, Satan was not permitted to kill Job. The two categories of evidence testing are as follows: the relationship to the plan of God test is illustrated by our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 4:1-11 and the relationship to life test is illustrated by Job. Whether it be this category or that category, evidence testing is administered only to the mature believer, for only he is a witness for the Prosecution. Apparently, the spiritually mature believer does not take both tests, and which one he receives is a matter of the sovereignty of God.
A few more points on Evidence Testing.
1. By means of passing evidence testing, the winner or invisible hero becomes a witness for the Prosecution in the rebuttal phase of Satan’s appeal trial which is coterminous with human history. Evidence testing is designed for the maximum glorification of God in the historical extension of the angelic conflict. Evidence testing related to Life often temporarily removes certain escrow blessings distributed at the point of spiritual maturity, as in the cases of Abraham in principle, and Job. Usually, evidence testing comes to the mature believer without warning, since it is generally administered by Satan. To resolve Satan’s appeal trial in favor of the Prosecution and to see if the Source of blessing is greater than the blessing itself, the mature believer enters into this stage of suffering for blessing. Evidence Testing as undeserved suffering for blessing demands the highest function of personal love for God as your motivation. Passing this test causes the elect angels to cheer and the fallen angels to groan.
2. Sometimes, the Lord removes temporarily the Escrow Blessing received at spiritual maturity as part of Evidence Testing and the ultimate honor that God can bestow on an individual. The temporary loss of Escrow Blessings in time provides the ultimate in spiritual experience. To be deprived of everything and to be totally occupied with the Lord is the highest function in the spiritual life. Job 1:21, “The Lord gives, the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” While the blessing may be removed, the Source cannot be and will not be removed. If you still have the Source, even though the blessing is gone temporarily, you still have that Source and the possibility of even greater blessings. The real blessing comes from knowing that the Source is permanent. As long as you have the Source, you have everything even when you have nothing.
3. Dying Blessings belongs to the Invisible Hero, the mature believer who has taken Evidence Testing. This represents the doctrine of dying grace which is the dying status of the winner or mature believer. Whether he has a quick and painless death or a prolonged and painful one, the mature believer will have the greatest blessing of his life as he crosses the high golden bridge between time and eternity. God gives him through the objective reality of the absolute truth of Bible doctrine, the greatest tranquility that his soul could ever experience. The believer in spiritual maturity has learned how to die, since he has also learned how to live. In spiritual maturity he dies magnificently as unto the Lord. Philippians 1:21, “As far as I am concerned, living is Christ, and dying is profit.” Psalm 23:6, “Only prosperity and grace shall pursue me [prosperity looks for the mature believer] all the days of my life [dying is the last segment of living].”
Ascension and Session:
Introduction.
1. There are two Christological dispensations. The great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union, 4 B.C. to 30 A. D. and the great power experiment of the Church Age, 30 A.D. to the Rapture, an indefinite period of time. The chart below was taken from ‘Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary’ page 64.
2.The resurrection, ascension and session of Jesus Christ divides the two Christocentric dispensations, namely the 1st Advent of Christ and the Church Age.
3. Both the ascension and session of Christ occurred in His resurrection body. Up to this time, Jesus Christ is the only one possessing a resurrected body.
Definition.
1. The ascension is the transfer of our Lord's true humanity from planet earth to the third heaven in a resurrection-body.
2. The session is the glorification of our Lord's humanity at the right hand of God the Father.
3. The Ascension and Session are closely related to and based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. As a result of the Resurrection, He remained on earth for forty days before His ascension. During this period of time, Jesus Christ demonstrated and proved his resurrection and the capabilities of the Resurrection-Body.
4. The capabilities of the resurrection-body.
a. It can travel horizontally and vertically at unlimited speed, and is capable of unlimited space travel.
b. Our Lord traveled horizontally during His forty days on planet earth, as well as moving through closed doors.
c. The ascension of Christ demonstrates the vertical travel of the resurrection-body, moving with ease through the atmosphere of the earth, the galaxies of stellar universe, the billions and billions of light years in an instant and entering into the third heaven, the abode of God.
5. Upon arrival in the Third Heaven, the humanity of Christ was seated at the right hand of God the Father known as His Session. Then, He received His third royal patent [privilege] and the title "King over kings [future rulers in the Millennium], Lord over lords [authority over angels], the Bright Morning Star." Because this third royal warrant [commission] had no accompanying royal family, the Church Age was inserted for the calling out of this family.
6. The ascension and session are the missing links between the resurrection of Christ and the Church Age. Something new had to be created to accompany this new third royalty of Jesus Christ. His first royalty was divine royalty, his title “the Son of God”. His second royalty was Davidic, his title, “the Son of David.” His third royalty is obtained by his strategic victory of the cross; the title, King over kings and Lord over lords, awarded to Him by God the Father at His session; His royal family are the believers of the Church Age.
7. The Age of Israel was interrupted and the Church Age was intercalated. The Day of Pentecost is the day the royal family began with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the first day of the Church Age.
8. These two namely His ascension and session combined with His defeat of Satan on the Cross form the climax of the strategic victory of Christ in the Angelic Conflict.
Historical Account, Acts 1:9-11.
"And after He had said these things [announcement of Church Age as per Acts 1:5, 8], He was lifted up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him out of their sight. (10) And as they were gazing intently up in the sky as He was going, behold two men [angels] dressed in white stood beside them. (11) And they also said, `Men of Galilee, why do you stand staring into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven [He arrived into the 3rd Heaven while these angels were talking to these disciples] will come in the same way as you have seen Him go into heaven.'"
Significance of the Session.
1. After His ascension, His session fulfilled the prophecy of Psalm 110:1, “The Lord [God the Father] said to my Lord [God the Son], `Sit down at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet [This verse speaks of His humanity].'" Jesus Christ had to be seated to resolve the angelic conflict for during his Session, the Royal Family of God is formed from which certain Church Age believers will be used to testify against Satan. Remember that His deity is omnipresent, immanent [in space] and transcendent [beyond space]. Thus, only His humanity could be seated at the right hand of the Father.
2. This prophecy is quoted a number of times in the New Testament such as in Matthew 22:44, “the Lord [Jehovah: God the Father] said to my Lord [Adonai as revealed deity: The Lord Jesus Christ], Sit on My right until I make Your enemies, a footstool for Your feet? [a quote from Psalm 110:1]’” Hebrews 1:13, “But to which of the angels has He [God the Father] ever said, [Psalm 110:1] ‘Sit down at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.’” God could not say this to deity, and He never said this to an angel. He said this to the humanity of Christ, making the humanity of Christ superior to angels. Other passages which quote from Psalm 110:1 are as follows: Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42-43; Acts 2:34-35; Hebrews 10:13. It is quoted often because it is so very important.
3. There is an application to Church Age believers. We, being in union with Christ, are now positionally superior to angels. (However, we cannot take advantage of our position now on earth unless we advance spiritually to spiritual adulthood.) In resurrection bodies we will be superior to angels in body.
4. The strategic victory of the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union which culminated on the cross is the key to the importance of the resurrection, ascension and session of Jesus Christ. The resurrection, ascension, and session all deal with the true human nature of Jesus Christ though He is undiminished deity and true humanity in one person forever. Just as only the humanity of Christ could provide our salvation by receiving the judgment for our sins in His own body, so only the humanity of Christ could be resurrected, ascended, and seated at the right hand of God the Father.
5. The humanity of Jesus Christ in Hypostatic Union is now exalted and glorified at the right hand of the Father where His posture is one of being seated. Acts 2:33a, "Therefore, [Jesus Christ] having been exalted to the right hand of God." Acts 5:31a, "He is the one whom God has exalted at His right hand as prince [to rule as King during the Millennium] and Savior." Philippians 2:9-10, "Therefore also, God has highly exalted Him and given Him a title which is above every title, (10) that in the presence of the person of Christ, every knee in heaven [at the Rapture] shall bow, both the ones on earth [believers alive] and the ones under the earth [dead believers], and every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord [for the first time for most Christians] to the glory of the Father."
The Ascension and Session as related to the Strategic Victory of the Angelic Conflict.
1. The ascension and session are not only related to the Hypostatic Union but also to the angelic conflict. The fact that the resurrection, ascension and session is based on the strategic victory of our Lord in the angelic conflict is the subject of Hebrews 1-2.
2. The ascension and session of Christ form the basis for the victory in the angelic conflict. The following passage demonstrates the victory and the superiority of Jesus Christ over angels. Hebrews 1:1-14, “In the past, God spoke to our forefathers [ancestors] through the prophets at many times and in various ways [direct conversation with the Lord, angelic teaching, dreams etc. (2) However, in these last days [1st Advent and Church Age] He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things [at His Session], and through whom He has designed the dispensations, (3) and he is the flashing forth of His glory [God the Father’s glory] and the exact image [the deity of Christ] of His [God the Father's] essence. Furthermore, He [the deity of Christ] sustains all things by the Word [verbal expression] of His power [During the entire period of the Hypostatic Union on earth, from the baby in the cradle to the resurrection, ascension, and session, our Lord was still holding the universe], after He has provided for [speaking of His humanity] the purification for sins [His saving work on the cross], He was caused to sit down at the right hand of the Majesty in highest places. (4) So, He [Jesus Christ in His humanity] became superior to angels, since He has inherited a superior title to theirs [His third royal title namely King over kings and Lord over lords]. (5) For to which of the angels did He [God the Father] ever say, [Psalm 2:7] ‘You are My Son [the deity of Christ; this is language of accommodation that we might understand their rolls as related to the human race]; this day [the Incarnation] I have given birth to You [humanity of Christ]?’ And again [2 Samuel 7:14], ‘I will be His Father and He will be My Son [the humanity of Christ will be obedient to the Father’s plan for the 1st Advent while the deity of Christ is co-equal with the Father and so not subordinate]. (6) And again [the tactical victory of Christ at the Second Advent], when He brings His first-born into the world he says, [Psalm 97:7], ‘Let all the elect angels of God worship Him. (7) And speaking to His angels He says, [we are not told what He says; a quote from Psalm 104:4] ‘Who makes His angels, spirits [God the Son created the angels as spirit-beings, a reference to their essence], and His angelic servants, a flame of fire [God the Son created their function: as a flame of fire the elect angels under the command of God administer judgement, and punishment]. (8) But speaking of His Son, He [God the Father] says, [Psalm 45:6-7] ‘Your throne, O God [Jesus Christ], is forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of Your kingdom [Second Advent, Millennium, and eternal kingdom; a ruler must have integrity]. (9) You have loved righteousness and have hated evil [impeccability of Jesus Christ in His humanity]; therefore, God [Father], Your God, has anointed You above all your associates with the ceremonial oil of optimum happiness [In the ancient world, one was commissioned with anointing of oil. This is a reference to ceremonial oil used for the appointment of a king. Because Christ is both perfect and unique, righteous and just, and superior to angels, he will supersede Satan as the ruler of this world]. (10) And, [Psalm 102:25-27] ‘[the elect angels will be singing the following] In the beginning [before anything existed], O Lord [the deity of Christ], You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. (11) They [the galaxies] will perish, but You will remain; they all will wear out like clothing. (12) And You will roll them up like a robe [at the end of the Millennium]; like a garment they will be changed [new heavens and earth], but You will remain the same, and Your years will never end. (13) But to which of the angels has He [God the Father] ever said, [Psalm 110:1] ‘Sit down [addressed to the humanity of Christ] at My right hand until I make Your angelic enemies a footstool for Your feet [in the ancient world, a conqueror would put his feet on his conquered enemies; Jesus Christ will defeat Satan and his angels at the 2nd Advent]. (14) Are they [the elect angels] not all ministering spirits [elect angels that serve you including your guardian angel] sent out to render service to those who will inherit [the blessings of] salvation]? Yes, they are.”
3. Hebrews 2:5-9, “For not to the angels has He put under the authority the coming civilization [the Millennium] concerning which we communicate. (6) Moreover, someone [David in Psalm 8:4-8] in a certain place has testified saying, what is mankind that You yourself should remember him, or the son of man, [the progeny of Adam namely the spiritually dead] that You yourself should come to his aid [the Cross and other grace provisions] (7) For a brief time You [the Father] have made him [the humanity of Christ] a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor [at His Session] which belongs to You; (8) You, Father, you have put all things in subjection under his feet, [the end of the quote from Psalm 8:4-8] for in subjecting all things to Him [Jesus Christ], He [God the Father] left nothing that is not subject to him, but now [at the present time] we do not yet see all things subjected to Him [under his command as it will be in the eternal state], (9) but, we see Jesus who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now having been crowned with glory and honor [result of his resurrection, ascension and session] because of the suffering of death [substitutionary spiritual death] that by the grace of God, He might taste death [the bitter taste of His substitutionary spiritual death on the cross] as a substitute for all [human beings].”
4. 1 Peter 3:22, "Who [Jesus Christ] is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven after which angels and authorities and powers had been subordinated to Him." With the resurrection of Jesus Christ, all angelic creatures including fallen angels, are subordinated to humanity of Christ! That fact is very important. Some day in our resurrection bodies, we will share that same privilege experientially. Being in union with Christ, we are already positionally higher than angels, but in resurrection bodies, we will be experientially and physically higher than angels.
The Session and the Efficacy of Christ's Sacrifice on the Cross.
1. Hebrews 10:12, "But this One [Jesus Christ in contrast to the Old Testament sacrifices], when He had offered one unique sacrifice as a substitute for our sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God."
In physical death, our Lord's work was completed. Hence, just before His death He said, "tetelestai," which means it is finished in the past with the result that it stands finished forever. The work of Jesus Christ on the cross is efficacious which settled the sin issue once and for all time. To indicate the efficacy of His sacrifice, our Lord sat down at the right hand of God the Father. So, the resurrection, ascension, and session are the verification of the efficacy of our Lord's saving work on the cross.
2. Furthermore, this efficacious saving work occurred while our Lord was physically alive. He did not die for our sins in physical death; He died as a substitute for us in a substitutionary spiritual death, wherein each and every sin of the human race was imputed to Christ and judged.
3. Therefore, Christ died twice on the cross. He died a substitutionary spiritual death for the sins of the world, which provided our salvation and He died a unique physical death in which there was the separation of His soul, spirit, and body.
4. Hebrews 9:23-24, “Of necessity, therefore, on the one hand that the copies, the models of the things in the heavens be cleansed with these shadows, but on the other hand the heavenly realities themselves with better sacrifices than these (shadow of animal blood). (24) For Christ had not entered into a Holy of Holies [at His session] made with human hands, a copy of the reality, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of the God (Father) on behalf of us.”
The Session Related to the Importance of the Church Age, Ephesians 1:18-23.
Ephesians 1:18, "That the eyes of your right lobe may be enlightened [through advance via the Two Power Options] so that you may know what is the hope [confident expectation that you will accomplish your two strategic objectives] of His election, what are the riches of His glory of His inheritance in the saints [temporal and eternal Escrow Blessings]."
Ephesians 1:19, "And what is the surpassing greatness of His power to us [maximum availability of divine power to every Church Age believer as a result of the extension of the Hypostatic Union into the Church Age] who have believed, for the working of His superior power [execution of the protocol plan] which He put into operation by means of Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in heavenly places."
1. Divine power is available to us as never before in history, i.e., the omnipotence of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit.
2. When Jesus Christ was seated at the right hand of the Father after His ascension, this plan for the Church Age was put into operation. The protocol plan of God and the availability of divine power to us is unique.
3. As a result of His resurrection, ascension, and session, our Lord Jesus Christ received his third royal patent without a royal family. So, during the Church Age, the royal family is being formed.
4. God is perfect; Therefore, His protocol plan is perfect. A perfect plan from perfect God excludes human power for its execution. A perfect plan from perfect God demands the use of divine power or perfect power for its execution.
5. Therefore, there is no substitute for the utilization of divine power in the execution of the protocol plan.
6. Divine power and human power are mutually exclusive. Therefore, for the believer to utilize human dynamics and call it the Christian way of life is blasphemy. To the extent that the Church Age believer relies on human power or gets involved in legalism, he has completely failed to fulfill God's purpose, plan, and objective for sustaining him in this life.
7. The perfect protocol plan of God cannot accept or utilize any form of human power or human ability, or anything that we can do. Anything we can do in our own power is not a part of the Christian life.
Ephesians 1:20, “which [power] He [God the Father using his supreme power] put into operation [the Operational Spiritual Life for the Church Age] by means of Christ [Jesus tested and proved the Prototype Spiritual Life] when He [God the Father] raised him from the dead and seated him at his own right hand in heavenly places [Christ’s strategic victory over Satan through Jesus’s substitutionary spiritual death, physical death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and session].”
Ephesians 1:21, “Superior to every rule and authority, and power and dominion and superior to every title that can be named, not only in this age [Church Age], but in the one destined to come [Millennium].”
Ephesians 1:22, “And He [God the Father] has subordinated all categories [of angelic and human enemies as part of Operation Footstool] under his feet [of the human nature of Christ in hypostatic union; a quote from Psalm 8:5, 6]. Furthermore, he has appointed Him [Jesus Christ] ruler over all things with reference to the church,”
God the Father has made his enemies a footstool for his feet as per Hebrews 10:12-13, “but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, (13) waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for his feet.” Furthermore, Jesus Christ was given authority over all matters related to the Church.
1. The first phase of operation footstool is the resurrection, ascension, and session of Christ.
2. The second phase of operation footstool is the Second Advent of Christ. At that time, the baptism of fire will remove all unbelievers from the earth, both Jews and Gentiles, Satan is sentenced to 1000 years in prison, after which the suppression of the Gog and Magog Revolution, the execution of the prehistoric sentence of Satan and all fallen angels, and the judgment and sentencing of all unbelievers to the Lake of Fire.
3. “Furthermore, he has appointed Him [Jesus Christ] ruler over all things with reference to the church,” There would be no royal family without the appointment of Christ as prince ruler over the Church. This means He rules all Church Age believers today, winners and losers.
Ephesians 1:23, “which [church] is his body, the fullness of Him [the fullness of blessing] who fills all [invisible heroes namely mature believers having passed Evidence Testing] with all things [the greater Escrow Blessings for both time and eternity].”
The Session and the Royal Priesthood.
1. Hebrews 8:1, “Now the main point on what is being communicated is this: we have such a high priest who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens.”
2. Our Lord was not qualified by birth to be a Levitical priest in Israel. His priesthood, however, supersedes the priesthood of Israel because He is both a king and a priest.
3. Our Lord's priesthood is patterned after a royal priesthood, that of Melchizedek. Melchizedek was both a king and a priest who lived during the time of Abraham. Our Lord is the king-priest as a result of His resurrection, ascension, and session. Because we are in union with Christ, we belong to His priesthood.
4. Therefore, we pray to God the Father through our high priest, Jesus Christ, and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ should be the role model for Church Age believers.
Hebrews 12:2-3, “Be concentrating on Jesus, the pioneer [the one who established the precedence for our spiritual life] and perfector [He perfected the use of the Prototype Spiritual Life] of our doctrine who because of his exhibited happiness [Sharing the happiness of God provided the strongest possible motivation], he endured the cross [the greatest pressure ever] disregarding the shame [He did not react to the sins for which he was being punished] and sat down [his humanity] at right hand throne of God [His Session]. (3) For begin thinking about such a Person as Jesus Christ, having endured such opposition by sinners against Himself, in order that you do not become discouraged, fainting in your souls.”
Reviewing our passage:
Colossians 3:1-3, "If therefore, you have been raised [via the Baptism of the Spirit] in Christ and you have [In union with Christ, Current Positional Truth], keep on seeking to possess the above things [the Portfolio of Invisible Assets] where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of the Father [Session as the result of Ascension]. (2) Keep thinking objectively about the above things [the Portfolio of Invisible Assets], not things on the earth [do not be distracted and hindered by the Cosmic System]. (3) For you have died [Retroactive Positional Truth], and your life is hidden together with the Christ [we must relate our lives to Christ] by means of God."
Though this passage mentions one death, there are actually seven types of death mentioned in Scripture. The following explanation of the seven deaths is taken from ‘Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary’ pages 54-55.
Death: A condition caused by separation or by a change from one state to another. Scripture reveals seven categories of death:
(1) Physical death is the separation of the immortal, immaterial soul from the mortal, material body (Gen. 3:19; Eccl. 3:2a). God decides the time, manner, and place of physical death; therefore, nothing can remove the believer from this life apart from the wisdom, grace, and sovereignty of God. The souls of believers enter into the presence of the Lord and spend eternity in heaven housed in a resurrection body (John 3:36; 14:1–6; 2 Cor. 5:8; Rev. 21:4). The souls of unbelievers are transferred to the temporary residence called Torments, where they await the Last Judgment and permanent condemnation to the lake of fire (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:15). See also interim body; resurrection body.
(2) Spiritual death describes man’s total separation from God (Rom. 6:23a; Eph. 2:1). Adam, the first man, was created spiritually alive— body, soul, and human spirit—but he lost his human spirit and became spiritually dead when he chose to sin in the Garden (Gen. 2:17; 3:6). Adam’s original sin brought condemnation to all mankind (Rom. 5:12). Every human being, with the exception of Jesus Christ, is born physically alive but spiritually dead, no human spirit, unable to have a relationship with God or understand His truths (1 Cor. 2:14). The only solution to man’s spiritual death is regeneration, to be “born again” into eternal life (John 3:6–7; Rom. 6:23; 1 Cor. 15:22). See also Adam’s original sin; regeneration.
(3) Positional death refers to the Church Age believer’s identification with Christ’s spiritual death, physical death, and burial. See positional truth (retroactive).
(4) Carnal/temporal death describes the believer’s loss of fellowship with God in time, which is the result of personal sin and the control of his soul by the sin nature (Rom. 8:6; Eph. 5:14; 1 Tim. 5:6; James 1:15). First John 1:9 is the means of recovery from temporal death. See also carnality; rebound.
(5) Operational death describes any form of Christian service produced apart from the filling of the Holy Spirit. When the believer is out of fellowship with God and hence under the control of the sin nature, he can produce only dead works, human good (1 Cor. 3:12–13; Heb. 6:1). See also dead works.
(6) Sexual death describes loss of procreative ability, exemplified in Scripture by Sarah’s barrenness and Abraham’s inability to produce an heir (Rom. 4:17–21; Heb. 11:11–12).
(7) Second death is the perpetuation of spiritual death and separation from God into eternity. This occurs when the unbeliever is condemned to the lake of fire at the Last Judgment (Matt. 25:41; Heb. 9:27; Rev. 2:11; 20:14–15).
Colossians 3:4
On the occasion when the Christ, our life shall become manifest [Christ as the groom and Church age believers as the bride at the Second Advent], then at that time, also, you shall become manifest together with Him in glory.
ὅταν ὁ Χριστὸς φανερωθῇ, ἡ ζωὴ ὑµῶν, τότε καὶ ὑµεῖς σὺν αὐτῷ φανερωθήσεσθε ἐν δόξῃ.
Jewish Marriage is necessary to understanding our marriage to Christ:
Jewish marriage took place in four stages namely, the contract, the ceremony, the celebration and consummation. In the first stage, the marriage contract was signed by the parents of the groom and bride. After the contract had been signed and registered with the Jewish government, the couple was legally married, even though the ceremony and celebration may not take place for many months or even years. In the second stage of marriage, the ceremony, the groom, and his male friends would ride their chariots to the home of the bride’s parents (or some other designated place), and then the groom only would enter the home while his friends waited outside. At that point, there would be four people in the home for this ceremony namely the bride, her parents, and the groom. Something similar to the following scenario would take place: the bride would be positioned a couple of paces ahead of her parents. When the groom entered the room, the father would step forward beside his daughter and make the following announcement to her as he pointed to the young man, “This is your husband and has been your husband since the date of the contract.” Next, he would say to the groom, “This is your wife.” Then, the father, taking the bride by the arm, walked forward and presented her to the groom. The groom then looked at the bride, but said nothing, then looked at the father and said, “She is now my wife, and I am her husband now and forever more.” (It is interesting to note that only the father and the groom spoke during the wedding ceremony.) The groom then took the bride’s fingers and put them into the crook of his arm and they walked out together. He put her in his chariot and his friends followed in a procession through town. He would then go either to a home which he had prepared or to his parent’s home. Waiting outside the home would be the bride’s friends, the bridesmaids who would be holding lanterns and waiting for the returning groom, bride and groomsmen (compare with the marriage feast at the 2nd Advent: Matt. 25:1-13). The groom and bride would enter the home first followed by the groomsmen and lastly the bridesmaids. Then, there would be a wedding dinner and celebration which would last from several days to several weeks. At some point during the celebration, the couple would slip away and begin their honeymoon and consummate the marriage. (Please listen to Spiritual Dynamic Series 631 by R.B. Thieme Jr. regarding this subject.)
Jewish marriage the pattern for Christian marriage to Christ.
1. Contract: This takes place at salvation via Retroactive and Current Positional Truth.
2. Ceremony: This occurs at the Rapture of the Church when Christ the groom takes us to his home as per 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
3. Celebration: At the wedding feast which will take place at the 2nd Advent as per Matthew 25:1-13 and Revelation 19:6-9.
Revelation 19:6-9, "Then, I heard what sounded like a large crowd of people [Church Age believers attending the coronation] and like the sound of many waters [the Old Testament Saints and Tribulation-martyrs attending also the coronation] and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder [believers in mortal bodies who survive the Tribulation] and they shouted, Praise the Lord! Because the Lord our God, the Almighty has become King [the beginning of the Lord’s Millennial Reign]. (7) Let us rejoice and celebrate [be exceedingly happy at the marriage feast] and give the glory to Him because the wedding feast of the Lamb has come [follows the coronation] and his bride [the Church] has prepared herself. (8) Furthermore, it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen [the resurrection body], shining [the resurrection body may be constructed out of something similar to light] and pure [unblemished: no sin nature, no sin, no human good] for the fine linen is the fulfillment of justification [the imputed righteousness of the Church age believers now in resurrection bodies] of the saints. (9) Then [sequential use of the Greek conjunction kai] he [a high ranking-angel] said to me [John], “Write [mandated to write down what he sees], ‘Blessed [blessing from God to man resulting in great happiness] are they who have been invited [two categories of guest: the groomsmen (Old Testament believers in resurrection-bodies) and the bridesmaids (Jewish and Gentile believers in mortal bodies] to the wedding feast of the Lamb,’ also he said to me, “These doctrines [of eschatology] are the true doctrines from God."
4. Consummation: Church Age believers will live with the Groom for a thousand years.
Colossians 3:5
Begin to render impotent, therefore, [reversion recovery through the Recovery Procedure and doctrinal inculcation], the members [of the sin nature], the things upon the earth [list of phallic reversionistic trends] namely, fornication, unnatural sexual vices [includes homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality], depraved passion [abnormal sexual lust], evil lust, and phallic search for happiness, which category of things keep on being idolatry [a phallic search for happiness in the Cosmic System is a form of worshipping Satan].
Νεκρώσατε οὖν τὰ µέλη τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, πορνείαν, ἀκαθαρσίαν, πάθος, ἐπιθυµίαν κακήν, καὶ τὴν πλεονεξίαν ἥτις ἐστὶν εἰδωλολατρία,
In the Lycus Valley of Asia Minor, many Christians chose a phallic search for happiness. The Sin Nature, a few points:
1. Though the sin nature is the source of temptation, human volition is the source of sin.
2. The Sin Nature can tempt in three areas – sin, human good and evil, but it cannot succeed apart from the volition of the soul.
3. The volition of the soul guards the gate of the soul from the sin nature’s temptation.
4. Therefore, no one ever sins apart from his own consent or function of his own volition.
5. Whether sins of ignorance or sins of cognizance, the volition is involved in every sin. Therefore, ignorance is no excuse.
6. While the sin nature is located in the body, it must persuade the volition of the soul to yield to temptation in order for sin to occur.
7. When the sin nature’s temptations become sin through human consent the sin nature gains controls over the soul, and the believer enters into the cosmic system.
8. The sin nature, therefore, is Satan’s inside agent recruiting for the cosmic system.
9. Therefore, the believer is only pure and free from sin when he is functioning under the two power options.
10. Lawlessness is residence and function in the cosmic system. When the Christian functions outside of the spiritual life, he is in total violation of God’s authority and laws.
The lust pattern determines the trend. The following is taken from R. B. Thieme Jr’s doctrine of lust:
1. There are many categories of lust, all of which relate to the old sin nature.
2. When it comes to lust, all members of the human race are swimming in the same gene pool. None of us are free from lust. If you are human, normal or abnormal, you have lust problems.
3. Because of the different categories of lusts, all believers do not function under the same category.
4. The category of lust related to your modus operandi is directly related to both your personal areas of weakness and your personal areas of strength in your old sin nature.
5. All of us possess an old sin nature in the cell structure of our bodies. Therefore, all of us as humans have areas of strength and weakness. Remember that our areas of strength are very deceiving, and we often build a false self-esteem on our areas of strength. It is quickly broken down by arrogance. The only answer to these things is spiritual self-esteem.
6. This means that one person’s weakness is another person’s strength which is the basis for our arrogance, self-justification, and rationalization about inferiority and superiority. To go through life trying to prove others inferior and yourself superior is the worst concept in life. The majority of people go through life trying to compensate for inferior feelings. They inevitably destroy themselves through their area of weakness and their area of strength.
7. The lust pattern of the old sin nature includes at least seven categories.
a. Power lust is the worst of all, for almost all other lusts are related to this one, especially if you have any inferiority problems. Power lust is the most devastating force for evil in human history. It doesn’t require leadership ability or a prominent position to have power lust. You can be at the lowest echelon, rejected by all, and have a strong power lust. Power lust is one of our greatest enemies. It comes in dozens of different packages and in all flavors.
b. Approbation lust is merely one of the extensions of power lust, and it is separate because some people do want approbation without power. A beautiful woman may not desire power at all, but she certainly wants someone to tell her she’s beautiful.
c. Stimulation lust has many parts, in which we cater to the nerve centers and functions of our body in the name of pleasure. (1) Sexual lust, or lasciviousness. (2) Drunkenness. (3) Drug addiction. (4) Mental stimulation or intellectual arrogance. 2 Tim 3:4, “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” Pleasure lust is a destroyer of honor, virtue, and integrity through sin and perpetual carnality. There is nothing wrong with pleasure as long as that pleasure does not involve sinful activity. Pleasure of the moment is not worth the displeasure of God.
d. Killer lust is the problem-solving device of the weak. Inferior people trying to prove they are superior often resort to violence, torture, murder. (Legitimate killing, within the confines of military function, police work, and capital punishment, is not the same as murder.) Murder often occurs within one’s own family, as with Cain. For once this lust comes, it does not discriminate between family, friends, or enemies. Some people live to kill, love to kill and lust to kill.
e. Anger lust or cruelty. Anger does not always bring out a cruel streak but definitely can. Some people are genetically mean and naturally cruel. Some people hide it well and some do not. This lust is the evil desire to hurt others, e.g., the object of one’s love, the object of one’s hatred, or anyone who causes you a problem. Some people cannot stand glitches, and when anyone opposes them, whether it is a loved one or an enemy or someone at work, cruelty lust surfaces. Some people by nature are kind; some people by nature are cruel. It starts as a genetic factor. However, both can also be developed, and can also be overcome by both believers and unbelievers. Variations in cruelty lust depend upon cosmic living.
f. Money lust is called by the Scripture the “root of all kinds of evil.” It expresses itself in all the categories of evil. (1) There is nothing wrong with having and acquiring money; that is not evil or sinful, as communist propaganda says. Marxism says people have no right to wealth; it belongs to the state. (2) The USA was founded not only by Anglo-Saxon culture but also by the Protestant work ethic, which went so far as to say that people who were wealthy were blessed by God or even spiritual. Now with the influence of Marxism, we take the opposite view. Between the two is the truth. (3) God does bless some people with money; God blesses other people in other ways. We must distinguish between the blessing of God in monetary success and the acquiring of money apart from any divine blessing. (4) One index to the soul of every person can be read loud and clear by his attitude toward money. This doesn’t mean that a person who saves is tight or stingy, nor that a big-time spender is necessarily generous. But one’s attitude toward money very clearly delineates one’s overall philosophy of life or one’s spiritual condition or lack of spiritual life. 1 Tim 6:10, “For the love for money is the root of all kinds of evil, and some by lusting for it have wandered away from doctrine and stabbed themselves with many griefs [heartaches].” (5) It is a very definite fact that love for money can distract people from Bible doctrine. Hebrews 13:5, “Let your life be free from the love for money, and be content [+H] with what you have. For He has said, ‘I will never leave you nor will I ever forsake you.’”
g. Crusader lust, which is Christian activism. Christian activism includes civil disobedience, criminality, paramilitary organizations, vigilante activities, social engineering, anti-Semitism, refusal to pay taxes, terrorism, utopian socialism.
A few more points related to lust:
1. Lust destroys the motivation of the believer to execute the protocol plan of God for the Church.
2. Lust is a distraction to the modus vivendi and modus operandi of the Christian way of life.
3. Lust divorces the believer from reality, causing unrealistic expectation which eliminates understanding and using the problem-solving devices.
4. Lust destroys spiritual self-esteem and replaces it with inordinate desire related to self-gratification.
A few points on apostasy (reversionism):
1. The believer who continues under the rule and authority of the old sin nature after his positional deliverance at salvation is under that category beyond carnality called reversionism.
2. Reversionism is a synonym for apostasy and is defined as the place of total failure for the believer. Reversionism is rejection of Bible doctrine.
3. Reversionism means to be controlled by the old sin nature with its trends toward sin, toward good, and toward evil.
4. To be dominated by the old sin nature after salvation means failure to attain maturity adjustment to the integrity of God, and therefore failure to receive the blessings of maturity by which we glorify God, and by which the love of God demonstrates the importance of the divine plan in the angelic conflict.
5. Condemnation from the justice of God to the reversionistic believer does imply divine discipline in three categories: warning, intensive, and dying.
Colossians 3:6
Because of which things [different aspects of phallic reversionism] the wrath [an anthropopathism] of God comes [upon believers in divine discipline and ultimately the Sin leading to physical Death].
Δι’ ἃ ἔρχεται ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ θεοῦ [ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῆς ἀπειθείας]·
The phrase, “upon the sons of disobedience” does not exist in the original text according to P46 (the Chester Beatty papyri are among the most important papyri which date from the 3rd century) Manuscript B (Codex Vaticanus is one of the best manuscripts of the New Testament) and Jerome, 347- 419 A.D. (420 A.D.) regarded as the most learned of the Latin Fathers].
When Christians reject authority, they enter apostasy (reversionism). While believers positive toward doctrine advance to maturity, execute the protocol plan of God, and become invisible heroes, a positive believer cannot maintain and continue momentum unless he maintains and continues the basis for doing so, which is authority orientation. Perception and application of doctrine is the only way to advance spiritually. Such perception absolutely demands authority orientation. For example, there is no way you can read your Bible for yourself and understand and execute God's protocol plan. That's why God has given the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher, Ephesians 4:11. Authority orientation is life orientation. Authority orientation is honor and humility.
Legitimate authority in the spiritual realm is established according to Scripture. Spiritual freedom is the function of the believer while Filled with the Holy Spirit inside the divine power system. Spiritual freedom is taught in such passages as: John 8:32, “You shall know the truth [Bible doctrine], and the truth shall make you free [spiritually].” Psalm 119:45, “I will walk in freedom; for I seek your doctrines.” Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Keep standing fast, and do not become entangled again in the yoke of slavery [living in the cosmic system].”
Colossians 3:7
In the sphere of which things [reversionism] you also walked [as unbelievers] once upon a time when you were living in them [in the different stages of reversionism].
ἐν οἷς καὶ ὑµεῖς περιεπατήσατέ ποτε ὅτε ἐζῆτε ἐν τούτοις.
Galatians 5:16, “But walk by means of the Holy Spirit, and you will never ever fulfill the lust of the flesh.” The believer is either under the authority of God the Holy Spirit, or he is under the tyranny of the sin nature. Qui non proficit, deficit. (He who does not advance in the spiritual life through thought retrogresses in the spiritual life through sinful or wrongfully applied emotion.)
Reversionism: (Going backward in the Spiritual Life)
The Stages of Reversionism:
1. Reaction and Distraction
Reacting emotionally to any form of pressure will produce stress in the soul resulting in the believer being distracted from the spiritual life. If a Christian does not have metabolized doctrine in his soul, he will react emotionally to difficulties, problems, pressures, calamities, disasters and catastrophes. This leaves the believer in a state of stress. If a Christian does have metabolized understanding of the Problem-Solving Devices, but chooses to react emotionally to his problems, pressures, calamities etc. then he also will experience stress in his soul. Only, when the Christian with doctrine chooses to apply divine power in the form of the Problem-Solving Devices to his problems, pressures etc. is he able to remain in fellowship with God the Holy Spirit and to continue to possess tranquility of soul.
People controlled by emotion and possessing false priorities easily succumb to fear when pressure occurs. If the Faith-rest drill or some other problem-solving device is not used when a person faces difficult problems or pressures, the believer will easily enter into a state of fear. In a state of fear and stress, he cannot solve his problems rationally. Only the stable Christian with doctrine in his soul can handle the pressures of life and glorify God.
Stress: Principles related to stress:
1. Adversity is outside pressure of life; stress is inside pressure of the soul.
2. Stress is caused by oneself; adversity is caused by other people and outside circumstances.
3. Adversity is inevitable; stress is optional.
4. Stress destroys the spiritual life of the believer. Therefore, the believer must name the sin which caused the stress to God the Father as soon as possible.
5. There is a definite relationship between stress and cognition, namely the more stress the lower is one’s cognition.
6. Stress makes a person forgetful and impairs the memory in regards to acquiring new knowledge. Therefore, stress impairs the ability to learn.
7. Stress affects a person's perception of reality. At the Red Sea the Jews with stress in their souls considered themselves already dead.
8. If a person remains in a stress situation too long, all his cognitive ability will be destroyed, and he will enter into a psychotic state.
Distraction from the spiritual life can also be caused by apathy, indifference and or wrong priorities etc. If one does establish correct priorities, he must organize his life around those priorities otherwise he will be distracted. For example, if you should decide that learning the Word of God is the number one most important factor in your life, then you will never miss the opportunity for the daily perception of God’s truth.
Only when the believer has acquired understanding of the spiritual life, and has extrapolated the Problem-Solving Devices from this understanding is he able to solve his problems, difficulties, pressures etc. and in so doing prevent reaction. Reaction is prevented by applying divine thought to the situation or persons etc. rather than reacting emotionally to people and difficult situations.
2. Frantic Search for Happiness
In this state of stress, the believer is unhappy. The unhappy believer will try to compensate for his unhappiness by pursuing some form of pseudo happiness. This pseudo happiness promised by the sin nature via lusts whether it be something innocuous like traveling or something more sinister like sin cannot make the believer happy since the believer can only be happy in fellowship with God operating under the two power options namely metabolized doctrine in the stream of consciousness and the Filling of the Spirit by which God the Spirit provides his omnipotence to enable the believer to learn, apply and advance in the spiritual life under His authority.
3. Operation Boomerang
Under Operation Boomerang, the believer’s unhappiness will intensify. If the believer out of fellowship with God gets what he thinks will make him happy, an illusion, he will become disillusioned because it cannot make him happy. As a matter of fact, nothing can make the believer happy when that believer is operating under the authority of his sin nature. On the other hand, if he does not get what he thinks will make him happy, he will become frustrated. In his frustration, he will continually tell himself that if only he could obtain such and such, he would be happy. This believer is deluding himself.
Under the miserable state of Operation Boomerang, the intensity of misery should cause the believer to understand that something is wrong and that he needs to get back into fellowship with the Spirit and get back to learning God’s plan. Only through the execution of God the Father’s plan can the believer ever obtain the great happiness that God intends for him to have.
4. Emotional Revolt of the Soul
Emotional revolt means that emotion replaces thought as the criterion by which one makes judgments and decisions. The believer becomes irrational, egocentric and unstable through emotion for emotion in itself is an empty physiological response; it contains no doctrinal content, no mental function, no norms and standards, and no common sense. The spiritual life cannot be executed through emotion, only through divine thought.
"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual persons [believers filled with the Spirit], but as unto carnal [fleshly, belonging to the sin nature], as childish ones [because emotion was their criterion] in Christ. I gave you milk [basic doctrine] to drink, not solid food [advanced doctrines], for you were not yet able [to receive it], moreover even now, you are still not able [to receive solid food]. For you are still carnal, for while [there is] jealousy and strife among you, are you not carnal and keep walking in conformity with men [unbelievers]? Yes, you are.” [Expects a ‘yes’ for an answer] (1 Corinthians 3:1-3)
Κἀγώ, ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἠδυνήθην λαλῆσαι ὑµῖν ὡς πνευµατικοῖς ἀλλ’ ὡς σαρκίνοις, ὡς νηπίοις ἐν Χριστῷ. 2 γάλα ὑµᾶς ἐπότισα, οὐ βρῶµα, οὔπω γὰρ ἐδύνασθε. ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ ἔτι νῦν δύνασθε, 3 ἔτι γὰρ σαρκικοί ἐστε. ὅπου γὰρ ἐν ὑµῖν ζῆλος καὶ ἔρις, οὐχὶ σαρκικοί ἐστε καὶ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον περιπατεῖτε;
"O, you Corinthians, our mouths [means of communication by Paul, Apollos, and Timothy] have been opened face to face with you [they had face to face teaching]; our right lobes have been enlarged [we were prepared]. Therefore, you have not been hindered by us [Paul, Apollos, Timothy], but you have been hindered by your emotions." (2 Corinthians 6:11-12)
Τὸ στόµα ἡµῶν ἀνέῳγεν πρὸς ὑµᾶς, Κορίνθιοι, ἡ καρδία ἡµῶν πεπλάτυνται· 12 οὐ στενοχωρεῖσθε ἐν ἡµῖν, στενοχωρεῖσθε δὲ ἐν τοῖς σπλάγχνοις ὑµῶν·
“For many keep on walking [living out of fellowship] whom many times I kept on telling you [warning you] and now even weeping [Paul wept privately when he realized that many Christians fail through emotions] I say [that they are; this elypsis indicates that Paul was choked-up emotionally] the enemies of the cross of Christ whose end is destruction [they will die the sin unto death] whose god is their emotions and whose glory [in resurrection body] is in their shame [they will experience shame at their evaluation]. They who keep on concentrating on earthly things [have no eternal values].” (Philippians 3:18, 19)
πολλοὶ γὰρ περιπατοῦσιν οὓς πολλάκις ἔλεγον ὑµῖν, νῦν δὲ καὶ κλαίων λέγω, τοὺς ἐχθροὺς τοῦ σταυροῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, 19 ὧν τὸ τέλος ἀπώλεια, ὧν ὁ θεὸς ἡ κοιλία καὶ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ αἰσχύνῃ αὐτῶν, οἱ τὰ ἐπίγεια φρονοῦντες.
5. Locked-in Negative Volition
Once emotion becomes the criterion for one’s life, that person no longer relies on thought to solve problems and so loses interest in learning God’s word. In effect, he locks himself into negative volition by always going to emotion when under some form of pressure rather than thought. He no longer can solve problems through thinking and so is unable to use the Problem-Solving Devices.
6. Black-out of the Soul
In demon influence, the soul of the unbeliever or reversionistic believer is infiltrated by false doctrine, called the "doctrine of demons" which comes through the vacuum of the mind.
1 Timothy 4:1, “But the Spirit [the Holy Spirit is the teacher of Bible doctrine] explicitly teaches that in latter periods of time [between the 1st and 2nd Advents] some [believers] will withdraw from doctrine, concentrating on deceitful personalities [demon evangelism through false teachers] and doctrines from demons.”
Τὸ δὲ πνεῦµα ῥητῶς λέγει ὅτι ἐν ὑστέροις καιροῖς ἀποστήσονταί τινες τῆς πίστεως, προσέχοντες πνεύµασιν πλάνοις καὶ διδασκαλίαις δαιµονίων,
The Christian must possess doctrine in the soul to prevent a vacuum from forming. Ephesians 4:17, "Therefore, I communicate this, and because of the Lord, I insist that you no longer walk as the Gentiles [unbelievers] walk in the vacuum of their mind [faculty of thinking]." When there is no divine truth in the soul, there is nothing to protect the believer and prevent him from believing the Satanic lies. One must understand that Satan is infinitely smarter than any human being and so without some protection from divine thought, the human will believe Satan’s lies. So, a vacuum created by an absence of divine truth will suck in Satanic thinking.
Τοῦτο οὖν λέγω καὶ µαρτύροµαι ἐν κυρίῳ, µηκέτι ὑµᾶς περιπατεῖν καθὼς καὶ τὰ ἔθνη περιπατεῖ ἐν µαταιότητι τοῦ νοὸς αὐτῶν,
7. Scar Tissue of the Stream of Consciousness
Ephesians 4:18, "They are darkened in their way of thinking [via a vacuum established which pulls into their soul false ideas, concepts and doctrines]; they have been alienated from the life of God because of ignorance which is in them [in their souls], because of the scar tissue of their right lobes."
ἐσκοτωµένοι τῇ διανοίᾳ ὄντες, ἀπηλλοτριωµένοι τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ θεοῦ, διὰ τὴν ἄγνοιαν τὴν οὖσαν ἐν αὐτοῖς, διὰ τὴν πώρωσιν τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν,
The believer is alienated from the spiritual life that is ‘from the life of God’ for two reasons namely ignorance of God’s plan and hardness [scar tissue] of the mentality of the soul. Ignorance begins the process; scar tissue or hardness of the mentality finishes the job. Blackout of the soul [Satanic cosmic thinking enters the soul] merely explains the mechanics of how the believer accumulates false ideas, concepts and doctrine when there is ignorance of God’s plan in his soul.
The soul was designed by God to function on truth. When truth is absent or rejected, and replaced by Satanic lies, the soul suffers injury which is called scar tissue.
8. Reverse Process Reversionism
This is the final stage of reversionism, a combination of the sixth and seventh stages. This results in the antithesis of being an invisible hero. Everything that is worthwhile and valuable in life is rejected; everything that is useless and nonsense is accepted. Prolonged residence out of fellowship causes a complete reversal of all mandates, all priorities, and all norms and standards related to the Protocol Plan of God. There is no integrity or honor remaining in the soul. The person now has evil motivation, thinking, decision making and actions.
2 Timothy 3:2-5 states, “For persons will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful ones and anti-establishment [totally irresponsible]. (3). Unloving [no capacity for love], implacable, malicious gossips, without self-control, violent and brutal [unreasonable in thinking and action], not lovers of intrinsic good [no spiritual values and skills]. (4). Treacherous [disloyal], thoughtless types [insensitive], having become pumped up with arrogance [manifests itself in legalism, socialism, crusader arrogance, activism, and civil disobedience], lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God [false priorities]. (5) Holding to a superficial form [outward appearance] of the spiritual life, but they themselves have disregarded its power [the two power options]; avoid such ones as these.”
ἔσονται γὰρ οἱ ἄνθρωποι φίλαυτοι, φιλάργυροι, ἀλαζόνες, ὑπερήφανοι, βλάσφηµοι, γονεῦσιν ἀπειθεῖς, ἀχάριστοι, ἀνόσιοι, (3) ἄστοργοι, ἄσπονδοι, διάβολοι, ἀκρατεῖς, ἀνήµεροι, ἀφιλάγαθοι, (4) προδόται, προπετεῖς, τετυφωµένοι, φιλήδονοι µᾶλλον ἢ φιλόθεοι, (5) ἔχοντες µόρφωσιν εὐσεβείας τὴν δὲ δύναµιν αὐτῆς ἠρνηµένοι· καὶ τούτους ἀποτρέπου
Some examples of Reverse Process Reversionism are as follows:
1. A lover of internationalism rather than patriotic nationalism.
2. A lover of one’s national enemy rather than loving his own country.
3. A husband pursuing girlfriends rather than loving his wife.
4. A wife responding to paramours rather than appreciating and respecting a faithful and loving husband.
5. Parents completely ignoring and neglecting the teaching and training of their own children, but placing them under the care of evil people rather than fulfilling their God-given responsibilities under the Laws of Divine Establishment.
6. The person who uses emotion as a criterion for decision-making rather than the gathering of facts for analysis and synthesis before making a decision.
7. A person who lives his life by deceit and pathological lying rather than integrity and honor.
8. The political authority who operates as a tyrant rather than as a servant of the people.
9. The person in authority who micromanages rather than operating under leadership principles.
10. The person who advocates socialism and communism rather than free market function as presented under the Laws of Divine Establishment.
11. The tree-huggers who think that preserving all trees in their natural state is better than turning these trees into homes and other worthwhile products.
12. The person who wants to preserve all animals at the expense of feeding and clothing people.
13. The person who is anti-military and desires to make his country defenseless before his country’s national enemies.
14. On the one hand, the person who loves rioters and on the other hand, hates police is functioning under Reverse Process Reversionism.
15. The judge who makes decisions based upon some leftwing ideology rather than on unbiased laws formed from an understanding of the Laws of Divine Establishment.
16. The juror who cast his vote to be easy on or to free a person convicted of a crime such as murder, rape, kidnapping, and drug racketeering rather than to remove this criminal permanently from society via capital punishment and in so doing honor the victim or victims.
17. The government confiscating the weapons of law-abiding citizens rather than protecting their property and encouraging the citizenry to use his weapons in the protection of family and property.
18. These are just a few examples of the function of Reverse Process-Reversionism.
The Christian in Reverse Process Reversionism will die the Sin unto Death.
1 John 5:16, "If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to [physical] death [the believer is not dying the sin unto death], he may ask [pray for him] and he [the Father] will give life [restore his physical well-being] to him, to the ones committing sins not leading to [physical] death [Job prayed for his friends as per Job 42:7-9]. There is a sin [missing the mark, failure] unto [leading to] death [physical death, the believer being executed by the Lord], and I do not say that you should pray concerning that one [concerning the death of King Saul as per 1 Chronicles 10:13, 14]."
Ἐάν τις ἴδῃ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἁµαρτάνοντα ἁµαρτίαν µὴ πρὸς θάνατον, αἰτήσει, καὶ δώσει αὐτῷ ζωήν, τοῖς ἁµαρτάνουσιν µὴ πρὸς θάνατον. ἔστιν ἁµαρτία πρὸς θάνατον· οὐ περὶ ἐκείνης λέγω ἵνα ἐρωτήσῃ.
If you know doctrine well enough to discern whether a fellow Christian is “growing in grace and knowledge” (2 Peter 3:18), and you discover that he is very sick and dying, you may pray for his recovery. However, if a Christian is dying from ‘the sin unto death’, you may not pray for him.
How do you know if a Christian is dying the ‘sin unto death?’ In some cases, you will not know. However, if a Christian knows nothing about the spiritual life because he has failed throughout his life to learn the Word of God and is dying, or if a Christian full of fear comes to you screaming “Help, help, I am dying – pray for me, please!” Then after a few questions, you discover that he knows nothing about the spiritual life, he is obviously dying ‘the sin unto death’.
Divine Discipline:
Definition and Description.
1. Divine discipline is the sum total of punitive action taken by the justice of God in grace to correct, to punish, to encourage, to train, and to motivate the believer with his free will toward the fulfillment of the Protocol Plan of God.
2. Divine discipline must be distinguished from the Law of Volitional Responsibility with its self-imposed, self-induced, and self- indulged forms of misery. Bad decisions not only destroy future options in life, but they result in tremendous misery manufactured by ourselves, for which we must take the responsibility. The resultant discomfort, misery, and unhappiness may last for a short or long period of time.
3. The Law of Volitional Responsibility means that we must take responsibility for our sins which bring about suffering and for bad judgment which can bring about great suffering. For example, a Christian may make himself very miserable through the lust pattern and subsequent sins related to stimulation such as alcohol and drugs to which the Lord will add divine discipline. By the same token, a believer may bring about tremendous suffering in his life through marrying the wrong person or marrying the right person before having the capacity for marriage. In most cases, this decision would not involve sin, but just bad judgment.
4. When we as believers get out of fellowship through sin, we bring suffering on ourselves since all forms of unrighteousness will make us miserable. If we do not use the most basic Problem-Solving Device namely the Recovery Procedure, we will continue in a state of carnality and cosmic living.
5. Distinguishing between carnality and reversionism (apostasy): Carnality is a brief stay in the Cosmic system; reversionism is a prolonged residence in the cosmic system.
6. Only in time are we, members of the royal family of God, disciplined through suffering. In the eternal state, there will not be any suffering for believers.
7. Punishment from God often follows the failure to use the Recovery Procedure. Every sin originates from our free will. Though temptation may come from the old sin nature or from some outside source, we make the decision to sin when we yield to some lust!
8. While God is the source of divine discipline, man's free will is the source of suffering under the Law of Volitional Responsibility. God uses His sovereignty and perfect judgment to know when it's time to warn us that we are out of fellowship, and to bring us back to reality with varying categories of punishment.
9. All divine discipline, except the Sin unto Death, is always designed to correct, to train, and to motivate.
Principle of Divine Discipline explained through analogy.
1. There is no such thing as a perfect child since all possess a sin nature. Therefore, if you as a parent have never spanked your child, you have failed! The child who is not properly trained and disciplined inevitably grows up to be a source of great misery to the parents. Generally, speaking, children are benefited from spanking, and they always feel better when it's over since it removes their arrogant preoccupation with self and places them back under the authority of their parents. Children functioning under the authority of their parents are in a state of humility and therefore, happy children. To the contrary, children rejecting the authority of their parents are in a state of arrogance and misery.
2. So, there is an analogy between children and believers. For as long as we live on this earth, we continue to have an old sin nature. We will never be free from sin; no one is perfect. Just as good parents discipline their children, so God disciplines the members of the Royal Family when they fail.
3. When we, through our own bad decisions, reject the authority of God the Holy Spirit, we are in a state of misery and may even hate ourselves until we get back into fellowship and under the authority of the Spirit. We're miserable under the Law of Volitional Responsibility.
4. God in His grace provides divine discipline. His divine discipline is motivated by love. God does not punish us because he likes to see us squirm! God is perfect, just, and fair; we are His children as royal family of God. Proverbs 3:12, "For whom the Lord loves, He disciplines by punitive action; therefore, like a father to a son in whom he delights."
5. Being fair and loving to your children means you will reward and bless them on certain occasions, and at other times you will discipline them. Being a parent is a very difficult life, because you love your children but you cannot cater to them. You must recognize their faults and train and punish them; you must also recognize when they succeed and reward them.
6. Hebrews 12:5-6, "And so you yourselves have forgotten a principle of doctrine which teaches you as sons [Prov 3:11-12], `My son, don’t make light of corrective discipline [warning discipline] from the Lord, nor be fainting when you are reproved by Him [intensive discipline]; for those whom the Lord loves, He disciplines [warning discipline], and He skins alive with a whip every son whom He receives [intensive discipline].'"
7. Divine discipline to the believer is parental training in the royal family of God. Like parental training, divine discipline is designed to inculcate humility, and from that humility, true objectivity for life. You are never oriented to life until you are objective. People who are basically subjective have a much more difficult time in learning from and receiving blessings from God's discipline.
8. Divine discipline teaches us as believers to be oriented to what we really are. The very fact that we receive warning discipline from God tells us we are divorced from reality, and that God is attempting to bring us back to reality and objectivity so that we can grow in grace and have all the wonderful assets which He has designed for us in our portfolio and in His Protocol Plan.
9. So, divine discipline is the way the Lord teaches the believer when he refuses to learn the easy way through perception and application of Biblical truth. Often what the believer fails to learn in the teaching of doctrine, God will teach him in another way, the hard way that is through divine discipline.
10. Remember that although divine discipline is suffering, it is just another method of divine teaching from the grace of God. All of us must learn certain things the hard way through divine discipline. So, we can learn the easy way, from our pastor-teacher, or we can learn the hard way namely divine discipline from God.
11. All suffering that occurs when the believer is in fellowship with the Spirit is designed for our blessing and growth. All suffering whether it is left-over suffering from divine discipline, from bad judgment, from bad health, and from undeserved suffering is designed for our spiritual momentum and growth.
12. When the Christian is suffering from divine discipline should use the Recovery Procedure, this suffering may be removed completely, be reduced or continue-on at the same intensity. Whatever is the case, it is now suffering for blessing.
Spheres of Divine Discipline.
1. Punishment in time: Hebrews 12:6-14, "For whom the Lord loves [Omniscience, righteousness, justice, sovereignty, omnipotence and grace are all involved], he punishes [warning discipline] and scourges [intensive discipline] every son whom he receives. [The omniscience of the Lord knows just when to administer corrective discipline to the believer. He knows when to administer warning discipline and when to place the believer under intensive discipline. This information is passed on to the righteousness of God which demands punishment for the failing believer, and what the righteousness of God demands via his sovereignty, the justice of God executes via his omnipotence in grace.] (7) Because of corrective discipline, endure [in the divine power system]; as a result, God will deal with you as sons; for what one is a son [a member of the Royal Family of God] whom the Father does not discipline? (8) But if you are without discipline, of which all believers have become participants, then you are bastards [illegitimate sons namely unbelievers] and not sons. (9) Furthermore, [another point] we used to have our human parents for corrective discipline [when we were young], and we respected them: to a greater degree, will we not become subordinate to the Father of our spirits [the human spirit], and continue living [not only will we not die the Sin unto Death, but we will live with capacity]? (10) For they [human parents], on the one hand, disciplined us for a short time [during childhood] according to what seemed best to them; but He [God], on the other hand, disciplines us for our profit, in order that we might receive a share of His holiness [blessing from God's integrity]. (11) So, on the one hand, all discipline while in progress appears to be an occasion not for happiness but sorrow; on the other hand, afterwards [after use of the Recovery Procedure], it pays back with interest a prosperous gain [resumption of momentum under the Two Power Options namely God’s power system]. (12) Therefore, restore to power [God’s power system] the listless hands and disabled knees [spiritually powerless when out of fellowship; so, this is a mandate to use the Recovery Procedure], (13) be making straight tracks by means of your feet [momentum in the spiritual life], in order that the cripple [believer in the Cosmic System] may not be put out of joint permanently, but rather be healed [restored through the Recovery Procedure]. (14) With all the royal family of God, keep moving toward the objective [spiritual maturity and the passing of Evidence Testing] which is prosperity [escrow blessings]; likewise, [unbelievers] aspire to holiness [the imputation of divine righteousness as part of the salvation package], without which no one will see the Lord."
2. There is no divine discipline during the interlude between physical death and the Rapture and for all eternity for both the winner and the loser (the believer who fails to execute God’s plan). During that interim, 2 Corinthians 5:8 tells us that every believer is absent from the body and face to face with the Lord. “We are of good courage I say [in the mortality stage] and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home face to face with the Lord [the interim stage when functioning in the interim body].”
Also, Luke 16:22-24 confirms the existence of an interim body after physical death, “Now it came to pass that the poor man died [of starvation, a historical event], and he was carried by angels [probably angelic officers, in honor of Lazarus’ status as a winner-believer] to Abraham’s bosom [a technical expression for a location in Paradise for the elite believers]; and the rich man also died and was buried. (23) In Hades [in the compartment called ‘Torments’] he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in a place of honor. (24) And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham [indicating that he was a Jew], have mercy on me [something Lazarus never said at the gate of the rich man], and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger [Lazarus in his interim body] in water and cool off my tongue [the tongue of the rich man in his interim body], for I am in agony in this flame.’”
This implies that we have an interim body while waiting for the resurrection of the Church. In this status quo, every believer has great happiness. This has great application of comfort for the loved ones of any believer who has died. Revelation 20:6, “Happy [mentioned in Revelation 1:3, 14:13, 16:15, 19:9, 20:6, 22:7, 22:14] and sanctified [emphasis on ultimate sanctification: receiving one’s resurrection body] is the one who has part in the first resurrection [all believers]. Over these, the second death [the Lake of Fire] has no authority, but they [a reference to the 144,000] will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years.”
Revelation 21:4 applies to both winners and losers in the eternal state. (We enter our eternal state upon physical death.), “and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes [removes suffering] furthermore, death shall no longer exist; neither shall there be any longer mental anguish [sorrow, sadness, grief], nor crying [a manifestation of all kinds of pain], nor physical pain; because the first things have [the old order of things has] passed away [culminative aorist: historical suffering from the viewpoint of the results].” Whether a believer failed or succeeded in the plan of God is no longer an issue after he has died, no matter how he has died.
3. At the Judgment Seat (Evaluation Platform) of Christ, there will be some shame for Christians who fail to execute the spiritual life. 1 John 2:28 applies: "And now, dear children [all believers], keep residing in it [the divine power system], that if He [Jesus Christ] should appear [Rapture], we might have confidence [as winners] and might not be put to shame [as losers] by Him in His presence [at the Evaluation Platform of Christ]." 2 Corinthians 5:10, "We must all appear before the Judgment Seat [Evaluation Platform] of Christ, that each one of us [Church Age believers] may receive what is due him for the things accomplished in the body, whether good or worthless [if worthless then shame]." Romans 5:5, "And confidence does not make us ashamed at the Judgment Seat [Evaluation Platform] of Christ." This implies some will be ashamed.
Purpose for Divine Discipline.
1. Punishment or punitive action from God is designed to train and teach us.
2. Revelation 3:19 states the purpose, "Those whom I love [God's personal love for all believers with perfect righteousness] I reprimand [warning discipline] and I punish [intensive discipline]; therefore, keep on being diligent [motivated, devoted] and change your thinking [about acknowledging your sins and learning doctrine].”
3. The purpose of divine discipline is to motivate the believer to recover residence inside the divine system, the only place we as royal family of God can execute the Protocol Plan of God.
4. Divine discipline is a warning that the believer is out of bounds and not executing God's plan, but functioning in Satan's Cosmic System.
5. As a perfect plan, God's plan must be executed in bounds, not out of bounds. Just as the referee blows the whistle, the flag is thrown, and the penalty is given when a player is out of bounds in a sports game, so God blows the whistle on us through the administration of punishment: divine discipline.
6. There are two systems of perception during the Church Age: Learning the easy way through the communication of doctrine from one's own right pastor-teacher. This system has unlimited opportunity for advance to maturity with its fantastic blessings. Secondly, learning the hard way through divine discipline from God, which has limited objectives to alert the cosmic believer that he's out of bounds, and to motivate his recovery through the function of the Recovery Procedure. Divine discipline reminds us that none of us ever get away with anything!
7. As a motivator to use the Recovery Procedure, and reside in our spiritual palace, God’s power system, we're given certain passages, such as 1 Corinthians 11:30-31, "For this reason [believers participating in the communion service out of fellowship and functioning in the Cosmic System], many believers are weak [warning discipline] and sick [intensive discipline], and a number of believers sleep [administration of the sin unto death], (31) but if we would judge ourselves [by the use of 1st John 1:9], we should not be judged."
8. When the believer uses the Recovery Procedure, the purpose for the suffering has changed from discipline to blessing. Furthermore, all suffering for blessing is designed to accelerate spiritual growth.
9. Once we are back in fellowship with God, one of three things occurs: First, the removal of all disciplinary suffering. Secondly, disciplinary suffering is diminished. Thirdly, disciplinary suffering continues at the same intensity. Job 5:17-18, "Behold, happy is the man whom God reproves. Therefore, do not despise the discipline of the Almighty; (18) for He inflicts pain [warning discipline] and He bandages the wound [after the use of the Recovery Procedure]. He wounds [intensive discipline] and His hands heal [after the use of the Recovery Procedure]."
10. In summary, most of our suffering comes from our own volition under the Law of Volitional Responsibility. However, when we ignore the suffering incurred from the Law of Volitional Responsibility and continue to live in the dungeon of the cosmic system, then God brings us back to reality through divine discipline.
Installment Discipline.
1. Occasionally, a believer will do something so drastic and horrible that eventually he will be faced with the Sin unto Death. Several believers in the Old Testament were in this stage when they rebounded (used the Recovery Procedure], named their sins to God the Father. Though the sin unto death was halted, and they were restored to fellowship, the repercussions from their sins were so great under the Law of Volitional Responsibility that they had to receive their discipline in separate installments. This explains recurring suffering that occurs over a long period of time.
2. The prolonged residence in the Cosmic System and the very nature of the sins committed warrants this system of discipline.
3. Whenever warning discipline, intensive discipline, and the approaching maximum discipline of the sin unto death have accumulated numerous categories of punishment so that the combined punishment is unbearable, and then the Recovery Procedure is used, the discipline is given in installments so that the believer can bear it.
4. In fact, installment discipline is the alternative to the Sin unto Death in some cases. You're still alive, but barely! You're alive by the use of the Recovery Procedure and the grace of God. The discipline is so great that it must be meted out in installments so that you can handle it.
5. David is the classic illustration of installment discipline. Out of fellowship from his failure to enter into battle as the commander of his army, he became bored from lying around his castle, and having seen Bathsheba bathing on her rooftop, David lusted for her and subsequently seduced Bathsheba and as the result of her becoming pregnant he made a further bad decision to murder her husband, Uriah the Hittite.
6. After about a year of tremendous suffering and discipline, David used the Recovery Procedure related to this adultery, murder and other sins as well. He was told that he would live, but that he would pay four-fold. David's first installment of discipline was the death of his first son from Bathsheba. This was cursing by association as a result of his adultery (possibly even rape). The second installment of discipline came much later, after a lapse of at least 7-8 years. This was the rape of David's daughter Tamar by her half-brother Amnon. This matched David's seduction (rape) of Bathsheba. The third installment was the murder of Amnon by his half-brother Absalom. This matched David's murder of Uriah the Hittite, Bathsheba's husband. The fourth installment came 1-2 years later, in the form of the Absalom Revolution. For just as David rebelled against God in all these sins and evil, so Absalom rebelled against his father, the King and removed David from his throne temporarily. When a believer like David or any other believer gets involved in sin and great evil, and stays out of fellowship for a prolonged period of time, his discipline from the Lord is going to be great. In David’s case, he was out of fellowship for approximately a year and so had accumulated so much discipline, that it had to be paid-off in installments. David received these four installments of discipline over a period of about fifteen years.
7. Installment discipline provides breathing space for spiritual progress, so that the believer can receive blessing from the discipline. In David’s case, he advanced between each phase of installments so that cursing was turned into blessing. Some of David's greatest Psalms were written during the Absalom Revolution while David was out in the bush, having lost everything.
Psalm 32: David’s Recovery of Fellowship
A Maskil [a poem of enlightenment or wisdom] of David:
:לְדָוִד, מַשְׂכִּיל
Psalm 32:1. How happy [blessed] is he [the believer] whose transgression is forgiven [transgress a known prohibition], whose sin is covered [a reference to the Atonement].
.אַשְׁרֵי נְשׂוּי-פֶּשַׁע; כְּסוּי חֲטָאָה
The intensive stage of divine discipline as found in verses 1-5. It has to do with David’s great sin of adultery and murder.
In the Hebrew the word for happiness is esher though usually found in the plural ashere.
Psalm 32:2. How happy [blessed] is the person to whom the Lord does not impute the punishment of iniquity [The penalty for all sins was imputed to Christ on the cross. So, when the believer gets back into fellowship, the suffering related to discipline may remain at the same intensity, be reduced or removed altogether] and in whose life there is no deceit [negligence related to not using the Recovery Procedure].
אַשְׁרֵי אָדָם--לֹא יַחְשֹׁב יְהוָה לוֹ עָוֺן; וְאֵין בְּרוּחוֹ רְמִיָּה.
The Arrogance Skills:
1. Self-Justification (rationalizing away one’s sins)
2. Self-Deception (lying to oneself)
3. Self-Absorption (full of mental attitude sins in subjectivity)
Psalm 32:3. When I kept silent [about his sin; he did not use the Recovery Procedure for about a year], my body [bones] wasted away through my groanings [tremendous mental anguish affecting his physical health; psychosomatic illness] all day long [great suffering related to self-induced misery and intensive divine discipline].
כִּי-הֶחֱרַשְׁתִּי, בָּלוּ עֲצָמָי-- בְּשַׁאֲגָתִי, כָּל-הַיּוֹם.
Psalm 32:4. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me [intensive divine discipline]; my vitality was sapped as in the heat of summer. "Selah" [the singer rests his voice while the orchestra plays an interlude; to relax after getting back into fellowship, the mechanics of which are explained in the next verse]
כִּי, יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה-- תִּכְבַּד עָלַי, יָדֶךָ:
נֶהְפַּךְ לְשַׁדִּי-- בְּחַרְבֹנֵי קַיִץ סֶלָה.
Psalm 32:5. Then, I acknowledged my sin to you [God the Father after being out of fellowship for quite some time] and did not hide [cover up] my iniquity. I said, "I will acknowledge my transgressions [adultery, murder, lying, guilt, fear, worry and other sins as well] to the Lord," and you forgave the guilt [all the wrong-doing associated with being out of fellowship including the sin of guilt; David was especially grateful that he had been totally forgiven so that there was no reason for any guilt] of my sin. "Selah" [the singer rests his voice while the orchestra plays an interlude; to relax after getting back into fellowship]
חַטָּאתִי אוֹדִיעֲךָ, וַעֲוֺנִי לֹא-כִסִּיתִי--
אָמַרְתִּי, אוֹדֶה עֲלֵי פְשָׁעַי לַיהוָה;
וְאַתָּה נָשָׂאתָ עֲוֺן חַטָּאתִי סֶלָה.
Psalm 32:6. Therefore, let all who are grace oriented [the grace orientation of a mature believer] pray to you in a time of attainment [of spiritual maturity] as to the flood of great waters [historical crisis], to him only [the mature believer who is on dry ground], they [the flooding of great waters] shall not approach [historical disaster will not destroy the mature believer].
עַל-זֹאת, יִתְפַּלֵּל כָּל-חָסִיד אֵלֶיךָ לְעֵת מְצֹא:
רַק, לְשֵׁטֶף מַיִם רַבִּים אֵלָיו, לֹא יַגִּיעוּ.
Psalm 32:7. [The mature believer in prayer says] You are my hiding place [my protection from disaster]; from disaster, you will protect me, and you will surround me with shouts of deliverance [from the conspiracies and disasters]. "Selah" [David can rest in the Lord]
אַתָּה, סֵתֶר לִי מִצַּר תִּצְּרֵנִי:
רָנֵּי פַלֵּט; תְּסוֹבְבֵנִי סֶלָה.
Because David remained out of fellowship with God so long, his prestige and government were in disarray. During this time of weakness, many of David’s enemies saw this as an opportunity to attack.
Psalm 32:8. I [God speaking to David] will instruct you and teach you [through suffering both deserved and undeserved] in the way you should go [the believer advancing in the spiritual life]; I will guide you [through metabolized doctrine in your soul] with my eyes on you [the Lord will provide logistically the doctrine David will need for his advance and for handling his installment discipline].
אַשְׂכִּילְךָ, וְאוֹרְךָ--בְּדֶרֶךְ-זוּ תֵלֵךְ; אִיעֲצָה עָלֶיךָ עֵינִי.
Psalm 32:9. Do not be like the horse or the mule [so dumb that they only learn through unbearable suffering], which have no understanding [analogous to rejection of truth and so to learn the hard way] but must be controlled by bit and bridle [the horse and mule learn through their sensitive mouth, through suffering: analogous to our Lord disciplining the believer lacking understanding of Bible doctrine] or otherwise, they [horse and mule] will not come to you [without suffering, you cannot control them].
אַל-תִּהְיוּ, כְּסוּס כְּפֶרֶד אֵין הָבִין:
בְּמֶתֶג-וָרֶסֶן עֶדְיוֹ לִבְלוֹם; בַּל, קְרֹב אֵלֶיךָ.
Psalm 32:10. The evil believer [the degenerate believer] has many sufferings [warning, intensive and dying discipline], but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him [the believer who uses the enhanced faith-rest drill]
רַבִּים מַכְאוֹבִים, לָרָשָׁע: וְהַבּוֹטֵחַ בַּיהוָה--חֶסֶד, יְסוֹבְבֶנּוּ.
Psalm 32:11. Rejoice [expression of happiness] in the Lord [occupation with the Lord] and be happy [resulting from your relationship with the Lord], you righteous ones [mature believers]; be caused to celebrate all you who are upright in the stream of consciousness [integrity in the soul, a reason for celebration]!
שִׂמְחוּ בַיהוָה וְגִילוּ, צַדִּיקִים; וְהַרְנִינוּ, כָּל-יִשְׁרֵי-לֵב
Psalm 118:17-18, “I [possibly David] will not die [the Sin unto Death], but live, and tell of the works of the Lord. (18) The Lord has disciplined me severely, but He has not given me over to death [the Sin unto Death].”
Colossians 3:8
But now, you also [believers in Colossi and others in the Lycus Valley who have changed their thinking about their spiritual apostasy and so desire recovery] begin to lay aside [can be used to remove dirty clothes; the believer in apostasy as it were wears filthy clothes] all these: [types of reversionism] mental anger [which harbors hatred], emotional anger [explosive anger, tantrums], malice [a desire to hurt or destroy others], slander [insults], and abusive language [designed to hurt someone] from your mouth,
νυνὶ δὲ ἀπόθεσθε καὶ ὑµεῖς τὰ πάντα, ὀργήν, θυµόν, κακίαν, βλασφηµίαν, αἰσχρολογίαν ἐκ τοῦ στόµατος ὑµῶν·
The Greek verb apotithemi in the aorist tense meaning to lay aside refers to the believers of Colossi who have faced the reality of their adverse spiritual condition and want to do something about it. They are in the process of recovery which includes the continuous decision to use the Recovery Procedure as the occasion arises, and the decision to learn the spiritual life from Paul and their right pastor.
Anger, definition of: Anger is a sin which expresses antagonism, hatred, exasperation, resentment, and irrationality. It can be based on thinking, or emotional, or both. The Greek word ὀργη (orge) is anger based on thought; the word θυµος (thumos) is anger based on emotion. Both types of anger are reactions to someone or something causing a bitter reaction and resulting in irrational thought, speech or action. Anger motivates gossip, judging, maligning, hatred, revenge, cruelty, violence and murder.
Some people might justify their anger (or any other sin) by saying it is a ‘natural reaction’ that can’t be stopped. This kind of thinking indicates a failure to take responsibility for one’s own thinking and behavior. To show that anger results from a volitional decision to become angry, let me present the following true story: One time a man was made to appear before a judge and sentenced for reckless driving, a result of his ‘road-rage’. As part of his punishment, he was ordered to seek psychiatric help to control his anger. At the first session he explained to the psychiatrist that there was no way he would ever cure his road-rage because it was an uncontrollable reaction, occurring every time some other driver cut in front of him. The psychiatrist suggested that they go for a drive, and as they approached the freeway, the psychiatrist said to the man (who was driving the car), “Every time a car cuts in front of you, I will give you 20 dollars.” Not long after that, a car cut in front of them, but instead of getting angry the man was happy - of course! In this instance the man was motivated by the promise of money not to become angry, but for the Christian the motivation not to become angry is far greater than money: peace in the soul, escape from divine discipline, and the opportunity to advance in the spiritual life.
Principles and scriptural verses related to anger:
1. Anger and cruelty are sometimes related to jealousy: “Wrath is fierce [cruel] and anger is a flood [affects all in its periphery], but who can stand against jealousy [a powerfully evil motivation]” (Proverbs 27:4). These sins are mentioned in the same verse since they are related to one another. A jealous person easily becomes angry when crossed, and that anger can become extreme anger (wrath) which can develop into a desire for vengeance, and vengeance can be mercilessly cruel. In this relationship, the power base is jealousy.
2. Anger is related to stupidity: “Do not be hasty to be angry in your heart [soul] for anger resides in the bosom of fools.” (Ecclesiastes 7:9). A person is never able to think rationally when angry, which is why many stupid and embarrassing things are said and done in anger. If you become angry easily under pressure, you are a stupid fool. You are a fool because you have not learned to think under pressure. A fool becomes emotional under pressure; a wise person thinks under pressure.
3. While an individual’s volition is the source of anger, the sin nature provides the temptation to become angry: “Now, the works [actions] of the flesh [sin nature] are plainly seen [perceptible; can be understood] which are … antagonisms [hostile feelings and actions toward others related to pettiness], strife (discord), jealousy, outburst of anger. . .” (Galatians 5:19, 20).
4. An angry and hot-tempered person is a trouble maker: “An angry person stirs up strife, and a hot-tempered person abounds in transgression.” (Proverbs 29:22).
5. Anger destroys a nation: “So decrees the Lord, ‘For three sins of [the nation of] Edom, even for four, I will not revoke its punishment because he pursued his brother [the descendants of Jacob] with a sword, stifling all compassion, because his anger raged continually, and he maintained his anger forever.’” (Amos 1:11).
6. Anger is associated with grieving the Holy Spirit: “Stop grieving the Holy Spirit, the God by whom you have been sealed to the day of redemption [of the body]. Let all bitterness: even wrath, and anger, and clamor, and slander be removed from you along with all malice [the desire to hurt].” (Ephesians 4:30, 31)
7. The Christian is commanded to remove anger from his lifestyle: “But now you also put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.” (Colossians 3:8).
8. Anger hinders effective prayer: “Therefore, I desire that men in every place pray, lifting up holy hands [Jewish tradition] without anger and dissension.” (1 Timothy 2:8).
9. Do not associate with a person who easily becomes angry. If you do, you will take on his characteristics and easily get into trouble: “Do not associate with a man [become friends] given to anger or go with a hot-tempered man, or you will learn his ways and find a snare for yourself.” (Proverbs 22:24, 25).
10. Do not go to sleep with anger in your soul. Ephesians 4:26, “You keep on being angry [present indicative, not the present imperative]; now stop sinning [anger is a sin]. The sun must not set upon your anger [Don’t go to sleep with the unconfessed sin of anger].”
The Greek verb οργιζεσθε (orgizesthe) can be either the present active imperative or the present active indicative since they are the same form in Greek. Now, which translation makes more sense to you: “Be angry” or “You are angry”? Some Bibles actually have the command “Be angry.” That translator had to have been on dope! Why would Paul command the Ephesians to be angry? Rather, Paul recognizes that they were angry and commands them to stop being angry.
Many of the Ephesians were not only angry, they were angry for weeks, for months, for years. You should always name any sin as soon as possible and then apply some promise, principle or doctrine to resolve that matter so that you will remain in fellowship, after regaining it, and definitely never go to sleep until you have solved the problem of anger. Never let anger persist beyond a day.
Remember that you are responsible for your attitude, and therefore have no right to blame anyone else if you do become angry. While a person or organization may commit an injustice against you, this is no excuse to get angry. Rather, it is an opportunity to apply Bible doctrine that you might pass the test placed before you and advance in your spiritual walk.
Whenever you are tempted to become angry, meditate on God’s solutions and in your relationship with the Lord. In this way, for example, David was able to prevent the temptation of anger from becoming a sin as mentioned in Psalm 4. Although David was being treated unfairly, he was able to maintain his experiential righteousness through the application of God’s Word. “Tremble with reaction or agitation [to some injustice], yet do not sin; Meditate in your heart [on Bible doctrine in your soul] upon your bed and be still [no retaliation]. Selah.” (Psalm 4:4)
Colossians 3:9
Stop lying to one another of the same kind [fellow Christians], having disarmed the old man [sin nature] together with its modus operandi [its practices of disgraceful deeds].
µὴ ψεύδεσθε εἰς ἀλλήλους, ἀπεκδυσάµενοι τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον σὺν ταῖς πράξεσιν αὐτοῦ,
A few points for clarification:
1. The believer who continues under the rule and authority of the old sin nature after his positional deliverance at salvation is under that category beyond carnality called reversionism.
2. Reversionism is a synonym for apostasy and is defined as the place of total failure for the believer. Reversionism is rejection of Bible doctrine.
3. Reversionism means to be controlled by the old sin nature with its trends toward sin, toward good, and toward evil.
4. To be dominated by the old sin nature after salvation means failure to attain maturity adjustment to the integrity of God, and therefore failure to receive the blessings of maturity by which we glorify God, and by which the love of God demonstrates the importance of the divine plan in the angelic conflict.
5. Condemnation from the justice of God to the reversionistic believer does imply divine discipline in three categories: warning, intensive, and dying.
A few more points:
1. Though the sin nature is the source of temptation, human volition is the source of sin.
2. The Sin Nature can tempt in three areas – sin, human good and evil, but it cannot succeed apart from the volition of the soul.
3. The volition of the soul guards the gate of the soul from the sin nature’s temptation.
4. Therefore, no one ever sins apart from his own consent or function of his own volition.
5. Whether sins of ignorance or sins of cognizance, the volition is involved in every sin. Therefore, ignorance is no excuse, and mental illness is no excuse, since the volition of both an ignorant person and a mentally ill person is still operational.
6. While the sin nature is located in the body, it must persuade the volition of the soul to yield to temptation in order for sin to occur.
7. When the sin nature’s temptations become sin through human consent, the sin nature gains controls over the soul, and the believer enters into the cosmic system.
8. The sin nature, therefore, is Satan’s inside agent recruiting for the cosmic system.
9. Therefore, the believer is only pure and free from sin when he is functioning under the two power options.
10. Lawlessness is residence and function in the cosmic system. When the Christian functions outside of the spiritual life, he is in total violation of God’s authority and laws.
Colossians 3:10
And having put on the new [renewed spiritual growth] being renewed because of metabolized doctrine according to the image of the One [Jesus Christ in hypostatic union as per Luke 2:40, 52 via the Prototype Spiritual Life] having created him [the Christian at the point of his salvation was created a new spiritual species by being clothed with certain assets and attributes of Christ; this is confirmed in Ephesians 2:10].
καὶ ἐνδυσάµενοι τὸν νέον τὸν ἀνακαινούµενον εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν κατ’ εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος αὐτόν,
We are conformed to the Image of the humanity of Christ through spiritual advance etc. The Christian should be motivated in his spiritual life to reflect his having been created a new spiritual species. So, using Christ as his role model, he should be motivated to imitate the Prototype Spiritual Life of the humanity of Christ.
Romans 8:29, “[We know] that whom He foreknew [the believer was in the mind of God in eternity past] He also predestined conformed ones [via Positional, Experiential and Ultimate Sanctification] to the image of His Son [Experiential Sanctification: Jesus lived the Prototype Spiritual Life; Ultimate Sanctification: Jesus glorified via His resurrection, ascension and session at the right hand of God the Father], that He might be the first-born among many brethren [Church age believers].”
2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all with an unveiled face [The Church age believer has an unveiled face as he is learning the mystery age doctrine just as Moses on the mountain had an unveiled face when he was receiving the Mosaic Law.] seeing in a mirror the glory of the Lord [Problem-Solving Device 10] being transferred into the same image [the image of the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ as he walked on the earth] from glory [the glory of the humanity of Jesus Christ under the Filling of the Spirit] to glory [The Spirit filled life of the believer who executes the Protocol Plan of God] as it were from the Lord, the Spirit [the Holy Spirit].”
Luke 2:40, 52, “And the Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. (52) And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
Prototype Spiritual Life:
Jesus filled with the Spirit as prophesized in Isaiah 11:2
The seven spirits are titles related to the teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit first to the humanity of Christ and then to the Church Age believers.
These 7 titles are found in Isaiah 11:2 and are as follows:
1. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him (The Holy Spirit’s power)
2. The Spirit of wisdom (wisdom extrapolated from truth and applied to people, circumstances, sufferings etc.)
3. The Spirit of perception (the means of learning doctrine)
4. The Spirit of counsel (the Spirit counsels through metabolized doctrine)
5. The Spirit of strength (the Spirit produces strength in the soul)
6. The Spirit of knowledge (the Spirit, the teacher of divine knowledge)
7. The Spirit who provides respect for the Lord [God the Father]
Jesus Christ the Creator of all things: The Greek word ktizo to create:
1. Matthew 19:4, "And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created [ὁ κτίσας; the Hebrew barah] them [the souls of Adam and Ishah] from the beginning made them male and female [souls: a reference to Genesis 1:27].”
2. Genesis 1:27, “So, God created [the Hebrew verb barah out of nothing]
the man in His shadow image, in the image of God. He created [out of nothing] him. Male and female, He created them [created out of nothing their souls].”
3. Romans 1:25, “for they exchanged the truth of God [understood at God-consciousness] for the lie, and they worshiped and served the creature [Satan and his cosmic system] rather than the Creator [παρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα: the Lord Jesus Christ], who is worthy of praise and glorification forever, Amen.”
4. Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his creation [ποίηµα], having been created [κτισθέντες] in Christ Jesus [a new spiritual species with many assets] for the purpose of divine good production [via experiential sanctification] which the God [the Father] has prepared in advance [in eternity past, God the Father provided election and predestination as part of our Portfolio of Invisible Assets], that we in the sphere of them [election and predestination] may pattern our lives.”
5. Ephesians 3:9, “and to make perspicuous [culminative aorist] to all [church age believers] what is the dispensation of the mystery which has been concealed [hidden: a consummative perfect] from the ages [past dispensations] in the God [God the Son, the location of concealment] who has created [culminative aorist] all things [τῷ τὰ πάντα κτίσαντι].
6. Ephesians 4:24, “And put on the new man [by advancing to the high ground of spiritual maturity] which on the basis of the provision of God has been created [κτισθέντα] by integrity [far greater than morality] and the sacredness of the truth [the infallible word of God].”
7. Colossians 1:16, "Because by agency of Him, all things [the universe, angels, and the soul of man] were created [the aorist tense of ἐκτίσθη indicating a point of time in which creation out of nothing took place] both in the heavens [angels] and on earth [the souls of the two humans]; visible [human souls in bodies seen by angels] and invisible [the structure of the universe and angels not seen by humans], whether human governments [of national entities], or constituted authorities, or rulers [angelic hierarchy] and authorities [angelic bureaucracy], all things stand created [perfect passive indicate of ἔκτισται; it has been completed] through Him and for him [for his purpose].”
8. Psalm 148:2, 5, “Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly armies. (5) Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded, and they were created [barah: instantaneously out of nothing].”
9. 1 Timothy 4:3, “men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created [ἔκτισεν] to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.”
10. Revelation 10:6, “And he [the powerful angel, the King of Arms] took a solemn oath by Him [Lord Jesus Christ] who lives forever and ever, who created both the heaven and the things in it, and the earth and things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there shall be no more delay [after the 7th trumpet has been sounded, there will no longer be a delay regarding the return of Jesus Christ at the 2nd Advent].”
Colossians 3:11
In which place [in union with Christ] there does not exist either Greek [Gentile] or Jew [racial equality], or circumcision [religious ritual is excluded as meritorious in positional truth] or uncircumcision, whether Barbarians or Scythians [no cultural distinction], slave or free [no social distinction], but Christ is all things [our happiness, our purpose in life, our destiny in time and eternity etc.], and the cause of all things [Jesus Christ provided our so great salvation and made us a New Spiritual Species in union with Him].
ὅπου οὐκ ἔνι Ἕλλην καὶ Ἰουδαῖος, περιτοµὴ καὶ ἀκροβυστία, βάρβαρος, Σκύθης, δοῦλος, ἐλεύθερος, ἀλλὰ [τὰ] πάντα καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν Χριστός.
Current Positional Truth:
In the Church Age, Current Positional Truth establishes our relationship with Christ as opposed to religion. It refers to the Church Age believer in union with Christ and is the key to understanding the Church Age and how the royal family came into being. Therefore, it is the basis for distinguishing between Christianity and religion. Christianity is a relationship with God without merit whereas religion is a system of works to gain the approbation of God. Never shall the twain meet!
The mechanics of Current Positional Truth is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, whereby the Spirit enters us into union with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For also by agency of one Spirit we are all baptized [identification resulting in becoming a new spiritual species] into one body [in union with Christ], whether Jews or Greeks [racial distinctions are removed], whether slave or free [class and economic distinctions are removed], even all were made to drink [the aorist passive, the voice of grace] the one Spirit [The Holy Spirit did not ask us whether we wanted to be put into union with Christ or not.].” Ephesians 4:5, “One Lord [becomes our Lord positionally at Salvation]), one faith [faith alone in Christ alone; Acts 16:31], one baptism [Baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at salvation].”
Current Positional truth guarantees that there will be no judgment for believers in eternity, Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Thus, the condemnation which occurred at the first birth was removed at the 2nd birth. As a result of being born with the sin nature and the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin, we were condemned to the Lake of Fire for all eternity, but now that has been removed. Romans 5:12, “For this reason just as through one man [Adam] the sin [nature] entered into the world [via procreation], and so spiritual death through the sin [the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin to the sin nature], and so spiritual death spread to all mankind, because all sinned when Adam sinned [since we were all genetically in Adam when he sinned, we will receive Adam’s Original Sin].” However, at our spiritual birth, the 2nd birth, our pre-salvation sins were all forgiven including Adam’s Original Sin. After which, the Spirit entered us into union with Christ where there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1).
Current Positional truth qualifies the believer to live with God forever. To live with God forever, the believer must have eternal life and God’s perfect righteousness, 1 John 5:11-12, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life, and this life is in his son [Since we are in union with Christ, we share this life.]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].” 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And He [the Father] made Him who knew no sin [perfection] to be a sin offering [imputation of sins on the cross] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [current positional truth].” To live with God forever means you must have eternal life, and you must have a form of perfect righteous. For us, that form of perfect righteousness has been imputed to us at our second birth.
Positional truth guarantees the believer’s eternal security, Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death [nothing in death] nor life [nothing in life] nor angels nor principalities [ruling angels] nor powers [human organizations] nor things present nor things to come (39) nor height [nothing in heaven] nor depth [nothing in Hades] nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal life in Christ is for all eternity!
Positional truth belongs to all categories of believers whether they be apostate, mature, immature, spiritually adult, or carnal. Since Current Positional Truth occurs at the point of salvation before experience in the Christian life begins, it doesn’t depend on that experience. 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus [at salvation], called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.” So, even though you may be carnal or in reversionism, you still have positional truth. Being in union with Christ has nothing to do with what you do [experiential righteousness], or don’t do [failure to execute God’s plan]. Current Positional sanctification is completely the work of God the Holy Spirit and so is not based upon our volition, but on the sovereign decision of God. We make the decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but we don’t make the decision to enter into union with Christ “all were made to drink the one Spirit” as per 1 Corinthians 12:13. God the Holy Spirit graciously did that for us and so it cannot be undone.
Current Positional truth creates a new spiritual species in Christ as per 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power; behold, new things have come to pass.” You become a new spiritual species at salvation by being put into union with Christ. It is what God does for you, and therefore it is grace. It is not what you do after salvation, such as the self-righteous works of legalism. The “old things” have to do with spiritual death and those things related to that death; the “new things” refer to things you receive at salvation such as the 40 assets and the unique spiritual life.
Positional truth should motivate the production of divine good and a pattern of life compatible with royalty as per Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his creation, having been created in Christ Jesus [a new spiritual species with many assets] for the purpose of divine good production [via experiential sanctification] which the God [the Father] has prepared in advance [in eternity past, God the Father provided election and predestination as part of our Portfolio of Invisible Assets], that we in the sphere of them [election and predestination] may pattern our lives.”
Even though a Christian may die the Sin unto Death, he will not lose his position in union with Christ, and so cannot lose his salvation. In order for a believer to lose his position in Christ, he would have to sin in that status, but since the believer cannot sin in union with Christ, he cannot lose his position in Christ and so cannot lose his salvation. Thus, it is comforting and reassuring to a believer to know that even though a loved one may have died the ‘sin unto death’, he has not lost his salvation. 1 John 5:18-20, “We [those who understand that the Christian cannot fail in union with Christ] know that everyone who has been born [regeneration at salvation] from God does not sin [in union with Christ], but He [the humanity of Christ] who has been born from God [the Holy Spirit provided the 23 chromosomes at the point of Mary’s conception], keeps watch over him [the believer] and the evil one [Satan] does not snatch him away [Cannot remove his salvation]. (19) We know that we are of God, and that the whole world [the unbelievers] lies in the [power] of the evil one [through demon influence]. (20) And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us [spiritual] understanding [a spiritual I.Q.: human I.Q. plus the Filling of the Holy Spirit equals spiritual I.Q.] in order that we might know the true one [the Lord] and we are in the true one [this introduces the interpretive doctrine], in his son Jesus Christ [positionally]. This one is the true God and eternal life.”
Because we are in union with Christ, we share His:
1. Eternal life, 1 John 5:11, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life [At salvation, God the Father imputes this life to the human spirit], and this life is in his son [The Christian also shares the life of Christ through union with Him]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].”
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth and the life [eternal life]; no person [in human history] comes face to face with the Father [having an eternal relationship with the Father] except through Me.’”
2. Perfect righteousness, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And he (God the Father) made him [Jesus] who knew no sin (perfection) to be a sin offering as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him [positional truth]. Sharing the righteousness of Christ, we become the objects of God the Father’s love as per Romans 8:39.
3. Election, Ephesians 1:4, “just as He [the Father] has elected us for Himself in Him [Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world [in eternity past], that we may be set apart [experiential sanctification] and blameless [ultimate sanctification] in the presence of Him [Father].
4. Destiny, Ephesians 1:5, “By means of love, He has predestined us for the purpose of adoption as adult sons to Himself through Christ Jesus our Lord according to the grace purpose of His will.”
5. Sonship, Galatians 3:26, “For you are all sons [children] of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
6. Heirship, Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit Himself testifies together [bears witness] with our [human] spirit, that we are the children of God. (17) Now, if we are children and we are, also heirs, on the one hand heirs of God [the Father], and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed [if it is true that], we suffer with Him [pass all three stages of undeserved suffering], that also we might be glorified with Christ.”
7. Sanctification, 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.”
8. Priesthood, Hebrews 7:12-19, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change in the Law also. (13) For the One [the Lord Jesus Christ] concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe [the tribe of Judah] from which no one has officiated at the altar. (14) For it is evident that our Lord has descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests, (15) and this is clearer still, if another priest arises similar to Melchizedek, and there has, (16) who has become a priest not on the basis of physical requirement [a reference to the Levitical Priesthood] but on the basis of indestructible life [the Lord’s priesthood is forever]. (17) For this reason, it is witnessed, ‘You are a priest forever similar to the order of Melchizedek.’” [We are in union with Christ. Therefore, we are royalty and priests forever. We represent ourselves before God as royal priests.] (18) For, on the one hand, there is a rescinding of the former commandment [the Mosaic Law that authorized the Levitical priesthood] because of its weakness and uselessness (19) (for the Law brought nothing to completion), but on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope [the second door of hope for the Church Age believer—a personal sense of destiny—by which we enter the adult spiritual life] through which we draw near to God.”
Hebrews 7:26-28, “For it is fitting that we should have such a high priest, impeccable integrity, the One who cannot do evil, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; (27) Who does not need daily, like those Levitical priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He [Jesus] offered up Himself. (28) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of His [God the Father’s] oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has become perfect forever [Jesus Christ is a perfect high priest].”
9. Royalty, 1 Peter 2:9, “ But you and only you are an elect [elected by God the Father] race [as a new spiritual species], a royal priesthood [since Jesus is a king-priest], a holy nation [God’s entity: a nation of priests: every Christian is a priest], a people for God’s own possession [a protected people], so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him [Christ] who has called [in eternity past] you out of darkness [spiritual death and the Cosmic Systems] into His amazing light [his plan];”
10. New Spiritual Species, 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power [Old Covenant]; behold, new things have come to pass [This would include the New Covenant to the Church.].”
Current Positional Truth changes our relationship with Angels.
1. Through current positional truth the believer is higher than angels positionally.
2. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, and so superior to all angels. By virtue of being in union with Christ, every believer is now positionally superior to angels.
3. Positional truth has fulfilled the believer’s triumph with Christ in the angelic conflict. We are victorious with Him already.
4. Furthermore, positional truth demands compatibility with experiential righteousness. Therefore, the believer’s walk on this earth must be compatible with positional truth since we have perfect security in Christ, we have the freedom to choose for Jesus Christ, to love Jesus Christ, to respond to His love, and to fulfill our purpose on this earth.
What positional truth is not?
1. It is not an experience, emotions or ecstasies.
2. It is not progressive; it cannot be improved in time or eternity.
3. It is not related to human merit or ability.
4. It cannot be changed by God, man or angels. It is eternal in nature.
5. It is not obtained gradually as you grow in grace, but in toto at salvation.
6. It is not known apart from the metabolization of doctrine.
7. From understanding the doctrine of positional truth, we progress in our spiritual life, but we cannot improve it since it is perfect at salvation.
8. We are not in Christ because of what we do (execution of the spiritual life) or fail to do (fail to execute the spiritual life), but because of what God has done.
A few points of explanation:
1. The conclusion from positional truth, whether retroactive or current, is that the Christian must apply these doctrines to his spiritual life.
2. Anticipating Romans 7:1-4 where we have an illustration of a woman whose first husband has died freeing her to marry another. This is what actually happens to us as believers at salvation. The old sin nature is the husband up to the point of salvation, but at the moment we believe in Jesus Christ positionally the sin nature is dead, as it were, the first husband has died and we have a new husband through union with Christ. Retroactive Positional Truth removes our first husband, the sin nature whereas Current Positional Truth enters us into union with Christ, our new husband.
3. The old sin nature-husband is still around, still seeking to regain his control over his former wife, the believer. But union with the second husband, the Lord Jesus Christ, has broken the first husband’s authority over the former wife.
Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as the elected ones [to his highest and best with emphasis on Escrow Blessings] of God, sanctified [three stages] and having been loved, clothe yourself with [acquire] compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience [to have good control over your emotions].
Ἐνδύσασθε οὖν ὡς ἐκλεκτοὶ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἅγιοι καὶ ἠγαπηµένοι, σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρµοῦ, χρηστότητα, ταπεινοφροσύνην, πραΰτητα, µακροθυµίαν,
Election and other related Printouts:
Under the printout of Election, the sovereignty of God in eternity past elected all Church Age believers and placed them into His plan as royal priests with logistical support. This plan calls for the believer to receive the highest and best from God. That highest and best is to receive the Escrow Blessings which he had deposited in eternity past. These blessings will not only glorify to the maximum the three members of the Trinity, but also bring great glory to the individual believer as well.
Now, that we have been elected, we must fulfill this election via the assets provided in Predestination. We have been predestined in Christ, the privilege to share in the destiny of Christ. The spiritual life provides us with the opportunity to maximize this destiny. Having executed this spiritual life fully that is having completed our destiny in time, we will receive our Escrow Blessings for both time and eternity.
Election, along with foreknowledge, predestination, justification and glorification, are all printouts from God’s computer. As it were, the omniscience of God in eternity past made a folder for each person who would believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in time. Within that folder, he put the following files: foreknowledge, election, predestination, justification, and glorification.
Ephesians 1:3-5, “Worthy of praise and glorification, the God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who [the Father] has blessed [escrow blessings] us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ [the escrow officer], (4) just as He [God the Father] has elected us for Himself in Him [Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world, that we may be set apart [positional and experiential sanctification] and blameless [ultimate sanctification] in the presence of Him [Father]. (5) By means of love, He has predestined us for the purpose of adoption [into the royal family of God] as adult sons [adult sons then heirs; if heirs then a destiny] to Himself through [the person and work of] Jesus Christ according to the grace purpose of His will.”
The action of an aorist participle precedes the action of the main verb. Thus, in this passage, the Father’s blessing of Escrow Blessings comes first. In other words, the deposit of Escrow Blessing occurred before God’s election and predestination and the other printouts of the Divine Decree.
Romans 8:28, “We [the mature believers] know, in fact, that to those who love the God [the Father], he [God the Father] causes all things to work together for good [for divine good-production via the Ten Problem Solving Devices] to those who are called according to a predetermined plan [the divine decree].”
Printouts and Volitional Freedom within the Divine Decree:
Romans 8:29-30, “[We know] that whom He foreknew [acknowledges what is certain in the Divine Decree; foreknowledge deals only with the actual, not the probable], He also predestined conformed ones to the image of His Son [via positional, experiential and ultimate sanctification], that He [the humanity of Christ] might be the first-born [as the head of the Church] among many brethren [Church age believers]. And whom He predestined, these same ones He also elected, and whom He elected, these same ones He also justified [at the point of salvation], and whom He justified, these same ones He also glorified [at the Rapture of the Church].”
Foreknowledge, predestination, election, justification, and glorification are words which only apply to the Church Age believer, never to the unbeliever. These verbs in verses 29 and 30 are all in the aorist tense, which means they occurred simultaneously in the mind of God in eternity past. To use the analogy of a computer, we could say that these were all simultaneous printouts from the computer of the Divine Decree.
Foreknowledge: In order to understand foreknowledge, we must first understand the omniscience of God, and how it related to the Divine Decree. The omniscience of God knows all the knowable simultaneously about his creatures. God knows every thought, motivation, decision and action of every person in history. He knows not only the actual outcomes that occur in history, but also all the probable or possible outcomes.
God does not think sequentially since his knowledge is eternal and simultaneous. His knowledge is not limited by time, a concept which was created specifically for the human race. (Genesis 1:14) Thus, the omniscience of God has always known every person who would believe in Jesus Christ and every person who would not. So, trillions of years ago, it was as if God typed your name onto a computer file and next to your name he typed “Believed in Jesus Christ.”
Since the normal human mind thinks rationally, it may be helpful to see the rational order regarding these matters. Rationally, omniscience occurred first, then the divine decree declaring all those who believed in Christ, and finally the printout of all “whom he foreknew” to believe in Christ. In other words, foreknowledge deals with the believer’s actual motives, thoughts, decisions and actions which were acknowledge by God the Father and then sovereignly decreed. So, omniscience deals with both the actual and the probable whereas foreknowledge only deals with the actual.
Predestination: Predestination is part of God’s decree providing everything the Church age believer needs to execute His plan, purpose and will. For some he predestined that they would die the ‘sin unto death’ (1 John 5:16) since he knew that they would never fulfill his plan in time. For others he predestined that they would die with the greatest possible blessing and happiness since he knew that they would become mature believers.
Predestination coordinates with omniscience so that the free will of man is never violated. God never turns your yes into no and your no into yes. God’s omniscience typed into the computer of divine decree the thoughts, motivations, decisions and acts of every Christian. Based on this information, God was able to design a predestined plan for each believer. For some it means great blessings in time and in eternity; for others it means great misery in time and loss of the greater blessings in the eternal state.
God predestined for all Christians to be ‘conformed to the image of His son’ through Positional, Experiential and Ultimate Sanctification. Through positional sanctification, we are ‘conformed to His image’ by being clothed with his characteristics (Galatians 3:27). Through experiential sanctification some Christians will choose to make use of God’s provision for advancement in the spiritual life. These are the believers who follow God’s plan and advance to spiritual maturity, in doing so becoming conformed to the characteristics that the humanity of Jesus Christ acquired through the spiritual life given to him. Through ultimate sanctification, all believers will be freed of their sin natures as they are given a resurrection body like that of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Justification: Even though justification is a printout of the computer of the divine decree, it comes into effect for the individual when he makes a decision to believe in Jesus Christ. When this wonderful decision occurs, he is immediately given the righteousness of God. Once righteousness has been imputed, he is then justified: that is, declared perfectly righteous and qualified to live with God forever.
Glorification: Every Church age believer is glorified when he receives his resurrection body at the Rapture of the Church. Furthermore, the mature believer is glorified when God provides for him the greater blessings both in time and eternity. When God made Paul, the greatest man of doctrine in the Church age, not only was God glorified, but so was Paul. After his evaluation by the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul will be given the Crown of Glory, the Crown of Life and the Crown of Righteousness as well other great decorations. When others see Paul wearing his crowns, the Order of the Morning Star etc., they will recognize Paul as one of the greatest men of history. Paul will have many blessings and privileges that others will not have. This will be a part of Paul’s glory. Paul used his volition to glorify God; God will in turn clothe Paul with great status, recognition and blessing.
Conclusion:
Omniscience preceded the decree, whereas Election, Predestination, Foreknowledge, Justification (declared righteous), and Glorification are ‘printouts’ from the decree. Election is the sovereignty of God desiring the highest and the best for the believer. Election connotes entrance into the plan of God whereas Predestination is the sovereign provision of God, namely his plan for the believer. Foreknowledge acknowledges only what is in the decree about the believer, namely the believer’s motives, thoughts, decisions and actions. God justifies the believer when he receives the imputation of divine righteousness at the point of salvation. Not only is God glorified when he can bless the believer with an eternal body and the greater rewards, but so is the believer.
Colossians 3:13
Bear with [tolerate] one another [no one is perfect], and forgive each other; if anyone has a complaint [about some injustice] against someone else, even as the Lord forgave you [in grace], so also you should forgive [in grace].”
ἀνεχόµενοι ἀλλήλων καὶ χαριζόµενοι ἑαυτοῖς ἐάν τις πρός τινα ἔχῃ µοµφήν· καθὼς καὶ ὁ κύριος ἐχαρίσατο ὑµῖν οὕτως καὶ ὑµεῖς·
Impersonal Love for all Mankind, as part of the Adult Spiritual Life:
1 Corinthians 13:13, "Now, there remains [in the Church Age] faith [representing childhood], confidence [which represents reaching spiritual self-esteem] and love [the adult spiritual life], these three, but the greatest of these is love."
Faith represents spiritual childhood and includes the use of the Faith-rest drill, grace and doctrinal orientation. Confidence represents spiritual self-esteem and is the entrance-way into the advance stage of the spiritual life. Love represents the adult believer and includes love for the God the Father, unconditional love for the human race, sharing the happiness of God and occupation with the Lord. “The Greatest of these is Love” is not only true in the Church Age, but also in the Eternal State.
Spiritual Self-Esteem, a prerequisite to Impersonal Love:
Spiritual Self-Esteem takes shape in the soul as the Christian becomes grace and doctrinally oriented. Relating this to the 10 Problem Solving Devices, this development would begin at the Sixth Problem Solving Device, a Personal Sense of Destiny and increases as the Christian progresses into spiritual adulthood and peaks out at occupation with Christ.
Spiritual Self-Esteem is based on confidence, self-worth and one status as a member of the royal family of God. Self-esteem is confidence in what one knows, and in one’s ability to put that knowledge into operation. What has been a characteristic of a few great leaders in history is now available to each of us as believers. It is confidence in God, confidence in the Word of God metabolized in the soul and circulating in the Stream of Consciousness, not a confidence based on one’s human intelligence, education, family tree achievement or success. Self-esteem is also ones estimated worth or value. Since spiritual assets have the highest value and worth, the more spiritual assets that the believer is able to acquire and put into operation, the greater becomes his estimation of self. Since this self-estimation is not based on human merit or abilities, but rather grace acquired assets and abilities, it does not produce arrogance.
Reasons why the believer can love himself without becoming arrogant: In the status of spiritual self-esteem at the Sixth Problem Solving Device, the Christian loves himself because in his soul exists grace and doctrinal orientation, the faith-rest Drill, understanding and appreciation for the Filling of the Holy Spirit and knowledge regarding the Recovery Procedure and as he advances in the spiritual life, his spiritual self-esteem will be enhanced by his love for God, his unconditional love for all people and his happiness and occupation with Christ. He loves his own person because he is a member of the Royal Family of God, a royal priest and an ambassador for Christ.
Human self-esteem many times is related to arrogance manifested in a superiority complex. On the other hand, Spiritual Self-Esteem is never related to arrogance. The more the Christian functions consistently in fellowship with God, the more his spiritual esteem flourishes. On the other hand, if he starts spending too much time out of fellowship pursuing the lusts of the sin nature, his spiritual esteem that he once possessed will begin to diminish and eventually completely disappear. Once obtained, spiritual self-esteem must be maintained by continuous intake and application of God’s Word.
Other Scriptures:
He who gets wisdom, keeps loving his own soul [spiritual self-esteem]; He who guards understanding shall find the absolute good [spiritual prosperity]. (Proverbs 19:8)
Jesus answered in Mark 12:29-31, ‘The most important one is this, “Listen O’ Israel, the Lord is our God; the Lord is unique [adverbial form of the Greek word heis: unique since he is both God and Man], (30) and you shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart [the mentality of the soul where metabolized doctrine resides], and with all your soul [the entire soul] and with all of your understanding [of doctrine] and with all your strength [virtue]. (31) The second is this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself [Old Testament form of spiritual self-esteem] (a quote from Deuteronomy 6:4, 5; Leviticus 19:18). There is no other commandment greater than these.”
1 Thessalonians 5:8, “But since we are of the day [maximum light is available in the Church Age], let us obtain spiritual self-esteem [the Greek word nepho] after we have put on the breastplate of doctrine [what is believed namely metabolized truth] and love [with emphasis on virtue] and the helmet, the confidence of salvation [There is no advance without confidence in eternal security].”
The Greek verb nepho means to be sober, to be self-controlled, to be well balanced, the antithesis of any kind of fuzziness (freedom from excess passion, rashness, and confusion), the honor of individual worth, a serious regulation of the powers a person has been given (in the spiritual life it would refer to the two power options). Paul uses this word to define spiritual self-esteem.
The passage below is not only true of impersonal love, but of true human love as well.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7, “Love is not swayed by emotion [is forbearing], love is kind [merciful], love is not jealous, it does not brag [is not shamelessly disrespectful in thought, speech and behavior, insulting, presumptuous], is not inflated with arrogance [the advance stages of arrogance]. (5) does not behave dishonorably [indecently, or unmannerly], is not self-seeking [self-promoting; preoccupied with self, self-indulgent, irrationally ambitious] it is not provoked [does not become irritated, bitter, angry, petty, hypersensitive], does not react to evil [is not mindful of wrongs, does not react to the injustices or wrongs that comes into his life, does not think in terms of retaliation, does not react to hatred or antagonisms], (6) does not rejoice over injustices [violation of truth], but joyfully sides with the truth [rejoices in the truth] (7) It covers all things [keeps all things confidential: true love respects the privacy of another; it literally means to throw a cloak of silence over all things namely avoids gossip, maligning, judging, vilification], always believes [advance function of the faith-rest drill] always has confident expectation [regarding one’s personal destiny both in time and in eternity], always perseveres [always maintains his relationship with God in a state of happiness under the testing of the three stages of the adult spiritual life],”
Joseph, the husband of Mary is a good example of the above though he lived before the Church Age.
In the Matthew passage, Mary becomes pregnant apart from Joseph after being legally married to him via the contract signed by his and her parents. This was why Joseph was so concerned when he had discovered that she was pregnant. Since he knew that he did not bring about her pregnancy, he initially assumed that she had committed adultery. After he was informed in a dream by an angel of the Lord regarding the truth of this matter, he went ahead with the ceremonial phase of the marriage (Matthew 1:20).
Matthew 1:19, "Joseph, her husband, being virtuous [righteous] did not desire to make a public display of her. He desired secretly to divorce her."
Joseph was not only moral, but also possessed the virtue acquired from the spiritual life. Morality was designed for the security, stability, protection and blessing of a group of people in a national entity and as such requires only human power and determination for execution. Virtue, on the other hand, relates to the inward function of the soul and comprises attributes such as grace-orientation, love for God the Father, unconditional love directed toward members of the human race and occupation with Christ.
Morality without virtue can very easily be corrupted (distorted) by arrogance resulting in a moral, but weak person. Morality combined with arrogance produces great self-righteousness. A self-righteous individual assumes that his morality equals perfection. From his imagined perch of perfection he evaluates, criticizes, judges, and maligns others. However, he is far from perfection. He understands neither God nor God’s plan; he understands neither himself nor the people whom he judges and maligns.
Believers and to some extent unbelievers can avoid this “moral degeneracy” related to the distortion of morality. With authority orientation and humility, moral unbelievers who possess some appreciation of grace can avoid much of the stench of self-righteousness. The believer on the other hand can go much further, for through the execution of the spiritual life, he is able to remove self-righteousness and develop great virtue.
Joseph possessed and demonstrated this virtue obtained from the spiritual life. He didn’t get angry at Mary when he first discovered she was pregnant. He didn’t malign her. He didn’t call her “a dirty and faithless adulteress” as other men, facing a similar situation would have. He didn’t feel sorry for himself and say, “How could she do this to me?” He didn’t become bitter and demand that she be stoned to death under the requirements of the Mosaic Law, which stated that adultery was not only a sin, but also a crime:
“If there is a virgin, betrothed [contractually married] to a man, and another man finds her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city and you shall stone them to death. The girl because she did not cry out in the city [she consented], and the man because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. Thus, you shall purge the evil [adultery is more than a sin] from among you.” (Deuteronomy 22:23-24)
Because Joseph was a man of great humility, he did not feel any personal disgrace in this matter. On the contrary, he was only concerned about Mary’s feelings and security. He wanted to protect her from disgrace and personal harm. Therefore, he decided not to bring her before the Jewish court system, but to divorce her secretly. In a state of great humility and objectivity, he was able to apply grace toward his wife and so was able to avoid any subjective reaction.
Colossians 3:14
And over all these virtues [of the previous verse], love [accusative absolute without a participle set off in an explanatory way: the Christian cannot have these virtues without the primary components of love], which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
ἐπὶ πᾶσιν δὲ τούτοις τὴν ἀγάπην, ὅ ἐστιν σύνδεσµος τῆς τελειότητος.
1 Corinthians 13:13, “And now there remains [in the Church Age] faith, confidence and love: these three but the greatest of these is love.”
Faith represents spiritual childhood and includes the use of the Faith-rest drill, grace and doctrinal orientation. Confidence represents spiritual self-esteem and is the entrance-way into the advance stage of the spiritual life. Love represents the adult believer and includes love for the God the Father, unconditional love for the human race, sharing the happiness of God and occupation with the Lord. “The Greatest of these is Love” is not only true in the Church Age, but also in the Eternal State.
Colossians 3:15
And let the tranquility of Christ [Christ in the Prototype spiritual life as He functioned in His spiritual adulthood; so, we should function in the Operational Spiritual Life] act as an umpire [we have control over our lives] in your right lobes [where the stream of consciousness is located], into which also you were elected [being oriented to election is very important] into one body [in Christ]; furthermore, keep on becoming thankful [gratitude is an expression of grace orientation and happiness in the soul].
καὶ ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ Χριστοῦ βραβευέτω ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑµῶν, εἰς ἣν καὶ ἐκλήθητε ἐν ἑνὶ σώµατι· καὶ εὐχάριστοι γίνεσθε.
Taken from Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary pages 245-247.
Spiritual adulthood: The latter phase of the spiritual life in which fellowship with God, metabolizing Bible doctrine, and application of that doctrine increasingly function to accelerate the believer to maturity. Synonym: sophisticated spiritual life. Having advanced beyond spiritual childhood, the Christian in spiritual adulthood is closer to fulfilling his purpose in life, which is to become a spiritually mature person “to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13–16). Basic doctrines learned and practiced in spiritual childhood are now reinforced with the strength of adulthood. Application of divine viewpoint is more consistent, more accurate, and less dependent on others. Along with an increased capacity for life, spiritual adulthood includes being motivated by personal love for God (Mark 12:30), making many decisions to glorify Christ rather than self (2 Thess. 1:12), turning adversity into suffering for blessing (2 Cor. 12:7–11), sharing in God’s happiness (John 15:11; 1 Pet. 1:8), and facing all circumstances with confidence in God’s perfect plan and provision (2 Tim. 1:7; James 1:4). The advance to spiritual victory is a gradual process, with ups and downs inherent to flawed human nature. But God in His wisdom and grace gives each believer the exact training, a combination of blessing and suffering, necessary to bring him to maximum glorification of God. The progression through spiritual adulthood can be categorized in three stages: 1) spiritual self-esteem, 2) spiritual autonomy, and 3) spiritual maturity. (1) Spiritual self-esteem. The stage in which the believer experiences a legitimate confidence in self derived from God’s Word in the soul. Spiritual self-esteem comes from love for God and the spiritual assets He has provided, not from the believer’s love for self. Unlike human self-esteem—which is based on human standards and achievements and is therefore inherently flawed—spiritual self-esteem is based on God’s absolute integrity and cannot be spoiled by human weakness or failure (Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:10, 23). According to Proverbs 19:8, “He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who keeps understanding will find good [prosperity].” The believer with spiritual self-esteem “loves his own soul” because he has filled his soul with wisdom from God. Motivated to continue his doctrinal advance, he is prospered by grace all along the path toward spiritual maturity. The believer who reaches the status of spiritual self-esteem has crossed the line between spiritual childhood and spiritual adulthood. From increasing love for God and divine viewpoint-thinking comes the stable foundation of virtue, contentment, and composure, along with the other spiritual strengths for facing life’s challenges. This believer approaches life through the perspective of grace, rather than emphasizing works and emotion. Confident in his personal destiny in God’s plan, he avoids the erroneous influence of other people and relies on the guidance of doctrine. His focus on Christ motivates all he does. He orients to who and what he is as a member of God’s family. As a result, feelings of inadequacy and insecurity fade. Furthermore, because spiritual self-esteem refines the personality without suppressing individuality, this believer is able to find his perfect niche in life. See also niche. In this stage, the believer is advancing rapidly and therefore vulnerable to failure. He is susceptible to distorting his newfound sense of confidence and forgetting the source of his strength. So, God in His grace sends a special form of testing, providential preventive suffering, designed to prevent him from falling into arrogance (2 Cor. 12:7–10). Once passing this test, the believer’s spiritual self-esteem turns into spiritual autonomy. (2) Spiritual autonomy. The stage in which the mental attitude begun in spiritual self-esteem is solidified and stabilized, allowing the believer to stand firmly on the tremendous spiritual resources in his soul. Spiritual autonomy is spiritual self-esteem with muscle, the powerful extension of spiritual self-esteem that strengthens the believer’s self-control, self-restraint, and poise. The believer in this status is oriented to reality. With divine viewpoint paramount in his life, he can apply Bible doctrine more consistently in adversity as well as in prosperity (Phil. 2:5). There is no need for counseling or approval from human sources (Jer. 17:5; 1 Cor. 2:5), because he is fully dependent on guidance from doctrine learned, as well as on his own ability to apply that doctrine without distortion. With this greater confidence in the grace and power of God, comes control of his own life, along with the strength to refrain from interfering in the lives of others. See also spiritually self-sustaining. In the previous stage, the believer learned to love himself based on doctrine in his soul; now he fulfills the command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:39; Gal. 5:14). Tolerant of the flaws of others, he can interact from the high ground of Christian integrity while concentrating on fulfilling God’s purpose for his own life. He recognizes truth and no longer feels threatened by false ideas, obnoxious people, or insults. Neither is he embarrassed by his personal status, occupation, or achievements, even in comparison with others who appear to surpass him. Instead, he lives within his human limitations, fully cognizant of the fact that there are no limitations to the execution of God’s plan except for one’s own negative volition toward God’s Word. With spiritual autonomy, the believer receives preparation for the final approach to maturity. God administers the next increment of undeserved suffering, momentum testing, to sharpen the believer’s ability to handle challenges related to people, thought, systems, and disaster. Despite intense suffering, spiritual autonomy allows for problem solving that takes the suffering in stride and moves forward to the final objective in the spiritual life. (3) Spiritual maturity. (a) The stage in which no difficulty in life is too great for the divine wisdom in the believer’s soul; (b) the ultimate objective and victory in the spiritual life of the Church Age. The spiritually mature believer carries the status of spiritual winner and invisible hero and also has impact on human and angelic history. A companion term to spiritual maturity is cognitive invincibility, which illustrates the mature believer’s superior strength of soul from maximum metabolized doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness, resulting in maximum function of wisdom in the form of all ten problem-solving devices. The believer began to share the happiness of God when he entered spiritual adulthood. Now, having reached the status of spiritual maturity, his happiness is “made full” or complete (John 15:11). So many principles, so many doctrines, verses, and concepts have been transferred into his soul that the Word of God shapes his thoughts, decisions, and actions. This mental clarity allows him to face any frustration, any hardship, or above all, any blessing of prosperity with an attitude of total contentment and trust in God. The mature believer is in fact a living demonstration of the grace of God. This is the stage the Apostle Paul had reached when he wrote, “For me, living is Christ [occupation with Christ], dying is profit” (Phil. 1:21, corrected translation). Furthermore, like Paul, the mature believer himself is a source of prosperity, blessing, and protection to those around him. See also blessing by association; invisible hero; super-grace; winner believer. Reaching maturity also means the believer is set apart for evidence testing, the highest honor on earth. He is, in effect, called to God’s witness stand, where his life is presented as evidence against Satan. It is the strength of maturity that allows the believer to withstand the intensity of evidence testing. His tenacity in doctrine, his faithfulness under extreme conditions, serves as proof of God’s grace and the efficacy of divine assets. Passing these tests means maximum glorification of God. The mature believer, lest he retrogresses toward spiritual childhood, must keep pressing, keep “reaching forward to what lies ahead” until he crosses the finish line into eternity (Phil. 3:13). He exploits the victory of adulthood in the same manner by which he achieved it, never ceasing to take in and apply the truths of God’s Word.
Always be Thankful:
Ephesians 5:20, “Always be thankful [gnomic present: gratitude is a permanent status of the soul where there is spiritual advance] with reference to all things [testing, blessing, discipline, disaster etc.] to God even the Father through the person our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Colossians 1:12, 2:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:18)
εὐχαριστοῦντες πάντοτε ὑπὲρ πάντων ἐν ὀνόµατι τοῦ κυρίου ἡµῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρί,
Thanksgiving is that form of worship in which the Church Age believer acknowledges the benefits related to the divine initiative of antecedent grace in eternity past and in time. The divine initiative of antecedent grace in eternity past is the provision of our very own portfolio of invisible assets. The divine initiative of antecedent grace in time is the function of the four spiritual skills. The biblical definition of worship is the basis for the true function of thanksgiving. This definition is given in John 4:24, "God is a spirit, and those who worship Him must worship by means of the Spirit [the Filling of the Spirit] and by means of [truth] doctrine."
All true worship in the Church Age is based on the two power options: the Filling of the Holy Spirit and the metabolization of doctrine. The Filling of the Holy Spirit plus the metabolization of doctrine and the application of doctrine through the use of the Problem-Solving Devices produces the only true thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is not some shallow, fleeting system of gratitude for something. It is a system of worship of God; it is capacity for worship; it is capacity for life; it is a reflection of the four spiritual skills. Thanksgiving is a moment-by-moment mental attitude produced by the spiritual skills in the soul. It is a part of the divine viewpoint of life. This attitude is a part of capacity for life and is based on maximum Bible doctrine in the soul. Colossians 2:7, "Having been rooted and having been edified in Him and being stabilized by means of doctrine as you have been taught, overflowing with thanksgiving." There is a relationship between your consistent perception of Bible doctrine and your attitude of thanksgiving toward God. Bible doctrine gives capacity for gratitude. Colossians 1:12, "Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us for a share in the endowment of the saints in the light." Thanksgiving is an act of giving thanks, grateful acknowledgement of the benefits of the grace of God. Hence, it is an expression of gratitude toward God based on your doctrinal capacity to appreciate who and what He is. Only winner-believers have capacity for true thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is more than an expression of gratitude, more than appreciation in a human sense. It is appreciation for God and His plan. Thanksgiving is first of all directed toward God, and as an overflow it is capacity and appreciation for life.
Thanksgiving is an index of the spiritual status of the believer. The greater the content of metabolized doctrine in the believer's right lobe, the greater the capacity for mental attitude thanksgiving in the life. The increased usage of the Problem Solving-Devices of the Protocol Plan of God results in increased capacity for thanksgiving toward God.
Thanksgiving is related to all the Problem-Solving Devices. Once you begin to understand the Recovery Procedure by grace, inevitably it becomes an expression of gratitude to God for the forgiveness of sins and restoration to fellowship with God. Thanksgiving is related to the Filling of the Holy Spirit as the means of expressing our appreciation to God. Without the Filling of the Spirit, we cannot even possess true thanksgiving to God. The Faith-rest Drill results in capacity for thanksgiving. Grace Orientation is a continual source of thanksgiving to God. Doctrinal Orientation provides greater and greater capacity for thanksgiving until the capacity is so great that God shares his happiness with the believer. A Personal Sense of Destiny is a source of thanksgiving for the believer oriented to the objectives, purpose, and the will of God. Personal love for God the Father adds motivational virtue to our thanksgiving. Impersonal love for all mankind relates interpersonal relationships to mental attitude thanksgiving toward God. You are thankful regardless of unjust treatment. Sharing the happiness of God provides tremendous contentment in life, and therefore, thanksgiving and tranquility in every circumstance in life. The ultimate in mental attitude thanksgiving and the overt expression of gratitude toward God comes from Occupation with Christ. Without Occupation with Christ, capacity for life, or Bible doctrine in the soul, thanksgiving has no meaning. Thanksgiving reaches its peak in personal love for God the Father and Occupation with the person of Christ.
Thanksgiving fulfills the divine mandates of 1Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." Ephesians 5:20, "Always be thankful with reference to all things to God even the Father through the person of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Metabolized doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness produces thanksgiving toward God. 2 Corinthians 9:15, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift." Revelation 7:12, "Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and ability belong to God forever and ever. Amen." Psalm 100:4, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, honor His person."
Thanksgiving is a function of prayer. Ephesians 1:16, "I do not cease giving thanks for you, and I make mention of you in my prayers." Colossians 1:3, "We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you." Colossians 4:2, "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving." Philippians 4:6, "Stop worrying about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."
Giving causes thanksgiving. 2 Corinthians 9:7-12, "Each one on the basis as he has determined by means of his right lobe so give, not reluctantly, nor from compulsion; for God loves a gracious giver. (8) And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good of intrinsic value deed. (9) Even as it stands written, `He has scattered abroad [financial funds for certain believers], He has given to the poor [via these gracious believers], His righteousness [virtue] abides forever.' (10) Now, He who provides graciously the seed to the sower, provides graciously for the act of eating, and at the same time multiplies your seed sown and enlarges the harvest of your virtue. (11) You will be enriched in all things for your generosity which through us [the beneficiaries of this generosity] produces thanksgiving to God. (12) Because the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but also overflowing through many with thanksgivings to God."
Food should be accepted with thanksgiving. This applies to all food, anytime, anywhere. God has created food to be received with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving before meals is a part of grace orientation with special emphasis on the appreciation of God's logistical grace provision of food. (In addition to thanksgivings, the believer asks God to set the food apart as nourishing before meals protecting the believer's health from any possible impurities.) 1 Timothy 4:3-4, "men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods, which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. (4) For everything created by God is beneficial, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving."
Other areas of thanksgiving:
1. Thanksgiving is often a public acknowledgment or celebration of worship. When the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the City of David, King David put the Ark into a tent and offered burnt offerings and reconciliation offerings before God (1 Chronicles 16:1) and assigned Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the Lord as per 1 Chronicles 16:7-36.
2. The justice of God demands that the believer being blessed have capacity for that blessing. Capacity for blessing means thanksgiving potential. Thanksgiving potential depends on the amount of Bible doctrine in the soul of the believer, so that the believer who is blessed is occupied with the Giver as well as the gift. And to enjoy the gift, the person who is thankful must be occupied with the Giver. True happiness is loving the Giver more than the gift. True thanksgiving is to be occupied with the Giver more than the gift. Capacity for life is to enjoy the Giver more than the gift. You cannot give thanksgiving for what you do not possess.
3. Thanksgiving is a priestly sacrifice, Psalm 116:17, “To You, I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving. And call upon the name of the Lord.” Psalm107:22, “Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of His works with joyful singing.” Amos 4:5, “Offer a thank-offering also from which is leavened . . . declares the Lord, God.” Hebrews 13:15, “through Him, let us be continually offering up a sacrifice of praise to the God, that is a fruit of our lips that gives thanks to His person [acknowledging His fame].”
4. Thanksgiving is the mental attitude of the spiritually adult believer and a demonstration of his capacity. 2 Corinthians 4:15, “For all things are for your benefit [Paul’s teaching regarding the Church age] so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.”
5. Personal testimonies of mature believers are found in Daniel 2:20, 23, “Daniel said, ‘Let the person of God be blessed forever and ever for wisdom and power belong to Him. (23) To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise for you have given me wisdom and power.” Romans 1:8, “First of all I thank my God through Jesus Christ concerning all of you because your faith is celebrated in the entire world.” 1 Corinthians 1:4, “I always thank my God on your behalf for the grace of God which has been given to you in Christ Jesus [current positional truth].” Philippians 1:3, 4, “Always in my every prayer for all of you when offering prayer with inner happiness. Because of your contribution [monetary] from the first day until now, for the purpose of spreading the gospel.” 2 Timothy 1:3, “I thank my God whom I serve with a pure conscience, the way my fathers did [Paul and his fathers were a blessing to those in their periphery and to their nations] as I constantly remember you in my prayers, night and day.” Jesus Christ, the God-Man offered thanksgiving from his humanity to the Father for answering His prayer regarding the resuscitation of Lazarus. John 11:41, “So, they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard Me.”
6. Believers who are positive to doctrine are motivated to give thanksgiving regarding others, 1 Thessalonians 3:9, “For what thanks can we render to God in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account.”
Colossians 3:16
Let the doctrine of Christ [taught by the pastor] indwell you [in the souls of the members of the congregation] richly with all wisdom [developed from metabolized doctrine], teaching and warning yourselves by psalms, hymns and songs of praise, singing by means of grace in your right lobes [having the necessary capacity] to God [the Father; the believer learns and warns himself through inculcated doctrinal music; this is instruction that does not come from the pastor].
ὁ λόγος τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐνοικείτω ἐν ὑµῖν πλουσίως, ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ διδάσκοντες καὶ νουθετοῦντες ἑαυτοὺς ψαλµοῖς, ὕµνοις, ᾠδαῖς πνευµατικαῖς ἐν χάριτι ᾄδοντες ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑµῶν τῷ θεῷ·
Singing is a bona fide expression of worship but singing must have something in the soul which corresponds to what one is singing. Therefore, to fulfill this principle there must be doctrine in the soul put there by the pastor which doctrine corresponds to what one is singing. Singing, therefore, can express grace orientation, happiness, appreciation and love for God.
A few points for clarification:
1. The lyrics of what one sings must be correct doctrinally. If not, your singing is meaningless at best and in many cases even blasphemous.
2. Even though the lyrics of a Psalm, hymn and other spiritual songs and praise are wonderful, if the Christian doesn’t possess the necessary metabolized doctrine in the soul to understand and appreciate them, it is a meaningless exercise.
3. Psalms of course are doctrinally correct though usually not sung. Their doctrinal content is taught as other parts of Scripture by the pastor.
34 Biblical Hymns and other spiritual music learned, and retained in the soul, can be a way in which a Christian can teach, encourage and warn himself via its remembrance and subsequent expression in singing.
The Pastor-Teacher, Leader or Manager?
In the local church, the leadership of the pastor is related to his faithful and consistent study and teaching of Bible doctrine. The leader-pastor teaches the Word of God with much inculcation so that his congregation might become dependent upon the principles and doctrines accumulated in their memory. He recognizes the privacy of the royal priesthood of each believer and avoids counseling or dictatorial functions that create dependency on the pastor. Through his teaching, he encourages dependency upon the Father’s plan, the ministry of the Holy Spirit and one’s relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The leader-pastor teaches the Word to his congregation and does not violate the privacy of the individual members by asking them individual questions about their spiritual lives. The leader respects and defends the privacy of every member of the congregation. The leader-pastor does not encourage dependency upon him, nor does he set himself up as a role model. Rather, through his teaching, the Lord Jesus Christ will become the role model for the members of his congregation who are positive to his messages, growing in grace and in knowledge of our Lord by means of the Word and the guidance and counsel of the Holy Spirit. The leader-pastor encourages dependency on God.
On the other hand, the managerial pastor may or may not teach Bible doctrine, but seeks to regulate, to control and to gain power over the members of his congregation. He encourages counseling, leaning on him for advice, thus creating a dependency on himself rather than a dependency on the Word of God. When a congregation is under the ministry of a managerial pastor, either they will react to his control and regulations, or over-respond to his fatherly authority. If the congregation reacts, they will seek to malign, criticize, or judge him. If they over-respond, they will depend upon him as their role model. Both scenarios are detrimental to the local church and the individual believer.
Principles:
1. The only role model in the Christian way of life is Jesus Christ.
2. Jesus Christ cannot become the role model without consistent cognition of Bible doctrine.
3. No believer can reach spiritual maturity without a leader-pastor and without the free function of his volition.
4. Leadership requires authority. The leader-pastor establishes his authority through his faithful teaching of accurate Bible doctrine. The managerial pastor establishes his authority through regulating control and his demand to be recognized as the authority of the Church.
5. The leader-pastor sets up policy and delegates authority to others for the administration of the local church. The managerial pastor cannot trust others, and so is constantly interfering in the function of his deacons.
6. Through the teaching of a leader-pastor, the members of the congregation are motivated by their respect and love for the members of the Godhead to do God’s will. Through the counsel and the exhortations of the managerial pastor, church members are motivated to do the pastor’s will, namely to come to his worship service and prayer meetings, join in Church activities, and above all to give ten percent of their earnings.
7. The leader-pastor is concerned about the spiritual growth of the souls of his members, not the size of his congregation. The managerial pastor is concerned about the size of his congregation and how far his church buildings penetrate the skies. So, the managerial pastor often brags that his church is growing, meaning that new edifices are being constructed and more people are attending.
8.The leader-pastor explains through doctrine how to become experientially righteous. The managerial pastor encourages self-righteousness associated with hypocrisy by teaching legalism.
9. The leader-pastor seeks to protect the privacy of his congregation. The managerial pastor seeks to invade the privacy of his congregation.
10. The leader-pastor emphasizes the importance of knowing doctrine and having a love for God. He teaches his congregation the importance of correct thinking, motivation, decision making and how to apply the Word of God to every phase of the Christian life. The managerial pastor doesn’t teach the spiritual life but emphasizes only the importance of Christian morality. In other words, the leader-pastor teaches every phase of the spiritual life, whereas the managerial pastor doesn’t. The managerial pastor does not place an emphasis on study and teach so the content of his message is not deep, but he vigorously exhorts his congregation to be good and moral.
11. The leader-pastor demonstrates his love for his congregation by his dedication to study and teaching. The managerial pastor demonstrates his lack of love for his congregation by his failure to properly teach the spiritual life to his congregation.
Colossians 3:17
All things, whatever you do, in word or in deed, do it all in the person of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him [Thanksgiving is a part of prayer, and all prayer is addressed to God the Father. Although we pray to the Father, we as royal priest must go through the Lord Jesus Christ since he is our high priest.].
καὶ πᾶν ὅ τι ἐὰν ποιῆτε ἐν λόγῳ ἢ ἐν ἔργῳ, πάντα ἐν ὀνόµατι κυρίου Ἰησοῦ, εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ θεῷ πατρὶ δι’ αὐτοῦ.
Occupation with Christ:
Introduction and development:
1. Occupation with Christ is personal love for our Lord Jesus Christ through maximum metabolized doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness of the heart (pre-frontal right lobe of the soul) by means of the Filling of the Holy Spirit. The result is maximum metabolized doctrine in the right lobe of the soul and freedom from garbage in the subconscious.
1 Peter 1:8, “And even though you have not seen Him, you love Him [occupation with Christ]; and though you do not see Him [the recipients of this epistle never saw Christ] now but believe [faith perception to maintain love], you greatly rejoice with inexpressible happiness [sharing the happiness of God] and having received glory [from the execution of the spiritual life resulting in receiving one’s Escrow Blessings].”
ὃν οὐκ ἰδόντες ἀγαπᾶτε, εἰς ὃν ἄρτι µὴ ὁρῶντες πιστεύοντες δὲ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε χαρᾷ ἀνεκλαλήτῳ καὶ δεδοξασµένῃ
2. Capacity to love someone who is invisible requires a tremendous amount of information in the right lobe of the soul. Those who love Christ have made a role model out of our Lord. These are the believers with true happiness, and are spiritually self-sustaining (they never lean on counseling). This happiness and love for Jesus Christ is dependent upon the accumulation of Bible doctrine in the stream of consciousness of the right lobe of the soul and having zero garbage in the subconscious of the soul.
3. The mystery doctrine of the Church Age is described as the thinking or the mind of Christ as per 1 Corinthians 2:16, “For who has known the thinking of the Lord [no one knows the thinking of God] that he should instruct Him [many attempt to instruct God in prayer]? But we [Church Age believers with the mystery doctrines deposited in our souls] have the thinking of Christ.” The “thinking of Christ” is a specific reference to the mystery doctrines of the Church Age. You cannot love Jesus Christ until you know how He thinks, for He is invisible. Perception and metabolization of the mystery doctrines of the Church Age is how we come to personally love Jesus Christ. Having the thinking of Christ results in occupation with Christ in contrast to preoccupation with people.
4. There are two divine mandates with regard to occupation with Christ. The first is found in Hebrews 12:2, “Be concentrating [unfortunately today most cannot concentrate] on Jesus, the one establishing the precedence and perfecter of our doctrine [He tested and proved the Prototype Spiritual Life], who because of His exhibited happiness, He endured the Cross and disregarded [through the use of the Problem-Solving Devices] the shame [imputation of our sins], and He sat down at the right hand of God.” The second mandate is found in 1 Peter 3:15, “But sanctify [set apart as more important than anything else] the Lord Christ in your hearts.” God makes a direct positive demand on your will and volition to be occupied with Christ, which is a mandate to be consistent in the metabolization of doctrine.
5. The fellowship with the Holy Spirit is necessary for the execution of these mandates, as per 2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God [the Father] and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” The fellowship of the Holy Spirit is another way of describing the Filling of the Holy Spirit, which is required for occupation with Christ. Philippians 2:1-2, 5, “Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ [in union with Christ], and there is, if there is any comfort from the love [of God the Father] and there is, if there is any fellowship with the Spirit and there is, and if there is any tender affections and merciful compassions and there are, (2) Bring to completion my happiness that you might be thinking the same things [in harmony with the thinking of Christ], having that same love, united in soul intent on one objective [maximum glorification of God via taking Evidence Testing]. (5) Keep on thinking this in you which was also in Christ Jesus [Occupation with Christ].”
6. People seek encouragement from many people for many reasons, but we are to seek encouragement from Christ. Encouragement from Christ comes from the mystery doctrines of the Church Age. At spiritual maturity, your dependence on people ceases; rather your dependence is on God. Furthermore, you have made a role model out of Jesus Christ. Occupation with Christ doesn’t depend upon any emotionalism or any other human work. Occupation with Christ is structured entirely upon your perception of Bible doctrine from which the believer extrapolates the Problem-Solving Devices. When you have suffering, disaster, shocks, pressures, it is the Problem-Solving Devices that handle these problems and your understanding of the thinking of Christ and your position in Christ become an encouragement.
7. Once you attain occupation with Christ, simultaneously you share the happiness of God, so that you are prepared to meet and face any and every circumstance. Occupation with Christ is often mentioned with sharing the happiness of God in Scripture as per James 1:12, “Happy is the believer who endures testing [passes the three categories of undeserved suffering] for having become approved [at his evaluation after the Rapture], he shall receive the wreath of life, which he [the Lord] has promised to those who love Him [enduring devotion and love for the Lord Jesus Christ].”
8. You are to think the same things as Jesus thought for thought is the basis for happiness, love, and virtue. Thinking the same things is thinking Bible doctrine; thinking the same things that the humanity of Christ thought during the Incarnation. Having the thinking of Christ results in preoccupation with Christ rather than preoccupation with people. Occupation with Christ results in God emphasis taking precedence over people emphasis. Fellowship with God is infinitely more important than fellowship with people. God must come first in your life in order for you to execute God’s plan for your life. This is only done by learning doctrine on a daily basis. You cannot grow spiritually and execute the protocol plan of God unless you have the mystery doctrines of the Church Age metabolized in your stream of consciousness.
9. The attainment of Occupation with Christ is the ultimate. Ephesians 3:17, 19, “So that Christ may be at home in your right lobes through doctrine [as a friend would be relaxed around you] when you have been rooted and established in love [personal love for Christ]… (19) And to come to know the love of [and for] Christ [this is both a subjective genitive namely Christ’s love for us and objective genitive namely our love for Christ], which goes beyond gnosis [academic knowledge in the staging area of the faculty of thinking (the mind)] that you may be filled with all the fullness of [blessing] from God.” Problem-solving device number ten is Occupation with Christ, the priority solution, and ultimately the answer to any adversity in life as well as the basis for having capacity for happiness and prosperity when it comes. 1 Corinthians 13:13, “And now abides faith [faith-rest drill functions in childhood and beyond], confident expectation [reached at Spiritual Self-Esteem/Personal Sense of Destiny], and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love [the adult spiritual life represented by personal love for God the Father, impersonal love, sharing the happiness of God and finally the ultimate Occupation with the Lord Jesus Christ].”
10. Occupation with Christ provides the greatest motivation in life. At first, your motivation is from using the Faith-rest Drill, in learning the basic doctrines, and in understanding and using the basic Problem-Solving Devices. As you begin to grow spiritually, you not only have a stronger motivation in relationship to the Lord, but you change very subtly from dependence on people to dependence on the Lord. (This principle does not refer to the necessary dependence we all have on other people in life, such as team members who must depend on each other in athletics or the military.) In the spiritual life, we don’t need to depend on anyone else but God.
11. Occupation with Christ is the true and the greatest motivator in life. False motivation leads to false doctrine, wrong priorities, and produces garbage in the subconscious, which produces false experience. Occupation with Christ is structured completely from metabolized doctrine. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “For the love for Christ keeps on motivating us, and we have reached the conclusion that One [Jesus Christ] died as a substitute for all; therefore, all [members of the human race] have died [real spiritual death at birth]. (15) Furthermore, He [Jesus Christ] died a substitute for all [unlimited atonement], in order that those who live [believers in the Protocol Plan] should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and was resurrected.”
12. Occupation with Christ eliminates the human viewpoint of life. Human viewpoint makes you miserable and so you argue with others about everything in life. Human viewpoint holds an opinion about everything in life and is intolerant of anyone else’s opinion. You cannot hold opinions to the point of agitation and execute God’s plan for your life. The other side of the coin is to complain about everything. Occupation with Christ eliminates all human viewpoint. Occupation with Christ is the ultimate motivator in life.
13. The higher the motivation in your life, the greater your happiness and the greater your enthusiasm, your awareness, and your spiritual life. The greater your motivation, the greater your perspective of reality and the greater your divine viewpoint. The greater your motivation in life the greater your capacity for life, love, and happiness, and therefore, the greater you are as a person.
14. Occupation with Christ results in God emphasis taking precedence over people emphasis. God emphasis must take priority over people emphasis in the function and execution of the Protocol Plan of God for the Church Age. Fellowship with God is infinitely more important than fellowship with people, but you will never discover this until you learn some doctrine. Fellowship with God is part of God’s Protocol Plan, but fellowship with people at best is a mere result; at worst a disaster. True Christian fellowship is fellowship with God the Father, the Filling of the Holy Spirit, and Occupation with Christ. Therefore, the importance of our motivation from personal love for the Lord Jesus Christ.
15. The key to the Protocol Plan is that we no longer live for ourselves but for Christ. The only way we can ever have a marvelous life is to no longer live for ourselves. Once we have occupation with Christ, we are living for Christ and we are happier than we ever were when we lived for ourselves.
16. Believers after salvation must develop a love for Christ based on cognizance. As unbelievers, we were ignorant of Jesus Christ and did not love Him. We used His name in profanity or blasphemy or in erroneous concepts. Therefore, we knew Him only from the human viewpoint, but now with cognitive self-confidence in spiritual self-esteem, cognitive independence in spiritual autonomy, and cognitive invincibility in spiritual maturity, we no longer regard Christ from the human viewpoint of ignorance and non-love.
17. 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new spiritual species. Old things have lost their power [people priority, cupidity etc.]; behold, new things have come [the Ten Unique Features of the Church Age, the Ten Problem-Solving Devices, Escrow Blessings etc.].” A new spiritual species is qualified to have fellowship with God and so must give priority to Bible doctrine so that personal love for God the Father and Occupation with Christ results. 1 Corinthians 1:9, “God [the Father] is faithful, through whom you have been called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Since you were called into fellowship with God’s Son, this should be your number one priority in life. But this priority cannot be fulfilled without making Bible doctrine the number one priority from the start of your spiritual life.
The Need for Occupation with Christ:
1. Very few people, including Christians, are loved the way they want to be loved, or treated the way they want to be treated. This comes from unrealistic expectations. Without Bible doctrine and the Problem-Solving Devices, it is inevitable that this will result in terrible frustration and great instability.
2. Because people are not treated or loved the way they want to be treated and loved by other people, they develop ingrained frustration. In a church, this frustration leads to a false move to another church based on a false application. This frustration is based on their emphasizing fellowship with people over fellowship with God. Such people never stop searching; they’re always looking for that one individual or group or job or social life or church where they will be treated the way they want to be treated.
3. The doctrine of Occupation with Christ addresses this problem of people emphasis over God emphasis. It makes the necessary correction of priorities in the Christian way of life. So, Occupation with Christ is the only way a believer can handle the problems of marriage, romance, friendship, business, profession, or job, and the problems of constantly bumping into people in these various situations since God emphasis provides the capacity for interactions with people.
4. From sharing the Happiness of God and Occupation with Christ, you learn to avoid the three great hazards in the Christian life caused by unrealistic expectations. Eyes or focus on self, eyes or focus on others and finally eyes or focus on things. Occupation with Christ provides a new focus in life away from eyes on self, on people, and on things. How you are treated and loved by people is no longer an issue once you have reached spiritual self-esteem and have cognitive self-confidence. It is your fellowship with God that counts. Perfect God can only treat you perfectly, maybe not in the way you want to be treated, but in the way you should be treated, which means a combination of blessing and testing along the way. So, how you are treated and loved by people is no longer an issue. Instead, you have moved into the three categories of love. You have personal love for God the Father as a motivational solution in life. You have impersonal love for all mankind as the functional virtue. Therefore, you have the capacity to be friends with people who are not perfect as you are not perfect. And you have occupation with Christ as the priority solution, the greatest of all three.
5. Occupation with Christ changes your mental attitude about yourself, so that you can change your mental attitude about other people who do not love you the way you want to be loved or treat you the way you want to be treated. There is no way you can make an issue out of yourself and advance in your spiritual life! Functioning under Occupation with Christ, impersonal love for all mankind gives you the ability to conquer hurt, frustration, anger, hatred, or antagonism toward others who are not treating you and loving you the way you think you should be treated and loved.
6. Personal love for God and Grace Orientation combine with impersonal love and occupation with Christ to create a gracious attitude toward people with whom you are involved, whether friends or strangers, husband or wife, etc. Whatever the relationship, you have a completely new attitude in the midst of some of the greatest expressions of frustration.
7. Psalm 118:9, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.” If you take refuge in the Lord, you are not expecting anything from people. It is your fellowship with God that counts, not your fellowship with people. But your fellowship with people can be wonderful when you bring into your relationships all the Problem-Solving Devices.
Occupation with Christ versus Preoccupation with People:
1. The problem is stated in Jeremiah 17:5, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Cursed is the man who puts his trust in mankind, who depends on people for his strength, and whose right lobe turns away from the Lord.” You may put your trust in man in many different relationships, whether social, professional, romantic, marriage, or Christian fellowship. There’s nothing wrong with having relationships with people; that’s not the issue. The issue is whether they are your number one priority. We were designed from creation to put our trust in God, not in people. People have old sin natures and varying moments of instability. People are always trying to change you instead of changing themselves so that you will conform to their unrealistic expectations. To depend on people for your strength means that you are getting your encouragement from fellowship with other Christians, from being told how wonderful you are. If that is the case, you are in trouble. You are depending on people for strength instead of depending on the Lord for strength. There is a special curse on the person who depends on man as found in our passage above.
2. Comparing a believer as a failure with a believer who is great. Jeremiah 17:6-7, “For he [the believer without capacity] will be like a tumbleweed in the desert; he will not see prosperity when it comes, but he will live in parched places of the desert, a land of salt where no one lives [has no capacity for life].” A tumbleweed has no roots and blows wherever the wind carries it. God provides some prosperity even to losers under logistical grace, but they don’t recognize it. If prosperity came and knocked on their door and declared, “I am prosperity,” they still wouldn’t recognize it. They cannot enjoy prosperity any more than adversity because they do not have capacity for either. A dried-up person is a negative personality, (7) but happy is the man [a believer who shares the happiness of God] who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him [occupation with Christ].”
Paul’s Testimony and lessons to be learned regarding Occupation with Christ:
Philippians 1:20-21, “On the basis of my confident expectation that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but with all confidence [courage, boldness, fearlessness], Christ shall even now as always be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. (21) As far as I am concerned, living is Christ; dying is gain.”
1.The ultimate in Occupation with Christ is when He is exalted in your body, whether you are in a state of living or in a state of dying.
2. Notice the advance. First, Christ is formed in your soul as you grow spiritually, Galatians 4:19. Then, He is at home in your right lobe as an adult believer, Ephesians 3:17. Finally, He moves from your soul to your life where Christ is exalted in your body, meaning in all your functions in which, the body is being controlled by the soul, not the soul by the body. No longer are you a slave to your body and its every lust. The soul controls your body through occupation with Christ.
3. Bible doctrine as the written Word becomes the means of causing Jesus Christ, the living Word, to become number one priority in your life. At this point, you have a dual priority: Bible doctrine and Jesus Christ, the written Word and the living Word.
4. Therefore, you now have the ability to concentrate on what is important in the midst of the greatest pressures in life. You are now qualified to pass Evidence Testing, which requires the ultimate in concentration on doctrine.
5. You organize your life around this dual priority so that you continue to learn doctrine from your right pastor. This is necessary to pass Evidence Testing. Evidence Testing and even Momentum Testing create a lot of confusion in the Christian life. Though all kinds of things are falling apart, you must concentrate through that confusion. This requires not only an organized life, but you also have to be organized in your thinking.
6. Therefore, you organize your thinking so that Occupation with Christ becomes the basis for passing Evidence Testing as the function of an invisible hero. You must concentrate on Jesus Christ through metabolized doctrine so that occupation with the person of Christ in the midst of Evidence Testing becomes both the motivation and the focus of your life.
7. Summary of Occupation with Christ in Spiritual Adulthood. Occupation with Christ occurs in three stages. As a result of cognitive self-confidence or spiritual self-esteem, occupation with Christ is classified as “Christ being formed in you” as found in Galatians 4:19. Jesus Christ becomes a role model. As a result of cognitive independence in spiritual autonomy, occupation with Christ is classified as “Christ being at home in your right lobes through doctrine” as per Ephesians 3:17. You come to realize that Jesus Christ is your best friend. As a result of cognitive invincibility in spiritual maturity, Occupation with Christ is classified as “Christ exalted in my body, whether by life or by death” in Philippians 1:20. You become an invisible hero. Occupation with Christ is the ultimate function and perspective of the Christian way of life. Out of the Ten Problem-Solving Devices of the Protocol Plan of God, Occupation with Christ is the ultimate experience.
Colossians 3:18
Wives, submit to the authority of your husbands, as is protocol [fitting] in the Lord.
Αἱ γυναῖκες, ὑποτάσσεσθε τοῖς ἀνδράσιν, ὡς ἀνῆκεν ἐν κυρίῳ.
Authority related to Humility and the Spiritual Life:
God created authority for the orderly function of the human race. So, authority is a very important concept in life. Obedience to authority is how a person develops humility. Disobedience to proper authority is how a person develops arrogance. Therefore, when the Christian rejects any authority in life, he develops arrogance and damages his spiritual life. No one becomes a great Christian if he rejects God’ s system of authority. In the marriage, God placed the woman under the authority of the husband. If the woman rejects her husband’s authority, she will never advance to spiritual maturity. Spiritual advance requires humility, and humility only comes through obedience.
No woman should ever marry a man whom she does not respect. If a woman marries a man that she does not respect, it will be very difficult for her to obey him. A woman should ask herself the following questions before she marries a man: Do I respect his leadership namely his policy, objectives and his authority? Do I respect his decision making and judgement? Do I respect his spiritual priorities and lifestyle?
However, if a woman decides to get married, she must take the responsibility for that decision. Taking responsibility for one’s decisions is a necessary function of being a mature human being. No one grows up until they are willing to take the responsibility for their own decisions both good and bad. Many women marry men they do not respect, and then after marriage they refuse to obey their husbands. They have forgotten that they said “Yes” at the altar.
When a woman gets married, she is marrying her authority for life. If your husband is unreasonable and wants you to do this and that, then do this and that and don’t complain about it. God holds the woman responsible for the vow which she takes at the marriage altar.
The Christian woman is royalty and must follow the rules of royalty. The Christian woman in marriage is a member of the royal family of God. As such, she must obey the rules that the Lord has established for royalty in marriage “as is protocol in the Lord.” When the Lord created the woman, he created this lovely creature to be a responder and as such to be under authority. So, no married woman will ever find happiness unless she accepts the authority of her husband in marriage.
The Christian woman must not only obey her husband to fulfill her responsibility but also to encourage her children to respect their father. If the Christian woman loves the Lord Jesus Christ, she will obey her husband even when her husband does not have much leadership ability. She will do so in order to please the Lord “as is protocol in the Lord.” Children must have respect for their father. However, children will never have respect for their father if the wife doesn’t respect him and complains to the children about their father. If children do not respect their father, they will disobey their father. If they disobey their father, they will become arrogant and disorientated to life. Therefore, the wife must consider carefully her great responsibility in the home.
Another important passage on this subject.
Ephesians 5:22. Wives, be under the authority of [subordinate yourselves to] your very own husbands as to the Lord [her strongest motivation].
The Greek word ‘hupotasso’ means to be subordinate to, to be under the authority of and to obey. It is a durative present which means an action which begins in the past (at the point of marriage) and continues into the present.
Authority orientation is very much a part of basic capacity for life because obedience to legitimate authorities produces humility whereas arrogance is developed by disobeying those authorities. Furthermore, humility is a virtue and is a part of happiness, arrogance on the other hand is the antithesis of virtue and produces self-induced misery and brings God’s wrath upon the believer. If a woman does not know about God’s system of authority and moreover will not adhere to it, she will never be happy in marriage or in life in general.
If a Christian woman will not obey the Lord who is perfect, how will she be able to obey her husband who is imperfect? If a woman rejects the spiritual life, she will never be happy with any man. That is why this verse also has the words “as unto the Lord.” The greatest capacity in life comes from harmonious rapport with God. That is why both the wife’s mandate to obey her husband and the husband’s mandate to love his wife (Ephesians 5:25) are based on harmonious rapport with the Lord. Thus, there is no true love in Christian marriage until there is true love for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:23, 24. For the husband is the ruler [leader, head] of the wife, just as Christ also is the ruler [head, in the sense of authority] of the church: He Himself is the Savior of the body [a metaphor for the Church]. But as the church is subordinate to [under the authority of] Christ, so also wives are under the authority of [subordinate to] their husbands in everything.
Just as the Church is subordinate to Christ in everything so the wife is subordinate to the husband in everything, within the boundaries of his authority. Wherever an organization exists, someone must take the responsibility for making the final decisions in matters that require a decision. Can you imagine what it would be like in marriage if God had given 50% of the authority to the husband and the other 50% to the wife? The husband says, “Today we are going to eat out;” she says, On the contrary, today we are going to eat in the home.” He says, “Because of my job, we need to live In Hyderabad;” she says, “Because of my friends, we will live in Darjeeling.” Without established authority, orderly function cannot take place. However, all authorities have parameters. For example, if a husband commands his wife to assist him in a bank robbery, he has exceeded the boundaries of his authority and she must refuse.
Many wives resent being under their husband’s authority for they think that being in a subordinate position makes them inferior. This is a totally false concept. Ones position on the ladder of authority doesn’t make a person inferior or superior, rather the quality of one’s soul makes that person superior or inferior. This should be obvious to the most casual observer of people in authority. Some of the greatest morons and most evil people have ruled countries.
Furthermore, many women don’t realize that they were designed to be followers, not leaders. In this role, women can experience an intense happiness especially when married to a great man with wisdom and leadership. Of course, if a woman is married to an arrogant husband, she will have a very difficult time. Though she must obey her arrogant husband, she must do so without reaction. She can only avoid reaction by applying the Word of God to her difficult situation. In so doing, she will find herself responding to God the Father, God the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ. In this way her happiness as a responder is preserved.
Colossians 3:19
Husbands, keep loving your wives, and stop being bitter against them.
Οἱ ἄνδρες, ἀγαπᾶτε τὰς γυναῖκας καὶ µὴ πικραίνεσθε πρὸς αὐτάς.
These are mandates addressed to all Christian husbands. One is a command to begin doing something, and the other is a command to stop doing something. Both must be obeyed if the husband expects to advance spiritually. One cannot continually disobey God in some area and advance to spiritual maturity.
All Christian husbands are commanded by God to love their wives. This love includes both unconditional and personal (conditional) love. In order to execute unconditional love, the husband must not bear any mental or emotional sins toward the object of his love while possessing responsibility, concern, and kindness toward the wife. Personal love means that the husband must be very aggressive to learn about his wife, to provide for and protect her.
God commands the husband to love his wife, but never to discipline her. As a father he has the authority to punish his children, but he does not have the authority to punish his wife. God reserves the right to punish wives for sin and failure and has never delegated that right to the husband. The husband who slaps or slugs his wife in an attempt to gain her respect is a complete fool. You don’t gain the respect of a woman through violence, but through your leadership. If husbands would love their wives as Christ loves the Church, most wives would have the greatest respect and obedience for their husbands.
God gave the husband the authority in the marriage and made him the leader. The husband must use his authority and his leadership to benefit his wife in every possible way. If the husband is selfish and abusive, he will be punished for his failure in leadership. Leadership must always be concerned for those under their authority, and at times the person in leadership must sacrifice for those under his authority. So, the husband must sacrifice for his wife when necessary.
The husband must realize that his wife is one of the most important responsibilities in his life. If he loves God the Father, God the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ, he will obey the mandates found in Ephesians. "Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the Church [personal love] and gave himself as a substitute for her [unconditional love on the cross for the Church age believer before he was a believer]." (Ephesians 5:25)
The husband has no excuse for not loving his wife. God has provided the most powerful spiritual life for husbands in the Church Age. Furthermore, God has given every man the potential of being a great leader in marriage. If the husband fails to love his wife, he becomes a total failure in leadership as well as in his spiritual life.
When the husband gets married, he takes a vow (a promise to God regarding his responsibility) to love his wife in health as well as in sickness, in prosperity as well as in adversity for better or for worse as long as she lives. However, after marriage when the wife does not meet his expectations, he becomes disappointed with her. Eventually, he becomes bitter, a bitterness which many times becomes full of hatred and malice. At this point, he is certainly not keeping his promise to God. However, he can correct the situation by naming his sins to God the Father, and then concentrate his energy on fulfilling his vow.
True love consists of righteousness, justice, knowledge, and grace. Righteousness and sins cannot coexist. If the husband is bitter, he is not righteous. If he is not righteous, he does not possess true love. If the husband possesses justice in his soul, he will be fair to his wife. As God is patient with the husband when he fails and sins so the husband must do the same for the wife. As God forgives the husband when he sins so the husband must forgive his wife when she fails or sins. As God provides every opportunity for the husband to learn the Word of God so the husband must provide daily opportunity for the wife to learn God’s word if she desires to do so. If the husband cannot be fair to his wife, he has no true love. If the husband is not willing to learn about women in general and about his wife in particular, he has no motivation to be a leader for all leaders must possess knowledge about those under their authority. If he is not willing to fulfill the responsibilities of leadership, he doesn’t possess true love. Bitterness is the antithesis of grace and is a form of arrogance which leads to many other sins. If the husband is ever going to possess true love, he must remove the filth of bitterness and replace it with grace-forgiveness, thoughtfulness and tenderness. Husbands, if you want true love in your soul, you must possess a righteousness and justice that functions in harmony with grace, and furthermore, you must possess knowledge of both your wife and of the Word of God.
Another important Passage on this subject:
Ephesians 5:25. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ [both his deity and humanity] also loved the church [with personal love] and gave himself [His humanity on the cross] as a substitute for her [impersonal love was directed toward his future church when He was bearing the sins of the world].
The deity of Christ loved the church and still does since each member of the church universal has a double portion of divine righteousness. Jesus, the humanity of Christ loved and still loves the universal church since it is his royal family, and bride. So, the humanity of Christ was willing to bear the sins of the world which included the sins of those who would make up the church. Christ’s work on the cross was the greatest demonstration of love in all of history for it combined Jesus’s love for both God the Father which love motivated Him to bear the sins of the world and his love for His future bride (contract signed at salvation) and wife (the wedding feast occurring at the 2nd Advent.).
The Christian husband is to love his wife just as the humanity of Christ loved the Church. As Jesus was willing to sacrifice himself for the church, so the husband must be willing to sacrifice himself for his wife. In order to understand this, we must always remember the Four primary components of true human love namely knowledge, righteousness, justice and grace. In the protocol plan of God, Jesus maximized these four characteristics. So, in order for a husband to love his wife as Christ (with focus on his humanity), the husband must also maximize out these four primary characteristics (components) of love.
From these four primary components comes the following: Enduring devotion, the intense love that the humanity of Christ had for the Church (he had anticipated those who would believe in him). Christ, as the groom, loved the Church (his bride) so much that He gave Himself as a substitute for her, the church. In the soul of the humanity of Christ there existed maximum humility, maximum integrity and capacity for love which can only come from a thorough understanding and execution of the spiritual life. Christian husbands are commanded to have this same intense love for their wives. This is a supernatural love that only a mature believer can execute.
Colossians 3:20
Children, keep obeying your parents in everything for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Τὰ τέκνα, ὑπακούετε τοῖς γονεῦσιν κατὰ πάντα, τοῦτο γὰρ εὐάρεστόν ἐστιν ἐν κυρίῳ.
Parents must train and teach their children regarding obedience. Training means that the parent must use corporal punishment when necessary for every child needs some corporal punishment during the period when his personality is being developed. This takes place during those early years approximately from one and a half to eight (nine) years old. “He who withholds his rod [corporal punishment] hates his child, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently [corporal punishment]” (Proverbs 13:24).
Parents must understand that their children possess sin natures which are naturally disobedient. Therefore, children must suffer (corporal and other punishment) in order to learn obedience. Parents must also teach their children regarding the necessity for authority in society. In this way children can understand the importance of authority and the need to conform to it.
Furthermore, parents must demonstrate to children how leadership and submission function. When the husband is devoted to his wife, and the wife in turn respects and obeys her husband, children will observe this and realize that obedience in not demeaning, but necessary for orderly function and blessing.
However, in many homes, the parents do not train their children via corporal punishment, nor do they teach them anything about authority or anything else worthwhile. Furthermore, the parents have no respect for each other and in some cases even hate each other and are constantly fighting in front of their children. In this situation, how are children going to develop humility for they are not being trained? How are they ever going to respect their parents when their parents don’t even love them or each other? How are children going to obey parents whom they do not respect? These are the problems that many Christian children face.
Yet, God gives this command to Christian children. If children are able to receive good Bible teaching, step by step, they will be able to reverse all the bad influences of their parents. Thus, if they develop their spiritual life to the point where they have some appreciation and respect for the Lord “is pleasing to the Lord,” they will be able to respect and obey their parents. However, this will be extremely difficult for children to achieve, but possible. Children must remember that they would not be here without their parents. Thus, even parents who have failed miserably, must be respected by their children.
The Jewish believers who left Egypt in 1441 B.C. are called the Exodus Generation. Ninety nine percent of these Jewish adults failed in their spiritual lives. Since they failed in their spiritual lives, they also failed in being good parents. Many of these parents were psychotic (Deuteronomy 28:28). Yet, through the persistent teaching of Moses, many of the children advanced spiritually and were able to obey the mandate regarding obedience to their parents.
When children are growing up in a home where the parents are always fighting among themselves, it becomes a spiritual test for Christian children. As these children grow up spiritually, they will be able to acquire sufficient humility, and gain some spiritual growth and some humility; they will be able to obey the mandate regarding obedience to parents. It is of the utmost importance for children to develop a respect in their souls for their parents.
Some adults blame all of their problems on their parents. Your parents may have been unfair to you, but God has never been unfair to children. Through learning God’s word, the young person and adult can recover from any environmental handicaps developed during childhood. Bible doctrine in the soul is much more powerful than any environmental difficulties or even abuse that the person may have experienced in childhood.
Child Abuse:
Can children handle pressure and adversity without parental help? The answer depends upon the maturity of the child. However, most young children cannot handle the problems and pressures of life by themselves and must rely on their parents to solve their problems for them. If their problems are not resolved stress occurs. Unfortunately, irresponsible parents do not solve the problems of their children, and so allow stress to function in the lives of their children. On the other hand, responsible parents solve their children’s problems, and so are able to prevent stress from developing in their children’s souls.
Unfortunately, some parents abuse their children in every possible way. These are degenerate parents - parents who possess no wisdom, humility, or integrity, and therefore fail in many of their responsibilities toward their children. They not only fail to prevent stress in their children but cause a lot of stress for them. Some examples follow: They scream in anger at their children, causing fear to lodge in the child’s subconscious. They fight in front of their terrified children. They worry and explain their worries to their children so that their children learn how to worry. The abuse is monstrous.
Parents lacking wisdom abuse their children by failing to supervise them properly. This abuse may take many forms. For example, they may be unaware of their child’s sinful masturbation, or on the other hand even allow it as a way of relieving stress. These parents do not realize that masturbation not only is destructive to the soul, but also affects sexual relations in marriage later on in life. They permit their children to read or watch pornographic material, not realizing that this not only encourages the lust pattern of their child’s sin nature, but also puts garbage in the subconscious. Other forms of soul abuse are more subtle. For example, many parents permit their children to constantly read or watch science fiction cartoons and movies without thinking about the consequences this may have to their child’s development. Science fiction develops a pseudo frame of reference in the thinking of their child, isolating them from reality. Children need to learn truth, not fiction and fantasy. All children need to learn truth and principles related to the laws of establishment; and if they are believers, they must also learn principles related to the spiritual life. Wise parents provide an environment that nurtures their children in truth.
God designed the soul so that the child would naturally have complete faith in his parents. Consequently, any form of child abuse is a betrayal of the child’s trust, though not all forms of child abuse have the same destructive effect on faith. In occurrences of extreme child abuse such as torture and sexual abuse, faith as a system of learning is severely damaged. Furthermore, child abuse - and especially extreme abuse - destroys humility and replaces it with arrogance (preoccupation with self) and the emotional complex of sins.
The most important learning period in a child’s life is between the ages one through to about eight, when his personality and character are being formed. During these formative years the child should learn many important principles and values in life; he should be able to develop a conscience with correct norms and standards, and a humility that will orient him toward all legitimate authorities. This learning process is facilitated by the child’s complete trust in his parents, a faith directed toward his parents that he will never have in his life again. However, if the child is abused by his parents this most important period for learning is lost.
Furthermore, if the child is betrayed by his parents through extreme abuse, his faith in them will be destroyed. Instead of developing humility, he will develop arrogance. Instead of learning authority orientation, he will easily incur bitterness and rebelliousness toward those in authority. So, instead of learning beneficial things, he will end up learning harmful things during this very important period of his life.
Usually, the sexually, the traumatically abused child is unable to find help anywhere. His family has betrayed him and in many cases others either don’t care or don’t believe the child’s claims of abuse. He is left alone to cope with this trauma by use of his or her own resources. In the case of the child who has never learned to solve his problems through Bible doctrine, which can only be inculcated into the soul through academic learning, he must rely upon some psychological defense method instead. Two examples of psychological defense methods are repression - burying anxieties such as fear and anger into the subconscious mind and denial (of these emotions). Use of these defense methods may also lead to projection, where the child assigns his own sinful emotions to others. Defense mechanisms are defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, 3rd ED (Revised), pp 393-4: “Defense mechanisms are patterns of feelings, thoughts, or behaviors that are relatively involuntary and arise in response to perceptions of psychic danger. They are designed to hide or alleviate the conflicts or stressors that give rise to anxiety.” These defense mechanisms used for survival by abused children especially those abuses which involve sex or torture ultimately result in garbage (harmful emotions and ideas) in the subconscious and cause deep-seated psychological defects.
There are at least five categories of child abuse; some are more traumatic than others:
1. Sexual abuse: Parents, siblings, relatives, or others victimize and traumatize a child through various categories of sexual activity such as incest, prostitution, and exposing one’s naked body to children.
2. Physical abuse: This includes beating, burning and other forms of torture; selling into slavery, prostitution, and murder.
3. Soul abuse: This is destruction of the child's faith and humility, caused by the parent’s failure to prevent stress from developing in the souls of their children during their formative years (Ephesians 6:4; and Colossians 3:21).
Soul abuse results from the failure of parents to teach their children what is right and wrong, and then to embed right concepts into their child’s soul by rendering just punishment to him when he is disobedient or has violated establishment principles. If parents do not punish their child for wrongdoing, he will not learn to respect authority, but will accumulate guilt in his subconscious and thus develop emotional and psychological problems.
Teaching a child to hate the other parent in a divorce is also soul abuse. Children should never become involved in the problems and antagonisms that occur in marriage. Differences should be solved away from the children.
Christian parents abuse their children if they fail to evangelize them and teach them basic Bible doctrine. This is abuse through neglect. As children learn the spiritual life, step by step they will learn to solve their own problems. “You, parents, stop provoking your children to anger [Children react to pettiness, too many restrictions, unfairness, and legalism], but always rear them in the training and instruction about the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4).
4. Emotional abuse: Seeking to control a child through emotional sins such as fear, or guilt is abuse. Some parents attempt to make their child a responsible and hard, working student by using guilt to instill a false motivation in his soul. They may say to him: “Mommy and Daddy will be very unhappy if you don’t get good grades in school this semester.” If the child should then fail to get good grades, he would feel responsible for his parent’s unhappiness and be filled with guilt. This is not a true sense of responsibility in a child, but an incorrect form of motivation which can lead to neurosis, and even suicide. Parents should never motivate their child through guilt, anger, hatred, malice, fear, or violence.
Parents must never encourage insensitivity toward either people or animals. Parents who laugh at the misfortune of others are teaching their child to be insensitive and cruel. Parents who ridicule and denigrate other races are teaching their child to be callous and insensitive toward those for whom the Lord died on the cross. Parents who abuse animals are teaching their child to be cruel to God’s creatures. They should instead be teaching their child to be thoughtful and sensitive toward the feelings of others and to be caring and considerate of animals.
Parents should not encourage arrogance. Many parents treat their children as if they were royalty. Children are born with a sin nature and are prone toward becoming arrogant. Until they develop respect for their parents and some humility there is nothing inherently good about them. So, don’t brag to others about how smart your son is or how beautiful your daughter is. In God’s eyes this is not greatness.
Parents should not encourage hypersensitivity. Children should never be permitted to sulk or whine in self-pity, or to throw a tantrum which is arrogant preoccupation with self. Some parents actually encourage hypersensitivity by comforting or commiserating with their child who is wallowing in self-pity. Hypersensitivity must be discouraged by good teaching and correct discipline.
A child must be taught to solve his problems rationally. If a child is a believer, he must be encouraged to gather the facts and to apply some Biblical principle or doctrine to his problem or perplexity. If he does get out of fellowship, his parents must encourage him to name his sin or sins to God the Father, and then to apply some Biblical principle to that situation. Whether the child is a believer or unbeliever, the parent must not permit emotion to intrude into the problem-solving procedure since problems and perplexities can only be solved by gaining the facts and by making correct decisions through cognition.
When punishing a child, parents should never threaten the child or his pet-animal with physical abuse, belittle a child with insults (you idiot, you, ugly duckling etc.), or isolate the child from fellowship with the parents by confining a child in his bedroom, closet etc. When punishing a child, the parent must be motivated by his love for his child, and the desire for his child to become a happy and responsible person in society.
5. Neglect and Deprivation: This includes failure to provide the necessities of life (food, shelter, and clothing), failure to teach the basic concepts of life (like good hygiene, manners, social and thinking skills), and failure to provide medical care when necessary. In the case of Christian parents, they also have a duty to evangelize and teach basic doctrine to their children.
Parents need to learn how to influence their children correctly. Children begin life with blind faith and trust. If the parents destroy their child’s trust, the child will develop substitute defense mechanisms to protect the soul from unbearable stress. These defense mechanisms create garbage in the subconscious of the child’s soul which hinders him from trusting God and metabolizing Bible doctrine. Parents have a tremendous influence in a child's life and must take heed of their great responsibility.
Ideally, children need both parents every day. So, parents should always consider their children before making decisions related to any form of separation. Divorce for example should never be entered into lightly, and especially if children are involved. Divorce is a traumatic experience for children. Any kind of separation from one parent can be somewhat to extremely difficult for children. Children want to be with their mother and father daily. So, parents be careful how you plan your lives.
Colossians 3:21
Fathers [parents], do not make your children bitter [do not provoke them to anger] or they will become discouraged.
Οἱ πατέρες, µὴ ἐρεθίζετε τὰ τέκνα ὑµῶν, ἵνα µὴ ἀθυµῶσιν.
Some children become discouraged and bitter because their parents prohibit too many things. These petty parents don’t love their children, but are in love with their own assumed perfection. And since they consider themselves so perfect, they expect their children to act like perfect adults. They issue so many commands, that the child has no freedom at all. When parents utter too many petty commands, it becomes very discouraging to children. It is like a government that passes too many petty laws regulating business. The businessmen in that nation become discouraged and sometimes bitter. To be a great parent requires understanding, thoughtfulness, leadership and wisdom.
Parents can also make their children bitter through abuse. There are at least five categories of child abuse namely sexual, physical, soul, emotional, and neglect and deprivation which we have already discussed.
Colossians 3:22
Slaves, obey your human masters [Labor, obey management] in everything not with eye service as men pleasers, but with the virtue of the stream of consciousness respecting the Lord.
Οἱ δοῦλοι, ὑπακούετε κατὰ πάντα τοῖς κατὰ σάρκα κυρίοις, µὴ ἐν ὀφθαλµοδουλίᾳ ὡς ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι, ἀλλí ἐν ἁπλότητι καρδίας, φοβούµενοι τὸν κύριον.
Verse 22-25 including Colossians 4:1 deals with labor-management relationship.
There were millions of slaves at this time in the Roman Empire, and they functioned as labor. If Paul were writing this today, he would address it to those involved in labor, those under management.
In every area of life, wherever there is two or more people, someone has the authority and others do not. God has designed society to function in an orderly way. In the work place, the Scripture is very clear regarding authority namely labor must obey management whether it is in the office or in the factory.
The Lord expects Christian labor to work hard on the job and to do the best possible type of work. Also, the believer must be motivated to please the Lord, not necessarily his boss. However, if he does a good job before the Lord, he will also please a good boss.
Labor and management courting each other: Certain people in labor try to gain the favor of their boss or employer through flattery or through being extremely submissive (obsequious). These people do not try to gain promotion through ability and hard work, but through courting their boss (to pay respectful or flattering attention to one’s boss in order to gain some advantage). Some people in management like those who court them. Many times, they will promote such people even though they do not have any ability. This type of relationship destroys an organization.
On the other hand, good leaders do not respond to men-pleasers, rather, they promote those who possess ability and work hard. For example, a Christian who respects the Lord will learn his job well and be as diligent as possible. Since men-pleasers are very ambitious people, leaders must be careful regarding these people for if they cannot get promoted one way, they may try another. For example, they may try to remove a good leader in management through some devious means. Since men-pleasers are arrogant and inordinately ambitious, leaders must be alert regarding these people.
Slavery mentioned in the New Testament:
1. In the New Testament, the Church did not issue any decree abolishing slavery, even though many early church believers were slaves. Furthermore, Paul never commanded Christian slaves to rise up and overthrow their masters, but to the contrary for they were to serve their honorably.
2. The responsibility of a slave to a master is taught in Ephesians 6:5-9, “You slaves [employees today] be obeying your lords [management] according to the standards of the flesh [the Laws of Establishment] with respect for authority and maximum effort, by means of integrity from your right lobe, as unto your Christ. (6) Not according to the standard of eye service as men pleasers, but as servants belonging to Christ, constantly doing the will, purpose and design of your God from the heart [the seven compartments of the stream of consciousness]. (7) With loyal enthusiasm [good will] performing the duties of a slave [rendering service] as unto the Lord, and not to men. (8) Knowing that each believer, if he has done anything good, he shall receive with interest this same [will be rewarded] from the source of the Lord, whether he is a slave or a freeman. (9) Also, you lords [management] keep doing the same things [do your job as unto the Lord] toward them [slaves, by analogy employees today], be desisting from bullying; knowing that both their Lord and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.” Colossians 3:22, “Slaves, obey your human masters [Labor, obey management] in everything not with eye service as men pleasers, but with the virtue of the stream of consciousness respecting the Lord.” There were millions of slaves at this time in the Roman Empire, and they functioned as labor. If Paul were writing this today, he would address it to those involved in labor, those under management.
Sometimes Slavery becomes a tremendous Blessing:
In the early history of the United States, the decadent anti-establishment Africans were captured by Arab slave traders and put on ships and brought to the United States. (The strong and great Africans like the Zulus could not be enslaved.) In other words, these decadent Africans were removed from a very difficult situation in Africa and brought to the greatest country in the world at that time, the Client Nation of God where they had opportunity and blessing which they never would have enjoyed if they had remained in Africa.
Application to Labor and Management today:
In every area of life, wherever there is two or more people, someone has the authority and others do not. God has designed society to function in an orderly way. In the work place, the Scripture is very clear regarding authority namely labor must obey management whether it is in the office or in the factory.
The Lord expects Christian labor to work hard on the job and to do the best possible type of work. Also, the believer must be motivated to please the Lord, not necessarily his boss. However, if he does a good job before the Lord, he will also please a good boss.
Certain people in labor try to gain the favor of their boss or employer through flattery or through being extremely submissive [obsequious]. These people do not try to gain promotion through ability and hard work, but through flattering attention to one’s boss in order to gain some advantage. This completely violates the honor code.
Some people in management like those who flatter and court them. Many times, they will promote such people even though they do not have any ability. This destroys an organization. On the other hand, good leaders do not respond to men-pleasers. Rather, they promote those who possess ability and work hard. A Christian who respects the Lord will learn his job well and be as diligent as possible. Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, keep functioning from your own soul as to the Lord, and not to mankind.”
Christian labor must do the best possible job in the workplace even if the management is unfair, unreasonable and inept. It is easy in this situation to react with anger, hatred, complaining and maligning. If a Christian in labor functions in this way, he has failed in a very important area of testing. He is not “functioning from his own soul as to the Lord.” Eventually, the Christian must pass this unfairness test. In these difficult situations, the Christian must always remember a principle regarding pressure namely what God does not remove, he expects the Christian to handle from his understanding of doctrine and from his relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The believer with doctrine in his soul and a love for God, can remain under any kind of pressure and continue in a state of happiness.
Leaders in business must be righteous and fair. They must never promote an unqualified person over a qualified person. Some leader may promote a relative or some person whom he personally likes over a qualified and senior employee. A leader has no right to treat an employee unfairly just because he doesn’t like that person. As a matter of fact, a leader has no right to dislike anyone under his authority and must treat everyone in an unbiased manner. Leaders must motivate each employee to do the best job that he is able to do. Leaders must avoid all activity which promotes competition among employees. Employees of an organization must be motivated to function as a team, not to be in competition with each other. Sometimes management which lacks leadership offers a reward for this or that. This can only lead to unfairness and unfairness will cause strife in the organization.
Christian leaders must develop a love for the Lord so that they will possess true love for all under their authority. True love is always fair, righteous and gracious toward those under their responsibility. If a leader loves the Lord, he will be able to avoid arrogance and any mental sins toward those under his responsibility. No one can be a great leader if he dislikes or even worse hates someone under his authority. This is a manifestation of arrogance and arrogance destroys all leadership potential.
Today, Americans are choosing the slavery of welfare state rather than freedom via the Laws of Establishment. Most people in the United States prefer the security of labor unions, and federal handouts rather than freedom which would require individual responsibility. In a welfare state, you are neither free to fail nor are you free to succeed for the welfare state steals from the successful and redistributes those funds to the financially unsuccessful ones in return for their votes.
Today, a maximum number of people suffer under slavery:
Billions suffer under the slavery of Communism; billions suffer under the slavery of Religion and hundreds of millions suffer under Western Socialism.
Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, keep functioning from your own soul as to the Lord, and not to mankind.
ὃ ἐὰν ποιῆτε, ἐκ ψυχῆς ἐργάζεσθε, ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρώποις,
Christian labor must do the best possible job in the workplace even if the management is unfair, unreasonable and inept. It is easy in this situation to react with anger, hatred, complaining and maligning. If a Christian in labor functions in this way, he has failed in a very important area of testing. He is not “functioning from his own soul as to the Lord.” Eventually, the Christian must pass this unfairness test. In these difficult situations, the Christian must always remember a principle regarding pressure namely what God does not remove, he expects the Christian to handle from his understanding of doctrine and from his relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The believer with doctrine in his soul and a love for God, can remain under any kind of pressure and continue in a state of happiness.
Christian service must be properly motivated:
1. Like all production in the Christian life, proper motivation must precede and comply with divine policy of grace for the production to be legitimate.
2. Correct motivation can only exist where Bible doctrine is resident in the right lobe.
3. Arrogance produces false motivation and anything falsely motivated does not glorify the Lord.
4. All bone fide Christian production comes from the two power options namely the Filling of the Spirit and Bible doctrine resident in the soul.
5. Motivation which is not purposed to glorify the Lord will obviously exist to glorify self, and what glorifies self obviously cannot glorify the Lord.
Colossians 3:24
Knowing that from the Lord [Jesus Christ] you will receive the reward of your inheritance [for time and eternity since the Lord is the escrow officer]. So, keep on serving the Lord Christ [the present active imperative].
εἰδότες ὅτι ἀπὸ κυρίου ἀπολήµψεσθε τὴν ἀνταπόδοσιν τῆς κληρονοµίας. τῷ κυρίῳ Χριστῷ δουλεύετε·
The objective of the spiritual life is to love God the Father for he is the author of the plan, to love God the Holy Spirit for he sustained Jesus Christ during his 33 years and even those last three hours of tremendous suffering, and to love the Lord Jesus Christ who took our punishment on the cross. Receiving this punishment and paying in full the payment of the penalty of our sins is known as His ‘substitutionary spiritual death.’
If the Christian fails in this objective, he will not receive the greater blessings in time while he is in his mortal body. “Therefore, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that he may promote you at the right time” (1 Peter 5:6). The humble believer knows God’s mandates well and obeys them. The humble believer loves God since humility and obedience are a part of true love. The humble believer obeys all areas of legitimate authority.
Colossians 3:25
For he who does wrong, will receive the consequence of that wrong which he has done [be punished] and there is no partiality [the Lord is not partial toward any believer; all will be dealt with from His perfect integrity].
ὁ γὰρ ἀδικῶν κοµίσεται ὃ ἠδίκησεν, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν προσωποληµψία.
Wrong doing is mentioned here and in 1 John 1:9, “If we name our sins, he is faithful and righteous with the result that he forgives us our sins and purifies us from all wrong doing.” The Greek words for wrong doing are the noun, adikia, used in 1 John 1:9 and the verbal form adikeo used in this passage. Wrong doing is whatever the Christian does when he is out of fellowship with God. Therefore, wrong doing is Grieving and Quenching the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30, 1 Thessalonians 5:19) and lying to the Holy Spirit as well (Acts 5:3). Grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit are the results of sin and being out of fellowship, not the cause. Since they are wrong doing, God must purify us from this wrong before he can restore the believer to fellowship. Wrong doing may include sin but it includes all the believer does when he is functioning outside of God’s plan, functioning outside of the two power options.
In Acts 5, Ananias and his wife Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit by implying that they were functioning under the Filling of the Spirit when in fact they were not. They had spent many years of being out of fellowship during which time Satan had filled their stream of consciousnesses with false doctrine which process took some time (Acts 5:3). Their souls were full of false values and false motivation. They had no spiritual life and no relationship with God the Holy Spirit. However, they wanted the believers in the Jerusalem Church to think of them as the greatest believers in the Church, filled and obedient to the Holy Spirit. So, they gave a lot of money in order to receive the approbation of the other members. However, in order to receive maximum approbation, they had to claim that they had sold all of their property which was not true. In wasn’t the Holy Spirit advising them to give all of their money. Rather, it was their lust for approbation which motivated them. In this context lying to the Holy Spirit involved a lot more than just a lie. They were lying about their whole spiritual life.
Christian activism includes both sin and wrong doing. Every person involved in Christian activism is functioning under some sin. Many activist worry about their government or they possess hatred, jealousy, bitterness toward someone in government. If they do not possess these sins, they are arrogant for sure. All Christian activists assume the function of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the function of the Lord to bless or discipline nations, not believers. If enough Christians in a nation advance to spiritual maturity, the Lord will improve the government of that nation. Although the Christian must fulfill his responsibilities to his nation, it is not his responsibility to correct the evils of the nation. The Christian is not on this earth to improve this world, but to develop a love for God. If he develops a love for the Lord, the Lord will do the improving.
If the government approves a peaceful demonstration, it is not sin, but it certainly is wrong doing. God did not leave the believer on this earth to demonstrate against some government. If the believer spends two hours a day writing letters to government officials, it is not sin, but it certainly is wrong doing. The Lord did not leave the believer on this earth to improve the political environment, but to improve the environment of his soul
There is no partiality with God. The justice of God treats every member of the human race fairly. If someone is functioning under wrong doing, he will be punished. No matter how great you may become, if you are involved in wrong doing, you will receive a fair punishment.
