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 Two
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 evening. We as priests pray this through the person of our Lord Christ Jesus, our High Priest, Amen.
May 29th is Memorial Day in the United States. On which day, patriotic Americans remember and honor those who have fallen in defense of our country. There are many heroic stories which could be told of men dying for freedom and for the love of the country. Today, I would like to tell a particular story where several hundred men died to rescue 211 soldiers of the Texan Lost Battalion.
That was an example of the World War II generation. Now, fast forward to the present generation. Our leaders like little children overspend every year. The more funds they have, the more they spend. We need to get rid of some of our excessive and burdensome bureaucracy, but this they cannot figure out. How are our leaders when it comes to mental function? Well, many in the Supreme Court, the Executive, Senate and Legislative branch cannot even define what is a woman! What about the citizenry? In 2021, goods stolen from our retail stores were approximately 54 billion dollars. Target a large retail store lost 1.4 billion in 2022 alone. Criminals walk into these stores and take whatever they want, and in most cases, nothing is done. Furthermore, in some states looting from stores is not even a crime. Americans no longer realize that property is sacred and must be protected. Furthermore, we are so weak and sick that we don’t know how to stop these animals from looting. It should be obvious to any person with a few operating brain cells that this cannot be allowed to go on and that looters must be shot in order to bring back law and order. Not only is looting out of control, but so are all other crimes. What is our judicial system doing about this? Well in most states, if a criminal kicks down the door of one’s home and enters for the purpose of stealing, rape and even murder, and the law-abiding citizen shoots that criminal, our laws state that the criminal or members of his family can bring a lawsuit against the law-abiding citizen for defending himself. Now that is sick!
Before we should continue in Colossians 2, let us review the ‘Taboos and other points in the Selection of a Mate.’
1. If you are a believer, do not marry an unbeliever, 2 Corinthians 6:14-15, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness [disobedient to God’s command to believe in Christ], or what fellowship has light with darkness? (15) Or what harmony has Christ with Belial [worthlessness used for Satan], or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?” If you become a believer after having been married to an unbeliever, do not seek a divorce. You have the opportunity to evangelize your spouse.
2. If you are positive to doctrine, do not marry a person who is negative to doctrine or your biblical convictions. Spiritual compatibility is the most important area of compatibility and is the only hope for resolving many of the problems in marriage.
3. Do not regard marriage as the solution to the problems of life. Marriage is not a problem-solving device, but a problem-manufacturing status. The more problems you carry into marriage, the less chance the marriage has of succeeding. If you cannot solve your problems while alone which problems are minimal, you will certainly not be able to solve your problems in marriage which problems are many times greater than they were in single life.
4. Do not marry on a wave of libido, which is tantamount to getting married in the attraction stage. This is emphasizing the body over the soul. Marrying a person for his or her body rather than his or her soul is got to be the height of stupidity.
5. Do not marry a person involved in substance abuse such as alcohol and drugs. Ladies, do not marry a man with whom you cannot debate or disagree with. When you do, the man enters into anger like an irrational animal and proceeds to use violence to show in his eyes who is boss. This type of person has not even developed as a human being! Men, do not marry a woman who lives her life based on emotion for she is too unstable and volatile.
6. Do not marry to escape from an unhappy home life, abusive parents, or an unhappy set of circumstances. You never solve a problem by means of another problem. This is like solving a debt problem with more debt. Do you want someone to accuse you of being as dumb as most of our politicians? This insult could not be greater!
7. Do not marry a status symbol, for security, or because of peer pressure or parental pressure or any other pressure. Status symbols are usually troublesome persons. Do not marry for money, or to improve your economic situation, or for financial security. Remember that many wealthy people lose their wealth and many who do not lose their wealth commit suicide. Furthermore, your security is in the Lord. Do not go in debt to get married. Do not believe that two people can live as cheaply as one person.
8. Do not marry because you love and want children. Children do not improve a marriage, nor do they ever save a marriage. Adam and the woman were happy in the garden without children up until the time in which they sinned. Their first child, Cain certainly did not make them happy!
9. Do not marry a person for his or her beauty or attractiveness alone. Beauty gives little indication of the real character of a person. Beauty blinds the ignorant, the shallow, the superficial, and the non-discerning person. Beauty can be a disguise for flaws and defects. These need to be recognized before marriage. Beauty fades and is often corrupted by arrogance. Without virtue, beauty is often susceptible to flattery. On the other hand, do not marry a person because they are ugly. Afterall, he or she may have an ugly soul as well.
10. Do not marry a person unless you are in the compatibility stage of your relationship. The compatibility stage has five characteristics.
a. Spiritual compatibility: If you can’t agree on doctrine, the same pastor, or the same local church, you will have trouble. This is the most important of all compatibilities. You are not going to have spiritual compatibility if one is learning doctrine under a good pastor-teacher, and the other is learning legalism from an ignorant and arrogant pastor.
b. Mental compatibility: This is discovered through conversation. One has an I.Q. of 165, and the other 105; one will be bored, the other will be frustrated.
c. Physical compatibility: This is generally determined after marriage, and the discovery is fun.
d. Economic compatibility is agreement on how to handle finances. One wants to immediately take on a large debt in order to live in a lavish home and to have a pleasant life style without having to wait. The other wants to live within his or her means and so is satisfied with a lower standard of living compatible with his or her economic situation.
e. Recreational compatibility: How are you going to spend your weekends. If one likes the opera and the other likes bowling, then what?
11. Avoid getting married under peer pressure or any other type of pressure. It is better to take your time and avoid making a mistake.
12. The Septuagint says in Proverbs 18:22, “Whoever finds a good wife receives grace from the Lord. But he who divorces a good wife divorces a blessing and takes a woman who is unchaste and stupid.” The Hebrew says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains grace from the Lord.” It appears that the LXX may not be a part of the Word of God, but the principle is certainly true.
13. Do not marry a neurotic person, which is dangerous to the soul and mental compatibility. This type is too unstable, too emotional, too hysterical, too self-centered, and too self-destructive to adjust to marriage. No marriage to a neurotic person ever works out.
14. Do not marry a divorced man except under those circumstances dictated by the Word of God: his former wife has died, he divorced his wife prior to salvation, his former wife has remarried, he is the innocent party of an adultery divorce, or his divorce involved the desertion of his former wife.
15. Do not marry any man unless you can submit to his authority in all things related to his spiritual authority, and his mental authority.
16. Do not get married until you have the capacity for marriage. This capacity requires the ability to deploy the following Problem-Solving Devices: Personal love for God, Impersonal love and sharing the Happiness of God.
17. The Christian can only be consistently happy if he is a mature believer for only the mature believer Shares the Happiness of God. Sharing the Happiness of God and Occupation with Christ are two sides of the same coin.
18. If two unhappy people get married it should not be surprising that they will have an unhappy marriage. If one cannot obtain happiness as a single person, he certainly will not find happiness in marriage where the problems and difficulties have magnified fourfold. Then, people wonder why there are so many unhappily married Christians. The answer should be obvious: no capacity for marriage.
19. Ladies with wealth: Do not marry a man that assumes that your wealth is his wealth and furthermore, will mandate how you are to spend your wealth. Ladies with wealth should obtain a prenuptial financial agreement.
The outline of Colossians 2:
Verses 1-8, the conflict of the Lycus valley;
Verses 9-15, the victory through the Lord Jesus Christ;
Verses 16-23, Satan’s great counter offensive.
Let’s quickly review the location of the Church at Colossi which was located in the Lycus River Valley.
Colossians 2:1
For I purpose for all of you [in Lycus Valley] to know [the need to understand the situation] how great a combat I keep on having on behalf of you [in Colossi] and of those in Laodicea and as many as [to others in that valley which would include those in Hierapolis] have not seen my face in the flesh [Paul had not done any face-to-face teaching in this valley].
Θέλω γὰρ ὑµᾶς εἰδέναι ἡλίκον ἀγῶνα ἔχω ὑπὲρ ὑµῶν καὶ τῶν ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ καὶ ὅσοι οὐχ ἑόρακαν τὸ πρόσωπόν µου ἐν σαρκί,
The combat Paul had with Gnosticism in the Lycus Valley. (Paul had to deal with this while under house arrest in Rome.)
Epaphras the pastor of the Church in Colossi went to Rome to seek help in dealing with the infiltration of Gnosticism. Gnostics (those in the know) who held to Gnosticism had contended that they had superior knowledge based upon a superior intellect and so looked down upon those believers advancing through faith-perception and faith-application. They referred to these believers as ‘Pistics’ those who function only under faith since they did not have a high I.Q., the viewpoint of the Gnostics. Paul will point-out that Gnosticism is nothing more than human, philosophical nonsense created by those rejecting God’s truth. Furthermore, whereas their entire philosophical system is based on human knowledge (gnosis), Paul will point out that God’s system for the believer is divine thinking which begins with gnosis (divine knowledge understood) and then through the enabling power of the Spirit becomes epignosis usable divine knowledge in the stream of consciousness. So, whereas gnosis is the entirety for the Gnostics; for the Christian it is only the first stage. Furthermore, Paul will point-out that Gnostics learned a philosophical system through rationalism which has no merit with God, whereas the advancing Christian acquires divine thinking through faith perception.
Though the Gnostics ridiculed the use of faith, Paul points out the critical role of faith namely that the Christian through faith not only acquires gnosis, academic knowledge of divine truth in the staging area of his soul, but could also have that converted into a higher and superior form of thought namely epignosis, metabolized divine thinking in the stream of consciousness. Finally, using faith-application via the power of the Holy Spirit to make application to life and circumstances.
A short brief on Gnosticism: Gnosticism derives its name from the Greek word ‘gnosis.’ It was one of the greatest attacks on Bible doctrine in the 1st century based on intellectual snobbery. Gnosticism combined Greek philosophy, legalistic Judaism and oriental dualism to form an apostate syncretism covered with a veneer of Christian vocabulary. It was an attempt to reconcile philosophy with divine truth. Furthermore, it had an experiential approach which appealed to both the ascetic and the lascivious types. Therefore, Gnosticism was quite successful in the early church and became Satan’s greatest counter attack against Christianity.
Cursing is turned to blessing. Gnosticism forced Paul to develop some technical vocabulary namely gnosis and epignosis to describe the mechanics of the Christian way of life. So, cursing namely this attack upon the spiritual life was turned into blessing namely Paul’s development of these technical words which helps to better understand the mechanics of the spiritual life.
Why the need for non-face to face teaching in both Colossi and Laodicea. The pastor of the Colossian Church is at this time a fellow prisoner with Paul in Rome according Philemon 23, and the pastor of the Laodicean Church, the son of Philemon is presently failing in his responsibility.
While Epaphras was the pastor at Colossi, Archippus, the son of Philemon was the pastor in Laodicea. According to the 4th century Apostolic Constitutions (7.46) [Eight books on early Christian literature and conduct; dated 375-380 A.D.], Archippus was the first bishop of Laodicea in Phrygia (now part of Turkey). Paul reprimands Archippus for his failure to fulfill his pastoral responsibility of feeding his congregation. Colossians 4:16-17, “When this letter is read in your presence, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my epistle that is coming from Laodicea [implication: the Ephesian epistle is now being read in Laodicea]. (17) Say to Archippus [the master of the horse], “Pay attention to your ministry which you took charge of because of the Lord [the Lord calls and assigns pastors], that you may fulfill it [your ministry].” [The pastors of these local churches will read and explain this epistle to their respective congregations. In the absence of Epaphras, the pastor of the Colossian Church, Tychicus will do the teaching; in the Laodicea Church, Archippus its pastor will do the teaching.] Archippus took this reprimand seriously and brought his congregation to a peak level in their spiritual lives. We know this because John states that the Laodicean believers became a very strong congregation; the metaphor ‘hot’ was used to describe their earlier situation. However, approximately thirty-five years after Paul had written to the Colossians, they were no longer ‘hot’ for they had been distracted by wealth and so had become lukewarm believers. Congregations do not remain the same.
Revelation 3:14-17 is indirectly related to this passage. Relating the Laodicean’s of Paul’s time to when John wrote Revelation in 96 A.D.
Revelation 3:14-15, “To the messenger [addressed to the one responsible, the one in charge namely the pastor who is being held most responsible for the failure of this church at this time] of the church of Laodicea, write. The Amen [a title used of Jesus Christ as the only object of faith in salvation], the faithful and true witness, the ruler over the creation of God, he communicates these things. (15) I know your works [modus vivendi: the spiritual life in the soul] that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold [unbelievers] or hot [aggressively advancing spiritually].”
The Lord uses cold, hot, and lukewarm as metaphors for different categories of mankind in his critique of the Laodicean Christians. Cold is used for the unbeliever; hot is used for the believer advancing aggressively and lukewarm refers to the believer who was hot but lost his momentum in the spiritual life.
“I wish that you were either cold or hot!”
1. The Greek word ‘ophelon’ introduces an unattainable wish. It is literally impossible for them to become cold, and extremely difficult for them to become hot again. As we will see, they are very close to the Sin Unto Death.
2. According to the next verse, they are now lukewarm, a metaphor for believers who have neglected Bible doctrine for some time.
3. Why does the Lord say that it would be better for them to be cold unbelievers rather than to be lukewarm believers? The answer lies in the solution to these problems.
4. The solution for an unbeliever is simple namely faith alone in Christ alone and one minute later, he will be eagerly seeking the milk of the Word. The solution for a reversionistic Christian is not so simple. The reversionistic Christian has accrued a lot of scar tissue and demonization of the soul. He may have already reached emotional revolt of the soul and locked-in negative volition or even reverse process reversionism. (See the doctrine of the Eight Stages of Reversionism.)
5. If the Christian is hot and aggressively advancing, all he needs to do is to continue his perception and application of God’s Word.
Revelation 3:16-17, “So, because you are lukewarm [were aggressively learning the Word, but now barely spend any time attending Church service to learn the Word, and the pastor barely spending any time preparing his messages], neither hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you out of my mouth [the Sin unto Death for the individuals involved and the removal of the Church]. (17) Because you say, I [the thinking of the average believer in this church] am rich, in fact I have become extremely wealthy and have need of nothing [not even of Bible doctrine; a statement made from blind arrogance]. As a matter of fact, you do not realize that you are under stress [a word for neurosis] and miserable [objects of pity, pitiable because they have no capacity for happiness, blessing and love] and poor [no values related to the spiritual life and eternity] and blind [no divine viewpoint: no perception of reality as related to Bible doctrine as a result of possessing no doctrine in the 7 compartments of the Stream of Consciousness] and naked [no Problem-Solving Devices on the FLOT line of their souls].”
Laodicea was the wealthiest city in the Roman Empire at the time of this writing and it follows that they had the wealthiest church. In 60 A.D. when an earthquake had completely leveled the city, the Roman Emperor offered to rebuild the city which offer they had refused. They simply rebuilt the city with some of their excess wealth. The average wealth of the Christian in this church probably by today’s standards had a bank account of 5 million.
They sought the World’s Prosperity at the expense of Bible Doctrine:
1. Wealth and Riches
2. Love and Romance
3. Promotion and Power
4. Success and Approbation
5. Achievement and Recognition
None of the things listed above are wrong in themselves, and the Lord never criticized any of them. However, when any of the above takes priority over advancing and completing the spiritual life, then the Christian is in deep trouble from having failed the prosperity test.
Face to face teaching is not necessary: when Paul wrote to the Colossians, he had never seen anyone in the Lycus Valley yet he was able to teach them through the written page.
Hebrews 10:25, "Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, as is the habit of certain ones, but for the purpose of encouragement [the telic participle], even so much the more, as you see the day [Rapture] approaching."
µὴ ἐγκαταλείποντες τὴν ἐπισυναγωγὴν ἑαυτῶν, καθὼς ἔθος τισίν, ἀλλὰ παρακαλοῦντες, καὶ τοσούτῳ µᾶλλον ὅσῳ βλέπετε ἐγγίζουσαν τὴν ἡµέραν.
This verse states only one purpose for assembling namely to be encouraged. (The two words ‘one another’ are not found in this verse.) If the Christian has an ounce of doctrine in his soul, he knows that the only true, meaningful, and lasting encouragement comes from God’s truth metabolized in the soul, and not from people.
The Lord provides for spiritual gifts, not bureaucracy. So, this verse does not command the believer to assemble to provide opportunity for the function of spiritual gifts for the Lord will provide opportunity in most cases for your spiritual gift to function when you have the necessary spiritual growth. If there is no opportunity, then the Lord will provide something else for that believer. In summary, it is not bureaucracy that determines how, when, and where spiritual gifts should function, but the sovereignty of God.
Must Christians assemble in an ecclesiastical structure called a church? Well, in the first two hundred years of the church age there were no churches. Generally, believers met in homes to learn the word and to worship. The church is a classroom of Christians with a professor called a pastor or minister. The classroom can take on many different forms. So, it doesn’t make any difference whether the pastor teaches in a home, office building or an ecclesiastical structure. The key is not the type of building, but the qualification of the pastor.
What causes spiritual growth? The assembling in a church, a home or some type of building must include a qualified pastor. Through the accurate teaching of the pastor, the congregation comes to accept his authority. If a member of the congregation accepts the pastor’s authority and listens consistently, he can grow spiritually. How far a member is seated from the minister is not the main point. He may be seated fifteen feet away from the pastor, or he may be seated in his home ten thousand miles from the pastor, it makes no difference. The point is do you accept his authority and do you listen consistently to his teaching.
The type of media the pastor uses to communicate is not the issue. The pastor can communicate to his congregation through different medias such as face to face communication, written material, audio, video, radio, television and online. Paul and John for example, communicated to many churches through written material. So, as long as the Christian accepts the authority of a qualified communicator, he can grow. I for example, lived most of my adult spiritual life thousands of miles away from my pastor even so, I grew all the same.
One does not have to attend a church in the same geographical area of his residence. In many geographical areas there are no pastors qualified to teach and explain the spiritual life. If a Christian had to attend a Church in such a local area, he would have no hope of spiritual growth. For example, what if you were attending a church in the city of Pusan, South Korea under the ministry of a wonderful minister including an online ministry. Suddenly, you become very sick and are taken to a hospital in Seoul and are told that you will be there for at least 6 months. Let’s say that you have a choice of either attending the chapel services in the hospital or receive Biblical instruction online from your pastor in Pusan. Let’s further assume that the minister conducting the chapel service in the hospital knows nothing about the spiritual life and thus listening to his teaching would be a total waste of time. What should you do? Should you attend the chapel services in the hospital and destroy your spiritual life, or should you listen to your pastor’s online ministry and continue to grow spiritually?
What if one had to work in a foreign country where there were no pastors. Obviously, one would have to listen to a pastor from another country by some means other than face to face. If God would not permit Biblical communication through various ways, then this believer living in a foreign land would have no hope of advancing in his spiritual life. However, the method by which a pastor communicates to his congregation is not limited to face to face. Therefore, a man and his family living in a foreign land would have to assemble in their home and learn from their pastor through such means as the written page, MP3s, DVDs or some other type of media. If the children are too young to listen to the pastor, then the parents would be responsible to break down the material and communicate it to the little ones in an interesting and enjoyable way.
The assembly of believers in a church is for the purpose of perception, and metabolization. This must be paramount. Friendship and social life with other believers are optional choices, but never mandatory. This passage is usually misunderstood because two words have been added to many translations that are not in the original language. The Greek does not say that you should assemble to encourage one another. The words one another do not exist in the Greek. The Greek word ‘parakaleo’ is a telic participle and should be translated “for the purpose of encouragement”. The Telic Participle gives the purpose for the action of the main verb which is “to assemble”. Why do we assemble? We assemble to be encouraged from hearing and learning God’s word.
It is true that sometimes social life with other believers can be encouraging, but it is not the source of encouragement. Occasionally, a believer may associate with a mature believer and be encouraged by that believer because the mature believer expresses divine viewpoint. It is always divine thinking and expression that is encouraging, not social life with believers discussing the problems of life.
We assemble to learn the Word and develop social life with God. On the other hand, social life with Christians many times distracts believers from the spiritual life and can be counter-productive for the following reasons:
1. Many times, Christians establish wrong priorities in the Christian life through the influence of ignorant, and confused reversionistic Christians. If you associate with Christians who are ignorant of God’s plan, they will affect you with their ignorance. These same believers are controlled by their sin natures and so will have a negative influence on you.
2. Many believers are distracted from learning and applying Bible doctrine through preoccupation with friendships, romance, and people in general. A good relationship with God must be established before one can have a good relationship with people. Unfortunately, people who are preoccupied with people never develop a good relationship with God.
3. If you associate with legalistic believers (believers adhering to a pseudo spirituality), you must either follow their legalism or be condemned by them. If you associate with believers who claim that the spiritual life is a series of “don’t” such as: don’t drink, smoke, dance or go to movie theaters, then you either must accept this system of pseudo spirituality or be in conflict with such believers. In either case, this association will probably place you out of fellowship.
4. If you associate with antinomian Christians, you will likely become antinomian namely if you associate with those who consistently drink heavily, fornicate or are involved in criminality, then you also will be influenced by this type of behavior. The type of people we associate with will have an influence on us. Can you put a hot coal in your pocket and not get burned?
5. Some Christians use other Christians as a means of advancing themselves in business or in a profession. In other words, they attend a church where there are influential believers who can help them in their profession or business. These believers are functioning under the lust of inordinate ambition and competition. Obviously, social life with these believers would be disastrous.
6. Many Christians substitute social life with believers for fellowship with God. True Christian fellowship is fellowship with God, not with people. If you have many Christian friends and perform many acts of Christian service with them, but if you do not love God, you are nothing and you accomplish nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
Generally, when we sit down in some location to learn God’s word, we do so with other Christians. That is what this passage is saying. However, having family members or others sit around you as you learn the Word does not contribute to your spiritual growth. Whether you sit in your home with family members to listen to your pastor on television or on radio or some other media, or you attend a large church and are surrounded by a thousand other believers makes no difference. People cannot cause one to grow spiritually; it is the message that causes spiritual growth.
Some Christians think that walking into a church automatically makes them spiritual. If a believer attends a church where the pastor is totally ignorant of the spiritual life, that believer cannot learn the spiritual life. Worse yet since that pastor does not understand the spiritual life, he will teach a pseudo spiritual life. In effect by attending that church, the Christian goes backward in his spiritual life.
If a person studies engineering under a professor who is totally ignorant of correct principles and concepts of engineering, the student will learn false information about engineering. Before the student was just ignorant, but now he is not only ignorant of true principles and concepts of engineering, but in addition to that, he has acquired false principles and concepts. Now, he is worse than he was before for he is not only ignorant, but also arrogant. He thinks he understands engineering, and therefore will not even listen to a good professor. This is what happens to Christians when they attend a church where the pastor is ignorant regarding the spiritual life. They think they understand the spiritual life; they think they are growing spiritually, but in reality, they have gone backwards in their spiritual life and have become very arrogant.
This passage is not commanding Christians to attend the nearest geographical Church building where the pastor is allegedly teaching the Word. This passage is commanding all believers to learn the Word of God consistently from a qualified pastor, a qualified spiritual professor. “But grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Growth does not come through interaction with other believers. Growth does not come through sitting next to another believer in a church. “So, faith comes from hearing and hearing through the communicative word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). The spiritual life is not developed through seeing your pastor in a local church, but rather through hearing his message. Your faith is not increased through social life with other Christians, rather through hearing the accurate message of your pastor.
Colossians 2:2
That their right lobes [primarily a reference to the stream of consciousnesses where the seven compartments are located] may be encouraged [on a daily basis] having been knit [held] together by means of love [the components of love], therefore resulting in all the wealth [riches of metabolized doctrine] of full assurance [to carry fullness] of understanding [understanding of your relationship with God, self and people; absolute confidence] because of metabolized doctrine of the mystery of God [the Father] from the source of Christ.
ἵνα παρακληθῶσιν αἱ καρδίαι αὐτῶν, συµβιβασθέντες ἐν ἀγάπῃ καὶ εἰς πᾶν πλοῦτος τῆς πληροφορίας τῆς συνέσεως, εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ µυστηρίου τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ,
The Components of Love hold or knit together the Soul: True human love must have four primary components and a number of secondary components which come through learning and understanding truth as delineated in the Scripture. If these components exist and are functioning in a Christian, he has a unified soul. If not, he doesn’t.
Personal love toward God:
John 14:15, “If you love Me [maybe you do; maybe you don’t], you will keep My commandments [First the Christian has to learn all the mandates, and then he must obey them all. This demonstrates his love for the Lord].
1 John 4:19, We [the mature believer with the following components of love: righteousness, justice, knowledge of God and His plan, grace orientation, and generally maximum truth in the soul operating under the Enabling Power of God the Holy Spirit.] and only we love [reciprocating God’s personal love] God because He himself first loved us [in eternity past from all the components of His personal love directed toward our imputed righteousness].”
Love as an Obligation: fulfilling this obligation supports the integrity of the soul.
1. Impersonal love is the only perpetual debt of the Christian, a debt which he pays as the need for impersonal love arises.
2. The debt of love denotes a duty, a responsibility on the part of all the royal family of God.
3. Remember that impersonal love has two sides; one side is possessing a relaxed mental attitude; the other side is not to harbor any mental sins toward others such as anger, jealousy, bitterness, etc. Hence, love is a freedom from mental attitude sins and if one is free of mental sins, he will be free of verbal sins which destroy the privacy of the priesthood.
4. The believer must perpetuate his obligation of impersonal love both toward the unbeliever and believer. Thus, the obligation of love is a debt which the believer is always making instalments, but never retires the instalments until he retires from this life.
Mental and Emotional Sins fragment the Soul (Volition, Conscience, Self-Consciousness, and Mentality (Greek word nous (left lobe) translated mind or thinking: the staging area where academic understanding occurs; Greek word kardia (right lobe) translated heart where applicable knowledge is stored: the main component of this lobe is the Stream of Consciousness from which is extrapolated the Ten Problem-Solving Devices; also, there is the subconscious located in this lobe where suppressed reactions to traumatic experiences, fears, and other sins etc.)
James 1:2-4 explains how a strong and cohesive soul is formed. James 1:5-8 describes a Christian with a non-cohesive soul.
James 1:2, "My brethren, consider [hegeomai] it all as happiness whenever you encounter various tests. [testing to develop one’s faith]. [James observed that many Jewish pilgrims coming to Jerusalem were miserable and some were neurotic even psychotic.]"
The Greek verb “hegeomai” means to think, to consider and to regard. Correct thinking requires the recall of doctrine from memory, and application of that doctrine to experience so that a rational decision may be made, and a correct action/response may be executed. Therefore, the Greek verb hegeomai means to employ knowledge rationally and objectively to one’s situation which function maintains the soul as a one cohesive unit. To consider means to think carefully in making decisions. To regard means to value, to honor and to revere. In other words, we should place the highest value in applying God’s word to our pressures, problems, adversities and other kinds of undeserved suffering so that we may have happiness even under the most extreme testing.
Having mentioned happiness for the Christian, let’s define it. Many people, both unbelievers and believers alike, confuse pleasure with happiness. Happiness is related to thinking in regard to the spiritual life, unlike pleasure which is related to feelings and emotion, and is not part of the spiritual life. (God does provide many pleasures for the believer’s enjoyment and there are good feelings and emotion in one’s responses to the spiritual life etc.) Pleasure is a state of feeling pleased, a satisfaction derived from what is to one's own liking, a frivolous enjoyment all of which are unrelated to the Biblical word chara (joy, happiness). Romans 14:17 clearly defines this contrast between pleasure and happiness: “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking [pleasures], but righteousness and peace and happiness (chara) by the agency of the Holy Spirit.” Eating and drinking may produce a good feeling, whereas the happiness produced from the spiritual life is the result of thinking divine viewpoint. True happiness does not depend on circumstances, environment or pleasure of any form, but comes from the correct application of Bible doctrine to the believer’s experience.
There is nothing wrong with most pleasures if a person is functioning correctly in his spiritual life. On the other hand, if pleasure is in any way related to the function of the sin nature and distracts the believer from his relationship with God, then of course it is wrong and destructive to the spiritual life and fragments the soul. 2 Timothy 3:4 describes believers out of fellowship as “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
Metabolized doctrine applied from a unified soul to suffering, pressure and trouble produces happiness in the soul. Usually, the greater the suffering, pressure and trouble the greater is the happiness. In other words, divine thought in the soul is more powerful than any physical or mental discomfort or pain. Paul affirms this “having received the Word under much pressure with happiness from the source of the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 1:6b). A happy soul is a unified soul.
James 1:3, “Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance [the Greek word hupomone is staying power in the soul: the capacity to remain under pressure with happiness].”
Faith in God and his plan comes from metabolizing the Word, “Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Once you have metabolized a certain amount of knowledge your faith must be tested. Successfully using faith in applying God’s promises, principles, and doctrines to your problems, pressures and suffering produces endurance, staying-power in your soul and in this way, the believer maintains a cohesive, unified soul. The believer at Spiritual Self Esteem has acquired a fair amount of strength in his soul, at Spiritual Autonomy he has much more, in Spiritual Maturity, he has maximum strength (hupomone) in his soul.
Each time you successfully use the shield of faith to pass a test, you become stronger. This power enables the believer to handle more difficult pressures, problems and sufferings in the future. Therefore, pressures, problems and undeserved suffering in life are not your enemies, but your best friends. Without these pressures and undeserved sufferings your faith cannot be tested. If faith is not tested there is no development of endurance in the soul, and without this capacity to remain under pressure with happiness, you cannot maintain a unified well-knit soul; you cannot advance to maturity.
James 1:4, "And endurance [staying power] must have her complete accomplishment [finishing the spiritual life] that you may be complete [mature] and whole in all parts [that you may be undamaged in all parts of the soul] being deficient in nothing [in the soul]."
The Christian who advances through all of the tests in the spiritual life will eventually reach spiritual maturity. The mature believer has a cohesive, unified, healthy soul which lacks nothing, whereas the believer who lives a life of emotional imbalance (emotions controlling the mentality) and stress will not possess a healthy cohesive mentality. The believer under the control of his emotions will enter into either moral or immoral degeneracy, which hinders the correct functioning of the mind (James 1:6-8). On the other hand, the mature believer does not lack anything in the mind of his soul. He possesses a healthy soul with tremendous happiness and wisdom. He possesses great capacity for unconditional love towards mankind, and for personal love toward the members of the Godhead, and for the humanity of Christ. Motivated by this great love in his soul, he possesses the highest motivation that a human being can possess in life.
The Greek structure can be rather confusing to understand sometimes. So, let’s rearrange James verses 2-4 to make it easier to understand. In effect we are putting the participle clause at the end rather than in the middle.
“My brethren, consider it all as happiness whenever you encounter various tests that you may be complete [mature] and whole [in all parts] being deficient in nothing [in the soul] knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance [staying power: the capacity to remain under pressure with happiness], and endurance [staying power] must have her complete accomplishment [finishing the spiritual life].”
James 1:5-6a, “If anyone of you [Jewish believers with metabolized doctrine] lacks wisdom, let him ask from God who gives to all generously, and reproaches not, and it shall be given to him, but let him keep on asking [in prayer] by means of faith [believing that God will provide the wisdom] faith-rest drill in prayer] without doubting.”
Wisdom comes from understanding the spiritual life, and how the doctrines and principles of the spiritual life can be applied to people and to one’s experience. This wisdom generally comes naturally to a Christian who is learning and metabolizing the Word of God. For example, if a Christian masters the doctrine of the sin nature, he should naturally possess a certain amount of wisdom about himself and others. However, some Christians have a hard time understanding and applying the Word of God to their experience even though they possess doctrine. They have some knowledge of the Word of God, but they are unable to understand the spiritual life and how it applies to life. Their failure relates to one or more of the following reasons:
1. They lack cohesive knowledge of God’s plan.
2. They don’t have knowledge of the mechanics of application.
3. They lack spiritual strength.
4. They lack humility.
These believers may pray for wisdom and this prayer will be answered. In some cases, God answers this prayer by providing a qualified communicator of his word. In other cases, the answer may come in some form of great suffering or other type of pressure to remove the arrogance and replace it with humility. With humility and metabolized doctrine in his soul, the believer will become wise.
James 1:6b-8, “for he who doubts [a failure of the Faith-Rest Drill] is like a wave of the sea constantly being agitated by the wind [stress in the soul] and being tossed here and there [tremendous instability]; that kind of person must stop presuming that he will receive anything [of the greater blessings] from the Lord. A believer with a split personality [double minded] is unstable in all his ways.”
The Christian who grows in grace and in knowledge becomes strong in the application of God’s word by faith. However, the Christian who does not execute the spiritual life, but rather functions continuously out of fellowship (in reversionism) with its attendant emotional rebellion will have a difficult time praying effectively. Agitation in the soul and instability in life become his lifestyle. As he fails to function under God’s authority which nurtures a healthy cohesive and unified personality, he develops an alternate or secondary personality or personalities.
There are three Biblical words which will tell the complete story regarding mental illness. Paul introduces the first stage of mental illness with the use of the Greek word “sarkikos” (1 Corinthians 3:3). Both Greek words “sarks” and “sarkikos” have the meaning of flesh, and both are used as metaphors for the sin nature, since the sin nature resides in the cell structure of the body. However, the Greek word “sarkikos” is slightly more technical. It means to be controlled by one’s sin nature and while in this state to develop a dual personality. This word tells us how the majority of mental illnesses occur. A person who functions constantly under jealousy and bitterness may develop a secondary personality around a lifestyle of jealousy. A person who functions constantly under worry may develop a secondary personality around his lifestyle of worrying etc.
If a person functions too long under some particular sin especially sins involving emotion, he will eventually develop a mental illness such as dissociation, schizophrenia etc. James describes this in verse 8 as the split-soul (dipsuchos) or the split personality. If the person persists, he will become completely insane (shigaon). Moses uses this Hebrew word to describe what happened to many of the believers of the Exodus generation (Deuteronomy 28:28).
“Wealth of the Full Assurance of Understanding”:
Introduction. The love of God (God’s love for us) and our love for God is the greatest prosperity that could ever come to the believer. It is the highest and greatest form of riches and wealth in the Church Age. In our correct scale of values, all other forms of wealth and prosperity are insignificant by comparison. To have this knowledge and capacity in the soul is the greatest wealth in the universe. 1 John 4:19, "We [the mature believer] and only we love [reciprocating God’s personal love] God because He himself first loved us [in eternity past with personal love]."
Explaining 1 John 4:19: In Greek, all the verbs have a pronominal ending attached to them. So, it is not necessary to use personal pronouns. When a pronoun is used in addition to the pronominal endings of the verb, it adds intensity or make the subject more emphatic, one must ask why. In this verse, the mature believer is reciprocating God’s eternal love which makes him a hero or heroine in the plan of God. Just as personal pronouns were used of the heroes and heroines of the Greek tragedies, so the Christian becomes a hero when he reciprocates God’s love and passes Evidence Testing. When a believer passes Evidence Testing as did Abraham on Mount Moriah, he became a super-hero and will receive the fullness of blessing from God in the eternal state.
Scriptural Documentation.
As a result of becoming believers in Jesus Christ, we have the most fantastic wealth in our portfolio of invisible assets. This wonderful wealth is mentioned a number of times throughout the New Testament epistles.
Ephesians 3:16-17, “that He may give you on the basis of the riches of His glory [this phrase refers to God’s love] that you might receive strength [from metabolized doctrine] with power through the personal agency of His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ is at home in your hearts [at spiritual maturity] through doctrine, when you have become firmly rooted [with doctrine in the soul] and when you have a secure place by agency of [reciprocal] love.”
The primary components of God’s love include omniscience, righteousness, justice and grace (freely given and undeserved). All true love is patterned after God’s love. So, all true love among mankind includes knowledge, righteousness, justice and grace. One doesn’t love someone if he doesn’t know that person. One doesn’t have true love if he doesn’t possess virtue (righteousness and justice). One has no ability to love if he cannot treat others in grace. Just to mention a few examples.
If you are a believer in Christ, you have the potential for the greatest wealth that has ever existed and the greatest responsibility to advance to spiritual maturity because of that wealth. Those with wealth have a great responsibility to others. We are responsible to others to reach spiritual maturity because we have the love of God as the riches of His glory.
Ephesians 3:18-21, “that you might utilize the power [of the two power options] to grasp the idea with all the saints [equal opportunity among believers] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [describing different aspects of God’s love], and to come to know the love for Christ which goes beyond knowledge [gnosis: academic knowledge of doctrine in the staging area of the soul which must be transferred to the stream of consciousness in the form of spiritual energy], that you may be filled with all the fullness of God [your escrow blessings for time and eternity]. Now to Him who is able to do infinitely more than all we ask or imagine, on the basis of the power that works for us, to Him be the glory by means of the church and by means of Christ Jesus with reference to all generations of the unique age of the ages [the Church Age]. Amen.”
Romans 11:33-36, “O the depth [inexhaustibility] of the wealth, both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How inscrutable are His decrees; how unfathomable are His ways. Who then has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His advisor? Or who has given to Him and has not been compensated? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Ephesians 1:18, “That the eyes of your right lobe may be enlightened so that you may know what is the confidence of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.”
Colossians 1:27, “In whom [Christ] God [the Father] willed to reveal to the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery which is Christ in you, the confidence of glory.”
Philippians 4:19, “My God shall supply all of your needs on the basis of His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
A few points regarding this Wealth:
1. Before you depart from this life, you should realize from your perception of doctrine how insignificant and unimportant human success is compared to what God has given you as prosperity. It is beyond the dreams of mankind.
2. God has given to you a spiritual life in which you can succeed no matter what is your station in life. Prosperity and success can only be related to your spiritual life. Your spiritual life is the metabolized doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness of the right lobe of your soul.
3. You should do well in whatever you do in life. But whether you are recognized or not is totally inconsequential. Approbation from man means absolutely zero compared to what God has provided in the spiritual life, which He prepared for you in eternity past. When that spiritual life is fulfilled, it results in the highest form of prosperity. No matter how you succeed in life in any area, these things are meaningless when it comes time to die.
4. Your portfolio of invisible assets is exceedingly abundantly beyond all you could ask or think. Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly beyond all that we ask or think . . .” What God has given to you is absolutely phenomenal, but you have to learn it; you have to know it; you have to have priorities related to our spiritual lives. Every human success is meaningless compared to what you do with our spiritual lives.
5. Your spiritual life is the true concept of success. Your spiritual life is lived in the soul. The content of your spiritual life is metabolized doctrine in the stream of consciousness. The function of your spiritual life is Problem-Solving Devices on the defensive line of the soul. Your spiritual life is one of the forty things you received at the moment of faith in Christ. The spiritual life has its own success standards and it provides a system of greatness beyond your dreams. 1 Corinthians 2:9, “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].
6. Regardless of your status in life, humble or great, known or unknown, God has given to every believer his very own spiritual life. Whether you use it or not, it is available to you until the day you depart from life. Prosperity for time and eternity is related to this spiritual life, so that you can be a spiritual winner, an invisible hero in time but extremely visible for all eternity. Therefore, approbation from mankind is absolutely meaningless. What people think of you is inconsequential; the only thing that counts is what God thinks of you, your spiritual life.
7. Since the day you believed in Christ, you possessed the greatest system of values in your portfolio of invisible assets, the greatest system of values that this world and human history has ever known. Your values and your priorities must be related to something that is permanent beyond the grave, and that is your spiritual life.
8. Only in the fulfillment of your spiritual life can you say with Paul, Philippians 1:21, “For me, living is Christ, and dying is profit.”
Colossians 2:3
In the sphere of whom [Jesus Christ] are stored-up all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
ἐν ᾧ εἰσιν πάντες οἱ θησαυροὶ τῆς σοφίας καὶ γνώσεως ἀπόκρυφοι.
Wisdom and Knowledge: Without knowledge, there can be no wisdom. Knowledge applied to self, people and circumstances is wisdom. Therefore, the greater the knowledge of the thinking of Christ, the greater the potential for wisdom.
Isaiah 33:6, “Both wisdom and knowledge [of doctrine] shall become the stability of your times, and the abundance and wealth of deliverance [found in Bible doctrine in the soul of the believer]; occupation with Christ, his treasure house.” 1 Corinthians 2:16, “for who has known the thinking of the Lord [title for deity] that he should instruct him [no one], but we have the thinking of Christ [the source of wisdom and knowledge as found in the Bible].”
Colossians 2:4
This I communicate that no one lead you astray [delude, deceive], you by means of plausible [persuasive speech appearing worthy of belief especially to the ignorant] but a false discourse [somewhat appealing but false; in this case Gnosticism].
Τοῦτο λέγω ἵνα µηδεὶς ὑµᾶς παραλογίζηται ἐν πιθανολογίᾳ.
Related Passages:
2 Peter 2:17-18, “These [in Jeremiah’s day, false prophets in Jeremiah 23; during the time of Peter, false teachers] are springs [wells] without water [no doctrine so one’s thirst is not quenched] and clouds [false teachers are unstable] driven along [unstable; clouds have no anchor] by a squall-line [driven by strong winds and heavy rains] to whom [unbeliever false teachers; same as the unbelievers in verse 14] the thick darkness [the content of their right lobes at the hearing of the gospel] of darkness [more darkness was accumulated after their rejection of the gospel] has been guarded [total blackout and scar tissue of the soul so that they are now teaching darkness]. (18) For when they [these false teachers] preach bombastically with eloquence [to reversionistic psychotic believers, the same preaching style that Balaam’s ass used in communicating to psychotic Balaam] with great swollen words of many syllables [of a great literary language which is abstruse and nebulous; never the common language of any language] of the vacuum [whereby Satanic doctrine (the words of these false teachers) attack the right lobe], they entice [trap, allure] by means of the lusts of the flesh, by means of lasciviousness [their words titillate the soul as fornication stimulates the body] those who scarcely [barely] escape [some do escape] from those [the false teachers] who have a pattern of life in the sphere of error [for the unbeliever and believer who have rejected establishment, for the unbeliever who has rejected the gospel; for the believer who has rejected the spiritual life],”
Ephesians 4:17-19, “Therefore, I communicate this and because of the Lord, I insist that you no longer walk [have a lifestyle] even as the gentile's walk in the vacuum of their thinking [Because the unbeliever has very little truth in his soul, he cannot defend against false concepts], (18) Having been darkened [by a lack of light (truth)] in their understanding and having been alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance which is in them [in their souls], because of the hardness [callousness, scar tissue] of their hearts [of the mentality of their souls]. (19) because they, having become calloused by scar tissue, and they have given themselves over to licentiousness [unrestrained sinfulness] resulting in the practice of every kind of immorality and with greediness [insatiable lust: there is never enough],”
Colossians 2:5
For if I also in the flesh [in person] am absent and I am [not present with the Colossians] yet by means of the Spirit [Paul wrote under the Filling of the Spirit] I am together with you in a state of inner happiness and inspecting the steadiness of your ranks [a military word] and a solid front [a military word] of your faith toward Christ.
εἰ γὰρ καὶ τῇ σαρκὶ ἄπειµι, ἀλλὰ τῷ πνεύµατι σὺν ὑµῖν εἰµι, χαίρων καὶ βλέπων ὑµῶν τὴν τάξιν καὶ τὸ στερέωµα τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν πίστεως ὑµῶν.
“I am absent,” absence from the scene does not hinder Paul from directing the battle. Principle: There are only a few people in the history of the Church Age who have actually been apostles. Paul was in one spot in Rome when he wrote four letters namely Colossians, Philippians, Ephesians and Philemon. He wasn’t there at those churches. Under the ministry of the Holy Spirit, he wrote to these people. Today, Paul is just as absent from us as he was from those churches but his ministry goes on because it is a part of the Word of God. All that God wanted from the ministry of the apostles still exists to this very moment. Just as Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them certain things, these things have been preserved in writing and Paul is now writing to us with exactly the same message today, only now he is in heaven. He taught them in a non-face-face way as he now teaches us through his writings in a non-face-to-face media.
Through this epistle to the Colossians, Paul reorganized the spiritual regiments of the Colossians as spiritual warriors to advance orderly toward their objective.
The Christian must advance in his spiritual warfare with a two-column advance. One column is the doctrinal column formed and maintained via the daily perception of God’s Word. The other column is formed through our application of doctrine; and our appreciation and love for the members of the Trinity and for the humanity of Christ.
In the final phase of one’s personal sense of destiny, there remains two strategic objectives namely occupation with Christ and having passed Evidence Testing, Maximum Glorification of God. At that point, the Christian will receive the fullness (the Greek word being pleroma) of blessing from God. So, when one glorifies God to the maximum, he receives the Fullness of Blessing from God.
Colossians 2:6
Therefore [a conclusion], as you have received [one receives Christ by believing in Him] Christ Jesus your Lord [salvation by grace] so be walking in him [in grace after salvation].
Ὡς οὖν παρελάβετε τὸν Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν τὸν κύριον, ἐν αὐτῷ περιπατεῖτε,
John 1:12, "But as many as received Him [a concept, not the mechanics of salvation], to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His person [the mechanics of how to be saved; how to receive Him],"
Salvation is not out from Works:
There are seven categories of salvation by works which are practiced at the present time.
1. Verbal works which adds to faith in Christ: repent regarding one’s sins, beg God to save you, plead the blood, invite or receiving Christ into your life or heart, acknowledge Christ publicly.
2. Ritual works: circumcision, water baptism, and rarely but occasionally the Lord’s table.
3. Psychological works: raise your hands, walk the isle, etc.
4. Corporate works: joining the church for salvation, tithing, or some other system a church may require for salvation.
5. Religious works: keep the Law, perform penance, practice the Lordship of Christ, associate your decision for Jesus by throwing a faggot on the fire, a candle-light service during which one prays in his salvation, taking vows, functions of asceticism for salvation.
6. Behaviouristic works: giving up something obnoxious, following a set of taboos, change your personality.
7. Emotional works: any system of ecstatics, speaking in tongues, weeping tears at the altar, etc.
Salvation by grace, confession of sins by grace, and the spiritual life by grace:
God’s plan is based on grace, not some philosophical system of human works. Grace means freely given and undeserved. God does all the giving; we undeservedly reap all this giving. For example, in grace God provides for all believers the same spiritual I.Q. Human I.Q. plus the Filling of the Spirit equals spiritual I.Q. Any Christian who implies or states that he, the one with a high human I.Q. alone is able to learn the deep matters of God is in a state of arrogance and does not understand God’s system of grace.
1 Corinthians 15:10a, “By the grace of God I am what I am.”
2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ [the greatest act of grace took place on the cross] and the love of God [the Father the author of reciprocal love] and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit [the enabling power of the Spirit].” When we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we became the recipients of the greatest possible endowment of grace, and grace pursues the advancing believer his entire life.
Grace does not imply License:
1. Grace is never increased and never advanced by any function of the old sin nature, whether sin or good or evil.
2. Grace is the policy of God. Therefore, the Christian must use God’s grace provision in order to defeat the sin nature.
3. The old sin nature, as an agent of Satan is opposed to grace. The old sin nature’s counter attack comes in the field of Satanic good and evil, but grace is strictly from God.
4. The grace of God never encourages sin. To the legalist, a great sinner himself being immersed in mental and verbal sins, grace always appears to give the antinomian Christian a license to sin since the legalist only places emphasis on overt sins. To the antinomian believer, grace is not used to recover fellowship and advance spiritually, but an excuse to keep on sinning. Neither advance under grace and the two power options.
5. Neither legalism nor antinomianism can break away from the ruling power of the old sin nature over life because both are distortions.
6. Only the divine provision and the divine support of logistical grace can exploit the positional victory over the old sin nature.
More about grace:
1. Maximum indoctrination results in grace increase. Notice that grace is related to the intake of doctrine, not our failures and disasters.
2. Grace is the policy or characteristic of the love of God, in providing blessing for the believer in time as well as in eternity.
3. God’s integrity does not depend on man’s sinfulness or the production of human good and evil.
4. The integrity of God is not sponsored by the function of the old sin nature or its trends.
5. Acts of personal sin do not increase grace blessing from the justice of God, but rather increases discipline and punishment from the justice of God.
6. Being under the authority of God’s grace does not encourage us to acts of personal sin, but we are motivated to press on to maturity through the consistent intake of Bible doctrine.
7. Being under the authority of grace means utilization of grace. Utilization of grace means utilization of grace provision for victory over the old sin nature. This means advance to maturity where we both glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and receive those maximum blessings from the integrity of God. Those blessings are described as “exceedingly abundantly above all we could ask or think.”
8. Therefore, the believer cannot perform an occasional act of sin with impunity. There is always discipline. The believer cannot perform an act of human good with impunity. There is condemnation of that human good from the righteousness of God. And there cannot be a series of sins resulting in evil, or a series of human good acts resulting in evil, without divine punishment to individuals involved. In other words, we never function under the old sin nature with impunity.
9. Being under the authority of grace rather than the Law does not imply that the justice of God no longer administers punitive action for the believer who chooses to sin, perform human good, or to become involved with evil.
10. Divine justice punishes sinfulness and divine justice blesses growth in grace.
11. Therefore, freedom from being under the Mosaic Law does not imply immunity from punishment or discipline.
Colossians 2:7
Having been rooted [through inculcation] and edified [through daily exposure to doctrinal teaching] in Him [the Lord Jesus Christ] and constantly being stabilized and strengthened [by daily exposure to the Word] by means of the faith [both faith perception and application] just as you have been taught, constantly overflowing in the sphere of thanksgiving.
ἐρριζωµένοι καὶ ἐποικοδοµούµενοι ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ βεβαιούµενοι [ἐν] τῇ πίστει καθὼς ἐδιδάχθητε, περισσεύοντες ἐν εὐχαριστίᾳ.
The Faith-rest Drill (producing confidence and tranquility in the soul):
Walking by faith is a drill which must be practiced. This drill of applying God’s word to one’s difficulties and pressures produces tranquility in the soul. When the believer lives by faith, he applies biblical promises, principles and doctrines by faith to his experience. Living by faith is trusting in God’s thinking, not one's own false thinking. For example, God is perfect justice and as such he can only be perfectly fair to all his creatures, all the time. Therefore, it is an incorrect emphasis if you should state emphatically that people and life are unfair to me. Don't you realize that if a person treats you unfairly, God can discipline that person and provide extra blessing for you? Applying God’s word to your pressures, difficulties and disasters is a drill practiced.
Take your choice of either tranquility or stress! As the believer applies God's word to his problems and pressures, he will possess tranquility in his soul. Tranquility means two things: complete confidence in God, and freedom from mental agitation caused by emotional sins. When the believer is controlled by such mental sins as fear, worry, anger, hatred, jealousy, bitterness, self-pity etc., he will have stress in his soul. For example, if he worries about his family problems, stress will occur. This can be illustrated with the following simple formula: (problems + mental sins = stress). Stress produces an agitation in the soul, whereas applying Bible doctrine by faith produces a phenomenal tranquility in the soul: (problems + applying Bible doctrine by faith = tranquility).
Applying Biblical promises, principles and doctrine by faith has always been a part of the believer's spiritual life. Abraham was promised a great progeny by God through his wife Sarah (Genesis 12:2, 13:6) for God certainly would not encourage Abraham to produce his progeny through adultery. At first Abraham did not have the spiritual strength to believe this promise and in discouragement assumed that his progeny would come through Eliezer (Genesis 15:2, 3). Even when Abraham was 86 years old, he still did not believe that God could manufacture a progeny through his wife, Sarah and so did produce a progeny through an Egyptian woman. The little brat Ishmael via Hagar was not to be the fulfillment of Genesis 12:2 (Genesis 16:1-3, 16).
It takes time to build up a strong faith as illustrated by Abram. The promise of a great progeny was initially given to Abram when he was still residing in his hometown, the 3rd Dynasty of Ur (Ur of the Chaldees). After leaving the 3rd Dynasty of Ur, Abram finally arrived in Canaan at the age of 75 (Genesis 12:4). Then, after arriving in Canaan, it took Abram another 24 more years to accumulate enough Bible doctrine in his soul to develop a faith strong enough to believe that he would have a son through Sarah. Romans 4:19-21, “And so not becoming weak in that faith, he completely understood his own body which had become [sexually] dead when he was approximately one hundred years old likewise, he completely understood the deadness of Sarah's womb [passed menopause]. He [Abraham] staggered not at the promises of God through unbelief but was strong in faith giving glory to God and being fully persuaded that what God had promised [a son through Sarah], God is able also to perform.” You see, as Abraham learned more and more about God, his confidence in God increased. Romans 10:17 states, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” The believer listens to the Word of God today, and a little faith is developed. Then he listens tomorrow, and a little more faith is developed, and then the following day, and he continues to do so for his entire life. In this way his faith becomes stronger and stronger.
This stage-by-stage development of faith is illustrated by one of the Hebrew words for faith, qawah. This was the word used to describe the binding process which would produce a strong rope and is used to illustrate the strong faith of the mature believer waiting on the Lord (Isaiah 40:31). In order to make a strong unbreakable rope, one would begin with a single strand of thread which in itself would be very weak. However, when this single strand is twisted around a second strand and then around another and another, a strong rope is developed. The principle is as follows: As more and more strands are twisted together, the stronger the rope becomes. This process involved in making a strong rope depicts how faith is developed in stages. The first strand of faith is extremely weak. However, as the believer twists more and more strands of faith together, he will eventually have a strong faith. As baby believers, our faith is like a single fine thread with little strength. However, as the believer learns more and more doctrine and gains experience in applying his faith to pressure situations, he develops a strong, ropelike faith. At that point he will be able to walk by faith with great strength (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Before the Church Age, the spiritual life of the believer emphasized living one’s life by faith. For example, the Jews of the Exodus generation were taught how to walk by faith while they were still in Egypt. In Egypt, they were all taught about the promise which God made to Abraham namely that God would give the Jewish people a country of their own, a prosperous land “flowing with milk and honey”. So, when Joseph was dying, he made his brethren swear to take his bones out of Egypt and bury them in the promise land (Genesis 50:25). So, Joseph’s bones remained unburied, which meant that the Jewish families living in Egypt would pass by the vault of Joseph, and the Father would have the opportunity to teach his children not only teach about the integrity of God via God’s promise of a land of Milk and Honey, but also why Joseph refused to be buried in Egypt. In this way they learned to trust in the Lord. Moreover, they were taught that their spiritual life was to trust in the promises of God just as Joseph believed the promises of God. Thus, the Jews had a spiritual life before they crossed the Red Sea, before they received the Mosaic Law (the Mosaic Law taught about the cross, about confession of sins and many things related to establishment, but it didn't teach the spiritual life). The spiritual life of these believers was living their life by faith in God’s promises, principles, and doctrines.
Strength in Faith, Weakness in Emotion:
Now, after God had delivered the Jews from the Pharaoh of Egypt, they sang beautifully praising him for their deliverance, but singing does not imply spiritual strength. These believers were not praising and singing because they respected and loved God. They were expressing their appreciation to God for delivering them. Their appreciation was based on their emotional relief from being delivered, not on their appreciation of the Lord. To these Jews the most important priority in their life was their safety, not a harmonious relationship with God. Praising God and singing hymns has meaning if one has a close relationship with God based on knowledge. However, if the believer is ignorant of God and His plan, his relationship with God will be related to emotion. An emotional relationship has no strength!
One can relate to a hymn cognitively or emotionally or both since a hymn contains both lyrics and melody. The purpose of the lyrics is to stimulate thought whereas the purpose of the melody is to stimulate one’s emotion pleasurably. If the believer understands and appreciates the lyrics of a hymn only then can he benefit from his singing and at the same time enjoy the melody. However, if the believer does not understand and appreciate the lyrics of a good hymn, his singing has no spiritual value and becomes a meaningless emotional activity related only to the melody. Exodus 15:2, “The Lord is my strength and song, and he has become my deliverance. This is my God, and I will praise him. My father's God; I will extol him.” Exodus 15:15, “The chiefs of Edom were dismayed; the leaders of Moab, trembling grips them; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.” However, this turned-out not to be a concern for those Kings since that first generation out of Egypt would never enter the Land of Canaan.
Three days after the Jews sang ‘the Lord is my strength’, they demonstrated that they had no spiritual strength at all for they immediately began complaining under the pressure of a simple test. Then one year later after singing about how confident they would be in combat, and how fearful the Edomites, Moabites and the inhabitants of Canaan would be of them, the Jewish army refused to enter the land and wept all night in their fear of the Canaanites! So, the Edomites, Moabites and the inhabitants of Canaan didn't need to worry about that generation of Jews for those men were too cowardly to fight their way into the Land (Numbers 14:1-11). You see, a believer can sing and praise God until he passes out from exhaustion, but all of this is meaningless unless that believer has strength in his soul from knowledge of God and a continuous fellowship with Him. These Jews produced sinful emotion on one side of the Red Sea and non-sinful emotion on the other side of the Sea. They swung from one end of the emotional spectrum (fear) to the other end (relief from being delivered). Only Moses had divine thought in his soul and true capacity to handle all situations in life. So, when he sang, it had meaning. For the rest of the Jews singing was meaningless, because every time they [with exception of Joshua and Caleb] had a pressure situation they would worry and fear about their safety and never even once considered God’s provision and plan for their lives. So, they continued to complain and complain until they died in the desert because the majority of these Jews never learned to apply the Word of God by faith to their experience.
Hebrews 4:2-3, “For we also have been evangelized as they had been [the Jews of the Exodus generation were believers since the intensive participle puts emphasis on the results of being evangelized], but the word they heard [after salvation] did not profit them, because those who heard it did not mix it [knowledge of the Word] with faith [failure in faith-perception]. For we who have believed [faith-perception and application regarding the promises, principles and doctrines of God’s word] enter into the rest [of contentment and tranquility from trusting in God].”
“In everything give thanks for this is the will of God [the Father] in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). When we as Christians reflect upon the wonderful characteristics and assets that we have in Christ, and the wonderful life in time and eternity because of Christ, we should be motivated to be thankful for everything which might occur in our experience.
A few related points:
1. The local church is the classroom where the believers assemble for instruction. There is one pastor who communicates with authority to the assembled believers under the principle of authority. This means that the communication is monologue.
2. In compliance with the principle of the privacy of the priesthood, God has ordained the public teaching of doctrine that is to teach to a group.
3. Only in assembly, do believers have the privacy to learn doctrine and to apply it as unto the Lord.
4. One-on-one teaching is not only an intrusion upon the privacy of the believer’s priesthood, but it is tantamount to bullying, and coercion and brings about false motivation. One-on-one teaching inevitably results in legalism or reversionism, or both.
5. The pastor must communicate doctrine under the ICE principles which means diligent prior study before the meeting. The inculcation of doctrine demands that all concerned be Filled with the Spirit, recognize the authority of the one who communicates, and listen to ICE type teaching.
6. ICE Teaching: Isagogics, categories and exegesis: To fully understand the plan of God for one's life, the Bible must be interpreted within the frame work of isagogics which is the historical setting. Categorical: The Bible must be studied through the scrutiny of the particular doctrine as recorded throughout the Scripture, line upon line, verse upon verse, category upon category. Hence, Scripture must be used to interpret Scripture. No scripture can stand alone. Exegesis: The Bible should be studied in the original languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek), with full context of the selected verse or verses, paying strict attention to grammar, syntax, and the etymology of the words of the original languages!
Thanksgiving: “overflowing in the sphere of thanksgiving”.
Thanksgiving toward God and his plan is based upon receiving something from God without having to earn it. Even the Greek verb for thanksgiving Εὐχαριστέω has as it root the Greek word for grace χαρις, the basic root for all the Greek words for thanksgiving. The more you understand grace the greater is your appreciation for God’s plan. Thanksgiving, then, is simply grace orientation expressing itself toward God.
1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Be thankful for the blessings of life; be thankful for the adversities of life for both blessings and adversities can be used in God’s plan to advance you spiritually. Environment should not weaken you, enslave you or destroy you. When the Christian has the ability to apply and does apply the Ten Problems Solving Devices successfully to any type of environment, he will be consistently thankful.
Thanksgiving requires power and is that form of worship in which the Church Age believer acknowledges the gracious benefits received from the three members of the Trinity. The power for worship is found 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 metabolized in the soul].” The enabling power of the Holy Spirit with the power of metabolization of doctrine utilizing the Problem-Solving Devices equals true thanksgiving. Thanksgiving has no meaning, even for the believer, until he is consistently functioning under God’s empowered plan.
Thanksgiving is a part of the daily function of the Ten Problem-Solving Devices deployed on the FLOT line (forward line of troops in a defensive position) of the soul. Thanksgiving is not some shallow, fleeting system of gratitude for something. Thanksgiving is a moment-by-moment mental attitude produced by metabolized doctrine in the stream of consciousness. Thanksgiving is the mental attitude forged from cognition and inculcation of Bible doctrine plus subsequent capacity for life, love and happiness. There is a relationship between your consistent perception of Bible doctrine and your attitude of thanksgiving toward God. Ephesians 5:20, “always be thankful with reference to all things toward God, even the Father, through the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 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.
Thanksgiving reaches its peak in personal love for God the Father and occupation with the person of Christ. 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.” Colossians1:3, “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 person to the degree he has determined [not a percent] by means of his right lobe [by means of his thinking from metabolized doctrine] so give, not from distress of mind [never give because you are pressured], not under compulsion of emotion [giving is worship so worship must be related to doctrine, not emotion] for God loves a grace-oriented [gracious] giver. God is able to make all grace abound to you [the grace-oriented giver giving to a grace cause] that always having all sufficiency in everything [money to give] you may have an abundance for every good deed. [the same as in Ephesians 4:28] (8) Just as it stands written [a quote from Psalm 112:9], He scatters abroad [God provides extra money to certain people]; (9) he gave it to the poor [via the grace-oriented believer]. His righteousness abides forever [which relates to grace giving]. (10) Now, he who supplies seed to the sower [God provides the capital] and bread for food, He God will supply and multiply your [the grace giver’s] store of seed [his capital] and increase the harvest of your righteousness [Christian service as related to giving]. (11) You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion [grace giving], and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. (12) This service [giving is recognized as Christian service] that you perform, is not only supplying the needs of God’s people [logistical grace provision] but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanksgiving to God.”
Food should be accepted with thanksgiving, 1 Timothy 4:3-5, “[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. (5) for it is sanctified [to be nourishing to the body] by means of the word of God and prayer” This applies to all food, anytime, anywhere. Thanksgiving and asking God to sanctify the food, protects the believer’s health from any possible impurities in the food and so that the food will fulfill the requirements of the body when metabolized.
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. True happiness is loving the Giver more than the gift. Capacity for life is to enjoy the Giver more than the gift.
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.
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. 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. 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.
Thanksgiving is related to all the Problem-Solving Devices. Once you begin to understand the gracious Recovery Procedure, 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 the Spirit for his enabling power. Without the Filling of the Spirit, we cannot even possess true thanksgiving to God. The Faith-Rest Drill results in capacity and expression of 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 understanding of God's will, plan, and purpose. 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 since you know that God is always fair to you. 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 comes from love for God the Father and Lord Jesus Christ.
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 [a Levite, an eminent musician] and his relatives to give thanks to the Lord as per 1 Chronicles 16:7-36.
2. 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.” 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].”
3. 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 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.”
4. Because some believers who are strong for doctrine and are such great believers, this motivates others who know them to express thanksgiving to God because of them, 1 Thessalonians 3:9, “For what thanks can we render to God in return for all the joy with which we [Paul and his team] rejoice before our God on your account.” In this case, Paul was motivated to express thanksgiving to God for the great spiritual advance of the Thessalonians.
Colossians 2:8
Constantly, be on your guard that no one [no apostate] will capture and enslave you through human speculation [in this case Gnosticism], even empty deceit, according to the pseudo tradition of mankind [religious liberalism], according to the speculative systems [political liberalism] of the cosmos [Satan’s system] and not according to the standard of Christ.
βλέπετε µή τις ὑµᾶς ἔσται ὁ συλαγωγῶν διὰ τῆς φιλοσοφίας καὶ κενῆς ἀπάτης κατὰ τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσµου καὶ οὐ κατὰ Χριστόν·
“Human speculation” This verse is warning Christians about rational arrogance.
Rational arrogance is the vanity of intellectual arrogance, or the elitism of the genius I.Q. Elitism might be defined for this study as that arrogant consciousness of pride which belongs to a select or favorite group of people. People with a high I.Q. have a tendency to look down their noses at those who are less endowed. Rational arrogance is the vanity of giving precedence to human I.Q. and intellectual attainment over spiritual I.Q. and momentum from doctrine. This human viewpoint of life rejects or sets aside divine viewpoint.
Rational arrogance generally afflicts those believers in Jesus Christ whose superior I.Q. or educational background which gives them a false sense of elitism or superiority. All too often, intellectual arrogance compromises Bible doctrine by attempting to reconcile those things found in the Word of God with philosophical and scientific speculation. Because rational or intellectual arrogance is so anthropocentric, it has a tendency to accept as fact, theories and philosophical speculations in the field of rationalism and empiricism, and make them a part of Christian doctrine. For example, a favorite practice of rational or intellectual arrogance is to choose something like the theory of evolution over creationism, because it seems to them to be "more reasonable" than divine revelation in the canon of Scripture. This is consistent with the human viewpoint objective of glorifying self over God.
The trends of rational or intellectual arrogance are noted in the attempt to reform Christianity, beginning with Gnosticism in the second century which tried to reinterpret the Scriptures and to add philosophical concepts which the Word of God rejects. The scholasticism of medieval times tried to merge the theories of Plato and Aristotle with Christian doctrine. In the twentieth century, it is manifest in existentialism, socialism, utopianism, and communism.
The truth of Bible doctrine forms a system of absolutes, but arrogance intrudes with the glorification of some form of human speculation which excludes doctrinal viewpoint. This results in such philosophies as existentialism and the arrogant system of subjective humanism (a system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems.) Without the truth of Bible doctrine as the means of establishing the norms of life, intellectualism is meaningless and often very harmful. Allegedly, man can only be understood by the subjective analysis of his suffering, guilt feelings, and anxiety. Existentialism is twentieth century Gnosticism which emphasizes the arrogant and subjective aspects of man as a creature of God. It glorifies man by saying that man is good and honorable by nature and by birth. Therefore, it denies the existence of the old sin nature and the total depravity of man. This arrogance is advocated by such men as Kierkegaard, Sartre, Carl Barth, and Emil Bruner. They call themselves modern theologians, but they are really philosophical speculators. They do not to teach doctrine, but attempt to explain Christianity in terms of philosophical speculation. This subjective approach to doctrine is arrogance.
Intellectual arrogance is difficult to overcome even with good Bible teaching. It, intellectual arrogance often distorts the trends of history and establishes false trends. It uses academic subjects to contradict the lucid and perspicuous statements of Scripture. It uses history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, historical geology, anthropology, and certain aspects of political science; it ends up glorifying Marxist theories, inserting them into academic subjects. Learning these academic subjects often create in the believer an intellectual arrogance which is difficult to overcome when he hears Bible doctrine which contradicts these subjects.
“Pseudo tradition of mankind” Religion:
Christianity and religion are antithetical. In Christianity, God saves mankind through personal faith in Jesus Christ. In religion, man seeks to impress God with his works. Religion can be classified as the devil's ace trump. For religion has been invented by Satan to counterfeit God's plan, purpose, and will for mankind, to blind the unbeliever from the gospel and to divert the believer from the execution of the protocol plan of God for the Church Age. Religion is part of the devil's strategy in being "like the Most-High God," as stated in Isaiah 14:14. Christianity is not a religion, but an eternal relationship with God through personal faith in Christ. In religion, Homo sapiens seeks the approbation of God through good deeds, human merit, and various categories of works. Religion reflects the evil genius of Satan, whereas Christianity represents the perfect integrity of God combined with His grace policy.
For deceit “empty deceit” and error to be carried out effectively, Satan has devised a system of counterfeits which are the counterfeits of religion such as:
1. Gospel, 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, “And even if our gospel is veiled [so that the unbeliever is unable to see the gospel], it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age [Satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers [through religion, philosophy etc.], so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
2. Ministers, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, “For such ones are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. (14) Did not even Satan marvelously transform himself into an angel of light? (15) Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.”
3. Communion table, 1 Corinthians 10:19-21, “What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything or that an idol is anything? (20), No, I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God, and I do not desire you to become fellow worshippers with demons. (21) You [Corinthian believers were participating in the devil’s communion table] cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons [It is either one or the other!].”
4. Doctrine, 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 which would include the Church Age and the Tribulation] some [believers] will withdraw from doctrine, concentrating on deceitful spirits [personalities, false teachers] and doctrines from demons [demonized through involvement in Cosmic 1 & 2].”
5. Spirituality, Galatians 3:1-3, “O foolish Galatians who has hypnotized you [has given you the evil eye]? Before whose eyes [refers to perception, they saw it in their mind’s eye] Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified [was designated clearly: You used to have your eyes on Christ, now you have your eyes on the Mosaic Law]. (2) This only I desire to learn from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law or by hearing of faith? (3) Are you so stupid that having begun in the sphere of the [Filling of the] Spirit, are you now being brought to completion by the flesh [being out of fellowship, using human power to advance spiritually]?
6. System of righteousness, Matthew 19:16-22, “Now behold a man came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good shall I do to obtain eternal life?” (17) And He replied to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good [What good shall I do]? There is only one [Jesus] who is good [no unbeliever can produce intrinsic good]. If you desire to enter into [eternal] life [through your righteousness], and you do, then keep the commandments [impossible]. (18) The man inquired, “Which ones?” Jesus replied, “You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness [in court]; (19) you shall honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (20) And the young man answered, “All these, I have guarded. What do I still lack?” (21) And Jesus said to him, “If you desire to be perfect [through works] and you do [though it is impossible], go and sell your possessions and give them to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven then [return] here [after you realize that you are not perfect] and follow Me [in regeneration]. (22) After the young man heard the instruction, he departed grieving for he possessed a lot of property.
7. False gods. All throughout history people have and will worship demons as gods. In the latter half of the Great Tribulation the dictator of the Revived Roman Empire will be worshiped as a god. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, “Do not let anyone deceive you in any way since it [the Day of the Lord: the Tribulation and 2nd Advent] will not come unless the departure [Rapture], and the man who is lawless [anti-establishment] shall be revealed, the son of perdition [doomed to destruction], (4) who opposes [the Lord Jesus Christ] and exalts himself above every so called god, or object of worship, so that he is installed in the temple of God [the Jewish temple of the Tribulation], proclaiming himself to be god.”
8. Power (dynamics), 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9, “And then [after the Rapture] the lawless one [dictator of the revived Roman Empire] will be revealed, whom the Lord shall destroy with the breath of His mouth [the least power of God] in fact he shall neutralize him by the very appearance of His coming [2nd Advent], (9) the dictator whose presence [in history] shall be according to the modus operandi of Satan with all power and by means of miracles even wonder miracles of the lie. Satan promotes him by means of power and miracles.
9. Way of life, Matthew 23:13-36: In this passage, the Pharisees emphasized the external condition of a person and ignored the internal condition. They emphasized taboos and outward morality. They ignored internal sins which made external righteousness a sham. Their outside was clean = morality and taboos, but their inside was filthy = mental sins and lusts.
Religion is Satan's strategy for distracting Homo sapiens from the three categories of truth. First, are the Laws of Divine Establishment as taught in the Mosaic Law. Religion seeks to become the state and once it is in power, it attacks human freedom. Also, the union of religion and state is a major attack on human freedom. Second, is the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Religion distorts salvation by grace through faith into many diverse systems of salvation by works, and third is Bible doctrine for the believer. Religion substitutes false doctrine [or the "doctrine of demons," 2 Tim 4:1] for truth. Religion sets up a system of works and ritual to replace the protocol plan of God.
Religion motivates and produces, through false teachers, every category of evil, violence, terrorism, and murder to force people into their religion which is not only characterized by the doctrine of demons (2 Tim 4:1), but it has both false teachers and false prophets to communicate this information.
There are at least five characteristics of false teachers in the Church Age.
1. False teachers are masters of hypocrisy. They use a phony facade, first exposed by our Lord in Matthew 7:15, “Beware [constantly be on your guard] of the false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves,” and further developed by Paul in Romans 16:18, “For such believers do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own emotions, and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the right lobes of the unsuspecting [those ignorant of truth].” Behind a public relations facade, false teachers use legalism to convert their victims to religion, Galatians 4:17-18, “They [Judaizers] zealously affect [seek or woo] you [into legalism], not well [not honestly] yes, they wish to exclude you [this means they wish to separate you from me, so that I can’t woo you with grace] in order that you might affect [court or woo] them, (18) but it is good always to be properly courted [by good Bible teachers] in an honorable manner, and not only when I am present with you.”
2. False Teachers flatter their victim, making them feel wanted which flatter appeals to the victim’s pride. 2 Timothy 3:5-7, “Holding to a superficial form [outward appearance] of the spiritual life, but they themselves have disregarded its power; avoid such ones as these. (6) For among them are those [immoral Christian men] who creep into homes [slyly enter the homes] and seduce [captivate] silly women [morally weak women because there is no doctrine in their souls] who are overwhelmed by their sins and are carried away by various lusts. (7) Always learning [these women], but they are never able to come to an epignosis knowledge of the truth.”
3. False teachers promote idolatry as a part of the devil's communion table, Habakkuk 2:18-19, “What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, or an image a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork when he fashions speechless idols. (19) Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’ To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’ And that is your teacher? Behold it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all inside it.” 1 Corinthians 10:19-22, “What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? (20) No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become a sharer with demons. (21). You cannot drink the cup of the Lord [the Communion table requires fellowship] and the cup of demons [demon influence: living in the cosmic system]; therefore, you cannot partake of the table of the Lord [the Eucharist for this worship requires the spiritual life] and the table of demons [demon influence].”
4. False teachers promote self-righteousness, to include legalism, personality arrogance, authority arrogance, crusader arrogance, and works-arrogance, 1 Timothy 1:6-7, “From which some men [pastors] have deviated [apostasy through reversionism]. They themselves have turned aside to ineffective teaching desiring to be teachers of the Law. (7) Since they do not understand either what they are teaching or concerning the things about which they speak dogmatically.”
5. False teachers continue to operate throughout the Church Age, as this is the intensified period of the angelic conflict, 1 John 4:1-6, “Beloved, do not believe every personality, but test the person to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have come out into the world. (2) By this you know the person of God: every person [pneuma] that confessed that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. (3) and every person that does not confess Jesus is from God: this is the person of the antichrist of which you have heard that it is coming and now it is already in the world. (4) You are from God, little children and have overcome them because greater is He who is in you than he [than the devil] who is in the world. (5) They are from the world; therefore, they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. (6) We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the person of truth and the person of error.”
“The speculative systems [political liberalism] of the cosmos”
Rejecting all laws whether civil or spiritual and substituting cosmic panaceas is Satan’s cosmos. Rejection of the Laws of Divine Establishment and the delegated authority assigned to them results in the substitution of false solutions to the problems of life. The Problem-Solving Devices of the Protocol Plan of God are rejected or ignored or both. This cosmic thinking is that function of seeking solutions to the problems of life apart from truth in its three categories: The laws of divine establishment, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Bible doctrine. Human viewpoint solutions to the problems of life are no substitute for divine solutions which are resident in the protocol plan of God.
Cosmic panaceas demand a full mobilization of arrogance, pride, and jealousy; so that self-righteousness, legalism, personality arrogance, authority arrogance, and Christian service arrogance can be expressed through crusader arrogance. (By definition, a panacea is a cure-all; a simple, stupid, disastrous solution from the tunnel vision of legalism or emotionalism.) Both authority and freedom are sacrificed on the altar of equality. Laws may guarantee equal opportunity, but no sane government would attempt to provide equality such as in mental health, mental ability, strength, motivation, love ad nauseam, but they try to makes us all equal economically, and so both Christians and unbelievers seek solutions to fix this inequality issue which include such things as taxing the rich to feed the poor, i.e., the redistribution of wealth, the break-up of successful business enterprises, the confiscation of property, the destruction of the national currency, the nationalization of industry, and the passing of laws to suit or conform to this false doctrine of equality.
Cosmic panaceas inevitably result in big government fat with bureaucrats and little people with less and less freedom in terms of rights, privacy and property. Cosmic panaceas advocate the criterion that make people slaves to the state instead of the government being the servant of the people. In a democracy, the citizens become the slaves of the state while demanding their rights. Cosmic panaceas are based on self-righteous arrogance. Hence, they promise all sorts of things that cannot be fulfilled. These politicians are divorced from reality. Some of the so-called greatest Christian leaders of our day advocate violence to get their way. They support violence in destruction of property and even in destruction of life; e.g., attacks on women seeking abortions. Cosmic panaceas promote tremendous prejudice, violence, terrorism and warfare. Too many believers are influenced by Marxism, Bolshevism, Menshevism, some form of socialism, and other anti-Biblical idealisms which blind them to the evil they both advocate and practice.
No government or personal interest group can create equality in the human race. Only God can create equality, which He has done with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit at the point of salvation. So, a myth is destroyed. Equal opportunity is not equality. In fact, equal opportunity guarantees inequality, as demonstrated in both the temporal and spiritual realm. By creating equal opportunity in the protocol plan of God, God has guaranteed that in heaven there will be great inequality. There are always some people who use their equal opportunity, and some who do not.
In the name of the greater good for the greater number, the government commits crimes, sets itself above the law, and therefore destroys the laws which protect our freedom, privacy, property and lives. Socialism and Marxism are anti-freedom and anti-God, though many Christian organizations advocate their false doctrines and try to merge them with Christian doctrine. Without freedom, the individual cannot have a destiny. Without authority or establishment, one cannot have freedom.
Cosmic panaceas are designed to promote the rule of Satan on earth. He is the ruler of this world in name, but he becomes the ruler in effect through the arrogance of believers and unbelievers who cooperate to help his regime through crusader arrogance and cosmic panaceas. History has demonstrated the failure of cosmic panaceas in the devil's world. Crusader arrogance and its resultant cosmic panaceas add up to a false premise, and there is no solution to life based on a false premise or a false conclusion.
Colossians 2:9
For in Him [in Christ: positional truth with a resultant relationship] dwells all the fullness of deity [the essence of God] in bodily form [a reference to the hypostatic union with the Prototype Spiritual Life].
ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ κατοικεῖ πᾶν τὸ πλήρωµα τῆς θεότητος σωµατικῶς,
The Hypostatic Union: The doctrine of the hypostatic union was confirmed by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D.
Definition: In the person of the incarnate Christ are two natures, divine and human, inseparably united without mixture or loss of separate identity, without loss or transfer of properties or attributes, the union being personal and eternal. The two natures of Christ maintain their complete identity though being joined in personal union forever. The attributes of His human and divine nature belong to their corresponding natures though the attributes of either nature belong to the one person of Christ. Each nature has its own attributes that adhere to that nature. There is no mixture of the two natures to form a third substance or hypostasis. The human nature always remains the human nature and the divine nature always remains the divine nature.
Further elaboration: The word “nature” comes from the Greek word ousia, the present participle of eimi, which means “that which is one’s own.” Regarding this nature, it is impossible to transfer an attribute of one nature to the other nature without destroying that nature. For example, some theologians contend that the deity of Christ helped the humanity to bear his sufferings. This contention is tantamount to heresy. A change of attributes involves a change of essence. So, this did not take place. What did take place? There was the union of two natures, divine and human into one hypostatic union, one person. It is the persona of the unique person of the universe.
Beginning with the incarnation of Jesus Christ, a human nature was inseparably united forever with the divine nature of the deity of the Son of God. Since the incarnation, Jesus Christ is true humanity and undiminished deity in one unique person forever. Since the first advent, it is no longer the divine nature alone which is expressed in His person, but the human nature as well. Therefore, from the time of the virgin birth, our Lord Jesus Christ will always be undiminished deity and true humanity in one person forever. Whatever the Bible says about either the divine or human nature of Christ must be attributed to the entire person. Whatever is true of either nature is true of the entire person of Christ in hypostatic union. Jesus Christ is not two persons, but one person with two natures.
Biblical Documentation of the Hypostatic Union:
1. John 1:1-2, “In eternity past, there always existed the Word [deity of Christ], and the Word [a title for God the Son] was face-to-face with God [the Father], and the Word was God. He [God the Son] was in the beginning with God [the Father].”
2. John 1:14, “And the Word [the deity of Christ] became flesh [true humanity] and tabernacled among us [in the First Advent], and we saw His glory, glory as of the unique one from the Father, full of grace and doctrine.”
3. Romans 1:3-4, “Concerning His Son who was born from the seed of David according to the flesh [true humanity], (4) who was marked-out, [by the Divine Decree] Son of God [emphasizes the identity of Christ before the virgin birth/incarnation] by means of power according to the Holy Spirit [the proto-type spiritual life given to the humanity of Christ as per Isaiah 11:2] by means of resurrection from death [physical death; the plural of this noun is many times used for the singular], Jesus Christ our Lord.”
4. Romans 9:5, “And from whom is the Christ in so far as the flesh [true humanity] is concerned, who is God, sovereign over all.”
5. Hebrews 1:3, “Who [a reference to His divine nature] being the flashing forth of the glory, and the exact image of His [the Father’s] essence; also sustaining all things by the Word of His [Christ’s] power, having Himself accomplished purification for sins [function of His humanity], He was caused to sit down at the right hand of the majesty on high [only humanity sits].”
6. 1 Timothy 3:16 is a summary of the dispensation of the hypostatic union. “And by common acknowledgment, great is the mystery of the spiritual life: He who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up into glory.”
7. Hebrews 2:14, “Therefore, since children [homo sapiens] share blood and flesh, He also partook of the same [became true humanity], in order that through [substitutionary spiritual] death, He neutralized [rendered powerless] Satan who has the ruling power over spiritual death [Satan rules those under spiritual death].”
8. Philippians 2:5-9, “Keep on thinking this in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who though He existed in the essence of God, He did not think equality with God a gain to be seized; but He laid aside His privileges [kenosis] taking the form of a servant, having come to be in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient [a reference to His humanity] to the point of [substitutionary spiritual] death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, also, God highly exalted Him and gave Him a title [a royal patent] which is above every title, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of the Father.”
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 as follows:
1. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him [Jesus] (The Holy Spirit’s power enabled Jesus to advance spiritually)
2. The Spirit of wisdom (wisdom extrapolated from truth and applied to people, circumstances, sufferings etc. The Spirit enabled Jesus to acquire much wisdom)
3. The Spirit of perception: the Spirit provided the power for Jesus to learn the Word of God.
4. The Spirit of counsel (the Spirit counseled Jesus through metabolized doctrine)
5. The Spirit of strength (the Spirit produces strength in the soul and so provided the necessary spiritual strength for Jesus to accomplish His mission.)
6. The Spirit of knowledge (the Spirit, the teacher of divine knowledge): Jesus mastered the knowledge of the Word via the Filling of the Spirit.
7. The Spirit who provides respect for the Lord [God the Father]. Jesus through this ministry of the Spirit developed maximum love for God the Father.
Colossians 2:10
And in Him [Current Positional Truth], you have been made complete and you remain so forever [the periphrastic perfect construction with the intensive perfect emphasizes the results; the strongest construction in Greek], who [Christ] is the sovereign head over all angelic rulers [demon rulers] and all angelic authorities [demon commissioned officers]. [relating our position in Christ with the Lord’s authority over these demon generals and commissioned officers, and our impact in the Angelic Appeal Trial. Thus, we are higher than these angels positionally]
καὶ ἐστὲ ἐν αὐτῷ πεπληρωµένοι, ὅς ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλὴ πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας,
Not only is Jesus Christ the ruler over the body of Christians via the Baptism of the Spirit, our final authority, but He is also the authority over angels. This he accomplished through His strategic defeat of Satan on the cross as part of the Rebuttal Phase of the Angelic Appeal Trial.
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 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 5:11-12, “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 (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.
Colossians 2:11
In whom also we have been circumcised [refers to the baptism of the Holy Spirit] by a circumcision not made with hands [a spiritual circumcision] by the renunciation of the body of the flesh [the sin nature] by means of the circumcision of Christ [Jesus Christ on the cross removed the power of the sin nature, by bearing the penalty of the sins of the world and by using divine power to accomplish this work, rather than human power].
ἐν ᾧ καὶ περιετµήθητε περιτοµῇ ἀχειροποιήτῳ ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει τοῦ σώµατος τῆς σαρκός, ἐν τῇ περιτοµῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ,
Circumcision is used to portray retroactive positional truth in this verse. In bearing our sins and taking our place He rejected human good. Human good which is metaphorically, equivalent to the portion of the foreskin removed in circumcision. Human good is dead and the skin removed through circumcision is dead and useless skin. The removal of the unnecessary and useless portrays what is not necessary in the Christian life. Spiritual circumcision eliminates legalism what is useless via grace. Grace eliminates the talent of man, the ability of man, the energy of man, the plans of man. We have been spiritually circumcised of legalism.
Spiritual circumcision applies to every member of the body of Christ, male or female. The literal physical ritual of circumcision was exclusive, it belonged to the males of Israel only. But the spiritual circumcision which we have today is all-inclusive, every believer is a priest. However, spiritual circumcision or retroactive positional truth does not imply eradication of the old sin nature in time in this mortal body.
The Power of the Sin Nature has been broken:
Romans 6:2: Emphatically not [Paul’s abhorrence to a falsely drawn conclusion]! We who have died to the sin nature [Retroactive Positional Truth], how shall we still live in it [the power of Sin Nature]?
The sin nature acquires power when the believer yields to one of the lusts of the sin nature. When the believer yields to one of these lusts, he simultaneously breaks fellowship with God the Holy Spirit. The desire to please the Lord is all but forgotten for these lusts monopolize the believer’s motivation and employ both sin and good, a good produced via human dynamics and power. This destructive power can only be broken via the Recovery Procedure.
The Recovery Procedure must be used by the Christian in order to break the tight grip the Sin Nature has on him when he is out of fellowship. It is called, ‘The Recovery Procedure’ since it is a procedure and the only way the believer can recover fellowship with God.
Naming our sins to God the Father is a conditional procedure and not a promise to be applied by faith. A promise is a divine declaration or assurance that something specified will or will not happen, whereas a procedure is a course of action (naming our sins) by which a result is obtained (forgiveness of our sins). A promise requires faith; a procedure requires action. This confession or citing one’s sins places the Christian back under the authority of God the Spirit and allows him to use the two powers of the spiritual life. In this sphere of divine power whatever good the Christian produces would be classified as divine good since it would be produced by the power of God the Holy Spirit and the power of God’s word metabolized in the soul.
A few more points to bring greater clarification:
1. The old sin nature, the sovereign of human life, is no longer the controlling factor in the life of the believer. Positionally, the old sin nature is dead; its power has been broken.
2. However, after salvation the old sin nature still resides in those contaminated cells of the body, but through the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation the power, the sovereignty, the rulership of the old sin nature has been broken.
3. Though still present in our body of corruption, the old sin nature has been robbed of its power to rule our lives. The only reason it still rules is because we exercise our options in favour of it.
4. 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.
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].
The Seven Baptisms:
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.
1 Corinthians 12:13, "For by means of one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit [We did not have a choice in this matter for the Holy Spirit from his sovereignty made this decision for our benefit]."
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.]”
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].”
John had both a gospel ministry (“prepare the way of the Lord”), and a ministry of teaching the spiritual life (“keep on making upright his paths”). After their salvation John taught about their identification with the Millennial and Eternal Kingdom via water baptism and about the mechanics of confessing their sins. These are both post-salvation functions.
Acts 19:4, “Then Paul said, John baptized with a baptism characterized by [a cognate accusative with the genitive] a change of thinking [John only baptized those who had changed their mind about Christ and had believed], saying to the people that they should believe in the One coming after him [John, the Baptist], that is, in Jesus.”
John was the first to use water to identify new converts with the Kingdom of God. John lived in the ritual age of Israel and so it should not be surprising that he used ritual to teach. There had to be a ceremony never used before to identify a person, the new believer of the 1st Advent with the Kingdom of God since the King was present. The kingdom could have immediately followed the cross. However, since the majority of the Jews of Israel had rejected Christ and his work on the cross, the Millennial Kingdom had to be postponed.
Since John was the herald of Christ in his 1st Advent, it was his responsibility to assist in manifesting Christ to Israel, John 1:31, “I did not recognize Him [at first], but so that He might be manifest to Israel, I [John only] came baptizing by water.” This responsibility was delegated to him alone by God the Father for John 1:33 states, “. . . but he [God the Father] who sent me [not anyone else] to baptize by water. . .” (In order to identify ritually the new converts of the 1st Advent with the Messiah and his kingdom). This baptism was never practiced after John's death.
2. The Baptism of Jesus Christ explained in Matthew 3:13-17.
Matthew 3:13. Then [while John was talking about the coming of Christ at the 1st Advent] Jesus arrived [made his public appearance] from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John to be baptized by him.
Before Jesus Christ began his public ministry, he would have to declare ritually that he would fulfill the Father’s plan. This ritual would be accomplished through water. Jesus by going into the water was making a public declaration that he would go to the cross in order to fulfill the Father’s plan during His 1st Advent. Coming out of the water represented his resurrection, ascension and session.
Matthew 3:14. But John tried to prevent him saying, “I have need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
John understood that Jesus was coming to participate in the baptism that he had been performing for his converts, but this was not the case. (The baptism of Jesus Christ would be unique.) If Jesus had come to participate in John’s baptism, it would not have made any sense.
Matthew 3:15. But Jesus replied to him, “Permit it now for in this way it is fitting for us [John is supporting the humanity of Christ by being the herald] to fulfill all righteousness [at the cross].” Then he permitted him [since he now understood that the baptism of Jesus would be unique].
Jesus went into the water of the Jordan demonstrating through this ritual that he would go to the cross; his coming out of the water represented his resurrection, ascension and session.
Matthew 3:16. After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water and behold the heavens were opened unto him, and he [the deity of Jesus Christ] saw the Spirit of God [the Holy Spirit] descending as a dove and lighting on Him,
The only visible member of the Trinity at any time is the Lord Jesus Christ. So, it was the deity of Christ who saw the Spirit as a dove.
A dove will not light on dead bodies (analogous to unrighteousness] nor upon water (as illustrated by the dove of Noah). It will only light on something clean (analogous to righteousness). Thus, the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus like a dove means that Jesus was perfectly righteous and qualified to begin his ministry.
Matthew 3:17. and behold a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.”
At the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus had to make a formal declaration that he would execute the Father’s plan. The ritual of going into the water was Christ identifying with and agreeing to fulfill the Father’s plan namely live a perfect life under the greatest possible pressure, go to the cross with maximum integrity and humility and be judged for the sins of the world. His coming out of the water represented his resurrection, ascension and session where he would be glorified at the right hand of the Father.
Immediately after his baptism, Jesus Christ, being spiritually mature a reference to his humanity, received evidence testing administered by Satan. 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 (the Lord) against Satan. The greatest witness against Satan was the humanity of Christ who received both the evidence testing related to the plan of God (Matthew 4:1-10) followed three years later by the cross, a suffering which defeated Satan strategically.
3. Christian Water Baptism is the ritual testimony of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. In the early Church, the Baptism of the Spirit was so revolutionary so unbelievable that a ritual was invented to help new believers to understand this extremely important doctrine. Until a detailed explanation of this doctrine was written down in Scripture, and taught, the ritual of Water Baptism was necessary. In 58 A.D., Paul had explained clearly about the Baptism of the Spirit in his epistle written to the Romans. Once this information was understood well by the early church, this ritual was no longer necessary.
In the water, the believer recognized that he was identified with Jesus Christ in His spiritual death, physical death, and burial namely Retroactive Positional Truth. Coming out of the water was recognition of being identified with Christ as He is now seated at the right hand of the Father namely Current Positional Truth.
The distortion of Water Baptism in the early Church, 1 Corinthians 1:13-17. The Corinthians emphasized water baptism and failed to make the connection of the ritual with the reality of Spirit Baptism.
1 Corinthians 1:13, “Is Christ divided? Paul wasn't crucified as a substitute for you, was he [Paul is linking the cross with Christ at the right hand of the Father and Baptism of the Spirit]? Of course not. Or you have not been baptized into the person of Paul, have you? Of course not!”
The Corinthian Church was divided into four different groups vying for power. They used the following four persons: Paul, Apollos, Cephas and Christ in order to consolidate their power. Some rallied around Paul since he was by far the most intellectual of the three. Some undoubtedly rallied around Apollos since he was a great orator; around Peter since he was one of the early leaders of the Church, and Christ because he is the God-Man.
In bringing to light the absolute stupidity and irrationality of these divisions, Paul using himself as an example makes it quite clear that there is only one Savior and only one person seated at the right hand of God the Father and so there is only one object of the Baptism of the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 1:14, “I am thankful that I baptized [a reference to water baptism in the early church] none of you except Crispus and Gaius.”
This should shock those who believe that water-baptism is necessary for both salvation and the spiritual life for the greatest evangelist and exponent of the spiritual life in the Church Age renounced this stupidity and false doctrine. Out of tens of thousands of converts to Christianity in Corinth, Paul only baptized a handful. You have to ask the question, why? Apparently, the Corinthians were already placing too much emphasis on the ritual of water baptism and too little emphasis on the Baptism of the Spirit. So, Paul wanted no part of this distortion.
1 Corinthians 1:15, “In order that no one might say that you have been baptized [a reference to Spirit Baptism] into [identified with] my person [since Paul was not seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven].”
Paul is ridiculing their stupidity. For if the Christian is dumb enough to distort water baptism into something it was never intended to be, then maybe he is dumb enough to think that a Christian can be baptized spiritually into a human being such as Paul.
1 Corinthians 1:16, “Also, I baptized the household of Stephanus, the rest [of you,] I don't know whether I baptized any other or not.”
The Corinthians didn’t understand the difference between the use of water baptism, and how it related to the subject of the Baptism of the Spirit. The Corinthian Church as far as I know was the only church which made an issue out of the ritual of water baptism. A ritual that only had purpose in the pre-canon period of the Church Age for only at that time, was it used as a teaching aid in the communication of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. As the teaching on the Baptism of the Spirit became widespread and the epistles of the New Testament were being written, and subjects such as the Baptism of the Spirit were clearly presented in such epistles as Romans, there was no longer a need for this ritual of water-baptism.
1 Corinthians 1:17, “For Christ did not send me to baptize [a reference to water baptism], but to communicate the good news [the gospel and the spiritual life], not in wisdom of speech [human wisdom] so that the cross of Christ might not be voided.”
In Paul’s four missionary journeys, the only time Paul mentions that he performed water baptism as a ritual to teach Spirit Baptism is in the first chapter of 1 Corinthians. Paul made himself very clear when he said that he did not have time to waste, and as far as he was concerned, conducting a lot of ritual water baptisms was a waste of time. The Lord sent him to communicate the gospel to the unsaved and to communicate the spiritual life to believers that they may grow spiritually. These last two are infinitely more important than conducting water baptisms.
Why conduct water baptisms when the information is clearly taught in the canon of Scripture. Furthermore, since Paul had clearly taught Spirit Baptism to the Corinthian believers during his 18 months with them, he saw no need to baptize them into water to illustrate the point. He just baptized a few to communicate the point and these were apparently conducted in his first few months in Corinth.
More on the Baptism of the Spirit: 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 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 substitutionary 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 “the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil”. 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 for use when we fail and come under the power of the sin nature. 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 the 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 of his 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 Recovery Procedure and the power of physical death is broken through current positional truth.
5. Having been positionally liberated from the sovereignty of the old sin nature as an absolute ruler, and the authority of physical death, we must recognize and apply doctrine for the experiential victory.
Colossians 2:13
And when you were spiritually dead [starting at physical birth; the infrequent use of the accusative absolute] with reference to your trespasses [personal sinning as a result of spiritual death] and in the uncircumcision of your flesh [all humans still possess a sin nature; the sin nature has not been cut away], He [God the Father as the author of the plan] has given life [a reference to Current Positional Truth] to all of you together with Him after having graciously forgiven [the action of the aorist participle precedes the action of the main verb] us [at the moment of our salvation] all our transgressions [pre-salvation-sins].
καὶ ὑµᾶς νεκροὺς ὄντας τοῖς παραπτώµασιν καὶ τῇ ἀκροβυστίᾳ τῆς σαρκὸς ὑµῶν, συνεζωοποίησεν ὑµᾶς σὺν αὐτῷ, χαρισάµενος ἡµῖν πάντα τὰ παραπτώµατα,
All males are born uncircumcised which is an illustration of all members of the human race being born with an old sin nature. Therefore, uncircumcision in this passage is used for being born spiritually dead. The source of being spiritually dead is the old sin nature. We are born with an old sin nature to which God the Father imputes Adam’s Original Sin. This imputation results in spiritual death.
Colossians 2:14
[God the Father] By having canceled [aorist participle: blotted-out in eternity past] the note of indebtedness [We owed God perfect righteousness and sinlessness which could not be paid since we were born spiritual dead at birth followed by personal sins in life] against us with reference to the dogmas [or laws found in the Mosaic Law which demonstrate that we are unrighteous sinners]. The note of indebtedness which was [began at human birth and manifested by personal sins] hostile [the penalty of sins] to us, he [God the Father] even removed [the main verb] it [the note of indebtedness] permanently [the intensive perfect tense allows us to add the word permanently for those who believe] out of the way [as a barrier], by having nailed [aorist participle] it to the cross [only at the Cross was the debt paid for and canceled].”
ἐξαλείψας τὸ καθí ἡµῶν χειρόγραφον τοῖς δόγµασιν ὃ ἦν ὑπεναντίον ἡµῖν, καὶ αὐτὸ ἦρκεν ἐκ τοῦ µέσου προσηλώσας αὐτὸ τῷ σταυρῷ·
“Having cancelled” is an aorist active participle which means to blot out, to obliterate, to rub out, to erase. This word is used throughout Greek literature as a gambler’s term for the cancellation of a debt. The aorist active participle indicates that the debt has been canceled once and for all, in eternity past. The certificate of debt not only represents a great gambling loss but with that loss it represents pressure - if this debt isn’t collected in one way, it will be collected in another way.
Every member of the human race owes God perfect righteousness and sinlessness. God created man sinless, therefore we owe Him sinlessness. When Adam sinned, he put the whole human race in debt to God. It was passed on to the human race, that is what is meant by the imputation of Adam’s sin. Adam put us behind the eight ball. A debt that only the grace of God could ever resolve. There is no way that any member of the human race could ever pay it off [spiritual death at birth manifested by thousands of personal sins during one’s lifetime]. This is where we get our first glimmer of grace. There is no way of life, there is no system, no concept, no principle by which you and I could ever enter into a relationship with God. There is an IOU out against us and that IOU is a total barrier. However, God has found a way to cancel that debt without compromising His character. It is only the grace of God that turns spiritually dead, deep in debt mankind into a noble creature in time for all the angels to see.
We have two aorist participles [having cancelled, having nailed] and a main verb (He removed). The action of the two aorist participles precedes the action of the main verb. The first aorist participle declares the cancellation of the debt in eternity past by God the Father who knew that Jesus would pay the debt in full and the second aorist participle declares that it was nailed to the cross, the debt being paid for in time by the work of Jesus Christ.
1. So, when an unbeliever makes a decision to appropriate the work of Redemption through faith in Christ, his pre-salvation sins are forgiven immediately as part of the salvation package, and he is entered into fellowship with God the Holy Spirit where he remains until which time, he commits his first post-salvation sin. At which time, he has the option to name his sin or sins to God the Father. If he chooses to do so, he will be forgiven and entered again into fellowship with God the Holy Spirit.
2. Man’s volition was not involved when God the Father made the decision to judge Jesus for every sin of the human race. Man’s volition is involved in the forgiveness of both pre-salvation sins and post-salvation sins.
3. Only the person who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ for his salvation is forgiven of his sins. Therefore, the unbeliever is never forgiven of his sins since he does not want fellowship with God.
4. Forgiveness and fellowship are the two sides of a coin: on the one side is forgiveness, on the other side is fellowship.
5. As soon as a person is forgiven of sins, he has fellowship with God. Since the unbeliever does not desire fellowship with God, there is no need for forgiveness. Hypothetically, if both judgment and forgiveness had taken place on the cross, all members of the human race would have fellowship with God whether they had believed or not: totally weird and bizarre.
The Penalty of our sins was nailed to the Cross via Redemption:
The saving work of Jesus Christ on the Cross whereby every human being is purchased from the slave market of sin in which he was born in real, spiritual death. Redemption is viewed from the standpoint of a ransom paid on the cross for our salvation. Redemption is realized when a person is born-again by faith in Jesus Christ.
In the doctrine of soteriology, there are three key concepts: redemption, reconciliation, and propitiation. The phrase "the blood of Christ" applies to all three doctrines. Redemption is toward sin. Reconciliation is directed toward mankind namely mankind is reconciled to God. Propitiation is directed toward God, meaning that the integrity of God the Father is satisfied by the work of Christ on the cross.
What did Jesus Christ have to do to become our redeemer? In order to become our redeemer, Christ had to become a free and perfect member of the human race for He could not provide salvation by remaining as He was in eternity past as deity only for a redeemer must be judged for the sins of the world and since deity cannot be judged for the sins of the world, he had to take-on humanity. This was not only necessary for being a redeemer, but also for mediatorship for whoever is the mediator between God and man must be equal with both parties. Jesus Christ is both undiminished deity and perfect, impeccable humanity. Therefore, as God He is equal with party of the first part, God the Father. As true humanity, He was born perfect as Adam was created perfect. So as the God-man, He becomes the mediator between God and man and our redeemer.
The doctrine of Redemption was taught by means of animal blood in the Old Testament. Hebrews 9:22, "And according to the standard of the Law, nearly all things were cleansed with animal blood, and without the pouring out of animal blood there is no forgiveness [for without the shadow there is no reality]." You see, sacrificial animal blood was the shadow, a teaching aid of the reality. The reality would take place on the cross. Without the shadow, there is no reality. Without the reality there is no payment of sins on the cross. Without the payment of sins on the cross, there is no basis for forgiveness of sins. The payment for the penalty of sins means that judgment took place on the cross. Forgiveness takes place at salvation and thereafter.
Old Testament believers like Job and David applied such doctrines as Redemption and Resurrection to their circumstances. Job 19:25, "I know that My Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand in the latter day upon the earth [in resurrection body]." David said in Psalm 34:22, "The Lord redeems the soul of His servants [at salvation not the body]."
‘The blood of Christ’ a phrase which unites the animal sacrifices with the work of Jesus Christ on the cross by using animal blood as a representative analogy for the substitutionary spiritual death of Jesus. When the carotid of an animal was severed, blood gushed-out and since the life of an animal is in his blood, the gushing-out of animal blood meant that the animal would die. The physical death of the animal through bleeding to death was used as a representative analogy for the substitutionary spiritual death of Jesus on the cross. In other words, the death of Christ on the cross was not a physical death through bleeding to death, but God the Father punishing the humanity of Christ for the penalty of every sin of humanity. The physical death of the animal depicted the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross. Ephesians 1:7, "By whom we have redemption through His blood (propitiation, reconciliation and redemption), resulting in the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace." Colossians 1:14, "By whom we have redemption resulting in the forgiveness of sins." 1 Peter 1:18-19, "We have not been redeemed with corruptible things [including blood], such as silver and gold, from our empty manner of life, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ [the phrase ‘blood of Christ’ related to an animal sacrifice; in other words, for those who insist that it was literal blood, should also insist that he was truly a lamb], a lamb without spot and without blemish." Thus, the phrase, the blood of Christ depicts, by analogy, the saving work of Christ on the cross.
Redemption removes the condemnation of the Mosaic Law. Galatians 3:13, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us. For it stands written [Deuteronomy 21:23], `Cursed is everyone who hangs on the wood.'" He became a curse for us by bearing our sins. Every violation of the Mosaic Law that we have ever committed was born by Christ on His own body on the cross.
Redemption is related to mediatorship. Hebrews 9:14-15, “How much more [a fortiori] shall the blood of Christ [His work on the cross], who through the agency of the eternal Spirit [God the Holy Spirit sustained Him], offered Himself without blemish [no personal sins] to the God [the Father], purify your conscience from dead works [If a Christian should understand the cross and how Jesus through His spiritual life was able to handle such a great judgment, it should motivate the Christian to remove dead works from his conscience] to serve [as royal priests] the living God. (15) And for this reason he is Mediator of a new covenant [the New Covenant to the Church is found in the New Testament epistles] in order that since a death [substitutionary atonement] has taken place resulting in redemption from the transgressions which were under the first covenant [the ritual system and priesthood found in the Mosaic Law to Israel] so that those having been called [those who understand and respond to the gospel message via Common Grace] might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” 1 Timothy 2:5-6, "For there is one God [in essence], and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, (6) who gave Himself as a redemptive ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time [God brings the gospel to the unbeliever at the exact right time]."
Regaining fellowship with God through the Naming of our Sins, not to be confused with the Faith-rest Drill:
1 John1:9, "If we name our sins, he is faithful and righteous with the result that he forgives us our sins for our benefit and purifies us from all wrong doing [everything done when the believer is out of fellowship with God]."
Staying in fellowship is very important in the Christian way of life. Therefore, we must learn how to recover fellowship after committing sin for restoration to fellowship. God has designed a simple procedure which R.B. Thieme Jr. called the ‘The Recovery Procedure’. Although it is simple, it must be followed exactly.
Naming our sins to God the Father is a conditional procedure and not a promise to be applied by faith. A promise is a divine declaration or assurance that something specified will or will not happen, whereas a procedure is a course of action (naming our sins) by which a result is obtained (forgiveness of our sins). A promise requires faith; a procedure requires only action.
This verse does not say, “If we believe and cite our sins”. The believer cannot walk by faith when he is out of fellowship. So, God has given the believer a simple procedure for restoration to fellowship. Simply name your sins to Him that is to God the Father, and He will restore you to fellowship.
The Faith-rest drill, namely walking by faith cannot be accomplished when we are out of fellowship with the Holy Spirit. The Faith-rest drill is applying Bible doctrine to our experiences and requires divine power for execution. This divine power is provided by the Filling ministry of God the Holy Spirit, only when we are in fellowship. Walking by faith is a part of the spiritual life. When the believer is out of fellowship, his spiritual life comes to a halt until he gets back into fellowship.
Restoration to fellowship precedes any function of faith. In the function of the Faith-rest drill, the soul must be controlled by God the Holy Spirit. When the believer is out of fellowship, his soul is controlled by his sin nature. When the believer is controlled by his sinful nature, he is in a totally helpless and hopeless situation. This is why God had to provide a grace solution to this dilemma. This grace solution is a simple procedure, not a faith-exercise.
The Christian must realize that he is either in fellowship or out of fellowship with God at all times. He is not partly in fellowship and partly out of fellowship. When the believer is obedient to Bible doctrine under the Filling of the Holy Spirit, he is in fellowship and walking in the light. ‘Walking in the light’ is related to the soul, and not the body or its emotions. Therefore, fellowship is not something we ‘feel’. No believer should say, ‘I feel close to God’ or, ‘I feel like I’m out of fellowship with God’. Rather, the believer must understand that he loses fellowship with the Holy Spirit and enters into darkness whenever he sins. When in darkness, he must enter the light again through confession of sins.
Fellowship always follows forgiveness! When a person first believes in Jesus Christ as his Savior, his pre-salvation sins are forgiven, and he is placed immediately in fellowship with God the Holy Spirit. After salvation, when he decides to sin, fellowship with the Holy Spirit is broken and the believer enters into darkness. At this point the believer is helpless and needs a grace solution that he may again walk in the light. (When the Christian is out of fellowship and walking in darkness, he is in a totally hopeless situation. It is hopeless because the believer out of fellowship is under the control of his sin nature and so is unable to utilize whatever metabolized doctrine is in his soul.) Therefore, the solution to this problem of loss of fellowship comes from God’s gracious forgiveness, the only solution. Once he is forgiven, he is back in fellowship.
This passage (1 John 1:9) starts out with the following clause, “If we name our sins [a reference to known sins].” The Greek particle εαν (ean - if) and the Greek verb ὁµολογῶµεν (homologomen - to acknowledge, name, or cite) in the subjunctive mood forms a 3rd class conditional sentence in the Greek. The 3rd class conditional sentence emphasizes the free will of the individual and has the connotation of ‘maybe’. The believer may name his sins correctly to God the Father or he may not. When John wrote this passage under the ministry of the Holy Spirit, he recognized that many Christians would fail to properly cite their sins to God the Father.
Not only does the subjunctive mood recognize free will, but also does the imperative mood. A father may say to his daughter, “If you get married (subjunctive mood: potential, possibility, probability), I will give you an expensive wedding present.” Since she has free will, she may never receive that gift. A city mayor may command drivers to drive within a certain speed limit within the city. However, this does not mean that all drivers will comply. Scripture recognizes free will through its use of the subjunctive and imperative moods.
God provided 1 John 1:9 as the only way to recover our fellowship with Him. Since God gave it to us, it is our responsibility to use it. So, every time the believer gets out of fellowship, he should immediately name his sins to his heavenly Father. This is his responsibility.
The believer is not only responsible for acknowledging his sins, but he is also responsible for the act of his sins. Therefore, when you sin, don't blame others. Don't ever say, “He or she made me angry”. This is failure to take responsibility for your own sins. No person can make you angry. You made a decision to become angry, or to worry, to become jealous, to gossip, to fornicate. That was your decision, not the decision of someone else.
‘Homologeo’ (to cite, to state) is a classical Greek word originally used in the Athenian courts of the 5th century B.C. (The apostle John used this word that we might understand how forgiveness relates to the judgment of the cross.) How was this word used in the Greek judicial system? This verb was used of a criminal stating his crimes before a judge in a courtroom. After the criminal was found guilty, the judge would demand that the criminal acknowledge his guilt by stating his crimes (‘homologei tas harmatias sou’, translated ‘acknowledge your crime’). In stating his crimes, the criminal was not permitted to get emotional. He was not permitted to state his remorse, apologize or weep. The judge demanded that the criminal only state the facts regarding his crime, after which the judge would assign the appropriate punishment prescribed by law. Law, not emotion, was the criterion in the Athenian Court.
Judgment is followed by forgiveness. The cross was a courtroom trial presided over by God the Father, the presiding judge by whom Jesus, a substitute for the guilty human race, was sentenced and punished for all the sins of humanity. During the trial there was only judgment, not forgiveness. Colossians 1:14 states, “By whom [Jesus Christ], we have redemption [a primary accusative of object] resulting in the forgiveness [a secondary accusative of result] of sins”.
The key word in the first clause of recovery is homologeo. This word ‘homologeo’ contains no emotion, not even 1%. No tears, no regret, no begging, no promise to do better, and no ritual. Just acknowledge your guilt and state your sins to God the Father. How you feel about your sins during your confession is totally inconsequential. Just follow the procedure and name your sins; don’t try to impress God with your emotion [just as there is no emotion required for salvation and the spiritual life].
Now, it is true that sometimes when you sin, you may experience some regret which in turn may motivate you to name your sins to the Father. This is okay, but not necessary. The truly honest Christian admits to himself that he wanted to commit that sin and just names it without going through the emotion of regret. Desiring to get back in fellowship is sufficient motivation; emotion is not necessary. However, if a Christian remains out of fellowship for a prolonged period of time, he will become very emotional and may even be entering into the early stages of neurosis. So, when he finally decides to get back in fellowship, he may not be able to refrain from weeping as he confesses his sins to God the Father. This is okay as long as he is not trying to impress or bribe God the Father with his tears.
The clause “If we name our sins” refers to known and remembered sins. Now, please realize that certain sins are very subtle. So, in some cases you may not even realize that you have sinned. Obviously, if you don't know what you have thought or done was a sin, or if you have forgotten your sin due to an elapse of time, you cannot name it. For example, if you do not realize that worry is a sin or you have forgotten that you had lied about something, then you will not realize your responsibility to name it to God the Father. So, the word “sins” refers to known sins that you remember, not unknown or forgotten sins. These known sins must be named to the proper person of the Trinity. The citing or acknowledgment of sins in the Church Age is addressed to God the Father (Mark 11:25, 26; Luke 11:2). God the Father is immutable, and so He is always faithful. Therefore, every time you name your sins to Him, He forgives you of your known and unknown sins and restores you to fellowship. He is never wearied by your confessions nor becomes irritated by your failures. He is always forgiving.
He is not only faithful, but also perfectly righteous. So, God cannot forgive us in grace until his righteousness is completely satisfied. This takes us back to the cross, the scene of the greatest courtroom case in all of history. God the Father was the judge. As a righteous judge, he demanded a perfect sacrifice be punished for all the sins of the world. The only perfect sacrifice was the Lord Jesus Christ. So, the justice of God the Father punished the humanity of Jesus Christ (He bore our sins on his body) for every sin of every human being in history. When it was finished, the righteousness of God the Father was completely satisfied and therefore, was free to offer forgiveness to anyone believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and His work on the cross.
Don’t add any work to the propitiatory work of our high priest, Jesus Christ on the cross. All sacrifices have to be offered by a priest. Since Jesus Christ was a high priest, he was able to offer himself as a sacrifice which propitiated completely God the Father. So, since there is nothing which needs to be added to the work of the cross, just name your sins. Don't make an issue out of yourself. Make an issue out of the cross by just stating your sins. When a Christian adds the human work of tears, promises, regret, begging, liturgy etc. while naming his sins, his confession becomes unacceptable to God. God cannot accept any work that competes with the perfect work of Our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.
The Greek word ἵνα (hina) with the subjunctive mood introduces a result clause and should be translated “with the result that”. Since the righteousness of the Father was completely satisfied by the work on the cross, he is free to forgive us of our sins and to purify us from all wrong doing (grieving, quenching and lying to the Spirit and all the human good, sin and evil related to it.).
The Greek word αϕιηµι (aphiemi) means to forgive and the Greek word καθαριζω (katharizo) means “to cleanse” or “to purify”. The father forgives us of the sins which we state, but also the ones we do not state. When the Christian uses the Recovery Procedure he is saying in effect, Father, I know that you have punished Jesus for all of my sins, so on that basis forgive me of my sins (the sins I mention and the ones I have forgotten or am not cognizant of). Now, the next word is ‘katharizo’ and relates to the soul, and so should be translated “purify”. God not only forgives us of our sins, but he purifies us from all wrong doing and restores us to fellowship. Wrong doing incorporates everything that the Christian does when he is out of fellowship; it includes Grieving the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30), Quenching the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19), and Lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3) and everything related to these such as sin, human good and evil. (By the way it is usually prolonged wrongdoing that leads to the Sin unto Death (1 John 5:16, 17)).
Many times, when we sin and get out of fellowship, God administers discipline. We are not punished for the sin itself since Jesus Christ already paid in toto the penalty for every sin. We are being punished by the love of God namely the component of justice so that we will avoid guilt and learn to obey and respect Him (Hebrews 12:6). Forgiveness and purification do not imply that our suffering will stop. However, whatever suffering still exist after getting back into fellowship, becomes suffering for blessing.
In summary the opportunity to name one's sins to God the Father and get back in fellowship is a gift of grace. This gift was not intended to encourage sinning, but to provide the believer with the opportunity to continue in the spiritual life and to complete the objectives of the spiritual life - to grow in grace and knowledge.
Colossians 2:15
God the Father, having disarmed demon archons and commissioned officers [at the Cross], He made a public display of them [Satan and the fallen angels], having celebrated a triumphal procession over them [Satan and the fallen angels] by means of Him [Jesus Christ].
ἀπεκδυσάµενος τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς ἐξουσίας ἐδειγµάτισεν ἐν παρρησίᾳ, θριαµβεύσας αὐτοὺς ἐν αὐτῷ.
A few points for clarification:
1. On the cross, Christ strategically defeated Satan and the fallen angels.
2. This strategic defeat had to be celebrated by a triumphal procession, Roman style.
3. At His Ascension, Christ led a procession into heaven. This procession involved the following: Jesus Christ possibly riding in a chariot at the head of the procession, the elect angels singing and praising the Lord, Satan and the fallen angels likely bound in chains and the Old Testament believers who were previously located in Abraham’s Bosom.
4. Satan and his fallen angels then would have been released after the Triumphal Procession of the Lord Jesus Christ to continue to function in the Angelic Appeal Trial.
5. At the 2nd Advent, the Triumphal Procession will be completed when Satan and his fallen angels will be incarcerated for a thousand years after which they will be cast into the Lake of Fire.
Explanation of the Roman Triumphal Procession as taken from The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary page 1753.
“The Romans. Among the Romans the highest honor that could be bestowed on a citizen or magistrate was the triumph or solemn procession in which a victorious general passed from the gate of the city to the capitol. He set out from the Campus Martius along the Via Triumphalis, and from thence through the most public places of the city. The streets were strewn with flowers, and the altars smoked with incense. The procession was formed as follows: First, a band of musicians, singing and playing triumphal songs; the oxen to be sacrificed, their horns gilded and heads adorned with headbands and garlands; the spoils, and captives in chains; the lictors (officers who attended chief magistrates appearing in public), carrying fasces (the officers’ insignia of office; it consisted of a bundle of rods bound with an ax with its blade projecting and was carried before magistrates as a badge of authority) adorned with laurel; a great company of musicians and dancers; a long train of persons carrying perfumes; the general dressed in purple embroidered with gold, wearing a crown of laurel and carrying in his right hand a laurel branch and a scepter in his left, his face painted with vermilion, and a golden ball suspended from his neck. He stood erect in his chariot; a public slave was by his side to remind him of the vicissitudes of fortune [Sic Transit Gloria Mundi] and of his mortality. Behind him came the consuls, senators, and other magistrates, on foot; the whole procession closed with the victorious army.”
Colossians 2:16
Consequently, stop allowing anyone [legalists] to judge you in food [what kind of food] or in drinking [alcoholic beverage] or in the matter of a feast [Jewish legalist were insisting that the Christians observe their feast day etc.] or of the new moon [the first day of the lunar month] or of the Sabbaths.
Μὴ οὖν τις ὑµᾶς κρινέτω ἐν βρώσει καὶ ἐν πόσει ἢ ἐν µέρει ἑορτῆς ἢ νεοµηνίας ἢ σαββάτων,
Food Taboos:
1. There were several food prohibitions that existed in the time of Israel. The legalist seized upon these to enslave the new converts to Christianity. The two taboos they emphasized was the prohibition of certain foods under the Mosaic Law such as pork and the prohibitions of any type of food offered to idols.
2. Self-righteous, legalistic believer not only judge other believers regarding sin, but also food and drink. The legalist may say that a Christian cannot eat sugar and starch and simultaneously maintain his or her spiritually. This legalist does not realize that Christian laborer involved in much physical labor may need quite a bit of sugar and starch for energy whereas someone who sits at his desk all day would gain weight eating the same as this laborer. In other words, each person establishes for himself, what he should eat and how much. What the Christian eats and drinks is no one else’s business; furthermore, it is not related to the spiritual life per se. (Gluttony would be a sin and would therefore affect your spiritual life like any other sin.)
3. Two general categories are formed by the legalists who set up standards when they seek to build their righteousness on criticism and the judgement of those who violate their personal standards. First, what goes into the mouth by way of eating or drinking, and secondly, the observation of ritual days.
4. Those believers with a trend toward asceticism have always distorted eating or a lack of eating into some system of self-righteousness. For example, those who have a trend toward asceticism may distort fasting as a way of bringing one closer to God or may imply that observing food taboos brings one closer to God. They erroneously assume that if one observes food taboos it will support his spiritual growth. These legalists judge those believers who violate their taboos. As a result of this, they practice a form of reverse process reversionism which rejects Bible doctrine and replaces it with inconsequential things like food taboos. The true issue of the spiritual life is feeding on Bible doctrine. It is not the food entering one’s stomach, but the food entering into the soul that counts. Matthew 4:4, “But He answered and said, it has been written, “This Man shall not live by means of bread alone, but on the basis of every word which proceeds through the mouth of God [the Father].”
Drinking:
While drinking alcohol is not forbidden in the Scripture, drunkenness is both forbidden, condemned, and described as a sin. Drunkenness and excessive drinking are a part of Christian immoral degeneracy under the category of chemical sinning. Ephesians 5:18 emphatically prohibits drunkenness and the lifestyle of the lush, as well as drug addiction. However, 1 Timothy 5:23 indicates that drinking in moderation is not sinful, and that there are some medical benefits to be derived from it. Paul commanded Timothy, “Stop drinking water only, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.”
Excessive alcohol is detrimental to the body, the soul, and the spiritual life of the believer. The presence of large amounts of alcohol in the body changes the character and the personality of the drinker. So, excessive and habitual use of alcohol by the Christian destroys his spiritual life, his relationship with other people, his health, and many other things. The drunkard does not execute the Protocol Plan of God. Therefore, the Christian lush is a loser. The Christian lush becomes involved in Christian immoral degeneracy and cannot be distinguished from his unbeliever counterpart.
There are three approaches to the subject of alcohol: 1. Abstinence is the function of human volition in voluntary self-restraint, refraining from imbibing alcoholic beverage or taking drugs. 2. Moderation is the function of human volition in keeping within reasonable and proper limits by avoiding extremes or excessive use of alcoholic beverages. 3. Drunkenness is the function of human volition in the excessive use of alcoholic beverages, resulting in a state of intoxication or inebriation. It results in loss of control over both physical and mental function.
Intoxication may be defined as maladaptive behavior due to recent ingestion of alcohol. Maladaptive behavior includes fighting, impaired judgment, or interference with social or occupational functions. Physiological signs of intoxication include slurred speech, lack of coordination, unsteady gait when walking, euphoria, depression, and/or emotional instability. Psychological signs of intoxication include mood change, irritability, loquaciousness, and/or impaired attention. Complications from intoxication include highway accidents, criminal activity, and suicide.
The believer’s volition and common sense are the keys to drinking. The believer’s volition is in control as long as he or she uses that volition to either abstain or drink in moderation. This is why the Bible teaches that either abstinence or moderate drinking is not a sin. However, when the believer lacks common sense and good judgment and begins to drink too much, and for the wrong reasons etc., he may be on the path of becoming an alcoholic. The bottom line is that alcoholism is brought about through volition and individual self-determination.
Alcoholic addiction begins with a series of bad decisions from being out of fellowship and succumbing to the lie of the Sin Nature namely that getting inebriated will make one happy. If you do not have metabolized doctrine in your soul, you are going to make bad decisions. Alcoholism is chemical dependency guaranteed to destroy your life and the life of others with whom you associate. The Christian lush is the most dangerous and useless born-again person in society in many ways.
Scripture related to drunkenness: Isaiah 5:11, “Woe to those who rise up early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink, and who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them.” Isaiah 5:22, “Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions of mixed drinks.” Isaiah 28:7-8, “And these [believers of the Northern Kingdom in immoral degeneracy] also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink. Priests and prophets are confused by wine and stagger from beer. They stagger while having visions, and they stumble while making decisions. All the tables are covered with vomit, and there is not a spot without filth in the land.” Alcoholism was destroying the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Proverbs 20:1, “Wine is a mocker and beer is a brawler; and whoever is intoxicated by them is not wise.” Romans 13:13, “Let us behave decently [walk properly] as in the day time, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and debauchery, not in strife and jealousy.” 1 Corinthians 5:11, “But now I write to you not to associate with any believer, if he should be an immoral person or covetousness [the entire lust pattern] or an idolater or an abusive person [a bully] or a lush [a drunkard] or a swindler. Do not even eat with them.” Drunkenness is listed as one of the deeds of the sin nature as per Galatians 5:21, “envies, drunkenness, carousing [orgies], and similar things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you, that those who keep practicing [throughout their lives] similar things as these shall not inherit [the rewards in] the kingdom of God [the eternal state].” Proverbs 23:29-35, “Who has trouble? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, those who go to taste mixed wine. Do not gaze at the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly. In the end, it bites like a snake, and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, your mind will imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. ‘They hit me,’ [you will say] ‘but I am not hurt; they beat me, but I do not feel it. When shall I awake? I will seek another drink.’”
The Bible gives no encouragement and no excuse for excessive drinking. While drinking in moderation is permitted, there are many believers who cannot do so. For the believer who cannot or will not drink in moderation, he should avoid the use of alcohol except in medicine. When in doubt, abstain; for too much alcohol is toxic and detrimental to both the body and the soul.
The Feast Days and what they represented. As we will see, these feasts have to do with the ritual function of the Age of Israel; the Jews in the Age of Israel looked forward to the cross, the resurrection of Jesus, and their future via Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles. The word ‘feast’ is derived from the word chag which has a root meaning to dance, to be joyous. The feasts were designed to celebrate the happiness in the souls of Jewish believers in the Age of Israel. None of these feast days have anything to do with the modus operandi of the Church Age.
1. Passover and Unleavened Bread: This is taken from ‘Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary’ page 206 by R. B. Thieme Jr.
“Passover The divinely directed event that marked the Jews’ deliverance from Egyptian slavery and depicted the person and work of their Deliverer (Ex. 12:1–13). “Passover” also designates the annual ritual instituted to memorialize that initial event of 1441 B.C.
The young male lamb without blemish was the center of what God named “the Lord’s Passover” (Ex. 12:5, 11b). Per God’s instructions to Moses and Aaron, the yearling was killed before twilight [about sunset] on the appointed day and its blood painted on the doorposts and lintels of the houses (Ex. 12:6–7, 21–22). The Jews, dressed and ready for departure, then ate the roasted lamb with unleavened bread (Ex. 12:8–11). Later that evening, the angel of the Lord struck down the firstborn of every Egyptian household, while He “passed over” and spared from judgment the houses with bloodstained doorways (Ex. 12:12– 13, 23, 27). Finally overwhelmed by the God of Israel, the Egyptians begged the Jews to exit their country (Ex. 12:33).
Even more than securing the Jews’ freedom from Egypt, the Passover vividly prophesied the One who would be sacrificed for their spiritual freedom and redemption. The unblemished lamb represented the impeccable, innocent humanity of Jesus Christ. The blood of the animal painted on the crossbeams of the doorways symbolized Christ’s saving work on the cross, His substitutionary spiritual death and judgment (1 Pet. 1:19). Finally, eating the lamb was a picture of non-meritorious faith in God’s salvation gift.
The Jews were also instructed that “this night is for the Lord, to be observed by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations” (Ex. 12:42, cf. 14). As a memorial to His grace, God instituted an annual Passover. Ceremonies involving the lamb, all of which depicted salvation, were to be immediately followed by a weeklong ritual involving unleavened bread, which depicted fellowship with God (Ex. 12:15–19).
Christ, our Passover. When the promised Savior, Jesus Christ, finally arrived in person, those who had heeded the Passover lessons recognized “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, 36; 1 Pet. 1:19; cf. Isa. 53:7b). The disciples celebrated the last official Passover feast watching the Lamb Himself use bread as the sign of His spotless nature and the cup as the sign of His impending substitutionary death (Matt. 26:18, 26–28). Before twilight on the day of Passover, Jesus Christ was sacrificed for all humanity, fulfilling the reality behind the Old Testament shadow rituals (John 19:14; 1 Cor. 5:7). Now believers look back at the cross in memorial to God’s saving grace. The Eucharist, the new ritual instituted for the Church, replaces the ancient Passover feast and ceremonies.
For many Jews who through the years memorialized the first Passover but forgot about the necessity of the cross, ritual replaced reality. The true Lamb of God was unrecognizable. To this day, Judaism keeps the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, not as the Lord’s Passover but as “the Passover, the feast of the Jews” (John 6:4; Acts 12:4).”
2. More on the Feast of Unleavened Bread: This feast lasted for seven days from April 15-21, and it occurred immediately after the Passover. Unleavened bread represents fellowship with God and everything God provides to keep you alive in Satan’s world, 1 Corinthians 5:8, “Therefore, let us observe the Feast [of Unleavened Bread: after the Passover, there followed this Feast representing fellowship with God], not with old leaven [cannot celebrate this feast out of fellowship through unconfessed sin], nor with the leaven of malice and wicked deeds, but with unleavened bread held up to the sun [Biblical truth] to show its purity and truth [The believer knows he is in fellowship with God only through his understanding of God’s Word. So, the Word must be the absolute criterion for evaluating everything in the believer’s life].”
3. The Feast of the First Fruits: The First Fruits occurred on the first Sunday after the Passover. It fell on the third day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Leviticus 23:9-14, “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (10) ‘Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, when you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. (11) He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. (12) Now, on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord. (13) Its grain offering shall then be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to the Lord for a soothing aroma, with its drink offering, a fourth of a hin of wine. (14) Until this same day, until you have brought in the offering of your God, you shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new growth. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.’” This feast portrayed the resurrection of our Lord who is the first fruits. This feast indicated that only those who were regenerate in Israel would live in the future to receive the unconditional covenants, 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits [the first person to receive a resurrection body] of those who are asleep [who have died]. (21) For since by a man [Adam] came death, by a man [Jesus] also came the resurrection of the dead. (22) For as in Adam all die [spiritually], so also in Christ all will be made alive [in union with Christ, we share his eternal life]. (23) But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming [a reference to the Rapture of the Church],”
4. Pentecost was a one-day feast in the first week in June. This feast occurred exactly fifty days after the Passover [after the Resurrection of Christ: The Feast of Unleavened Bread is sometime called the Passover in which the Feast of the First Fruits occurred] as per Leviticus 23:15-16, “You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering [representing resurrection]; there shall be seven complete sabbaths. (16) You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord. Hence, it occurred sometime during the first week in June. It represented the beginning of the fifth cycle of discipline for the Jews and their dispersion. Simultaneously, it represented the beginning of the Church Age in 30 A.D. and the times of the Gentiles in 70 A.D. After the resurrected Jesus spent forty-days on the earth, he ascended and ten days after that the Church Age began on the Day of Pentecost, signified by the Baptism of the Spirit which forms the royal family of God. The Day of Pentecost is followed by a six-month gap. This time gap represents the 5th Cycle Discipline of Israel and simultaneously the intercalation of the Church Age.
5. The Feast of Trumpets: This feast represented the termination of the fifth cycle of discipline to Israel followed by the regathering of Israel to establish Israel as the client nation during the Millennial reign of Christ. Leviticus 23:23-25, “Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (24) ‘Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ' In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. (25) 'You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.'” Isaiah 11:11-13, “In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. (12) He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. (13) Ephraim's jealousy will vanish, and Judah's enemies will be cut off; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.”
6. The Feast of Atonement: Leviticus 23:26-32, “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (27) On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the Lord. (28) You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God. (29) If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people [executed by the Jewish judicial system]. (30) As for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people [the Lord will execute]. (31) You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. (32) It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath." Romans 3:25, “whom God [the Father] publicly displayed as a mercy seat [propitiation] by his blood [propitiation, reconciliation, and redemption] through faith in Christ to demonstrate His [Father's] righteousness, because of the passing over of previously committed sins,” The pouring of blood over the Mercy Seat on the Day of Atonement was a ritual which taught the judgment which would take place on the cross with the result that the sins of the High Priest and his family along with the sins of all the Jews of Israel were forgiven. This feast was celebrated in the Age of Israel and will be celebrated at the 2nd Advent to represent their cleansing of sins before entering the land to make-up the last Client Nation in history.
7. The Feast of Tabernacles (booths): This feast lasted seven days and represented the perfect environment of the millennial rule of Christ, Leviticus 23:33-36, “Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (34) Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths [Tabernacles representing the Millennial reign of Christ] for seven days to the Lord. (35) 'On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind. (36) ' For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the Lord; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.”
The New Moon: When the Moon is “new,” it's located between the Earth and the Sun. In other words, the Moon is in line with the Sun, and the Sun and Earth are on opposite sides of the Moon. (Note that when the Moon is perfectly aligned in front of the Sun, it blocks out the Sun, giving us a solar eclipse.) The New Moon is essentially the opposite of a Full Moon which occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun. The New Moon was a feast, a special worship day at the beginning of each month in which the Jews offered a burnt offering and other offerings which emphasized consecration to Lord and love for Him. Numbers 10:10 "Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointed feasts, and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace [reconciliation] offerings; and they shall be as a reminder of you before your God. I am the Lord your God." Numbers 28:11, “Then at the beginning of each of your months you shall present a burnt offering to the Lord: two bulls and one ram, seven male lambs one year old without defect;” It was observed by the blowing of the trumpets, by sacrifices, by feasting, by the teaching of Bible doctrine.
In many ways, the feast was comparable to what we have today in the monthly communion table which is a test of one’s Biblical content and occupation with Christ. The new moon was a ritual, a shadow and is now replaced by the reality found in the completed canon of Scripture. Thus, the New Moon festival in the Church Age has no spiritual meaning or purpose.
A Second definition with pictures:
It’s a new Moon! For astronomers, a new Moon means no Moon to look at. For many cultures, however, the new Moon carries special meaning. So, what exactly is a new Moon, when are the new Moons in 2023, and what does a new Moon look like? Let’s explore, fellow Moon lovers …
What Is a New Moon?
A new Moon is essentially the opposite of a full Moon. During a full Moon, we see the side of the Moon that is being illuminated by the Sun, giving the Moon its bright, glowing appearance. During a new Moon, however, we see the side of the Moon that is not being illuminated by the Sun, which makes the Moon blend in with the dark night sky.
When the Moon is “new,” it’s located between the Earth and the Sun. In other words, the Moon is in line with the Sun, and the Sun and Earth are on opposite sides of the Moon. (Note that when the Moon is perfectly aligned in front of the Sun, it blocks out the Sun, giving us a solar eclipse.)
The new Moon marks the beginning of a lunar cycle. This means that there’s a new Moon about once a month, because the Moon takes about a month (29.5 days) to orbit Earth.
In fact, the word “moon” shares its origins with the Latin word metri, which means “to measure,” and mensis, which means “month.” The Moon is called the Moon because it is used to measure the months.
By Bob Berman
New Moon: This occurs when the moon is between the sun and the earth. This occurs simultaneously with a solar eclipse.
Full Moon: A full moon occurs when the moon has moved in its orbit so that earth is “between” the moon and the sun.
Hanukkah: A little historical information is needed. Antiochus Epiphanes of the Seleucid Dynasty stormed Jerusalem in 167 B. C. and took military control over Judea. After which, he installed an altar of Zeus Olympias and a statue of himself at whose feet pig-sacrifices were made. This brought about the Hasmonean Revolt led by Judas Maccabeus. After years of fighting, on December 25 of 164 B. C., the Jews regained their freedom. Their regained freedom from tyranny is celebrated by the Feast of Hanukkah, the Feast of Lights from December 25 to January 1st.
Summary regarding the feast days:
There is no spiritual growth which can be attached to observing these feasts today. We learn many things from studying them in the Scriptures, but they are not to be incorporated into our spiritual lives. In the Church Age the feasts are to be studied but not to be observed.
Sabbath:
Freedom demands rest and rest demands freedom. Freedom can only be obtained and maintained through correct thinking. The Sabbath was a thinking day when you didn’t work physically but sat somewhere, rested, and thought.
On the seventh day of the earth’s restoration, everything was provided for man, and God rested in the sense that nothing else could possibly be provided for man in grace (Genesis 2:2-3). Everything man needed at that point was provided. So, the Sabbath (Shabbath in the Hebrew) is a memorial to the grace of God.
Since there was nothing left which God needed to add; so, there was nothing man needed to add. The Sabbath was instituted as the fourth commandment in the Decalogue and occurred as the last day of the week. Sabbath of Israel as per Exodus 20:8-11, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. (9) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (10) but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it, you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. (11) For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore, the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.”
The very change of pace on the Sabbath was not only beneficial to the Jews physically and mentally, but it had ultimate benefit to them in the spiritual realm because it was a reminder of grace. They had to cool their heels at the end of every week which was a reminder that they could do nothing for salvation and nothing for blessing. It was all the provision of God.
The Sabbath is set aside in the Church Age as per Colossians 2:16-17 and the book of Galatians. The memorial to grace in the Church Age is not Saturday but Sunday, the first day of the week, 1 Corinthians 16:1-3, “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. (2) On the first day of every week [Sunday] each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. (3) When I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem;” Acts 20:7, “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight.” We have the New Testament epistles and they are a constant reminder that you can’t do anything in the plan of God; God does all of the work; everything depends on Him. The Sabbath has become a shadow replaced by the reality. The reality is the mystery doctrine of the Church.
There is however, a moment-by-moment Sabbath for the Church Age. Hebrews 4:1-3, “Therefore, let us be very concerned lest any of you should think subjectively [via the arrogance skills] to the point of having fallen short of [God’s plan] so that the promise of entering his rest [sharing the happiness of God: the Greek word katapausis is the same as the Hebrew Shabbath.] is abandoned [is left behind]; (2) For also we have heard the gospel proclaimed to us and have believed just as they [the Exodus generation had heard the gospel and believed], but the Word of hearing did not profit those believers [the Exodus generation] because it [the word of hearing] was not mixed with faith by those who heard [failure in faith perception]. (3) For we who have believed [success in faith perception and application] enter into his rest [sharing the happiness of God] just as He has said, ‘In keeping with the facts I have made a solemn promise in my disgust, I am not God if they [the Exodus Generation] shall enter into my rest [happiness in the Land of Canaan], and yet the works [the Escrow Blessings for mature Jewish believers] have been brought into existence long before the beginning of the world.’”
In verse 16, legalistic believers were judging other believers regarding food, alcohol, the Jewish feast days, the Jewish New Moon and the Jewish Sabbath.
A few points for clarification:
1. The source of this judging is from legalistic self-righteous, ascetic believers.
2. They seek to build their righteousness on five categories of taboos in Judaism.
3. Therefore, the weak or legalistic believer is the chief source of judging other believers who function under grace. Remember the principle: it is the legalist who judges the grace believer. The grace believer does not judge the legalist. The son of the bond woman persecutes the son of the free woman, Matthew 7:1-5; Roman 14:4,10.
4. The ones who do the judging are often reversionistic types; they are guilty of the worst type of legalism: meddling in the affairs of other believers, trying to run their lives, trying to squeeze them into their own mold of taboos and pseudo spirituality.
5. They are also guilty of the long proboscis, trying to cast a toothpick out of someone else’s eye while they have a telephone pole lodged in their own.
6. They have invaded the privacy of the priesthood of the believer in order to play God and to establish their own self-righteousness over grace righteousness.
7. There is a principle at this point. You cannot build your righteousness on someone else’s unrighteousness, or on someone else’s apparent failure to meet your standards. You cannot build your righteousness on human standards of religion or on your observation of taboos.
8. Two general categories of taboos are formed by the legalists who sets up his own standards of righteousness. First, what goes into the mouth by way of eating or drinking, and second, the observation of ritual days.
Colossians 2:17
Which [feasts, new month, and sabbath] keep on being a shadow of things about to come; but the reality is from the source of the Christ [substance and reality in contrast to shadows].
ἅ ἐστιν σκιὰ τῶν µελλόντων, τὸ δὲ σῶµα τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
Christ is the substance, and once the substance or the reality has come then the shadows must go. Otherwise, we have ritual without reality. You cannot have a shadow without light somewhere. Shadows are formed by light. Once the reality, Christ the light of the world comes, the continuation of the shadows means legalism without any meaning, without any purpose. This is taught in Hebrews 8:5; 10:1. There are no shadows in the Church Age for we now have the substance and therefore, anytime in the Church Age when you have the infiltration of shadows and rituals, this becomes legalism, pseudo righteousness, and a form of pseudo spirituality.
Summary:
1. The feasts, new moon festivals, and Sabbaths were shadows pointing to the reality, Jesus Christ.
2. Therefore, they were bona fide means of communicating doctrine before the incarnation.
3. However, Christ is the reality or the substance which the holy days anticipated. So, once Christ came the shadows were replaced by the reality.
4. The substance of this reality is found in the gospels, Acts and the Testament Epistles.
5. To continue with the shadows is an empty expression of legalism. So, ritual cannot replace doctrine in the believer’s soul. Ritual does not feed the soul rather doctrine feeds the soul.
Colossians 2:18
Let no one deprive [disqualify] you of your reward taking pleasure in false humility and in the worship [this word also means religion; worshipping Satan in the Cosmic System is a religion] of angels [demons], taking a stand on those things which you have seen [through dreams, visions, ecstasy and hallucinations], being inflated with arrogance [the reversionistic believer receives the action of the verb] under the influence of the thinking [the staging area where academic knowledge resides] from the source of his sin nature,
µηδεὶς ὑµᾶς καταβραβευέτω θέλων ἐν ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καὶ θρησκείᾳ τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἃ ἑόρακεν ἐµβατεύων, εἰκῇ φυσιούµενος ὑπὸ τοῦ νοὸς τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ,
In verses 18, we have the religious attack. Whenever you start talking about legalism inevitably you start talking about religion. The devil himself is the father of all religion. However, keep in mind that Christianity is not a religion. Christianity is a relationship with God. Religion is seeking to gain the approbation of God by human works. Christianity is God working on man’s behalf; religion is man seeking to work on God’s behalf. So, they are antithetical in every way. Therefore, one of the great attacks of Satan against the truth and against Christianity is the religious attack.
How do you become ineligible for reward? This passage says by succumbing to the attack of religion. The observation of holy days brings on ritual and ritual today is designed to stop you from thinking. Originally, when ritual was portrayed in the Scripture it was to make you think about future realities. Now, ritual except for the communion table is designed to keep you from thinking about doctrine.
“Let no one deprive you of reward” namely your escrow blessings.
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 pray that the eyes of your heart [your stream of consciousness] may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the confidence of His calling [God the Father’s calling], what are the riches of the glory [escrow blessings] of His inheritance to the saints.”
3. Ephesians 3:16, “that He would give you on the basis of the riches of His glory [escrow blessings] to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner person.”
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 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.
Proverbs 8:18, “Riches and honor are with Me [escrow blessings in time], enduring wealth and virtue [escrow blessings for eternity].”
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.
Colossians 2:18 again, “Let no one deprive [disqualify] you of your reward taking pleasure in false humility and in the worship of angels [demons], taking a stand on those things which you have seen [through dreams, visions, ecstasies and hallucinations], being inflated with arrogance [the reversionistic believer receives the action of the verb] under the influence of the thinking [the staging area where academic knowledge resides] from the source of his sin nature,
µηδεὶς ὑµᾶς καταβραβευέτω θέλων ἐν ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καὶ θρησκείᾳ τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἃ ἑόρακεν ἐµβατεύων, εἰκῇ φυσιούµενος ὑπὸ τοῦ νοὸς τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ,
Taking pleasure in false humility: This is a Christian who attempts to be grace oriented and humble through posture, speech and action without any understanding of the spiritual life and without any grace orientation. He is impressed with self-effacement and the giving up of things as if it were for the Lord especially if giving up causes him some pain or inconvenience. Furthermore, he thinks that what impresses him and other ignorant Christians impresses God. This is arrogance in the form of pseudo humility and pseudo virtue.
The Greek word embateuo means to take a stand on what one has seen in a vision under ecstasy etc. This is an extreme form of religious activity. In other words, someone has a vision or goes into a state of ecstasy and begins to hallucinate and on the basis of that hallucination, develops a false concept of the spiritual life. For example, he may contend that his feelings have merit and that his ecstasies and hallucinations are more real than what the Bible says. Paul is warning against such emotional illusions as a Satanic attack against the authority of the Bible.
Worship of demons and distorted thinking as in our passage is the result of demon influence. So, the need for the following doctrine.
Demonism:
1. There are four categories of fallen angels namely those incarcerated in the Abyss, in Tartarus and under the Euphrates River, the first three categories. The fourth category are operational fallen angels who are not incarcerated but function under the rule of Satan during human history.
2. There are two categories of demon activity in human history namely demon influence and demon possession. Demon influence is Satan’s thinking entering the soul of the believer or unbeliever through the concept of black-out of the soul. When there is insufficient truth or a lack of truth in the soul, the person will accept the lies of Satan. Demon possession is a demon indwelling the body of an unbeliever only. Since the believer is indwelt by God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, no demon can indwell the body of a believer.
3. For either demon influence or possession to occur, the person must be in the cosmic system. There cannot be demon influence or possession apart from human consent, which requires decisions made from a position of weakness. The believer is in a position of weakness when he is functioning out of fellowship with the Spirit. The unbeliever is in a position of weakness when he rejects the Laws of Establishment.
4. Demons are capable of two categories of violence namely indirect and direct. In indirect violence, the demon must attack either through demon influence or demon possession. Much more common today is demon influence from the cosmic system, which is the source of most of the violence we face today motivated by hatred, and anger. Criminal activity and terrorism are illustrations of demon influence resulting in violence. Direct violence is a phenomenon reserved for the last half of the Tribulation. The demon attacking forces includes the three angelic assault armies during the second half of the Tribulation called the Great Tribulation. Then, after the Millennial reign of Christ, Satan will lead a final attack.
(1.) The attack of the first demon assault army stationed in the Abyss, Revelation 9:1-11, “Then, the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star [Satan] fall from heaven to the earth, and a key to the entrance of the abyss was given to him. (2) Then, he unlocked the entrance of the abyss with the result that smoke, like the smoke of a giant furnace, ascended from that entrance; both the radiation from the sun and from the atmosphere became darkened because of the smoke from the entrance of the abyss. (3) And from the smoke, locusts [analogy to describe the method by which the first demon assault army attacks] invaded the earth; and power was given to them, like scorpions have power on the earth [the scorpion sting is painful as will be the torture of these demons], (4) and they were instructed that they should not injure the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God [unbelievers and apostate believers] on their foreheads [believers advancing spiritually will have God’s seal] (5) Also, they were not permitted to kill them [only to torture unbelievers and believers in the Cosmic System], but to torture them for five months, and their torture is like the torture of a scorpion when it strikes a man [intense torture]. (6) Consequently, men [persons, Satan’s followers living in the Cosmic System] in those days [in the last half of the Tribulation] will seek death [to escape torture], but they will not find it; they will have an intense desire to die but death will elude them. (7) Now, the appearance of the locust demons was like cavalry horses which have been prepared for warfare; and on their heads as it were crowns like gold [their army patch] and their faces like the faces of men. (8) Furthermore, they had hair like the hair of women [effeminate in nature] and their teeth were like the teeth of lions [had great power and the ability to torture]. (9) Also, they had breastplates like breastplates of iron [demons are not vulnerable to human attacks], and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of chariots, plus many cavalry horses charging into battle. (10) Also, they had tails plus stings like scorpions, and in their tails is their power to torment those men [in the Cosmic System] five months. (11) They have a king [a commanding general] over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in the Hebrew is Abaddon [destruction] while in the Greek he is called Apollyon [exterminator].”
(2.) The attack of the second demon assault army stationed under the Euphrates River. Note: Satan destroys his own losers in the Cosmic System because arrogance has no loyalty as per Revelation 9:13-16, “Then, the sixth angel [a pursuivant messenger] sounded his trumpet, and I heard one voice [a pursuivant officer of cherub rank] from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, (14) and he gave the order to the sixth trumpet, "Release the four angels [demon army generals] who have been incarcerated at the great river Euphrates. (15) Then, the four angels [demon generals], who have been kept in the state of readiness for this hour and day and month and year, were released in order that they might kill one third of mankind [unbelievers in the Cosmic System on the earth during the Great Tribulation]. (16) In fact, the number of the armies of calvary [under the command of the four generals] is two hundred million; I heard their number.” Just as Satan has no loyalty, so also people involved in demonism have no loyalty or integrity for the arrogance of the Cosmic System cancels integrity, honor, and virtue.
(3.)The attack of the third demon assault army stationed in heaven under the direct command of Satan, Revelation 12:7-9, “Now, there was war in heaven and Michael and his army of elect angels fought against the dragon [Satan]. Furthermore, the dragon and his fallen angels fought back. (8) Nevertheless, he [Satan and his demon assault army] did not win, in fact, a place was no longer found for them in heaven. (9) Then the great dragon, the ancient serpent [related to the garden] who is called the devil [accuser, maligner] and Satan, who keeps on deceiving the entire inhabited earth was thrown out of heaven; he was thrown down to earth, furthermore his angels were thrown out of heaven with him.” Revelation 12:13-15, “Now, when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth [is aware that his time is short], he persecuted the woman [Israel: the greatest wave of anti-Semitism in history] who gave birth to the male child [1st Advent of Jesus Christ]. (14) Nevertheless, the two wings of the great eagle [divine protection of true Israel in first half of Tribulation] had been given to the woman [Jewish believers in Israel), so that she might fly to her place of refuge [high desert country of Revelation 12:6] where she will be sustained for 3 1/2 years [the last half of the Tribulation] from the presence of the serpent [Satan who will try to get believing Jews to leave this place of refuge]. (15) Then, the serpent projected from his mouth water [gave the order for the 3rd demon assault army to attack] like a river [moving with great speed and violence] to overtake the woman [unbelieving Jews; most of the believers have already fled], in order that he might cause [Satan as the subject performs the action through intermediary means] her to drown in the flood waters [the attack of this army).”
(4.) Satan’s attack at the end of the Millennium called Gog and Magog, Revelation 20:7-10, “And when the thousand years have been completed, Satan will be released from his prison [to make his closing statement]. (8) And he will go out [predictive future] to deceive [culminative aorist: results in a revolution] the nations, those in the four hemispheres of the earth, Gog [code name for Satan] and Magog [code name for the conspiracy], to concentrate [military word] them for battle [Satan uses violence] whose number is like the sand of the sea [sand on beaches or under the oceans: an extremely large army]. (9) Then, they [unbelievers that reject Christ during His Millennial reign] marched over the wide terrain of the land [the high desert country of Southern Israel] and they surrounded [culminative aorist] the bivouac of the saints [gentile believers in mortal bodies who will have retreated before this army], and the beloved city [Jerusalem where the Jewish believers in mortal bodies will have fled for security]. Then, fire [or something approximating fire] came down [constantive aorist] from God [according to the best manuscripts] out of Heaven and consumed [destroyed] them, (10) and the Devil [the enemy] who had deceived [durative present] them, was thrown [culminative aorist] into the Lake of Fire and burning sulfur, where the beast [the dictator of the Revived Roman Empire] and the false prophet [the false dictator and messiah of Israel] were. And they [the three just mentioned] will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
5. Believers and unbelievers in the Cosmic System during the Tribulation are victims of violence from demon assault armies. Satan's rationale in destroying his human servants is that once he is cast to the earth, he doesn’t need them anymore. This is a case of finesse judgment, where God uses evil to judge evil.
6. Choose between living in God’s system or Satan’s. Every day, thousands of believers living in the Cosmic System make hundreds of thousands of decisions from a position of weakness. These decisions reflect the cosmic philosophy of Satan. Once decisions are made from the free will to live in Satan’s Cosmic System, the person loses his ability to make decisions from a position of strength. All decisions made under the influence of arrogance and in the cosmic system are decisions from a position of weakness. All decisions made from the Filling of the Spirit and application of Bible doctrine are decisions made from a position of strength.
7. You make decisions all the time, and they will eventuate in a trend. They are either from a position of weakness which leads to a self-destructive trend or from a position of strength leading to an upward trend of spiritual growth and virtue.
8. The believer living under the two power options makes decisions from a position of strength, whereas the believer living in the cosmic system makes decisions from a position of weakness.
9. Demon possession was the basis for capital punishment in Israel, Leviticus 20:27, “Now a man or a woman who is a medium or a spiritist shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones, their blood-guiltiness is upon them.” So serious was contacting demons and demon possession that capital punishment was prescribed by God for this practice.
10. Wherever idolatry is practiced there are demons behind those idols as per 1 Corinthians 10:19-21, “What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? (20) But, I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons [So, they are worshipping demons and ultimately Satan], and not to God. (21) You cannot drink the cup of the Lord [the Communion table requires fellowship and worship] and the cup of demons [demon influence: living in the cosmic system]; therefore, you cannot partake of the table of the Lord [the Eucharist for this worship requires the spiritual life] and the table of demons [demon influence].”
11. Users of drugs are all liable to demon possession in the case of unbelievers, or demon influence in the case of those who are born again as per Galatians 5:20, “Idolatry [this word and the next are related], sorcery [witchcraft; drug users], antagonisms [hostile feelings and actions toward others related to pettiness], strife [discord, contention for superiority], jealousy, outburst of anger, selfish ambition [rivalry, competition], dissensions [trouble makers such as the Judaizers], religious factions [heresies].”
12. Demon possession is related to sickness. Luke 8:22, “and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits [demons] and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,”
13. Demon possession is related to psychosis as per Mark 5:1-21.
14. Demons are the gods of nations, Psalm 96:5, “For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.” Often the rulers of nations are demon possessed.
15. The firstborn judgement in Egypt included the judgement of demons, Exodus 12:12, “For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments; I am the Lord.”
16. Therefore, the Jews to be protected from this type of religious infiltration were prohibited from making sacrifices to demons, Leviticus 17:7, “They shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they play the harlot. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations.”
17. Child sacrifice was inspired by demons, Psalm 106:37-39, “They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, (38) and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with the blood. (39) Thus, they became unclean in their practices, and played the harlot in their deeds [that is while sacrificing their children].”
18. Satan has tremendous power. Job 1:12-19, “Then, the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him." So, Satan departed from the presence of the Lord. (13) Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, (14) a messenger came to Job and said, ‘The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, (15) and the Sabeans attacked and took them [the oxen and the donkeys]. They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you. (16) While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The fire of God [it appeared to be from God, but it was Satan’s power] fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you. (17) While he was still speaking, another also came and said, ‘The Chaldeans [descendants from Abraham’s brother, Nahor] formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you. (18) While he was still speaking, another also came and said, ‘Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, (19) and behold, a great wind came from across the desert and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you." Job 2:3-7, “The Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth [Job was the greatest believer on the earth at that time], a blameless and upright [virtuous] man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him [the Lord had to turn Job over to the defense attorney, Satan] to ruin him without any reason [Job already had passed the first part of Evidence Testing]. (4) Satan [who never admits that he was wrong about anything] answered the Lord and said, ‘Skin for skin [an old Hebrew expression used in the oldest book in the Bible possibly dictated to Elihu who wrote it down; this idiom means that Job only owns his skin, his body; he still has his health]! Yes, a man will give all that he has for his own life. (5) However, stretch forth Your hand now, and strike his bones and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face.’ (6) So, the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life [Do whatever you want, but do not kill him]. (7) Then, Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head [Job demonstrated that doctrine in the soul and the integrity which comes from it, is more powerful than any suffering, pain, disaster or any other problem].’”
19. There are many diseases related to demon possession as found in the Bible as per Acts 10:38, “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” Luke 13:11-16, “And there was a woman who for eighteen years had a sickness caused by a spirit [a demon]; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. (12) When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your sickness. (13) And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God [When she believed in Christ, the demon had to leave. After which Jesus healed her of her affliction.] (14) But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, ‘There are six days in which work should be done; so, come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.’ (15) But the Lord answered him and said, ‘You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? (16) And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound [via a demon] for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?" Matthew 12:22, “Then, one who had been demon-possessed was brought to Him, blind and dumb [caused by demon possession]. And He healed him, so much so that the blind and dumb one both kept on talking and kept on seeing.”
20. The Canaanite nations were destroyed for demon activity, Deuteronomy 18:9-12, “When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. (10) There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, (11) or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. (12) For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you.”
21. The practice of necromancy is a sign of negative volition toward doctrine. It can result in the sin unto death as in the case of 1 Chronicles 10:13-14, “So, Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the Lord, because of the word of the Lord which he did not keep; and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it, (14) and did not inquire of the Lord. Therefore, He killed him and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.”
22. Evil is associated with the rule of demonism, as in the case of Manasseh, 2 Kings 21:1-3, “Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Hephzibah. (2) He did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel. (3) For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the armies of heaven and served them.”
23. Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem in 586 B.C. on the basis of divination, Ezekiel 21:21-22, “For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he shakes the arrows, he consults the household idols, he looks at the liver. (22) Into his right hand came the divination, 'Jerusalem,' to set battering rams, to open the mouth for slaughter, to lift up the voice with a battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up ramps, to build a siege wall.”
Colossians 2:19
And not occupied with the Head [Jesus Christ is the head of the Church] from whom all the Body [of Church Age believers], through joints and ligaments being supplied [by doctrinal teaching], and being taught [by a qualified pastor], and keeps on growing with the growth from the source of God.
καὶ οὐ κρατῶν τὴν κεφαλήν, ἐξ οὗ πᾶν τὸ σῶµα διὰ τῶν ἁφῶν καὶ συνδέσµων ἐπιχορηγούµενον καὶ συµβιβαζόµενον αὔξει τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ θεοῦ.
“And not occupied with the head.” This is the great problem: the failure to enter into personal love for Christ, the failure to respond to His love, the failure to have capacity for love through the intake of Bible doctrine, the failure to understand and to seek the first strategic objective of the Christian way of life which is to love Jesus Christ to the point of occupation with Him.
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 as 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 you can ever have a marvelous life is to no longer live for yourself. Once you have occupation with Christ, you are living for Christ and you are happier than you ever were when you lived for yourself.
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 [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 the 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. Deuteronomy 6:5, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart [the right lobe of the soul] and with all your soul and with all your might [related to energy, motivation and priorities].”
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 [Paul’s occupation with Christ].”
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 in 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” a quote from 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.
Examples and illustrations:
1. Occupation with Christ in maturity becomes the means of great decisions and great dynamics in history. Hebrews 11:27, “By faith [Moses made a faith application regarding his destiny] he left Egypt [Moses gave up the crown of Egypt], not fearing the wrath of the pharaoh [Thutmose III]; He became strong under pressure, for he kept on seeing the invisible One [Occupation with Christ].”
2. A wonderful illustration of occupation with Christ is given in the New Testament under the principle of romantic love, Ephesians 5:22, 25-32, “Wives, be under the authority of [subordinate yourselves to] your very own husbands as to the Lord [her strongest motivation is from occupation with Christ]. (25) Husbands [who are occupied with Christ], 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]. (26) That having purified her [Christ purified the church via the forgiveness of pre-salvation sins at the point of salvation. By analogy, the wife is purified by her husband’s intense and faithful love toward her and therefore, does not feel dirty in the sexual encounter. Soul-coalescence keeps the sexual encounter clean and beautiful], He [Christ] might set her apart [experiential setting apart to Christ; by analogy the wife is set apart to her own husband through his dedication and devotion to her and so, he becomes the only man in her life] by means of the washing of the water [metaphor: the Word washes or changes the believer] in association with the spoken word [the mechanics of experiential sanctification: the believer is changed experientially by the intake of God’s word via the pastor; this brings about soul coalescence in marriage]. (27) That He [Christ the groom] might cause her [the virgin bride, the Church] to be presented to Himself [at the Rapture of the Church minus an Old Sin Nature] as a glorious church [in resurrection-body: ultimate sanctification] having no stain [no old sin nature and no sin], or wrinkled gown [human good removed] nor any such things [evil things], but that she [at the wedding of Christ at the 2nd Advent] be sanctified [set apart in resurrection body] and unblemished [inner beauty: absence of defects in resurrection body]. (28) So, husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies [nourishes, protects, cares for etc.]. He who loves his own wife, keeps loving himself [Spiritual Self-Esteem is the basis for soul coalescence]; (29) For no one has ever hated his own flesh; but nourishes and provides tender care for it [this is how the husband should take care of his wife] just as also Christ does the church [His body: Ephesians 5:23]. (30) because we [Church age believers] are members of His body [the wife as it were is the body of the husband]. (31) (For this cause a man [emphasis on the man] shall leave [precedence] his father and mother, and he shall have sexual intercourse with his own [no other] wife and the two shall be one flesh (Genesis 2:24)). (32) This mystery [Christian marriage is related to the spiritual life with the highest possible mandates in order to defeat Satan’s argument against marriage] is great; I am speaking with reference to Christ [Christian marriage is related to one’s relationship with Christ] and with reference to the Church [Christian marriage as part of the mystery doctrines only occurs in the Church Age].”
3. In taking Evidence Testing, Abraham demonstrated his love for the Lord. James 2:21-23, “Abraham, our father, was he not vindicated [demonstrated experientially righteous in passing Evidence Testing] by his accomplishments [deeds] when he [Abraham was approximately 120 at this time] offered up Isaac, his son, on the altar [He loved the Lord more than his son. This he demonstrated by his obedience to the Lord’s command to sacrifice his son.]? Yes, he was. (22) Do you see how his faith [the enhanced use of the Faith-Rest Drill: he believed that the Lord would resuscitate Isaac after his death as per Hebrews 11:19] kept on working together with his accomplishments [deeds], and out from his accomplishments his faith [use of the enhanced faith-rest drill] was brought to completion. (23) And the Scripture [Genesis 15:6] was fulfilled which said, “Abram believed God [first used of Abraham’s salvation, but now applied to his Faith-Rest Drill as found in Hebrews 11:19], and it was evaluated to him for righteousness [Abraham reached the highest level of experiential righteousness when he passed this test on Mount Moriah]”, and he was called the friend of God [2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8].”
Since the use of faith in the spiritual life is an extension of the faith used in salvation, the Holy Spirit inspired James to apply Genesis 15:6, a statement regarding Abraham’s salvation to Abraham’s tremendous faith-victory on Mount Moriah even though this passage was originally applied to Abraham’s salvation. As a result of reaching the highest level of spirituality in the patriarchal period, Abraham was given the order of the “Friend of God,” a title which is apparently accompanied by the Crown of Righteousness. The righteousness of God approved what Abraham had done in obedience to him on Mount Moriah and apparently will give Abraham this crown similar to the crown given to Church Age believers who fulfill the spiritual life (2 Timothy 4:8; Revelation 3:11).
4. Paul’s occupation with the Lord Jesus Christ is presented in the following passage: Philippians 3:7-8, “Whatever things were gain to me, I have concluded them loss for the sake of Christ. (8) I conclude all things to be loss because of the surpassing greatness of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, my Lord [Paul was obedient to the Lord, a demonstration of his love for the Lord], because I have suffered the loss of all things, and I now conclude them dung in order that I may gain Christ [to reach occupation with Christ].” This completes our study of Occupation with Christ.
Restating Colossians 2:19. And not occupied with the Head [there is no love for Jesus Christ, the head of the Church] from whom all the Body [of Church Age believers], through joints and ligaments being supplied [by doctrinal teaching], and being taught [by a qualified pastor], and keeps on growing with the growth from the source of God [via the Double Column Advance].
Joints and Ligaments:
Joints and ligaments not only connect body parts but also provide strength. Joints and ligaments connect the members of a body, providing symmetry. Metaphorically, Bible doctrine as metabolized understanding of the mystery doctrines of the Church Age are the joints and ligaments which pull together all kinds of personality, all kinds of nationalities, all kinds of talent, all stages of perceptive ability into one body. Not only do the joints and ligaments connect the members of the body, but they build muscle and strength. Muscle and strength are built by using the joints of the body. The repetition of exercise builds muscle and strength just as the daily perception and application of doctrine builds spiritual strength. They provide body coordination and action. Without joints and ligaments there would be no body action.
There is a similar passage in Ephesians 4:16, “Because of whom [Jesus Christ] the entire body [of believers] being joined together [via different spiritual gifts and metabolized doctrine] and being instructed [the inculcation of repetitious teaching] through every joint [the pastor-teacher] of supply [or provision]. So, on the basis of the operational power [the omnipotence of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit] in measure of one [pastor-teacher] for each part [for each congregation] causes growth of the body resulting in its edification [attainment of spiritual maturity] by means of love.
The joint is very important as part of the body analogy. In developing strength, building muscle is not the main issue, rather it is the strength of the joints. The whole athletic coordination is dependent upon the joints. Your strength and coordination cannot be any greater than the strength of your joints and ligaments.
The joint of supply is a metaphor from Greek drama emphasizing the gift of the pastor-teacher. This is the vital link in perception, metabolization and application of doctrine. The pastor-teacher in this analogy is the joint. The congregation, [the body of believers assembled in one local church] is no stronger than the joint. If the pastor-teacher is a weak teacher of doctrine and a failure, the congregation will fail.
The Joint analogy to the Pastor-Teacher:
1. All members and parts of the body are linked by joints and ligaments.
2. Joints are those parts of the body where bones or elements of a skeleton are joined.
3. Joints permit motion and coordination of the human body.
4. Ligaments are tissues used to connect joint extremities.
5. Ligaments can also be tough tissue used to support an organ of the body in its proper place.
6. Joints provide the unity of the body and give it cohesion because joints are the point of contact and the connection between various parts of the body.
7. Just as there are differences in joints of the body, so there are differences among pastor-teachers. The spiritual gift is given to many different types of personalities.
8. Though men with the gift of evangelism have very scintillating, attractive personalities, designed to attract and hold the attention of unbelievers, this may not be true for those with the gift of Pastor-teacher.
9. The word “joint” does not apply to the evangelist, but only to the pastor-teacher in Ephesians 4:16. By contrast to the evangelist, the pastor-teacher has to communicate regularly and to inculcate this information within the souls of the members of his congregation which is an entirely different type of ministry than evangelism.
10. Every pastor must have preparation and persistence. He must teach line upon line, precept upon precept, advancing a yard or two a day at a time. He must be faithful and consistently study and teach.
11. All the members of the royal family of God are analogous to the body of Christ and are linked together by the doctrinal teaching of the pastor. The emphasis of this doctrinal teaching must focus on the Mystery Doctrine of the Church Age, found in the New Testament epistles. Therefore, all members of the royal family of God are linked together, not by similarity of personalities, not by conformity to standards of legalism, not by human rapport concepts, and not in conformity to false standards or doctrine, but by the doctrinal teaching from the pastor and resultant advance toward spiritual maturity.
12. Christianity is not changing your personality to a certain mold, but it is growing spiritually through the perception of doctrine.
13. There are all kinds of pastors, just as there are all kinds of joints. The pastor’s function must not be related to his personality, but to the content of his message. The less is the content of his message, the more the emotional preaching and nonsense.
14. You can receive limited blessing from reading the Bible for yourself, but you can never learn how to execute the Protocol Plan from that method. Only the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher is equipped to dig out the truth of the mystery doctrine and communicate it to you. Without joints, you go nowhere, both physically and spiritually.
15. All coordination in the body of Christ is based upon the function of joints and ligaments, which represent the pastor who teaches the mystery doctrine of the Church Age.
16. Joints are the basis for exercise and building strength in the body. Without joints, the human body would atrophy. Likewise, without the faithful function of pastor-teachers, the body of Christ or royal family of God would lack spiritual growth and retrogress from lack of spiritual food, vitality, and power.
17. Muscle is constructed from consistent exercise, which involves the use of the joints. Repetitious and beneficial exercise involves the consistent and constant function of the joints. The constant use of the joints in exercise is analogous to the faithful and consistent teaching of Bible doctrine by whomever is your right pastor-teacher.
18. As a result of the congregation’s consistent perception of the mystery doctrine, the believer becomes the muscle of the body, possessing definition, symmetry, strength, endurance, and coordination. This is analogous to the believer’s advance through the three stages of spiritual adulthood by which an invisible hero is manufactured.
The Christian must advance in his spiritual warfare with a two-column advance. One column is the doctrinal column formed and maintained via the daily perception of God’s Word. The other column is formed through our application, appreciation and love for the members of the Trinity.
In the final phase of one’s personal sense of destiny, there remains two strategic objectives namely occupation with Christ and having passed Evidence Testing maximum glorification of God. At that point, the Christian will receive the fullness (the Greek word being pleroma) of blessing from God. So, when one glorifies God to the maximum, he receives the Fullness of Blessing from God.
Colossians 2:20
If you have died together with Christ [Retroactive Positional Truth] and you have [a 1st Class Conditional Clause] separated from the principles of the cosmos [Satan's policies], why as functioning in the cosmos [Satan’s system] are you submitting constantly to legalism?
Εἰ ἀπεθάνετε σὺν Χριστῷ ἀπὸ τῶν στοιχείων τοῦ κόσµου, τί ὡς ζῶντες ἐν κόσµῳ δογµατίζεσθε,
Colossians 2:21
(You shall not have sex [in the middle voice, this means to have sex]; neither shall you taste forbidden foods; you shall not touch anyone for the purpose of harming or killing.) [This parenthesis is an illustration of legalism.]
Μὴ ἅψῃ µηδὲ γεύσῃ µηδὲ θίγῃς,
Some legalists believe that all sex should be prohibited since in their view there is no such thing as legitimate sex function. That is what we have here by way of what is a rather extreme taboo held by a few extreme legalists. That isn’t what the Bible says, that is what the legalist thinks in his asceticism. (This would be an ascetic type Gnostic who made abstinence from sex as a part of salvation.)
In this verse, the Greek negative me with the subjunctive means to be subjective in your thinking. Ascetics are always subjective in their thinking and their subjective thinking leads to extremism in one way or the other. The food taboos in Romans 14:20-23 and in 1 Corinthians 8:7-13 are related to the weak believer, but here we have the hardcore legalist whose legalism must be refuted. No one makes points with God by abstaining from certain foods such as meat. Furthermore, food taboos have nothing to do with appropriating salvation.
The third taboo is the hostility taboo. This is a taboo against killing in any sense of the word. In other words, don’t kill a fly because it might be someone’s brother, or don’t kill a monkey because that might be a god or your grandfather. These legalists maintain that killing in any sense of the word whether it is capital punishment, killing in the defense of one’s country, or the killing of animals, snakes, bugs, etc. is wrong. Rather the Bible commands, capital punishment, killing in defense of one’s country, and permits the killing of animals for food, and does not make an issue out of the life and death of insects.
Colossians 2:22
All of which things [the taboos above] are intended for corruption [ruin, the Sin Leading to Death] by being used according to the rules [ordinances] and teachings of men? [not found in the Bible]
ἅ ἐστιν πάντα εἰς φθορὰν τῇ ἀποχρήσει, κατὰ τὰ ἐντάλµατα καὶ διδασκαλίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων;
All three of these categories of taboos, if they are followed, are designed to destroy the believer’s spiritual advance. We do not advance by following taboos. That would be tantamount to advancing by human works.
Colossians 2:23
What category of things [the rules and teaching of the legalists in context] have a reputation of wisdom [a false system of doctrine which passes for wisdom] by means of a self-made religious system [self-imposed piety], and by means of false humility [such as self-effacement], and by means of neglect of the body [not to groom oneself properly; can also mean harsh treatment of the body], not by means of any value [honor, integrity, worship, esteem] against gratification from the source of the sin nature [the legalist has no spiritual integrity, no spiritual worship by which he is able to oppose the lusts of the sin nature].
ἅτινά ἐστιν λόγον µὲν ἔχοντα σοφίας ἐν ἐθελοθρησκίᾳ καὶ ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καὶ ἀφειδίᾳ σώµατος, οὐκ ἐν τιµῇ τινι πρὸς πλησµονὴν τῆς σαρκός.
Before we close, if there should be anyone here who has not personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior, I just want you to understand a few things.
Do you know that the greatest possession in life is free? You can be guaranteed a free trip to heaven, to live with God forever after you depart from this earth. It doesn’t require gold, silver or any other valuable possession. You might ask, “Well, what do I have to do?” The answer is nothing. For example, you don’t need to do a lot of good or attend a Christian Church. Also, you don’t need to stop doing anything! For example, you don’t need to stop going to a Buddhist temple or any other temple as a prerequisite for the free gift of salvation; you don’t need to stop drinking etc. A gift is a gift, and a gift is free.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith and this [salvation] is not from yourselves; it is a free gift from God, not from works lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8b, 9).
It is free for all members of the human race since Christ paid the price for you. 1 Peter 2:24a states, “And he [Jesus Christ] himself carried our sins on his body [on the cross].” Then, how can one receive this free gift? Do you have to go to the nearest department store to pick it up? No, it is much closer than that; it is in your thinking. Just use the volition of your soul to express faith in the Lord Jesus Christ: ‘Heavenly Father, I am believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior.’ After praying that simple prayer, you will live with God forever.
"He saved us [provided a free ticket to heaven] not on the basis of deeds which we have done in (human) righteousness, but according to his loving kindness [He offers you this gift]" (Titus 3:5a).
Father, we thank you for the doctrinal message this morning and understand the enabling power of the Holy Spirit will use this information for our spiritual advance. We pray this through our High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
The Ten Unique Factors of the Church Age:
1. The Baptism of the Spirit
2. The Protocol Plan of God
3. The Equality factor in the Plan
4. Our Portfolio of Invisible Assets
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
