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
Second Corinthians Chapter Four
A verse-by-verse commentary by Max Klein
Let us bow our heads; If we need to use the Recovery Procedure as found in 1 John 1:9, let us do so at this time that we might be in fellowship. (pause) Father, we thank you for the privilege and opportunity to study your word and for the freedom that you have provided for us here in Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.A.; furthermore, we express our appreciation to God the Holy Spirit who will enlighten us regarding the message this morning. We as priests pray this through the person of our Lord Christ Jesus, our High Priest, Amen.
God designed the economic system and therefore, it is a perfect design. So, whenever leaders of governments assume that they are smarter than God, and consequently interfere in God’s system, financial disaster occurs. President Trump who is great in many ways and has many great ideas has assumed that he can improve God’s economic design. He wants to interfere in God’s design in two ways namely in artificially making the dollar weaker by printing large sums of money and by implementing tariffs. In 1987, the dollar was artificially made weaker. This led to the stock market crash known as Black Monday. Then in 1997, Robert Rubin the Treasurer under Clinton also artificially weakened the dollar which led to the Asian financial disaster. Now, President Trump is calling for a weaker dollar which proves that governments never learn. The second way that President Trump wants to interfere in God’s economic system is through tariffs. By weakening the dollar and by implementing tariffs, President Trump will not be ushering in a golden age, but will be ushering in severe economic disaster if not economic collapse.
Weakening the dollar not only weakens the dollar, but all assets in the United States just for starters. Keep in mind that every time this was attempted, it brought economic peril. Also, President Trump wants to solve the drug problem via tariffs. Tariffs will never solve our drug problem period over and out. If you want to solve the drug problem, the government must get tough on drug dealers and drug addicts in the United States for a starter. Furthermore, our president wants to solve the migrant problem via tariffs. That like solving a loneliness problem by getting married and having a dozen children. You solve a border problem by the use of the military, not via tariffs. Bring our troops home from overseas and deploy them at our borders and allow them to use deadly force. That is the only effective way of solving that problem. Finally, President Trump justifies tariffs by saying that tariffs will force businesses back to the United States. Businesses left the United States due to high taxation and burdensome regulations. Businesses will come back on their own accord if we make the environment favorable for them by lowering corporate taxes and by removing bureaucratic regulations.
2 Corinthians 4: Outline
Ministry: verses 1-7
Suffering: verses 8-12
Suffering and Service combined: verses 13-18
2 Corinthians 4:1
Therefore [based upon the spiritual freedom to go from glory to glory as mentioned in the previous chapter], since we have this ministry [as Church Age believers, we are both ambassadors and priests], we have received mercy [a ministry given by God and undeserved by the recipient], we do not become discouraged [emotionally despondent because of suffering].
∆ιὰ τοῦτο, ἔχοντες τὴν διακονίαν ταύτην, καθὼς ἠλεήθηµεν, οὐκ ἐγκακοῦµεν,
We have a ministry to our country as a client nation. Our ministry is not only to obey the Divine Laws of Establishment and to be a patriot, but we also have a ministry as a believer to grow in grace, attain spiritual maturity, and become a part of the pivot of mature believers. In other words, we have the responsibility of becoming invisible heroes, the greatest thing we can ever do for our country.
Ambassadorship, royal:
Romans 14:18. For he who serves the Christ in this [application of the honor code regarding the Law of Love as per Romans 14:14-17] is well pleasing to the God [in the function of one’s royal priesthood, representing self to God] and respected by men [in the function of one’s royal ambassadorship representing God to mankind].
An ambassador is a high ranking-minister of state or royalty sent to another state to represent his sovereign or country. By analogy, we are spiritual aristocracy as members of the royal family of God, and Christ is the King who has sent us into a foreign country, the cosmic world. At salvation, every believer enters the royal family of God through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and at the same time, he becomes a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ on earth. Ambassadorship stems from being in union with Christ via the Baptism of the Spirit.
The Profile of the Ambassador:
1. An ambassador does not appoint himself for he is appointed by God Himself at the moment he believes in Jesus Christ. As the Christian grows spiritually, he acquires the capacity to handle this responsibility.
2. The ambassador does not support himself and so it is with the Church Age believer who is provided for by Logistical Grace and augmented at spiritual maturity by Escrow Blessings.
3. The ambassador's instructions are always in written form so he has no doubt as to what he should do. We have the policies, the Problem-Solving Devices, instructions, principles, doctrines, and concepts in written form in the Scripture.
4. The ambassador does not belong to the country to which he is sent. His citizenship is in heaven though he has citizenship on earth as well.
5. The royal ambassador does not live in the foreign country for his own personal interest, but lives on earth solely to serve the interest of his Lord. Therefore, he should subordinate all personal interest to the function of his ambassadorship which includes the Filling of the Spirit, cognition of Bible doctrine, and execution of the Protocol Plan of God. The more a person advances spiritually, the better he will fulfill his responsibilities as an ambassador.
6. The ambassador does not treat any insult as personal for he realizes that any insult received in the proper function of his ambassadorship is an insult against the Lord. This also means that the Christian ambassador tolerates others and holds no grudges. When he is insulted, treated unfairly, or ridiculed, he maintains his poise and dignity by the use of the spiritual life given to him. He leaves the responsibility of retaliation etc. in the Lord's hands.
7. When an ambassador is recalled, his recall is tantamount to a declaration of war. His recall is analogous to the Rapture of the Church. The Tribulation is analogous to that period of war.
The Royal Ambassadorship is Specialized and Intensified in the Gift of Pastor-Teacher:
1. All communicative gifts (evangelists, apostles, pastor-teachers) become critical and specialized in the functions of the royal ambassadorship because they communicate spiritual truth. This is why Paul said in Ephesians 6:20, “on behalf of which [gospel] I am an ambassador in chains, that in this [proclaiming of the mystery doctrine], I might communicate with confidence as I ought to speak.”
2. There is a special need for those who communicate doctrine to do so with confidence. That confidence cannot exist apart from their understanding of the spiritual life in detail, and have the ability to study and teach the Word from the original languages. Furthermore, in order to handle the difficulties, the indifference, the communicator must be a spiritual adult otherwise he will not be able to do his job as unto the Lord.
The Royal Ambassadorship Related to Evangelism:
Knowledge of salvation is necessary for witnessing. You cannot witness for Christ unless you know the gospel.
2 Corinthians 5:18-21, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us [as ambassadors] the ministry of reconciliation: (19) Namely that God [the Father] was by means of Christ reconciling the world to himself [the principle of unlimited atonement] not counting their trespasses against them [the penalty of our personal sins were imputed directly to Christ on the cross], and he committed to us, the doctrine of reconciliation. (20) Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were making His appeal through us. We [as ambassadors] invite you [through the gospel message] on behalf of Christ become reconciled to God. (21) And he [God the Father] made him [Jesus] who knew no sin [impeccability of Christ] to be a sin offering [Jesus Christ, the high priest offered himself as a sacrifice for the penalty of our sins] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him [a reference to Positional Truth].”
This is the function of every believer who witnesses and is the special function of the believer with the gift of evangelism. We are not only to witness through our life, but also to witness through verbal communication of the Gospel.
The Royal Ambassadorship Mandates the Function of Spiritual Self-esteem and Impersonal Love:
Philemon 8-10. Therefore, although I have much confidence [in my authority] in Christ to command you to do what is right [protocol], rather because of your love [for Jesus Christ] I encourage you, being such a one as Paul, an ambassador, and also now a prisoner of Christ Jesus. I appeal to you on behalf of my son, whom I have fathered in my chains, Onesimus,
1. When the spiritual momentum of the royal ambassador takes him to the point of personal love for God, he then has maximum spiritual self-esteem which enables him to apply impersonal love toward all mankind.
2. While personal love for God is the function of one’s royal priesthood, spiritual self-esteem and impersonal love for man are the functions of his ambassadorship.
3. Everything the believer does in life becomes a part of his modus operandi as a royal ambassador. Every believer, therefore, makes a pulpit out of his circumstances in every area of life.
4. Your ambassadorship is basically made up of two factors: how you live and what you say as a result of what you think. In private, you function under your priesthood; in public, you function under your ambassadorship.
The Royal Ambassadorship is Related to the Angelic Conflict:
1. The Church Age believer is not only an ambassador to human creatures, but to angels as well. You are being watched right now just as the angels observed our Lord.
1 Timothy 3:16. And by common acknowledgement, great is the mystery of the spiritual life [prototype and the operational type]. He who was revealed in the flesh [Hypostatic Union]: He was vindicated by the Spirit [Filled at birth and remained under that ministry during His 33 years]; He was seen by angels [because it was the crossroad of history]; He was proclaimed among the nations; He was believed on in the world; He was taken up into glory [resurrection followed by ascension].
2. Elect angels observe and rejoice over the conversion of one person,
Luke 15:7-10. I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner [an unbeliever] who changes his thinking [regarding Christ and believes and therefore, becomes a royal priest and ambassador] than over ninety-nine righteous persons [believers with imputed righteousness] who have no need of a change of thinking [toward Christ]. (8) Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? (9) When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ (10) In the same way, I tell you, there is happiness in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner [unbeliever] who changes his thinking [regarding Christ and believes].
3. Fallen angels are organized to resist and oppose your ambassadorship and your growth in grace.
Ephesians 6:12. Because our warfare [as royal priests and ambassadors in spiritual combat] is not against blood and flesh [human beings], but against the rulers [demon generals and commanders such as Abaddon, and Apollyon], against the authorities [demon commissioned officers], against the world rulers of this darkness [demon possessed ambassadors and rulers of the world], against the spiritual forces of evil [rank and file demons] in the heavenly places [in the atmosphere around the earth].
4. The fact that angels are watching you as an ambassador is found in the following verses:
1 Corinthians 4:9, “For I think God has exhibited us apostles last of all as men condemned to death [last ones into the Colosseum], for we have become an amphitheater to the world, both to angels and to men.”
Ephesians 3:10, “In order that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known through the church to rulers and authorities in the heavenlies [angels learn from Church Age believers].”
1 Timothy 5:21, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His elect angels [elect angels constantly watch Church Age believers] to maintain these doctrines without bias; do nothing on the basis of partisan strife.”
The Concept of the Believer-Ambassador:
1. While the priesthood of the believer emphasizes the daily intake and application of God’s word and advance to spiritual maturity, the ambassadorship of the believer emphasizes the production of the Christian way of life.
2. This ambassador’s service can be a function of one's spiritual gift or obedience to a command related to service as taught in the Word.
3. Since maximum production involves spiritual maturity, it is obvious that the attainment of spiritual maturity results in maximum effectiveness in the area of your royal ambassadorship.
4. The Filling of the Spirit is an absolute necessity in the function of the ambassador. Any Christian service or works apart from the Filling of the Spirit is wood, hay and stubble, a good to be burned at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
5. Everything the believer does in life becomes a part of his ambassadorship, for in effect, the believer makes a pulpit out of his circumstances.
6. The Lord uses ambassadors in business, professions, homes, academic life, and in local churches. Your circumstances are your full-time Christian service whether you work in the military, in labor, or in management etc. In the Roman Empire, many believers fulfilled their ambassadorship as slaves.
The Concept of the Weeping Ambassador:
The weeping ambassador expresses the regrets of wrong thinking and the failure of the believer or unbeliever to orient to history. Disorientation to history means distraction from the Christian way of life.
Isaiah 33:6-7. And He [Lord Jesus Christ] will be the stability of your times, a wealth of deliverance, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of [respect for] the Lord is his treasure [in 721 B.C. there was no knowledge or respect for the Lord in the Northern Kingdom] (7) Behold their brave men [the army of the Northern Kingdom of Israel] cry [from patriotism over the loss of their fellow soldiers, their freedom and over the destruction of their nation] in the streets, the ambassadors of peace [the liberal politicians] weep bitterly.
The faithful ambassador in contrast to the weeping ambassador:
Proverbs 13:16-17, “Every wise believer acts with knowledge of doctrine, but a fool [a believer who rejects the spiritual life] spreads foolishness. An evil messenger falls into adversity [the Law of Volitional Responsibility], but a faithful envoy brings healing [is an effective witness for Christ].”
Priesthoods: Old Testament Versus New Testament Priesthoods:
1. There never has been a priesthood in the history of the world that required the priest to be a believer. Every priesthood prior to the Church Age was based on physical birth or position in the family, not on spiritual regeneration though most undoubtedly were believers.
Genesis 4:3, 5. So, it came about in the course of time that Cain [as a priest] brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. (5) but for Cain and his offering, He [the Lord] had no regard. So, Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.
The requirements of the Levitical priesthood are stated in Leviticus 21:17-23.Not once does it state that the Levitical priest had to be a believer for you see even an unbeliever could have carried out the rituals required of a Levitical priest.
2. On the other hand, the priesthood of the Church is formed from our position in Christ as a result of the Baptism of the Spirit. So, our priesthood is composed of every member of the Royal Family of God.
3. No high priest in Israel ever functioned in resurrection body as does our High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. Only the royal family of God has a High Priest in resurrection body.
4. Jesus Christ was never a high priest to Israel for He was not qualified to function in a priestly role since He was not from the tribe of Levi.
5. The Church has one High Priest, the resurrected humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ at the right hand of the Father with indestructible life. So, our high priest will live forever; Israel had to constantly replace their dying high priests.
6. The royal priesthood of the Church Age believer which is based on Current Positional Truth with one High Priest in resurrection body is better than the Levitical priesthood, which was based on many high priests and physical birth.
7. The spiritual life must match the priesthood. Whereas the Levitical priesthood functioned under the ritual of the Mosaic Law, our royal priesthood functions under the spiritual life as found in the New Testament epistles.
Hebrews 7:22-25. To a greater degree, Jesus [as our high priest] has become the guarantee of a better covenant [as found in the New Testament epistles]. (23) On the one hand therefore, the former priests existed in greater numbers, because they were prevented by death from continuing, (24) but Jesus on the other hand, because He abides forever, He holds His priesthood permanently. (25) Therefore, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God [by faith in Jesus Christ we enter into the royal priesthood] through Him [through his work on the Cross], since He always lives to make intercession for them.
8. Our priesthood prays to God the Father through the person of Jesus Christ, our high priest.
9. Each priesthood had its own function. The Levitical Priesthood learned its function from the Mosaic Law. The Royal Priesthood of the Church Age believer in the post-canon period of the Church Age, its function is found in the New Testament Epistles.
“We have received Mercy:” Grace Orientation:
The Grace Plan of God: 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. namely 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.” 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.
2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ [the greatest acts of grace took place at the incarnation and 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].”
Taken from Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary page 116:
“Grace orientation: The mental attitude of the believer who recognizes that everything he is and will ever be depends solely upon the power and plan of God. Saved by grace, the believer lives by grace. From the realization of this unmerited divine favor comes grace orientation—the attitude of total reliance on God, adjustment to His grace policy, and utilization of limitless grace provisions. All power for executing God’s plan comes from grace (1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Tim. 2:1; Heb. 13:9), and without it, believers could not survive in the devil’s world. Accordingly, Scripture exhorts believers to “stand firm in it!” (1 Pet. 5:12). “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord” reinforces this mandate, for there can be no grace orientation without humility (James 4:10). Nor can there be growth in grace without following the tandem command to grow in the “knowledge of our Lord” (2 Pet. 3:18). Once the believer submits to God’s plan and adapts to grace procedures, he realizes that God alone does the work to meet his needs and solve his problems (2 Thess. 2:16; 2 Pet. 1:2–4). No longer preoccupied with human works and achievement, he relates God’s policy to himself and others. Encouragement, comfort, and self-exhortation come from divine wisdom in his soul, not from his own flawed desires, impulses, and understanding. A relaxed mental attitude is the basis of his conduct, meaning he demonstrates sensitivity and tolerance toward the weaknesses of others (Eph. 4:31–32; 1 Cor. 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:5). By winning the battle over legalism and pride, he invisibly, often unknowingly, represents the grace attitude of Christ to the world (2 Cor. 1:12; 8:9). The greatest heroes of the Bible reached maturity not by their own genius or strength but by fully submitting themselves to the gracious hand of God. David, at one of the lowest points of his life, penned a beautiful testament to God’s matchless grace in Psalm 23, acknowledging that “the Lord is the one who keeps on shepherding me, I cannot and do not lack anything” (Ps. 23:1, expanded translation). The Apostle Paul, humbled by intense suffering, recognized that “when I am weak, then I am strong,” as he fully oriented to his helplessness in light of God’s all-sufficient grace (2 Cor. 12:7–10).”
The Axioms of Grace:
1. God is perfect; therefore, His plan must be perfect.
2. A perfect plan can only originate and function from a perfect God.
3. If man can do anything meritorious in the plan of God, it is no longer perfect.
4. A plan is no stronger than its weakest link. For this reason, grace excludes all human merit, all human ability and talent.
5. Legalism (human good produced outside of the plan of God) is the enemy of grace.
6. Therefore, the works of human righteousness have no place in the plan of God.
7. All good produced outside of God’s plan is motivated by human self-righteousness and arrogance.
More about grace:
1. Maximum indoctrination results in greater grace blessings. Notice that grace-blessing is related to the intake of doctrine, not our failures and disasters. When we get involved in Satanic good, sin and evil, the only grace that abounds is grace in disciplinary action.
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. Acts of personal sin do not increase grace blessing from the integrity of God, but rather increase discipline and punishment from the integrity of God.
4. Grace should not encourage us to sin, but to motivate us to press on to maturity through the consistent intake of Bible doctrine.
5. 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 integrity of God. Certainly, there cannot be a series of sins resulting in evil, or a series of human good acts resulting in evil, without divine punishment to the individuals involved. In other words, we never function under the old sin nature with impunity.
6. Living under grace rather than the Law does not imply that the integrity of God no longer administers punitive action to the believer who chooses to sin, perform human good, or to become involved with evil.
7. Divine integrity punishes sinfulness, and divine integrity blesses growth in grace.
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. Therefore, we have in Romans 6:1 a rhetorical question which is a false assumption. Romans 6:1b, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?”
5. The grace of God never encourages sin. To the legalist, a great sinner himself functioning under moral degeneracy, being immersed in mental and verbal sins, grace always appears to give the antinomian Christian immersed in overt sins, a license to sin. 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.
6. Neither legalism nor antinomianism can break away from the ruling power of the old sin nature over life because both are distortions.
7. Only the divine provision and the divine support of logistical grace can exploit the positional victory over the old sin nature.
Christian service must be properly motivated:
1. Like all production in the Christian life, proper motivation must precede and comply with the divine policy of grace for the production to be legitimate.
2. Correct motivation can only exist where Bible doctrine is resident in the right lobe.
3. Arrogance produces false motivation and anything falsely motivated does not glorify the Lord.
4. All bona fide Christian production comes from the two power options namely the Filling of the Spirit and Bible doctrine resident in the soul.
5. Motivation which is not purposed to glorify the Lord will obviously exist to glorify self, and what glorifies self obviously cannot glorify the Lord.
Confidence in the love of God and in one’s love for God prevents discouragement: “we do not become discouraged” as per 2 Corinthians 4:1.
Confidence is always related to knowledge. No one has confidence when he is in a state of ignorance. No one has confidence in a person unless he knows that person very well. First comes knowledge, second comes confidence.
2 Corinthians 3:4: And such confidence [in God and in his plan based upon knowledge], we keep having through Christ [through the Prototype Spiritual Life and His work on the Cross] before [toward, face to face with] God [the Father, great confidence in God the Father’s plan].
Romans 5:5. And confidence [in God] does not disappoint, because the love for God [a love for God produces confidence in God] has been poured out [the Greek word ekcheo] in our hearts [our streams of consciousness] by the personal agency of the Holy Spirit who was given to us for our benefit [as a result of the teaching of the Holy Spirit, there is confidence and confidence does not disappoint].
In this verse, confidence is based on our understanding of God’s eternal love for us. As the believer learns about God’s love and responds, he develops a love for God. In this way, he gradually gains a confidence in God and in God’s plan.
As the believer advances in the spiritual life, he must advance with two columns. The first column is formed from his understanding of the principles and categories of doctrine found in Scripture. The second column is formed from his love (appreciation, respect, obedience, devotion) for God. There must be the simultaneously advance of two columns namely the doctrinal and love-columns for they support and protect each other. The doctrinal column is the basis for love and the love column is the motivation to learn more doctrine.
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 knowledge, 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.
Some Christians learn many doctrines of Scripture and may even learn of God’s love, but they never develop a love for God; they never walk by faith, appreciate God’s grace, develop divine standards and values, or try to please God in their motivation, thinking, decisions and actions. These Christians will eventually give-up under the pressures of punishment or testing. Only love for God with emphasis on the primary components namely knowledge, integrity and the appreciation of grace and the functioning under it provides the necessary motivation to carry one through the difficult times of punishment or testing.
Other Christians appreciate their salvation and eternal security, the seeds of love, but they do not learn consistently from a prepared pastor. Thus, eventually their desire to love dissipates and is replaced by emotion or legalism. It takes two columns to advance spiritually. If the Christian attempts to advance with only one column, he will fail.
“We do not become discouraged” when we understand our ‘Politeuma Privileges.’ The information below is taken from ‘Thieme Bible Doctrine Dictionary’ pages 198, 199.
‘Politeuma’ metaphor Imagery used in Philippians 3:20 to illustrate the highly coveted position and unprecedented privileges held by Church Age believers.
‘Politeuma’ (citizenship), derived from the ancient Greek word polis (city-state), came into use with the Athenian system of colonization a few hundred years prior to Paul’s writing of Philippians. Citizens of Athens were settled in foreign colonies and granted the rights and privileges of their powerful home state. The Greek system of colonization made such an impression that the Romans eventually adopted it in expanding their empire. By rights, privileges, and protection of Roman law, Roman citizens residing in an established colony were elevated far above their neighbors—their status was equivalent to that of a citizen residing within Rome itself. As the ‘politeuma’ concept grew more and more familiar, the word came to designate the body of privileged residents in the colony, the colony itself, or the advantages associated with this type of citizenship.
Paul used the term figuratively, drawing on all its connotations, to address the Philippian congregation, because most residents of Philippi at that time understood the ‘politeuma’ significance. This city in Macedonia had been the battleground on which the forces of Antony and Octavian, in 42 B.C., defeated the forces of Brutus and Cassius. There, Octavian commemorated the victory by establishing a Roman colony. By the time of Paul’s ministry, much of Philippi’s population was composed of veterans from the Roman army, enjoying retirement in this foreign land while retaining all privileges of Roman citizenship. Paul utilized the ‘politeuma’ imagery to emphasize that believers in Jesus Christ, though born citizens of earth, are reborn citizens of heaven. The earth, the devil’s world, is the foreign territory in which we as believers temporarily reside, but “our citizenship [‘politeuma’] is in heaven” and our eternal homeland is the source of unprecedented wealth and advantages. While Roman ‘politeuma’ privileges were impressive, they only begin to suggest the magnificent riches of “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” available to every Church Age believer (Eph. 1:3).
2 Corinthians 4:2
Rather, we [Paul presenting the ministry of witnessing for all believers] have renounced secret and shameful ways [dishonest methods and gimmicks]; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God [through false issues, false doctrine and human viewpoint]. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly [by the unveiling of the truth; the Greek word ‘phanerosis’ means to remove the veil; by clearly presenting gospel information, we are removing the veil over the cross and at the same time attempting to remove the veil of blindness over the eyes of the unbeliever] we commend ourselves [the believer while under the Filling of the Spirit is witnessing] to every man's conscience [the gospel receives favorable attention from the conscience; the standards based on right and wrong reached at God consciousness demand a hearing of the gospel] in the sight of God [We witness as unto the Lord before the omniscience of God. Whether people know or not is not the issue. So, you don’t need recognition from people for motivation. Also, for those who love the Lord, there comes an animation and enthusiasm in witnessing].
ἀλλὰ ἀπειπάµεθα τὰ κρυπτὰ τῆς αἰσχύνης, µὴ περιπατοῦντες ἐν πανουργίᾳ µηδὲ δολοῦντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ τῇ φανερώσει τῆς ἀληθείας συνιστάνοντες ἑαυτοὺς πρὸς πᾶσαν συνείδησιν ἀνθρώπων ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ.
Evangelism, Principles of:
Knowledge of salvation is necessary for witnessing. You cannot witness for Christ unless you know the gospel.
2 Corinthians 5:18-21, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us [as ambassadors] the ministry of reconciliation: (19) Namely that God [the Father] was by means of Christ reconciling the world to himself [the principle of unlimited atonement] not counting their trespasses against them [the penalty of our personal sins were imputed directly to Christ on the cross], and he committed to us, the doctrine of reconciliation. (20) Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were making His appeal through us. We [as ambassadors] invite you [through the gospel message] on behalf of Christ become reconciled to God. (21) And he [God the Father] made him [Jesus] who knew no sin [impeccability of Christ] to be a sin offering [Jesus Christ, the high priest offered himself as a sacrifice for the penalty of our sins] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him [positional truth].”
The Christian has a two-fold witness ministry. Being a witness to the unbeliever and before angels in the Angelic Appeal Trial are the responsibilities of every believer.
Acts 1:8. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you [the Filling of the Holy Spirit]. And you shall be witnesses [to the unbeliever but especially in the Angelic Appeal Trial] to Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
The human race was created to function as witnesses in Satan’s appeal trial. So, being witnesses to the unsaved human race is not the primary function of the Christian though important. So, even though a Christian may witness to many unbelievers during his lifetime, if that same believer does not function as a witness in this angelic appeal trial, basically he has failed in his primary mission.
The effectiveness and clarity of the believer’s witness depends upon his understanding of the last judgment as taught in Revelation 20:12-15 and the convincing ministry as per John 16:8-11. These two passages make it clear that a person’s sins are not the issue in salvation except the sin of not believing in Jesus Christ.
Witnessing is impossible apart from the ministry of the Holy Spirit:
John 16:8-11. And when that one comes, he will convince the world [the unbeliever] concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; (9) concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me [the sin of rejecting Christ as savior is the only sin not judged on the cross] (10) and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me [the need for perfect righteousness]; (11) and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged [If the greatest creature ever created did not escape judgment nor will you].
Pertinent content of the Bible is the believer’s weapon in witnessing:
1 Corinthians 1:18. For the Word of the cross to the ones who are perishing [the ones rejecting the gospel] is foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
If the unbeliever refuses to listen to the gospel or rejects the gospel information after hearing it (Common Grace followed by the Call of God the Father), then the gospel and all other spiritual information in the Bible will appear to him as foolishness.
1 Corinthians 2:14. But the soulish-man [ψυχικὸς δὲ ἄνθρωπος is a reference to the unbeliever] does not accept the things from the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are discerned spiritually.
Regarding God’s word, the unbeliever can only understand the Laws of Establishment and the gospel via Common Grace and nothing else since the unbeliever does not have a human spirit.
The dynamics of witnessing depend upon the believer’s mental attitude:
Romans 1:14-16, “I am under obligation both to the civilized unbelievers [those with Greek culture and language] and to the uncivilized unbelievers [like the barbarians of Spain] both to the wise [mature believers] and to the ignorant [includes baby, adolescent, and reversionistic believers]. (15) Thus, my eagerness to proclaim the good news [both the gospel and the spiritual life] to you who are in Rome. (16) For I am not ashamed of the good news regarding salvation, for it is the power of God for providing salvation to anyone who believes in Christ, both to the Jew foremost [first in privilege] and likewise to the Gentiles.”
Paul had a sense of obligation based upon a sense of honor. From that sense of honor toward God, comes a sense of duty or responsibility toward others both to the unbeliever and to the believer.
There are two areas of witnessing namely the witness of the life and the witness of the lips:
The witness of the life: 2 Corinthians 3:3. Being manifested [to people and angels] that you are a letter from Christ, having been ministered to by us; therefore, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on the tablets of the human heart [stream of consciousness].
The witness of the lips: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21. For the love for Christ keeps motivating us, having concluded this, that one died [a substitutionary spiritual death] for all, therefore all died [real spiritual death at birth]; (15) and He [Christ] died as a substitute for all in order that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and was resurrected [rose from the dead in an eternal body] on their behalf. (16) Therefore, in the future we regard no one from the human viewpoint [according to the flesh]; even though we have known Christ from the human viewpoint [from the typical viewpoint that we had before we were saved], but now [with cognitive self-confidence and beyond] we know Him in this way no longer. (17) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, and he is, he is a new spiritual species; the old things have passed away [lost their power over you like people emphasis over God emphasis]; behold, new things have come [the ten unique features of the Church Age; the Ten Problem Solving-devices; the distribution of Escrow Blessings for time and the anticipation of the distribution of Escrow Blessing for the eternal state]. (18) Now, all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, (19) namely, [His ambassadors] that God was by means of Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (20) Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God [by believing in Jesus Christ as your savior]. (21) He made Him who knew no sin to be a sin offering on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [in union with Christ].
There is reward for witnessing in fellowship with God:
1 Corinthians 3:13-14. Each man’s work [Christian work or production] will become evident; for the day [the Evaluation Platform of Christ after the Rapture] will show it because it is to be revealed by fire, in fact the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. (14) If any man’s work which he has built upon it [Christ, the Rock] remains, he will receive a reward.
Paul knew that all the human ability and power in the world cannot persuade even one sinner to trust in Christ as savior. Only the power of the Holy Spirit working through the gospel can break through into the human soul causing an unbeliever to believe in Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:4. Both my doctrine and my preaching were not in persuasive words of man’s wisdom [not in Greek culture and philosophy; not in rationalism or empiricism], but in the demonstration of the Spirit [regarding the gospel: common and efficacious grace; regarding Paul’s teaching after salvation, it was done under the Filling of the Spirit and the power of metabolized doctrine in his soul] and in his power [God’s power is used both in the presentation of the gospel and in the teaching of God’s word which follows salvation].
In the Church Age, Paul witnessed under the power of the Filling of the Spirit and metabolized doctrine in his soul. In the Tribulation, Daniel’s Seventh Week, the last 7 years of the Age of Israel, the 144,000 Jewish evangelist and others will witness from the power of metabolized doctrine and possibly from the Enduement of the Spirit as the prophets were given in the Old Testament.
A few points for clarification regarding the presentation of the Gospel:
1. Human public ability and eloquence will not bring a sinner to Christ.
2. Human popularity or success will not bring a sinner to Christ.
3. Human attractiveness will not bring a sinner to Christ.
4. It is not necessary to be intelligent or an intellectual to reach intellectuals.
5. You do not have to learn the unbeliever’s religion, philosophy or viewpoint to present him with the gospel-message.
6. You do not have to cultivate people or become friends with them to witness to them.
If faith in Christ were founded on logic it could be refuted by logic. All it takes is a greater debater, a smarter person using logic. The objective of witnessing is not to win a debate, not to present a logical platform, subject to debate, but to present an absolute namely the gospel. The Holy Spirit will do the rest.
Proper Evangelism:
1. Give the unbeliever information pertinent to salvation and stay on the subject. Avoid false issues such as legalism: salvation by change of behavior, feeling sorry for sins, joining the church, etc.
2. Never put the cart before the horse. Do not try to get the unbeliever to live the Christian way life. The issue is not living the Christian life, the issue is “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved,” Acts 16:31; John 3:36.
3. Be sure to declare the good news of the gospel; discussing personal sin is not good news. Your responsibility is to emphasize the person of Christ and His work on the cross. However, after explaining the good news, you may state what will happen if the unbeliever should reject the good news.
4. So, do not add to the gospel. Nothing is accomplished by getting a person to give up his sins, to improve his behavioral pattern, or to feel sorry for his sins, to join a church or to walk down a church aisle.
5. Provide information and do not get in the way of the Holy Spirit with regard to the decision of faith. You can’t force the volition of any member of the human race; even God can’t do that.
6. Never ask an unbeliever for money, and avoid any kind of a gimmick that would confuse the issue like asking him to come forward or to stand up during an evangelistic appeal.
Pitfalls in our personal witnessing:
1. Avoid argumentation. You are not trying to win a debate; rather you are trying to win a soul to Jesus Christ. Hence, your job is to disseminate information rather than to argue over its validity.
2. Do not be sidetracked by false issues such as: Is the Bible the Word of God? Use the Word of God, don’t argue as to whether the Bible is valid or not. The issue as to whether the Bible is the Word of God or not is an issue for the believer but not for the unbeliever.
3. Deal with the individual alone wherever possible. Often people will give you a hearing, but they will not do so in the presence of others who might ridicule them.
4. Avoid the concept that you must speak to a certain number of individuals each day or you are not spiritual. This is a human viewpoint-pressure system.
5. Avoid bragging about witnessing.
6. Avoid judging other believers for their apparent failure to witness. This is putting your nose into the affairs of other people.
Four types of false motivation in witnessing related to the lust pattern.
1. Materialism lust. A person witnesses for money.
2. Approbation lust. A person witnesses for recognition or praise.
3. Power lust. A person witnesses in order to gain ascendancy in some Christian group.
4. Ego lust. Witnessing motivated by competition with other believers. For example, if you witness to five people a day, I’ll witness to six!
In 1 Corinthians, Paul presents his viewpoint regarding the Gospel:
1 Corinthians 9:16-23. For if I communicate the good news [maybe I will; maybe I will not], I have nothing to boast about [neither evangelism nor communicating the spiritual life is a basis for boasting], for I am under necessity [I’m just doing what I should be doing; it is my responsibility]; for woe is me if I do not proclaim [at the point of opportunity] the gospel [fail in my responsibility as an ambassador and fail in my responsibility as a communicator of the spiritual life]. (17) For if I do this willingly [communicate the good news with correct motivation while in fellowship], and I do, I have a reward [for witnessing even though the unbeliever may not respond]; but if I unwillingly fulfill a responsibility with which I have been entrusted, (18) What then is my reward [There is no reward for witnessing or communicating God’s Word unwillingly since the believer is functioning under false motivation]? That, when I proclaim the good news [the gospel to the unbeliever; the spiritual life to the believer], I may offer the good news without charge [Paul never took money from the unbeliever nor did he take funds from the Corinthian believers], so as not to make full use of my right [Paul had the right to receive remuneration from the Corinthian Christians] in the gospel [in presenting the good news to those Christians]. (19) For though I am free [the Law of Liberty] from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more [souls for Christ]. (20) To the Jews I became as a Jew [for example abstaining from eating pork] so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being under the Law myself [Paul was not under the Mosaic Law], so that I might win those who are under the Mosaic Law [the Jewish unbeliever]; (21) to those who are without the Law [the Gentile unbeliever], as without law [so, Paul would eat pork with them for example], though [Paul] not being without the Law of God [Paul used the Old Testament for instruction, but not for his spiritual life] but under the Law of Christ [the Law of the Filling of the Spirit], so that I might win those who are without law [the Gentiles]. (22) To the weak [certain Jewish and Gentile unbelievers] I became weak, that I might win the weak [to the Lord]; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. [In matters of doctrine, Paul was adamant and dogmatic, but in matters of expediency, Paul was flexible without deceit and without compromise.] (23) I do all things for the sake of the gospel [the gospel-message], so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.
Evangelism without Prejudice:
1. In evangelism, one must avoid national prejudice in the presentation of the gospel.
2. There must not be any racial or social prejudice in the presentation of the gospel.
3. Arrogance in the form of prejudice destroys the effective presentation of the gospel in the following three categories: the personal witnessing of every believer, the evangelist who witnesses to groups of unbelievers within a nation, and the missionary who functions outside of the Client Nation.
The removal of national prejudice in communicating the gospel:
1. From B.C. 1441 to A.D. 70, over 1500 years of history, client nation Israel had the responsibility of evangelizing Gentile nations.
2. The failure of the Jewish people in evangelism and missionary activity was one of the reasons for the three administrations of the fifth cycle of discipline to Israel: to the Northern Kingdom in 721 B.C., to the Southern Kingdom in 586 B.C. and to Judea in 70 A.D.
3. During their 1500-year history, evangelism within the nation was quite extensive. However, in missionary activity, they had completely failed. We know of only one missionary during this period, and he had to be forced to go to Assyria. Why was this the case? They had become arrogant about their culture and all that the Lord had given to them including their salvation. They failed to consider that when Christ was on the cross, He was judged for the sins of the entire world. Therefore, there should not be any national prejudice in presenting the gospel whether it be within the nation or outside of it.
4. Now, let’s move from history to eschatology. While there will be no Client Nation existing during the Tribulation, there will be much evangelism not only in Israel, but throughout the world.
5. In spite of anti-Semitism reaching its peak in the Tribulation [Revelation chapter 12] Jewish evangelists namely the 144,000 followed by Moses and Elijah will reach thousands even millions of Gentiles in Gentile nations. Furthermore, these Jewish evangelists of the Tribulation not only will perform their evangelistic responsibilities without the support of a client nation, but will do so under the greatest period of anti-Semitism the world will ever know.
2 Corinthians 4:3
But if our Gospel [our personal possession] is hidden [veiled or obscured by Satan who doesn’t want a clear presentation of the gospel], it is hidden to those who are lost [unbelievers],
εἰ δὲ καὶ ἔστιν κεκαλυµµένον τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἡµῶν, ἐν τοῖς ἀπολλυµένοις ἐστὶν κεκαλυµµένον,
2 Corinthians 4:4
In whose case the god of this age [Satan] has blinded the minds [through religion, philosophy etc.] of the unbelievers [negative volition at God-consciousness and Gospel hearing; people do not accept the lie until they have first rejected the truths], that they might not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God.
ἐν οἷς ὁ θεὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἐτύφλωσεν τὰ νοήµατα τῶν ἀπίστων εἰς τὸ µὴ αὐγάσαι τὸν φωτισµὸν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς δόξης τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ.
Blindness of the unbeliever begins at the point where he becomes aware that there is a God; this awareness is known as God-consciousness which is defined as the point at which a person becomes aware of the existence of God through at least five theistic arguments for the existence of God. It may also be classified as the point of accountability. If any member of the human race, regardless of geographical or linguistic barrier, desires relationship with God after reaching God consciousness, then God will provide the necessary information (the gospel message) through which that person can believe in Christ for eternal salvation. On the other hand, if any person at the point of God consciousness does not desire to know God, then God is not responsible to bring gospel-information to that person.
Ephesians 4:18. Having been darkened [by a lack of light (truth)] in their understanding [way of thinking] and having been alienated from the life of God [unbelievers and believers in degeneracy] because of the ignorance which is in them [in their souls; no desire to learn the truth], because of the hardness [every time a person says ‘no’ to truth, callousness, scar tissue is formed] of their hearts [of the mentality of their souls].
1 John 2:11. But the one [the believer] who hates his brother is in darkness [in Satan’s Cosmic System] and walks in darkness [his lifestyle], and he does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes [the believer without truth in his soul cannot understand God’s plan].
How about those who do not reach God-consciousness: Those members of the human race, who for one reason or another do not arrive at God consciousness, are automatically saved because their volition did not reject God. This would include morons, brain damaged children, premature death in babies and young children.
2 Samuel 12:23, “But now that he [David’s first son from Bathsheba] has died, why should I [David] fast [This was an answer to his servants who asked why he quit fasting]? [Before his son died, David fasted that he might spend much time in prayer, praying that his son would not die] Can I bring him back again [from death]? I shall go to him [David will see his son in heaven, his firstborn son from Bathsheba], but he will not return to me [from heaven].”
Even though Satan blinds the stream of consciousness of the unbeliever, this does not prevent worldwide evangelism in every generation.
Acts 17:6, “When they did not find them [Paul and Silas], they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, "These men who have upset the world [the Roman world] have come here [Thessalonica] also;
Colossians 1:6. [The good news] being present in you even as it is in all the world [in the Roman Empire and beyond, the gospel and Bible teaching entered Satan’s domain; Satan then counterattacked with Gnosticism], and is constantly bearing fruit [paraphrastic construction which is one of the strongest expressions in Greek] and increasing even as also in you from the day you heard [the constative aorist tense: after believing they kept on learning] and began to fully understand the grace of the God [Grace Orientation] in the sphere of doctrine [Doctrinal Orientation].
1 Timothy 3:16. And by common acknowledgement, great is the mystery of the spiritual life [the proto-type and the operational type]. He who was revealed in the flesh [Hypostatic Union]: He was vindicated by the Spirit [Filled at birth and remained under that ministry during his 33 years on the earth including the cross]; He was seen by angels [both elect and fallen because it was the crossroad of history]; He was proclaimed among the nations [the nations of the world]; He was believed on in the world; He was taken up into glory [resurrection followed by Ascension].
Extra-Biblical historical documentation of the world-wide dissemination of the Gospel:
Justin Martyr, 103-165 A.D., “There is no people, Greek or barbarian or any other race by whatever appellation or manner they may be distinguished, however ignorant of the art of agriculture, whether they dwell in tents or wander about in covered wagons among whom prayers and thanksgiving are not offered in the name of the crucified Lord to the Father.”
Tertullian, 160-240 A.D., “We are of but yesterday and yet we already fill your islands, cities, camps, palaces, Senate, and forum. We have left you only your empty temples.”
Origen, 185-251 A.D., “In all Greece and among all barbarous races within our world there are tens of thousands who have left their national laws and customary gods for the law of Moses and the word of Jesus Christ. Though to adhere to that law is to incur the hatred of idolaters, and to embrace that word is to incur the risk of death as well. And considering, how in a few years and with no great store of teachers and in spite of the attacks which has cost us life and property, the preaching of the Word has found its way into every part of the world, so that Greeks and barbarians, wise and unwise adhere to the doctrine of Jesus Christ.”
Eusebius, 266-344 A.D., “There flourished at that time many successors to the apostles who reared the edifice on the foundations which were laid, continuing the work of preaching the Gospel and scattering abundantly over the entire earth the wholesome seed of the heavenly kingdom. For a very large number of disciples, carried away by a fervent love of the truth which the divine word had revealed to them, fulfilled the command to the Savior. Leaving their country, they fulfilled the office of evangelist to carry the gospel to those who had not heard the word of faith.”
2 Corinthians 4:5
For what we proclaim [It is used for a herald announcing something about the king who in this case is the Lord Jesus Christ. So witnessing is making a proclamation about the Lord Jesus Christ] is not ourselves [the person is not important; it is the message], but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
οὐ γὰρ ἑαυτοὺς κηρύσσοµεν ἀλλὰ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν κύριον, ἑαυτοὺς δὲ δούλους ὑµῶν διὰ Ἰησοῦν.
2 Corinthians 4:6
For God [the Holy Spirit], who said, "Let light shine out from darkness,"[relating the light of truth in this passage to the creation of light in the restoration of the earth by God the Holy Spirit as per Genesis 1:3] who [God the Holy Spirit] made the light [of Bible doctrine] shine in our hearts [souls] with the enlightenment of the knowledge [the Greek word gnosis is academic understanding which would emphasize the daily intake of God’s Word] of the glory of God in the person of Christ [a reference to Jesus Christ functioning under the Prototype spiritual life].
ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ὁ εἰπών, Ἐκ σκότους φῶς λάµψει, ὃς ἔλαµψεν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡµῶν πρὸς φωτισµὸν τῆς γνώσεως τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν προσώπῳ Χριστοῦ.
The explanation of ‘Operation Z’ is taken from Thieme Bible Doctrine Dictionary page 186.
Operation Z. Terminology for the process by which biblical information is communicated to, understood, and made useable by (1) the positive believer filled with the Spirit and studying God’s Word, or (2) the spiritually dead person at the point of Gospel hearing.
For Learning God’s Word. For believers in Jesus Christ, Operation Z describes the divinely empowered mechanics of the grace apparatus for perception (GAP), through which spiritual truths become Bible doctrine understood, believed, and applicable in the soul (1 Cor. 2:12–13; 2 Pet. 3:18). The process of Operation Z occurs in four stages:
Stage 1. The believer with positive volition listens to Bible doctrine communicated from the pulpit by a qualified pastor-teacher. What the rightly prepared pastor speaks is “the word,” called logos in the Greek (Col. 1:25; 2 Tim. 2:15; Heb. 4:12).
Stage 2. The Holy Spirit teaches the logos to the believer’s human spirit. There, the content becomes understandable as spiritual phenomena (pneumatikos).
Stage 3. Pneumatikos is automatically transferred by the Holy Spirit to the left lobe of the believer’s soul, where it resides as gnosis, or knowledge academically understood. This is objective perception of doctrine in the left lobe. The believer understands the spiritual phenomena—the principles, names, dates, places, and categories taught—but he has not yet accepted or rejected the information as truth. Gnosis in the left lobe qualifies the believer as a hearer, but not a doer, of the Word (James 1:22–25).
Stage 4. The believer makes a positive decision to believe what he understands, and the Holy Spirit converts that gnosis into epignosis (full knowledge) and instantly transfers it to the right lobe of the believer’s soul. The believer has exercised faith perception— “I understand the information and I believe it”—and the doctrine has been metabolized to reside in the right lobe as useable, beneficial spiritual nourishment for application and continued growth.
The Filling of the Holy Spirit
In order to understand the Filling of the Holy Spirit, we must distinguish between the Filling and the Indwelling of the Spirit. Simply stated, the Filling of the Spirit is the Holy Spirit controlling the soul, whereas the indwelling of the Spirit is the Holy Spirit indwelling the body of each Church Age believer. Regarding the Filling of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit provides the power for the believer to understand, metabolize, recall and apply Bible doctrine to his experience.
John 14:26, “But the mentor, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, that one will teach you [the disciples and by application, all Church Age believer] all things and bring to your remembrance all things which I have communicated to you [since they have forgotten most of the teachings of Jesus].”
1 Corinthians 2:10-12, "But to us for our benefit, God [the Father] has revealed [his plan for the Church Age believers] through the Spirit [the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit] for the human spirit [through the Filling of the Spirit] investigates all things even the deep things from God [revealed in Scripture], (11) for what man understands [who among men has known] the things [thoughts and ideas] of man except the frame of reference of man [by building knowledge upon knowledge via his human I.Q.] which is in him [the soul with the frame of reference via human I.Q.]. So, even the things [thoughts] of God no one has known except the Spirit of God [The Holy Spirit teaches our human spirit through His power and authority via the Filling of the Spirit]. (12) Now, we have not received the world’s frame of reference, but [we received] the spirit [human spirit] from the source of God in order that we may know the things [pertaining to our spiritual life] graciously given to us [freely given and undeserved] for our benefit from God."
Galatians 5:22, 23, “But the production of the Spirit is love, happiness, tranquility [and soul-prosperity], patience [only in the sense of having very good control over one’s emotions; not reacting emotionally especially to anger], kindness based on grace, divine good-production, faith [advanced faith-rest drill], (23) humility, self-discipline, over such things, there is no law.” [No politician can pass a law mandating these qualities. These only come from the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit.]
Ephesians 5:18 tells us to “Stop being intoxicated with wine by which there is dissipation but keep on being Filled with the Holy Spirit [God the Holy Spirit via his omnipotence and authority teaches the believer in fellowship].”
This is an analogy by antithesis. When the Christian is consistently Filled with the Holy Spirit and learning doctrine, he fills his soul with doctrine. From this doctrine he develops wisdom and a clear purpose for life. However, when the Christian functions out of fellowship for a long period of time, he will receive into his soul false concepts which leads to false values and wrong priorities resulting in a degenerate lifestyle. Thus, he will become intoxicated with false motivation, priorities, thinking and action. His spiritual life will become disorderly; his vision will become blurred, and he will stumble through life.
Regarding indwelling, 1 Corinthians 3:16 states, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” The purpose of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is to make the believer's body a temple for the Lord Jesus Christ as per Colossians 1:27, "To whom God has decreed to make known what is the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you [the indwelling of Christ], the confidence of glory." and for God the Father as per Ephesians 4:6, “One God even the Father of all, who is over all [Christians], and who is the source of all [Logistical and Escrow Blessings], and in all [Christians; a reference to the indwelling of the Father].” So, all three members of the Trinity indwell the body of each Church Age believer. Among other things, this implies that the role of the Church age believer is extremely important.
Besides making the body of each believer a temple for the indwelling of God, the Father and God the Son, he, God the Holy Spirit also uses it as base by which to wage battle against the Sin Nature for the control the soul.
Galatians 5:17, “For the Flesh [sin nature] desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit is against [totally opposed to] the sin nature for these [two] are constantly battling against each other [for control of the soul] [and you have subordinated yourselves to the sin nature] so that you are not doing the things which you might wish to do [Even though most wished to execute God’s will, they were failing.]”
There are two powers in the spiritual life. One is the power of the Holy Spirit, who provides his power so that we might execute the spiritual life. We have also been provided with the Word of God, which is alive and powerful when in the stream of consciousness as per Hebrews 4:12a, “For the Word of God is alive and powerful. . .” These namely the Holy Spirit’s omnipotence and the power of metabolized doctrine are the two powers that make the Christian strong in his soul.
Ephesians 3:16 states, “That he [God the Father] may give you, on the basis of the riches of his glory [these are the wonderful assets which God has provided for the believer in the Church Age], to become strong by means of power through his Spirit in your inner man.” [This is the ministry of God the Holy Spirit metabolizing doctrine in the soul of the believer. From this strength in his soul, the believer can handle any pressure or adversity in life.]
Spirituality is an absolute. A believer is either Filled with the Spirit or not. John described the believer as either walking in the light or walking in darkness. They are mutually exclusive.
1 John 1:5-7, “And this is the message which we have heard from him and communicate to you that God is light and that in him there is no darkness whatsoever. (6) If we say that we have fellowship with him [God the Holy Spirit] and yet we walk in darkness, we lie and we do not apply [live] the truth. (7) If we walk in the light as He is [historical present] in the light [the humanity of Jesus Christ remained under the Filling of the Holy Spirit during his 33 years on the earth], we have fellowship with each other and the blood of Jesus, his son [the blood representing the work on the cross as the basis for forgiveness and purification] purifies us from every failure [The basic meaning of hamartia means to miss the mark so sin, good and evil produced out of fellowship].”
We may be spiritual one moment, but as soon as we commit a mental, verbal or overt sin, we are no longer spiritual, but out of fellowship. All production produced out of fellowship with God will be some form of wrong-doing whether it be sin, good or a combination of these two (evil). Then, after using the Recovery Procedure, the believer regains his spirituality.
Though spirituality is an absolute, spiritual growth is a relative. Christians begin as babies spiritually, then advance to adolescence and finally to maturity.
Baby believers are mentioned in 1Peter 2:2, “like newborn babies longing for the pure milk of the Word so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.” The advancing believer is described in Proverbs 19:8, “He who gets wisdom, loves his own soul. He who keeps understanding will find good.”
The adult believer is described in the following passage:
Philippians 4:11-12. Not that I am speaking with reference to need [Paul does not have his hand out]; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. (12) In fact, I have come to know both how to be humble [the grace-oriented believer learns how to handle suffering type testing], and how-to live in prosperity [appreciating and never forgetting the source of prosperity]. In any and in all circumstances, I have learned the secret [of being happy], both how to be filled [well fed related to prosperity] and how to be hungry [adversity]; both how to be prosperous and how to suffer need.
The mature believer is also described in the following passages:
Romans 8:28. And we know [the mature believer] that to those who love God, He [God] causes all things to work together for good [divine good-production through the application of the spiritual life] to those who are called according to his predetermined plan.
John 14:15. If you love Me [Jesus Christ; maybe you do and maybe you don’t], you will guard [execute] my mandates.” [When a believer has learned the mandates of God and keeps them, he demonstrates to himself and to others his love for God.]
One is either in fellowship with God or not. A baby Christian may be in fellowship or out of fellowship with God at any given point in his life. The same is true of the adult and mature believer. For example, David was a very advanced believer when he committed adultery and murder. What do we learn from this? Well, when a believer gets out of fellowship with God, he can commit any sin an unbeliever can commit since the believer still has a sin nature.
If a Christian has just a small amount of metabolized doctrine in his stream of consciousness, he is a baby Christian even though he may have a physical age of 80. If, however he has listened to accurate teachings of Bible doctrine consistently for many years so that he understands God’s plan very well and has reached spiritual self-esteem, and has passed Providential Preventive Suffering, the first underserved test, he would be classified as an adult. If he has reached the level of loving God, obeying all the commands of scripture (John 14:15), he is a mature believer.
Humility must be established in the soul. It is developed first in the unbeliever learning and obeying God’s Laws of Establishment, and later developed by the Christian who continues to obey these laws and advances in the spiritual life. Humility is an essential commodity/ factor/element in life.
It is also essential to understand that spiritual growth does not come through Christian service, singing, praying or giving, but through humility and ones understanding of God’s Word for 2 Peter 3:18 states, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Christian service, singing, praying and giving may be the result of spiritual growth, but they are not the means to spiritual growth as per 2 Timothy 3:16, 17. Singing hymns may be a form of worship provided that the believer is in fellowship and singing a hymn that is accurate and honoring to the Lord.
Singing hymns can be a way of communicating false information. We must keep in mind that many hymns sung in worship service are not written by doctrinally oriented believers, and so the lyrics are not doctrinally accurate. Not only are they not doctrinally correct but can be a vehicle in communicating false doctrine. In these instances, listening to and singing these so-called hymns is a way of blaspheming God.
Anything the unbeliever can do is not the spiritual life. As a matter of fact, there are many false ideas regarding the spiritual life. Personality and overt appearance are not spirituality. Sweetness of personality, mannerisms, dress, avoiding the use of cosmetics, neglecting grooming, pious speech, even prayer, poor posture, and expressions of sincerity do not imply spirituality. Morality does not imply that one has a great relationship with God. Giving-up gambling, drinking, and smoking is not spirituality. Smoking is bad for your lungs, and refined sugar is bad for the teeth, but just because a person inhales or ingests something that is harmful into the body does not mean he is sinful. Furthermore, you are not spiritual because your sins are more respectable than another person’s sins. One Christian worries all the time; another Christian is getting drunk all the time. The Christian who worries all the time says to himself, ‘I'm a spiritual Christian because I don’t get drunk.’ This type of reasoning is not based upon the Word of God. In both cases, the Christian worrier and drunkard are equally out of fellowship. A Christian is not necessarily spiritual because he is involved in Church activity. Giving, church attendance, participation in prayer meetings, bringing visitors into the Church and teaching Sunday school do not necessarily imply spirituality or spiritual growth. For example, a Christian may pray four hours each day, but have no spiritual strength to handle even the simplest of pressures and testing in life. Unbelievers can do most if not all the above things.
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. Jesus through this ministry of the Spirit developed maximum love for God the Father.
2 Corinthians 4:7
Furthermore, we have this treasure [Biblical truth in the soul] in jars of clay [the soul is located in the body] that the surpassing greatness of the power may be from the source of God [God gave us his power in our Portfolio of Invisible Assets] and not from the source of ourselves [the spiritual life functions on divine power only].
Ἔχοµεν δὲ τὸν θησαυρὸν τοῦτον ἐν ὀστρακίνοις σκεύεσιν, ἵνα ἡ ὑπερβολὴ τῆς δυνάµεως ᾖ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ µὴ ἐξ ἡµῶν·
The Portfolio of Invisible Assets: a brief introduction of the Primary, Secondary, Personnel and Unique Assets.
Definition.
1. While a portfolio is a word which originated in English from the flat portable case or briefcase used for carrying documents by ministers of state, it is now used for the securities held by an investor or commercial paper held by a bank or mortgage company. We will use this word for the work of God on behalf of the believer in eternity past, the securities and the invisible assets which God the Father has provided for each member of the royal family of God before creation. You have securities and invisible assets that stagger the imagination. Before these assets are usable, they must be understood.
2. The Portfolio of Invisible Assets connotes the grace work of God the Father on your behalf in eternity past. God the Father found a way for His integrity to provide perfect fantastic blessing to His righteousness without any compromise of His essence. In your Portfolio of Invisible Assets, God provided everything necessary for function in life, dying, eternity, growing in grace, and the execution and fulfillment of the Protocol Plan of God. The Portfolio of Invisible Assets provides everything necessary for you to have a fantastic life through receiving your Escrow Blessings which glorify God both in time and forever.
3. When God the Father completed this work, He probably said, “It is finished,” because everything you would ever need as a Christian was provided. Since this existed in eternity past, it continues to exist forever.
4. The very existence of Escrow Blessings implies the conditions for the transfer of those greater blessings from their present place of deposit in Christ to us, from the Escrow Officer to the grantee.
5. Our Portfolio of Invisible Assets only becomes apparent when living in God’s power system under the ministry of the Spirit, and by hearing correct and accurate Bible teaching so that we become inculcated with the Protocol Plan of God as recorded in the longest sentence in the Bible.
Ephesians 1:1-14, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God [the Father] to those saints who are faithful in Christ Jesus: (2) Grace [note that understanding and applying grace comes before spiritual prosperity] and prosperity [every kind of prosperity] to you for your benefit [bringing out the meaning of the Dative of Advantage], from God, our Father [the author of our Portfolio and the grantor of our Escrow Blessings] and the Lord Jesus Christ [the escrow officer]. (3) Worthy of praise and glorification, the God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who [God the Father] has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places [a reference to Escrow Blessings] in Christ [the escrow officer], (4) just as He [the Father] has elected us for Himself [in the direct middle voice, the subject participates in the action of the verb; a reference to God the Father programming the Divine Decree] in Him [Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world, that we may be set apart [Experiential Sanctification] and blameless [Ultimate Sanctification] in the presence of Him [God the Father]. (5) By means of love [the Greek of the previous verse incorrectly located; it should introduce this verse], He has predestined [culminative aorist: provided the Operational Spiritual Life] us for the purpose of adoption as adult sons to Himself through Jesus Christ according to the pleasure [grace purpose] of His will. (6) To the praise of [that we might praise] the glory of his grace by which grace he freely blessed us [the culminative aorist; graced us out] in the beloved [in the Lord Jesus Christ]. (7) By whom [Christ] we keep on having redemption through His blood [the judgment of all sins on the cross] resulting in the forgiveness of sins, on the basis of the riches of his grace [the Portfolio of Invisible Assets]. (8) From which [riches of grace] He [God the Father] has made us super rich, by means of all wisdom and insight [way of thinking]. (9) Having made known to us the mystery [the mystery doctrines of the Church Age] of his will [purpose and design], according to His gracious intention which He pre-designed [planned] in Him [Christ]. (10) With reference to the dispensation of the fullness of times [the Church Age] to gather together all members [τὰ πάντα µέλη] in the Christ, the members in heaven [believers who die before the Rapture], and the members on earth [those on the earth at the Rapture] in Him. (11) In Whom [the Lord Jesus Christ] also we have received an allotment [Escrow Blessing prepared in eternity past], having been predestinated [according to His Protocol Plan] for the purpose of a predetermined plan for one [God the Father as the author of the plan] who works all things in conformity with the purpose of His will [so that He may be glorified]: (12) In order that we should be for the praise of His glory, who first trusted in the Christ [at salvation], (13) In whom also, when you heard the message of truth [a reference to Common Grace] the gospel of your salvation in whom also when you had believed [a reference to Efficacious Grace], you were sealed [in the Book of Life with a signature guarantee] by the Holy Spirit with reference to the promise [eternal salvation], (14) Who [the Holy Spirit] is the guarantee [the pledge, the down payment] for the release of the assets of our inheritance [in our personal portfolio] for the redemption to the praise of His glory [the reason why we are here].”
Escrow Blessings: 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 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.
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.
5. By application, the date of our escrow blessings is eternity past.
6. By application, the conditions of the escrow are fulfilled by us in the execution of the unique spiritual life of the Church Age.
Scripture:
1. The sealed agreement of God the Father as the grantor is found in the verses which use the phrase “the riches of His glory” also the “inexhaustible riches in Christ.”
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 [understanding Election], 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 [a reference to the Ten Problem-Solving Devices] on the basis of His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
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 confidence of glory [since Christ as the escrow officer indwells the believer, we should have confidence that upon fulfilling the conditions of the Escrow, we will receive these blessings from the indwelling escrow officer].”
6. In 1 Corinthians 2:9, Escrow Blessings are a part of our portfolio of invisible assets, “However, as it stands written, ‘Things which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard [a reference to empiricism] and no mind has conceived [a reference to rationalism] what God has prepared for those who love Him [God the Father has prepared Escrow Blessings which will be distributed upon the believer obtaining spiritual maturity].’”
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 Analogy to the Eternal Escrow:
1. There is an eternal escrow and there are three parties 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, Escrow Blessings were transferred in eternity past by the grantor, God the Father, and delivered to the depositary, the Lord Jesus Christ, pending the performance of the grantee, the Church Age believer in the Protocol Plan of God.
3. Temporal 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 Judgment Seat of Christ, where the winner is awarded special rewards.
5. The sealed agreement with two categories of blessings were delivered to Jesus Christ in eternity past. This emphasizes grace.
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. Reaching spiritual maturity in time provides the capacity for Escrow Blessings in time; glorification in resurrection body will provide the capacity for Escrow Blessing in the eternal state for the rewardable believer.
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 aka the Evaluation Platform of Christ.
4. In summary, God the Father is the grantor. He 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.
Primary Assets: Escrow Blessings, Election, and Predestination:
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.
7. The righteousness of God demands Escrow Blessings from the justice of God to any believer who executes the spiritual life. The righteousness of God demands that every believer have equal opportunity to execute God’s plan and receive these blessings. The justice of God guarantees that this happens.
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 won’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 Judgment Seat of Christ [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. They are a double loser because not only will they not receive their escrow blessings in time, but also they will not receive their Escrow Blessings for the eternal state.
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 and will be held responsible for his bad decisions.
8. Some believers exploit the equal opportunity of election and predestination and fulfill the Protocol Plan of God in time. Losers do not. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, they become double losers.
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, and application.
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 and apply the doctrine you learn.
5. How will you know when you’re in spiritual maturity? You will recognize your spiritual blessings! Also, you should know if you are compliant with John 14:15.
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.
7. The challenge is found in the following passage:
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.
Secondary Assets of which there are four namely volitional assets, production assets, suffering assets and invisible impact assets:
Volitional assets are achieved through how one uses his volition on a moment-by-moment basis. For the believer, growing in grace, the desire to know and love God becomes its own asset and a driving force in life.
Production assets are produced by Christian service as a result of spiritual growth. Legitimate Christian service is performed through a wide range of activities, including witnessing, working in the local church, charitable giving, foreign missionary service, and others.
Suffering for blessing assets namely the three undeserved suffering tests: Providential Preventive Suffering, Momentum Testing and Evidence Testing.
Invisible Impact assets are as follows: individual, national, international and angelic. These are the assets of the mature believer.
Personnel Assets: At the moment of salvation, God the Holy Spirit bestows at least one spiritual gift upon the believer. These assets are designed for the coordinated function of believers particularly in the operations of the local church. Spiritual gifts, in all their variety, unite the Church into a team of mutually supportive believers.
Unique Assets: The indwelling of God the Holy Spirit, the deity of Christ as well as the indwelling of God the Father are all unique to the Church Age.
2 Corinthians 4:8
In every way, we are under the outside pressures of adversity, but we are not under stress [because we have deployed the Ten Problem Solving Device]; we are perplexed [the status quo of the believer prior to having a Personal Sense of Destiny for there will be many things in life that he will not understand until then], but not despairing;
ἐν παντὶ θλιβόµενοι ἀλλ’ οὐ στενοχωρούµενοι, ἀπορούµενοι ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐξαπορούµενοι,
2 Corinthians 4:9
Persecuted [the outside pressures of adversities; the status quo of the believer who has reached a Personal Sense of Destiny], but not forsaken [the deployment of the advanced Problem-Solving Devices]; struck down [undeserved suffering], but not destroyed [the advanced believer who makes the correct applications].
διωκόµενοι ἀλλí οὐκ ἐγκαταλειπόµενοι, καταβαλλόµενοι ἀλλí οὐκ ἀπολλύµενοι,
The Sophisticated Spiritual Life:
Definition and Description
1. The doctrine of the uniqueness of the Church Age demands the most unusual and sophisticated spiritual life in all of human history.
2. By sophisticated is meant technical refinement, the status of being highly developed and complicated. In this study sophistication is used in the sense of altering or changing the believer through a unique system of Bible doctrine pertinent to the dispensation of the Church. It refers to the adult phase of the spiritual life.
3. Etymology. Of the many antithetical and subtle definitions which occur in the English language, the one selected for this doctrine has its roots in an abstract, Attic Greek noun sophia. The noun sophia denotes quality rather than activity and unusual knowledge rather than ability.
(1) People think activity or human ability is the function of the Christian life which is erroneous. They never come to understand that the sophisticated spiritual life is quality not activity. Correct activity is the result of quality. Because so much of Christianity is putting activity first, they never have quality. Put the quality first and you will have correct activity.
(2) Sophistication means quality which is the product of divine good produced from divine power. Activity is human power, human talent, human ability, wrapped up in sincerity. The sophisticated spiritual life is unusual knowledge rather than human ability.
(3) There is no quality without thinking. The Greek word sophistes means an expert, a master of one’s craft, adept, skilled, wise, prudent, a statesman like person, a sage, a sophist (a teacher who gave lessons in many subjects). This was applied to a person who has been changed by education, by wisdom, by knowledge, by prudence.
4. The adjective sophisticated is applied to a person who has been changed by cognition, by knowledge of the word of God. The spiritual skills produce thought and the application of thought. People are changed by thought, not by activity, human ability, or dead works.
5. Sophisticated denotes the altering of the believer through the unique system of Bible doctrine pertinent to the Church Age. The doctrine of the sophisticated spiritual life notes that the believer has been changed through the utilization of divine power (the Two Power Options—the Filling of the Holy Spirit and the metabolization of doctrine) and the consistent function of the three spiritual skills (the Filling of the Holy Spirit, the metabolization of doctrine via Operation Z, and the use of The Ten Problem Solving Devices).
6. The function of the spiritual life demands thought before action, cognition before service. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for teaching, for rebuke, for correction [if one accepts the rebuke], for training in righteousness [virtue], (17) that the man of God might be proficient [capable], having been well equipped [prepared] for every good work [Christian service].”
The only Christian who is qualified (equipped) for Christian service is the mature virtuous believer, the one who loves God. In this passage verse sixteen precedes verse seventeen, spiritual preparation precedes service, thought precedes action.
7. The sophisticated spiritual life begins with a personal sense of destiny. A personal sense of destiny separates the adult believer from spiritual childhood and the winner believer from the loser believer. Mastery of the technicalities of the Two Power Options and the Three Spiritual Skills results in attaining a Personal Sense of Destiny and entering into the sophisticated spiritual life. Once you have a personal sense of destiny you are going to move forward in your spiritual life. You will change, based on doctrine in your stream of consciousness.
8. Since a personal sense of destiny and entrance into the sophisticated spiritual life is based on the utilization of the Power Options and the functions of the spiritual skills, it relates to the offensive actions of the spiritual life which brings about victory. Furthermore, offensive action in the spiritual life begins with thinking, and thinking begins with cognition of Bible doctrine, and cognition of Bible doctrine begins with the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the teaching ministry of the Spirit begins with the Filling of the Holy Spirit. Offensive action of the sophisticated spiritual life is quality rather than activity, unusual knowledge of Bible doctrine rather than human ability. The sophisticated spiritual life emphasizes how you think as a believer and begins with a personal sense of destiny. Your human I.Q. has nothing to do with this kind of thinking. Activity without the Filling of the Spirit, metabolized doctrine, and the Problem Solving-Devices is dead works, Christian activism, and evil.
9. In the sophisticated spiritual life there is a tremendous system of suffering for blessing, testing which advances us through each phase of spiritual growth. There are three categories of testing: Providential Preventative Suffering, Momentum Testing, and Evidence Testing. Jesus Christ developed the sophisticated spiritual life for himself and eventually gave it to the Church Age believers. Furthermore, the sophisticated spiritual life of Jesus was tested which eventuated in the humanity of Christ establishing the precedence for one system of Evidence Testing namely Relationship with God as per Matthew 4:1-10.
Matthew 4:1. Then [after his baptism] Jesus [humanity] was led into the desert [of Judea] by the Spirit [under the authority of the Filling of the Spirit] to be tested by the devil [Evidence Testing related to the Plan of God].
The word ‘Jesus’ comes from the Greek which in turn comes from the Hebrew. Both the Greek and the Hebrew word for Jesus mean savior (the one having provided salvation). Since the work of salvation took place in one location on the cross, the name Jesus emphasizes his humanity, “and he himself bore our sins on his body on the cross,” (1 Peter 2:24a).
Jesus must be tested alone. The desert can be a very beautiful and wonderful place and at the same time a very hostile one. If isolated from friends, it can be a place of great loneliness. In all of these temptations, Jesus Christ was isolated from any human encouragement. Doctrine in his soul developed from His sophisticated spiritual life was his only encouragement. (Encouragement from friends once in a while is a wonderful thing, but if you depend upon that, you will not advance in the spiritual life.) To avoid any compromise, he must be alone. He must handle these temptations from his own thoughts, motivations and decisions, not from someone else’s.
There will be three temptations attacking a relationship each in a different location. The first will be related to his relationship to the Holy Spirit: Will he continue to apply doctrine under the authority of the Holy Spirit or will he solve the problem of hunger by producing a miracle by the use of his deity? Using his divine power would have been a violation of Kenosis (He was not to use his divine power to solve his personal problems (Philippians 2:7)! The second is his relationship to the Word: Will he understand and reject Satan’s distortion of Scripture? The last temptation is related to the plan of God the Father: Will he wait for the Father to bless him with the rulership of the world at the 2nd Advent or will he accept Satan’s offer to rule the world (a bona fide offer since Satan is the ruler of the world)? The temptations will take place in three different locations: The first in the desert, the second on the highest point of Herod’s temple, and the third on a high vantage point in space.
Satan understood well the Hypostatic Union and the doctrine of Kenosis. The definition of the Hypostatic Union is as follows: In the person of the incarnate Christ there 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 (two natures united forming one person) and eternal. The definition of Kenosis is as follows: During the dispensation of the hypostatic union, our Lord Jesus Christ voluntarily restricted the use of His divine attributes in compliance with the Father's plan for the Incarnate Christ during the First Advent. This means that Jesus Christ did not use the attributes of His divine nature to benefit Himself, to provide for Himself, or to glorify His human nature; rather he relied on the Problem- Solving Devices to solve his personal problems.
Philippians 2:5-6, “Keep on thinking this [correct thinking and correct values] within you which also was in Christ Jesus. Who, though He existed in the essence of God, did not think equality with God a gain to be seized and held [to remain as God only], but deprived himself [The Greek verb “kenoo.” He laid aside his privileges: He did not use his deity in violation of the Father’s plan: He did not use miracles to solve his personal problems] taking on the form of a servant, having come to be in the likeness of men [but without a sin nature and without Adam’s Original Sin], and being found in outward appearance as a man [inwardly he was different]. He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of [the substitutionary spiritual] death [He was punished for the consequences of our spiritual death] that is the death of the cross.”
Matthew 4:2. And having fasted forty days and nights afterwards he was very hungry [suffered extreme hunger].
The purpose of fasting is to give a person more time for prayer and for learning God’s word. Each one of us spends a certain number of hours eating. If this time were not spent on eating, it could be used for these other purposes. Also, fasting enhances one’s concentration. So, Jesus Christ after 40 days and nights of fasting for the purposes stated above was prepared to meet Satan.
When a person stops eating food, he will have great hunger for two or three days until his stomach shrinks. Then, he will not usually experience hunger again until 30 days has elapsed. Somewhere between day 30 and 40, the body will provide warning signals that the body is facing a critical situation. At that point the person will become extremely hungry.
When a typical person is under extreme hunger, he thinks only about food, not about the opposite sex or anything else. Even his conversation will be about food. Christ functioning under the sophisticated spiritual life was not typical and so, even though His body was beginning to suffer starvation, he concentrated on making correct application of God’s word. While applying the Word, His temptation to use his deity to solve his extreme hunger must have been phenomenal; a temptation he resisted. The average person would have been concentrating on himself and on food, and many would have been praying for a miracle.
In the first temptation, Satan tried to put so much pressure on his human nature that he would use his divine nature to solve the problem of hunger. (This would be comparable to a Christian praying for a miracle.) In Eternity past, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit agreed to provide sufficient assets for the humanity of Christ via the Problem-Solving Devices so that he would not have to rely on his divine nature to solve His problems and pressures.
Matthew 4:3. And after the Tempter [Satan] had come, he said to Him, ‘If you are the Son of God and you are [1st class Greek conditional clause; in other words, Satan recognizes him as the God-Man], speak [very politely, Satan used the imperative of entreaty as he addressed him as the Son of God] so that these stones might become bread [that you may eat and satisfy your hunger as if Satan was concerned].
Just as Jesus Christ was to use the eight problem solving devices (He didn’t need the Recovery Procedure nor did he use Occupation with Christ since he was Christ.) to solve his person problems. So, we are to use the ten problem solving devices to solve our problems, pressures and adversities. If Jesus had manufactured a miracle to solve this problem of hunger, he would have been disqualified from going to the cross. Yet, many Christians pray to God that He might solve their problems with a miracle.
When the Tempter came, he came with great confidence since he knew that Jesus was made lower than the angels in body and mentality. “You [God the Father] have made Him for a little while [during the 1st Advent] lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:7). However, Satan underestimated the power of Bible doctrine in His soul. Jesus with God’s thinking circulating in his soul had great knowledge, wisdom, humility and integrity whereas Satan lacked all four of these virtues. This gave Jesus the edge to defeat Satan in these tests.
Satan tempted the human nature of Christ: The temptation to use his divine nature to solve the problem of his hunger instead on relying on the authority of the Holy Spirit [by applying Deuteronomy 8:3] and the provision provided in the Father’s plan [angels will bring food after the test]. Satan knew that it was not possible to tempt the deity of Christ directly. So, he tempted the humanity of Christ, the weakest link of the Hypostatic Union.
Satan approaches Christ with pseudo humility. In his pseudo concern, he entreats (the imperative of entreaty) Jesus to turn the stones into bread. “If you are the Son of God and you are.” Satan understands very well the doctrine of the hypostatic union and the Doctrine of Kenosis. Based on his knowledge of the hypostatic union, Satan knows that Jesus could use his deity to solve this problem of hunger. Based on Satan’s knowledge of Kenosis, he knew that if Jesus should use his deity to solve the problem of hunger, Jesus would have violated the Father’s plan and thus be disqualified to go to the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)
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].” [Jesus applies Deuteronomy 8:3, “He humbled you and let you be hungry [this was testing], and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord."
Remember that in this test, He is being tested in his relationship with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not want Him to solve a personal problem via a miracle which would be a violation of the doctrine of Kenosis, but wants Him to apply Deuteronomy 8:3.
Jesus makes clear his values: The soul is more important than the body; the Word of God is more important than anything related to this life. Applying the Word of God is far more important than solving a hunger problem. Jesus in His use of the sophisticated spiritual life always magnified God the Father’s word and plan above his own human desires as in this verse. Hebrews 10:5, “Therefore, when he [the humanity of Christ] comes into the world [his birth], he says, ‘Sacrifice and offerings you [God the Father] have not desired, but a body you have prepared for Me.’” Jesus understood that animal sacrifices and food offering were teaching aids only to foreshadow the cross. Jesus was to sacrifice himself on the cross. That was to be the reality. He was saying in effect that he understood his destiny and was willing to execute it by bearing the sins of the world on his body. Then as he faced the cross, He said in Matthew 26:39b, “and he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it is possible and it is [1st Class conditional clause introducing a conditional sentence], let this cup [which contained the sins of the world] pass from Me [Jesus from the volition of his human soul, had to agree to bare the sins of the world; if Jesus had refused to bare the sins of the world, there would not have been a salvation], yet not as I will [Though Jesus understood how horrible the suffering would be, he would execute due to his spiritual advance to personal love for God the Father “as you will”, impersonal for all mankind as per Luke 23:34 and sharing the happiness of God as per Hebrews 12:2], but as You will [the will of Jesus in effect was the will of God the Father].’” [Let’s illustrate this. You are about to be tortured over a year in the most horrible and painful way. You are in fellowship and this appears to be God’s will for you under dying grace. You may pray, “Father, if it is possible and it is (God could intervene), rescue me from this horrible death, but not as I will, but as you will.]
Matthew 4:5. Then, the devil took [historical present] him into the holy city [Jerusalem (Nehemiah 11:1)] and caused him to stand [Satan selected the location] on the highest point of the temple.
Satan took Jesus to the highest point of Herod’s temple [a wing of the temple: Herod’s porch] overlooking the Valley of Kedron. From that point, it is 450 feet to the rocky floor of the valley.
Matthew 4:6. And Satan said, “Since [if . . . and you are] you are the son of God, throw yourself down [The Greek idiom means to jump] for it has been written, ‘He will give command to his angels concerning you, [omitted: “to guard you in all your journeys”; a promise to the Jews of the Exodus generation] and they [guardian angels] will lift you up on their hands [angels have hands] so that you should not strike your foot against a rock.’”
Jesus had just said that he would live by the word of God. Then, Satan having replied in effect, if you desire to live by the Word, then apply Psalm 91:11, 12 by jumping into the Kedron Valley. Satan is an expert in distorting Scripture, and leaping into the Kedron Valley would have been a distortion of a promise made to the Jews in their desert wanderings. In that passage, likely written by Moses, God promises protection for the Jews as they moved through the Sinai Peninsula. In order to provide protection, God assigned guardian angels to these Jews to safeguard them from the wild animals of the area and from falling to their death accidently as they passed over some high, rocky and treacherous terrain. Regarding the application of Scripture, God does not condone senseless or unreasonable action which can come from distorting Scripture. Satan was actually quoting Scripture which did not apply to Jesus and giving it a false application in order to get Christ to act in violation of Scripture by what would be tantamount to suicide. God created the laws of gravity. Having created these laws, he will not violate them. If some Christian moron were to pray, “Father, I am about to jump off the Empire State Building. So, please send one of your angels to gather me into his arms.” He then would proceed to jump to his death!
In his distortion of Scripture, Satan deliberately skipped the line, “to guard you on all your journeys [the second line of verse 11].” This line is the basis for the correct interpretation. Since Jesus is not journeying across treacherous terrain, it would have no application to him. Furthermore, by interpretation it was a promise given to the Jews in their desert wanderings; it was not given to the humanity of Christ. Even if one of those Jews on their wandering through the desert had deliberately jumped off a cliff which would have been a distortion, his guarding angel would probably have said, “I’ll see you in heaven, moron.”
In his reply, Jesus didn’t deal with Satan’s omission and his suggestion of nonsensical action (to leap from a high structure), but Jesus did make an issue out of Satan’s distortion of Scripture. Distortion of Scripture is tantamount to blaspheming God. Thus, any creature who distorts Scripture is testing as it were the patience of God. In effect Satan made a mistake when he admitted that Jesus was deity.
Matthew 4:7. Jesus replied to him once more [the situation demands the right application], “It has been written. You shall not put to the test [by distorting Scripture] the Lord your God [God the Son is the one who had created Satan].”
Satan has a right to test the humanity of Christ, but not his deity. The mishandling and distortion of Scripture is an attack on the deity of Christ. So, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 in his command to Satan. In this way, the Lord turned the first conditional sentences of verses 3 and 6 against Satan. (In those two verses Satan admitted that Jesus was God).
Deuteronomy 6:15-16, “For the Lord your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise, the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you [if you should enter into idolatry], and He will wipe you off the face of the earth. (16) You shall not put the Lord your God to the test as you tested Him at Massah [to test God’s patience as it were as in Exodus 17:1-7: complaining about no water; in effect complaining about logistical support].”
Matthew 4:8, 9. Again, the devil took him to a very high vantage point [possibly a high point in space] and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glamour, and he said to him, “All these [reference to the kingdoms of the world] I will give to you if you will fall down and worship me [3rd class conditional sentence: maybe you will or maybe you won’t; the constative aorist tense: just once will be enough].”
Since the devil is the ruler of this world (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11), it was a genuine offer. The Greek word ‘horos’ means mountain or high vantage point. Obviously, it can’t mean mountain in this passage since the kingdoms of the world cannot be seen from the top of any mountain in Palestine nor any other mountain including K2 or Mount Everest. On the best day from Mount Everest, the most one can see is more mountains in China, Tibet or India, beautiful, but not the glamour of the world.
Satan goes to a 3rd class conditional sentence, the only option left to him. He has already been defeated in his use of the 1st class conditional sentences and the 2nd and 4th would be admitting defeat. In his desperation, he reverses the order of the conditional sentence, putting the conclusion first “All these, I will give to you if …” Before in Matthew 4:6, he requested that Jesus jump 450 feet into the Kedron Valley; now just drop to the ground and worship me for a second or two; it is easy and not dangerous.
Satan is telling Christ that he can have the crown and His kingdom now without having to go to the cross. The crown without the cross as it were. Satan suggests his plan rather than to wait for the unfolding of God the Father’s plan. Jesus Christ can have the crown without the suffering of the cross, and he doesn’t have to wait for it.
Satan always tempts away from God’s plan as illustrated in the concept of nation-building. Satan is always trying to bring about improved environment without truth and without the cross. This is impossible for only when a people in a nation accept truth, can great environment come about. Thus, the United States’ little experiment in nation-building in the Middle East was doomed before it even started. The Muslim religion not only rejects the cross and other forms of truth, but is also anti-Semitic. These rejections of divine truth can only be punished by the justice of our Lord. If a nation like the United States desires to improve the environment of the Arabs in the Middle East, it needs to send qualified missionaries.
Matthew 4:10. Then Jesus said to him, “Go Satan, for it stands written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” (Deuteronomy 6:13)
Jesus is pointing out that all creature loyalty is to God. No creature is to worship another creature, rather all creatures are to worship God. What audacity! Satan had the gall to tempt the impeccable humanity of Christ who was born perfect to worship him who had become the evilest of all creatures.
The Difference Between the Spiritual Life and the Sophisticated Spiritual Life:
1. The spiritual life of the Church Age believer is related to the four dimensions of Ephesians 3:18, “That you may utilize the divine power [the Two Power Options] to grasp the idea with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth.” The divine power given to you includes two options. Your spiritual life starts with grasping an idea. Not doing, but thinking, learning. The four dimensions are:
(1) Width—the Ten Problem-Solving Devices deployed on the FLOT line of the soul.
(2) Length—the two power options which combine to form the Ten Problem-Solving Devices.
(3) Height—the execution of the Protocol Plan of God resulting in a winner believer or invisible hero.
(4) Depth—the divine initiative of antecedent grace in eternity past providing your very own Portfolio of Invisible Assets.
2. The first five problem solving devices (the Recovery Procedure, the Filling of the Holy Spirit, the three stages of the Faith-rest Drill, grace orientation, and doctrinal orientation) are the basic problem-solving devices of spiritual childhood. Using these problem-solving devices advances the Christian from spiritual childhood to spiritual adolescence, the sixth problem solving device, a personal sense of destiny which is the dividing line between spiritual childhood and spiritual adulthood. It is the separation of spiritual childhood from spiritual adulthood which adds a focal point and sophistication to the spiritual life of the Church Age believer. Spiritual self-esteem (the status of your spiritual life at a personal sense of destiny) which is cognitive self-confidence and entrance into the sophisticated spiritual life. Spiritual autonomy, which is cognitive independence and adds greater sophistication from greater cognition. Spiritual maturity, which is cognitive invincibility and provides maximum sophistication to the spiritual life, maximum concentration on the members of the Trinity which becomes the believer’s focal point. Your focal point changes from your environment and the people around you to true Christian fellowship with God.
The Focal Point of the Sophisticated Spiritual Life:
1. The focal point means the principal or central point of focus in your spiritual life.
2. Focal point begins with making Bible doctrine number one priority in your life.
3. From this comes an advance in your focal point, the principle of thought before action. Thought before action is the consistent function of the two power options namely the Filling of the Holy Spirit and metabolized doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness from which doctrine is applied.
4. Extrapolated from metabolized doctrine in the stream of consciousness are the Ten Problem-solving Devices provided by God in your Portfolio of Invisible Assets.
5. The deployment of these problem-solving devices on the FLOT line of the soul results in the perpetuated function of The Three Spiritual Skills, so that the Filling of the Spirit and continued metabolization of doctrine creates a mirror in your soul. As a result of having developed this mirror, you can look into that mirror, and see yourself as you really are spiritually. You can see your relationship to other people and whether or not you truly have fellowship with God.
6. The three spiritual skills must be formed and operational before Christian service in any category is effective in the production of divine good in contrast to dead works, human good, and evil.
7. A personal sense of destiny produces a total realization that every aspect of the Christian life must function under divine power. Therefore, entrance into the sophisticated spiritual life, where spiritual skills must precede production skills for the performance of divine good, is a new life, greater than anything you have ever imagined.
8. Maximum effectiveness in Christian service is related to a personal sense of destiny. Divine power comes into Christian service through the use of the two power options. Only Christian service under divine power is legitimate according to the word of God. The Three Spiritual Skills are the source for and the modus vivendi of effective Christian service. The expression of Christian service is the function of the problem-solving devices on the FLOT line of the soul. The sophisticated spiritual life activates maximum effectiveness in Christian service.
The Sophisticated Spiritual Life makes full use of the Four Spiritual Mechanics, advances all the way to spiritual maturity and ultimately takes Evidence Testing.
At Spiritual Self-esteem, the believer with a lot of confidence is beginning to enter the Advanced Spiritual Life. For this reason, he must be tested on the first two advanced stages of the spiritual life/Problem Solving Devices number seven namely personal love for God the Father and number eight namely unconditional love toward all people. These two will be tested under the test called ‘Providential Preventive Suffering. Upon passing this test, the Christian will advance spiritually to Spiritual Autonomy.
At Spiritual Autonomy, the Christian no longer leans on things or people for his happiness. His happiness is based upon his execution of the Father’s plan and in so doing pleases God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He is said to be cognitively independent, in other words in his thinking he does not depend upon anything in this life for his happiness other than the execution of the plan before him. Of course, this new found happiness must be tested, and it is via Momentum Testing. For example, during this test, he could lose a loved one, or he could lose some of his possession from disaster testing as a part of Momentum Testing.
Having passed Momentum Testing, the Christian advances to Spiritual Maturity at which juncture, he has love for Christ namely he knows the mandates of Scripture and obeys them. This presupposes his tremendous grace orientation, doctrinal inculcation, integrity and wisdom which spiritual assets combined makes him virtually invincible. However, even though he has these great assets in his soul by which he is invincible, if he should get out of fellowship and remain in that state, he will no longer be invincible. However, assuming that he will continue in fellowship and remain in this status quo, he will receive Evidence Testing and upon passing this test, will bring maximum glory to the members of the Godhead.
Maximum Glorification of God:
1. Tactical victory in the angelic conflict.
2. Maximum dynamic impact on both individuals and history in general.
3. Having receiving Escrow Blessing for time guarantees Escrow Blessing distributed at the Evaluation Platform of Christ.
4. Execution of the Protocol Plan of God by becoming an invisible hero and a winner believer.
5. Passing Evidence Testing.
6. Glorification of God both in time and for all eternity.
Undeserved Suffering: “with reference to the pressure of undeserved suffering, persevere [stand fast]”
Romans 12:12. With reference to the hope [the confidence of Escrow Blessings in eternity] be rejoicing, with reference to the pressure of undeserved suffering, persevere [stand fast]; persist in prayer [extemporaneous and scheduled prayer with emphasis on private prayers],
“Standing fast in undeserved suffering.” For the most part, undeserved suffering occurs in the adult stage of spiritual growth whereas punitive suffering occurs in spiritual childhood. The paragraph below is taken from pages 1, 2 of the booklet ‘Christian Suffering’ by R. B. Thieme Jr.
“The Bible explains suffering and reveals powerful divine assets for coping with adversity. No believer in Jesus Christ should remain ignorant of the causes and solutions to any difficulty in his life. Suffering is not inexplicable. Every instance of suffering has a reason, an explanation, and a solution. Christian suffering can be most clearly understood in relation to the individual believer’s spiritual growth. From this perspective, adversities may be classified into five categories. Two categories are typical of spiritual childhood; three characterize spiritual adulthood. The two categories of suffering in spiritual childhood are punitive. The three in spiritual adulthood are designed by God for blessing. This study will examine the problems and divine solutions connected with self-induced misery, divine discipline, providential preventive suffering, momentum testing, and evidence testing. These five categories, which will be defined in due course, account for all suffering in the Christian life. The correlation of punitive suffering with spiritual childhood and of suffering for blessing with spiritual adulthood is not a rigid distinction. Some suffering for blessing occurs in spiritual childhood, and punitive suffering can hit the spiritually adult believer when he sins or makes bad decisions. The general pattern, however, gives us a basis for understanding the pressures in our lives.”
Five points regarding suffering:
1. There is a far greater power in the Problem-Solving Devices deployed for action against suffering than the power of suffering.
2. Therefore, what suffering God does not remove, he intends for us to bear, not through the function of prayer, but through the Problem-Solving Devices.
3. The Problem-Solving Devices deployed on the FLOT line (forward line of troops) of the soul are designed to deal with every category of suffering in life.
4. If the suffering is designed for one’s spiritual growth, remove the suffering, and you remove the potential spiritual growth and blessing.
5. Suffering is often an FTX, a field training exercise for gaining spiritual strength and growth. Thus, the need to apply one of the Problem-Solving Devices during this spiritual training exercise.
2 Corinthians 4:10
Always carry about in this body [a reference to having this treasure in jars of clay] the dying of Jesus [this treasure is described in terms of the precedence of the 1st Advent from the Incarnation to his Substitutionary Spiritual Death on the Cross], in order that the life of Jesus [pioneering the spiritual life in the Prototype Spiritual Life] may also be manifested in our body [as mature believers through the Operational Spiritual Life].
πάντοτε τὴν νέκρωσιν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐν τῷ σώµατι περιφέροντες, ἵνα καὶ ἡ ζωὴ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐν τῷ σώµατι ἡµῶν φανερωθῇ.
Impact of the Mature Believer, the Dynamics of the Invisible Hero:
The impact related to spiritual maturity and escrow blessing is as follows: personal, national, international and angelic impact.
Personal Impact is a category of blessing by association with the winner or invisible hero. Everyone who has contact with him has contact with an invisible hero. All relationships and contacts with an invisible hero result in blessing. There are two categories of blessing by association and/or personal impact namely direct and indirect. Direct blessing from God to those persons associated with the winner or invisible hero. This means fantastic blessing is given to those who are undeserving but who have a relationship with a mature believer. This includes family, friends, loved ones, business associates, and pets. Indirect blessing from God comes by means of the mature believer, because he possesses all the virtues of spiritual maturity. The mature believer is thoughtful, considerate, kind, tolerant, and often very generous, though in a quiet way. Because of his attainment of spiritual maturity, he shares his wisdom in conversation, and shares whatever else he has. Therefore, to be in his presence is a pleasure. You can count on him not to verbally sin against you or stab you in the back. The mature believer shares both his virtuous personality and his material blessings with those associated with him. He is a source of stability in the life of those around him.
There are six areas of blessing by association:
a. The spiritual periphery refers to those associated with the mature believer in the local church, prayer meetings, prep school, mission board, or in some Christian service organization.
b. The family periphery refers to those associated with the mature believer as husband, wife, father, mother, children, relatives, and even pets.
c. The social periphery refers to friends associated with him.
d. The geographical periphery refers to those associated with the mature believer in his neighborhood, city, county, state, or nation.
e. The professional or business periphery refers to those associated with the mature believer in business, in schools, on athletic teams, medical clinics, law firms, law enforcement organizations, engineering firms, banks, corporations, symphony orchestras, and military organizations.
f. There is blessing by association after death. Those loved ones who are left behind receive the greatest insurance policy provided by association with the mature believer. This could be classified as heritage blessing for the next generation of those who have been associated with the mature believer. Blessing by association continues after the death of such a believer; it extends to the next generation, and sometimes even to the third. This explains how bereaved ones associated with the dead mature believer, regardless of their spiritual status (even unbelievers) receive blessing and prosperity by association. Again, this is part of the explanation as to why some wicked prosper.
National Impact of the Invisible Hero:
1. The mature believer or winner in the protocol plan of God becomes a part of the pivot in the client nation to God, and if he passes Evidence Testing becomes a member of the Pleroma Club (those receiving the fullness of blessing from God).
2. The size of the pivot in the client nation becomes the basis for blessing or cursing to that nation. A large pivot of mature believers means national blessing, national prosperity, and historical preservation. A small pivot of mature believers means the administration of national discipline from God. (This also applies to the number of Pleroma believers)
3. The principle is that as goes the believer in the client nation to God, so goes that client nation.
4. As the pivot shrinks, the client nation to God declines and is eventually destroyed by the administration of the fifth cycle of discipline.
5. Reversionism and apostasy among believers result in national disaster, while having anywhere from 5% to 10% mature believers means national prosperity.
6. This can be called the salt principle, as per Matthew 5:13 or Mark 9:50, where we are said to be “the salt of the earth [land].” This is the pivot and pleroma principle.
7. The client nation to God provides many wonderful things such as: freedom for evangelism, for Bible teaching and the function of the local church, for missionary activity, and for Christian service; free enterprise; and fulfillment of manifest destiny. So, a client nation to God has tremendous responsibility even internationally.
International impact occurs through missionary function:
1. One of the important functions of a client nation is to send out spiritually mature missionaries.
2.The mature missionary must have wisdom and avoid legalism, making an issue only out of the Gospel and doctrine. He must understand salvation, the mystery doctrines of the Church Age and of course the spiritual life as found in the New Testament epistles, and to be able to give a clear exposition in the native language.
3.When mature believers go to non-client nations as missionaries, they are the real source and usually the only source of blessing to that non-client nation.
4. So, through indigenous modus operandi to non-client nations, there is blessing for nations that have no other source of blessing other than the Laws of Establishment. A non-client nation can be blessed by association even with just one missionary who is a winner and an invisible hero.
Angelic Impact of the Invisible Hero:
The Angelic Conflict and Evidence Testing
Evidence testing is Satan’s cross-examination of every witness presented by God in the historical trial of all fallen angels. In human history, man’s thoughts, motives, decisions, and actions are entered as evidence, exhibits, precedents, and arguments in Satan’s appeal trial. Every believer who attains maturity is an argument or witness for the Prosecution against Satan. Evidence testing is Satan’s cross-examination of every witness presented by God.
No believer qualifies as a witness until he has attained spiritual maturity, tantamount to the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God. The three stages of spiritual adulthood (spiritual self-esteem, spiritual autonomy, and spiritual maturity) are the prerequisites for facing and passing the three categories of suffering for blessing, providential preventative suffering, momentum testing, and evidence testing. Passing evidence testing as the highest category of suffering for blessing results in the doubling of your escrow blessings.
Every believer who attains spiritual maturity is a witness for the prosecution, either in the formal trial of Old Testament history, or in the rebuttal phase of the First Advent and Church Age, or in the closing argument and summary phase of the Second Advent and the Millennium.
Evidence testing in two categories is Satan’s attempt, through his cross-examination to discredit those believers who attain spiritual maturity. It appears that Satan in most cases administers Evidence Testing, but under restrictions imposed by God before the Evidence Testing begins. For example, Satan was not permitted to kill Job. The two categories of Evidence Testing are as follows: the relationship to the plan of God test is illustrated by our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 4:1-11 and the relationship to life test is illustrated by Job. Whether it be this category or that category, evidence testing is administered only to the mature believer, for only he is qualified to be a witness for the Prosecution. Apparently, the spiritually mature believer does not take both tests, and which one he receives is a matter of the sovereignty of God.
A few more points on Evidence Testing:
1. By means of passing Evidence Testing, the winner or invisible hero becomes a witness for the Prosecution in the rebuttal phase of Satan’s appeal trial which is coterminous with human history. Evidence Testing is designed for maximum glorification of God in the historical extension of the angelic conflict. Usually, Evidence Testing comes to the mature believer without warning, since it is generally administered by Satan. To resolve Satan’s appeal trial in favor of the Prosecution and to see if the Source of blessing is greater than the blessing itself, the mature believer enters into this stage of suffering for blessing. So, Evidence Testing as undeserved suffering for blessing demands the highest function of personal love for God and the Lord Jesus Christ as your motivation. Having passed this test causes the elect angels to cheer and the fallen angels to moan!
2. Sometimes the Lord removes temporarily the Escrow Blessing received at spiritual maturity as part of Evidence Testing. The temporary loss of Escrow Blessings in time provides the ultimate in spiritual experience. To be deprived of everything and to be totally occupied with the Lord is the highest function in the spiritual life. Job said in Job 1:21, “The Lord gives, the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” While the blessing may be removed, the Source cannot be and will not be removed. If you still have the Source, even though the blessing is gone temporarily, you still have that Source and the possibility of even greater blessings. The real blessing comes from knowing that the Source is permanent. As long as you have the Source, you have everything even when you have nothing.
Dying Blessings belong to the Invisible Hero, the mature believer who has taken Evidence Testing. This represents the doctrine of dying grace which is the dying status of the winner or mature believer. Whether he has a quick and painless death or a prolonged and painful one, the mature believer will have the greatest blessing of his life as he crosses the high golden bridge between time and eternity. God gives him through the objective reality of the absolute truth of Bible doctrine, the greatest tranquility that his soul has ever experienced. The believer in spiritual maturity has learned how to die, since he has also learned how to live. In spiritual maturity he dies magnificently as unto the Lord.
Philippians 1:21, “For me living is Christ, and dying is profit.”
Psalm 23:6, “Only prosperity and grace shall pursue me [prosperity pursues the mature believer] all the days of my life [dying is the last segment of living].”
2 Corinthians 4:11
For we who keep on living [the spiritual life] are always being given over to death [death is used here for maximum pressure] because of Jesus [representing Jesus], so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our mortal body [We represent Jesus as ambassadors through the Operational Type Spiritual Life].
ἀεὶ γὰρ ἡµεῖς οἱ ζῶντες εἰς θάνατον παραδιδόµεθα διὰ Ἰησοῦν, ἵνα καὶ ἡ ζωὴ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ φανερωθῇ ἐν τῇ θνητῇ σαρκὶ ἡµῶν.
“Because of Jesus:” Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father as such he needs ambassadors. We are on this earth and represent him as ambassadors, and therefore, are subjected to the greatest of pressures as His representatives on this earth.
Ambassadorship:
An ambassador is a high ranking-minister of state or royalty sent to another state to represent his sovereign or country. By analogy, we are spiritual aristocracy as members of the royal family of God, and Christ is the King who has sent us into a foreign country, the cosmic world. At salvation, every believer enters the royal family of God through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and at the same time, he becomes a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ on earth. Ambassadorship stems from being in union with Christ via the Baptism of the Spirit.
The Profile of the Ambassador:
1. An ambassador does not appoint himself for he is appointed by God Himself at the moment the person believes in Jesus Christ. As the Christian grows spiritually, he acquires the capacity to handle this responsibility.
2. The ambassador does not support himself and so it is with the Church Age believer who is provided for by Logistical Grace and augmented at spiritual maturity by Escrow Blessings.
3. The ambassador's instructions are always in written form so he has no doubt as to what he should do. We have the policies, the Problem-Solving Devices, instructions, principles, doctrines, and concepts in written form in the Scripture.
4. The ambassador does not belong to the country to which he is sent. His citizenship is in heaven though he is also considered a citizens of a nation on earth.
5. The royal ambassador does not live in the foreign country for his own personal interest, but lives on earth solely to serve the interest of his Lord. Therefore, he should subordinate all personal interest to the function of his ambassadorship which includes the Filling of the Spirit, cognition of Bible doctrine, and execution of the Protocol Plan of God. The more a person advances spiritually, the better he will fulfill his responsibilities as an ambassador.
6. The ambassador does not treat any insult as personal for he realizes that any insult received in the proper function of his ambassadorship is an insult against the Lord. This also means that the Christian ambassador tolerates others and holds no grudges. When he is insulted, treated unfairly, or ridiculed, he maintains his poise and dignity by the use of the spiritual life given to him. He leaves the responsibility of retaliation etc. in the Lord's hands.
7. When an ambassador is recalled, his recall is tantamount to a declaration of war. His recall is analogous to the Rapture of the Church. The Tribulation is analogous to that period of war.
The Royal Ambassadorship is Specialized and Intensified in the Gift of Pastor-Teacher:
1. All communicative gifts (evangelists, apostles, pastor-teachers) become critical and specialized in the functions of the royal ambassadorship because they communicate spiritual truth. This is why Paul said in Ephesians 6:20, “on behalf of which [gospel] I am an ambassador in chains, that in this [proclaiming of the mystery doctrine], I might communicate with confidence as I ought to speak.”
2. There is a special need for those who communicate doctrine to do so with confidence. That confidence cannot exist apart from their understanding of the spiritual life in detail, and have the ability to study and teach the Word from the original languages. Furthermore, in order to handle the difficulties, the indifference, the communicator must be a spiritual adult otherwise he will not be able to do his job as unto the Lord.
The Royal Ambassadorship Related to Evangelism:
Knowledge of salvation is necessary for witnessing. You cannot witness for Christ unless you know the gospel.
2 Corinthians 5:18-21, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us [as ambassadors] the ministry of reconciliation (19) namely that God [the Father] was by means of Christ reconciling the world to himself [the principle of unlimited atonement] not counting their trespasses against them [the penalty of our personal sins were imputed directly to Christ on the cross; therefore, no person is ever condemned on the basis of personal sins], and he committed to us, the doctrine of reconciliation. (20) Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were making His appeal through us. We [as ambassadors] invite you [the unbeliever through the gospel message] on behalf of Christ become reconciled to God. (21) And he [God the Father] made him [Jesus] who knew no sin [impeccability of Christ] to be a sin offering [Jesus Christ, the high priest offered himself as a sacrifice for the penalty of our sins] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him [a reference to positional truth].”
This is the function of every believer who witnesses and is the special function of the believer with the gift of evangelism. We are not only to witness through our life, but also to witness through verbal communication of the Gospel.
The Royal Ambassadorship Mandates the Function of Spiritual Self-esteem and Impersonal Love:
Philemon 8-10. Therefore, although I have much confidence [in my authority] in Christ to command you to do what is right [protocol], rather because of your love [for Jesus Christ] I encourage you, being such a one as Paul, an ambassador, and also now a prisoner of Christ Jesus. I appeal to you on behalf of my son, whom I have fathered in my chains, Onesimus [Paul’s spiritual son since Onesimus became a believer through Paul’s evangelism].
1. When the spiritual momentum of the royal ambassador takes him to the point of personal love for God, he then has maximum spiritual self-esteem which enables him to apply impersonal love toward all mankind.
2. While personal love for God is the function of one’s royal priesthood, spiritual self-esteem and impersonal love for man are the functions of his ambassadorship.
3. Everything the believer does in life becomes a part of his modus operandi as a royal ambassador. Every believer, therefore, makes a pulpit out of his circumstances in every area of life.
4. Your ambassadorship is basically made up of two factors: how you live and what you say as a result of what you think. In private, you function under your priesthood; in public, you function under your ambassadorship.
The Royal Ambassadorship is Related to the Angelic Conflict:
1. The Church Age believer is not only an ambassador to human creatures, but to angels as well. You are being watched right now just as the angels observed our Lord,
1 Timothy 3:16. And by common acknowledgement, great is the mystery of the spiritual life [the Proto-type spiritual life of the humanity of Christ followed by the Operational Type]. He who was revealed in the flesh [Hypostatic Union]. He was vindicated by the Spirit [Filled at birth and remained under that ministry during His 33 years]; He was seen by angels [because it was the crossroad of history]; He was proclaimed among the nations [as the object of faith for salvation]; He was believed on in the world; He was taken up into glory [a reference to resurrection, ascension and session].
2. Elect angels observe and rejoice over the conversion of one person.
Luke 15:7-10. I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner [an unbeliever] who changes his thinking [regarding Christ and believes and therefore, becomes a royal priest and ambassador] than over ninety-nine righteous persons [believers with imputed righteousness] who have no need of a change of thinking [toward Christ]. (8) Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? (9) When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors [friends and neighbors whom she can trust], saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ (10) In the same way, I tell you, there is happiness in the presence of the elect angels of God over one sinner [an unbeliever] who changes his thinking [regarding Christ and believes].
3. Fallen angels are organized to resist and oppose your ambassadorship and your growth in grace.
Ephesians 6:12. Because our warfare [as royal priests and ambassadors in spiritual combat] is not against blood and flesh [human beings], but against the rulers [demon generals and commanders such as Abaddon, and Apollyon], against the authorities [demon commissioned officers], against the world rulers of this darkness [demon possessed ambassadors and rulers of the world], against the spiritual forces of evil [rank and file demons] in the heavenly places [in the atmosphere around the earth].
4. The fact that angels are watching you as an ambassador is found in 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 4:9. For I think God has exhibited us apostles last of all as men condemned to death [last ones into the Colosseum], for we have become an amphitheater to the world, both to angels and to men.
Ephesians 3:10. In order that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known through the church to rulers and authorities in the heavenlies [angels in their eternal state learn from Church Age believers; therefore, believers will also continue learning in their eternal state].
1 Timothy 5:21. I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His elect angels [elect angels constantly watch Church Age believers] to maintain these doctrines without bias; do nothing on the basis of partisan strife.
The Concept of the Believer-Ambassador:
1. While the priesthood of the believer emphasizes the daily intake and application of God’s Word and advances to spiritual maturity, the ambassadorship of the believer emphasizes the production of the Christian way of life.
2. This ambassador’s service can be a function of one's spiritual gift or obedience to a command related to service as taught in the Word.
3. Since maximum production involves spiritual maturity, it is obvious that the attainment of spiritual maturity results in maximum effectiveness in the area of your royal ambassadorship.
4. The Filling of the Spirit is an absolute necessity in the function of the ambassador. Any Christian service or works apart from the Filling of the Spirit is wood, hay and stubble, a good to be burned at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:12
So then, death is at work in us [Paul and his team], but life is at work in you.
ὥστε ὁ θάνατος ἐν ἡµῖν ἐνεργεῖται, ἡ δὲ ζωὴ ἐν ὑµῖν.
Again, the word ‘death’ means maximum pressure. Paul and his team handled maximum pressure and out of it came production. Most people collapse under this type of pressure, but with Paul and his team, it went to work, the Greek word energeo is the verb here, it means to work on the inside, in the soul to produce the spiritual life. So, maximum pressure was not only a source of personal blessing for Paul and his team, but that personal blessing overflowed to the Corinthians and other believers in the communication of Bible doctrine.
2 Corinthians 4:13
[Paul and his traveling seminary] Having the same state of mind [one of the meanings of the Greek word pneuma is ‘state of mind’] of faith [as did David before them] on the basis on what was written [a quote from Psalm 116:10a] "I [David] have believed [his use of the Faith-rest Drill]; therefore, I have communicated [the Biblical truth that he had metabolized]." We also believe [Paul and his team’s use of the Faith-rest Drill] and therefore, we communicate [the Biblical truth which they have learned; Paul’s understanding of the Faith-rest Drill was enhanced from studying David],
ἔχοντες δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦµα τῆς πίστεως, κατὰ τὸ γεγραµµένον, Ἐπίστευσα, διὸ ἐλάλησα, καὶ ἡµεῖς πιστεύοµεν, διὸ καὶ λαλοῦµεν,
Faith-rest Drill:
Living by Faith, a Drill producing Tranquility:
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. If the believer is able to trust God regarding all matters in his life, his soul will be in a state of tranquility, namely a soul free of mental agitation caused by mental and emotional sins.
For example, God is perfect justice and as such he can only be perfectly fair to all of his creatures. Moreover, he is perfectly fair to them all the time. If this is true and it is, then God is perfectly fair to you every second of every day. If that is the case, then why do you say, in your self-pity, "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?
When 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 emotional 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 (problems + emotional sins = stress). Stress produces an agitation in the soul, whereas living one’s life by faith produces a phenomenal tranquility in the soul (problems + walking by faith = tranquility).
Living 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 who was at the time barren. 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 (Genesis 16:1-3, 16). The Lord certainly would not have encouraged Abraham to produce his progeny through adultery (Genesis 12:2; 13:16).
This promise was initially given to Abraham when he was still residing in his hometown, the 3rd Dynasty of Ur (Ur of the Chaldees).
Genesis 12:1-2 states, “Now, the Lord [knew from his omniscience that Abraham would become a great believer] said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country [the 3rd Dynasty of Ur], and from your relatives, and from your father’s house to the land which I will show you, and I [from the Lord’s omnipotence] will make you a great nation [obviously through his wife since God does not condone adultery], and I will bless you [Abraham as a great believer].”
Then, though he was commanded to go to a new land in Canaan he went instead to Haran, a city to the east of Carchemish on the Euphrates. After his father died [a forced separation], he at age 75 departed Haran (a city his father Terah had named after his son, Haran who had died in the 3rd Dynasty of Ur) for the new land which God had promised him. (Genesis 12:4). After arriving in the new land, it still took Abraham more than 24 years in the Levant, in Canaan to accumulate enough Bible doctrine in his soul 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 the 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.” Qawah is a strong rope that does not break even under great pressure and is used to illustrate the strong faith of the mature believer waiting on the Lord (Isaiah 40:31). In order to make this strong unbreakable rope, one begins with a single strand of rope which would easily breaks under pressure. However, when this single strand is twisted around a second strand and then around another and another until it becomes thick, 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. It has no strength at all. However, as the believer learns more and more doctrine, he develops a strong ropelike faith. At that point he can walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Before the Church Age, the spiritual life of the believer emphasized living by faith. For example, the Jews of the Exodus generation were taught how to walk by faith while they were still in Egypt. They were all taught about the promise which God had made to Abraham namely that God would give the Jewish people a country of their own, a prosperous land, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” Before Joseph died, He made the Jews promise to take his bones out of Egypt and bury them in the promise land. So, when Joseph died, he was embalmed and placed in a vault above ground. So, every time a Jewish family living in Egypt would pass by the vault of Joseph, the Jewish Father would relate this story to his children. The story of how God had promised the Jews a promised land. In this way they learned to trust in the Lord. They were taught that their spiritual life was to trust in the promises and doctrines of God just as Joseph believed the promises and doctrines of God.
When God gives a spiritual life to the believer, he is going to test him regarding that life. Therefore, the Jews were tested regarding their spiritual lives as they were leaving Egypt at the Red Sea. As the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day, God the Son, the only manifest person of the Trinity, led them deliberately into a trap. He led them into a cul-de-sac at the Red Sea. There were mountains to the north and south and the Sea was to their front. Suddenly, behind this great multitude of Jews, arose a great cloud of dust. Pharaoh Amenhotep II was leading the greatest military force in the world at that time. Facing this great military force were over a million untrained Jewish slaves. The only Jewish people with any military training were Moses and possibly Joshua and Caleb. This was a hopeless situation from the human viewpoint. However, nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). All the Jews had to do was to believe what God had promised them.
God’s promise of a land of their own:
Exodus 3:7-10. Then the Lord said, "I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings, (8) and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. (9) And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. (10) Come, I will send you [Moses] to Pharaoh that you may bring forth my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt."
God also promised the Jews of the Exodus that they would worship him at Mount Sinai (Mount Horeb).
Exodus 3:1. Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
Exodus 3:12. And he said, certainly I [God] will be with you [Moses], and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain [Mount Horeb, Mount Sinai].
How did the Jews of the Exodus respond to these promises stated above?
Exodus14:9-12. The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army and overtook them [the Jews] encamped at the sea, by Pi-ha-hi'roth, in front of Ba'al-ze'phon. (10) When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after [pursuing] them; and they were in great fear, and the people of Israel cried out to the Lord [help, help]; (11) and they said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt [apparently the Jewish people in bondage were cremated] that you have taken us away to die in the desert? What have you done to us, in bringing us out of Egypt? (12) Is not this what we said to you in Egypt, 'Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians [as slaves] than to die in the desert.
Although there were more than one million Jewish adults, only Moses and possibly Joshua and Celeb had the spiritual strength to apply the promises of God to this hopeless situation. While the majority of Jews were immersed in fear and screaming about dying [no faith application of the promises of God], Moses said, "Do not fear. Stand still and watch the deliverance of the Lord. The Lord will fight for you today" (Exodus 14:13). The Jews should have passed this test, but they kept concentrating on the problem namely the advancing Egyptian military, rather than the solution, trusting in God’s promises. Initially, Moses concentrated on the advancing Egyptians in order to understand the situation, but when he realized that their situation was militarily hopeless, he concentrated on a divine solution, a solution based on his confidence in God and the promises which God had given him. So, he walked by faith and remained very calm in this tense situation.
Now, after God had delivered the Jews from the Pharaoh, they sang beautifully praising him for their deliverance (Exodus 15:1-18) 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 having delivered them. Their appreciation was based on their emotional relief from being delivered, not on their appreciation for 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 God’s 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 emotions 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 becomes a meaningless emotional activity related only to the melody as the following few verses will illustrate.
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.
Exodus 15:22-24. Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. (23) When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah). (24) So, the people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What are we to drink?
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 this simple pressure. Then, one year later after singing how brave 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 rapport with God through his understanding and appreciation of God’s plan.
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 and possibly Joshua and Caleb had divine thought in their souls and true capacity for life. So, when they sang, it had meaning.
During their first year in the Sinai Peninsula, every time they [the majority of the Jewish adults] 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 for 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 and saved [bringing out the meaning of the Intensive Perfect] as they had been [evangelized and saved: the Jews of the Exodus generation were believers.], but the word they heard [after salvation] did not profit them, because those who heard it [God’s word taught by Moses and others] did not mix it [knowledge of the Word] with faith [there was no faith perception]. (3) For we who have believed [faith-perception and faith-application regarding the promises, principles and doctrines of God’s word] enter into the rest [of contentment and tranquility from trusting in God].
The Jews used faith in salvation; now they needed to apply God’s promises by faith to this pressure situation at the Red Sea. If one does not use faith for salvation, it is hopeless, so also if one does not use faith in the spiritual life, it is hopeless. In their case, there was little or no faith-perception and consequently no faith-application.
Colossians 2:6. Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus your Lord [a metaphor for believing in Jesus Christ as one’s savior], so be walking in him [the spiritual life after salvation].
We used faith for salvation, now we must use faith for the spiritual life. The only difference is the object of faith. In salvation, the object of faith is the Lord Jesus Christ. In the spiritual life, the object of faith is the thinking of Jesus Christ.
To the Exodus generation, security was more important than applying Bible doctrine. As a result of their false priority, they became involved in the emotional sin of fear. Fear is not only an irrational state of emotion, but it is also a destructive sin. God does not answer prayer when the believer is out of fellowship and controlled by his sin nature. The Jews should not have prayed the prayer of “help, help.” Rather, they should have prayed to the Father thanking him for this opportunity to watch the Lord’s power in delivering them at the Red Sea. Fear however, destroyed their perspective of the situation.
Principles related to fear:
1. It is possible to learn a lot of doctrine and yet fall apart in a sudden pressure situation.
2. Sudden disaster often places the believer in a panic situation resulting in a failure to apply doctrine to that situation.
3. The difference between fear and courage is important in a crisis situation. The courageous person is able to think under great pressure, whereas the person with fear is not able to think rationally under pressure. The difference is the ability to concentrate under pressure. Now, if you have a problem concentrating in normal situations, you will surely have a problem concentrating under pressure in an abnormal situation.
4. A coward is a person who cannot think under pressure, whereas a courageous person can think under pressure.
5. Concentration is not only required in learning Bible doctrine, but even to a much greater extent in applying Bible doctrine. This is especially true when historical disaster occurs, because in historical disaster one has two categories of pressure namely personal and national and sometimes even international.
6. Adversity and great pressure can easily cause stress when the believer fails to apply to that situation. When a believer is under stress, he is not able to think objectively.
7. Many disasters come suddenly and with great intensity. So, these disasters can easily hinder the believer from concentrating on the promises and doctrines of the Word of God.
Now back to Exodus and quoting again Exodus 14:11a, “They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?”” Now keep in mind that these Jews did not have to leave Egypt. Moses did not force them to leave. What concept is involved here? Arrogant people never take responsibility for their decisions. Furthermore, Moses was only God's agent. It wasn't his idea to bring the Jews out of Egypt; it was the command of God. God was going to remove the Jews from Egyptian slavery in order to make them a special nation, the first client nation in history. (Exodus 3:6-8)
A coward dies many times, but a brave man dies only once. Under fear emotion controls the soul. When emotion is in control, the believer becomes irrational. In a state of irrationality, he assumes that he is already dead. This was true of the Exodus generation. In a state of irrationality, they possessed a false view of their situation. Their false viewpoint was that they were already dead. The true view was that God would deliver them.
Exodus 14:12. Is this not the word which we spoke to you in Egypt? Let us alone that we may be slaves to the Egyptians because it is better for us to be slaves to the Egyptians than to die in the desert.
Initially, when the Jews heard that God was going to remove them from slavery, they welcomed the idea.
Exodus 4:31. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
However, once the Egyptians started to give them a hard time, they changed their minds about going.
Exodus 5:21. And they said, may the Lord look upon you and judge you [Moses and Aaron]! You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials [through the Plagues] and have put a sword in their hand to kill us [an unrealistic assessment of the situation].
Exodus 6:8, 9. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord. Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement [from spiritual failure] and cruel bondage.
PRINCIPLES OF STRESS:
1. Adversity is outside pressure of life; stress is inside pressure of the soul.
2. Stress is caused by oneself; adversity is caused by self, by others or circumstances.
3. Adversity is inevitable; stress is optional.
4. Stress destroys the spiritual life of the believer. Therefore, the believer under stress, must name his sins to God the Father as soon as possible.
5. There is a definite relationship between stress and cognition, namely stress lowers cognition.
6. Stress makes a person forgetful and impairs the memory. Therefore, stress impairs the ability to learn.
7. Stress affects a person's perception of reality. At the Red Sea, the Jews with stress in their souls considered themselves already dead.
8. If a person remains in a stress-situation too long, all of his cognitive ability will be destroyed, and he will enter into a psychotic state.
People controlled by emotion and possessing false priorities easily succumb to fear when pressure occurs. Only the stable Christian with doctrine in his soul is able to handle the pressures of life. If the Faith-rest Drill or some other Problem-solving Device is not used when the believer faces a difficult problem or pressure, he will easily enter into a state of fear. In a state of fear and stress, he cannot solve his problems rationally.
2 Corinthians 4:14
Because we know [the impact of metabolized doctrine through faith-perception and application] that the one [a reference to God the Father] who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead [provided a resurrection body] will also raise us [from the dead by providing a resurrection body for us] with Jesus and present us with you [in his presence].
εἰδότες ὅτι ὁ ἐγείρας τὸν κύριον Ἰησοῦν καὶ ἡµᾶς σὺν Ἰησοῦ ἐγερεῖ καὶ παραστήσει σὺν ὑµῖν.
The Resurrection of the Humanity of Christ:
After the physical death of Jesus, his body went into the grave, his human spirit went into the presence of God the Father and his soul went to Hades in the care of God the Holy Spirit, and this is why he said to the dying thief the following:
Luke 23:43b. “Today, you will be with Me in Paradise,” and his human spirit went to God the Father in the 3rd heaven.
After the death of Jesus, God the Holy Spirit escorted the soul of Jesus possibly in interim body to Hades and then three days later returned His soul to the tomb. At which time, the Holy Spirit participated in providing a resurrection body for the humanity of Christ.
1 Peter 3:18-20. For Christ also died [paid the penalty for the sins of the human race] for sins once and for all, the righteous one as a substitute for the unrighteous ones [we are all sinners], so that He might bring us to the God [the Father via reconciliation], having been put to death in the flesh [in his human body], but made alive by means of the Spirit [the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit participated in the resurrection of Christ]; (19) By means of whom [the Holy Spirit] also He [the Lord Jesus Christ possibly in an interim body] went and made a proclamation [a short well-defined declaration] to the spirits in prison [the fallen angels in Tartarus as per Jude 6; 2 Peter 2:4]. (20) who [the fallen angels in Tartarus] once were disobedient [by cohabitating with human females and so producing the Nephilim, the half angels and half humans as per Genesis 6:1-11], when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah [God waited 120 years for these half human, half angel to believe in Jesus Christ before the flood], during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight souls [because it is the soul that is saved], were brought safely through the water.
When the work of salvation was finished, our Lord said to the Father, in Luke 23:46, "Father, into Your hands I dismiss My spirit," and so his human spirit traveled billions of light years of space into the presence of God the Father. After three days, the omnipotence of the Father sent our Lord's human spirit through billions and billions of light years of space back to His body in the tomb. Simultaneously, the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit returned His human soul from Hades to His body. Now rejoined in the resurrection body, our Lord walked through the stone. Later on, an angel rolled away the stone so that the world could see and verify the resurrection. The power that resurrected Christ was made possible by means of the omnipotence of God the Father and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit.
The Resurrection of all Church Age Believers:
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. But we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, about those who are asleep [the body sleeps as it were until the believer resurrects, gets up from his sleep], that you may not grieve as do the rest [the unbelievers] who have no confidence. (14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and we do. So, in the same manner, the God [the omnipotence of God the Father] will bring with Him those [in interim bodies] who have fallen asleep [died] by [the will of] Jesus. (15) For this we communicate to you by the word of the Lord, that we [Paul identifies himself with the Rapture generation] who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord [at the Rapture], will not precede [in meeting the Lord in the air at the Rapture of the Church age believers] those who have fallen asleep [died]. (16) Because the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a command [will give a command through Gabriel], with the voice of the archangel [for mortality to receive immortality] and with the trumpet of God [the Father’s trumpet command for corruption, the ones in their interim bodies to become incorruption], in fact, the dead in Christ will rise first [in their resurrection bodies]. (17) Then, we [Paul identifies himself with those who will be alive at the Rapture] who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. (18) Therefore comfort one another with these words.
1 Corinthians 15:53-54. For this perishable [the interim body of those Christians who would have died before the Rapture] must put on imperishable [an eternal body], and this mortal [the mortal body of those alive at the Rapture] must put on immortality [an eternal body]. (54) But when this perishable [the believer in his interim body] shall have put on the imperishable [resurrection body], and this mortal [the believer alive at the Rapture] shall have put on immortality [a resurrection body], then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in [as a result of] victory” (Isaiah 25:8).
These doctrines are a source of comfort when you have lost Christian loved ones for the separation is only temporary. They are in heaven in their interim bodies waiting for the Rapture just as you. These doctrines are a source of blessing as you face the adversities of life and realize that there is something far beyond this life in the eternal state.
2 Corinthians 4:15
For all things [in the plan of God] are [the ellipsis indicates Paul’s great excitement] for your benefit [Paul’s teaching regarding the Church age] that the grace-impact having increased [the culminative aorist views this from the existing results of the invisible heroes starting in Ephesus and overflowing to Corinth] through the agency of the many [invisible heroes who made the Roman Empire possibly the greatest Client Nation of all times] may cause the increase [the constative aorist views the entirety] of thanksgiving resulting in the glory of God [the objective genitive].
τὰ γὰρ πάντα δι’ ὑµᾶς [the accusative of relationship conveys the idea of advantage or favorable disposition], ἵνα ἡ χάρις πλεονάσασα διὰ τῶν πλειόνων τὴν εὐχαριστίαν περισσεύσῃ εἰς τὴν δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ.
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 takes its root from 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 of 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.
Ephesians 5:20. Always be thankful [gnomic present: gratitude is a permanent status of the soul where there is spiritual advance] with reference to all things [testing, blessing, discipline, disaster etc.] to God even the Father through the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Colossians 1:12, 2:7)
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 the gospel of John.
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 metabolized doctrine, these two powers must be used in applying the Problem-Solving Devices. Applying the Problem-Solving Devices will produce in the soul 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.
Colossians 2:7. Having been rooted and having been edified in Him, and being stabilized by means of doctrine as you have been taught, overflowing with thanksgiving.
There is a relationship between your consistent perception of Bible doctrine and your attitude of thanksgiving toward God. 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.
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. The divine initiative of antecedent grace in time is the function of the four spiritual skills.
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 related to all the Problem-Solving Devices. Once you begin to understand the Recovery Procedure which is a function of grace, inevitably it becomes an expression of gratitude to God for the forgiveness of sins and restoration to fellowship with God. Thanksgiving is related to the Filling of the Holy Spirit as the means of expressing our appreciation to the Spirit for His enabling power. Without the Filling of the Spirit, we would not be able to develop and possess true thanksgiving toward 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 from people. Sharing the happiness of God provides tremendous contentment in life, and therefore, thanksgiving and tranquility in every circumstance in life. The ultimate in mental attitude thanksgiving and the overt expression of gratitude toward God comes from occupation with Christ. Thanksgiving then 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 when making mention of you at the time of 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 giver. (8) God is able to make all grace abound to you [provides extra funds for the grace-oriented believer] that always having a sufficiency in everything [money to give to a grace cause] you may have an abundance for every good deed [the same concept as in Ephesians 4:28]. (9) Just as it stands written [a quote from Psalm 112:9], He scatters abroad [also has the meaning of being generous; God provides extra money to certain generous people]; He gave it [via these generous believers] to the poor. His righteousness abides forever [God’s righteousness supports grace-oriented giving]. (10) Now, he who supplies seed to the Sower [God providing the capital in an agricultural society] and bread for food, He God will supply and multiply your store of seed [your capital] and increase the harvest of your righteousness [in context the Christian who is a grace-oriented giver]. (11) You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us [Paul and his team teaching the spiritual life in order that these Corinthian believers might have the capacity for such a service] 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 [the Greek word ktizo; Keep in mind that God did not create highly processed foods. So, use a little common sense.] to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. (4) For everything created [the Greek word ktizo] 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 within reason. 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. However, this does not mean that the Lord will insert into the junk food which you may be eating, the necessary vitamins, minerals fats etc. that your body needs.
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 and an eminent musician] and his relatives to give thanks to the Lord as per 1 Chronicles 16:7-36.
(2) The integrity of God demands that the believer being blessed have capacity for that blessing. Capacity for blessing means thanksgiving potential. Thanksgiving potential depends on the amount of Bible doctrine in the soul of the believer, so that the believer who is blessed is occupied with the Giver as well as the gift. To enjoy the gift, the person who is thankful must be occupied with the Giver. True happiness is loving the Giver more than the gift. True thanksgiving is to be occupied with the Giver more than the gift. Capacity for life is to enjoy the Giver more than the gift. You cannot give thanksgiving for what you do not possess.
(3) Thanksgiving is a priestly sacrifice.
Psalm 116:17. To You, I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving. And call upon the name of the Lord.
Psalm107:22. Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of His works with joyful singing.
Hebrews 13:15. through Him let us be continually offering up a sacrifice of praise to the God, that is a fruit of our lips that gives thanks to His person [acknowledging His fame].
(4) Thanksgiving is the mental attitude of the spiritually adult believer and a demonstration of his capacity.
2 Corinthians 4:15. For all things are for your benefit [Paul’s teaching regarding the Church age] so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
(5) Personal testimonies of mature believers are found in the following passages:
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 1:4-5. 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.
(6) Believers who are positive to doctrine are motivated to give thanksgiving regarding others,
1 Thessalonians 3:9. For what thanks can we render to God in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account.
In summary, thanksgiving is an index of the spiritual status of the believer. The greater the content of metabolized doctrine in the believer's right lobe, the greater the capacity for mental attitude thanksgiving in the life. The increased usage of the Problem Solving-Devices of the Protocol Plan of God results in increased capacity for thanksgiving toward God.
2 Corinthians 4:16
Therefore [based-on the previous verse], we [the adult believers] do not despair [become weary, despondent]. Though the outer person is decaying [falling apart], yet our inner person [of the adult believer] is being renewed day by day [the spiritual life functioning under the Two Power Options is one day at a time].
∆ιὸ οὐκ ἐγκακοῦµεν, ἀλλ’ εἰ καὶ ὁ ἔξω ἡµῶν ἄνθρωπος διαφθείρεται, ἀλλ’ ὁ ἔσω ἡµῶν ἀνακαινοῦται ἡµέρᾳ καὶ ἡµέρᾳ.
2 Corinthians 4:17
For a momentary light affliction [the pain, sufferings and ill health] is producing for us [Paul and others suffering affliction] an eternal weight of glory [of Escrow Blessings for eternity] far beyond all comparison.
τὸ γὰρ παραυτίκα ἐλαφρὸν τῆς θλίψεως ἡµῶν καθ’ ὑπερβολὴν εἰς ὑπερβολὴν αἰώνιον βάρος δόξης κατεργάζεται ἡµῖν,
The inner power of the soul is infinitely far greater than any adversity in life. The emphasis should not be on your pain, ill health etc., but on your soul with a view toward eternity.
2 Corinthians 4:18
While we [mature believers have the right scale of values] look not at the things which are seen [such as a house, possessions, achievements, friends; health; all the things considered important in this life] but at the things which are not seen [like completing the spiritual life given to us] for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal [though we may enjoy many things in life, we must place the emphasis on those things which are eternal].
µὴ σκοπούντων ἡµῶν τὰ βλεπόµενα ἀλλὰ τὰ µὴ βλεπόµενα· τὰ γὰρ βλεπόµενα πρόσκαιρα, τὰ δὲ µὴ βλεπόµενα αἰώνια.
The World’s Prosperity is temporal and seen:
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.
A few points regarding this Eternal Unseen Wealth:
Paul’s tremendous spiritual life and orientation to what is important. He always lived his life in the light of eternity, and in so doing, emphasized the soul, not the body.
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 us a spiritual life in which we can succeed no matter what our station is 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 the 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 we 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 us is absolutely phenomenal, but you have to learn it, you have to know it, you have to have priorities related to your spiritual life. Every human success is meaningless compared to what you have done with your spiritual life.
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. Our spiritual life is one of the forty things we receive 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 systems 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.