Category Archives: apostles’ doctrine

March 20, 2014 · 6:15 pm

Doctrine of Baptisms–Baptized into His Death Frees Us from Sin

The early apostles taught their third doctrine–the “doctrine of baptisms–with an “s.” For there are several baptisms in the Christian walk–not just the one with water.

The first baptism mentioned was John the Baptist’s “baptism unto repentance.” He encouraged the people to repent of their sins, be baptized in water, thus pointing them to the Lamb of God, who would soon become the Sacrifice for all men’s sins. “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I…he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (Mt. 3:11). Here we have three baptisms in one verse.

The baptism in water is symbolic of the death of our old sinful heart (see post on this at https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/baptismempty-ritual-or-symbol-of-death-of-self/ ). Paul taught that it was symbolic of being immersed into Christ’s death. “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?” (Romans 6: 3).

Just How Are We Immersed into Christ’s Death?

Just before Christ died, this perfectly sinless man took upon Himself the sins of the whole world, past, present, and future. Sin was transferred onto this sin offering, and He died with all our sins upon Him. Consequently, when He died, my old self died. When He died that day, our old selfish egos died.

When He was literally buried in the tomb, our old lives were buried. Gone. Over with. And when He rose from the dead, we rose from the deadness of our sinful existence, into a brand new wonderful life, energized with God’s Spirit now within (for more on this, see “Introduction” of my book The Unveiling of the Sons of God found at the top of this page). All this has already been done for us by God. We have to only believe it when we read it in Romans 6: 3-7 :

“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. Because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”

We are now free from sin–if we really believe it. Free! We are no longer slaves to the pulls, urges, and demands of that old spiritual nature that held us in bondage to do sinful acts! I’m talking about revolutionary freedom here! We were dead to sin, but now we live unto God by faith in the Spirit that He has given us.

Water baptism is just the symbol of this immersion into Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Believing and walking in this truth is the reality. But God has promised his sons and daughters more and greater baptisms–the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of fire, which takes us into the very presence of God’s transformative power. Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Tagged as apostles' doctrine, baptism, death of self, repentance, sin

January 25, 2014 · 4:51 pm

God Is the Teacher Teaching Through His Teachers

Oh, my God! This thing is real! You are the great Teacher, and when your Spirit dwells within a member of your body, then You the Teacher begin to teach, and the vessel that you speak through becomes a teacher of God. For it is no longer them that lives but Christ that lives in them. As Paul the apostle and teacher of God said, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2: 20).

And really, this message, the death of the old sinful self, is the foundation of the temple of God. We are His temple; consequently, our foundation must be the crucifixion of self, which is how we repent, and faith toward God, which is believing that He raised us up when He raised Christ up. That is the foundation that we are to build on. That is the cornerstone of the apostles’ teachings that we are to continue in (Acts 2: 42).

When we are baptized, we are immersed into His death (Rom. 6: 3). The water symbolizes to all that this is done. And what does “His death” entail? His death is the death of our old sinful nature; it is the end of our sin and sinning. “For He has made Him to be sin for us, who did no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5: 21).

Christ carried our sinful nature on Him; He was the scapegoat offering. He put an end to sin in us, for when He died, our sinful self died. When He was buried, our old self was buried; and when He was raised–HalleluYah!–then we too were raised to walk in a new life! Where old things are passed away! Behold, all things are become new!

“For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin–because anyone who has died has been free from sin” (Rom. 6: 6-7 NIV). We are not bound to sin anymore; we are not under that bondage anymore. Believing in the His resurrection is the key because when we believe it, we are believing that we are being resurrected from the death that comes from the sinful self. Death is destroyed when our sin is put to death on the cross with
Christ. Ingenious plan!

Just the Beginning

This makes us a child of God. Wonderful, yes, but it is just the beginning of our walk with Him. It is the first step, the first stones to be laid in the foundation of us His house. Yet many new Christians are content to remain here as little children of God. But we are admonished to “go on to perfection,” to full maturity in God’s life cycle, for He is all about reproducing Himself. That is His plan and purpose.

But how do we continue growing? What steps must we take? What knowledge do we need, what spiritual meat was He talking about when He said to children of God that He had more advanced teachings for them, but they were “dull of hearing.” He was saying, You ought to be teachers of these advanced things of God, but you “have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God and…have need of milk and not strong meat” (Heb. 5: 11-14).

Babes need milk to grow. And that spiritual milk is comprised of the “principles of the doctrine of Christ,” which leads to Christian “perfection,” which is maturity.

These first foundational teachings of Christ are outlined in Hebrews 6: 1-2: repentance from dead works [sin], faith toward God, doctrine of baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

And to get to full maturity like the early apostles, we must get these solid in our new life in Christ and then–leave them! We must not circle them like the Israelites circled the same old mountain. Forty years they wandered, and only two out of millions went into the Promised Land! We incorporate these teachings into our spiritual life, but we don’t remain there. These doctrines serve as our foundation in Christ, but to fulfill His will for our lives, we must leave them. They are stepping stones for the princes and princesses of the King! They are pre-requisites; they are means and not the end-all-be-all. To complete our royal destiny, we must grow in grace and knowledge and “be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine.”

And we Christians will leave the first principles of Christ’s doctrine and “go on to perfection”–if God permits. He wishes that all of us were prophets. He loves us and wants us to be just like Him. And more importantly, He has provided the way through the first two gifts of the Spirit–the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge, the tools of the trade for His teachers.

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Tagged as baptism, death of self, faith, resurrection, sin

January 18, 2014 · 4:24 pm

The Five Offices of God–For Our Perfection

Unto man has God “put in subjection the world to come.” Man. That’s us, brethren. In the world to come, the next age, the time in the history of this earth after Christ’s return to rule it for a thousand years—God has ordained that some of us human beings will be rulers with Christ in the government that He will establish (Heb. 2: 5).

To rule and reign with Christ in His kingdom/government—that is the high calling. Brethren, are we ready? Have we grown spiritually that we would be strong and pure enough to take on that mantle of responsibility for the King, to be His administrators, His regents, His arms and hands, His heart and mind in the myriad matters of ruling the King’s earth?

To help us fulfill this “high calling” of God, Christ came “that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (2: 9). And Christ will be made complete and perfect by His act of “bringing many sons unto glory” (v. 10). And this glory is us being glorified, which in turn brings final glory to the King and Master. Christ will be fully glorified when He fulfills His final destiny, which is bringing His chosen ones to full spiritual maturity.

He did say, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone. But if it die, it brings forth much fruit” (John 12: 24). We are the “much fruit” that He refers to on the road to His glorification (v. 23).

And because we, Christ’s followers, have come out of the matrix of “flesh and blood, He also Himself took part of the same.” Why? So that He could pave the way for our immortality, made possible by the destruction of the devil. Christ destroys the devil when He destroys sin in our life and gives us a new life by faith (Heb. 2: 14). That’s the foundation to build the temple of God on. Since we are His temple,that is where we start.

And Christ brings us to that full mature spiritual growth by sharing His Spirit with His body of believers. He shares His Spirit with His teachers, and they then impart the necessary knowledge to Christ’s brethren, for “He is not ashamed to call [us] brethren (2: 11).

Why God Gave Us the Five Fold Ministry Offices

In fact, Christ set in His spiritual body of believers five offices: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. And Christ established these offices “for the perfecting of the saints [the brethren, us], for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4: 11-12).

Let’s savor this a moment. God has chosen out from among all the Christians in the world a few to be in these offices. Why? What is their purpose? First, they are necessary “for the perfecting” of the members of Christ’s church, which is His body of believers. The Greek word (G2675) translated “perfecting” here means “to be fit, prepared, to be mended and repaired, and ethically, to be complete and perfect, and to make one what he ought to be” (http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=G2675&t=KJV).

The true offices of God will help us by the Spirit within them to become prepared, ready and fit to assume the duties in Christ’s kingdom—royal duties to be assigned to us of our Father. For this is really the “work of the ministry” that Paul refers to here. The “ministry” of Christ is the administration of His government that will fill the whole earth, according to the prophet Daniel in 2: 44 and 7: 18: “But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.” That’s a long time to be in the presence of the King of kings (that’s us with the little “k”). And we “shall take the kingdom and possess it forever.” We. Us. Ruling with Christ the King.

That’s the gospel, my brothers and sisters. That’s the good news that man needs. Getting rid of the corruption caused by the sinful hearts of the leaders of this present world system and replacing it with righteous rulers who contain the Spirit of Christ in their bosoms. That’s the gospel; that’s the good news. It is the “gospel of kingdom” (Matt. 4: 23; Mark 1: 14-15). But how the gospel has been watered down at best by preaching only a tiny portion of His plan! How it has been poisoned by the preaching of false concepts like the prosperity doctrine! Well did the prophets cry, “Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, Saith the LORD.” And, “My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray.” But then He promises finally, “I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding” (Jer 23: 1; 50: 6; Ezk 34: 2; Jer 3: 15).

How Long Will They Teach Us?

These Spirit-led apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in our day will continue to teach “till we all come in the unity of the faith” (Eph. 4: 13). They through the Spirit will teach His pure concepts until we Christians are on the same page, until we have His vision. They will teach by His Spirit until the body has the true “knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man” (4: 11).

They will continue to teach the truth until we are fully grown, walking in the Spirit like Peter, James, John, and Paul did after the Resurrection. “Perfect” here means a completed spiritual life cycle growth. They will teach until we all have the “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (v. 11).

But don’t just take my word for it. We must prove all things through study and prayer to see if the things expounded here take root and grow in our hearts—to see if this vision of a royal heritage quickens like a seed in warm rich soil which loses its lonely first state and dies, only to be reborn as a green lively plant nourished by the living waters, alive now to reproduce itself, as the Creator has reproduced Himself in us. Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Tagged as "Kings", Holy Spirit, kingdom of God, perfection, spiritual growth

December 14, 2013 · 3:55 pm

The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect

King David is looking up at the dancing diamond lights in the heavens and writes, “What is man that Thou art mindful of him?” [1]

You, God, who created this vast expanse of stardust whose beauty causes us to gasp when we take time to look up—how incomprehensible is Your love for us! You, the Master of the Universe, who controls the destinies of a billion stars and their planets, why would You even think about us down here in the clay pits of the earth? And yet, You think about us all the time.

Your mind is full of us; we occupy your thoughts. And You have “crowned us with glory and honor.” Really?

Really? Glory for homo ignoramus? Honor for man who frets and struts his petty little ego around the yard of his mind? God has crowned man with glory and honor? Man, who grasps at vainglory all the days of his life, earnestly desiring to be the center of attention, does not realize that he is the center of God’s attention. But man wants the glory on his own terms and not his Creator’s terms. And therein lies the problem.

For man in his natural state will die, for God has “made him a little lower than the angels” for the suffering of death in hope that man would turn to Him for life, the crown of life.

Some Will Literally Wear a Crown

For those who can believe it, God has crowned us with glory and honor. God speaks here as though things already were fully actualized. A select few will wear a crown placed upon their heads by God Himself! A crown is made for and is only worn by royalty.

And this is no “hollow crown that rounds the mortal temples of a king” [2]. No, these crowns placed upon God’s elect sons will be their immortal reward for their humble service to their King.

For in the Kingdom of God soon to literally come to this earth, no one will “tell sad stories of the death of kings.” For these kings will be immortal, ruling in their “house which is from heaven,” their new spiritual bodies. Immune from death, they will “rule and reign with Christ” for a millennium, and they “will be strong and do exploits in the land.” They will be like the patriarch Joseph in Egypt, their type and shadow. They will be the administrators and judges and rulers filled with the Spirit of God.

These are God’s elect, His chosen ones in this last generation before He returns to earth. They are the 100 fold spiritual fruit bearers, spoken of by the Master in Matthew 13’s “Parable of the Sower.”

They are the “five wise virgins” who had oil in their lamps and knew the times and were prepared for the Master’s return, unlike the five foolish virgins [3]. The ten were Christians all, but only the former group were accepted for the high calling.

The Overcomers Are Coming

“Many are called, but few are chosen” [4]. What distinguishes the elect from Christians who don’t mature? They will have overcome all things and endured all things and will have added to their faith those attributes of the divine nature that the apostle spoke of (II Peter 1: 4-7).

They are coming. Thousands will break through the suffocating conventions of churchianity and armed with the knowledge of their destiny and how to arrive at it, they will overcome all of the roadblocks and purify themselves with the cleansing power of the Spirit.

These overcomers have a stupendous destiny to fulfill. It is a future forged in the fires of Yahweh’s creative energy, fired like fine pottery to make vessels of quality, vessels worthy to contain the fruit of God’s ultimate vintage, His Spirit.

And these elect chosen ones will walk humbly with their God and with mortal men. For God requires the utmost humility, and only a few thousand humans in this age will be counted worthy to “go on to perfection” [5].

These are the elect of God—His princes and the future monarchs of His kingdom. To these God will delegate authority during His 1,000 reign of peace, for they will have proven themselves worthy of this glory and honor. Just like King David said earlier, they have been crowned “with glory and honor.” For “they were redeemed from among men” [6].

The Plot of a Fantasy Novel

These few words about them serve as a preface to a book being written now, a book whose working title is The Destiny of the Chosen Ones. In its pages the plan of God reads like the plot of a 1,000 page fantasy novel. It is fantastic if you look at the Bible story with fresh eyes and take it at face literary value.

Picture it. The Supreme Being in another dimension/world desires to reproduce Himself. But He happens to be an Invisible Spirit/Force of Love. And the greatest love in the universe is laying down your life for another.

But the Supreme Being, this wonderful Force of Love, cannot show His great love because, well, He is invisible, and He is immortal. He can’t be seen, and He can’t die for another.

So He first creates a prototype vessel, composed of Spirit, that looks like what will become a human being. He creates a world, a planet called earth, and He forms Adam’s body out of the dust of this planet. And Adam and His offspring are mortal.

The plan is that these mortal men are to be redeemed by their Creator from a life of bondage to an evil spirit being. This fiendish adversary has seduced these mortals into committing selfish dishonorable acts all their lifetime. And they are mired in a pit of degradation until they are lifted up and saved by their Creator. He does this by incarnating Himself in a body, a son of Adam, that can die. He then suffers death for their ransom, thus demonstrating the greatest Love—to die for another. He raises from the dead, and He buys them back and delivers them out of the pit of despair, and they remember no more their guilt for past iniquities.

And He cleans them up and trains them in the wise ways of the prophets of old who were placed in the earth to preserve the path that leads from death to everlasting life.

And these redeemed ones apply themselves to the teachings of the apostles and prophets who were sent in earlier ages to light the way to immortality. And they now believe with grateful hearts what their Master has prepared for them, and they grow in this newfound belief.

And they set their sights on this new vision and quest of becoming one of the Master’s princes. They humble themselves and learn the true teachings, enrolling in the School of the Prophets, and it transforms them. Old petty thoughts and desires melt away like tired and dirty snowbanks in the afternoon sun.

And that same sunlight begins to shine through their lives, and love and care for those still in the chains of darkness begins to grow until one day they hear a knock on the door. And they ask, Who is it? And the voice says, I am come to speak with you. And they recognize the voice as their Master’s, and they open the door, and their Master comes in, and He breaks bread with them, granting them His ultimate stamp of approval. He grants that they sit with Him on His throne [7].

That’s the destiny of the overcomers. That’s the destiny of the kings of the Kingdom. That is The Destiny of the Chosen Ones.

How Will We Know?

But one will ask, Who of us will these future kings be? Who will He choose? For we know that “few there be to find this way of truth.” The way to mortal mediocrity is broad and wide and many will enter it [8]. And the path to His immortal throne is narrow and fraught with spiritual sufferings that the masses will choose to not go through. These are the very sufferings that are used by God to burn out the dross in the lives of His chosen ones.

So who will they be? And how does one know that they are chosen? One thing is certain; you can’t work for it and earn it. It is a gift from Him. Christ gives us the answer. “He that has ears to hear, let him hear” [9]. Some will have their ears predisposed to be able to understand this high calling that He is speaking about, and some will not. Those that do, He is telling them to take it in and hear it and do it. For “unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but unto them” it is not given.

If all this makes sense to you, then you may be one of those called to His throne. It will take a massive overcoming for us. Part of that overcoming is outlined in the growth levels we are to overcome in the seven church ages. Each of these overcomings are prefaced by this call: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches: To him that overcometh…” (Rev. 2 and 3).

I would like to think that some of us reading this right now may be these future monarchs.

Psalm 8: 1, 4-6
Shakespeare, Richard II
Matt. 25: 1-13
Matt. 22: 14
Hebr. 6: 1; Rev. 14
Rev. 14: 4
Rev. 3: 20-22
Matt. 7: 13-14
Mark 4: 9, 11

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Tagged as 100 fold, everlasting life, immortality, kingdom of God, Last days

October 26, 2013 · 12:40 pm

The Apostles’ Doctrine–Baptisms (Plural)–Immersed into Christ’s Death

The early apostles’ taught their third doctrine–the “doctrine of baptisms” with an “s.” For there are several baptisms in the Christian walk–not just the one with water.

The baptism in water is symbolic of the death and burial of our old sinful heart (see post on this at https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/baptismempty-ritual-or-symbol-of-death-of-self/ ). Paul taught that it was symbolic of being immersed into Christ’s death. “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?” (Romans 6: 3).

Just How Are We Immersed into Christ’s Death?

Just before Christ died, this perfectly sinless man took upon Himself the sins of the whole world, past, present, and future. Sin was transferred onto this sin offering, and He died with all our sins upon Him. Consequently, when He died, my old self died; your old self died with all of its sins. When He died that day, our old selfish sinful egos died.

When He was literally buried in the tomb, our old lives were buried. Gone. Over with. And when He rose from the dead, we rose from the deadness of our sinful existence, into a brand new wonderful life, energized with God’s Spirit now within (for more on this, see “Introduction” of my book The Unveiling of the Sons of God found here: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/ebook-the-unveiling-of-the-sons-of-god/ ). All this has already been done for us by God. We have to only believe it when we read it in Romans 6: 3-7 :

“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. Because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”

We are now free from sin–if we really believe it. Free! We are no longer slaves to the pulls, urges, and demands of that old spiritual nature that held us in bondage to do sinful acts! Why? Because we believe what God believes about us. I’m talking about revolutionary freedom here! We were dead to sin, but now we live unto God by faith in the Spirit that He has given us.

But first, before that glorious day, we need to be like the early disciples of the Master, who “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine,” the first of which being “repentance from dead works,” explained through the “doctrine of baptisms.” Being baptized into His death is how to repent from sins that bring forth death (Acts 2: 42; Heb. 6: 1-2).

{Being baptized into Christ’s death is just the first step. Read how this leads us to the “hidden wisdom” of God. For a deeper look into these mysteries, read this: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/the-hidden-wisdom-and-the-power-of-god/ }

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Filed under apostles' doctrine, baptism, belief, cross, crucified with Christ, death of self, faith, old self, repentance

Tagged as apostles' doctrine, baptism, death of self

July 2, 2013 · 10:32 pm

Casting Our Pearls Before Swine–When to Share the Sacred Names

A fellow Christian asked me one time, “Why don’t people believe me when I share the sacred names of God with them?”

I related to them that first of all, this walk that we have been called to is a lonely pilgrimage. I have found that for the vast majority of people on the planet, their basic spiritual need is not the sacred names but the cross experience. The sacred names are wonderful revelations, but they are “meat” and not the “milk of the word.”

People need to be brought to the “cross.” For they cannot spiritually comprehend the deeper things of God without the “spiritual eyes” received by a true conversion to Christ. They must first die with Christ, be buried with Him, and by faith be “raised to walk in a newness of life” through faith in His resurrection. Then they will be ready to go deeper into the heavier spiritual food, the “meat of the word.”

That begs the question: How will we know when to share the deeper truths with someone? What is the characteristic sign that shows us who needs “the milk of the word” and who needs “meat”? The person who uses and needs milk are the babes in Christ, or children. They haven’t grown into spiritual adulthood yet. For they “are unskilful in the word of righteousness” (Heb. 5: 13-14). The word of righteousness is present in a Christian when they have the gift of the Spirit called the
word of knowledge.” This is the ability to explain and teach another how the righteousness of God is attained. They have experienced the cross and “have been raised to walk in a newness of life.”

In that same passage we see that “strong meat belongs to them that are of full age.” Through their many spiritual experiences, they with God’s help can “discern both good and evil.” They can discern what is true and what doctrine is false. A child of God is “dull of hearing” and lacks discernment.

We must “not cast our pearls before swine.” The Savior knew that if we give stronger truth to those without a new heart, that they would reject it out of hand. Paul, experiencing this very thing said that “he was determined to not share anything with them except Christ crucified”–or, the death, burial, and resurrection of their old selves with Christ.

I’ve done the same thing, sharing wonderful things of God to those who cannot receive it. But I know that some will. Those nurtured through the apostles’ doctrine–the first two being “repentance from dead works” [the aforementioned cross experience] and “faith toward God” (see Hebrews 6: 1-2).

We must first lay the “foundation of repentance from dead works and faith toward God.” In order for someone to be the spiritual temple of God, they must have a good foundation.

Those of us who have run into this experience should be encouraged that we are not alone in our spiritual trek, and that there is a reason why God has revealed Himself and His truth to us. And, of course, our first reaction is to share it all with everyone. We all have done this. But He does not want all of it shared with everyone. I know that is ironic, but it is true. Just look at the parables, which are the “dark sayings” that deliberately cloud the meaning of the mysteries of His kingdom for those who are not meant to receive it! Incredible.

We still need to witness the truth to others–but that part of the truth that really meets their true need, which usually is the cross experience. KWH

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Filed under apostles' doctrine, cross, crucified with Christ, death of self, faith, gifts of the Spirit, Parables, Sacred Names

Tagged as cross, Parables, Sacred Names

June 15, 2013 · 3:23 pm

First Step in Becoming a Son or Daughter of God

A seeker once asked the Seer, “How do you get into the family of God? I see what you mean about respecting God’s awesome power and sovereignty. At least a little. But what do I have to do in order to get involved in this sonship the Bible keeps on talking about?”

“The first thing is to feel in you inner being, in your heart, that you need to change. Unless a person admits that he is not living right before this awesome Creator God, that person cannot get closer to God. God has a written law, handed down by the Son of God himself to the prophet Moses. It is called the Ten Commandments. It was in effect from the creation of man and woman. It was in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. They are called the commandments of righteousness. And everyone has broken them.

“God laid down the law: You shall have no other gods before me [especially ourselves]. You shall not make for yourself a graven image and bow down to it and serve it. You shall not lift up the name of God [Yahweh] falsely. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Honor your father and mother. You shall not murder, nor commit adultery, nor steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet or desire for yourself anything that belongs to your neighbor.

“Those are the commandments as found in Exodus 20. Mankind, led by their old nature, breaks them. Many people who claim to know the Bible say that the law was done away with. But the Savior Jesus (Yahshua) said in Matthew 5: 17, ‘Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets. I have come…to fulfill them.’

“And the way He fulfills the law is giving us His Spirit. But this only comes after we identify our old sinful self on the cross with the dying Savior, and let our old sinning heart die with Christ. This is repentance from sin. Then we must believe that when Christ resurrected from the grave, we, too, were raised from the dead–to walk now in a sinless existence–through belief that His Spirit is now leading and guiding us in this new life in Christ. This is faith toward God, the second of the apostles’ doctrines.

“And it is with these two extremely important and fundamental truths that a new son or daughter of God is born–born of the Spirit. But a person must have a need. God knows His own; He is aware who is written in the book of life, and He will help them and favor them (grace) and lead them into these truths.

“But this is only the first step in the growth to becoming His son or daughter. For this is the foundation that must be built upon with more of His truth and Spirit. For never forget this one thing: Salvation is just the first step in God’s growth cycle. He wants us to mature into full grown fruit-bearing capability as His ruling cadre in His kingdom during the 1,000 year reign! Go and learn what that means. Seek God for it. Study, dig deep, for the kingdom’s treasures are much greater that gold and precious diamonds and jewels.

“Ask Him to send a true teacher who will help you get started. And then, as you get stronger and more mature, you will have no need that any man should teach you, for you will have the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, leading you into all truth” (John 14: 16-26).

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Filed under apostles' doctrine, belief, death of self, elect, faith, kingdom of God, repentance, sons and daughters of God

Tagged as faith, repentance, Spirit of truth

May 25, 2013 · 8:58 pm

“The Just Shall Live by Faith”–But Who Are “the Just”? and Which Faith?

“The just shall live by faith,” says the prophet Habbakuk (2: 4). It is a very important passage quoted by Paul the apostle and made famous by Martin Luther. But who are the just? And which faith was the prophet talking about?

The Hebrew word translated “just” is rendered “righteous” in scores of passages. So how “righteous” and “just” are we talking about here? Godlike righteous. We see this same word used to describe God Himself. He “is a God of truth…just and right is He” (Deut. 32: 4). We are talking about a godlike righteousness that some will have. Not a self-righteousness, but a godly rightness. The just, the righteous ones will be living their days on earth by faith.

Who are the just? Who are the righteous? They will carry in their hearts that righteous state of God Himself. And they will receive this happy state with the Hebrew God because of their faith, having believed first without seeing.

The “just” in God’s eyes are those who are right with Him because He is right in them. They are the righteous and in good standing with their Maker.

They, like their spiritual father Abraham, walk by faith and not by the sight of their eyes (II Cor. 5: 7). Faith is the evidence of things not seen (Heb. 11: 1).

So the just are the righteous humans like God is righteous here on the earth, who believe having not seen nor received the promises of the kingdom of God. They shall live their days on earth by faith. Believing God’s word and plan is the way they will live. And because God can only be pleased by this walk of faith, they become just in His sight. He imputes righteousness to them, which is being in a right state with God. And that is all we really need.

Which Faith?

So the true faith is extremely important. And this faith spoken of in the scriptures of truth is not the same “faith” spoken of in news casts on TV, when the news-reading talking head says about someone who displays some religious activity: “He is a person of faith.” Meaning that he believes in a higher power. They acknowledge that somebody up there is bigger that they are. No, this is not the faith that Paul, Peter, and John spoke of.

Think about it. The Hindus believe in thousands of somebodies up there swimming in a mystical nirvanic goo. That is indeed a belief and a faith. And many Hindus are very spiritual and religious, and TV personalities may say that they are people of faith, but that is not the faith of the Hebrew God of the Holy Bible.

Not picking on Hindus here, for the same can be said of most of the denominations and sects of Churchianity. 2,200 and counting, and they disagree with each other. That is why there are so many of them. But the Spirit says there is only one body (church) and one Spirit (one God) and one faith (Eph. 4: 4-6). So all of these denominations cannot be exactly what the apostles practiced and wrote about.

Depart from Me…

Moreover, Christ speaks disparagingly of some very sincere Christians in these last days. He says to them, “Not everyone that says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. [We sincerely called You Lord] But he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven [You mean confessing that Christ is our Lord won’t do the trick?] Many will say to Me in that day [Which day? The time of the end?] Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? [Come on, now, we preached in your name!] and in thy name have cast out devils? [Lord, I saw many slain in the Spirit in your name. It had to be You!] and in thy name done many wonderful works? [We set up food kitchens and sent out missionaries and gave away bibles in far away lands, and You were with us, weren’t You?] And then I will profess to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matt. 7: 21-23). Since there is no idle words of God, these words will be spoken to some well-meaning people in that day.

That last paragraph was tough to write, but there it is in black in white. Of course, some will say that His words are harsh treatment. But why will these sincere Christians, who are “people of faith,” why will they be rejected? Because their faith was based on a vision of Christ and His plan that was in error.

Because denominations have hundreds of different interpretations of what the Bible is saying, and because they all cannot be right and just, then somebody has to be wrong. Sincere, maybe, but wrong as to what the faith of Christ and its vision is about.

So, yes, “the just shall live by faith.” Those who God sees as His offspring walking with Him in His truth at the time of the end–they “shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever” (Dan. 12: 3). Righteousness—there’s that word we started out with again. The just, the righteous, those upon whom God has imputed righteousness because of their faith toward Him—they will shine.

In fact those “just” ones, they will rule over men during the kingdom age. They will sit with Christ on His throne, full of His righteousness, and they will sit as princes ruling the world. Nothing less. “He that rules over men, he must be just, ruling in the fear of God, and he shall be as the light of the morning sun after the rain, after the rain” (II Sam. 23: 3; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiJlJgd9x1s ).

And because God has chosen “not many mighty and not many noble,” His true elect will appear as no one very special. They are the “filth and off-scouring of the world…For God has chosen the weak things of this world to confound the mighty (I Cor. 1: 26).

So the question comes full circle to each of us who is a “person of faith.” Which faith is it, for there are many faiths in Christendom that will be rejected by Christ upon His return? Which vision of the Bible do we believe? For many followers will come up short and they will weep and gnash their teeth at Him when they realize that the version taught in their churches was the wrong one. For “wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.” And few will find the narrow way that leads to life (Matt. 7: 13-14).

We must then believe on Him the actual way that the scriptures have said. Those who do are the just and righteous, and they will rule and reign with Him in His kingdom. Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Filed under apostles' doctrine, belief, Bible, body of Christ, Christ, christianity, church, elect, end time prophecy, eternal purpose, false doctrines, false teachers, kingdom of God, princes and princesses of God, religion, righteousness, world system

Tagged as Christ, faith, righteousness

February 9, 2013 · 6:12 pm

Adding the Patience of God–Why Christians Must Go Through Trials

Peter tells us to add patience, which is endurance, to our faith. This is an attribute of the Holy Spirit, a part of God’s “divine nature.” Patience/endurance is part of God’s nature, but questions arise. So, what has He endured? What sufferings did He endure? What is it about His divine nature that is patient and enduring?

We all have a good idea of what the Son of God endured. We know painfully of His physical and mental torture on the cross. But it is the spiritual sufferings He endured that were the worst. Nothing is worse than to be betrayed by those you love. The betrayal and conspiracy against Him brought much grief and pain, enduring sinners against Himself. “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not” (John 1: 10).

But God’s sufferings go back beyond the Son’s time of anguish. If we go back to the beginning, we begin to see that the Father Himself endured with much longsuffering the forces of the very adversary that He positioned as such. God created and, yes, commissioned the devil to be the “accuser of the brethren.” That was Satan’s job–to create havoc, doubt, and despair–as God ordained it.

Now some will hold me to task on this point. So I will point us to the book of Job, the first chapter. The sons of God are assembled in a meeting, and Satan appears with them. God asked him what he had been doing. Satan responded that he was just doing his job, going about his business, going to and fro in the earth. And what business was that? God tells us in His next breath. “Have you considered my servant Job?” Then Satan tells God that You won’t let me touch Him because You have blessed him and have protected him. Then God gives Satan permission to bring on much persecution and sufferings onto Job (1: 6-12).

Inexplicable as it seems to our little finite minds, God has Satan creating sufferings for His righteous children! God says, “I change not” and that He is “the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

So we can deduce that God has ordained a certain amount of sufferings, tribulations, trials, and temptations for each of us [Boy, that was difficult to write down, but I told God that I would publish what He gives me from His word].

So God ordains sufferings, “for whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives” (Hebrews 12: 6). There it is by two witnesses; there are many more. But He is enduring those very sufferings that come down on us. Remember our parents about to use the rod of correction on us saying, This hurts me more than it hurts you.

But God ordained and ordered His own sufferings to be endured down through the ages. If we understand this about our Creator, we get into His mind a little more deeply, moving us closer to comprehending why we must suffer and why we must endure trials and tribulations–the very sufferings which bring about the adding of patience/endurance, which is a crucial part of God’s divine nature.

Betrayal–The Suffering Most Dreaded

If a person is called and chosen by God to be His son or daughter, they will suffer a crippling betrayal at the hands of someone they love or trusted. Betrayal is the thing we most fear in human relationships. It is a heartbreaking, senseless infliction of utmost spiritual pain that the natural thinking human being finds absolutely no use for. Some never fully get over it. Some are hampered from ever giving their heart to someone’s trust again. But some go through the fiery trial stronger and purer. Their hearts are the right stuff as God deals with them to pardon and forgive, thus molding them into His image, the image of selfless love.

God Himself went through sufferings of unrequited love. He took as His wife a special chosen people Israel (12 tribes, true offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel). They betrayed Him, whoring after false gods, after He had lavished His goodness upon them.

God endured with much longsuffering these things. To be like Him, His spiritual sons and daughters must go through these sufferings, also. It is called “suffering for righteousness sake.”

We all must grow up into Him and leave the “little children of God” behavior behind. Little children are mostly alive for what they can receive from the Father. We must grow up; we must spiritually mature. If we are chosen by Him as one of His elect, we will mature as we endure the trials He has planned for us [I know; that’s a tough one]. May He bless you all with more of His presence–patience’s big payoff. Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Filed under additions to our faith, apostles' doctrine, elect, false teachers, forgiveness, manifestation of the sons of God, perfection, sons and daughters of God, spiritual growth, sufferings of Christians, unrequited love

Tagged as betrayal, divinity, elect of God, God, patience, Spirit, sufferings, unrequited love

January 19, 2013 · 7:33 pm

More on Adding Temperance to Knowledge

In previous posts we have seen that in order to secure “an entrance…into the everlasting kingdom of our…Savior,” we must add certain spiritual attributes to the faith that God has endowed us with [1]. In so doing, we “give diligence” in making “our calling and election sure” [2].

We are told by the apostle Peter to add “temperance” to the knowledge of God and His plan for our perfection.

Since our very spiritual growth in Christ is in the balance here, a bit deeper examination of this word “temperance” is fruitful. It is translated from the Greek word egkrateia (#G1466). Thayer’s Lexicon states that it is “the virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, especially his sensual appetites.”

It is derived from a Greek adjective egkrates (#G1468), meaning “strong, robust; having power over; mastering, controling, curbing, restraining.” So “temperance” is from Greek words meaning “to have control over.”

So How Does the Holy Spirit Help Us Get Control Over Bodily Appetites?

Knowing the truth will make us free, Christ said–of whatever ails us [3]. “Ye shall know the truth…” Know. There’s that “knowledge” spoken by Peter again, as in “add to you faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge…” What knowledge? The knowledge of truth, which is the mind of Christ, simply put. Yes, the mind of Christ–His thoughts, plans, and purposes. He did say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” [4]. So, first knowing Christ’s thoughts, plans, purposes and His word, and then doing them–this will make us free of and give us control over sensual appetites.

There is another “knowing,” and this one is huge. “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with [Him], that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” (Romans 6: 6). Our old sinful self, in God’s eyes, was crucified with Christ on the cross. And our old sin-soaked heart, which was enslaved to sin, is now free from all fleshly pulls. This knowledge, straight out of the plan and purpose and mind of our Savior, is the truth that makes us free from unrighteous haunts. Period.

Now. The ball is in our court. We are forced by Him to either believe this truth, which is His word and plan written down in plain English, and thereby be freed from the slavery of sin and sinning, or we continue on in unbelief. That is the choice. Chosing to believe this truth opens up the way to add these spiritual qualities like temperance, that He has admonished us to add to our faith, thus enabling us to “go on unto perfection.”

Temperance, then, is an integral part of the character of one who is an elder of the body of Christ, one who is mature [5]. This is a description of a temperate man, one who has his earthly body under control, leading him to be able to “hold fast the faithful word as he has been taught.” After adding temperance, the man of God will have the power to not soon be shaken through any temptations of the devil. He will be able to walk in the power of the word of God.

The elect of God will begin to realize that gaining control over the earthly body is a necessary pre-requisite in fully becoming the manifested sons and daughters of God. And because temperance is one of the fruits of the Spirit, the stronger the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the more temperance we will exhibit (Gal. 5: 22-23). More Spirit in us, more self-control.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the passions and lusts.” This last sentence is the very next verse, v. 24. Isn’t it astounding that the word goes right back to being crucified with Christ? In another translation we read, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires” (NIV).

Here it is in plain black and white: There is a direct correlation of having the “fruit of the Spirit” operating in our lives and being crucified with Christ. In fact, the crucifixion with Christ of our old nature is the very key in receiving His Spirit, which in turn yields the fruit of the Spirit in our lives–one of which is temperance or self-control. It is much easier to control one’s self after knowing and then believing that it is dead.

Earlier in his letter to the Galatians, Paul writes, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (2: 20). And there it is. Our bodies live on now, but it is not our old selves anymore living in them. But rather it is Christ’s Spirit that lives now in us. And this life that we live is because of His faith in His own plan, now believed on by us, that by believing that He is raised from the dead, we too are now risen “to walk in a newness of life.”

It is this Rock that we are building up each other as the temple of God in the earth. This is the solid Rock foundation that we must build upon. Because the weather coming soon to this earth is going to shake and crumble all houses not built on the right understanding of His word, plan, purpose, and thoughts. If it is built on a faulty foundation, then the house will come crashing down. Tribulation is coming upon the earth, and it will touch us all. Only He is our safety net–not some imagination of a rapture that someone dreamed up in the 19th century.

The Great Tribulation is coming. We must prepare by first “knowing the truth.” For Satan is going to deceive many in these latter days. “Let no man deceive you,” Christ warned. For the “falling away” or apostacy is already in full odious bloom. The churches have been duped and lied to by false teachers and false prophets. Many pastors are ignorant of this deception and yet, they continue to pollute the flock and inoculate them with poisonous doctrines and concepts. But “the wise will understand” (Dan 12; 10).

[1] https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/the-additions-to-your-faith-prerequisites-of-receiving-immortality/

https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/add-to-your-faith-virtue-gods-strength-and-power-2-peter-1-5/

[2] II Peter 1: 10

[3] John 8: 32

[4] John 14: 6

[5] Titus 1: 7-9