Foundational Apostles and Prophets: What about the five-fold ministry? Part 1

Eph 2:19-22 NLT  So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God's holy people. You are members of God's family.  (20)  Together, we are His house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus Himself.  (21)  We are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.  (22)  Through Him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by His Spirit.

I am beginning a series on foundational apostles and prophets and what their function is in the kingdom of God. There is a debate that rages within the ranks of evangelical Christianity about the spiritual gifts and the five-fold ministry. Of course, when I refer to the five-fold ministry I am speaking of Ephesians 4:11-13. So then, this post will be dedicated to examining the legitimacy of modern day apostles and prophets.

First, let me say that there is an awful lot of questionable activity that takes place in the name of the five-fold ministry and modern day, present truth apostles and prophets. There are many self-proclaimed apostles and prophets that act much more like they are a part of the Old Covenant economy than the New Covenant economy.  I mention apostles and prophets because no one in evangelical Christianity seems to have any problem with evangelists, pastors and teachers. So then, somehow, evangelists, pastors and teachers are still necessary gifts but not apostles and prophets. This seems unlikely to me; especially in view of the passages in Ephesians where Paul speaks of them. Let’s look at this in the NLT which presents very plain language.

(Eph 4:11-14 NLT)  Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.  (12)  Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ.  (13)  This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.  (14)  Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.

Interesting, Paul says that the five gifting’s will continue until ALL come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord. OK, really? In an age with 30,000 plus denominations and all the division can anyone believe that there is no longer a need for foundational apostles and prophets?  Let me say this… if evangelists, pastors and teachers are necessary, how much more are apostles and prophets needed?

Add to this, the beginning of Ephesians chapter four… one Lord, one faith, one baptism… and it should be painfully obvious that foundational apostles and prophets are extremely necessary. So then, what should they do? What is the function and mission of modern day foundational apostles and prophets… Tune into this series and I will try to give my answer on this important issue.

How should new covenant people fast?

Ok, so we’re looking at the New Covenant prophecies, specifically lately, Isaiah chapters 40 – 66. I am going to posit parts of Isaiah 58 in a bulleted list, and I would invite you to look at all the bullet points and consider the church as you experience it today, and perform a mental inventory to see if most of the list actually fits your experience. I am going to eliminate the verse numbers and just place it in a bulleted list:

• Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD?
• "Is not this the fast that I choose:
• to loose the bonds of wickedness,
• to undo the straps of the yoke,
• to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
• Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house;
• when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
• Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
• and your healing shall spring up speedily;
• your righteousness shall go before you;
• the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
• Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
• you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.'
• If you take away the yoke from your midst,
• the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
• if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
• then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong;
• and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. (Isa 58:5-12)

There is a whole group of evangelicals that are fasting and praying all the time. They have shut ins and group fasts. Perhaps they would do well to look at this bulleted list. How much of this list could just as easily be applied to evangelical Christianity, especially the Pentecostal wing. Is it just me or have self righteous people always been angry, judgmental and cruel?

Removing the pointing of the finger could be universal to both the Pentecostal,  and non-Pentecostal evangelical institution. Evangelical Christianity as a whole is pretty judgmental and they base it on their particular read of the scripture. More often than not they do not even consider that they perhaps are reading scripture wrong.  Likewise, it would be prudent to consider Matthew 25:31-46 and Matthew 5:16. Jesus encouraged them to let their light shine before men that others may see the good works, and thereby glorify their Father which is in heaven. I am not saying that there is no group in institutional, evangelical, Christianity which promotes social justice, but they are far more rare than should be the case… especially given the above scripture passages. Is it possible that fasting as practiced today is an attempt to manipulate God much like in the day of Israel?

What if we really are new covenant people, completely under the new covenant? What if much of current Christian doctrine and dogma is in fact the strong delusion mentioned in 2Thess 2:11? What if now is the ripe time for the manifestation of the sons and daughters of God? Not some supra holy group of people that follow all of the biblical laws to a tee, but rather, men and women, boys and girls that are certain that they are children of God… that they love God so much, and are at complete peace and rest with him, that they begin to love supernaturally. The supernatural love is the characteristic that makes them the obvious (synonym for manifest) sons and daughters of the living loving God?

An everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David

Isaiah 55:1-4  "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  (2)  Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.  (3)  Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.  (4)  Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.

Writing on to the new covenant people… We learn in Acts that David was a man after God’s own heart. What was it about David? First and foremost it was his faith in God’s love and protection. He was set apart to be a commander of the people and a type of Christ. It is through the linage of David that the kingdom of God gets its king. The kingly prophesies of Christ Jesus always included David.

The interesting thing about this prophecy is who is addressed… “come EVERYONE who thirsts” It is not just a promise to the nation, natural Israel. It is a promise to everyone, Jew or gentile who thirsts. Jesus said the following: Matt 5:6  "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” He is explaining what was meant by Isaiah 55:1. Thirsting for righteousness is really thirsting for justice. It is one who desires in his or her heart to be just and righteous. That will be the trait of new covenant people. Even when they fall short, none the less they still thirst for righteousness.

I have known addicted people, that is, people with addictive personalities hunger and thirst for righteousness. Conversely, I have known many who think that they have achieved righteousness by their behavior that have no apparent hunger or thirst. Remember Jesus’ parable about the two that went to the temple to pray… I would sincerely watch thanking God for helping us to be righteous. What we need to do is thank God and rejoice for declaring us righteous right where we are!

Further down the passage in Isaiah, we Gentiles are included in the promise of Isaiah 55. Isaiah 55:5  Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. Here again is ample proof that the new covenant people are neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, but rather, a new creation/creature.

Right now, if you are struggling day by day, but if in your heart you hunger and thirst for righteousness… like for a cold drink and a plate when you are parched and hungry, know this, you will be filled. New Covenant People are filled by the blood of Jesus Christ and that makes them love… they love God… they love each other… and they love and seek everyone who hungers and thirsts.

Your God Reigns; a promise to new covenant people

Isaiah 52:7  “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."

Proclaiming the kingdom of God is as easy as saying your God reigns. The reign of God, the government of God, and the kingdom of God are all the same thing. To say it in today’s language you could simply say “God rules.” The above passage is descriptive first and foremost of Jesus and his mission. He came to bring the good news of the kingdom. That is the message, your God reigns. One could not say God reigns without meaning that the kingdom of God is a now thing. It is a present reality.

I have already stated that the decrees of Isaiah chapters forty through sixty-six are promises written to the New Covenant People. That is the reality of who we are. We are new covenant people, completely under the new covenant. The covenant is made by God’s declaration. It is entered into by apprehension on our part. Not apprehension as in anxiety but apprehension in relationship to apprehending or arresting.

Let’s go back to the beginning of the book. Let’s take a look at Genesis. Gen 1:27 & 31  “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  …..  (31)  And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”  There you have God’s point of view, man was created good in God’s image. In the reign of God, God’s view is the correct one. With the knowledge of good and evil, man doubted God’s original decree, and wondered if humanity was bad and not good. In the long run, humanity concluded that they were essentially bad. Christ came to this earth believing God’s original decree that he was good. He was willing to die to prove it, knowing that God would raise him from the dead. This was proof of our eternal nature. Because of Jesus, we can believe that we are eternal, and loved by God, and that God thinks we are very good. That is in a nutshell the gospel… that is the good news of the reign of God. Believing that specific gospel message restores us to the original state. That is what redemption is.

It is truly good news to find out that our God, your God, everyone’s God (I say that because there is really only one true God) reigns. God reigns and therefore despots do not. However, the reign of God is spiritual. It only moves into the natural realm when we subject ourselves to his reign. The first step in this subjection is to apprehend the gospel and the kingdom. We must, as I have said over and over again, latch on to, hold on to, firmly grip this truth. We apprehend it and do not allow it to go.

So then, the beautiful feet on the mountain top are the feet of Christ Jesus. But, when we are united to him by apprehending faith, and we begin to proclaim the love of God, and the message that our God reigns in love, we begin to have the beautiful feet ourselves. No matter what may come, our God reigns eternally. No matter what may come we are eternally connected to our reigning God. We can rest in the fact. If God merely reigns for this earthly life what good is that? It is THE eternal reign that makes us bullet proof.

Now then, eternal awareness should not cause us to cop out from achieving all that God wants for us here. It should free us up to grab for the brass ring. It should free us to reach for our highest achievements; all the while proclaiming our God reigns!

New Covenant Promises to the New Covenant People II

In the last couple of posts I have begun to explore the New Covenant promises as written in the Old Testament Prophets. Let me expand on my point. The New Covenant promises are what I call sovereign decrees of God which are guaranteed to the target audience of new covenant people. They are decrees that can be counted on completely. To use a metaphor, they are decrees that you can take to the bank or bank on. Let me give an example from Isaiah 54.

Isa 54:16-17  "Behold, I have created the blacksmith Who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an instrument for his work; And I have created the spoiler to destroy.  (17)  No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me," Says the LORD.

If you take the time to read Isaiah 54 and put these verses in context you will see that it is a promise to new covenant Israel. This brings up a legitimate question; who is new covenant Israel? What constitutes new covenant Israel? Paul takes a side trip in Romans, in chapters nine, ten, and eleven to explain this. He uses the olive tree metaphor. Branches are cut off for unbelief. Wild olive branches are grafted in, and some of the cut off branches are re-grafted in the original tree. All of the branches are grafted in because they believe in Christ Jesus. So then, New Covenant Israel is made up of both Jews and Gentiles. The New Covenant people lose the status of being either Jew or Gentile. They are in fact a new creature/ creation in Christ.

The truth is that the new covenant promises are for the new covenant people and there are neither, Jew nor Gentile, male nor female, slave nor free… rather they are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:28.) Verse 29 goes on to explain that all in Christ are heirs of Abraham and the promise. The promise is a New Covenant based upon better promises. It is important to realize that all of us Gentiles have to be grafted in via Christ or we could not be part of the covenant people.  There is a provision in the Old Covenant for Gentiles joining in to become Jews. It is found in Exodus 12.

Exo 12:48-49 And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it. (49) One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you."

The plain simple fact is that if the New Covenant is not completely in force, Gentiles could not be part of the people of God unless they were circumcised and obeyed all of the Mosaic Law. If in fact, non-Jewish people are in covenant with God at all it must be via the new covenant. Therefore, all those in Christ Jesus are new covenant people and, they can rest assured that God has not formed the weapons that come against them… not only that, they (the weapons) will not prosper. Furthermore, any tongue that rises in judgment will be condemned by the new covenant people. It is the heritage of the new covenant people. And finally, look at the imputed righteousness clause… their righteousness is from Me says the Lord.

Shouldn’t we want to be the new covenant people? We will look further into this and the implications in further posts.

The New Covenant Promises to the New Covenant People

In the last blog post, Repairers of the breach, I began to look at the idea of being New Covenant people. The New Covenant promises in the Old Testament Prophets are addressed to New Covenant people. Who are the New Covenant people anyway? The simple answer is they are all people who have truly apprehended Christ and his provisions. Peter states it this way; 2Peter 1:3-4  “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,  (4)  by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” The great and precious promises are all of the divine decrees proclaimed in the New Covenant passages of the Old Testament Prophets.

Just to name a few, Isaiah 40-66, Jeremiah 31;31-34, and Ezekiel 36:26 come to mind. How does one become a partaker of the divine nature and therefore become new covenant people? The answer is “in Christ.” There is no other way. What I mean by that specifically is there is no other way to be certain of New Covenant status. That is only obtained through union with Christ who is the promised seed of Abraham. Gal 3:26-29  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  “(27)  For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  (28)  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  (29)  And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” One is baptized into Christ by simply apprehending the gospel. I like the word apprehend because it is descriptive of real true faith. It is more than mental assent. It grabs a hold of the promises and does not let go. It is the obedience of faith.

Notice it is not obedience to a set of principles. It is a faith that holds on to promises and will not relinquish. It is like the faith of Jacob wrestling with the angel. He would not let go no matter what and that is exactly the description of apprehending Christ Jesus; holding on and not letting go no matter what.

It is in the apprehension of Christ that all of the New Covenant promises come into play. Apprehending Christ is NOT grabbing hold of a specific doctrinal stance. It is NOT talking a certain way, walking a certain way and being in a building every time the doors open. That is NOT the sign of New Covenant people. The promises DO NOT come as the result of church affiliation. They come by apprehending Christ and becoming an heir of Abraham through the promise.

We shall continue to look into what it means to be New Covenant people in subsequent posts.

Repairer of the breach

As one who is close to being a full preterist, I have long believed that Isaiah chapters forty through sixty-six are very important to new covenant people. Actually, I think that they are perhaps more pertinent than the actual first century writings in the New Testament. My reason for this is that the New Testament writings chronicle the lives and times of the early church in a transition period between covenants. Isaiah forty through sixty-six was written specifically to new covenant people. With that said, I would like to begin my examination with the promises in Isaiah 58.

 Isa 58:10-14 NKJV:  “If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday.  (11)  The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.  (12)  Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.  (13)  "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the LORD honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words,  (14)  Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken."

 I include the passage on the Sabbath for this reason. It is important. Not the day Saturday, but what Saturday was a metaphor of. It is important because of the Sabbath Rest (Hebrews 3&4.) The entire purpose of the Sabbath was to point to resting from work and trusting in God. There is so much in this passage and as the days go on we will look at other passages in Isaiah 40 – 66 but this is a good place to begin. What the world desperately needs today is new covenant people; People who are willing to be repairers of the breach.

There is a double entendre in the phrase repairers of the breach. First, it is a metaphysical breach between man and God. This is precisely why God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself not counting sin. Repairing the breach also has a natural and physical component.  It is well defined in this passage and in Jesus words in Matthew 25:31-46. Repairing the breach is also the process of bringing social justice to the poor and disadvantaged. It is a way of off-setting greed. Gordon Gekko was completely wrong. Greed is not good. Greed is a symptom of humanities pathology.

I hope this is helping a light to click on for you. We are not necessarily the church, nor are we just the kingdom of God. We are the NEW COVENANT PEOPLE. As such, we house the potential to be repairers of the breach. More to come on this subject.

To root out, pull down, destroy, throw down, build and plant

Jer 1:4-10  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:  (5)  "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."  (6)  Then said I: "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth."  (7)  But the LORD said to me: "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak.  (8)  Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you," says the LORD.  (9)  Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.  (10)  See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant."

Do you believe that each of us was put here on earth for a purpose? I do. I think that it is very important for each of us to fulfill this purpose and complete our mission. The question to ask yourself is what are you passionate about? The answer to that question could well be your purpose, your mission in life. Fulfilling it will bring you happiness and joy… In a way, it will help complete you as a person, and it will also fulfill God’s purpose for your life.

I bring this up because I want to share my passion with you. Actually, every time I write a blog post I share it, but I want to take this opportunity to state specifically how I see it and why I write this blog.  I guess you may call me a Christian mystic. By that I mean that I believe that I commune and communicate with God via his Holy Spirit. Most evangelicals are mystics in one way, shape or form. As I think about my ordination service, I recall the speaker that day, Dr. Lacy, coming from the above quoted passage. No doubt this is a common passage to be used for ordinations. But, I take it more personal than that. I believe that the Holy Spirit inspired Dr. Lacy to bring the ordination sermon from this passage and that it was a personal message to me. Yes, I realize the historical context. It was written about the prophet Jeremiah. It explained his purpose. I just think that the Holy Spirit wanted me to think about having a similar purpose and mission.

Let’s look at it for a minute in bulleted list form

• Before I formed you in the womb I knew you
• Before you were born I set you apart
• I ordained you to be a prophet to the nations
• Don’t be afraid of their faces
• I am your deliverer and with you at all times
• I have put my words in your mouth and on your finger tips

You are here to

• Root up and pull down
• Destroy and throw down
• Build and plant

With the Lord’s help and grace I will continue to write without fear. I will share openly what the Lord has given me. I will rethink and reexamine orthodoxy, dogma and tradition. I will try to, lovingly if possible, to root up, pull down, destroy, and throw down false doctrines, those that go against what Jesus and his followers promoted; even when it is unpopular; even at the risk of alienation. And by the same token, I will try to build and plant the pure gospel of the kingdom of Christ.

There, I have plainly stated my mission and life’s purpose as I see it. Thanks for taking the time to read it and I welcome any interaction.

Accepting the kingdom of God as a child

Luke 18:17  “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."

We are in a series of posts that I call “in search of the kingdom of God.” Over time I have established some interesting and challenging facts. Jesus and his followers defined the phrase “word of God” as either the gospel, or Jesus the living gospel, and not scripture. Jesus and his followers gave scripture a solely redemptive purpose. Jesus and his followers believed and taught that the kingdom of God, and the end of the age were contemporaneous with them… that is, within the forty year generation that was alive during Jesus ministry.

It is well accepted within evangelical dogma that the exodus was a metaphor for the spiritual exodus that Jesus brought about. The book of Hebrews likens the believing Jews to Joshua and Caleb. They are a type of the believer. They were able to enter the Sabbath rest after the death of the unbelieving Jews. Hebrews (chapter four) says that the believing Jews in the time of Christ are able to enter the Sabbath Rest for believing the gospel. Let’s look at Joshua and Caleb. They believed God when he told Moses that the land of rest was given to them, and that all they had to do was lay hold of it. They were fearless. The reason is that they trusted God and his word to Moses. They had childlike faith.

Let’s look for a minute at childlike faith. Some people think little children are gullible. Why? The answer is simple; they believe what you tell them and take it at face value. Little children are wired to trust. They do not easily see the danger that the world poses for them. They are trusting, and have simple faith in everything. They easily believe in Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny. It is part of their nature to trust, and only as they are let down… only as they are hurt for trusting, do they begin to build up the distrust that is very prevalent in adults.

Yet, Jesus says that unless one becomes like a little child… that is… develops childlike trust in God, they cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Again, let me reiterate that the kingdom of God is simply the reign of God. One cannot enter into a trusting relationship with God without childlike faith. What exactly must one believe? The answer is simple… believe the gospel; Believe that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself not counting sin. This is very difficult for adults to do. It doesn’t make sense… religion does. Religion makes sense because it gives us a set of rules to follow… it gives us something to perform to become acceptable to God. That is antithetical to the gospel message. It is antithetical to the Sabbath Rest.

The problem is this… without childlike faith, one cannot really trust God to give him or her the Sabbath Rest. I have observed an interesting phenomenon in my lifetime. Most of the people that I know who were told of Jesus when they were young; who really believed in him as a child, hold on to that throughout their life, and if they per chance have periods of doubt, they always somehow return to a deep and abiding faith.

What does all of this mean for the kingdom? It means that the kingdom is established solely by trust devoid of religion. If one is trusting in religion… Trusting in a formula… Trusting in a mode of behavior … Trusting in tradition… trusting in any obedience except the obedience of faith, they are lacking the childlike trust and completely missing the kingdom (reign) of God.

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness

Matthew 6:33 says this: Two directives are given.“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Two things show up in this verse:  1. first, seek the kingdom of God 2. seek His righteousness. If one wants the abundance added by God, they must first seek the kingdom and then His (God’s) righteousness. Interesting… How many church folk ever even speak of the kingdom of God let alone seek it? Are they too busy seeking and building the kingdom of church? This is an important question to ponder.  Are church folk so busy with programs and auxiliaries that they do not have time for the kingdom of God? Are they so consumed with the government of church and church authority that they neglect the rule of the King?

Further to the point, there is little real agreement as to the make-up of the kingdom of God, the timing of the kingdom of God, and the rule of the kingdom of God. I think that it would be very important indeed for most churches to begin a sincere quest for discovering the kingdom of God. Since Jesus said that the kingdom of God was at hand… right around the corner… two thousand years ago, is it not a legitimate question to ask where it is?

Moving on to point two; the righteousness of God. What does it mean to be seeking the righteousness of God? What is the righteousness of God? Let’s look to Paul for the answer. Rom 3:21-26  But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,  (22)  even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;  (23)  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  (24)  being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,  (25)  whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,  (26)  to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Yes, that’s right… the righteousness of God is imputed righteousness. It is the righteousness that comes from faith. It is NOT righteousness that is achieved by obedience to the law. What? Did I hear that right? Paul has so much to say about imputed righteousness… the righteousness of God. A lot of *new perspective on Paul* theologians  have tried to downplay the idea of imputed righteousness but, I think it is a serious mistake. Even N.T. Wright, and I love what he has done theologically, misses this important point. Imputed righteousness is the foundation of the Christian transformation process.

Why do I say that you ask? Well, because of Romans 10:1-4. This is one of my favorite go to passages of Pauls. Romans 10:1-4  Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.  (2)  For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  (3)  For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.  (4)  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Here it is made plain. It cannot be twisted. This passage can apply to most of evangelical Christianity today. People are still trying to establish their own righteousness by following the law and what they think the law is.

Even when you understand Greek, and realize that the word translated *end* in verse four is telios with the best meaning being goal… and, if you read the verse as Christ is the goal of the law for righteousness it removes the legal sense in which Christians follow the law with fear and trepidation.  In the kingdom of God, one is granted righteousness for faith in a loving Father who was in Christ reconciling the world to himself and who was not counting their sin against them. This is the source of peace with God. Yes the righteousness of God is the source of peace… and the peace is the source of love for God and the love for God brings about the obedience of faith.

My kingdom is not of this world

I have been thinking a lot about the kingdom of God lately. The gospel according to Jesus is the gospel or “good news,” “glad tidings,” of the kingdom. I want to be real clear; I am not referring to the kingdom of church. We as believers should be in the process, about the business of, establishing the kingdom of God. In order to do that it is imperative that we know exactly what the kingdom of God is. I will be doing a few posts that will be in search of the kingdom of God. Hopefully, they will discuss both what the kingdom is and what it is not.

I want to begin with Jesus exchange with Pilate. He clearly told him that His kingdom, the kingdom of God was not of this world. It must therefore be transcendental. It must transcend the kingdom of this world. We hear the phrase “in the world but not of the world” all the time. What bible verse is that found in anyway? Oh… it is not in any… at least that particular verbiage is not to be found anywhere. The concept is found in John chapter seventeen. Specifically in John 17:14 -15:

John 17:14-15  I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  (15)  I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

Something that I have come to realize lately is, that when in John’s gospel one sees the term world, it does not mean the world as we have defined it in church doctrine. It is not the world that does not know Christ and is non-religious. When John uses the word world, in context, he always means the religious unbelieving Jews. It was the religious unbelieving Jews who hated Jesus. It is very clear that Pilate did not hate Jesus (John 18:28-38). He was basically oblivious to Jesus. It was not the pagan world that hated Jesus, and he was not referring to the pagan world when he spoke the words in the above passage of John. We really need to re-evaluate our use of the term world in Christianity.

At any rate, Jesus says that His kingdom is not of this world. He does not go on to say that it will one day be of this world. The kingdom of God, is the reign of God. The reign of God has always been and always will be so the kingdom of God, reign of God is eternal. The good news of the kingdom of God is that God reigns. Added to that is that God loves humanity. Added to that is the forgiveness of sin. Sin is separated from humanity as far as the east is from the west. God will remember sin no more. We are reinstated in a relationship with God because of Jesus and the cross. We can believe the truth about us, and about God. He thinks we are very good (Gen 1:31.) He is happy he created us and wants a relationship with us.

This is the knowledge that will help transcend the kingdom of men. This will transcend the kingdom of church, and religion that has a death grip on so many. We can be smack dab in the middle of the kingdom of men and still be citizens of the kingdom of God. We can begin to follow the rules of the kingdom of God. We can love. We can love one another. We can control our greed. We can feed the hungry, give shelter to the homeless and clothe the naked. We can see that the kingdom of God operates in the man-made kingdoms whether it is the kingdom of earthly government or the kingdom of church.

Fear not little flock for it is your Father’s good pleasure to GIVE you the kingdom!

I watched our DVD of the movie “The Secret” a couple of times today, and it pointed out something that will help me change my MO (modus operandi.) I have been critical of evangelical doctrine and dogma, and unfortunately in so doing, have brought more of the same into many of my readers. I shall try from here forward to write about what is good, proper and motivates improvement. In other words, I will emphasize as Jesus and his followers did their new definition of the word of God and explain the redemptive focus of the scripture, and will leave the criticism to others if there is to be criticism at all.

It is fitting that we focus on this glorious promise that Jesus made in Luke 12:32. It should bring joy to our hearts and minds to realize that the God of the universe, our loving Father... by the way as Jesus assured us, has made such a grand promise. The kingdom is ours for the establishing. If it is in fact the Father’s good pleasure to GIVE us the kingdom, then it will behoove us to explore exactly what the kingdom is and what it means to be a citizen thereof.

We can rest assured that the main emphasis of this kingdom is the gospel of grace. Father God has righted the wrongs in Christ Jesus, and has restored us to the fellowship that Adam enjoyed before the fall. We once again can walk and talk with the Father in the cool or warmth of the morning, noon, afternoon or evening. We are in relationship with Him based upon the faithful act of Jesus his beloved son and our elder brother. We have been afforded a grand opportunity. We can love if we trust in the gospel message. We can find real peace with God and develop a deep and abiding love for God that we can show by loving each other.

The kingdom which the Father desires to GIVE us has only one rule. It is the rule of love. It is not a rule that must be followed, nor is it a rule that can simply be followed. We can only genuinely obey the rule of the kingdom if we actually love. It must be that we first love God, and then an offshoot of that love will be the impetus for our love for one another. Yes, my dear friend, I am afraid that we must genuinely love one another. So much so that we would be willing to lay down our lives in that love. This cannot be accomplished because we have read somewhere that it is a rule. We must genuinely first and foremost love one another. It must be in the way in which the Father and Christ have loved us. This is supernatural love, and we cannot achieve it on our own. It has to be infused into us from the Father by his Spirit, and that must needs be the result of genuinely believing the gospel. I hope you will go along with me on this journey in search of the kingdom of God.

What do I mean when I say that Jesus taught a solely redemptive hermeneutic?

I have spent a lot of keystrokes demonstrating that Jesus and his first century followers who wrote the New Testament redefined the term word of God to mean Jesus or the gospel, and established a solely redemptive purpose to scripture. So what? What is my point you may ask? I will try to articulate the importance of this understanding and what it actually means to the believer and his or her faith and practice.

First let me say that the solely redemptive purpose eliminates the rulebook, and the legalistic constitutional reading of scripture. This is by far the prime method of reading among evangelicals, and it is the one that produces fear in the heart and mind of the saint. When one looks at the law as the exact standard of righteousness, the standard that one is expected to live up to and strive for, it cannot help but create fear in the heart and mind of the saint; Especially the one who realizes that they in no way, shape or form, measure up to the standard.

When one sees the scripture as the word of God in totality, there is no possible way to escape the legalistic and constitutional reading of scripture. In this scenario, the law always trumps grace. This sums up evangelical theology. In the long run, law always trumps grace. However, when one shifts paradigms to the redemptive view that Jesus and his followers taught. You find out that grace always trumps law. James, the most legalistically understood apostle… the one who told the Jewish converts that they establish their faith by their works… made this statement. It is a declarative statement that must be a redemptive decree. ” Mercy triumphs over judgment. ”  (James 2:13) Yes, grace rules!

When one adopts the solely redemptive view of scripture, and sees Jesus and the gospel as the word of God, then, grace suddenly trumps law every time. Why do evangelical preachers continue to preach as though law trumps grace in the end? It is because of their definition of the word of God. They see it as the entire bible, and thereby cannot escape the idea that in the end law trumps grace; especially if it looks like one is misusing grace. They use the scripture to prove the point and it is always the final word. Here is an example of what I mean:

Heb 10:28-29  “Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.  (29)  How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?”

Anyone who uses this verse to prove that law trumps grace in the end does so from sheer ignorance. If you read Hebrews, and do not take into account the historical context, you can come up with some really scary verses, in what otherwise is one of the most redemptively declarative books of the New Testament. One must understand that the book of Hebrews was written to Jews, who because of persecution, are in danger of returning to Judaism without Christ. All of the *impossible to repent* passages are directed at the fact, that if Jesus is not who he says he is, and, if his sacrifice is not sufficient once for all, then they are in really bad shape because without him there is no repentance at all. Temple sacrifices will not do the trick. The blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer is not sufficient for anything. In fact, these are the dead works that one must have their consciences cleansed from. It is definitely not teaching that law trumps grace, and evangelical preachers who use it that way ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Toward the Kingdom of God and away from the kingdom of church

Why do people read and interpret the bible the way they do? How do they get the meaning and interpretation they get? Why are there over thirty thousand denominations? Why do the saints so vehemently disagree as to the interpretation of certain texts? What is the source of all of the doctrinal dissention that exists today?  To steal a question from Rodney King; why can’t we all just get along? The short answer to this is Biblicism.  By that I mean reading the scripture literally and allowing it to interpret itself and be its own authority.

This method of interpretation came about in large part because of the Reformation *ideal* scripture alone, or sola scriptura. It came as a reaction to church doctrinal authority as it existed in the Roman Catholic Church. In Roman Catholicism, the magisterium, or *canon of church interpretation* is what is important in RC faith and practice. In other words, what has the Church said about the meaning of certain biblical texts? It is a doctrinal position which assumes that lay people have no business trying to interpret the scripture.

The Roman Catholic Church along with the eastern orthodox churches claim apostolic succession, and thereby maintain their authority.  This apostolic authority suggests that since they can trace their origin to original apostles they have had handed down from one patriarch to the next the apostles’ doctrine.

I have known many evangelicals that have left the ranks of Protestantism and joined either the Roman Catholic Church or one of the eastern orthodox churches such as the Greek or Russian Orthodox. When you think about it… it kind of makes sense. However, I do not believe that the RCC or the OC has the apostles doctrine. I believe that they are the originators of the *strong delusion* of 2Thessalonians chapter two.

Here is the reason I believe this. If one accepts the idea that the New Testament documents were written prior to 70AD and I do, then, there is a awkward silent period of thirty- plus years. The first works of the early church fathers were written about 110AD at the earliest and it was in the 120’s that church writing really got going. Why the silence? Another thing is this… the early church father’s doctrine does not mesh well with the doctrine of the first century apostolic church.

For example, I have shown unequivocally that Jesus and the first century New Testament authors redefined the term word of God from the Torah to the gospel. He gave the scripture a solely redemptive emphasis, insisting that it be used to help find him and thereby enable finding eternal life. The early church fathers, much like the scribes and Pharisees, defined the scripture as the word of God and used it for the purpose of establishing faith and practice. While Jesus said “seek ye first the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness,” the early church fathers promoted seeking the kingdom of church and self-righteousness.

The New Testament authors awaited the destruction of the temple and the end of the age. They awaited Jesus enemies, unbelieving Jews, to be made his footstool. When the temple and Jerusalem were destroyed, thus making Jesus enemies his foot stool, the early church fathers ignored it. The early church father’s doctrine is definitely the leaven of the Pharisees and the strong delusion of 2Thessalonians chapter two.

Therefore, Biblicism is not the problem. The wrong hermeneutic is the problem. If one would go out and join the Roman Catholic or Greek Orthodox Church they would merely be embracing a more pure form of the strong delusion and the leaven of the Pharisees. Until we change the hermeneutic to line up with the one that Jesus and the New Testament authors used we cannot expect to get free from the error. The change must be radical and I hope to use the next few posts to begin to lay out a methodical plan for recovering the apostle’s doctrine. Only then will we truly begin to build the kingdom of God.

The Last Adam; In His Presence in the Present

1Co 15:45  Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

We have taken a long look at the significance of the destruction of the temple, Jesus enemies being put under his feet, and the full instatement of the New Covenant. At the destruction of the temple the Old Covenant, that was obsolete since the time of Jeremiah, vanished. So then, what does that mean practically? Look at the above scripture; the first Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life giving spirit. What if there is more than meets the eye to the later statement? What exactly does it mean to become a life giving Spirit? Well, for sure it means that because of the last Adam eternal life is possible for all.  How do I know this you may ask? Well, look at this: 1Co 15:22  “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” This explains it clearly.

Still, what if there is more? What if the old heavens and earth was the Old Covenant, and the new heavens and earth was the new covenant?  David Curtis makes a powerful case for it here. But, let’s just assume for a moment that he is right. This means that we are living right now in the New Heavens and Earth. It means that the New Heaven and Earth has been available to all who would believe it since the destruction of the temple. It means that what we have learned to call church doctrine is really, the strong delusion of 2Thess 2:11.

Recently my wife has been ill; some sort of a virus or something.  She was on the phone with her sisters and they prayed for her to be healed. One of her sisters, an evangelist, prophet and co-pastor quoted the passage from Isaiah which says “by his stripes we are healed.” She went on to prophetically proclaim that being healed is a place. That struck a chord with my spirit as I believe that to be the case. The place is the presence of God and it is in the present moment. It has been ever since the new heaven and earth have been with us. We simply must believe it!

The truth is that in the Last Adam we have been completely restored to relationship with the Father. We walk and talk in his presence 24/7. We are always in his presence! The reason is that in reality we live in the present, and in the present is his presence. It does not matter whether we feel it or not. It is what is true. However, we really only tap into it by faith and trust; We only benefit from his presence when we acknowledge it.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know that we are always in his presence? Yes, but only if you realize that Jesus has made us righteous before the Father all the time. We can stand in that presence with a cleansed conscious because of the blood of Jesus. In Him we are the righteousness of God! Please begin to believe the truth about who you are and whose you are. This will not only bring healing… it will bring a peace that passes understanding!

Haggai’s Message For Today

I am reposting this article that I wrote a while back. It came from a bible study that I and my wife did in Haggai.

Hag 1:2-4 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'This people says, "The time has not come, even the time for the house of the LORD to be rebuilt."'" (3) Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, (4) "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?"

The Prophet Haggai prophesied, during the time that the people of Israel had been allowed to go back to Jerusalem, to begin to rebuild the temple of the Lord. This was the return from Babylonian captivity. Work had stopped on the temple of the Lord and they were busy building their own houses and pursuing their own agendas. 

Here, by the Prophet, the Lord asks if it makes sense that they should have finished houses while His house, the Lord’s house lay desolate.

Today, in this world of denominations and factions, the people of God are busy making their houses beautiful, stained glass and fine plush pews, while the true House, the body of Jesus is lying in desolation. The factions grow with ever increasing numbers day by day; dividing and growing like a cancerous cell. In the meantime, the world sees the denominations and debate, and concludes that Christianity, is merely another alternative of the relative choices that one has in life about what to believe. There is no chance for the powerful witness of the body of Christ to go forth with crystal clarity. When we ignore this, we continue to say, “the time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.” I proclaim today, that the time is long since passed!

Look on to what else Haggai says:

Hag 1:7-11 Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Consider your ways! (8) "Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified," says the LORD. (9) "You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?" declares the LORD of hosts, "Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. (10) "Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew and the earth has withheld its produce. (11) "I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands."

Look at the Spiritual implication of what is written here. The spiritual drought that besets the land is the result of God’s efforts. He blows it away! We may see a little harvest of anointing oil and a small portion of fruit from time to time, but the heavy due and the new wine and fat cattle are merely a thought of some future move of God. The plain truth is that the harvest is being held in check because the house of the Lord is desolate. The Lord says to consider our ways. We are to rebuild the temple. This will take heavy lifting. This will require much hard labor.

Haggai goes on to say:

Hag 2:6-9 "For thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. (7) 'I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD of hosts. (8) 'The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,' declares the LORD of hosts. (9) 'The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,' says the LORD of hosts, 'and in this place I will give peace,' declares the LORD of hosts."

So what is the answer? What is the heavy lifting? What is the work that must be accomplished to make the latter glory of the Lord’s house greater than the former glory? The temple must be built on the proper foundation. The foundation is the Lord Jesus Christ and above that is the Apostles Doctrine. But, what is the Apostles Doctrine? Don’t we have it? Well, we will ask the question this way. With all of the factions that exist in Christianity do we have it today? The answer is absolutely not!

The truth is that we all have pieces of the truth, but we must have our earth shaken. We must allow the Spirit of the Lord shake our individual nations. What we must do, is come together to search out the apostles’ doctrine by means of the Holy Spirit, in the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. This will require heavy lifting. This will require us to lay all of our agendas on the table and examine them together with the Holy Ghost’s direction. We cannot divide, but like a family intent on ironing out differences so that it is no longer a house divided, we must resolve to stay at it, until we have found the answers, and further, that the Holy Ghost has witnessed to us as a group, that we have indeed found the answers. At the end of this will come a return of the Apostolic Doctrine, and the Lord will bless as He promised in Haggai. The latter glory of the house will be greater than the former.

No longer will Larry King be able to have a Catholic Priest, John Macarthur an evangelical preacher, and a new age advocate debating truth, for the true temple of the Living God, the body of Christ, will be demonstrating in the Land, and Christ Himself will stamp his approval with a greater works ministry, that is so profoundly miraculous, that the whole world will take notice and see that the Temple of God is in the land.