I
will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:
I
will guide thee with Mine eye
Psalm 32 verse 8.
Menu for the Way, the Truth and the Life
I Will Guide thee with My Eye.
The Battle of Wills.
The Way the Truth and the Life.
Discipleship is an Imperative.
The Cross of ill
repute.
Enemies of the Cross.
The Beginnings of
True Worship of God.
The Conclusion of the Mystery of Iniquity.
“Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
The Holy God of all of creation, is not the god of confusion, for He has not changed the course of His mind, as some may think. The Almighty God of the Bible is the same yesterday, “Holy, Holy, Holy"; today, "Holy, Holy, Holy" and tomorrow, "Holy, Holy, Holy". The Eternal Wisdom within His council, remains constant IN His Holy Word of TRUTH, for God's good and gracious Will, is that all men would live, and not die in their willful sin. His Will is that all of mankind would repent, and turn away from the wide path of self destruction, and then in humility, fully accept and follow the Way of God Almighty's Will for their Salvation through the Life of His Son, Jesus the Christ of God, (Yeshua haMashiach).
I have heard and seen in a vision, that God is the God of the living and not the god of the dead. And yet mankind dismisses The only God of the Living and continues to choose the way of the god of death. Being entrenched in Satan's way of death, mankind justifies themselves in the vanity and the philosophies of their own understandings that is cultivated within the grey matter of the natural mind, centered on self. Death always follows in the footsteps of sin.
They shall put you out of the synagogues: Yes, the time comes, that whosoever kills you will think that he does God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me. (John 16 verse 2 thru 4. (NIV,).
In this day, more than ever, the spirit of Anti-Christ is working his will in the pathway of deception within the Middle Eastern religion of Islam, The man of the Mystery of Iniquity continues in his fornication with the worldly religions of self-deceit, even those that associate themselves with Christianity. That malignant spirit and architect of religious deception, is no less than the subtle entity that disguised himself as the wise serpent in the Garden of Eden. Satan, the garden serpent, was seeking to destroy God's authoritative Word, and then, with success to be worshiped and exalted above God, the Almighty.
"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How are you cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High. Yet, you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: "Is this the man who made the earth tremble? Who shook kingdoms? Who made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed its cities? (Isaiah 14 verse 12 thru 17.)
Now, we say we are Christians, but some things have not changed. Unfortunately, from the Garden subterfuge, the root of our carnality and confusion over good and evil, remains intertwined within the rooted substance of our minds. In the early beginnings of the Church, the initial beauty and simplicity of a person's repentance from sin, and their belief of the Gospel of Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ,
again became mired within the corruption and power of the will of sin centered in the spirit of the mind of self. Thus Paul writes: "Already the Mystery of Iniquity doth work", speaking of a chaste church becoming soiled with the deceptions of sin.
So in spite of Christianity, we can see through out the tragic course of human history, that God’s good will has not been favored in the earth, and the path of destruction remains wide. All of us, having been naturally born through the genetics of the first Adam (the first man) are by nature of the flesh, the children of wrath, and were dead in our sins and trespasses, for we walk after the willful way of the spirit of perdition. Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. (Ephesians 2 verse 3.)
Satan’s idolatrous will of sin, always strives to give itself rooted preeminence, within the autonomous mind of man, appealing to the sensual desires of the flesh, seeking to increase the strength of its evil root in man, until man’s selfish demise. The spiritual viral entity of sin, within mankind, continually seeks its own satisfaction and confused justification, and understandably does not possess the good fruit of humility, which would bring about a confession of fault for our sin induced conduct. The convoluted pride of man, does not like to recognize that we, in the preservation of our flesh, may become the will of sin to propagate itself, with the end reward of sin, bring death. True humility is born out of reverential fear of the Almighty God, with the soul and spirit of the person, yielding to the Spirit of Yahweh's Will.
We say we give our hearts to God, but our will is tied to our hearts, and in the flesh, they are inseparable. When our will moves away from God, so does the heart. The two must be relinquished together, as one, crucified with Jesus Christ. The spirit of a man is generated by the mind of the man. If we would understand correctly, that when scriptures says that we have the mind of Christ, then we have the Spirit of Christ Jesus residing within the redeemed souls of our beings, to lead the spirit of our minds, in the loving and obedient Way of Christ, as the children of God. Even daily, we are to deny our selfish disposition, and to take up the cross, and then follow our Savior down His narrow Way that leads to eternal Life within Him. Those who follow after the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God!
As we dwell in Christ Jesus, God’s good Will and the saving grace of His of Spirit of Holiness, is expressed in His love for us, and His love, if not rejected, sustains the resurrected power of a new and abundant life, within the soul and spirit of our being,
That I may win Christ, And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is [supposed] of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; (Philippians 3 verse 8 thru 11.)
But less we forget, in crucifixion, there is death to our will, tied to the flesh of self. When the seed of our Savior, Christ Jesus, enters our willful life, we are now immersed into the beginnings of the ongoing battle of wills, for the ground of our heart. The question is, “Will the will of sin and death, as the seed of Satan possess the heart, or will the gracious Will of the God of the living?" Now, if we are the children of God, then we will walk after the Will of the Father of Christ Jesus, thus abandoning our self will to the heart of God Almighty. The Almighty God enables us through His love, to become a witness in the earth, and a light to shine in darkness. Jesus prayed His priestly prayer to His Father: The glory which Thou gave to Me, I have given to them: that they may be one, even as We are One: I in them; and Thou in Me; that they may be made perfect in One: and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, even as Thou hast loved Me.( (John 17 verse 23. )
To proceed to the next chapter alone, please click on The Way the Truth and the Life.
The Way, the Truth, and the Life.
With the gross deception of the will of sin covering the face of the earth in darkness, then the following should be emphasized in all the assemblies of the faithful of God. Jesus Christ is the absolute Personification of the WAY, and the same Personification of the TRUTH, and He is the glorified Personification of Life itself ! There is no other Way to Life in God, except the Way that the incarnate Son of Man, eternally established with His Father God's Love and humility conceived in the flesh of Christ's humanity. Jesus/Yeshua, God's Holy One, became God's perfect sacrificial Offering for the sin of the world. The first Man/Adam, willfully rebelled against God, His Maker, and brought death to the soul and body of mankind: But the last Man/Adam, with His offering to the only Holy God. was seen as perfect, and the Son of the first Adam, Jesus/Yeshua haMashiach was Bodily esurrected into Life, so that the souls of the dead, might be born again to live, in the Life of Christ The proof of Life in Jesus Christ, is eternally established with His glorious Resurrection with the Life that is One with His Father Yahweh God Almighty. The daily path Way that leads to Life, is built on total Faith in Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God, sacrificed for the sin's rebellion in the world. The Sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, is the only Way to Life in God.
The prerequisite for Life in Christ Jesus, begins with a person's true repentance with our turning away from our own willful path way of destruction. The soul is reborn and is sealed by God's Holy Spirit of Grace, awaiting a new body born of God's Spirit. So know this; our present physical body of flesh is not redeemed from sin, and will see corruption. But while we live in this flesh, we bring our natural mind into subjection to the good and just Will of the God of the Living. The mind that resides in this body of death, needs to be renewed through the washing and cleansing of God's Spirit of Holiness, so that the new man in Christ Jesus, is seen to be an ambassador of God's Good Will toward all of humanity.
Sin and death has no part what so ever with Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty. The heretical teaching in so many of the churches, is a one and done philosophy by sinful man that dismisses the Communion Body of Christ, given with the Water and Blood of the WORD of God for the remission of the self centered sin in our unredeemed flesh. Yahweh God established His new Covenant in the Blood of His Passover Lamb in the evening of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread: And while His disciple were yet eating of the old covenant flesh of the passover lamb, then the Lord Jesus Christ took the matzo bread and gave thanks to His Father God and broke it saying: Take and eat. This is My Body. Then Jesus took the cup and gave thanks to His Father God, and having given it to His disciples said: All of you drink of it: For this is My Blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sin. Now then, are you of the many of Christ's disciple that must drink of Jesus Christ's Blood of the New Covenant shed for the remission of the sins of our unredeemed flesh?
prescribed in the Passover Communion, which is His same Holy Life Blood being administered by the Holy Spirit of God Almighty.
The Ecclesia is to continually follow the simplicity of trusting faith in the Holy One, Jesus Christ, for He is our Champion, Who has conquered sin and death. Jesus alone, is a Son's Perfection of Love and obedience that satisfies the heart of God our Father. By obedient Faith, Jesus Christ has become for us the Perfection of the Love that a child should and He has for the Father.
The subsequent thoughts and scriptures are a simple study in the Word of Truth, showing God’s merciful process of deliverance of man’s subjugation of sin bringing death, to freedom from the bondage of sin, into the Life within Jesus Christ, and a beloved son in the house of God. We are to know Jesus Christ, as the TRUTH that holds all things together! In believing that Jesus is the TRUTH, then we are to continue in the following the TRUTH in the only Way that leads to Life within our Savior, for He is the only entrance into the kingdom of God. His Life of sacrificial Love, through the unity of the Holy Spirit of God, lifts us up eternally higher than the pitfalls of sin that leads to death, the grave and hell. The penalty of death for sin, has been paid for, through Our Lord’s sacrifice of His Holy Life that was poured out in His Blood, and given in exchange for humanity's sins of rebellion. But now, in absolute gratitude, we need to lower ourselves in humility, so as to respond to His high calling of son ship in the House of God.
Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, I AM the Light of the world: he that follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life. (John 8 verse 12.)
Jesus said unto him, I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man comes unto the Father, but through Me. (John 14 verse 6.)
And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and then follow Me. (Luke 9 verse 23.)
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide (continue to live) in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. An then you shall know the TRUTH, and the TRUTH shall make you free." (John 8 verse 31 thru 32.)
Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son [the Personification of TRUTH] makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8 verse 34 thru 36.)
There are many so called truths but they are arbitrary truths invented by the mind of fallen man-kind. If the very Word of God, Jesus Christ, declared that He is the TRUTH, then you had best believe that He is the Personification of TRUTH of His Holy Father God, and Jesus, the victor of sin and death, is the Only WAY that man can be liberated from the temptations that are writhing in his flesh. God does not provide a way of escape from the trials of sin's call, but He always honors His Word of TRUTH in Christ Jesus, where in the TRUTH of His WORD, He had already made Jesus Christ to be The Only WAY of escape from temptations trials.
Discipleship is an Imperative.
Paul gives the church members instructions, relative to spiritual facts: Wherefore, my brethren, you also are become dead to the [condemnation of the] law by the Body of Christ; that you should be married to another, even to Him [Jesus Christ] Who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. (In context: Romans 7 verse 1 thru 6.) In the past, before Salvation came, all of mankind had been married to death, by the nature of the Adamic self centering sin that rules within us. But now, by faith in the Life Blood of Jesus Christ that He freely sacrificed on the cross, we are to know that the old Adam, or man of our sin, has been put to death, through that same cross of Christ, and we are to liken ourselves daily, as dead to the slavery of sin, being made free in Christ Jesus. Now, Jesus Christ has become our betrothed righteous Husband, and in Him, through His living Body that is dead to sin, we are also to think of ourselves, as being dead to the lust of sin, and alive in Christ Jesus.
Peter implores the believer with; “Forasmuch then as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin; (1st Peter 4 verse 1.). Hear it again: “arm yourselves likewise with the same mind”, as in the spirit of Christ, so that the demand of sin in the flesh ceases its cravings, because of the pain we eventually experience. Peter and Paul, both have the same intent with the spiritual mind of humility, even as you can read from Apostle Paul’s exhortation: Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (See Philippians 2 verse 5 thru 11.) The denial of the old selfish nature and the bearing of the spiritual cross on a daily bases, is a spiritual statement, which we should make and practice within our own minds, so that the old man crucified, no longer rules us, but it is the Love and the Living Will of our God that moves our being.
Yes, we have scripture, and we think that we know that we are Christians; but wait a second in our thinking. The very thing I swore that I would never do again, because I knew it was an offense to the law of God; I did it! Now my wife is upset with me, my children are upset with me, or my friends are upset with me, and now I'm upset with myself. I wonder how God feels about my failure, for I sure am not walking and living in His Spirit?
It is like we, as Christians, are still carrying the dictates of that old carcass around unto this day. The flesh has not left us. Our old Adam wants what he wants, when he wants it. That old man of self centeredness has his own desire to have his source of supposed freedom and to do the dictates of his own mind at the expense of others, no matter what kind of stench the old carcass of sin and death foments. Again we can hear the Apostle Paul’s lament, “Who will save me from this body of death?” If Paul can recognize his own stench of sin, then obviously, we also have a problem in our flesh, while we yet walk this earth, for our own lives are lived on a day by day process, fraught with troubles, fears and wrong turns. Who then will save us from this body of death, for without relief, we also start to smell the stench of our death. But God has made the WAY This is My Body given for you: Take and eat. Take and drink, all of you, for this is My Blood of the New Covenant, shed for many for the remission of sin. (See Matthew 26 verse 26 thru 28.) O thank God for Jesus Christ, Who loved me and gave Himself for me, so that I should live, and yet not I, but Christ Jesus living in me, so that I may do the Will of His Spirit.
The life of the body is in the blood, and if the blood is not flowing within the body of flesh, because the heart has stopped beating, then the body is dead. So it is with the spiritual Body of Christ on earth. If the Spirit of Life that is one with the Water and Blood of Jesus Christ, is not flowing among the hearts of the believers, then the members have no life of the Holy Spirit, and are relying upon their flesh, and the flesh of others, to give them a sense of entitlement. However, if we are each members within the Body of Jesus Christ, then we live and breathe, and have our true being in the flow of God's Holy Spirit, and wherever He goes, it is for a certainty that we are in His flow that carries us into Life.
Wherefore, in our minds we are to "possess the one Love, united in spirit and ideals; never acting out of rivalry or conceit: but rather let all parties humbly think of others as superior to themselves, rather that to his own superiority". (Philippians 2:2) We, the redeemed of God, are always to bear in our hearts and minds the Spiritual Light of God’s Word as the absolute illumination of our individual lives through the leading of God's Holy Spirit.
We cannot be complacent in our calling. We must not be like the five unwise virgins, who knew of the groom's coming but in unbelief were predisposed to the cares of the world, and dismissed the necessity for oil in their lamps. Indeed, from the beginning of their call, they had no oil at all in their lamps to see in the darkness. Apparently they relied on the other wise virgin's preparations, and did not have within themselves the fullness of the Spirit of God, Whose oil lights our way into eternal Life. In not having oil within the vessel of themselves, their only preparation was outwardly superficial, for they were not diligent or true in their love for their betrothed Master. In the end, the “Door” was closed to them, and they were left in outer darkness. (See Matthew 25 verse 1 thru 13.) So then, did the Lord God really say to the hearer? You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost his savor, where with shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it gives light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Who is in heaven. (Matthew 5 verse 13 thru 16.) Make very sure that the light that is in you, is not darkness, but you are equipped with the Light of Spirit of God within your heart, to guide you in the darkness of this world, until the Lord comes for His Bride.
To proceed to the next chapter alone, please click on The Cross of ill repute.
I glory not, except in the cross of Jesus Christ:
As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is crucified with me, and I with the world. (Galatians 6 verse 12 thru 14)
Therefore we
also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside
every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and
Finisher of our faith, Who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the
cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne
of God.
(Hebrews
12 verse 1 thru 2.)
It is interesting to note that Jesus Christ, having been beaten and scourged in Jerusalem, was only able to carry our cross to the entrance of the city gate. The Lord was too weak from the beatings and flogging to bear the physical weight of that cross, as He stumbled and fell a number of times. A man of Cyrene, Simon by name, was unwillingly pressed into service, and carried the cross, and followed the Lord to the place of the skull, where Jesus Christ was Crucified. And after that they had mocked Him [Jesus], they took the [scarlet] robe off from Him, and put His own raiment on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear His cross. And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull; (Matthew 27 verse 31 thru 33.) they crucified Him. (Matthew 27 verse 35.)
O man of sifting sand, are you unwilling to bear that cross of ill repute? It was your cross and my cross, the very same that Jesus Christ was nailed to, instead of you and me. God brought forth His holy wrath, and the full curse of His indignation against the sin of mankind, bringing it to bare fully upon the Life of Jesus, Whose battered body became that same curse of sin, hanging from the tree of the cross.
As you can see, the cross is not a proud ornamental fixture that is draped around our neck, but an instrument of death, where our naked shame and arrogance to God, hung in the person of Jesus Christ. For the Holy Word of God, Jesus Christ, Who knew no sin, was “made” by God to be a substitute, a scapegoat for our sin, and the full fury of each one of our whirlwinds of death and destruction, bore down on Jesus, and slayed the innocent lamb, sacrificed by God, for the iniquity of Adam and all of his descendants of mankind.
We, in faith through our initial water baptism into Jesus Christ's death, were liberated from the curse of our past sin, so that in following our Savior Jesus Christ, we would always, even in peril and strife, be able to rejoice before our God and eternal Father of the living. God, Who first loved us, while we were dead in sin, has delivered us from our death, through His Son, Jesus Christ. The word, ‘IN'; is a troublesome little word, that is emphasized, for to be "IN" Christ Jesus, we logically would never desire to leave the presence of God Almighty for they are ONE Holy Spirit. I think the scriptures speak clearly, that some may leave Jesus Christ, and perish on the broad path of destruction, but those that belong to Yeshua, are, in their humble daily walk with God, “Crucifying the flesh with the affections and lusts”. Even so, the flesh of our being will never be perfected, but will corrupt back into the dust of the earth from whence it came. While we remain in these earthen tabernacles, we may stumble many times, but when we turn away from the stumbling block of our sin, then the grace of God through the New Covenant Blood of our fellowship with Jesus Christ, will prevail against the will of sin, that seeks to rule our selves. The Sword of the Spirit that is one with the Life Blood of Jesus Christ, will sanctify the humble and contrite hearts that are seeking release from this body of death that can bring a stagnation with in the flesh of our minds.
From epistle to epistle, the framework of the Cross, in the teachings of all the Apostles, cannot be broken, as they each echo their Master's Words, for He said to them all: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” And so, the Apostle Paul continues this echo of the Spirit in Galatians, as he writes: “And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” (Galatians 5 verse 24.) And again the Sword of the Spirit Speaks: “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved, it is the Power of God.”
The Apostle Peter, who for the sake of the Gospel and his Lord, bore the cross to his own death, writes to those in affliction, encouraging them with this scripture rendering: “If you forbear with suffering for doing what is right, then this is acceptable to God. It was for this that you were called, since Christ suffered for you in just this way and left you an example, to have you follow in His footsteps. He did no wrong: no deceit was found in His mouth. When He was insulted, He returned no insult. When He was made to suffer, He did not counter with threats. Instead, He delivered Himself up to the One Who judges justly. In His own body, He brought your sins to the cross, so that all of us dead to sin, could live in accord with God’s will.” (1st Peter 2 verse 21 thru 24.)
Chastened of God to be an Apostle, Paul likewise beckons us: “Pattern yourselves after me, that is, follow my example as I imitate and follow Christ.” (1st Corinthians 11 verse 1 (Amplified.) That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; (Philippians 3 verse 10.) My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; (Proverbs 3 verse 11 thru 12.) for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. (Hebrews 12 verse 5 thru 8. (NIV.)
Again, if we are to follow the Lord, then the Words of the Master, and the Chief Physician of our souls, instructs each of us to exercise daily with the denial of our selfish will, and then we are to pick up and bear our cross that our Lord was physically nailed to and then hung upon, in naked shame at Calvary. The two edged Sword of the Spirit Says: For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. We have to die to the selfish deeds of our sin enslaved flesh, so that we may live in the Spirit of the Eternal! There is not one of us, who are comfortable in denying the innate sensual emotions of self, and the disciplines necessary to abate the abusive, and willful desires of the flesh. But this is just what Jesus Christ has called all of His followers to do. All of His disciples are called to walk a straight path with our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. It is not that we walk without joy in this life. It is that we, who were given new birth in Jesus Christ and having the hope of eternal life, would walk with singleness of purpose. That purpose, being to glorify our Father of Lights and the Holy One, Who has called us out of darkness, to become the sons of life and light, rejoicing always in His presence.
Much of today's modern Church does not profess or teach the Lord's way of the cross, so you might ask, why daily the denial of self? Why daily the cross? Even when God's supreme Love and Truth comes into our beings, this body is still where we live, and spiritually, our mind needs to be kept tidy. The cross of Jesus Christ is part of that prescription instrument of the Sword of the Spirit, which we begin to practice in our minds, so as to mitigate sin's promulgation of itself. We need to discipline our flesh, so and that we might be a righteous instrument in the hands of our Lord. But also Ephesians 4 verse 12 thru 15, is a very reasonable scriptural answer, to the purpose of the cross and the calling of the disciples of the Lord Jesus: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, where by they lie in wait to deceive; But 'we' speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: (In context Ephesians 4 verse 12 thru 15.)
The verses speak volumes: But some might say, this is scripture taken out of context, seeing that verse 11 speaks about the gifts of the calling of, “apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ”. It is the one and the same call that God has laid on the heart of all believers that we would all grow in holiness, no matter what state of being we are initially called in to the sinless Body of Jesus Christ. That we are not deceived, being led astray, but are maturing, so that as the church, we would come “unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”; all to the Glory of God the Father. How many times in this past year, did the reader consider the cross of self-control? Was it daily as the Lord had said of His followers? Some of us need to repent, For Jesus says: He that takes not his cross, and follows after Me, is not worthy of Me. He that finds his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for My sake shall find it. (Matthew 10 verse 38 thru 39.) Now, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit: (Galatians 5 verse 24 and 23 and 25.)
To proceed to the next chapter alone, please click on Enemies of the Cross.
Brothers, Join with others in following my example, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. (Philippians 3 verse 17 thru 19.)
In the above scripture, Paul is writing to the Philippian Church concerning his fears of the heretics of the early church: But, even today, there are any number of religious occult organizations that have a great void in their hearts. The disciples of darkness, by imparting their idolatrous theology that is centered on self, deny the only Way, the only Truth and the only Life of men that is through the Eternal Light of our Savior Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul further writes to Timothy about the last days, as he says: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady high-minded lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: Have nothing to do with them. (See 2nd Timothy 3 verse 1 thru 5.) Then and now, there are many in the church that have a form of godliness, because they do sit in the pews on the first day of the week, and they do speak loving words such as I love yah, and they are seen to perform good deeds, and they do eat with us, and they may wear the spiritual sign of the cross, but in the whole of their lives, from the first day of the week until the Sabbath, they deny the power of the cross, and the power of the Blood of Jesus Christ. They love their sins, far more than they love their Creator, Who is Blessed and Holy forever. They justify their wrong actions among each other, thinking that with their interpretation of scripture, they have a right to be right in their own eyes, and have been given freedom from moral law, and thereby are justified in their unrighteous deeds. In this case, those that pervert the Truth could use the symbol of the steeple cross to lure unsuspecting members into the broad path of their destruction. They promise their converts liberty in Jesus Christ, but their lascivious teachings imprison their disciples, making some of them, and themselves, twice shackled prisoners of hell.
Also, People, who belong to hate organizations, such as the KKK, the Ku Klux Klan in the United States, calling themselves Christian and yet cloaking their minds in the darkness of their murderous deceit, will also reap the destruction they sow, unless they repent. In an interesting bit of numerology, the K is the eleventh letter of the English alphabet. Six is the number of man, for man was created on the sixth day. Six times each of the three individual K's with each K equaling 11, can sequentially be lined up twice fold as 666 666.
Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who confesses the Name of the Lord, must turn away from wickedness. (2nd Timothy 2 verse 19." New International Version.)
The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. (Romans 8 verse 7 thru 9.)
Make no mistake! God has never given man the liberty to sin, and to maintain this violence in their spirit. Neither water baptism, nor the symbol of the cross nor the Ten Commandments are instruments of self-justification. The disciple is called to follow our Lord Jesus Christ in the Way of His Spirit, where we would mortify the flesh of our Idolatry, and then through God's Holy Spirit, we would glorify God in our earthly being. When we forget the daily cross with the denial of self will, and find ourselves in sin’s death throes, then know that the Holy Father God Almighty has given through His Spirit of Grace in Holy Communion, His Sanctification for our acknowledged sin in the Blood of His only Begotten Son, and for our return to Him and His holy will for us. In the learning process, the disciples are to each examine and judge their own individual selves, so that the person would not be condemned with the world. If we acknowledge our known faults, and follow His instructions, then God will faithfully forgive and cleanse the sin through the renewing Covenant Blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the Son of Man. For "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and are not practicing the Truth: But if we walk in the Light, as HE is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the Blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the Truth (God's Light of Christ Jesus) is not in us." (1st John 1 verse 6 thru 8.)
We may say with absolute certainty, that in spite of our forgetfulness to His calling, God is patient and full of Grace toward those who continually look to Him for His Salvation. In the true sincerity of the confession of our sin, the immediacy of the Covenant Life Blood of Jesus Christ for God's mercy and forgiveness, is applied by the Holy Spirit of Grace to the conscience, and the cleansing power of the Blood is enjoined by the Sword of the Spirit, to begin to cut off the strangling tentacles of sin, and then the root. However, our confession should be with the anticipation of receiving the Communion New Covenant Life Blood of Jesus the Christ of God, when the community church comes together to worship God in Spirit and Truth. It is, here a little; there a little; as God prunes the Vine's branches to enable us to take control of our earthen vessels for His Glory. For whom the LORD loves, He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives. Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. (See Hebrews 12 verse 5 thru 11.)
To proceed to the next chapter alone, please click on The Beginnings of True Worship of God.
The Godly wisdom that was cultivated in Saint Paul, beseeches the whole of the Church (Ecclesia) to present our individual bodies, as living sacrifices in Christ Jesus, holy and acceptable unto God, which is the beginning of our worshipful service.
Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God,--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, His good, pleasing, and perfect will. For by the grace given me, I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith, God has given you. (Romans 12 verse 1 thru 4.(NIV.)
True Worship is giving Thanksgiving (Eucharist) to God for His Grace that He has bestowed upon us repentant sinners. In return for our Thanksgiving for His Grace, the Almighty Yahweh God gives more of His Spirit of Grace within the True Body and Life Blood of His only Begotten and Risen Son, Jesus Christ. Receive and believe.
The following is an appropriate scripture reading from Paul's letter to the church at Philippi. How shallow can the heart of our understanding be, when we can not see the depths of God's Word of Life IN Christ Jesus.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication, with Thanksgiving (Eucharist) let your requests be made known unto God. And the Peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4 verse 6 thru 7.)
In the view of God's mercy toward us sinners; then the worship of God, can not be the sudden change of attitude, on a Sabbath day, the moment we enter into a physical building that is set aside for public worship. The Apostle Paul also writes in his letter to the Romans: “they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Therefore, as individuals, we cannot walk into a meeting place, thinking we are members of the Holy Body of Jesus Christ, and worship God Almighty in Spirit and Truth, while we remain satisfied with our unresolved corrupting issues of sin working within our individual hearts and minds. This presumption for any of us to come into Holy God's Presence, while lacking true repentance within the mind of carnal flesh, and not submitting our selves to the cleansing Blood of God's Covenant, is an impossible notion of human arrogance, that is totally rejected by Holy, Holy, Holy God, the Almighty. The carnality of the self-centered mind of man is directly opposed to God, and will not glorify the Almighty in Spirit and Truth. In our self centered flesh, we are not inclined to humbly submit ourselves to God's Word, calling for repentance, with the remission of our self begotten sins through the Blood of Jesus Christ. Thus the heart of man is not party to His Holiness, nor to the peace of His Presence. We will try to make our own peace, in the presence of our own flesh, where there is no peace. (See Jeremiah 6 verse 13 thru 15.)
In view of God's mercy toward us sinners; then our worshipful service unto God, should begin daily, where the rubber meets the narrow road, which, for the Lord's followers in training, is the Way and the Truth of Jesus Christ leading us into Life. Our worshipful service unto God, should be an everyday living experience, where we would put on Christ Jesus daily. In the true essence of Godly thought, with each new day of our earthly lives, we are to be clothing our mind with the attitude of true humility, that is found in the One we pursue, that being Jesus Christ. I with Paul can say: "For in my flesh, I know there is no good thing"! However, if we are carrying our cross of self denial resolutely in our minds daily, then the power of sin is being crucified, and its dictates are being mitigated by obedient disciplines, through our faith in Christ Jesus, Whom we are following. If He is in us, and we are in Him, then our soul, has become the spiritual temple of the Holy Spirit, where the worship of God is daily, and not on a specified day of duty. If the Truth remains in spirit of our minds and the soul of our being, then with the daily maintenance of our earthly vessels, we would worship God every day of our lives, as living sacrifices to the Glory of God our Father.
However, this conceptual truth is very lovely, but presents one very pressing question of stumbling. How can any of us, called by God out of our darkness, even begin to worship God in Spirit and Truth, when our daily walk does not glorify our God’s Holiness, of which we are called to be a participant? God is very patient, in waiting for the fruit of His harvest. He will use our own sin to comeback upon us, and reprove our actions, until there is no where to go, but down on our knees. For: God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. However, later on, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by the discipline. (Hebrews 12 verse 10 thru 11 (NIV.)
The prescribed traditional provisions of bread and wine should be set before us on the altar, and will make for the entrance into God's Presence, when they are sanctified with the Word and Spirit of our Savior. But where is the faith, and where is the new heart to believe that all things are possible, to those who are called and love the Lord. Without the sanctifying Life Blood of Jesus Christ, our journey will be impeded, at the stumbling stones of our own unrepented offences.
Having therefore brethren, boldness to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which He (Jesus Christ) has consecrated for us through the veil that is to say, His Flesh; And having an High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled [with His Blood] from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto Love/Agapao and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10 verse 19 thru 25.)
Communal Worship of God.
Faith is the substance of that which is hoped for; the evidence of that which is not seen. (Hebrews 11 verse 1 KJV)
The following is presented in the Communion document, and is repeated here. So then, let me paint you a living picture, an abstraction of true faith that I shared with a talented Christian artist, with a genetic male form of color blindness. When looking upon natural things, he was somewhat conceited in his own theological belief system, seeing in his eyes that Holy Communion is purely symbolic. His faith was self limiting, and thereby limited the fullness of God's Grace in Holy Communion.
Give us this day our daily bread.
With God's infinite pallet of color in hand and the application of the paint brush of the Holy Spirit, we begin to paint in the unknown dimensions of the heavenlies. Even so, it is not far off, but very near. There we are, all the redeemed, faithfully gathered around this gracious table of the Lord of our Salvation. God our Holy Father and the Lord Jesus, our High Priest is seated in our midst, and the Glory of God's Spirit fills the room. Then Jesus takes a piece of unleavened bread, and tears it, and turns to you and says: "My dear child, ---- take this and eat of it, for this is My Body, and always remember that the substance of this Bread of Life, comes from Me, and is what I AM. This unleavened Bread, broken for you, is the joy of My Father's heart, that you may have My love, ever increasing within your soul, to nourish you, and then through you, those children of men that are lacking in its substance". In those Infinite moments at His table, our gracious Lord of Host, in like manner, ministers through the Majesty of His Light and Life, to every member of His Body, that He might give gifts, and add the strength of His Spirit to those that are lacking, and in need of the full Grace of His whole Body, which is knitted together in the color and substance of His Love.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Now again, the Master turns to you, and Jesus calling you by name says: "My child, I have an absolutely necessary cup for you to drink from. Remember always that the substance of this drink, comes from the heart and soul of Who I AM; and it is a strong drink of dark judgment, poured out in Love for you. This, -- My Father's Covenant Cup of Love, contains the substance of My Life Blood poured out in judgment for the color of your sin, and the Idolatrous substance of self. Although the issues of both Death and Life are in My Blood, do not be afraid, but faithfully come to My Table of Grace, drink it often, so that all your days may be full of My Light, ---- and in My fields, you work not in darkness, ---- and in your sacrifice of Love to the Father, and My Body, you may bring forth a fruitful harvest of souls to My Table, where the facets of the purity of faith, through Me and in Me, abounds, in faithful hearts, with Life and Love with infinite color, to the Glory of our Father God." (See 1st Thessalonians 1 verse 3.)
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you:
But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father
forgive your trespasses.
(See all of Matthew 6 verse 9 thru 15.)
Whose Doctrine do we follow: Is it man's philosophical contrivances of twisted dogma, or the True Word that came forth from God's Holy Son, Who calls for all of mankind to repent, and then to believe the full Gospel? The whole of the spiritually minded church, needs to remember that God's finishing Grace for our acknowledged sin, is accomplished in our receiving of the New Covenant Communion that the Lord Jesus inaugurated at His Last Supper. The timeless Word of God in Jesus Christ the Man, declared to His disciples that the Communion (Fellowship) Blood is the very same Life Blood that He was too shed on Calvary, for He says; “This 'is' My Blood of the New Covenant, which 'is' shed for many for the remission of sin”. (Mark 14 verse 24) And Jesus said to the naysayers of the day: "My Doctrine is not mine, but of His that has sent Me. If any man will do His Will, he shall know of the Doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself." (John 7 verse 16.)
To proceed to the next chapter alone, please click on The Conclusion of the Mystery of Iniquity.
The Conclusion of the Mystery of Iniquity
In this manuscript, the reader has seen the warfare that takes place for the souls of mankind. In the manuscript on Holy Communion, "The Doctrine of Life in Spirit and Truth", we will bring a body of natural and spiritual evidence that will challenge any misconceptions, concerning the Father's Doctrinal Word of Salvation Grace that flows through the Spirit of the Life Blood and Body of His Son, Jesus Christ. For now, it is most important for all of us to know and remember, that through the Life Blood of God's New Covenant that we are not our own person. We have all been bought with a price that ransoms us from the clutches of death, and the price that God paid is the precious Blood that contains the Life and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. The Gift of Life in Christ Jesus, is Holy, and His Word is Holy, and Communion is Holy, and they, as One, are to be treated with the same reverence that is do Holy Lord God Almighty.
We will bring the Beginnings of the Mystery of Iniquity to a close, with some final thoughts. It has been the writer’s intention to present for the reader, a clearer understanding of the battle that takes place for the control of our individual hearts. The pattern of this man’s thoughts, is as a disciple of the Lord, following in the Light of God’s Word, and not willfully deviating in spirit from His Path Way of Agape/Love. Having said, all that has been said, I fully recognize the corruption of sin and death that is in my flesh, and my full dependence upon God and His gracious Gift of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. The evidence, we provided from scripture and personal experience, was a poor man's effort to make clearer, some very difficult passages in scripture, and also, to sound a warning for repentance for those who have ears to hear. Make sure of whose leadership you are following, for there are no great men and women of God, whose confidence and wisdom gives license to their corrupted flesh. Jesus Christ liberates us from the bondage of sin and death, into the liberty of new LIFE within Him, so that we would become the son’s of God, to be born into the image and Likeness of God's Son, Jesus Christ. (See 1st John 3 verse 2.) As the new born children of God, we are free to Love Father God Almighty with all of our being, and born free to love one another, as the Lord Jesus Christ has Loved/Agapeo us.
Hear Scripture's reproof:
For you are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are you not carnal, and walk as men? For while one says, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that plants any thing, neither he that waters; but God that gives the increase. Now he that plants and he that waters are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are laborers together with God: you are God's husbandry, you are God's building. (1st Corinthians 3 verse 3 thru 9 (KJV.)
Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: For the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. (1st Samuel 2 verse 3 thru 4.)
Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He takes the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours. (1st Corinthians 3 verse 18 thru 21.)
God has called His people through His Holy Spirit into unity, as One, within the Body of Jesus Christ. Therefore, in the Holy Spirit, there is only the singularity of we IN Jesus Christ, the Ecclesia (Church) that is God’s garden, God's building. This building, the Body of Jesus Christ is the Holy Temple of God, where the praises and the worshiping of the Almighty, are heard unceasingly. We, who are summoned out of our darkness of sin and death, are called by God’s Spirit of Grace to be Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastor, Teacher, Healer and the pure in heart, who together are planted in our Savior, for the building up of the ONE BODY of JESUS CHRIST. (See Ephesians 4 verse 11 thru 13.)
And seeing the multitudes, Jesus went up into a mountain: and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Blessed are
the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that
mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they, which do
hunger, and thirst after righteousness: for they
shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they, which are
persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all
manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake.
Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so
persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (Matthew
5 verse 1 thru 12.)
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If you exist according to the law of the flesh you shall die, but if you through the Spirit do mortify (put to death) the deeds of the body, you shall live.
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For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
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For our God is the God of the Living, and not the god of the corrupted.
Although these writing were separated into two stand alone web manuscripts, I believe they have dove-tailed together, too help clarify some misunderstandings and controversies, which divide the people into separatist doctrines, and thereby defy God's call into the unity of His Holy Spirit of the Living. In the simplicity of my thoughts, there are two doctrines for the reader to spiritually discern. There is this manuscript called "The Beginnings of the Mystery of Iniquity" or subtitled "The Doctrine of Sin and Death", and the following linked web manuscript, which is called "Holy Communion: The Doctrine of Life in Spirit and Truth". The Communion work will present the True Doctrine of Life and Agape/Love to the people in the Body of Christ, revealing God's reviving Grace through His Holy Spirit Power within the Covenant Life Blood of His Son Jesus Christ that remediates and cleanses all souls born in the Love of God. Therefore, it is important for the reader to read both manuscripts, so as to arrive at a clarity of spiritual thought. If you will, then continue in the Spirit of God, with:
mailto:excellent.valley@verizon.net
Robert Glenn Pratten