I.
Colossians
4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a
servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently (agonizing
with athletic zeal) for you in
prayers, that ye may stand perfect
(to the very maturity of Christ’s
character) and complete (fulfilling every aspect of Christ
will, will so that you have total confidence and assurance in everything that He wants from you)
in all the will of God.
II.
II. James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another,
that ye may be healed. The effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
The prayers of a righteous person carry
much inner strength and punch to exert a mighty flurry of activity and
efficiency before the eyes of God.
v
The oil
of separation
Gal6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth(inward strength and force, to have strength to overcome
health, ability, capacity)
any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. Only
Christ being formed and birthed in us is of any capacity or ability for us to
overcome and get the victory.
Col 4:12
Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you,
always labouring
(always agonizing in an
athletic struggle,
fervently) for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. 1) Brought to a place of spiritual maturity in ever aspect of our lives;
and having a full assurance and understanding of everything that God has willed
for our lives. 2) Knowing and understanding every aspect of what God has called
us to do and willed for us, and perform it with all spiritual maturity) 3)To
the limit of the very maturity of Christ’s character so that we can fulfill
every aspect of Christ will through it.
James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another,
and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Much inward strength and capacity has the prayers of a righteous man to
show itself efficient, active, capable and full of energy possessing everything
that the Father has willed.
v
Matt 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me
is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
(To have real weight or clout with Jesus. The word for love in this scripture is
affection for Jesus above that of anything else. Having a greater affection for anything in this life makes a
believer unfit and unprepared to follow Jesus.
He is unable to adequately respond to the life and the call of
Jesus. There will be a lack of balance
between the believer and Jesus himself.
He will not deserve Jesus.)
In Philippians 2:12 the
exhortation is to carry out or work out our salvation to an utter completion,
growing up into Christ in all things. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my
presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling.
The command is in the middle voice
signifying that the responsibility is ours, and it shall be done through
implicit obedience, much prayer, and through accurate knowledge of the
word. Another favorite scripture of mine is found in Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour
of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand,
: We are encouraged here to take the whole
armor of God and having done all to stand, to stand therefore.
"Having done all" is once again the word "katergazomai.'
Simply stated it depicts us as warriors in that terrible
struggle against the world, Satan, and sin. The big ball of dull is
kicked up as were engage in these gladiator struggles of life. When the
dust finally settles we remain standing victoriously, as Satan, sin
and the world lay scattered at our feet. Once again my brethren, the
command is to carry out all things to a complete victory. The reason why the
church is so weak is because few obey this scripture.
2 Corinthians 3:18
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the
Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the
Spirit of the Lord.
·
Greek: But we all with our face uncovered (Though our faces
have been uncovered at our conversion, a believer that has an “open” face is
one that is yielded to the Lord and gladly obeys Him. He or she welcomes all that God has for them; their faces are
opened to His dealings in their lives. Quite the opposite, the person who has a
“closed face” is one who secretly does not receive another, and is in
opposition or disagreement with that other, judging them in their heart.
·
The glory of the Lord beholding as in a mirror (Quite the
opposite to Moses who did not have a spiritual mirror to capture and behold the
glory of the Lord that would thoroughly transform him! The Old Covenant was
transient and not permanent as the New Covenant inaugurated in the blood of
Jesus Christ was. Thus he covered his
face, which had the passing glory of God on it. Christ is our spiritual mirror
that allows us to permanently capture
and behold the glory of God that will thoroughly transform us, as long as our
faces remain opened towards Him at all times.
·
To the same image are being metamorphosised out of glory and into (the
next level) glory even as from the Spirit of the Lord.
Mt 17:2 And was transfigured <3339> before them:
and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
Mr 9:2 And after
six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up
into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured <3339> before them.
Ro 12:2 And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed <3339> by the renewing
of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect,
will of God.
2Co 3:18 But we
all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed <3339> into the same
image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
¶1Tim 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 Corinthians 12:2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years
ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot
tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
· · The second heaven is what Paul refers to as “spiritual wickedness in high places” This is the area of demonic activity. For us to get into a place of holding sustained and intimate conversations with the Lord we must break through the first heaven of our earthly circumstances, and the second heavens of demonic activity, into the third heaven of God’s glory.
·
·
Breaking forth
into the Spirit realm takes physical time and labor in the Lord. Spiritual
labors are such things as speaking in tongues, worship, spiritual warfare, and
waiting on the Lord. Time is the most
important factor in breaking into the third heaven. We live in the Burger King culture of the fast food life. One of
the greatest attacks by the devil on believers living in Western societies is
to tempt them into attempting the same fast food approach with the Lord. Brother and sister in the Lord, God is not
the God of the fast foods. Breaking into the third heaven is founded on time
and that time on many occasions takes hours a day with the Lord.
·
·
Intercession is
the most important and the most difficult ministry in the world. There is
nothing that the devil will attempt to hinder most than the time that the
believer plans to spend in intercession.
We must understand what true intercession is. Let us look at the following scriptures.
Romans 8:26 ¶ Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the rhema word of God:
1Cor 2:10But God hath revealed them( taking the lid off) unto us
by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth(sounds
out like a sonar sounds out the deep things in the ocean.) all things,
yea, the deep things of God.
·
Let us look at First
Corinthians 2:10. The rhema word of God reveals the things of God. It also sounds
out, in the same way that a sonar on a ship sounds the bottom of the ocean
floor, the deep things of God. The Lord never deals with the symptoms of
problems. That is the work of the
devil. The evil one has the world
riding on a merry go round of psychology, symptoms, syndromes, and
disorders. The Lord on the other hand
always drives straight to the root of the problem.
·
It has been my experience that in most cases of serious diseases
amongst Christians there is a spiritual, family, generational, or sin root
associated with it.
·
The purpose of intercession
is to sound out the depths of God so that He reveals and isolates the specific
roots of the malady, and we destroy it in prayer with the same sword of the
Spirit all while in the same time of intercession. Intercession is the revelation of the ungodly roots of a problem.
We pray back in accordance to the specifics of what the Lord shows us warrants
the situation. In all situations, and
especially serious ones, the surgical work must be done in the Spirit and the
results in the physical will always follow. The devil keeps us locked in the
physical and psychological, and the roots continue to bear bad fruit.
·
True intercession is usually most
successful through a human vessel that has gone through the cross so that the
believer’s emotions and will have been healed and stilled and are now submitted
to the voice of the Holy Spirit. A believer that has his or her soul life
healed and stilled can hear the voice of the Spirit clearly. Secondly, their
state of quietness and submission is enough to allow the Lord to intercede
through them. Deep intercession, many a time, is not the believer interceding,
but the Lord interceding through the believer.
This believer is the clean vessel for the Lord to move within.
·
As we discussed earlier on,
it is only when the Lord intercedes that He knows how to hit with perfect
accuracy the bull’s eye of the roots of any problem that we bring before Him.
He reveals it to us in the third heaven and we use this revelation as the sword
of the Spirit to pierce, destroy, sever, and deliver.
Co 1:12 For our
rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and
godly sincerity <1505>, not with
fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the
world, and more abundantly to you-ward.
2Co 2:17 For we are
not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity <1505>, but as of God,
in the sight of God speak we in Christ. {corrupt: or, deal deceitfully with}
{in Christ: or, of Christ}
Tim 4:1 ¶ Now the Spirit
speaketh expressly (“speaking
plainly”; probably through the mouths of prophets), that in the latter
times( not specific times) some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking
lies in hypocrisy;
having their conscience
seared with a hot iron;
·
Speaking lies in
hypocrisy; should
read – Through the hypocrisy of those that speak lies.
·
Conscience seared with
a hot iron; should
read- Branded in their conscience.
·
Let us look at the
progression of deception;
·
When Christians do not know
and live by the truth of the gospel that is molded as a pattern of “sound
words” (healthy words) they will pay heed to doctrines of devils.
·
We are brought to believe the
doctrines of devils when seducing spirits, which cause the believer to wander
from the truth or fall into error, deceive us.
1Tim4:7 But refuse profane and old wives’ fables,
and exercise thyself
rather unto godliness.
· Exercise thyself; Comes from the word for gymnastic
which in turn comes from the word gymnos, which is defined as
“being naked.”
· The practice in the
days of Paul was for athletes to exercise almost naked so as to be unhindered
as possible for vigorous training.
· Godliness is our manner of life, which makes us
pleasing unto God. For us to attain to all that the Lord has for us, we must vigorously
train in His will, spiritually naked, as to be untangled from distractions,
idols, and worldly affairs.
1 Timothy 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good
foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
·
There
is big difference between getting saved, going to church and performing
religious activities versus that of “laying a hold on eternal life.” To lay
hold on, is to grab on to, pull in, and make it our own possession The Lord is never satisfied with our simple
conversion and even our faithful attendance in church. He wants us to experience as much of the
fullness of eternal life as possible while in our earthly tent, which is to
know God through the fullness of the revelation of His Son within our lives.
Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
· Many of us imagine that Ephesians chapter two is Paul’s discussion focusing on unbelievers. I tend to disagree.
· The Greek word for worketh is defined as giving energy to.
· This particular verse is in the present participle. Simply speaking it signifies that the sons of disobedience energize the scheme of the devil on a continuous basis. The word for disobedience is being non compliant.
· Please allow me to ask you a question? If a Christian is continually incompliant in an area of his or her life, will he or she energize the works of the devil? I believe that there is no difference; the devil is a legalist. He will always get in wherever he is given an open door.
· I also feel, that the same degree of obedience or disobedience to the Lord, will result in the same degree of energizing or disengaging the works of the devil in our lives.
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of
God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
We are encouraged here to take the whole armor of God
and having done all to stand, to stand therefore. "Having done all" is the
word "katergazomai.'
Simply stated, “having
done all, to stand,” is wonderfully
depicted by the cartoons of the coyote and the roadrunner. In one of their many scuffles, as a ball of
dull is kicked up, both of these guys always got lost in their dusty
fights. When the dust finally settles,
the roadrunner usually remained standing.
This
is exactly what it means to “having done all, to stand.”! We must fight by the Spirit without
compromise, or without discouragement, until we remain standing victoriously;
as Satan, sin and the world lay scattered at our feet in full visibility,
once our ball of dust finally settles!
·
The command
is to carry out all things to a complete victory!
Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
· To finalize today’s teaching, the word for
working out in
Philippians two is exactly the same Greek word as “having done all”
found in Ephesians chapter six.
· Here Paul commands us to work out, carry out, and accomplish
absolutely everything to completion that pertains to our salvation, and that
with utmost serious cautiousness.
· The verb tense is in the present middle,
which simply means that the work must be our own. Salvation never comes out magical passivity, laziness, pew sitting,
and disobedience.
· We must hear and find out what the Holy
Spirit tells us to do, but the activity must be ours, and it must be constant
and in perfect agreement with the voice of the Spirit through the rhema word of
God.
1
Cor 5:8 Therefore let us keep the
feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness;
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
2Cor
1:12 ¶ For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in
simplicity and godly sincerity,
not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation
in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.
2 Cor 2:17
For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God,
in the sight of God speak we in Christ
· In the above-mentioned three verses, we see that the word sincerity contains within its root the word for “sun” in the Greek . Only a life of purity before the Lord will make us into a clear windowpane by which the rays of the sun or “The Son” can shine through. An impure life will make us into a dirty piece of glass through which the image of the Lord can hardly be seen.
· If the enemy cannot see the sunlight of the Son of God, he shall not leave us alone until the day and the time that he does, and if he does. Remember our enemy, the devil, is the greatest legal lawyer that this universe will ever see, apart from God Himself. He will claw and cleave for every inch of us that has not pass by death into resurrection.
· Secondly, part of our responsibility for generating purity before God, is found in our consciences. Our conscience contains one of the most powerful manifestations of the voice of the Holy Spirit. Its purpose is to either defend or reprove each, and every action of our lives.
I Tim 3:9 Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.
2 Tim 1:3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
· To effectively serve God, we must serve Him through our conscience. The subject matter of the conscience is extensive and we do not have time and space to study it here.
· Yes, we must serve God through our conscience, but first of all our consciences must likewise be taken through the cross. A guilty, condemned, performance oriented conscience found in many a believer, will be a poor barometer of the voice of God.
· This type of conscience produces dead works, which in turn forces us to serve God in our flesh. I encourage you to re read Romans six, seven and eight as found on the web site.
· Once that we learn to serve God in the Spirit, and have become a son and daughter of God, our conscience will become an excellent barometer of our ministry unto God. Our conscience must be purged of all the dead works consisting of condemnation, guilt, duty and so forth. Once that the cross has accomplished, we will serve God simply by His voice in our spirit and conscience; No more and no less. This is true sonship.
Hebrews 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this
world cometh, and hath nothing
in me.
·
·
Binding the enemy is very
similar in nature.
·
·
Once again we err in part, when we think that our binding of the
enemy has to do solely with hurling scriptural phrases at him.
·
·
Yes, there is power in this,
but the enemy is never completely bound.
Absolute binding of the enemy can only occur,when each and every part of
our lives have come into conformity with the will of the Lord, and the enemy is
forbidden a place or space where he can afflict us
Matthew 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the
kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven:
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
· Let us look at Matthew 16:19.
· In
actuality Jesus tells us the following.
The word for bind is “is to forbid”. The word for loose is “to permit”
. What ever we forbid or bind upon the earth shall come to pass, if it
is of the Lord. This is because God
will honor our obedience and count it as forbidden in the heavenly realm. He will then execute His righteousness to
cause us to successfully carry out the binding on earth, which He decreed in
the heavenly realm through our obedience.
· The same is true of our loosing, or our
permitting. God will bless our
obedience and will loose or permit in the heavenly realm, when we loose upon
the earth. He then sends forth His
power to cause us to execute the act of loosing as was decreed in the
heavenlies.
· Please remember, that anything, which God
does on earth, must first be executed in the heavenlies.
Phillip 2:12 ¶
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only,
but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
·
Work out Carry out all things that pertain to my salvation to utter
completion, resulting in success and liberty. To work out is in
the middle Greek tense signifying that the responsibility to complete our
salvation is ours.
13
For it is God which
worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
· Greek:
For it is God who is constantly empowering you both to cause your heart to be
conformed to His will, and then to effectively display His activity through you
in power and glory, as you obey the rhema word within your conformed heart.
23 ¶ And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
·
· Unclean spirit. Greek: “a complete absence of purity.” This describes for us a
bit about the nature of the demonic.
24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do
with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who
thou art, the Holy One of God.
·
·
Greek: There is absolutely nothing in common between
you and us, Jesus (the) Nazarene, have you come to destroy us?….
·
· This is a highly crucial
verse in that it teaches us about our true authority before Satan and his
demons. The authority that the demonic discern in the Lord, and causes them to
tremble is that because of the Lord’s absolute purity, and sinlessness, there is
nothing in common between them and the Lord Jesus. Herein lies our key to overcome the demonic within our lives, and
then to be used by the Lord to deal with it in other people’s lives.
·
· Purity is attained as we are
baptized into the full revelation of the Son of God and become like Him. The purity of Jesus baptizes us into His
freedom, and His freedom allows for the full operation of God’s dunamis power
that resides within Jesus to deal with the enemy. We see the same relationship
between Jesus and the devil also spoken in John 14:30
John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
·
·
Hath nothing (Greek absolute negative) “The devil has absolutely nothing in me
or nothing in common with me.”
·
·
Herein lies the
true meaning of Biblical binding. To
bind is not to allow or permit something to occur. Genuine binding of the
demonic only occurs within a pure life, which has no defilement with what is common
with Satan and his cohorts. At every point of our lives in which purity reigns
and the devil shares nothing in common to us, he has been bound. Now mind you, we will never experience
absolute purity and sinlessness on this side off heaven. Please let us be assure that if we live in
habitual disobedience and chronic bondage our vocalized confessions of binding
the enemy is scorned and mocked by him who will continue to afflict and latch
on to us wherever he finds sin.
Matthew 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
·
· Greek: ( paraphrase) At whatever point you have once
and for all prohibited or disallowed something from happening upon the earth
it shall be at the same point eternally
prohibited and disallowed in the heavens. At whatever point you once and for
all permit or allow for something to happen upon the earth, it shall be at that
same point eternally permitted and allowed in the heavens.
·
·
The next set of
scriptures that should continue to help us more.
Mat 12:29 Or else how can one enter into a strong
man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then
he will spoil his house.
·
·
Greek
(paraphrase) No one will have the dunamis power to come into the strong one’s
house in order to change the situation, thoroughly plunder his goods until they
are laid waste, and then occupy. (Like the USA is doing in
Afghanistan.) He must bind the strong one first and
then he will be able to thoroughly plunder.
·
·
After
twenty-two years of serving the Lord Jesus, He is finally dealing with the
strong man in my life. I am of the
belief that every believer has a strong man that afflicts him or her. The strong man is the demon that is last to
be bound from our lives. He is the one
that we can discern constantly standing before us face to oppose and withstand
us every second of our lives in a variety of deceptive measures.
·
·
The Lord has
allowed the strong man to afflict me until I have bound every major area of sin
in my life through obedience to Him, which has led to liberty in those
areas. After completing this process,
the Lord is now dealing with the strongman in my life. Let us now look at the next set of
scriptures.
Luke 11:21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace,
his goods are in peace:
·
· Greek: When the strong one fully furnished
with weaponry guards his palace, his goods, wealth, and property lie in peace.
22 But when a stronger than he shall come upon
him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted,
and divideth his spoils.
·
·
Greek: But when a stronger one than the
strong man comes upon him with a hostile intent, attacks him, and conquers him,
he takes from the strong man the armor which he trusted in and thoroughly
distributes out (to others) the strong one’s weapons and goods.
·
·
Jesus is
obviously the stronger one. My friends,
the strong man must be defeated in two ways. His binding by us is the point in
which there is not one significant area of unrepentant sin left in our lives.
Secondly, it is only the revelation of the Lord Jesus laboring in us by His
grace, and attacking the strongman as the stronger one, that is effective
·
·
With the strong
man is finally bound and conquered we find ourselves running, leaping forward,
and plundering for the Lord!
Mark 1:25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.
·
Rebuked
him – Greek
“ To heap something upon someone’s honor.”
·
All created
things have an honor that makes them up. Allow me to explain. An honor that
belongs to someone, or something, is the glory that makes it into what it
is. Even sickness and sin has a glory,
though perverse, that identifies it as a particular sickness or sin, and gives
to it its substance and power.
·
When we rebuke
a sickness with faith in the name of the Lord Jesus, we destroy the very substance
and power of the sickness.
·
Hold thy
peace –
From the
word to muzzle something. Effectively
the Lord Jesus commands the demon to be reduced to silence and his activity to
be placed in check.
Phil 2:12 ¶ Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always
obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out (Katergazomai) your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his
good pleasure.
q
q
The Lord “works in” you by
His grace. To put forth His energy,
therefore to be effective at His work.
Only the effectual working of the Lord allows us to katergazomai
q q Every time we obey His rhema word we have “worked out.” This is the word katergazomai – accomplish and
complete. Working according to grace.
q q When we work out
without receiving the
rhema word we fall away from grace. This
is the law. God’s faith and
power are not present. We cannot katergazomai.
q q Dead works are done apart from the rhema word of
God. Hebrews 6:1
q q Good works are done by the rhema word. Mat 5:16
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins,( according to the riches of his grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us ( INTO US) in all wisdom and
prudence;)
· The church is viewed as a receptacle into which all of
the blessings, the presence of God, and God’s inheritance, through Christ is
funneled into, and manifested by.
What does it mean to abound?:
· He has excelled towards us; He has been affluent, rich,
or dealt in excellence towards us. He has made to abound to or He has conferred
to us this thing superabundantly.
q
This is God’s mode of
dealing with His saints at all times.
The
abundance of blessings comes within the limitations of wisdom & prudence.
q
q Wisdom then, is performing all things in
accordance to the will, dispositions, arrangements, and timing of God.
q q The superabundance that comes into our life is limited in
proportion to doing all things in conformity to God’s will, and carrying them
out step by step in His direction and His timing. This is what it means “toward us in all wisdom
and prudence;”)
3) How do we become free?
2
Cor 13:3 Since ye seek a proof of
Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is
mighty in you.
·
·
2 Cor 13:3 tells us that The
Christ which has been given to live within us, is always mighty and powerful in
ability. His might and ability becomes
a reality in proportion to His revelation.
4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.
·
·
The Greek further tells us in
verse four, that in the same way that a tree lives from its roots as they
obtain nutrients found in the soil, we must live our lives rooted in the power
of God, as it is released in proportion to the revelation of Christ.
Philip 3:21 Who shall change our lowly body, that it may be fashioned like his glorious body, according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself.
·
·
Another vital treasure
dwelling within Christ, and one, which we will refer to in the remainder of
this study, is “the Christ whom subdues all things to Himself.”
·
·
To subdue, is a military term
comparable to a general with an army in perfect submission, hierarchy, and
order, beneath him.
·
·
One of the most important
desires of Christ is to subdue all that is not of Him in this military and
hierarchal order. The verses immediately below, all use the very same Greek
word found for the subduing in Philippians 3:21; thus
showing a vital part of the mind of God towards us in the finished work of
Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he
saith all things are put under
him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
·
· 1 Corinthians 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also
himself be subject unto
him that put all things under him, that
God may be all in all.
Ephesians 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over
all things to the church,
Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power (dominion) of his might (inner strength).
· · Christ ability to subdue is an absolute necessity for u, since it is the work of Christ to set us free.. Subduing however, can also have a very negative connotation. Dictators, such as Hitler, Castro, and others, focused their whole lives on the subduing of people. Christ, likewise, focuses much of His work in subduing, but only of things that are evil and harmful to humanity.
· · In the case of evil dictators, the subduing of peoples is called dominating, or exercising dominion over them. This evil exercise of dominion accomplishes a power as it is carried out, called the power of dominion or domination, in proportion to the strength of the dictator.
·
·
In Eph 6:10 we find this
exact principle at work. Translated for
us it commands us to be empowered in the Lord and in the domination or
dominion exerted by His strength.
·
·
This dominion or domination
is what gives the Lord the ability to subdue all things unto Himelf.
·
·
Are we beginning to get the
picture? The revelation of Christ
within us, triggered by the law of the cross through our obedience, reveals the
Christ who dominates and subdues all, thus setting us free!
·
·
Let us look at another
example.
Eph 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened(dominion) with might (dunamis power) by his Spirit in the inner man;
·
·
Greek: That God’s power
deposited into your inner man through the Holy Spirit will be seen or
translated as Christ’s dominion within you.
·
·
The results of this subduing or dominion whisks us right into
verse seventeen.
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts
by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
·
·
To dwell, is defined as a inhabitant being in comfortable control of his
home, thus allowing him to live in the peace and authority which has been
purchased through that control.
·
·
Christ desires to dwell in
this very fashion within our hearts. He
can only do so in believers that fully obey Him, allowing “the Christ
that dominates and subdues all evil” to set them free, so that
He may dwell and exercise the full authority of the kingdom, through them.
·
·
Let us finalize our study by
analyzing the life of the believer as seen in Eph 1:19-23
Eph 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty( inward strength) power,(outward dominion)
·
·
Greek paraphrase. The
exceeding greatness of this power is funneled into those who continuously
believe. The inward strength of God,
which is displayed as His outward dominion, is translated as the exceeding
greatness of His power, which is funneled into the believer. This funneling is
limited to the continual believing of the Christian, which in turn is defined
as the uncompromising moment-by-moment obedience to God’s rhema word.
20
20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the
dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
·
· He wrought This is very powerful!
·
· The Greek perfect tense is used with this
verb. As we know, the Greek perfect
tense is an accomplished event in history, having an eternal impact.
·
· Which He wrought, can be defined, as the working
through, or the accomplishing of something with absolute effectiveness,
resulting in its becoming fully operational.
·
·
The exceeding greatness of
God’s power; the translation of the dominion of the strength found within God,
is fully and eternally operational inside the Person of His Son! This very Christ lives within us, beloved!
·
·
The effective and full
operation of this dominating or subduing power can be proved in that Christ sat
down at the right hand of the Father after His resurrection. One who sits down can only do so after
conquering all; it is the position of rest.
·
·
This is why we always see
Christ sitting down in the parables of His kingdom and glory. His sitting down is the result of His
absolute victories, thus allowing for the release of His glory through the
works of the kingdom
Matthew 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come
from the east and west, and shall
sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto
you, That ye which have
followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of
his glory, ye also
shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Matthew 26:64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto
you, Hereafter shall ye see
the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of
heaven.
21
21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every
name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
·
·
Herein is another aspect of
God’s dominion fully operational within Christ, in that He was raised FAR
IN DISTANCE above all that is opposed to Him.
22
22 And put all things under his feet,
and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
·
·
The full and effective
operation of the exceeding greatness of God’s power inside of Christ, is not
only witnessed that in all things to Christ, He rose far above them in physical
distance, but they are now likewise subdued in a military fashion under His
feet.
·
·
Finally and most important,
THIS VERY CHRIST which has the full operation of the exceeding greatness of
God’s power resident within Him, has been given to live within us!
23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in
all.
·
·
Greek: Fills all things in
all people.
·
·
To fill all things in all people,
is the fullness of Christ’s revelation, which reveals the Christ who has the
full operation of God’s dominating power, which sets us free!
John 15:19 If ye were of the world,
the world would love his own: but
because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world
hateth you.
John
17:14 I have given them thy word; and the world
hath hated them, because
they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
·
· John 17:16 They are not of the world, even as I
am not of the world.
Gal
5:25 If
we live in ( Instrumental (By)) in the
Spirit, let us also walk
(Greek word which
is defined as “marching in the footsteps of a soldier”) in (Instrumental (By))
the Spirit.
·
·
Greek paraphrase) (It is a
given that we should be living our lives not in the present day world system,
but in the domain, influence, and sovereignty of the world of the Holy Spirit. Because
we are being continually affected and influenced by the Spirit, in that
influence and effect we must march in step as soldiers so that the Spirit’s
influence can go on, deepen, intensify, and continue interrupted.
·
· In the gospel of John we find number of
instances in which the Lord Jesus tells us that we are not of this world
system.
·
· In Galatians five and twenty five, we then
see the apostle Paul telling us that it is a given that we should be living in
the world of the Spirit. In Galatians
five and twenty-five we find a wonderful example of location and instrumentality. We live in the world of the Holy Spirit, and
must march as a soldier in step to the Spirit’s workings back through us as He
instrumentally influences and affect us.
·
· Paul exhorts us to live continually in the
world of the Holy Spirit, so that every action of our lives becomes permeated,
influenced, affected, and controlled by the work, power, strength, and liberty
of the Holy Spirit.
·
· Victory and liberty in the Lord is found
in proportion to how much the Spirit can control and take over our every
action. Victory is not found in our
trying to overcome. It is found in our being submerged deep enough into the
world of the Holy Spirit so that He can influence and affect us at ever point. We are filled with the Spirit, in proportion
to how much the Spirit is working back through us to influence, affect,
control, and overtake our every action of ours.
·
· Paul tells us in Galatians five and
twenty-five that our lives must be lived BY THE INSTRUMENTALITY of the Spirit’s
actions.
Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk(
The totality of
our daily activities and the way that we conduct ourselves in them) in the Spirit) (Instrumental
(BY), and
ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. (Greek double negative: and it will be impossible for you to fulfill
the flesh’s strong desire through act of your will
·
· Let us now look at Galatians five and
sixteen. The Greek word for “walk” is the sum total of our daily
affairs, and the ways in which conduct ourselves in them.
·
· Paul commands us TO BAPTISE every affair in our daily life
into the world of the Holy Spirit so that the Spirit through His
instrumentality can affect, influence, reconcile, control, and overtake every
one of those affairs.
· · THEN, AND ONLY
THEN, shall we not fulfill the lusts of the flesh!!
13
14 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, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
When the church does not have the
revelation of the Son of God it grows into doctrines of men which are promoted
by things instead than the truth which is promoted through the revelation of
God’s son.
·
· The church growing lopsided because it is
growing lopsided and being blown around by ever wind of doctrine.
v
That we may be no longer
children. A transformation must take
place.
v
Nepios literally infants, and other minors
that are immature and untaught.
v
Tossed to and fro dashing or surging waves. In changefulness and agitation the nepio is
carried about by every wind of or degree or doctrine.
v
The sleight of men is the
element of an evil atmosphere,
o Dice playing and deception.
Instead of growing up into the revelatory knowledge of Christ, we make
philosophies, or things (debt, miracles, being blessed) the main focus.
v
Doctrines become divine
truth. Things, blessings, miracles,
financial prosperity becomes the major instead of the minors.
v v Christian philosophies lead into a false
way of Christian life that diverts the nepio fatally from the truth. If we
concentrate on things, we shall always be immature. These philosophies pertaining to Christian “things” will not
bring the revelation of Christ. The
church will not grow up into all things by Christ who is our all and in all. If
our Christianity is about getting our miracles, being blessed, debt
cancellation, we will always be infants.
v
v The
church becomes messed up. Believers are
hurting; the teachers of the doctrines of men become exalted. Many of the doctrines of men only work when
you throw money at them.
15 But speaking the truth in love, may
grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: }
·
· The truth is a confession of what is the
reality in our lives because we have the revelation of Christ in our lives.
·
· By thruthing into we grow into Christ in
all things.
v
Part is revelation knowledge.
v
Confessing the truth may in
love grow up into.
v
Confession is an outward
expression of what is really part of us.
v
Only in relation to the Christ, and seizing the head; and through
an efficient revelation of Him can the church grow up into Him in all
things.
·
· The more revelation of the Christ, the
more that we can grow up into Him.
v
Of the revelation of The
Christ must be the end and the object of all of our growth.
v Christ
is the object and goal to which our growth in its every stage must look to or
be directed.
The Testimony of The Conscience and The
Minister
q
q 2 Cor 4:1 ¶ Therefore seeing we have this
ministry, as we have received
mercy, we faint not Because by the
mercy of God, we were called into this ministry, we do not become discouraged. (We
know that if God divinely summoned us, He will take care of us, and see us
through; therefore we do not lose heart.)
2
2 2 But
have renounced
(we gave up once,
and now forbid) the
hidden things of dishonesty (anything that brings shame
or disgrace to the gospel, or to us), not walking in craftiness(not conducting
ourselves in the doctrines of men), nor handling the word of God deceitfully(by
trickery, adulterating or corrupting God’s word for base gain) ; but by manifestation of the truth (but by
manifesting the gospel in its accuracy and genuineness through the Word of God
and by our lives) commending
ourselves to every man’s conscience( we present ourselves to
every type of men’s conscience)
in the sight of God.
(Before the constant gaze of God) (We must remember that the conscience of
man is a component of the voice of the Holy Spirit. Paul here says, that the
soundness of the apostle’s doctrine and the genuinenesss of his or her life in
accordance to the gospel must be so great, that it must hold up to the scrutiny
of the voice of God bearing witness or passing judgment to what the apostle
ministers in their hearer’s consciences.
Secondly, the apostle must also deal with the scrutiny of God Himself,
whose penetrating look is ever upon the apostle.
·
Philippians 1:9 ¶ And this I pray, that your love may
abound yet more and more in knowledge(thorough knowledge) and in all
judgment;(discernment)
Greek: ( my paraphrase included in italics) That your love may abound yet more (but always held bounded within the
river banks of a) a full precise and accurate knowledge of the things of God and in all
discernment( Judgment is
defined as discernment. Likewise charity must be always held in check within
the river banks of our discernment of God’s voice and our discernment of what
is of God, and what does not come from Him.)
·
We
cannot love the world for Christ through our impulses and emotions, or by
becoming its savior, our out of a fear and guilt that the world is going to
hell in a hand basket. Such love will
never become charity and will eventually burn us out.
·
We must
be led by the Spirit at all times to have the development of God’s character
and His love matured in our lives.
10 that ye may approve things that are excellent;( what differs or
excels) that ye may be sincere (judged by the sun) and without
offence till the day of Christ;
·
Greek: That you may
recognize as genuine upon examination the things that are differing. Your
recognition of what differs will allow you to choose only what is excelling or
best towards your fulfillment of the things that pertain to Christ. This will cause you to become so pure that it will allow for the beams of
sunlight to shine through you unhindered. Likewise you will become as one
that has nothing that will make others stumble when they observe your life
before the Lord.
·
Charity is the product of an accurate knowledge of the Lord, His will,
and His Word. It is likewise the product
of being led by the Holy Spirit. Thorough knowledge of the things of God and
restricting our lives to His voice will allow for the distinguishing between
the good and the excellent. If we choose the excellent God, will purify us so
much that we shall be as a clear windowpane that reflects the glory of God to
the world. This develops charity in our
lives because God is love.
14
14 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, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
·
·
Part of the result of the
present day church system
v
That we may be no longer
children. A transformation must take
place.
v
Nepios literally infants, and other minors
that are immature and untaught.
v v Tossed to and fro dashing or surging waves. In changefulness and agitation the nepio is
carried about by every wind of or degree or doctrine.
v
v Winds of
doctrine is the result of a church that is growing up into things instead of
into the Person of Christ.
v
The sleight of men is the
element of an evil atmosphere.
Doctrines of men always create abuse and base gain.
o Dice playing and deception. Instead of growing up into the revelatory knowledge of Christ, we
make philosophies, or things (debt, miracles, being blessed) the main focus.
v
Doctrines become divine
truth. Things, blessings, miracles,
financial prosperity becomes the major instead of the minors. People start to abuse what they have
created. The church falls into trouble.
It becomes desperate because its growth has become lopsided, and the
doctrine of men becomes abused as a quick for all cure panacea.
v
v If we
concentrate on things, the church shall always be immature.. These philosophies pertaining to Christian
“things” will not bring the revelation of Christ.
v
v 14 But speaking the truth in love, may grow
up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
v
By thruthing into we grow
into Christ in all things.
v
The truthing or confession is the result of walking in the truth
and having th revelation of the Person of Christ.
v
Confessing the truth may in
love grow up into.
v
Confession is an outward
expression of what is really part of us. True confession must be a statement of
what is the reality of God’s word and ways.
v v Only in relation to the Christ, and
seizing the head; and through an efficient revelation of Him can the church
grow up into Him in all things.
v
v The more revelation of the Christ, the
more that we can grow up into Him.
v
The revelation of The
Christ must be the end and the object of all of our growth.
v
Christ is the object and
goal to which our growth in its every stage must look to or be directed.
v v Because of this, in all points of our
growth, in all the circumstances of our growth, it is Christ that fills all and
in all.
v v When Christ is not being revealed, the
church grows up instead into things.
These things are called the doctrines of men. Today, doctrines of men has virtually taken over and substituted
for what is the revelation of the Son of God.
The church is tossed to and fro by every new doctrine, as it hungrily
chases after it, believing for that very doctrine to be its source of liberty
and salvation.
v v The church today grows up into a message of claiming positive
confessions, which are done outside of the rhema word of God. This message pampers and deceives the church
away from the trials and sufferings that it must go through so as to learn to
operate solely by the rhema word of God.
v v The church likewise grows up into a
message of selfish financial prosperity, which robs it from the season of
material deprivation that it must go through so as to learn to walk by “true”
faith, which is the principle for the power of God to be manifested into a lost
and dying world. The church blindly
continues to grow up into things that will never bring it liberty or salvation. This is why the American church desperately
hurts. Numerous of the men and women of
God which continue to bring these doctrines, because they themselves are
deceived, enjoy great importance and financial wealth from the very church that
desperately goes after their teachings as it seek the joy and freedom that it
will never find until it grows up into the revealed person of Christ
instead. We are indeed caught in a
spider’s web!
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places.·
·
· The second
heaven is what Paul refers to as “spiritual wickedness in high places”
This is the area of demonic activity. For us to get into a place of holding
sustained and intimate conversations with the Lord we must break through the
first heaven of our earthly circumstances, and the second heavens of demonic
activity, into the third heaven of God’s glory.
·
Breaking
forth into the Spirit realm takes physical time and labor in the Lord.
Spiritual labors are such things as speaking in tongues, worship, spiritual
warfare, and waiting on the Lord. Time
is the most important factor in breaking into the third heaven. We live in the Burger King culture of the
fast food life. One of the greatest attacks by the devil on believers living in
Western societies is to tempt them into attempting the same fast food approach
with the Lord. Brother and sister in
the Lord, God is not the God of the fast foods. Breaking into the third heaven
is founded on time and that time on many occasions takes hours a day with the Lord.
·
Intercession
is the most important and the most difficult ministry in the world. There is
nothing that the devil will attempt to hinder most than the time that the
believer plans to spend in intercession.
We must understand what true intercession is. Let us look at the following scriptures.
Romans 8:26 ¶ Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what
we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which
cannot be uttered.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the rhema word of God:
1Cor 2:10But God hath revealed them( taking the lid off) unto us
by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth(sounds
out like a sonar sounds out the deep things in the ocean.) all things,
yea, the deep things of God.
·
Let us look at First
Corinthians 2:10. The rhema word of God reveals the things of God. It also
sounds out, in the same way that a sonar on a ship sounds the bottom of the
ocean floor, the deep things of God. The Lord never deals with the symptoms of
problems. That is the work of the
devil. The evil one has the world
riding on a merry go round of psychology, symptoms, syndromes, and
disorders. The Lord on the other hand
always drives straight to the root of the problem.
·
It has been my experience that in most cases of serious diseases
amongst Christians there is a spiritual, family, generational, or sin root
associated with it.
·
The purpose of intercession
is to sound out the depths of God so that He reveals and isolates the specific
roots of the malady, and we destroy it in prayer with the same sword of the
Spirit all while in the same time of intercession. Intercession is the revelation of the ungodly roots of a problem.
We pray back in accordance to the specifics of what the Lord shows us warrants
the situation. In all situations, and
especially serious ones, the surgical work must be done in the Spirit and the
results in the physical will always follow. The devil keeps us locked in the
physical and psychological, and the roots continue to bear bad fruit.
·
True intercession is usually
most successful through a human vessel that has gone through the cross so that
the believer’s emotions and will have been healed and stilled and are now
submitted to the voice of the Holy Spirit. A believer that has his or her soul
life healed and stilled can hear the voice of the Spirit clearly. Secondly,
their state of quietness and submission is enough to allow the Lord to
intercede through them. Deep intercession, many a time, is not the believer
interceding, but the Lord interceding through the believer. This believer is the clean vessel for the
Lord to move within.
·
As we discussed earlier on,
it is only when the Lord intercedes that He knows how to hit with perfect
accuracy the bull’s eye of the roots of any problem that we bring before Him.
He reveals it to us in the third heaven and we use this revelation as the sword
of the Spirit to pierce, destroy, sever, and deliver.
·
· ·
Col 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you,
always labouring (always agonizing in an athletic
struggle, fervently) for
you in prayers, that
ye may stand
perfect and
complete in all the will of God.
1)
1) Brought
to a place of spiritual maturity in ever aspect of our lives; and having a full
assurance and understanding of everything that God has willed for our lives.
2)
2) Knowing
and understanding every aspect of what God has called us to do and willed for
us, and perform it with all spiritual maturity)
3)To
the limit of the very maturity of Christ’s character so that we can fulfill
every aspect of Christ will through it.
James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray
one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Much inward strength and capacity has the prayers of a righteous man to
show itself efficient, active, capable and full of energy possessing everything
that the Father has willed.