John 1:16-17,18 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received, all had a share and were all supplied with, one Grace after another and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing and even favor upon favor and Gift heaped upon gift. For while the Law was given through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor) and Spiritual Blessing and Truth came through Jesus Christ."
Notice, the above scripture tells us that, "We have all received, all had a share, and were all supplied with." No one has been left out or exalted above any other. Some have accepted these Spiritual Blessings, some have accepted these Gifts and some have accepted His Grace and favor, but some have not. However, all were given the same Grace, favor, Gifts and Spiritual Blessings.
Verse 18 continues, "No man has ever seen God at any time; the Only Unique Son, or the Only Begotten God, Who is in the bosom (in the intimate Presence) of the Father, He has declared Him, He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen, He has interpreted Him and made Him known."
When we see Jesus, we see God! We should be able to determine God's will, by the Manifest Presence and deeds of Jesus, during His earthly ministry. We don't need to struggle knowing God's will concerning healing, help, anointing, humanity or acceptance of our humanity, or the trials and problems that present themselves before us. We only need to look unto Jesus and then we will see God.
Before Jesus came to earth, God was untouchable. After Jesus came, man can touch God and Jesus Who is God in the flesh, is willing to touch us. Even in our most terrible times, troubles, or diseases, Jesus would put out His hand, in order to touch and remove these things (even the foul disease of leprosy). He was willing to come into our presence and be where we are. Jesus even walked in some of the same persecution that we walk in.
We've overlooked many of the things God has made available to and for us, because we don't know our Heavenly Father. C.S. Lewis says is so beautifully, saying, "The Son of God became the Son of Man, so that the sons of man could become the sons of God." Through Jesus, God came to our level of life, in order to bring us up to His level of Life. Paul writes in 2Corinthians 5:17 (Amplified), "Therefore if any person is ingrafted in Christ (the Messiah), he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old (previous moral and Spiritual) condition has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come."
Many of God's children have overlooked the Gifts, spoke about in John 1:16-17 or haven't reached out to accept them. Paul writes about the Gifts of the Spirit. Most of us mistakenly accept the belief that, "We don't qualify for any of these Gifts," but the Word tells us that, "The Holy Spirit gives these Gifts severely as He wills." We stop at the 9 Gifts of the Spirit, when there are actually 11 Gifts of the Spirit. Paul writes about the rarely spoke about Gifts of government and helps in 1Corinthians 12:18 (KJV) saying, "And God hath set some in the Church, first of all apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, and Gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues."
How many in the Church have been anointed by the same Holy Spirit, to function in helps and governments, but have no idea they're anointed to do these functions? Here are some different translations of these Gifts. Helps means, "Helpers, assistants, those who help others." Governments means, "Administrators, organizers, power to guide them, wise guides, those who can get others to work together, managers."
How many in the Church are called to walk in these Gifts of the Spirit, but have never accepted the call or the anointing for these positions? We major on the nine Gifts and ignore the other two nearly altogether.
We see some of these Gifts, that came through our union with Jesus in Romans 5:1-2 (Amplified) which says, "Therefore since we are justified, acquitted, declared righteous and given a right standing with God, through faith, let us grasp the fact that we have the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy, peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) Through Him also we have our access, entrance, introduction by faith into this Grace (state of God's favor in which we firmly stand). And let us rejoice and exalt in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the Glory of God."
The things I underlined above, are a Gift that came through Jesus, in Grace and Truth. Romans 5:17 (Amplified) says, "For if because of one man's trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one; much more surely will those who receive God's overflowing Grace (unmerited favor) and the free Gift of righteousness putting them in right standing with Himself, reign as kings in Life through the One Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
These are not things you work to obtain, but these are Gifts you receive by faith in what is already your's through Jesus. Romans 7:6 (Amplified) tells us, "But now we are discharged from the Law and have terminated all intercourse with it, having died to what once restrained and held us captive. So now we serve not under obedience to the old code of written regulations, but under obedience to the prompting of the Spirit in newness of Life."
Romans 8:29-30 (Amplified) says, "For those whom He foreknew (of whom He was aware and Loved beforehand), He also destined from the beginning, fore-ordained them to be molded into the Image of His Son and share inwardly His Likeness, that He might become the Firstborn among many brethren. And those Whom He thus fore-ordained, He also called, and those whom He called, He also Justified, acquitted, made righteous, putting them in right standing with Himself, and those Whom He justified, He also Glorified, raising them to a Heavenly dignity and condition or state of being."
All of these underlined scriptures, are "Gift heaped upon Gift," given in John 1:16. We don't always see righteousness as a Gift, nor do we see justification or sanctification as Gifts. This is why it's called, "Grace," because it's "unearned, undeserved favor and Spiritual Blessing and Truth."
John 1:16 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness, abundance, we have all received, all had a share and were all supplied with, one Grace after another and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing and even favor upon favor and Gift heaped upon Gift." We have all been given every advantage of the Spiritual Blessings that came through Jesus. These are all Spiritual Blessings that the old covenant people couldn't receive, because the newness of Life or the Promise God gave to Abraham of the Holy Spirit hadn't come yet. That Promise was Jesus. He is the Seed, God Promised.
Now that He has come, these Spiritual Blessings can be manifested in the new creation man and woman, who has a born-again spirit. Don't neglect and turn away from the Gifts and Spiritual Blessing, by religious teachings that tell you, "No, none are righteous." This was before Jesus and these were nonspiritual men who weren't under the covenant of Grace and Truth in Jesus.
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Lesson 30 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
John 1:16-17 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance), we have all received, all had a share and were all supplied with, one Grace after another and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing and even favor upon favor and Gift heaped upon Gift. For while the Law was given through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor) and Spiritual Blessing, and Truth came through Jesus Christ."
Grace has always been God's will for mankind. Even after Adam's transgression, God covered Adam and Eve with the blood of sacrificial animals and clothed them. Genesis 3:21 (Amplified) says, "For Adam also and for his wife the Lord God made long coats (tunics of skins) and clothed them." God instructed Adam and Eve in Genesis 2:17 (Amplified), "But of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil and Blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in that day you eat of it you shall surely die."
The day they ate from that tree, Adam and Eve died spiritually and were cut off from the Life in the Spirit of God. Death set in instantly and mankind was separated from God, in his spirit. The Law of Sin and Death came into existence at that moment and only the shed blood of sacrificial animals could cover the demand for payment. God took the life of animals to cover Adam's sin. A death occurred, blood was shed, the blood constituted the passing of life and paid the penalty. Throughout the Bible, death had to be paid for, to cover man's sins and the proof of payment was the blood. This was and is Grace towards mankind, until the Final Payment for sin and death could be made by the Blood, death, and resurrection of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
Being a Just and Righteous Judge, God had to enforce the Law of Sin and Death He gave Adam in Genesis 2:17. Grace determined that the death and blood of innocent animals would cover man's sins and prolong his physical life, until Jesus could come as the True Sacrifice. Jesus was the Perfect, Innocent Sacrifice that destroyed the sin and restored the Life of God's Spirit, within the spirit of mankind.
The Holy Spirit brought the Word of God, but we often miss what He said in John 1:16-17. We're living in the day of the Promise that God made in Genesis 3:15 (Amplified) where He says, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring. He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel." The old covenant people needed to operate in the Law and sacrifice, to stay in the Grace that the Law offered. The Perfect Sacrifice, Jesus, has come and we no longer walk under the Law. We don't need the death and blood of animals to cover our sins, because of Jesus' Sinless Sacrifice. Jesus told His followers, in Matthew 26:28 (Amplified), "For this is My Blood of the new covenant, which ratifies the agreement and is being poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin."
The Apostle Paul received the Revelation from Jesus Himself, about the Truth of the Blood covenant being proclaimed by and through what we have come to call communion. Paul gives us, the world and satan the Truth and Spiritual Blessings and explains how the Price has been paid and by Jesus' Blood and death, we are free from the bondage of the Law of Sin and Death. Paul writes about the Last Supper in 1Corinthians 11:25-26 (Amplified), "Similarly when supper was ended, He took the cup also, saying, This cup is the new covenant, ratified and established in My Blood, do this, as often as you drink it, to call Me affectionately to remembrance. For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are representing and signifying and proclaiming the fact of the Lord's death until He comes again."
This communion with the Lord, signifies to the world and spirit realm that death had come by the Blood, just like in Egypt, during the Passover. The Lamb's Blood proclaimed and testified that the Law of Sin and Death had been paid and the destroyer (the demonic spirit that fed upon the sin and death) was rebuked. The destroyer no longer had a right to move upon those who were under the Blood.
The Passover Meal (we call Communion) is the Power over the Law of Sin and Death, when we knowingly proclaim take it in it's authority, according to Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified) which says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation, no adjudging guilty of wrong for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus, the Law of our new being, has freed me from the Law of Sin and Death."
When we fail to understand the Grace and Truth in the bread and wine and receive communion as a ritual and tradition, we fail to appropriate the Spiritual Blessing that comes through it in Jesus. The Power of the Blood of Jesus is much more powerful than that of lambs in Exodus 12:21-27 (Amplified), where the Israelites were instructed to sacrifice a lamb and place the blood of that lamb, over their doors, so that he destroyer couldn't enter their homes and slay them. We have God's Word and the Guarantee of Jesus' Blood as our Protection from the Law of Sin and Death, when we walk in His Truth and Grace.
God's Awesome Grace went so far as to take our penalty for us and we haven't totally appreciated what it really is. Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ, doing away with the spiritual death for the believer. The Spiritual Blessings of the Promise God gave to "Abraham and his Seed (Jesus)" can be fulfilled in us. Some of these Spiritual Blessings couldn't be granted to the old covenant people, because of the spiritual death they lived in after Adam's transgression. Jesus' Sacrifice fulfilled all of these Promises, Spiritual Blessings and Truth, for the new covenant people who believe in Him.
All of the Promises of Messiah that God made throughout the entire old covenant, have now become Truth in the new covenant. These include healing, peace, son-ship, being made one in spirit with God again, redemption, restoration, dominion and so many other Spiritual Blessings. John 1:17 (Amplified) tells us, "Grace (unearned, undeserved favor), and Spiritual Blessing and Truth, came through Jesus Christ."
These Spiritual Blessings were intended for mankind from the beginning, but Adam's sin in the Garden delayed them, until Jesus came. Jesus paid the Price for us and all these Spiritual Blessings that were always God's will for us, have been reactivated or become Truth again for His children. God can now do for and through us, like He intended from the beginning. God could only Bless Abraham in this earthly realm and Promise him the Blessing of the Spirit. Abraham walked by faith with God and God Blessed him, just like He said He would. Abraham's name is made great, and he has truly become the Father of Multitudes in his faith, but the Blessing of the Spirit could not come until Jesus. Galatians 3:13-14 (Amplified) says, "Christ purchased our freedom, redeeming us from the Curse (doom of the Law and its condemnation) by Himself becoming a Curse for us, for it is written in the scriptures, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified) (Deut. 21:23) To the end that through their receiving Christ Jesus, the Blessing Promised to Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we through faith might All RECEIVE THE REALIZATION OF THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT."
When the Promise was fulfilled and the Holy Spirit was poured out on and in us, the realization of this event would change everything in our lives. Through Jesus, we've been made alive, we've been infused with,empowered by and Blessed in and with, the Very Indwelling Presence of God. Jesus fulfilled God's Promise and Plan for His family. It's like satan never interrupted God's Plan and sin had never been. The Church is just beginning to understand the Spiritual Blessing that came through Jesus.
Grace has always been God's will for mankind. Even after Adam's transgression, God covered Adam and Eve with the blood of sacrificial animals and clothed them. Genesis 3:21 (Amplified) says, "For Adam also and for his wife the Lord God made long coats (tunics of skins) and clothed them." God instructed Adam and Eve in Genesis 2:17 (Amplified), "But of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil and Blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in that day you eat of it you shall surely die."
The day they ate from that tree, Adam and Eve died spiritually and were cut off from the Life in the Spirit of God. Death set in instantly and mankind was separated from God, in his spirit. The Law of Sin and Death came into existence at that moment and only the shed blood of sacrificial animals could cover the demand for payment. God took the life of animals to cover Adam's sin. A death occurred, blood was shed, the blood constituted the passing of life and paid the penalty. Throughout the Bible, death had to be paid for, to cover man's sins and the proof of payment was the blood. This was and is Grace towards mankind, until the Final Payment for sin and death could be made by the Blood, death, and resurrection of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
Being a Just and Righteous Judge, God had to enforce the Law of Sin and Death He gave Adam in Genesis 2:17. Grace determined that the death and blood of innocent animals would cover man's sins and prolong his physical life, until Jesus could come as the True Sacrifice. Jesus was the Perfect, Innocent Sacrifice that destroyed the sin and restored the Life of God's Spirit, within the spirit of mankind.
The Holy Spirit brought the Word of God, but we often miss what He said in John 1:16-17. We're living in the day of the Promise that God made in Genesis 3:15 (Amplified) where He says, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring. He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel." The old covenant people needed to operate in the Law and sacrifice, to stay in the Grace that the Law offered. The Perfect Sacrifice, Jesus, has come and we no longer walk under the Law. We don't need the death and blood of animals to cover our sins, because of Jesus' Sinless Sacrifice. Jesus told His followers, in Matthew 26:28 (Amplified), "For this is My Blood of the new covenant, which ratifies the agreement and is being poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin."
The Apostle Paul received the Revelation from Jesus Himself, about the Truth of the Blood covenant being proclaimed by and through what we have come to call communion. Paul gives us, the world and satan the Truth and Spiritual Blessings and explains how the Price has been paid and by Jesus' Blood and death, we are free from the bondage of the Law of Sin and Death. Paul writes about the Last Supper in 1Corinthians 11:25-26 (Amplified), "Similarly when supper was ended, He took the cup also, saying, This cup is the new covenant, ratified and established in My Blood, do this, as often as you drink it, to call Me affectionately to remembrance. For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are representing and signifying and proclaiming the fact of the Lord's death until He comes again."
This communion with the Lord, signifies to the world and spirit realm that death had come by the Blood, just like in Egypt, during the Passover. The Lamb's Blood proclaimed and testified that the Law of Sin and Death had been paid and the destroyer (the demonic spirit that fed upon the sin and death) was rebuked. The destroyer no longer had a right to move upon those who were under the Blood.
The Passover Meal (we call Communion) is the Power over the Law of Sin and Death, when we knowingly proclaim take it in it's authority, according to Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified) which says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation, no adjudging guilty of wrong for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus, the Law of our new being, has freed me from the Law of Sin and Death."
When we fail to understand the Grace and Truth in the bread and wine and receive communion as a ritual and tradition, we fail to appropriate the Spiritual Blessing that comes through it in Jesus. The Power of the Blood of Jesus is much more powerful than that of lambs in Exodus 12:21-27 (Amplified), where the Israelites were instructed to sacrifice a lamb and place the blood of that lamb, over their doors, so that he destroyer couldn't enter their homes and slay them. We have God's Word and the Guarantee of Jesus' Blood as our Protection from the Law of Sin and Death, when we walk in His Truth and Grace.
God's Awesome Grace went so far as to take our penalty for us and we haven't totally appreciated what it really is. Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ, doing away with the spiritual death for the believer. The Spiritual Blessings of the Promise God gave to "Abraham and his Seed (Jesus)" can be fulfilled in us. Some of these Spiritual Blessings couldn't be granted to the old covenant people, because of the spiritual death they lived in after Adam's transgression. Jesus' Sacrifice fulfilled all of these Promises, Spiritual Blessings and Truth, for the new covenant people who believe in Him.
All of the Promises of Messiah that God made throughout the entire old covenant, have now become Truth in the new covenant. These include healing, peace, son-ship, being made one in spirit with God again, redemption, restoration, dominion and so many other Spiritual Blessings. John 1:17 (Amplified) tells us, "Grace (unearned, undeserved favor), and Spiritual Blessing and Truth, came through Jesus Christ."
These Spiritual Blessings were intended for mankind from the beginning, but Adam's sin in the Garden delayed them, until Jesus came. Jesus paid the Price for us and all these Spiritual Blessings that were always God's will for us, have been reactivated or become Truth again for His children. God can now do for and through us, like He intended from the beginning. God could only Bless Abraham in this earthly realm and Promise him the Blessing of the Spirit. Abraham walked by faith with God and God Blessed him, just like He said He would. Abraham's name is made great, and he has truly become the Father of Multitudes in his faith, but the Blessing of the Spirit could not come until Jesus. Galatians 3:13-14 (Amplified) says, "Christ purchased our freedom, redeeming us from the Curse (doom of the Law and its condemnation) by Himself becoming a Curse for us, for it is written in the scriptures, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified) (Deut. 21:23) To the end that through their receiving Christ Jesus, the Blessing Promised to Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we through faith might All RECEIVE THE REALIZATION OF THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT."
When the Promise was fulfilled and the Holy Spirit was poured out on and in us, the realization of this event would change everything in our lives. Through Jesus, we've been made alive, we've been infused with,empowered by and Blessed in and with, the Very Indwelling Presence of God. Jesus fulfilled God's Promise and Plan for His family. It's like satan never interrupted God's Plan and sin had never been. The Church is just beginning to understand the Spiritual Blessing that came through Jesus.
Friday, April 13, 2018
Lesson 29 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
John 1:16-17 (Amplified) tells us, "For out of His fullness (abundance), we have all received, all had a share and were all supplied with, one Grace after another, and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing and even favor upon favor and Gift heaped upon Gift. For while the Law was given through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor) and Spiritual Blessing and Truth came through Jesus Christ."
We've been learning how Grace and Blessing were, and still are, God's will for His children. Today, many still walk under the Law and have been deceived into believing that the Father is behind the trials and tests occurring in our lives. Many good and sincere ministers have taught these things, but Truth comes through Jesus Christ. John 8:31-32 (Amplified) says, "So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him; If you abide in My Word, hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them, you are truly My disciples And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free."
We haven't learned much about the Freedom of the Truth. When Jesus released the Blessing, Spiritual Gifts, Grace and favor upon us, we were reluctant to believe we could actually receive them. Some feel like they were taking advantage of God, by receiving such Goodness, while others feel like they're not good enough to deserve God's Goodness. Truth in the Goodness of God isn't something anyone deserves or can earn. We'll never be good enough, to earn such fullness. This is the Good News, that we no longer have to earn this Goodness by our own selves. Grace has done what the Law could never do. Faith in God's Spiritual Blessing, through faith alone, makes one righteous, according to Romans 3:22 (Amplified) which says, "Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and it is meant for ALL who believe. For there is no distinction."
Grace has been made available to all who will accept it by faith and will bring about the Spiritual Blessings that have been released to those who have been made alive and new creations, in Christ Jesus. These Spiritual Blessings couldn't come upon those who were still under the Law, because they were still dead in their spirit. They could only receive part of God's favor and His Blessings, by observing the rules and regulations according to the Law. As new creations in Christ, we've not only been made alive again in the spirit, but we're actually one with the Holy Spirit and in Him, are all the Spiritual Blessings that have become ours in Jesus Christ. Most of us think of 1Corinthians 12:1-4, when we think about Gifts of the Spirit. Paul lays these Gifts out here, for us to understand. Much of today's Church though, believe these Gifts are "for only a few people and not for all."
John 1:16 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance), we have all receive, all had a share in and were all supplied with one Grace after another and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing and even favor upon favor and Gift heaped upon Gift." These Gifts aren't those primarily listed in 1Corinthians 12:1-4. These Gifts came upon and into us, by the Holy Spirit Who gave us the Life of God.
We've mostly thought of other people operating and functioning in the Gifts of the Spirit and have left ourselves out of this process. The Spiritual Blessings and Gifts aren't necessarily those in 1Corinthians 12:1-4, but are the Gift of righteousness, sanctification, justification, consecration, the mind of Christ, the Wisdom of God and the nature of God Himself. These are the Gifts that we all have been supplied with and all have received and have all been supplied with.
We've missed the importance of what is meant by "the whole Church and the whole Body of Christ," where it pertains to these Gifts. We've left it to others, to obtain these Gifts. In order to obtain this fullness of which we have all received, we must listen to the Voice of the Holy Spirit and learn to walk in the fullness by faith in God's Grace. Grace didn't just now become "a thing" in the Church, even though we might have have finally come into a revelation of it. But, God's Grace clothed Adam and Even with the skins of animals, in order to hide their shame. It was Grace that brought the Law, instead of death to the old covenant people. They did have to walk in the commandments to obtain this Grace, but it was nevertheless GRACE.
Grace and Truth that came by Jesus Christ, were always the heart of God for His people. When creating man, God knew Grace was required to show His Truth, to His children. All children must be taught and trained in what is required of them. God knew this from the very beginning. God's Grace is sufficient and His Mercy is new every morning.
We must begin receiving by faith in Jesus Christ, the Spiritual Blessing Jesus came to give to the new creation people. Jesus believed by faith, that His Sacrifice would be understood and received in the fullness of which it was intended and not just be a "religion," but a reality in the new life He had given to the believer. We've been aware of the sins of the flesh, but don't seem to be cognizant of the Blessing of the Spirit. The Spiritual Blessings will overcome the flesh, when we have a revelation of what they really are.
We read about the Armor of God, in Ephesians 6:10-18. The Armor of God is a Spiritual Blessing and a Gift of Grace. The breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the Spirit, the belt of Truth and the shoes we put on to be shod with the Gospel of peace, do not come from us, but were "Gift heaped upon Gift and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing." All of these are what the Lord has supplied by faith in His Grace. These are the Gifts and favors, we have all received and all had a part in.
Begin to see yourself the way God sees you, instead of how the world portrays you. We must begin to look unto the Perfect Law of Liberty, according to James 1:25 (Amplified) which says, "But he who looks carefully into the faultless Law, the Law of Liberty, and is faithful to it and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets, but an active doer who obeys, he shall be Blessed in his doing, his life of abundance."
Let's not simply read the Word, but LIVE THE WORD, as the Perfect Law of Liberty to set us free. Paul writes in Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified), "Therefore, there is now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus, the Law of our new being, has freed me from the Law of Sin and of Death." Amen.
We've been learning how Grace and Blessing were, and still are, God's will for His children. Today, many still walk under the Law and have been deceived into believing that the Father is behind the trials and tests occurring in our lives. Many good and sincere ministers have taught these things, but Truth comes through Jesus Christ. John 8:31-32 (Amplified) says, "So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him; If you abide in My Word, hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them, you are truly My disciples And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free."
We haven't learned much about the Freedom of the Truth. When Jesus released the Blessing, Spiritual Gifts, Grace and favor upon us, we were reluctant to believe we could actually receive them. Some feel like they were taking advantage of God, by receiving such Goodness, while others feel like they're not good enough to deserve God's Goodness. Truth in the Goodness of God isn't something anyone deserves or can earn. We'll never be good enough, to earn such fullness. This is the Good News, that we no longer have to earn this Goodness by our own selves. Grace has done what the Law could never do. Faith in God's Spiritual Blessing, through faith alone, makes one righteous, according to Romans 3:22 (Amplified) which says, "Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and it is meant for ALL who believe. For there is no distinction."
Grace has been made available to all who will accept it by faith and will bring about the Spiritual Blessings that have been released to those who have been made alive and new creations, in Christ Jesus. These Spiritual Blessings couldn't come upon those who were still under the Law, because they were still dead in their spirit. They could only receive part of God's favor and His Blessings, by observing the rules and regulations according to the Law. As new creations in Christ, we've not only been made alive again in the spirit, but we're actually one with the Holy Spirit and in Him, are all the Spiritual Blessings that have become ours in Jesus Christ. Most of us think of 1Corinthians 12:1-4, when we think about Gifts of the Spirit. Paul lays these Gifts out here, for us to understand. Much of today's Church though, believe these Gifts are "for only a few people and not for all."
John 1:16 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance), we have all receive, all had a share in and were all supplied with one Grace after another and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing and even favor upon favor and Gift heaped upon Gift." These Gifts aren't those primarily listed in 1Corinthians 12:1-4. These Gifts came upon and into us, by the Holy Spirit Who gave us the Life of God.
We've mostly thought of other people operating and functioning in the Gifts of the Spirit and have left ourselves out of this process. The Spiritual Blessings and Gifts aren't necessarily those in 1Corinthians 12:1-4, but are the Gift of righteousness, sanctification, justification, consecration, the mind of Christ, the Wisdom of God and the nature of God Himself. These are the Gifts that we all have been supplied with and all have received and have all been supplied with.
We've missed the importance of what is meant by "the whole Church and the whole Body of Christ," where it pertains to these Gifts. We've left it to others, to obtain these Gifts. In order to obtain this fullness of which we have all received, we must listen to the Voice of the Holy Spirit and learn to walk in the fullness by faith in God's Grace. Grace didn't just now become "a thing" in the Church, even though we might have have finally come into a revelation of it. But, God's Grace clothed Adam and Even with the skins of animals, in order to hide their shame. It was Grace that brought the Law, instead of death to the old covenant people. They did have to walk in the commandments to obtain this Grace, but it was nevertheless GRACE.
Grace and Truth that came by Jesus Christ, were always the heart of God for His people. When creating man, God knew Grace was required to show His Truth, to His children. All children must be taught and trained in what is required of them. God knew this from the very beginning. God's Grace is sufficient and His Mercy is new every morning.
We must begin receiving by faith in Jesus Christ, the Spiritual Blessing Jesus came to give to the new creation people. Jesus believed by faith, that His Sacrifice would be understood and received in the fullness of which it was intended and not just be a "religion," but a reality in the new life He had given to the believer. We've been aware of the sins of the flesh, but don't seem to be cognizant of the Blessing of the Spirit. The Spiritual Blessings will overcome the flesh, when we have a revelation of what they really are.
We read about the Armor of God, in Ephesians 6:10-18. The Armor of God is a Spiritual Blessing and a Gift of Grace. The breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the Spirit, the belt of Truth and the shoes we put on to be shod with the Gospel of peace, do not come from us, but were "Gift heaped upon Gift and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing." All of these are what the Lord has supplied by faith in His Grace. These are the Gifts and favors, we have all received and all had a part in.
Begin to see yourself the way God sees you, instead of how the world portrays you. We must begin to look unto the Perfect Law of Liberty, according to James 1:25 (Amplified) which says, "But he who looks carefully into the faultless Law, the Law of Liberty, and is faithful to it and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets, but an active doer who obeys, he shall be Blessed in his doing, his life of abundance."
Let's not simply read the Word, but LIVE THE WORD, as the Perfect Law of Liberty to set us free. Paul writes in Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified), "Therefore, there is now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus, the Law of our new being, has freed me from the Law of Sin and of Death." Amen.
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Lesson 28 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
John 1:16-17 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance), we have all had a share and were all supplied with, one Grace after another and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing and even favor upon favor and gift heaped upon Gift. For while the Law was given through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor) and Spiritual Blessing and Truth came through Jesus Christ."
This unearned, undeserved favor and Spiritual Blessing came by and through Grace. We weren't required to perform sacrifices or certain rituals, in order to earn or deserve God's favor. It was and is Grace and Grace alone, was the only requirement for this new covenant and Blessing. This Truth hasn't been seen by many in the Body of Christ. The above scripture tells us that, "We all have a share and were all supplied with the Grace, Spiritual Blessing, favor and Gift of the Lord Jesus.
We've misunderstood much of what Truth has said to us, by our own carnal minded thinking. There was and is, nothing left for the child of God to do, in order to deserve all that came through Jesus. We must only believe and act upon it. We've misunderstood so much about the righteousness of God to the Spiritual Blessing that God Promised and has now given to whosoever would believe in Jesus Christ. These Spiritual Blessings have now been deposited in the very spirit of the child of God, when we received Jesus as our Lord and Savior. When you were born-again, the Holy Spirit brought the Life of God Himself into your once dead spirit. This is the Very Life of God indwelling and dwelling within our new living spirit, according to 1Corinthians 6:19 (Amplified) which says, "Do you not know that your body is the Temple, the very Sanctuary of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received as a Gift from God? You are not your own."
John 1:16-17 speaks about "Gift heaped upon Gift" and we see in 1Corinthians 6:19 that one of these Gifts (and the most important Gifts) is the Gift of the Holy Spirit Himself. The Spirit of God now dwells within the body and spirit of the believe, giving us access to the Spiritual Blessings we read about in John 1:16-17.
Many of these Gifts, Spiritual Blessings, favors and Grace have been overlooked. Even though we have all received, all had a share and were all supplied with these Blessings, many have failed to appropriate and apply these Truths in our lives. Paul lists many of these Spiritual Blessings in Romans 5:1 (Amplified) so that we might enjoy and know them. Thus, he says, "Therefore, Since we are justified, acquitted, declared righteous and given a right standing with God through faith, let us grasp the fact that we have the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy, peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). Through Him also we have our access, (entrance, introduction) by faith into this Grace, state of God's favor in which we firmly and safely stand, and let us rejoice and exalt in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the Glory of God."
These Gifts, Spiritual Blessings, favors and Truths are now indwelling in and infused with your born-again spirit. We've been taught that most of what Jesus did for us, is for "when we die and get to Heaven," so we haven't applied these Spiritual Gifts from the Father for our lives here on earth. The things Paul listed in Romans 5:1 are all Spiritual Blessings that could only come upon those on the earth, by their being born-again and raised into a new creation child of God through Jesus. God couldn't infuse these Spiritual Blessings into the spirit of the unsaved, dead spirit of natural man.
We read more about these Spiritual Blessings, favors and Gifts we've all been given, supplied with and had a share in when we're born-again in Jesus Christ, in 1Corinthians 1:30 (Amplified) which says, "But it is from Him that you have your Life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, revealed to us a knowledge of the Divine Plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as our righteousness, thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God, and our Consecration, making us pure and holy, and our Redemption, providing our Ransom from eternal penalty for sin."
We've accepted that we are forgiven from sin and are saved, but we're not really certain of that at times. We remain afraid that some of the things we did before being saved, still hang over us. When we read the above scriptures through the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit, we see what Jesus truly accomplished for us. It's not "some who receive," like the world teaches, but we have all received, all had a share in, and were all supplied with one Grace after another. How many types and different uses of Grace, does "one Grace after another" mean? How many kinds of Spiritual Blessings upon Spiritual Blessings are we supplied with? Every favor upon favor is ours through Jesus, here in this realm of life. Every Grace after another is ours through Jesus, here in this realm of life. Every Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing is ours through Jesus, here in this realm of life. All these things---righteousness, consecration, sanctification, redemption, Wisdom, purity, holiness, peace with God, knowledge previously hidden, our very Life in Him---all these Spiritual Gifts have been given to those in Christ Jesus. We have all been given and supplied with and have a share in these things, through Jesus. And, we are all with God, in Christ.
1Corinthians 1:30 (Amplified) tells us, "Whom God made our Wisdom from God, Jesus." Paul makes the distinction between those who are using these Spiritual Blessings (especially Wisdom and knowledge in the Holy Spirit) in 1Corinthians 2:13 (Amplified) saying, "And we are setting these Truths forth in Words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Holy Spirit, combining and interpreting Spiritual truth with Spiritual language, to those who possess the Holy Spirit."
Although we have all been supplied with, and all have a share in, and all have received, not everyone will draw from the Spiritual Blessings that are ours through Jesus. Many still read the Word through the carnal, unrenewed mind and will not accept the Spiritual Blessings of righteousness, holiness, purity, sanctification, redemption, Wisdom and even entrance into God's Presence, by Truth in Jesus. These things are Gifts, Spiritual Blessings, favor, different Graces and Truths, that come in and through our union with Jesus at the new birth.
These are unearned, undeserved Grace, favor, Spiritual Blessings and Truths that came through Jesus. We all have a share, all were given and all supplied with these things, because we were all dead in trespass and sin. None of us deserved or can earn any of the things God poured out onto those who would believe, because all had sinned. Romans 3:23-24 (Amplified) says, "Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and Glory which God bestows and receives. All are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His Grace (His unmerited favor and mercy, through the Redemption which is provided in Christ Jesus."
These Spiritual Blessings could only come upon those who were created new by the Sacrifice of Jesus. These Spiritual Blessings have been given to those who were made alive by His Holy Spirit and receive Spiritual Blessings within our new creation spirit. Our old spirit was dead in sin and could never receive these. This is only one aspect of God's Grace in our lives. It's an open door into fellowship with Him by the Gifts of Wisdom, understanding and the mind of the Spirit of God Who now lives in and through us.
This unearned, undeserved favor and Spiritual Blessing came by and through Grace. We weren't required to perform sacrifices or certain rituals, in order to earn or deserve God's favor. It was and is Grace and Grace alone, was the only requirement for this new covenant and Blessing. This Truth hasn't been seen by many in the Body of Christ. The above scripture tells us that, "We all have a share and were all supplied with the Grace, Spiritual Blessing, favor and Gift of the Lord Jesus.
We've misunderstood much of what Truth has said to us, by our own carnal minded thinking. There was and is, nothing left for the child of God to do, in order to deserve all that came through Jesus. We must only believe and act upon it. We've misunderstood so much about the righteousness of God to the Spiritual Blessing that God Promised and has now given to whosoever would believe in Jesus Christ. These Spiritual Blessings have now been deposited in the very spirit of the child of God, when we received Jesus as our Lord and Savior. When you were born-again, the Holy Spirit brought the Life of God Himself into your once dead spirit. This is the Very Life of God indwelling and dwelling within our new living spirit, according to 1Corinthians 6:19 (Amplified) which says, "Do you not know that your body is the Temple, the very Sanctuary of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received as a Gift from God? You are not your own."
John 1:16-17 speaks about "Gift heaped upon Gift" and we see in 1Corinthians 6:19 that one of these Gifts (and the most important Gifts) is the Gift of the Holy Spirit Himself. The Spirit of God now dwells within the body and spirit of the believe, giving us access to the Spiritual Blessings we read about in John 1:16-17.
Many of these Gifts, Spiritual Blessings, favors and Grace have been overlooked. Even though we have all received, all had a share and were all supplied with these Blessings, many have failed to appropriate and apply these Truths in our lives. Paul lists many of these Spiritual Blessings in Romans 5:1 (Amplified) so that we might enjoy and know them. Thus, he says, "Therefore, Since we are justified, acquitted, declared righteous and given a right standing with God through faith, let us grasp the fact that we have the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy, peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). Through Him also we have our access, (entrance, introduction) by faith into this Grace, state of God's favor in which we firmly and safely stand, and let us rejoice and exalt in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the Glory of God."
These Gifts, Spiritual Blessings, favors and Truths are now indwelling in and infused with your born-again spirit. We've been taught that most of what Jesus did for us, is for "when we die and get to Heaven," so we haven't applied these Spiritual Gifts from the Father for our lives here on earth. The things Paul listed in Romans 5:1 are all Spiritual Blessings that could only come upon those on the earth, by their being born-again and raised into a new creation child of God through Jesus. God couldn't infuse these Spiritual Blessings into the spirit of the unsaved, dead spirit of natural man.
We read more about these Spiritual Blessings, favors and Gifts we've all been given, supplied with and had a share in when we're born-again in Jesus Christ, in 1Corinthians 1:30 (Amplified) which says, "But it is from Him that you have your Life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, revealed to us a knowledge of the Divine Plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as our righteousness, thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God, and our Consecration, making us pure and holy, and our Redemption, providing our Ransom from eternal penalty for sin."
We've accepted that we are forgiven from sin and are saved, but we're not really certain of that at times. We remain afraid that some of the things we did before being saved, still hang over us. When we read the above scriptures through the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit, we see what Jesus truly accomplished for us. It's not "some who receive," like the world teaches, but we have all received, all had a share in, and were all supplied with one Grace after another. How many types and different uses of Grace, does "one Grace after another" mean? How many kinds of Spiritual Blessings upon Spiritual Blessings are we supplied with? Every favor upon favor is ours through Jesus, here in this realm of life. Every Grace after another is ours through Jesus, here in this realm of life. Every Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing is ours through Jesus, here in this realm of life. All these things---righteousness, consecration, sanctification, redemption, Wisdom, purity, holiness, peace with God, knowledge previously hidden, our very Life in Him---all these Spiritual Gifts have been given to those in Christ Jesus. We have all been given and supplied with and have a share in these things, through Jesus. And, we are all with God, in Christ.
1Corinthians 1:30 (Amplified) tells us, "Whom God made our Wisdom from God, Jesus." Paul makes the distinction between those who are using these Spiritual Blessings (especially Wisdom and knowledge in the Holy Spirit) in 1Corinthians 2:13 (Amplified) saying, "And we are setting these Truths forth in Words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Holy Spirit, combining and interpreting Spiritual truth with Spiritual language, to those who possess the Holy Spirit."
Although we have all been supplied with, and all have a share in, and all have received, not everyone will draw from the Spiritual Blessings that are ours through Jesus. Many still read the Word through the carnal, unrenewed mind and will not accept the Spiritual Blessings of righteousness, holiness, purity, sanctification, redemption, Wisdom and even entrance into God's Presence, by Truth in Jesus. These things are Gifts, Spiritual Blessings, favor, different Graces and Truths, that come in and through our union with Jesus at the new birth.
These are unearned, undeserved Grace, favor, Spiritual Blessings and Truths that came through Jesus. We all have a share, all were given and all supplied with these things, because we were all dead in trespass and sin. None of us deserved or can earn any of the things God poured out onto those who would believe, because all had sinned. Romans 3:23-24 (Amplified) says, "Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and Glory which God bestows and receives. All are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His Grace (His unmerited favor and mercy, through the Redemption which is provided in Christ Jesus."
These Spiritual Blessings could only come upon those who were created new by the Sacrifice of Jesus. These Spiritual Blessings have been given to those who were made alive by His Holy Spirit and receive Spiritual Blessings within our new creation spirit. Our old spirit was dead in sin and could never receive these. This is only one aspect of God's Grace in our lives. It's an open door into fellowship with Him by the Gifts of Wisdom, understanding and the mind of the Spirit of God Who now lives in and through us.
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Lesson 27 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
John 1:16-17 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance), we have all received, all had a share, and were all supplied with one Grace after another and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing and even favor upon favor and Gift heaped upon Gift. For while the Law was given through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor) and Spiritual Blessing and Truth came through Jesus Christ."
We must get past the idea that we're still under the Law, in order to understand the fullness of what we've received through Jesus. Many have been taught about our relationship with the Father, through the Old Testament relationship of the Law. We've not been taught the Spiritual Blessing and Truth, we've received through Jesus. The concept of salvation we have, has been limited to man's idea and teaching, instead of the Father's intent.
We can plainly see God's intent and will for those who will believe in Jesus in the above scripture. We see that His intent is for those believers, to be delivered from the Law and inherit Grace, Spiritual Blessing, favor, Gifts and Truth. This isn't something we must work for or earn by obedience, like those under the Law, but these were given by Grace and through our faith in Jesus Christ. The above scripture tells us that "we have all received and all been supplied with these," but we continue trying to receive by our own merits, what the Father has already given by Grace. Grace isn't an excuse to sin and act foolish, but it's an open door into the things the Father has already put in place for His Own family, before the fall in the Garden of Eden.
The only way we can inherit what Jesus has left us in His will, is by faith in what He has done. Listen very closely to what Paul writes in Galatians 3:22-26 (Amplified), "But the scriptures picture all mankind as sinners, shut up and imprisoned by sin, so that the inheritance, Blessing, which was Promised through faith in Jesus Christ (the Messiah) might be given (released, delivered and committed) to all those who believe (who adhere to and trust in and rely on Him). Now before faith came, we were perpetually guarded under Law, kept in custody in preparation for the faith that was destined to be revealed (unveiled, disclosed). So that the Law served, to us Jews, as our trainer, our guardian, our guide to Christ, to lead us until Christ came, that we might be justified, declared righteous, put in right standing with God, by and through faith. But now that the faith has come, we are no longer under a trainer, the guardian of our childhood, For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith For as many of you as were baptized into Christ, into a Spiritual union and communion with Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), have put on (clothed yourselves with Christ) There is now no distinction, neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, are in Him Who is Abraham's Seed, then you are Abraham's offspring and Spiritual heirs according to Promise."
We've been trying to obtain by the Law, the things that have already been given us by faith in Jesus. This deception has been taught to the Church from generations of old and is holding back the Truth from God's family. The Law was given to the Hebrew people (Jews) by Moses, but Gentiles were never under the Law. The Gentile nations were never under God's Promise of Law, to begin with. Now that Grace and Truth have come through Jesus, why would anyone ever wish to return to a covenant that has been replaced with a new and better covenant?
Galatians 5:4 (Amplified) tells us, "If you seek to be justified and declared righteous and be given a right standing with God through the Law, You are brought to nothing and so separated, severed from Christ, You have fallen away from Grace (from God's Gracious favor and unmerited Blessing)."
We've been trying to become what God has already made us to be in Christ Jesus, through man-made laws, but it is all by faith through Grace. We've been redeemed by the Blood of Jesus and restored into a position that Adam was. We're to make choices for or against the Truth and Grace of God, just like Adam. When Adam was placed in a position of dominion over the earth (Garden), he was in a place of listening to the Lord or listening to the deception. If Adam had listened to the Holy Spirit, then he would have held onto "who he was." When he listened to satan's lie, he tried becoming what God had already made him to be and he lost his place of dominion.
Genesis 3:5 (Amplified) says, "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing the difference between Good and evil and Blessing and calamity." Genesis 1:27 (Amplified) says, "So God created man in His Own Image, in the Image and Likeness of God He created him; male and female, He created them." Adam and Eve were already made in His Likeness. We don't need to try becoming what God has already made us to be, but we need to walk in what He has done to and for us, by Grace.
We've been trying to find a place of favor and right standing with God, by our own ideas of favor and righteousness. We're no longer required to observe the sacrifices and rituals of the Law, in order to obtain favor with God. By faith in God's Grace we now receive Truth and the Spiritual Blessing, through Jesus.
God created us to walk naturally Super-natural before Him in the beginning. We've now been created in the new creation to walk this way again. We were to live in a natural body, while being Super-natural in our union with the Spirit of God. From the beginning, this was God's original intent and He has never changed His plan. As God's children, both before the fall and now after Jesus, we were to live in a natural body, be alive to God in and through our union with Him in our spirit, and walk and reign in this realm, by our family relationship in the Spirit.
The Father has done everything needed to restore us back into His Original intent. This was and still is, God's Plan for His family. Heaven was never meant to be our home, but the Father created this earth for us to live on. Adam's fall resulted in the Curse coming on the earth. Jesus went to the Father's House to prepare a place for us there, according to Revelations 21:1-5 (Amplified) which says, "Then I saw a new sky (Heaven), and a new earth, for the former sky and the former earth had passed away (vanished), and there no longer existed any sea. And I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God, all arrayed like a bride beautified and adorned for her husband. Then I heard a Mighty Voice from the Throne and I perceived it's distinct Words, saying, See! The Abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among them, and they shall be His people, and God shall Personally be with them and be their God. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish, sorrow, and mourning, nor grief nor pain anymore, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away And He Who was seated on the Throne said, See! I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW. Also He said, Record this, for these sayings are faithful, accurate, incorruptible and trust worthy and true and genuine."
God couldn't leave things like they were before Jesus, because the whole of creation was contaminated by satan and Adam's fall. God will remove us from this planet, until the final days of redemption, where He will then "make all things new" and restore and make the earth new, but He will bring the new Heaven and the new earth into a union with Him, as it was determined from the beginning. We will live and walk in a realm of walking naturally Super-natural. We will have a body like the one Jesus lives in, after He was resurrected from the dead. These bodies will simultaneously function on earth and the Heavenilies.
The body (house) we now live in, will pass away in the Resurrection, but God is going to make a new body for us to live in, for eternity. 1John 3:2 (Amplified) says, "Beloved, we are even here and now God's children; it is not yet disclosed, made clear what we shall be hereafter, but we know that when He comes and is manifested, we shall, as God's children, resemble and be like Him, for we shall see Him just as He really is."
"There will be no Curse on the new earth and there will be no more separation from God, in this new creation man," according to 2Corinthians 25:17. There will be no more fallen angels or corruption in the Heavenlies, but there will be a new sky (or heaven), a new earth, a new creation people who will inhabit them. God and His people will live together in this new family, for eternity. God's Plan A fulfilled!
As God's new creation children, we have already been made righteous, justified, and holy by our union through Jesus. The Promise is now fact and fulfilled, to those who are in Christ Jesus. Favor, Blessing, Grace, Spiritual union, restoration and redemption are already ours, even while we are here now. We no longer have to "try being right with God, because Jesus has already all that was needed to make us righteous before and in God. The harder we try "becoming" these things, the less we believe He already has done it for us. This is Grace through faith.
Grace works by faith, just like Love works by faith, according to Galatians 5:6 (Amplified) which says, "Faith works by Love." The more we understand what Love has already done through Jesus, the more our faith will work towards God and others. 1John 4:17 (Amplified) says, "In this union and communion with Him, Love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment with assurance and boldness to face Him, because as He is, so are we in this world."
This is Grace at it's best and faith in this Grace, that God Who is Love has bestowed on us in Jesus. If we don't understand Love, then we can't understand Grace. If we don't understand Grace, then faith is dead and we try becoming what Love has already made us.
We must get past the idea that we're still under the Law, in order to understand the fullness of what we've received through Jesus. Many have been taught about our relationship with the Father, through the Old Testament relationship of the Law. We've not been taught the Spiritual Blessing and Truth, we've received through Jesus. The concept of salvation we have, has been limited to man's idea and teaching, instead of the Father's intent.
We can plainly see God's intent and will for those who will believe in Jesus in the above scripture. We see that His intent is for those believers, to be delivered from the Law and inherit Grace, Spiritual Blessing, favor, Gifts and Truth. This isn't something we must work for or earn by obedience, like those under the Law, but these were given by Grace and through our faith in Jesus Christ. The above scripture tells us that "we have all received and all been supplied with these," but we continue trying to receive by our own merits, what the Father has already given by Grace. Grace isn't an excuse to sin and act foolish, but it's an open door into the things the Father has already put in place for His Own family, before the fall in the Garden of Eden.
The only way we can inherit what Jesus has left us in His will, is by faith in what He has done. Listen very closely to what Paul writes in Galatians 3:22-26 (Amplified), "But the scriptures picture all mankind as sinners, shut up and imprisoned by sin, so that the inheritance, Blessing, which was Promised through faith in Jesus Christ (the Messiah) might be given (released, delivered and committed) to all those who believe (who adhere to and trust in and rely on Him). Now before faith came, we were perpetually guarded under Law, kept in custody in preparation for the faith that was destined to be revealed (unveiled, disclosed). So that the Law served, to us Jews, as our trainer, our guardian, our guide to Christ, to lead us until Christ came, that we might be justified, declared righteous, put in right standing with God, by and through faith. But now that the faith has come, we are no longer under a trainer, the guardian of our childhood, For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith For as many of you as were baptized into Christ, into a Spiritual union and communion with Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), have put on (clothed yourselves with Christ) There is now no distinction, neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, are in Him Who is Abraham's Seed, then you are Abraham's offspring and Spiritual heirs according to Promise."
We've been trying to obtain by the Law, the things that have already been given us by faith in Jesus. This deception has been taught to the Church from generations of old and is holding back the Truth from God's family. The Law was given to the Hebrew people (Jews) by Moses, but Gentiles were never under the Law. The Gentile nations were never under God's Promise of Law, to begin with. Now that Grace and Truth have come through Jesus, why would anyone ever wish to return to a covenant that has been replaced with a new and better covenant?
Galatians 5:4 (Amplified) tells us, "If you seek to be justified and declared righteous and be given a right standing with God through the Law, You are brought to nothing and so separated, severed from Christ, You have fallen away from Grace (from God's Gracious favor and unmerited Blessing)."
We've been trying to become what God has already made us to be in Christ Jesus, through man-made laws, but it is all by faith through Grace. We've been redeemed by the Blood of Jesus and restored into a position that Adam was. We're to make choices for or against the Truth and Grace of God, just like Adam. When Adam was placed in a position of dominion over the earth (Garden), he was in a place of listening to the Lord or listening to the deception. If Adam had listened to the Holy Spirit, then he would have held onto "who he was." When he listened to satan's lie, he tried becoming what God had already made him to be and he lost his place of dominion.
Genesis 3:5 (Amplified) says, "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing the difference between Good and evil and Blessing and calamity." Genesis 1:27 (Amplified) says, "So God created man in His Own Image, in the Image and Likeness of God He created him; male and female, He created them." Adam and Eve were already made in His Likeness. We don't need to try becoming what God has already made us to be, but we need to walk in what He has done to and for us, by Grace.
We've been trying to find a place of favor and right standing with God, by our own ideas of favor and righteousness. We're no longer required to observe the sacrifices and rituals of the Law, in order to obtain favor with God. By faith in God's Grace we now receive Truth and the Spiritual Blessing, through Jesus.
God created us to walk naturally Super-natural before Him in the beginning. We've now been created in the new creation to walk this way again. We were to live in a natural body, while being Super-natural in our union with the Spirit of God. From the beginning, this was God's original intent and He has never changed His plan. As God's children, both before the fall and now after Jesus, we were to live in a natural body, be alive to God in and through our union with Him in our spirit, and walk and reign in this realm, by our family relationship in the Spirit.
The Father has done everything needed to restore us back into His Original intent. This was and still is, God's Plan for His family. Heaven was never meant to be our home, but the Father created this earth for us to live on. Adam's fall resulted in the Curse coming on the earth. Jesus went to the Father's House to prepare a place for us there, according to Revelations 21:1-5 (Amplified) which says, "Then I saw a new sky (Heaven), and a new earth, for the former sky and the former earth had passed away (vanished), and there no longer existed any sea. And I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God, all arrayed like a bride beautified and adorned for her husband. Then I heard a Mighty Voice from the Throne and I perceived it's distinct Words, saying, See! The Abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among them, and they shall be His people, and God shall Personally be with them and be their God. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish, sorrow, and mourning, nor grief nor pain anymore, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away And He Who was seated on the Throne said, See! I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW. Also He said, Record this, for these sayings are faithful, accurate, incorruptible and trust worthy and true and genuine."
God couldn't leave things like they were before Jesus, because the whole of creation was contaminated by satan and Adam's fall. God will remove us from this planet, until the final days of redemption, where He will then "make all things new" and restore and make the earth new, but He will bring the new Heaven and the new earth into a union with Him, as it was determined from the beginning. We will live and walk in a realm of walking naturally Super-natural. We will have a body like the one Jesus lives in, after He was resurrected from the dead. These bodies will simultaneously function on earth and the Heavenilies.
The body (house) we now live in, will pass away in the Resurrection, but God is going to make a new body for us to live in, for eternity. 1John 3:2 (Amplified) says, "Beloved, we are even here and now God's children; it is not yet disclosed, made clear what we shall be hereafter, but we know that when He comes and is manifested, we shall, as God's children, resemble and be like Him, for we shall see Him just as He really is."
"There will be no Curse on the new earth and there will be no more separation from God, in this new creation man," according to 2Corinthians 25:17. There will be no more fallen angels or corruption in the Heavenlies, but there will be a new sky (or heaven), a new earth, a new creation people who will inhabit them. God and His people will live together in this new family, for eternity. God's Plan A fulfilled!
As God's new creation children, we have already been made righteous, justified, and holy by our union through Jesus. The Promise is now fact and fulfilled, to those who are in Christ Jesus. Favor, Blessing, Grace, Spiritual union, restoration and redemption are already ours, even while we are here now. We no longer have to "try being right with God, because Jesus has already all that was needed to make us righteous before and in God. The harder we try "becoming" these things, the less we believe He already has done it for us. This is Grace through faith.
Grace works by faith, just like Love works by faith, according to Galatians 5:6 (Amplified) which says, "Faith works by Love." The more we understand what Love has already done through Jesus, the more our faith will work towards God and others. 1John 4:17 (Amplified) says, "In this union and communion with Him, Love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment with assurance and boldness to face Him, because as He is, so are we in this world."
This is Grace at it's best and faith in this Grace, that God Who is Love has bestowed on us in Jesus. If we don't understand Love, then we can't understand Grace. If we don't understand Grace, then faith is dead and we try becoming what Love has already made us.
Monday, April 9, 2018
Lesson 26 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
John 1:16-17 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance), we have all received (all had a share and were all supplied with), one Grace after another and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing and even favor upon favor and Gift heaped upon Gift. For while the Law was given through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor) and Spiritual Blessing and Truth came through Jesus Christ."
The Spiritual Blessing that we now have to enjoy through Jesus, was shut off when Adam fell in the Garden of Eden. God could move only so far with fallen man, because the spiritual part of man became dead in sin and trespass. The Spiritual Blessing that we now have, is more than just what we've determined. It's more than speaking in tongues and the Baptism of the Spirit. Most of us have limited this Spiritual Blessing to these things.
God made man in His Image and Likeness and man was a spirit, according to Genesis 5:1-2 (Amplified) which is the Book (the written record of the offspring of Adam) and tells us that God created them male and female and Blessed them and named them both Adam (man at the time they were created). In Genesis 2:7 (Amplified), we see the human or earthly form of man, who was made from the dust of the earth. Thus, it says, "And the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the Breath or Spirit of Life, and man became a living being."
God's original intent and purpose for man, was to have and enjoy the Grace and Truth of God in this human form in the earthly realm He created for them. Man was never created to live in Heaven, but was created to inhabit the earth and have Heaven open to him at any time. The purpose has now been made as God intended from the beginning. The Spiritual Blessing that was on Adam and Jesus, was the Life of the Spirit of God. It would produce everything man needed, from the Same Source of the Spirit Who created all things.
Adam was to have dominion over everything that the Spirit had created, through his spirit. He was to live by his spirit, have dominion through his spirit and have his provision through his spirit. Adam was given a soul, mind, will and five senses, in order to contact and dwell in his physical body, while living through his spirit. God never intended Adam to live by his senses, but by his spirit. Adam's soul was to receive information and guidance from God through his spirit, because the soul connects the spirit to the body. Then, that would inform his brain as to how his body was to function. All of his spirit, soul and body were to flow from the Wisdom of the Father.
When sin entered Adam's life, he was cut off from the Spiritual Blessing, which has now been restored to us, through our union with Jesus Christ. Mankind has been dead to the spirit since Adam's transgression, resulting in man's soul able to only draw information from the fallen world and man's dead spirit. In this deadened state, man had no Spiritual blessing to contribute to the natural man which it now lived. The only information that the soul had, was that of it's five physical senses, everything else was now closed off to it. The human portion or flesh only had the information to the brain, which came from the senses and not the spirit.
The brain is the main controller of how man learns, lives and functions. After Adam's fall, it had only sense knowledge to direct it. It could no longer function in any other way. The flesh had to be controlled by the flesh and that only by bodily discipline. The Spiritual Blessing or direction and discipline and Life from the Spirit, couldn't come through men's souls into the human factor. The brain is a human element that stays in the body, even after the body is dead and this is why man must be led by the spirit. Without his spirit teaching the soul, man's brain can only glean information from the world.
We can educate the brain with schools and society, but only on a worldly level of fallen man. The Wisdom of God's Spirit had been cut off, because of Adam's fall. The natural or human form of man had to rely on the senses to guide, love, provide and function outside of God. God had to work from the outside, in order to operate in man's life until He could bring Life and Guidance again into man. We had become like the beasts of the field, having only the residue of the moral and educational function of our ability to speak and think. Even after the fall, man was still a spirit, even though his spirit wasn't functioning on God's level and was still superior to any other creature on earth. Man had the ability to build, create cities, raise families and nurture their young, far above all else in creation. But, man still didn't have the Spiritual Blessing that came from our union with God, until Jesus.
God gave man dominion over the earth and after the fall, he was still in control, but without the Father's Spiritual Blessing. Satan received dominion from Adam, through Adam's transgression. Satan then directed and controlled man, by his own ungodly nature. The beauty and glory God made into His children, became a source of heartache and pain for God. After Adam's fall, God had to bring mankind back unto Himself and He had to do so, according to His Own Laws of Justice. God is Righteous and Just, so He couldn't do it any other way, while remaining Just and Righteous. His Own Law of governing meant that God couldn't take any shortcuts and remain Truth.
Through Jesus, man could come to a place of receiving God's Spiritual Blessing again. Man's soul has been corrupted over thousands of years and our minds have been fashioned into such a worldly state of thinking, without the Holy Spirit. This has made them enemies to God. Man has functioned on his own for so long, that our souls have lost sight of how God operates. This makes is difficult for God to direct His Own family.
1Corinthians 2:14 (Amplified) says, "But the natural (non-spiritual) man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the Gifts and teachings and Revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless, nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them, of progressively recognizing, understanding and becoming better acquainted with them, because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated." This scripture lets us better understand what Paul wrote in Romans 12:2 (Amplified) where he says, "Do not be conformed to this world (this age) fashioned after and adapted to it's external, superficial customs, but be transformed (changed) by the entire renewal of your mind, by its new ideals and its new attitude, so that you may prove for yourselves what is the Good and acceptable and Perfect will of God, even the thing which is Good and acceptable and Perfect in His sight for you."
When man doesn't have a renewed mind, his soul doesn't receive from his spirit through God. An unrenewed mind just receives from the world, and he can only know God's will from a sense ruled mind. In 1Peter 2:2 (Amplified), Paul says this about the new man, "Like a newborn babies you should crave, thirst for, earnestly desire, the pure unadulterated Spiritual milk, that by it you may be nurtured and grow into completed salvation."
Paul also speaks about this in 1Corinthians 3:2-3 (Amplified), "I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not yet strong enough to be ready for it, but even yet you are not strong enough to be ready for it. For you are still unspiritual, having the nature of the flesh, under the control of ordinary impulses, For as long as there are envying and jealousy and wrangling and factions among you, are you not unspiritual and of the flesh (behaving yourselves after a human standard and like mere unchanged men)?"
Paul speaks about Christians who are like "mere unchanged men" and who still think like they did before knowing Jesus. Their minds haven't been renewed and they continue behaving like they did before knowing Jesus. Paul was not talking so much about sin, as simply still thinking as mere men, but about their having no revelation to enlighten them. They still governed themselves by the flesh, instead of the spirit.
A renewed mind comes only when we allow our now alive spirit, to receive from the Holy Spirit instead of the world. We will never act differently, until we think differently. We can govern our actions towards others, by disciplining the flesh, but it's only superficial and not the True Fruit of the Spirit. We resort to traditions and rituals, in order to know and try the will of God. This is to no avail. When we renew our minds by the True will of God, the trials of making the flesh "do the right things," are over. The flesh will only do what we allow it to do and what we train it to do. We cannot train it to do right, until we know what is right.
Paul writes in Hebrews 5:14 (Amplified), "But solid food is for full-grown men; for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to Divine or human Law." We struggle with the new Spiritual Blessing given to us in Jesus, because we don't understand the things of the Spirit, that has brought them. Through Jesus, all the things the Father intended for man, before man's spiritual fall, are now our's again. This is the Blessing that was for Jesus (and us) as the Seed. Abraham received a portion of it, but Jesus received it all and then He willed it to us. What has the Holy Spirit contained for us until now? What Mysteries are yet ours to know, through Him?
The Mysteries of the Kingdom are not only revealed to us, but have been granted to us. They're not only ours to know, but to have in this life on earth and continue over into the Kingdom, when we leave here. These are the Life, peace, authority, Grace and Love God has for His precious family. They are for in Heaven (the Kingdom) and on earth. All these things are now our's to enjoy and to walk in, by His Spirit. This is the Spiritual Blessings we've received through Jesus Christ. Our carnal, unrenewed minds haven't seen anything yet, but a renewed mind will see into the Spirit realm and appropriate these Spiritual Blessings for here and now.
The Spiritual Blessing that we now have to enjoy through Jesus, was shut off when Adam fell in the Garden of Eden. God could move only so far with fallen man, because the spiritual part of man became dead in sin and trespass. The Spiritual Blessing that we now have, is more than just what we've determined. It's more than speaking in tongues and the Baptism of the Spirit. Most of us have limited this Spiritual Blessing to these things.
God made man in His Image and Likeness and man was a spirit, according to Genesis 5:1-2 (Amplified) which is the Book (the written record of the offspring of Adam) and tells us that God created them male and female and Blessed them and named them both Adam (man at the time they were created). In Genesis 2:7 (Amplified), we see the human or earthly form of man, who was made from the dust of the earth. Thus, it says, "And the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the Breath or Spirit of Life, and man became a living being."
God's original intent and purpose for man, was to have and enjoy the Grace and Truth of God in this human form in the earthly realm He created for them. Man was never created to live in Heaven, but was created to inhabit the earth and have Heaven open to him at any time. The purpose has now been made as God intended from the beginning. The Spiritual Blessing that was on Adam and Jesus, was the Life of the Spirit of God. It would produce everything man needed, from the Same Source of the Spirit Who created all things.
Adam was to have dominion over everything that the Spirit had created, through his spirit. He was to live by his spirit, have dominion through his spirit and have his provision through his spirit. Adam was given a soul, mind, will and five senses, in order to contact and dwell in his physical body, while living through his spirit. God never intended Adam to live by his senses, but by his spirit. Adam's soul was to receive information and guidance from God through his spirit, because the soul connects the spirit to the body. Then, that would inform his brain as to how his body was to function. All of his spirit, soul and body were to flow from the Wisdom of the Father.
When sin entered Adam's life, he was cut off from the Spiritual Blessing, which has now been restored to us, through our union with Jesus Christ. Mankind has been dead to the spirit since Adam's transgression, resulting in man's soul able to only draw information from the fallen world and man's dead spirit. In this deadened state, man had no Spiritual blessing to contribute to the natural man which it now lived. The only information that the soul had, was that of it's five physical senses, everything else was now closed off to it. The human portion or flesh only had the information to the brain, which came from the senses and not the spirit.
The brain is the main controller of how man learns, lives and functions. After Adam's fall, it had only sense knowledge to direct it. It could no longer function in any other way. The flesh had to be controlled by the flesh and that only by bodily discipline. The Spiritual Blessing or direction and discipline and Life from the Spirit, couldn't come through men's souls into the human factor. The brain is a human element that stays in the body, even after the body is dead and this is why man must be led by the spirit. Without his spirit teaching the soul, man's brain can only glean information from the world.
We can educate the brain with schools and society, but only on a worldly level of fallen man. The Wisdom of God's Spirit had been cut off, because of Adam's fall. The natural or human form of man had to rely on the senses to guide, love, provide and function outside of God. God had to work from the outside, in order to operate in man's life until He could bring Life and Guidance again into man. We had become like the beasts of the field, having only the residue of the moral and educational function of our ability to speak and think. Even after the fall, man was still a spirit, even though his spirit wasn't functioning on God's level and was still superior to any other creature on earth. Man had the ability to build, create cities, raise families and nurture their young, far above all else in creation. But, man still didn't have the Spiritual Blessing that came from our union with God, until Jesus.
God gave man dominion over the earth and after the fall, he was still in control, but without the Father's Spiritual Blessing. Satan received dominion from Adam, through Adam's transgression. Satan then directed and controlled man, by his own ungodly nature. The beauty and glory God made into His children, became a source of heartache and pain for God. After Adam's fall, God had to bring mankind back unto Himself and He had to do so, according to His Own Laws of Justice. God is Righteous and Just, so He couldn't do it any other way, while remaining Just and Righteous. His Own Law of governing meant that God couldn't take any shortcuts and remain Truth.
Through Jesus, man could come to a place of receiving God's Spiritual Blessing again. Man's soul has been corrupted over thousands of years and our minds have been fashioned into such a worldly state of thinking, without the Holy Spirit. This has made them enemies to God. Man has functioned on his own for so long, that our souls have lost sight of how God operates. This makes is difficult for God to direct His Own family.
1Corinthians 2:14 (Amplified) says, "But the natural (non-spiritual) man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the Gifts and teachings and Revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless, nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them, of progressively recognizing, understanding and becoming better acquainted with them, because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated." This scripture lets us better understand what Paul wrote in Romans 12:2 (Amplified) where he says, "Do not be conformed to this world (this age) fashioned after and adapted to it's external, superficial customs, but be transformed (changed) by the entire renewal of your mind, by its new ideals and its new attitude, so that you may prove for yourselves what is the Good and acceptable and Perfect will of God, even the thing which is Good and acceptable and Perfect in His sight for you."
When man doesn't have a renewed mind, his soul doesn't receive from his spirit through God. An unrenewed mind just receives from the world, and he can only know God's will from a sense ruled mind. In 1Peter 2:2 (Amplified), Paul says this about the new man, "Like a newborn babies you should crave, thirst for, earnestly desire, the pure unadulterated Spiritual milk, that by it you may be nurtured and grow into completed salvation."
Paul also speaks about this in 1Corinthians 3:2-3 (Amplified), "I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not yet strong enough to be ready for it, but even yet you are not strong enough to be ready for it. For you are still unspiritual, having the nature of the flesh, under the control of ordinary impulses, For as long as there are envying and jealousy and wrangling and factions among you, are you not unspiritual and of the flesh (behaving yourselves after a human standard and like mere unchanged men)?"
Paul speaks about Christians who are like "mere unchanged men" and who still think like they did before knowing Jesus. Their minds haven't been renewed and they continue behaving like they did before knowing Jesus. Paul was not talking so much about sin, as simply still thinking as mere men, but about their having no revelation to enlighten them. They still governed themselves by the flesh, instead of the spirit.
A renewed mind comes only when we allow our now alive spirit, to receive from the Holy Spirit instead of the world. We will never act differently, until we think differently. We can govern our actions towards others, by disciplining the flesh, but it's only superficial and not the True Fruit of the Spirit. We resort to traditions and rituals, in order to know and try the will of God. This is to no avail. When we renew our minds by the True will of God, the trials of making the flesh "do the right things," are over. The flesh will only do what we allow it to do and what we train it to do. We cannot train it to do right, until we know what is right.
Paul writes in Hebrews 5:14 (Amplified), "But solid food is for full-grown men; for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to Divine or human Law." We struggle with the new Spiritual Blessing given to us in Jesus, because we don't understand the things of the Spirit, that has brought them. Through Jesus, all the things the Father intended for man, before man's spiritual fall, are now our's again. This is the Blessing that was for Jesus (and us) as the Seed. Abraham received a portion of it, but Jesus received it all and then He willed it to us. What has the Holy Spirit contained for us until now? What Mysteries are yet ours to know, through Him?
The Mysteries of the Kingdom are not only revealed to us, but have been granted to us. They're not only ours to know, but to have in this life on earth and continue over into the Kingdom, when we leave here. These are the Life, peace, authority, Grace and Love God has for His precious family. They are for in Heaven (the Kingdom) and on earth. All these things are now our's to enjoy and to walk in, by His Spirit. This is the Spiritual Blessings we've received through Jesus Christ. Our carnal, unrenewed minds haven't seen anything yet, but a renewed mind will see into the Spirit realm and appropriate these Spiritual Blessings for here and now.
Friday, April 6, 2018
Lesson 25 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
John 1:16-17 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance), we have all received (all had a share and were all supplied with), one Grace after another, and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing and even favor upon favor and Gift heaped upon Gift, For while the Law was given through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor) and Spiritual Blessing and Truth came through Jesus Christ."
The Church has been waiting for our Heavenly Father to do what He Promised in His Word. When Jesus ascended into the Father's Presence after His resurrection, God's Promises were fulfilled and the fullness of His Truth was done. Healing is no longer a Promise, but a Truth that was fulfilled in Jesus. 2Corinthians 1:19-20 (Amplified) says, "For the Son of God, Christ Jesus (the Messiah), Who has been preached among you by us (by myself, Silvanus, and Timothy), was not Yes and No; but in Him it is always the Divine Yes, they all find their Yes answer in Him, Christ. For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it), to God through Him (in His Person) and by His Agency to the Glory of God."
The Promises concerning the time of Messiah, were held in place by God's Own Word for when Jesus would make them full. There was a barrier between God and His righteousness, because of the Law of Sin and Death. The flesh couldn't keep the power of the Law, making the Promises conditional. God needed to make a new covenant that couldn't be broken, but that covenant had to be made by a flesh and blood man. John 1:14 (Amplified) tells us, "And the Word (Christ), became flesh (human, incarnate), and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile among us); and we actually saw His Glory, His honor, His majesty; Such Glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of Grace, favor, Loving Kindness and Truth."
God's last and final covenant with mankind wasn't made with the weakness of sinful flesh, but with a Man Who was without sin and in the Guise of sinful flesh. This covenant was made with a Man Who was without sin and Who was filled with God's Own Spirit. By His Own Word, God couldn't break this covenant and by His Own will, Jesus wouldn't break it. God made a covenant by and through Himself and it's a covenant that is Eternal, just like He is.
God never made covenant with me or you. He made covenant with Jesus. By faith in Jesus, we're grafted into this Eternal covenant, as family. This covenant doesn't hinge on us, but on Him. All that Jesus is, we are too, through Him. When the Father sees me, He sees me in Jesus and He sees me in the righteousness of Jesus Himself. Mankind couldn't obtain the Promise of righteousness on his own. It's no longer a Promise, but it's a Truth in Jesus. The Promise has been fulfilled in Christ Jesus.
Throughout the Word, we find Promises God made to those who will believe and we've held these familiar scripture close. Today, we no longer have to look to the Promise, but look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Hebrews 12:2 (Amplified) says, "Looking away from all that will distract, to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith, giving the First Incentive for our belief, and is also its Finisher, bringing it to maturity and perfection. He, for the joy of obtaining the prize that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, is now seated at the Right Hand of the Throne of God."
Paul goes on in Hebrews 10:9-10 (Amplified) saying, "Behold, here I am, coming to do Your will. Thus He does away with and annuls the first, former order as a means of expiating sin, so that He might inaugurate and establish the second, latter order. And in accordance with this will of God we have been made holy, consecrated and sanctified through the Offering made once for all of the Body of Jesus Christ (the Anointed One)."
Hebrews 6:16-18 (Amplified) says, "Men indeed swear by a greater than themselves, and with them in all disputes the oath taken for confirmation is final ending strife. Accordingly God also, in His desire to show convincingly and beyond doubt to those who were to inherit the Promise the unchangeableness of His Purpose and Plan, intervened (mediated with an oath) This is so that by two unchangeable things, His Promise and His Oath in which it is impossible for God ever to prove false or deceive us, we who have fled to Him for refuge might have mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope appointed for us and set before us."
We are children of God and fellow heirs with Christ, according to Romans 8:16-17 (Amplified) which says, "The Spirit Himself thus testifies together with our own spirit, assuring us that we are children of God And if we are His children, then we are His heirs also; heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him." We have inherited His Promise, through Jesus.
Like those before us, we've been waiting on the inheritance of the Promise. We've failed to realize that we've already received the inheritance of the Promise. It is already ours. Righteousness was a Promise that has already come to pass, in the heirs of God, according to Romans 3:21-22 (Amplified) which says, "But now the righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether apart from the Law, although actually it is attested by the Law and the prophets. Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and it is meant for all who believe. For there is no distinction."
Under the Law, righteousness was a Promise from God to the people. Righteousness is now a Truth of inheritance, given by Grace in and through Jesus. It's not something we must work for or earn, but it's a fulfillment of the Promise in Jesus. We no longer must observe certain days, eat certain meats, or perform ritual washings. We must only have faith in our inheritance in Jesus, and receive the Promise of righteousness He has made ours. This is true for the new creation children of God, who are fellow heirs with Christ Jesus, through our faith in Him.
John 1:16 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance), we have all received (all had a share, and were all supplied with), one Grace after another, and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing, and even favor upon favor and Gift heaped upon Gift."
The Church has been waiting for our Heavenly Father to do what He Promised in His Word. When Jesus ascended into the Father's Presence after His resurrection, God's Promises were fulfilled and the fullness of His Truth was done. Healing is no longer a Promise, but a Truth that was fulfilled in Jesus. 2Corinthians 1:19-20 (Amplified) says, "For the Son of God, Christ Jesus (the Messiah), Who has been preached among you by us (by myself, Silvanus, and Timothy), was not Yes and No; but in Him it is always the Divine Yes, they all find their Yes answer in Him, Christ. For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it), to God through Him (in His Person) and by His Agency to the Glory of God."
The Promises concerning the time of Messiah, were held in place by God's Own Word for when Jesus would make them full. There was a barrier between God and His righteousness, because of the Law of Sin and Death. The flesh couldn't keep the power of the Law, making the Promises conditional. God needed to make a new covenant that couldn't be broken, but that covenant had to be made by a flesh and blood man. John 1:14 (Amplified) tells us, "And the Word (Christ), became flesh (human, incarnate), and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile among us); and we actually saw His Glory, His honor, His majesty; Such Glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of Grace, favor, Loving Kindness and Truth."
God's last and final covenant with mankind wasn't made with the weakness of sinful flesh, but with a Man Who was without sin and in the Guise of sinful flesh. This covenant was made with a Man Who was without sin and Who was filled with God's Own Spirit. By His Own Word, God couldn't break this covenant and by His Own will, Jesus wouldn't break it. God made a covenant by and through Himself and it's a covenant that is Eternal, just like He is.
God never made covenant with me or you. He made covenant with Jesus. By faith in Jesus, we're grafted into this Eternal covenant, as family. This covenant doesn't hinge on us, but on Him. All that Jesus is, we are too, through Him. When the Father sees me, He sees me in Jesus and He sees me in the righteousness of Jesus Himself. Mankind couldn't obtain the Promise of righteousness on his own. It's no longer a Promise, but it's a Truth in Jesus. The Promise has been fulfilled in Christ Jesus.
Throughout the Word, we find Promises God made to those who will believe and we've held these familiar scripture close. Today, we no longer have to look to the Promise, but look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Hebrews 12:2 (Amplified) says, "Looking away from all that will distract, to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith, giving the First Incentive for our belief, and is also its Finisher, bringing it to maturity and perfection. He, for the joy of obtaining the prize that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, is now seated at the Right Hand of the Throne of God."
Paul goes on in Hebrews 10:9-10 (Amplified) saying, "Behold, here I am, coming to do Your will. Thus He does away with and annuls the first, former order as a means of expiating sin, so that He might inaugurate and establish the second, latter order. And in accordance with this will of God we have been made holy, consecrated and sanctified through the Offering made once for all of the Body of Jesus Christ (the Anointed One)."
Hebrews 6:16-18 (Amplified) says, "Men indeed swear by a greater than themselves, and with them in all disputes the oath taken for confirmation is final ending strife. Accordingly God also, in His desire to show convincingly and beyond doubt to those who were to inherit the Promise the unchangeableness of His Purpose and Plan, intervened (mediated with an oath) This is so that by two unchangeable things, His Promise and His Oath in which it is impossible for God ever to prove false or deceive us, we who have fled to Him for refuge might have mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope appointed for us and set before us."
We are children of God and fellow heirs with Christ, according to Romans 8:16-17 (Amplified) which says, "The Spirit Himself thus testifies together with our own spirit, assuring us that we are children of God And if we are His children, then we are His heirs also; heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him." We have inherited His Promise, through Jesus.
Like those before us, we've been waiting on the inheritance of the Promise. We've failed to realize that we've already received the inheritance of the Promise. It is already ours. Righteousness was a Promise that has already come to pass, in the heirs of God, according to Romans 3:21-22 (Amplified) which says, "But now the righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether apart from the Law, although actually it is attested by the Law and the prophets. Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and it is meant for all who believe. For there is no distinction."
Under the Law, righteousness was a Promise from God to the people. Righteousness is now a Truth of inheritance, given by Grace in and through Jesus. It's not something we must work for or earn, but it's a fulfillment of the Promise in Jesus. We no longer must observe certain days, eat certain meats, or perform ritual washings. We must only have faith in our inheritance in Jesus, and receive the Promise of righteousness He has made ours. This is true for the new creation children of God, who are fellow heirs with Christ Jesus, through our faith in Him.
John 1:16 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance), we have all received (all had a share, and were all supplied with), one Grace after another, and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing, and even favor upon favor and Gift heaped upon Gift."
Thursday, April 5, 2018
Lesson 24 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
John 1:16-17 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance), we have all received (all had a share and were supplied with) one Grace after another and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing and even favor upon favor and Gift heaped upon Gift. For while the Law was given through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor) and Spiritual Blessing and Truth came through Jesus Christ."
Through Jesus, we have all received, have all been given a share in and have all been supplied with God's Grace. There was no difference in the Grace of God through Jesus, that every person has been supplied with. Through Jesus, we've all been given the same Gift, Blessing, Grace and fullness of God. Some would take God at His Word and enter into these Promises, while others would see the circumstances and wouldn't enter into them. Jesus said in Mark 4:24 (Amplified), "Be careful what you are hearing." Jesus said this because, "Faith comes by hearing," according to Romans 10:17 (Amplified).
God told Moses to send forth twelve men to spy out the Promised Land, which He had already given them. When they returned, two said in Numbers 13-14, "We are well able to take the Land, ten said, Yes the fruit and all that God said are there, but, there are giants in the Land." The people didn't heed the words to Joshua and Caleb who said, "We are well able to take the Land." They weren't heeding or being careful about what they heard and allowed the opinion of others to rob them from the Blessing that God had given. Two million people lost out on the Promises, because they didn't listen to God's Words. They instead, walked in fear and unbelief.
Today's Church hasn't heeded what we've heard and walked in the Promises in God's Word, but have followed the fear of others who said, "There are giants in the Land." Some have disregarded the report of giants and have entered in. Others have chosen to attack the messengers who brought them the Word of Truth. It's exciting and desirable to hear about healings, authority, Blessing, Grace, prosperity and The Fruit of the Land, but when running into opposition from the enemy, we forget that God already gave these to us and He will see to our success.
John 1:16-17 (Amplified) tells us that we have all received Grace, Blessing, favor and Gifts by God's unearned, undeserved favor and Truth, in Jesus. God didn't give these things to just a few people, but we have all been given and supplied with these precious Promises. Some have heeded the voice of those who can only see the giants, while other heeded and heard the voice of those who saw God's Promise. This is for those who have ears to hear.
Mark 4:11 (Amplified) says, "To you has been entrusted the Mystery of the Kingdom of God; that is the secret counsels of God which are hidden from the ungodly, but for those outside of our circle, everything becomes a Parable." The Mystery and secret counsel of God, concerns Words (seeds) and how we hear and receive the Seed of God's Words in our spirits. The Mystery of the Kingdom of God has to do with the Laws governing the Universe. As God's children, we're to understand and heed what we hear and what we say.
We can limit or loose the ability of the Holy Spirit and the angels, by what we hear and speak, according to Jesus' teaching in Matthew 18:18 (Amplified) where He said, "Truly I tell you, whatever you forbid and declare to be improper and unlawful on earth, must be what is already forbidden in Heaven, and whatever you permit and declare proper and lawful on earth must be what is already permitted in Heaven."
We cannot change the Laws of Heaven and Heaven won't change it's Laws for us. What God has said remains Truth and unchangeable, even to us. This is one of the Mysteries of the Kingdom and when we understand the principle of the Mystery, then we possess the ability to receive Seed (Words) that bring forth 30-60-100 told returns of either the good of deliverance or lack. We bring forth what we've heeded and sown in our lives. Jesus gives the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 12:35 (Amplified) saying, "A good man from his inner good treasure brings forth good things, and the evil man out of the inner evil storehouse brings forth evil things."
Numbers 13:32 (Amplified) tells us, "So [the spies] brought the Israelites an evil report of the Land which they had scouted out, saying, The Land through which we went to spy out is a Land that devours its inhabitants. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature." God's Word says this was an "Evil report." Those who heeded it and received it as Seed, brought forth a harvest of destruction in their lives. Today's Church has been given a choice to either "Heed what we hear" and allow the Truth to manifest a good harvest, or allow wrong seed and evil reports to take root in our spirit, which will bring forth defeat. If we heed the evil report, then we will never receive, "The fullness of His abundance and supply" found in John 1:16 (Amplified). Heeding the evil reports will put giants between us and God's Promises to us.
Everyone has been commissioned by the Father, to "tend the Garden," just like Adam was. The Seed we allow to be planted in our spirit, will produce the harvest we will receive. That is a Kingdom Law. This Mystery of the Kingdom, is a Seed and Harvest principle that always works. This Mystery is what our entire existence is based on. God sent His Son (His Seed, His Word) and according to 1Peter 1:23 (Amplified), "You have been regenerated (born-again), not from a mortal origin (seed, sperm), but from One that is Immortal by the Ever Living and Lasting Word of God." This is the Mystery of the Kingdom Seed principle, for those who have ears to hear. Jesus told His followers in Mark 16:15-16 (Amplified), "Go into all the world and preach and publish openly the Good News (the Gospel), to every creature of the whole human race. He who believes (who adheres to and trusts in and relies on) the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth and is baptized will be saved from the penalty of eternal death; but he who does not believe (who does not adhere to and trust in and rely on) the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth will be condemned."
Jesus says in Mark 4:24 (Amplified), "Be careful what you are hearing. The measure of thought and study you give to the Truth you hear will be the measure of virtue and knowledge that comes back to you-and more besides will be give to you who hear." We are responsible to tend the garden of our spirit and to be careful what we hear. The Israelites from Numbers 13-14 allowed the evil report or wrong seed to be sown in their hearts, resulting in their destruction. There are many seeds being sown in today's world. The seeds (words) the enemy is sowing are opinions from natural man, just like the words of the spies who only saw the giants. Satan is sowing seeds of ungodly rejection and unbelief in Christ Jesus and these seeds are bringing forth terrorism and fear. The opinions (word seeds) of natural man are growing a harvest of complacency, which renders man to feeling overwhelmed and futile. Some in the Church are bringing forth evil reports too, bringing forth a harvest of Christians who see themselves as "grasshoppers in the sight of the giants."
You are the gardener of your own heart and you must still the seeds (words) the world is broadcasting. When Jesus caused the wind to be still, the storm stopped. We must begin speaking to the winds of words and begin to be careful what we hear. Then, many storms in our lives will cease and calm will follow. Most of the storms in our lives, come from our not being careful what we hear, which brings forth a harvest we didn't intend to grow. 1Timothy 2:5-6 (Amplified) says, "If anyone enters competitive games, he is not crowned unless he competes lawfully (according to the rules laid down) It is the hard working farmer who labors to produce who must be the first partaker of the fruits."
Through Jesus, we have all received, have all been given a share in and have all been supplied with God's Grace. There was no difference in the Grace of God through Jesus, that every person has been supplied with. Through Jesus, we've all been given the same Gift, Blessing, Grace and fullness of God. Some would take God at His Word and enter into these Promises, while others would see the circumstances and wouldn't enter into them. Jesus said in Mark 4:24 (Amplified), "Be careful what you are hearing." Jesus said this because, "Faith comes by hearing," according to Romans 10:17 (Amplified).
God told Moses to send forth twelve men to spy out the Promised Land, which He had already given them. When they returned, two said in Numbers 13-14, "We are well able to take the Land, ten said, Yes the fruit and all that God said are there, but, there are giants in the Land." The people didn't heed the words to Joshua and Caleb who said, "We are well able to take the Land." They weren't heeding or being careful about what they heard and allowed the opinion of others to rob them from the Blessing that God had given. Two million people lost out on the Promises, because they didn't listen to God's Words. They instead, walked in fear and unbelief.
Today's Church hasn't heeded what we've heard and walked in the Promises in God's Word, but have followed the fear of others who said, "There are giants in the Land." Some have disregarded the report of giants and have entered in. Others have chosen to attack the messengers who brought them the Word of Truth. It's exciting and desirable to hear about healings, authority, Blessing, Grace, prosperity and The Fruit of the Land, but when running into opposition from the enemy, we forget that God already gave these to us and He will see to our success.
John 1:16-17 (Amplified) tells us that we have all received Grace, Blessing, favor and Gifts by God's unearned, undeserved favor and Truth, in Jesus. God didn't give these things to just a few people, but we have all been given and supplied with these precious Promises. Some have heeded the voice of those who can only see the giants, while other heeded and heard the voice of those who saw God's Promise. This is for those who have ears to hear.
Mark 4:11 (Amplified) says, "To you has been entrusted the Mystery of the Kingdom of God; that is the secret counsels of God which are hidden from the ungodly, but for those outside of our circle, everything becomes a Parable." The Mystery and secret counsel of God, concerns Words (seeds) and how we hear and receive the Seed of God's Words in our spirits. The Mystery of the Kingdom of God has to do with the Laws governing the Universe. As God's children, we're to understand and heed what we hear and what we say.
We can limit or loose the ability of the Holy Spirit and the angels, by what we hear and speak, according to Jesus' teaching in Matthew 18:18 (Amplified) where He said, "Truly I tell you, whatever you forbid and declare to be improper and unlawful on earth, must be what is already forbidden in Heaven, and whatever you permit and declare proper and lawful on earth must be what is already permitted in Heaven."
We cannot change the Laws of Heaven and Heaven won't change it's Laws for us. What God has said remains Truth and unchangeable, even to us. This is one of the Mysteries of the Kingdom and when we understand the principle of the Mystery, then we possess the ability to receive Seed (Words) that bring forth 30-60-100 told returns of either the good of deliverance or lack. We bring forth what we've heeded and sown in our lives. Jesus gives the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 12:35 (Amplified) saying, "A good man from his inner good treasure brings forth good things, and the evil man out of the inner evil storehouse brings forth evil things."
Numbers 13:32 (Amplified) tells us, "So [the spies] brought the Israelites an evil report of the Land which they had scouted out, saying, The Land through which we went to spy out is a Land that devours its inhabitants. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature." God's Word says this was an "Evil report." Those who heeded it and received it as Seed, brought forth a harvest of destruction in their lives. Today's Church has been given a choice to either "Heed what we hear" and allow the Truth to manifest a good harvest, or allow wrong seed and evil reports to take root in our spirit, which will bring forth defeat. If we heed the evil report, then we will never receive, "The fullness of His abundance and supply" found in John 1:16 (Amplified). Heeding the evil reports will put giants between us and God's Promises to us.
Everyone has been commissioned by the Father, to "tend the Garden," just like Adam was. The Seed we allow to be planted in our spirit, will produce the harvest we will receive. That is a Kingdom Law. This Mystery of the Kingdom, is a Seed and Harvest principle that always works. This Mystery is what our entire existence is based on. God sent His Son (His Seed, His Word) and according to 1Peter 1:23 (Amplified), "You have been regenerated (born-again), not from a mortal origin (seed, sperm), but from One that is Immortal by the Ever Living and Lasting Word of God." This is the Mystery of the Kingdom Seed principle, for those who have ears to hear. Jesus told His followers in Mark 16:15-16 (Amplified), "Go into all the world and preach and publish openly the Good News (the Gospel), to every creature of the whole human race. He who believes (who adheres to and trusts in and relies on) the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth and is baptized will be saved from the penalty of eternal death; but he who does not believe (who does not adhere to and trust in and rely on) the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth will be condemned."
Jesus says in Mark 4:24 (Amplified), "Be careful what you are hearing. The measure of thought and study you give to the Truth you hear will be the measure of virtue and knowledge that comes back to you-and more besides will be give to you who hear." We are responsible to tend the garden of our spirit and to be careful what we hear. The Israelites from Numbers 13-14 allowed the evil report or wrong seed to be sown in their hearts, resulting in their destruction. There are many seeds being sown in today's world. The seeds (words) the enemy is sowing are opinions from natural man, just like the words of the spies who only saw the giants. Satan is sowing seeds of ungodly rejection and unbelief in Christ Jesus and these seeds are bringing forth terrorism and fear. The opinions (word seeds) of natural man are growing a harvest of complacency, which renders man to feeling overwhelmed and futile. Some in the Church are bringing forth evil reports too, bringing forth a harvest of Christians who see themselves as "grasshoppers in the sight of the giants."
You are the gardener of your own heart and you must still the seeds (words) the world is broadcasting. When Jesus caused the wind to be still, the storm stopped. We must begin speaking to the winds of words and begin to be careful what we hear. Then, many storms in our lives will cease and calm will follow. Most of the storms in our lives, come from our not being careful what we hear, which brings forth a harvest we didn't intend to grow. 1Timothy 2:5-6 (Amplified) says, "If anyone enters competitive games, he is not crowned unless he competes lawfully (according to the rules laid down) It is the hard working farmer who labors to produce who must be the first partaker of the fruits."
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Lesson 23 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
John 1:16-17 (Amplified) tells us, "For out of His fullness (abundance), we have all received, all had a share and were all supplied with one Grace after another and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing and even favor upon favor and Gift heaped upon Gift. For while the Law was given through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor) and Spiritual Blessing and Truth came through Jesus Christ."
As we read and understand the above scriptures, we realize how we've been living far below what God's will is for His family. The Father intended we walk in and actually above, what the first Adam had in the Garden of Eden. Adam had all the earth could produce. We have been made joint heirs with Christ and have been given dominion over all the earth again. Romans 8:17 (Amplified) says, "And if we are His children, then we are His heirs also; heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ; sharing His inheritance with Him; only we are to share His suffering if we are to share His Glory." Jesus' suffering that Paul spoke about, isn't the cross and everything He endured there. The cross and His suffering was for us, as well as for the removal of sin and unrighteousness. The suffering Jesus endured was the rejection and misunderstanding from those He came for and loved.
If you walk into the very depths and mysteries of God, then many will reject your teachings and speak ill of you. God's children are now only receiving a small portion of what Jesus paid for. There's so much the Father has planned for us, that is above everything we can ask or even think.
Many fear losing fellowship of their church members, if they dare to walk deeper with the Lord, but this isn't true. God will use you as a Light, to open their eyes to a brighter and more rewarding fellowship. We're not called to be led by the majority, but by the Spirit. No one has to stop in their search for Truth, because someone else has stopped. James 4:8 (KJV) instructs, "Draw nigh unto God, and He will draw nigh unto you." This is a call to every believer. One doesn't need to leave his/her fellowship or start their own ministry, in order to draw closer to the Lord.
Every believer has the right to pursue the Lord on their own and is commanded to do so. We somehow believe that when God reveals something to us, that we don't need the rest of the Body of Christ. We think we can stay home and watch T.V. and Internet evangelists and teachers, but nothing is further from the Truth. You might learn things from those teachers, but it doesn't excuse you from coming together as family, at the House of the Lord.
There are no limits set by man, that will determine how far you can go into the depths of God's Presence and Wisdom. I'm not confined to what other's ideas about what God wants for me, but I have the privilege of seeking Him on my own and learning from others. I also have the privilege of not accepting what others think, if I know it's not from the Holy Spirit. God didn't form us from a cookie cutter. Our depths of desire for Him, are uniquely different too.
We've often view men and women of God, like God sprinkled them with the "Dust of the Holy Spirit," making them Superheroes and exalted. Most of the persons of God I've admired over the last 43 years, were humble, little known people who sought God only after discovering they needed Him. They searched for God's hope and deliverance and began to realize how much God Loved them. When you begin understanding the unthinkable, unimaginable depth of God's Love for you, then you cannot help but seek Him out in Truth.
People have disagreed with me throughout the years and God has given them the freedom of choice. As they disagree, I listen, pray, seek God and go to the Word. If the Holy Spirit shows me they're correct, then I will change. If He doesn't, then I remain the same, at all costs. The more I check with others, to see what they think about something, the more cloudy the vision becomes and I find myself in the same place James speaks about in James 1:5-6 (Amplified), where he says, "If any among you is deficient in Wisdom, let him ask of the Giving God Who gives to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or fault finding, and it will be given him. Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting), For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind!"
Paul writes in 2Timothy 2:23 (Amplified), "But refuse, shut your mind against, have nothing to do with trifling, ill-informed, unedifying, stupid controversies over ignorant questions, for you know that they foster strife and breed quarrels." If you know that something is from God, then don't question when others don't believe. Just because someone else doesn't believe it, doesn't mean that God won't do it for you.
Paul testified to the Church in Galatians 1:11-12,16 (Amplified) saying, "For I want you to know, brethren, that the Gospel which was proclaimed and made known by me is not man's gospel (a human inventions, according to or patterned after any human standard) For indeed I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through a direct Revelation given by Jesus Christ (the Messiah)." He goes on in Verse 16, "To reveal (unveil, disclose) His Son within me so that I might proclaim Him among the Gentiles (the non-Jewish world) as the Glad Tidings (Gospel) immediately I did not confer with flesh and blood, did not consult or counsel with any frail human beings or communicate with anyone."
Do you think the brethren who had lived the entirety of their lives under the Law, would believe Paul if he tried explaining how there wouldn't be need for sacrifice or rituals any longer and that the Gentile wouldn't be just covenant, but family? Or, do you think they would try telling Paul he didn't really receive a vision or that his vision wasn't from God? Paul's Revelation was given to him by and through the Word. God would never have given Paul this Revelation, without the written Word to back it up. When it was shown to him, it became implanted in his spirit and no one could ever tell Paul that it wasn't God's will and Word.
There have been many "revelations" preached throughout the world. Some have been true, while some have been lies of the devil. The children of God are "to study to show themselves approved unto God, a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing (rightly handling and skillfully teaching) the Word of Truth," according to 2Timothy 2:15 (Amplified).
When we divide God's Word by the Holy Spirit, we will always find Truth. Everyone still might not accept it as being Truth, though. When you share and teach this Revelation, make certain that it's from the Holy Spirit, because we will be held accountable before God for everything we teach or don't teach. If I shy away from things God shows me, just because I'm afraid of losing my congregation, then I will be judged for that and I never want to be judged for this.
God won't show us things, in order to impress us. Most of the Revelation teachings and things I preach, I have received from calling out to God in deliverance. I teach the things I've walked out over the past 43 years of knowing Him. Even when teaching these things, the old carnal mind of some will say, "But God doesn't do this for everyone." I answer, "He will do it for and through all who will believe and seek Him out."
It seemingly takes more times for us to "unlearn" some of man's teachings, than it would be to study for ourselves. Many believe "It's the Pastor's job" to learn for them, while denying any responsibility for reading, praying, and seeking God for themselves. It's easier to remain in tradition and believe "This is God's will for you," instead of entering into the Promises of God, in the face of giants.
You'll never receive from God, without satan's messenger buffeting you (like it did Paul), but you will find the Revelation of Grace is more than enough to deliver you from all the trials. You're always going to have trials, but Guidance from the Holy Spirit will lead you to victory. If you don't have Revelation knowledge to know, understand, and hear from God, then you might suffer great loss. This isn't God's will for your life. If we close our eyes, refuse and refuse to enter into God's Promises, then we might have to endure things that we could have walked out of.
You weren't brought into God's family, in order to be satan's lap dog or for him to kick around. You were brought into God's family, in order to set others free from satan's lies and to deliver them from his bondage. You are the "Head and not the tail." Satan is the tail.
As we read and understand the above scriptures, we realize how we've been living far below what God's will is for His family. The Father intended we walk in and actually above, what the first Adam had in the Garden of Eden. Adam had all the earth could produce. We have been made joint heirs with Christ and have been given dominion over all the earth again. Romans 8:17 (Amplified) says, "And if we are His children, then we are His heirs also; heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ; sharing His inheritance with Him; only we are to share His suffering if we are to share His Glory." Jesus' suffering that Paul spoke about, isn't the cross and everything He endured there. The cross and His suffering was for us, as well as for the removal of sin and unrighteousness. The suffering Jesus endured was the rejection and misunderstanding from those He came for and loved.
If you walk into the very depths and mysteries of God, then many will reject your teachings and speak ill of you. God's children are now only receiving a small portion of what Jesus paid for. There's so much the Father has planned for us, that is above everything we can ask or even think.
Many fear losing fellowship of their church members, if they dare to walk deeper with the Lord, but this isn't true. God will use you as a Light, to open their eyes to a brighter and more rewarding fellowship. We're not called to be led by the majority, but by the Spirit. No one has to stop in their search for Truth, because someone else has stopped. James 4:8 (KJV) instructs, "Draw nigh unto God, and He will draw nigh unto you." This is a call to every believer. One doesn't need to leave his/her fellowship or start their own ministry, in order to draw closer to the Lord.
Every believer has the right to pursue the Lord on their own and is commanded to do so. We somehow believe that when God reveals something to us, that we don't need the rest of the Body of Christ. We think we can stay home and watch T.V. and Internet evangelists and teachers, but nothing is further from the Truth. You might learn things from those teachers, but it doesn't excuse you from coming together as family, at the House of the Lord.
There are no limits set by man, that will determine how far you can go into the depths of God's Presence and Wisdom. I'm not confined to what other's ideas about what God wants for me, but I have the privilege of seeking Him on my own and learning from others. I also have the privilege of not accepting what others think, if I know it's not from the Holy Spirit. God didn't form us from a cookie cutter. Our depths of desire for Him, are uniquely different too.
We've often view men and women of God, like God sprinkled them with the "Dust of the Holy Spirit," making them Superheroes and exalted. Most of the persons of God I've admired over the last 43 years, were humble, little known people who sought God only after discovering they needed Him. They searched for God's hope and deliverance and began to realize how much God Loved them. When you begin understanding the unthinkable, unimaginable depth of God's Love for you, then you cannot help but seek Him out in Truth.
People have disagreed with me throughout the years and God has given them the freedom of choice. As they disagree, I listen, pray, seek God and go to the Word. If the Holy Spirit shows me they're correct, then I will change. If He doesn't, then I remain the same, at all costs. The more I check with others, to see what they think about something, the more cloudy the vision becomes and I find myself in the same place James speaks about in James 1:5-6 (Amplified), where he says, "If any among you is deficient in Wisdom, let him ask of the Giving God Who gives to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or fault finding, and it will be given him. Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting), For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind!"
Paul writes in 2Timothy 2:23 (Amplified), "But refuse, shut your mind against, have nothing to do with trifling, ill-informed, unedifying, stupid controversies over ignorant questions, for you know that they foster strife and breed quarrels." If you know that something is from God, then don't question when others don't believe. Just because someone else doesn't believe it, doesn't mean that God won't do it for you.
Paul testified to the Church in Galatians 1:11-12,16 (Amplified) saying, "For I want you to know, brethren, that the Gospel which was proclaimed and made known by me is not man's gospel (a human inventions, according to or patterned after any human standard) For indeed I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through a direct Revelation given by Jesus Christ (the Messiah)." He goes on in Verse 16, "To reveal (unveil, disclose) His Son within me so that I might proclaim Him among the Gentiles (the non-Jewish world) as the Glad Tidings (Gospel) immediately I did not confer with flesh and blood, did not consult or counsel with any frail human beings or communicate with anyone."
Do you think the brethren who had lived the entirety of their lives under the Law, would believe Paul if he tried explaining how there wouldn't be need for sacrifice or rituals any longer and that the Gentile wouldn't be just covenant, but family? Or, do you think they would try telling Paul he didn't really receive a vision or that his vision wasn't from God? Paul's Revelation was given to him by and through the Word. God would never have given Paul this Revelation, without the written Word to back it up. When it was shown to him, it became implanted in his spirit and no one could ever tell Paul that it wasn't God's will and Word.
There have been many "revelations" preached throughout the world. Some have been true, while some have been lies of the devil. The children of God are "to study to show themselves approved unto God, a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing (rightly handling and skillfully teaching) the Word of Truth," according to 2Timothy 2:15 (Amplified).
When we divide God's Word by the Holy Spirit, we will always find Truth. Everyone still might not accept it as being Truth, though. When you share and teach this Revelation, make certain that it's from the Holy Spirit, because we will be held accountable before God for everything we teach or don't teach. If I shy away from things God shows me, just because I'm afraid of losing my congregation, then I will be judged for that and I never want to be judged for this.
God won't show us things, in order to impress us. Most of the Revelation teachings and things I preach, I have received from calling out to God in deliverance. I teach the things I've walked out over the past 43 years of knowing Him. Even when teaching these things, the old carnal mind of some will say, "But God doesn't do this for everyone." I answer, "He will do it for and through all who will believe and seek Him out."
It seemingly takes more times for us to "unlearn" some of man's teachings, than it would be to study for ourselves. Many believe "It's the Pastor's job" to learn for them, while denying any responsibility for reading, praying, and seeking God for themselves. It's easier to remain in tradition and believe "This is God's will for you," instead of entering into the Promises of God, in the face of giants.
You'll never receive from God, without satan's messenger buffeting you (like it did Paul), but you will find the Revelation of Grace is more than enough to deliver you from all the trials. You're always going to have trials, but Guidance from the Holy Spirit will lead you to victory. If you don't have Revelation knowledge to know, understand, and hear from God, then you might suffer great loss. This isn't God's will for your life. If we close our eyes, refuse and refuse to enter into God's Promises, then we might have to endure things that we could have walked out of.
You weren't brought into God's family, in order to be satan's lap dog or for him to kick around. You were brought into God's family, in order to set others free from satan's lies and to deliver them from his bondage. You are the "Head and not the tail." Satan is the tail.
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
Lesson 22 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
John 1:17 (Amplified) says, "For while the Law was given through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor) and Spiritual Blessing, and Truth came through Jesus Christ."
We've discussed this Spiritual Blessing to a degree, but not to it's full potential. All Blessings came from and were given by and through the Spirit realm, because God is a Spirit, according to John 4:23 (Amplified) which says, "God is a Spirit (a Spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth (reality)." Those who aren't born-again and haven't become a new creation, can only experience this kind of Spiritual move in their flesh.
We've been in meetings where we "feel" the Holy Spirit or "see" things that the Holy Spirit is doing. We sometimes even "hear" prophecies the Lord speaks to us, but these things don't come close to the Spiritual Blessing that came through Jesus. This Spiritual Blessing comes when we receive Jesus and are saved in our heart. This Spiritual Blessing abides within our spirit and the Life of the Spirit is now infused with our own spirit.
The Church has struggled for centuries, searching for ways to "walk with the Lord," but we've mostly fashioned these ways from the outside or by the flesh. We try to have meetings that will minister to the flesh and bring feelings that prompt people to believe.
It's great to have feelings and the manifest, tangible Presence of the Holy Spirit, but this isn't what brings the walk with the Lord that satisfies the heart. The flesh develops a tolerance for feelings and will require more and more of them to satisfy it's cravings. This has resulted in many of today's problems. Taking drugs to "feel good," gives way to taking more drugs to maintain this feeling. This is the flesh and carnal man dominating the spirit of man. The flesh is in full control.
People go from meeting to meeting, in order to feel, see, and hear a Move of God, but after returning home, they can't seem to hold onto what they had at the last meeting. They begin the same search that drove them in the first place. They need to satisfy the feelings of the flesh, but it can never be satisfied and will demand more and more, in order to hold onto the high it remembers. Proverbs 18:14 (Amplified) says, "The strong spirit of a man sustains him in a bodily pain or trouble, but a weak or broken spirit who can raise up or bear?"
Our strength is in Him and He is a Spirit. The strength, relationship, conversation, peace, Life, Blessing, healing, Revelation, Wisdom and much more, are the Spiritual Blessing that came through Jesus Christ. In Romans 12:1-2 (Amplified) Paul writes, "I appeal to you therefore brethren, and beg of you in view of all the mercies of god, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies, presenting all your members and faculties as a living sacrifice, holy, devoted, consecrated, and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent, service) and spiritual worship." In John 4:23 (Amplified) Jesus said, "God is a Spirit (a Spiritual Being) and those who worship Him, must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth (reality)."
The only means of dedicating our bodies as "a living sacrifice" to God and making it "reality and Truth," is in and by our spirit in strength over our flesh. When your spirit is stronger than your flesh, it's a living sacrifice and is living through the Life of the Father within it. Paul writes about something that we've nearly lost hope for in our own walk with God and about pursuing Him is Spirit more than flesh, in Galatians 2:20 (Amplified) saying, "I have been crucified with Christ (in Him I have shared His crucifixion); it is no longer I who live, but Christ, the Messiah lives in me, and the Life I now live in the body I live by faith in, (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in), the Son of God, Who Loved me and gave Himself up for me."
Many think this is "radical Christianity," but Paul believed it was life in the full. He immersed himself in God's Word, until it dominated his flesh, in full dedication to the spirit man within. Today's culture and society has decided this isn't necessary, in order to be a child of God. This is true, but it's difficult to dedicated your body as a living sacrifice to God, when that body is still living by it's own senses and not the spirit. Every human (whether Christian or non-Christian) has feelings and emotions. We were made that way by our Creator, so it's not wrong that we have feelings. It's wrong when feelings have us.
Paul instructs us to, "Present our body as a living sacrifice," in Romans 12:2 (Amplified) saying, "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), fashioned after and adapted to it's external, superficial customs, but be transformed, changed by the entire renewal of your mind, by it's new ideals and it's new attitude, so that you may prove for yourselves what is the Good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is Good and acceptable and perfect in His sight for you." This is for each individual to do and it available to "whosoever will," but most don't find it "necessary" to do, in order to be saved.
Jesus said in John 4:24 (Amplified), "God is a Spirit (a Spiritual Being), and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth (reality)." I like the word "reality," being placed into the fuller meaning of the word, "Truth." Many think the reality of God and the Spiritual Blessing have been conformed to this world and age. Most don't know differently, because of lack of teaching and training. Many still wish to hold onto the traditions of the world, instead of the Word of God. We can see ourselves in the congregation Paul spoke to in Romans 10:2-3 (Amplified), where he said, "I bear them witness that they have a certain zeal and enthusiasm for God, but it is not enlightened and according to correct and to vital knowledge." Verse 3 says, "For being ignorant of the righteousness that God ascribes, which makes one acceptable to Him in word, deed, thought, and seeking to establish a righteousness, a means of salvation of their own, they did not obey or submit themselves to God's righteousness."
The above scripture describes the flesh overruling the spirit and this isn't how we "present our bodies a living sacrifice to God," but is how the body presents itself by it's own terms and traditions. We don't dominate the flesh from the outside, but put it under authority by our new life in the spirit. Proverbs 16:32 (Amplified) says, "He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his own spirit, than he who takes a city."
When we receive the Spiritual Blessing that came through Jesus, we can through Him, His Word and the Holy Spirit in our new spirit, put our spirit back in control of the flesh and live by our faith in Him and bring this body as a living sacrifice before Him. When we try doing this from the outside and effort of our will, we place ourselves back under what the Law couldn't do. The Law was Spiritual, but man was flesh and flesh could never keep the Spiritual Word of God by itself. Through Jesus, we have a new creation spirit that is living by God's Spirit. We can receive the Word (which is Spirit) and be led by the Spirit, so that "Greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world."
It might seem harder to learn the ways of the spirit, than to accept the way of the world. Many view it as a "work we must do," but for those who allow the Holy Spirit to teach them, it becomes liberty without a world of condemnation from the flesh. I don't want to just "go to Heaven when I die," but I want Heaven to live and move and be seen by world, even in this body. I want to be a living sacrifice and a glorious temple of the Holy Spirit.
We've discussed this Spiritual Blessing to a degree, but not to it's full potential. All Blessings came from and were given by and through the Spirit realm, because God is a Spirit, according to John 4:23 (Amplified) which says, "God is a Spirit (a Spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth (reality)." Those who aren't born-again and haven't become a new creation, can only experience this kind of Spiritual move in their flesh.
We've been in meetings where we "feel" the Holy Spirit or "see" things that the Holy Spirit is doing. We sometimes even "hear" prophecies the Lord speaks to us, but these things don't come close to the Spiritual Blessing that came through Jesus. This Spiritual Blessing comes when we receive Jesus and are saved in our heart. This Spiritual Blessing abides within our spirit and the Life of the Spirit is now infused with our own spirit.
The Church has struggled for centuries, searching for ways to "walk with the Lord," but we've mostly fashioned these ways from the outside or by the flesh. We try to have meetings that will minister to the flesh and bring feelings that prompt people to believe.
It's great to have feelings and the manifest, tangible Presence of the Holy Spirit, but this isn't what brings the walk with the Lord that satisfies the heart. The flesh develops a tolerance for feelings and will require more and more of them to satisfy it's cravings. This has resulted in many of today's problems. Taking drugs to "feel good," gives way to taking more drugs to maintain this feeling. This is the flesh and carnal man dominating the spirit of man. The flesh is in full control.
People go from meeting to meeting, in order to feel, see, and hear a Move of God, but after returning home, they can't seem to hold onto what they had at the last meeting. They begin the same search that drove them in the first place. They need to satisfy the feelings of the flesh, but it can never be satisfied and will demand more and more, in order to hold onto the high it remembers. Proverbs 18:14 (Amplified) says, "The strong spirit of a man sustains him in a bodily pain or trouble, but a weak or broken spirit who can raise up or bear?"
Our strength is in Him and He is a Spirit. The strength, relationship, conversation, peace, Life, Blessing, healing, Revelation, Wisdom and much more, are the Spiritual Blessing that came through Jesus Christ. In Romans 12:1-2 (Amplified) Paul writes, "I appeal to you therefore brethren, and beg of you in view of all the mercies of god, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies, presenting all your members and faculties as a living sacrifice, holy, devoted, consecrated, and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent, service) and spiritual worship." In John 4:23 (Amplified) Jesus said, "God is a Spirit (a Spiritual Being) and those who worship Him, must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth (reality)."
The only means of dedicating our bodies as "a living sacrifice" to God and making it "reality and Truth," is in and by our spirit in strength over our flesh. When your spirit is stronger than your flesh, it's a living sacrifice and is living through the Life of the Father within it. Paul writes about something that we've nearly lost hope for in our own walk with God and about pursuing Him is Spirit more than flesh, in Galatians 2:20 (Amplified) saying, "I have been crucified with Christ (in Him I have shared His crucifixion); it is no longer I who live, but Christ, the Messiah lives in me, and the Life I now live in the body I live by faith in, (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in), the Son of God, Who Loved me and gave Himself up for me."
Many think this is "radical Christianity," but Paul believed it was life in the full. He immersed himself in God's Word, until it dominated his flesh, in full dedication to the spirit man within. Today's culture and society has decided this isn't necessary, in order to be a child of God. This is true, but it's difficult to dedicated your body as a living sacrifice to God, when that body is still living by it's own senses and not the spirit. Every human (whether Christian or non-Christian) has feelings and emotions. We were made that way by our Creator, so it's not wrong that we have feelings. It's wrong when feelings have us.
Paul instructs us to, "Present our body as a living sacrifice," in Romans 12:2 (Amplified) saying, "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), fashioned after and adapted to it's external, superficial customs, but be transformed, changed by the entire renewal of your mind, by it's new ideals and it's new attitude, so that you may prove for yourselves what is the Good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is Good and acceptable and perfect in His sight for you." This is for each individual to do and it available to "whosoever will," but most don't find it "necessary" to do, in order to be saved.
Jesus said in John 4:24 (Amplified), "God is a Spirit (a Spiritual Being), and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth (reality)." I like the word "reality," being placed into the fuller meaning of the word, "Truth." Many think the reality of God and the Spiritual Blessing have been conformed to this world and age. Most don't know differently, because of lack of teaching and training. Many still wish to hold onto the traditions of the world, instead of the Word of God. We can see ourselves in the congregation Paul spoke to in Romans 10:2-3 (Amplified), where he said, "I bear them witness that they have a certain zeal and enthusiasm for God, but it is not enlightened and according to correct and to vital knowledge." Verse 3 says, "For being ignorant of the righteousness that God ascribes, which makes one acceptable to Him in word, deed, thought, and seeking to establish a righteousness, a means of salvation of their own, they did not obey or submit themselves to God's righteousness."
The above scripture describes the flesh overruling the spirit and this isn't how we "present our bodies a living sacrifice to God," but is how the body presents itself by it's own terms and traditions. We don't dominate the flesh from the outside, but put it under authority by our new life in the spirit. Proverbs 16:32 (Amplified) says, "He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his own spirit, than he who takes a city."
When we receive the Spiritual Blessing that came through Jesus, we can through Him, His Word and the Holy Spirit in our new spirit, put our spirit back in control of the flesh and live by our faith in Him and bring this body as a living sacrifice before Him. When we try doing this from the outside and effort of our will, we place ourselves back under what the Law couldn't do. The Law was Spiritual, but man was flesh and flesh could never keep the Spiritual Word of God by itself. Through Jesus, we have a new creation spirit that is living by God's Spirit. We can receive the Word (which is Spirit) and be led by the Spirit, so that "Greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world."
It might seem harder to learn the ways of the spirit, than to accept the way of the world. Many view it as a "work we must do," but for those who allow the Holy Spirit to teach them, it becomes liberty without a world of condemnation from the flesh. I don't want to just "go to Heaven when I die," but I want Heaven to live and move and be seen by world, even in this body. I want to be a living sacrifice and a glorious temple of the Holy Spirit.
Monday, April 2, 2018
Lesson 21 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
John 1:17 (Amplified) says, "For while the Law came through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor) and Spiritual Blessing and Truth, came through Jesus Christ."
The Spiritual Blessing that came through Jesus, is something the Law could never bring. Those under the Law were spiritually dead, so the Spiritual Blessing couldn't be manifested until the new birth. The Spiritual Blessing included being redeemed from the Curse of the Law and being made righteous, through our being joined with Jesus by the Holy Spirit. The Church has rejected most of the things involved in these Spiritual Blessings.
The Law of Sin and Death entered into mankind through Adam's transgression in the Garden of Eden, causing mankind to be spiritually separated from God. Paul spoke about his physical body's being under the Law of Sin before being born-again and how he had been pulled by his flesh and mental senses to walk back under the Law and it's traditions. Paul knew better than to do this, because of the Revelation he had received from Jesus. His body and senses had been trained under the Law, causing them to wish to continue walking under the Law. In Romans 7:24-25 (Amplified) Paul writes, "Who will deliver me from the shackles of this body of death?" Paul answers his own question in Verse 25 saying, "Oh Thank God! He will through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One), our Lord! So then indeed I, of myself with the mind and heart serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin."
Paul goes on in Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified), "Therefore, there is now no condemnation, no adjudging guilty of wrong for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus, the Law of our new being has freed me from the Law of Sin and of Death."
Paul stated that the Spiritual Blessing that came through Christ Jesus, put him in a place of being joined with God's Spirit, to the point where his spirit had dominion once again, over his flesh. This Spiritual Blessing made us alive and joined us once again with God, giving Paul (and us) "power beyond my flesh." Jesus said in John 6:63 (Amplified), "It is the Spirit Who gives Life, He is the Life-Giver; the flesh conveys no benefit whatever, there is no profit in it. The Words (Truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life."
The Holy Spirit now lives in and through us. We have received the ability of God, to once again govern the flesh and walk in the Spirit. The flesh and satan wish that mankind didn't once again, walk in the Spirit. Satan controlled mankind through the absence of dominion, that our fallen state of being caused. Our spirits were dead unto God and man was simply ruled by his five senses, because of Adam's transgression. Satan had been controlling our minds and clouding our lives, through the influence over our flesh. Our spirits remained dormant, because our souls were clouded by physical things.
Through Jesus, now, our spirits are alive to God again and are infused by the Holy Spirit of God. God Himself can speak to us and actually live through us again. These Spiritual Blessings that came through Jesus, include "Life, son-ship rights, righteousness or right standing with God, justification, sanctification, freedom from guilt and condemnation, liberty from sin and being raised together with Jesus into Heavenly seating with Him," according to Ephesians 2:6 (Amplified) which tells us, "And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together, giving us joint seating with Him in the Heavenly Sphere, by virtue of our being in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
The Spiritual Blessing that came through Jesus, has placed us back into a place of authority over satan, sickness, sin and the flesh. The flesh no longer controls, but the Spirit. Many remain carnal minded and haven't renewed their minds and are still being led by the senses, because the carnal mind cannot discern the Spiritual Word. Jesus said in John 6:63 (Amplified), "The Words I am speaking to you are Spirit and Life." He was saying this to all of us. The flesh (carnal mind) can't even understand the Revelation of Jesus' Words.
We've taken Spiritual Truth and reduced it to carnal understanding, which has resulted with our return to Law and it's fleshly traditions. Remember, Grace is "unearned, undeserved Spiritual Blessing and Truth." We've had a difficult time with the Spiritual Blessing that came through Jesus, because they are spiritually discerned. 1Corinthians 2:14 (Amplified) says, "But the natural, non-spiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the Gifts and teachings and Revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them (of progressively recognizing, understanding and becoming acquainted with them), because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated."
Paul wasn't saying that these people "weren't saved," they will continue thinking like they did before being born-again, until they renew their minds. Paul writes in Romans 12:1-2 (Amplified), "I appeal to you therefore brethren, and beg of you in view of all the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies, presenting all your members and faculties as a living sacrifice (holy, devoted, consecrated and well-pleasing to God) which is your reasonable (rational,intelligent) service and Spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world (this age), fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs, but be transformed (changed) by the entire renewal of your mind, by its new ideals and attitudes, so that you may prove for yourselves what is the Good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is Good and acceptable and perfect in His sight for you."
In order to dedicate our body as a living sacrifice to God, we must first see to it, that we're living through the Spirit and not simply living still in the flesh. The outward show of the new creation man, is the external, superficial customs of the world and we are "not to conform to" these things. It's not the customs, clothing, eating certain meats and the outward things that make the body a "living sacrifice." It's the Life of the Spirit that makes it a living sacrifice. The dead body cannot be a living sacrifice in itself. The dedication of the renewed mind does this, by discerning the Truth of God's Word with the mind of Christ, instead of just reading the words. One can educate the mind by the senses and still not discern or receive Revelation into his/her spirit. To be carnally minded is death. To be spiritually minded is Life and peace with God.
Romans 8:6-7 (Amplified) says, "Now the mind of the flesh which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit, is death (death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin) both here and hereafter (still living in condemnation and fear of punishment) But the mind of the Holy Spirit (the renewed mind) is Life and soul peace, both now and forever. That is because the mind of the flesh with its carnal thoughts and purposes is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God's Laws, indeed it cannot."
The unrenewed mind in a believer, has a difficult time believing we are righteous and not just forgiven, but cleansed from the stain of sin. It cannot believe that God has made you so pure, that you've become the temple of God. 1Corinthians 6:19 (Amplified) says, "Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives withing you, Whom you have received as a Gift of God? You are not your own."
It's only the renewed mind that can discern the mind of Christ and the Revelation of what Jesus has truly done for us. In order to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God, we must first renew our minds to the Truth that our body is no longer our own and that Jesus is the True Life living within it. God calls our body a "temple for Himself."
We've entered into the new creation being, with the carnal mind of the old man and continue thinking in terms of the sinful man, instead of the new man. We remember more about who we once were, instead of who Christ has made us to be. It's hard to dedicate this sinful body as a holy, living and acceptable sacrifice to God, when we do this. We must renew our minds and allow the Holy Spirit to gives us discernment, instead of allowing the enemy to distort our vision by the old man. When you begin renewing your mind by the Holy Spirit and God's Word, the things of the flesh will cease to be a problem and we can know the "Good, acceptable and perfect will of God in His sight for you and prove it for yourself." God's will for you is something that only comes from understanding what His will for you ACTUALLY IS. This understanding comes only through discerning by the Holy Spirit, not from education through the carnal mind and senses. When Grace and Truth enter into you by Revelation, you will know what is "the Good, acceptable and perfect will of God that He wants for you." Until then, the carnal mind will keep you in enmity against the Truth of Grace.
The Spiritual Blessing that came through Jesus, is something the Law could never bring. Those under the Law were spiritually dead, so the Spiritual Blessing couldn't be manifested until the new birth. The Spiritual Blessing included being redeemed from the Curse of the Law and being made righteous, through our being joined with Jesus by the Holy Spirit. The Church has rejected most of the things involved in these Spiritual Blessings.
The Law of Sin and Death entered into mankind through Adam's transgression in the Garden of Eden, causing mankind to be spiritually separated from God. Paul spoke about his physical body's being under the Law of Sin before being born-again and how he had been pulled by his flesh and mental senses to walk back under the Law and it's traditions. Paul knew better than to do this, because of the Revelation he had received from Jesus. His body and senses had been trained under the Law, causing them to wish to continue walking under the Law. In Romans 7:24-25 (Amplified) Paul writes, "Who will deliver me from the shackles of this body of death?" Paul answers his own question in Verse 25 saying, "Oh Thank God! He will through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One), our Lord! So then indeed I, of myself with the mind and heart serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin."
Paul goes on in Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified), "Therefore, there is now no condemnation, no adjudging guilty of wrong for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus, the Law of our new being has freed me from the Law of Sin and of Death."
Paul stated that the Spiritual Blessing that came through Christ Jesus, put him in a place of being joined with God's Spirit, to the point where his spirit had dominion once again, over his flesh. This Spiritual Blessing made us alive and joined us once again with God, giving Paul (and us) "power beyond my flesh." Jesus said in John 6:63 (Amplified), "It is the Spirit Who gives Life, He is the Life-Giver; the flesh conveys no benefit whatever, there is no profit in it. The Words (Truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life."
The Holy Spirit now lives in and through us. We have received the ability of God, to once again govern the flesh and walk in the Spirit. The flesh and satan wish that mankind didn't once again, walk in the Spirit. Satan controlled mankind through the absence of dominion, that our fallen state of being caused. Our spirits were dead unto God and man was simply ruled by his five senses, because of Adam's transgression. Satan had been controlling our minds and clouding our lives, through the influence over our flesh. Our spirits remained dormant, because our souls were clouded by physical things.
Through Jesus, now, our spirits are alive to God again and are infused by the Holy Spirit of God. God Himself can speak to us and actually live through us again. These Spiritual Blessings that came through Jesus, include "Life, son-ship rights, righteousness or right standing with God, justification, sanctification, freedom from guilt and condemnation, liberty from sin and being raised together with Jesus into Heavenly seating with Him," according to Ephesians 2:6 (Amplified) which tells us, "And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together, giving us joint seating with Him in the Heavenly Sphere, by virtue of our being in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
The Spiritual Blessing that came through Jesus, has placed us back into a place of authority over satan, sickness, sin and the flesh. The flesh no longer controls, but the Spirit. Many remain carnal minded and haven't renewed their minds and are still being led by the senses, because the carnal mind cannot discern the Spiritual Word. Jesus said in John 6:63 (Amplified), "The Words I am speaking to you are Spirit and Life." He was saying this to all of us. The flesh (carnal mind) can't even understand the Revelation of Jesus' Words.
We've taken Spiritual Truth and reduced it to carnal understanding, which has resulted with our return to Law and it's fleshly traditions. Remember, Grace is "unearned, undeserved Spiritual Blessing and Truth." We've had a difficult time with the Spiritual Blessing that came through Jesus, because they are spiritually discerned. 1Corinthians 2:14 (Amplified) says, "But the natural, non-spiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the Gifts and teachings and Revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them (of progressively recognizing, understanding and becoming acquainted with them), because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated."
Paul wasn't saying that these people "weren't saved," they will continue thinking like they did before being born-again, until they renew their minds. Paul writes in Romans 12:1-2 (Amplified), "I appeal to you therefore brethren, and beg of you in view of all the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies, presenting all your members and faculties as a living sacrifice (holy, devoted, consecrated and well-pleasing to God) which is your reasonable (rational,intelligent) service and Spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world (this age), fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs, but be transformed (changed) by the entire renewal of your mind, by its new ideals and attitudes, so that you may prove for yourselves what is the Good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is Good and acceptable and perfect in His sight for you."
In order to dedicate our body as a living sacrifice to God, we must first see to it, that we're living through the Spirit and not simply living still in the flesh. The outward show of the new creation man, is the external, superficial customs of the world and we are "not to conform to" these things. It's not the customs, clothing, eating certain meats and the outward things that make the body a "living sacrifice." It's the Life of the Spirit that makes it a living sacrifice. The dead body cannot be a living sacrifice in itself. The dedication of the renewed mind does this, by discerning the Truth of God's Word with the mind of Christ, instead of just reading the words. One can educate the mind by the senses and still not discern or receive Revelation into his/her spirit. To be carnally minded is death. To be spiritually minded is Life and peace with God.
Romans 8:6-7 (Amplified) says, "Now the mind of the flesh which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit, is death (death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin) both here and hereafter (still living in condemnation and fear of punishment) But the mind of the Holy Spirit (the renewed mind) is Life and soul peace, both now and forever. That is because the mind of the flesh with its carnal thoughts and purposes is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God's Laws, indeed it cannot."
The unrenewed mind in a believer, has a difficult time believing we are righteous and not just forgiven, but cleansed from the stain of sin. It cannot believe that God has made you so pure, that you've become the temple of God. 1Corinthians 6:19 (Amplified) says, "Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives withing you, Whom you have received as a Gift of God? You are not your own."
It's only the renewed mind that can discern the mind of Christ and the Revelation of what Jesus has truly done for us. In order to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God, we must first renew our minds to the Truth that our body is no longer our own and that Jesus is the True Life living within it. God calls our body a "temple for Himself."
We've entered into the new creation being, with the carnal mind of the old man and continue thinking in terms of the sinful man, instead of the new man. We remember more about who we once were, instead of who Christ has made us to be. It's hard to dedicate this sinful body as a holy, living and acceptable sacrifice to God, when we do this. We must renew our minds and allow the Holy Spirit to gives us discernment, instead of allowing the enemy to distort our vision by the old man. When you begin renewing your mind by the Holy Spirit and God's Word, the things of the flesh will cease to be a problem and we can know the "Good, acceptable and perfect will of God in His sight for you and prove it for yourself." God's will for you is something that only comes from understanding what His will for you ACTUALLY IS. This understanding comes only through discerning by the Holy Spirit, not from education through the carnal mind and senses. When Grace and Truth enter into you by Revelation, you will know what is "the Good, acceptable and perfect will of God that He wants for you." Until then, the carnal mind will keep you in enmity against the Truth of Grace.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)