Category Archives: death of self

July 21, 2025 · 10:27 am

Seek First the Kingdom of the Spirit

Chapter 7 of My New Book: The Abiding

Christ urged us to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness,” establishing a foundational precept for spiritual maturity and abiding. But what is this Kingdom? And where do we find it?

Scripture reveals that God is Spirit (John 4:24), and so His Kingdom must be spiritual as well—an invisible dimension not of this world, whose god is presently Satan. Thus, the Kingdom of God is not material, nor constrained by our five senses. It is a realm that “cometh not with observation” (Luke 17:20) but is “within you,” dwelling in the sanctum of the heart.

The phrase “Kingdom of God” has been diluted through overuse and denominational variation. While traditionally understood as “God’s Kingdom”—a realm belonging to Him—it can also be understood, linguistically and scripturally, as a kingdom comprised of Spirit. Just as “a wall of stone” describes a wall made of stone, “Kingdom of God” declares a government made of Spirit, led by a sovereign Spirit Being.

We are commanded to seek this unseen kingdom—the invisible government of God. It is not confined to temples or earthly forms of worship. True worship is not performed with buildings, rituals, or material offerings. It is an intimate, unseeable communion between our spirit and the Eternal Creator. “The flesh profits nothing; it is the spirit that gives life” (John 6:63). The essence of abiding lies in this deep spiritual connection.

Only those born from above—born of the Spirit—can perceive and enter this dimension (John 3:3-6). The narrow gate through which we enter is Christ Himself: “I am the door of the sheep… whoever enters through Me shall be saved” (John 10:7-9). This entry point begins the process of purification—where old concepts of God are stripped away, and faith becomes sight in the Spirit.

Prayer becomes our vessel into this kingdom. It reaches beyond the veil, into the heavenly dimension where miracles and spiritual battles unfold. Belief is the transport. We are not guided by sight, but by faith—believing before seeing.

The Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of the Spirit: invisible, yet near; eternal, yet now. The Holy Spirit is the breath of this heavenly domain, and those who seek Yahweh “while He may be found” will discover the gate, the truth, and the life.

Even now, His followers are being tested. “Fiery trials” refine faith, preparing us for entry into the realm that awaits beyond the narrow gate. As the apostle declared: “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:27).

Here is The Abiding’s central message: the transformative power of abiding in Christ as the pathway to spiritual maturity, union, and divine oneness.

Abiding Begins with Seeking

The abiding life begins with an awakened hunger—to seek first the Kingdom not built by hands but drawn from Spirit. Christ’s invitation to abide is not passive—it is a call to pursue, with intensity, the invisible realm where divine communion unfolds. The Kingdom of the Spirit is not a reward for earthly effort, but the spiritual birthplace of all abiding.

The Gate to Oneness

To abide is to pass through Christ—the narrow gate—and dwell in the unseen realm. It is here, in the Kingdom made of Spirit, that the Son draws us into the Father’s presence. We are not spectators in this Kingdom; we are transformed participants, being shaped in the oneness of Yahweh and Christ. The Spirit is both door and dimension.

The Spirit Over Flesh

Abiding requires departure from the visible and tangible. The flesh profits nothing. Material religion cannot usher us in. True abiding is spiritual worship—truthful, unseen, relational. It is the invisible rhythm of connection, where abiding becomes encounter. This Kingdom is not distant—it is within. It is the heart awakened by the Spirit.

Purification in Union

Faith is the chisel that removes false constructs. Belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ initiates the inward resurrection—where abiding is made possible by purification. As old leaven is cast out, abiding becomes an active dwelling in the Spirit’s government. Our trials refine us not merely for entrance—but for union.

Finding Him Where He Is

To abide is to seek Yahweh where He may be found—in His own dimension, invisible yet near. Just as John touched, saw, and heard the Word made flesh, we too will know Him. For abiding leads to intimacy. The Son abides in the Father, and those who walk through the gate will abide also. This Kingdom is not merely theological—it is our promised home.

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July 11, 2025 · 3:05 pm

The Longing That Leads to Love—and the King Who Calls

Humanity’s endless quest for love is no accident. Beneath every poem, song, and search for human connection lies a deeper yearning—for God Himself. For “God is love” (I John 4:16). We seek echoes of Him in others, because we were made in His image, wired to respond to His divine presence. The search ends when He is found.

The Hebrew prophets and apostles testified of this love. The Son of God didn’t merely speak of it—He lived it out. By laying down His life for His friends, He offered the greatest love known to mankind (John 15:13). But the Cross was not the end. It was the invitation. For those who believe, Christ calls us to present our lives as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1)—not as martyrs for heaven’s reward, but as vessels of love to a love-starved world.

Dying to Self, Rising in Love

To walk as He walked begins at Calvary. Spiritually joining Him on the cross means our old nature dies with Him: “He that is dead is freed from sin” (Romans 6:7). This rebirth isn’t mere symbolism. It’s a transformation—freedom from the selfish life, entering into resurrection power fueled by agape love. Believing we are buried and raised with Him enables us to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4–5).

Yet many falter. Not because His power is lacking, but because corrupted doctrines and traditions stunt growth. Like children fed on spiritual junk food, many resist the sincere truth of the Word. They cling to old wine, declaring it better—unwilling to taste the new, pure doctrine (Luke 5:39).

The Overcomers…and the Tragedy of the Refusers

Thankfully, some will awaken. God has called a remnant, foreknown and chosen to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). They’ll answer the high calling, decreasing so Christ can increase within them, becoming the vessels through which divine love touches all people.

But not everyone will respond. Scripture warns of those who recoil from the truth, buried in comfort, traditions, or fear. Consider the five foolish virgins—shut out from the wedding feast, unprepared for the Bridegroom (Matthew 25:1–13). Or the servant who hid his talent in the ground, scolded as “slothful and unprofitable” by the returning Master (Matthew 25:26). These are not mere metaphors; they are solemn realities.

Those who reject the call to spiritual growth will not mature into love. They will not reign. They will remain infants—content, perhaps, but barren of the fruit that restores righteousness to a broken world. What Christ seeks is a people who will reflect Him fully, expressing divine love that heals, redeems, and incarnates God once again on earth.

Answering the Highest Call

We are living in the days of the latter rain—His Spirit is being poured out. Will we remain near the nursery, or rise to sit with Him on His throne? (Revelation 3:21). Agape love is the bond of perfectness, the final attribute that completes us in Christ. Those who cultivate it will reign. Those who resist it, according to scripture, will be left behind—not out of spite, but because they rejected the very path that leads to transformation.

I believe that we will grow to be His sons and daughters, His lights shining into the deepest, darkest dungeons of the earth: To “bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound” [Think spiritually. Isaiah 61:1].

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June 2, 2025 · 12:24 pm

Come before His Presence with Thanksgiving

 How to Start the Day

The Spirit through the apostle Paul said, “We live, move, and have our being in Him.” We live in the Spirit. We move in the Spirit, and we have our being in the Spirit.

Now Yahweh is that invisible Spirit, and He tells us that we do indeed live, move, and derive our very being in Him. We are literally in his presence!

Now, what do we do? The Spirit urges us to approach His presence with thanksgiving (Psalm 95:2). Our part is to thank Him for the privilege of knowing Him. Give thanks. Thank Him for delivering us from sin and the dreadful selfish path we once trod.

Thank you, Father. Thank you for my wife, children and grandchildren. Thank you for my spiritual family. Thank you for revealing and unveiling your plan to us. Thank you for your Kingdom. Thank you for the wondrous things You have done for us.

Our study of His promises reveals many reasons for gratitude, beyond food and clothing. Christ assured us these needs are met and seeks our faith in His words about spiritual growth.

God is this invisible Spirit. He has said that He is in, around, and through us. This one thing we then need: We need to believe what He has said. “Abide in me, and I in you.” We just need to believe Him. He believes it. Now, if we just believe that He lives and dwells in us, He will manifest himself in and through us. Belief adds the additions to the faith, all the way to manifesting His nature through us! This one thing we can be sure of: If we draw near to Him, he will draw near to us. He will come to us if we will but believe Him.

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April 29, 2025 · 1:11 pm

Our Death and Resurrection with Christ—The Power of God

Our Death and Resurrection with Christ—The Power of God

The Savior told Paul, “My strength is made perfect in weakness” (II Cor. 12:9). There is nothing weaker than dying on the cross. But the cross is proclaimed as “the power of God” (I Cor. 1:18). How does that work?

By placing our old nature and mind on the cross, we acknowledge our weakness and helplessness apart from God’s strength. In doing so, we renounce our carnal powers, declaring through this act: We are nothing, and He is everything.

This is the supreme paradox. By submitting to the death of our old selves, we admit our utter vanity and worthlessness without our Creator, Father, and Savior. This act of negation is the first step toward aligning our thoughts with His. For He views us in our unregenerated state as nothing: “In me dwells no good thing… all things are meaningless, a chasing after the wind…all  have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 7:18; Ecc. 1:4; Rom. 3:23).

Recognizing our spiritual ineptitude, we come to Yahweh-in-human-form, the fountain of life, from whom flows the water of true, eternal life. Yet the path to life is through death—a paradox. Only by the death of our selfish hearts can we enter His Spirit-filled life. We must remember Christ’s words: “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Luke 9:24).

Through faith, we trust in His resurrection—not only His, but also our own. We believe that, just as He was raised, we too are raised to walk in newness of life. This faith energizes us to receive His Spirit, which transforms our hearts. “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” (Rom. 6:4 NIV).

And transformed we are! The hand that once stole steals no more—not by our own strength but through His Spirit. By relinquishing our old lives, we take on His life. This miraculous change is the power of the cross—the death, burial, and resurrection shared with Christ. As Paul wrote, “I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life 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).

God’s power is life from death. He establishes life where none existed, calling “those things that are not as though they are.” This revelation is vital. It is through overcoming this paradox—life emerging from death—that we are delivered from the inevitability of physical death.

This is the way to salvation, the way to life, the way to an immortal spiritual body that He has promised us. It all flows from understanding, believing, and enacting this profound truth: eternal life out of death.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock [From a journal entry dated May 4, 2001. By liking, sharing, commenting, and subscribing, you attest to these writings, that they come by the Spirit of truth. May God bless you all]

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March 27, 2025 · 11:42 am

God’s Chosen Fast Is Spiritual, Not Physical

It is not denying yourself of earthly food.

The fast that God has chosen is not one of physical abstinence from food, but of spiritual abstinence from falsehoods. In Isaiah 58, Yahweh defines His kind of fast, emphasizing the rejection of false doctrines and the corrupt influences of the world.

By turning away from false teachings, He has promised us power to “loose the bands of wickedness” and “undo the heavy burdens” (v. 6). This spiritual fast grants us divine strength as we align our thoughts and actions with the mind of Christ. He is an invisible Spirit. “And they that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). This includes fasting.

Yahweh calls on His people to avoid consuming the tainted spiritual bread of insincerity, wickedness, and falsehoods. Unlike literal bread, this sustenance represents the invisible, harmful spiritual nourishment that corrupts the soul. God’s fast is a call to purity and truth, inviting us to seek His guidance and embody His teachings in our lives.

It is natural to think “fasting from food.” But that is the point. Yahweh’s fast is not natural but spiritual. His fast is not earthly but spiritual. It is performed in our hearts and minds.

When we hear the word “fasting,” we always think of abstaining from food. But Yahweh’s fast is abstaining from spiritual things like false precepts, false doctrines, and false concepts about Christ and His plan and purpose.

Fasting under Old Covenant and New Covenant

Fasting from earthly food aligns with the Old Covenant, which was an agreement with God using earthly, physical types and shadows.

However, we now live in the New Covenant, and the fast Christ has called us to is in an invisible, spiritual realm. In that realm, Christ is everything, and we are a part of Him; we are members of His spiritual body.

The New Covenant is a spiritual witness and enactment of the Spirit of Christ working in us. Instead of a physical type, we have a spiritual reality in Christ.

Spiritual fasting involves refraining from consuming the ‘bread’ of false doctrines and misleading teachings. To fast spiritually is to reject and distance oneself from doctrines that are untrue or harmful.

We have come a long way; we love Christ, for He has saved us from our sins (Romans 6). But we are not in the growth of the early apostles; we have faults and shortcomings. These things are to be abstained from in a spiritual fast.

You may ask, “What things must I repent of to bear 100-fold fruit?” You must “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? (II Cor. 13:5).

[Next time the Spirit of truth will show us an example of spiritual fasting in the Last Church Age. It is what we are to repent of, in order to be invited by Christ to sit with Him on His throne. The ball is up in the air. The time of the end contest is upon us. Who of us will leap up and learn from the Spirit’s teaching. I said “us.” Who of us will answer the “high calling”? Who will bear 100-fold fruit, as in the Parable of the Sower? Who will “rule over ten cities” during His 1,000 year reign right here on earth? Who will stop playing church and be the church, which is His body? The Spirit is asking us, Who will help me? Who will be my yokefellow?

He is rooting for us. Christ already sees us as His mighty men and women of valor. We need His eye salve to see the same thing that He sees. God bless all of you with His grace and mercy as you go through the spiritual life cycle, bearing 30, 60, and 100-fold fruit. {Read more here: parable sower | Search Results | Immortality Road If this resonates with your spirit, please make a comment and share this article with just one person on your email list. We need to reach out and feed His lambs and sheep, to show Christ that we love Him (John 21:15-17). Study it out.]   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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February 28, 2025 · 10:29 am

Introduction to The Abiding—Indwelling Spirit of Love, Part Two

When we believe that Christ was resurrected and we were resurrected, too, with Him, then we were “born from above,” [translated “born again” in the KJV].

We receive the seed, the word of God, and His word speaks of Christ being the sin sacrifice. He laid down His life, accomplishing our salvation through His love for all of us. And the Word of God is the Seed that will spring to life when we fully believe that our old life died when the Sin Sacrifice died. “The life is in the blood.” When Christ’s blood was shed, the life of sin died. Our sinful self died. This is how His blood cleanses us of all sin [See more on this: blood | Search Results | Immortality Road].

And activated by our belief of this report, His Spirit begins to grow inside of us. As we grow, we begin to walk the walk of a Christian. Through study and prayer, we begin our growth, ending in the harvest of His Word in us and, then, He casts us throughout the world.

We must walk in this knowledge. Walking in the Spirit is studying this out and then being able to share it with others. Christ’s elect becomes the Sower of the Seed (Matthew 13). It’s like being a farmer who sows the seed. Some comes up; some don’t. We followers of Christ are at once a member of the collective Sower, and we are a part of the Seed itself.

God’s plan is couched in secrets and mysteries. If all this is making sense to you, then “blessed are your eyes for they see, and blessed are you ears, for they hear.” “For few there be to find this way of truth” (Matt. 13:16; Matt. 7:14).

When we first come to Christ, we all become spiritual babies, no matter our earthly age. The spiritual foundation is the food that is most digestible. The strong meat of the Word is for those who have reached a level of maturity. This growth continues until the harvest, called 100-fold by the Savior.

The Foundation Is Important

Laying the spiritual foundation is to give the King’s word context. For truly the spiritual foundation in our new life is “the foundation of repentance from dead works [sin] and of faith toward God” (Heb. 6:1). But we are not to keep laying it. These two doctrines are the “first principles of the oracles of God (Heb. 5:12-6:2). It is crucial to obtain an accurate bearing on the walk to the Heavenly Jerusalem. But we must leave 30-fold’s safety, secured in His loving arms to grow into “the fulness of Christ.” We are to grow in the Spirit and begin partaking of the “meat of the word” and not the milk. We are to grow up and stop being spiritual babies, mostly alive for what they can receive from the Father.

We must grow to become young men and women in the Spirit and on into being fathers and virtuous women. We need the meat of the word for us to grow into the 60-fold and 100-fold growth levels. “But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb. 5:14). A young Christian needs time to mature. The Abiding presents a banquet of visionary food that will help them grow properly.

This book, with Christ’s help, shares knowledge of the secrets and mysteries of Christ and His Kingdom. It is an attempt to illuminate the path of those He has chosen. His elect will choose to “go all in.” They will understand that half-stepping lukewarmness won’t make it.

The Abiding explains the 30-fold, 60-fold, and 100-fold growth levels. But its main focus is on the 100-fold harvest of maturity. That is why I have spent so much time on spiritual growth. This book discusses the maturity [think apostle-like power] that He has called us to.

For He has called us to His throne. Those who reach maturity will sit with Christ on His throne, ruling “over ten cities” during His thousand-year reign on earth.

Understanding Matthew 13 Parable of the Sower unlocks the door into the Father’s spiritual treasure house. The early apostles knew and understood what it all meant. They wrote about it, and time has preserved the scrolls of that sacred writing.

Knowledge of The Parable of the Sower unlocks the secrets of Christ’s other parables. Speaking of the Parable of the Sower, Christ said, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? (Mark 4:13 ESV)?

Christ admonishes us all: Walk humbly as stewards of His truth.

With agape love,

Wayne

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February 24, 2025 · 9:06 am

Introduction of “The Abiding”—The In-dwelling Spirit of Love

The abiding of the Holy Spirit in us is a definition of God’s ultimate growth within a believer. The abiding is when He, the Spirit of Love, comes to dwell in us and remain in us, thus fulfilling His purpose. And God does have a purpose and a plan to fulfill that purpose. He created human beings to carry out His plan.

“God is love.” Agape love. His purpose is to multiply or reproduce Himself—Love—in man and woman. That is where you and I come into focus. This happens when we spiritually grow the agape Love He has planted in our hearts (I John 4:16). We show the greatest love in the universe, like Christ did by laying down our selfish lives for Him. We show our love for Him when we give up our old life and take on His life.

 [This is the Major Leagues. Christ is assembling His team. Game time is at hand.  The denominational churches contain many who are called, but sadly, they will not hear this message about dying with Christ on the cross and resurrecting with Him. Once this truth sinks in, it burns a hole in your heart. The fire of God’s reality will consume you. Romans 6 is not preached or taught in 99% of church houses.

I love all of you; With each post that He shares with me, I give it my best to bring light to the road you are travelling. I know. It is a thankless vocation, marching on in the Savior’s army. But we thank Him for everything, and He thanks all of us with the fruit of the Spirit: Love, joy, and peace.

Being Called and Chosen

God calls many to be a part of His plan. It is an invitation to be adopted into His royal spiritual family. “Many are called, but few are chosen.” The chosen are called His elect.

Since “God is a Spirit,” it takes faith to enter His Spiritual realm (John 4:24). It takes belief. It takes belief that the sin in our life is dead. And it takes belief that we have now a new, sinless heart. Belief. “For they that come to God must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6).

We are born into this old 3-D life with a selfish, sinful heart. To be a part of God’s plan, mankind must surrender to God. He then will give them an escape from the earthy, sinful life.  

The old heart must go. But how does one get rid of it? God has provided passage into a new life! First, we must learn about and then believe in the sin sacrifice that the Father has provided. Our sacrificial Lamb is known as Jesus Christ in English speaking countries, but His Hebrew name is Yahshua. He is the Son of God, our Savior.

How does he save us? Christ took all of mankind’s sins upon Himself. When He died on the cross, our old sinful heart died with Him! Then we were buried with Him. Then the Father raised Him from the dead. When He was raised, then we were “raised to walk in a newness of life,” too.    

The Apostle Paul Explains

“Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin” (Romans 6:3-7 NLT).

This is how sin is conquered. It has already been defeated! This is true repentance from sin. This is our testimony. We need only to believe it and walk in it.

When you believe, you are walking in the doctrine of Christ. Repentance and Belief are the first two doctrines that the apostles walked in. Through believing this, you now are continuing in the truth that the apostles had.

But this is only the beginning of spiritual growth. This is only 30-fold fruit bearing. Our destiny is to sit with Christ on His throne. It is to bear 100-fold fruit. To see what 100-fold fruit bearing looks like, look at the lives of the early apostles. They healed the sick and raised the dead, and they taught righteousness.

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine…” (Acts 2:42). Christ’s seven doctrines are His major teachings. We will continue in Part Two next time. Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[Order your free copy, with free shipping, of my book The Apostles’ Doctrine. Send your name, mailing address, and the name of the book to my email: wayneman5@hotmail.com Yes, it is free. Christ took money off the table.]

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January 8, 2025 · 9:35 am

AI Confirms Our Deliverance at the Cross

Although artificial and a machine, AI can explain from the Bible how to repent of our sins and become righteous followers of Christ. Even AI knows that our old sinful self is dead. The following is Co-Pilot’s response to this prompt: “Explain Romans 6:1-12”

“Romans 6:1-12 addresses the transformative power of grace and the believer’s new identity in Christ. Here’s a clear and concise explanation:

1. Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase? (Verse 1): Paul begins with a rhetorical question, challenging the idea that believers should continue to sin to experience more of God’s grace.

2. By no means! We died to sin (Verse 2): Paul emphatically rejects this notion, stating that believers have died to sin and should no longer live in it.

3-4. Baptism into Christ’s death (Verses 3-4): Paul explains that through baptism, believers are united with Christ in His death. This signifies the death of the old, sinful self and the beginning of a new life.

5-7. United in His resurrection (Verses 5-7): Just as believers are united with Christ in His death, they are also united with Him in His resurrection. This means that the power of sin is broken, and they are no longer slaves to sin.

8-10. Alive with Christ (Verses 8-10): Paul emphasizes that if believers have died with Christ, they will also live with Him. Christ’s resurrection ensures that death has no mastery over Him, and similarly, believers are freed from the power of sin.

11. Consider yourselves dead to sin (Verse 11): Paul urges believers to view themselves as dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. This perspective is essential for living a righteous life.

12. Do not let sin reign (Verse 12): Finally, Paul exhorts believers not to let sin control their lives or obey its desires. Instead, they should live in the freedom and righteousness granted through their new life in Christ.

In essence, Romans 6:1-12 calls believers to embrace their new identity in Christ, rejecting sin and living in the transformative power of grace.”

There it is—what I have been saying for decades. Even AI understood Romans 6. For AI did not base its response on denominational dogma. It just read the text and revealed what it said.   Christ’s followers should be able to share these major points to the lost. But the vast majority of pastors will never teach Romans 6:1-12. You cannot teach what you do not know, I suppose. A pity, for these verses form the bedrock foundation of the temple of God—us. We must have the cross experience—and be able to explain it.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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March 28, 2024 · 7:43 am

Reconciliation and the Abiding/Continuing

We must continue to believe that Christ through His death has reconciled everyone and has made peace between God and mankind.

That is the truth. The Father is the Spirit of truth. There is one Spirit, and He dwelled in the Son and did miraculous works (Eph. 4:4; John 14:10). Christ promises that the Father “shall be in you,” also (14: 17).

This promise is astounding! But what is the catch? What activates this promise of the Father taking up residence in us? What knowledge brings the promise into a reality in our Christian lives?

We need to know that it is a conditional promise; it sets up like this: If you do this and this, then He will abide in you. The promise is that the Father, who is this invisible Spirit, will come and dwell in us—if we continue in the faith. If we abide in the faith. If we dwell in the faith. If we remain in the faith. If we continue in the faith.

Faith. Belief. In what exactly? There is a whole lot of invisible action going on here. It takes faith to believe that the invisible Creator Spirit God would take up residence inside our bodies. But this is what He is asking us to do—trust Him. To maintain the Father’s presence in our hearts in a powerful reality, we must “continue in the faith.”

We see “continue in the faith” in Colossians 1:23. “If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard…” The thing we must continue to believe is that Christ through His death has reconciled everyone and has made peace between God and mankind (Col. 2:20-22).

That sounds wonderful, but Christ’s death and the reconciliation involves so much more. The question becomes: How does His death bring about reconciliation with God? Reconciliation comes through our old sinful self dying on the cross with Christ. Then we are buried with Christ, and then by faith in His resurrection “we are raised to walk in a newness of life.”  Our sin has died with Him. “The soul that sins must die,” the law says. We fulfill that at the cross.

The Spirit through the apostle Paul lines this out clearly. “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 may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin–because anyone who has died has been set free from sin” (Romans 6:3-7 NIV).

Christ the Lamb of God took on the sins of everyone. “He was made to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Our sins died with the sacrificial Lamb, for He carried our guilt and sin to the cross, and when He died, our old sinful self died, was buried, and—Praise Yah—was resurrected with Him!

[Someone reading this will say, “I knew that about the cross.” Yes, many have experienced the cross, but can they teach it to others? Is your belief of Romans 6 strong enough to weather the storms and trials both past and future?]

Back to the beginning of this article: Reconciliation with God is when we are at peace with Him, when there are no doubts and worries about our relationship with Him. For it was the sin nature that separated us from Him. When we realize that our sinful old self has already died on the cross with Him, things begin to clear up. The scriptures open to us. Things make sense.

This clarity He honors and reveals more of His truth. Reconciliation with God happens if we “continue/abide in the faith.” If we continue believing what He did for you and me at the cross and walking in that truth as seen in Romans 6: 3-12, then we will be ready through reconciliation to go deeper by adding His “divine nature” to the faith. [The Additions to the Faith is my latest book. Peter talks of seven additions that are vital to our growth in Christ (II Peter 1:1-12). If you have read this far, I know that this book is for you. The book is free with free shipping. It is my offering to God. Instead of money in an offering plate, I give a book to you…Please share your testimony in the comments section. It is very edifying to hear how God has touched your life.  Be sure and share this and give us a “like,” if we have edified you].    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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February 19, 2024 · 3:03 pm

In the Beginning Was the Seed—Part One

(Every garden begins with a seed. The Spirit is saying, Come with Me and dig deep in the garden of God)

We must “dig deep” because the garden holds a secret. But the garden gate is locked; we need the key. Christ is the key to the mystery of the locked garden gate. Christ’s words enfold this truth: “The parable is this: the seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11).

Seed = Word. Word = Seed. Therefore, “In the beginning was the Word [Seed]…And the Word [Seed] was God” (John 1:1). And the Seed was God. In the beginning of all things was the Seed. And those that are His have been “born of that incorruptible seed, the word of God” (I Peter 1:23).

We now believe that the Seed, the Son of God, died, was buried, and was raised from the dead. Our belief in Him generates a new birth of that same Seed/Word in our hearts. We have that same seed in us. We are created in His image–both physical and spiritual. Like a garden seed is programmed to die, be buried, and spring to life, so it is in the spiritual realm.

What do seeds do? They grow. They are designed to spring to life and grow. Be it animal, vegetable, or spiritual, we are all designed to grow from a seed. In the Holy Bible, Christ and his apostles have commanded us to do certain things to spur on this growth.

The book The Additions to the Faith deals primarily with one of His commandments: “Add to your faith” the seven additions of the divine nature (I Peter1:5). Your faith is really His faith. There is only one faith (Eph. 4:5). Faith is the seed-beginning of all potential spiritual growth. It takes believing the word/seed faith, having not seen the physical evidence.

We should pause before exploring the seven additions to our faith. We must hold this truth tightly. The faith we have now from God is Christ’s actual faith/belief system. Christ believes  His own plan to spread agape love all over the earth in human beings.

God’s purpose is the reproduction of Himself, which is Love. He does this by using the age-old Law of Harvest: Each seed bears its own kind. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7 NASB). Spiritually speaking, we reap what we sow. But this sowing and reaping has nothing to do with Christians giving money to evangelists and believing that they will gain a return of money “one hundred-fold.” This prosperity doctrine is insidious. It preys on desperate people who fall into the trap of always looking after the flesh, thereby missing the Holy Spirit.

The Law of Harvest has to do with spiritual growth, as well as physical. Christ said, “The words I speak they are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63). There is no spiritual growth except through a germinated seed. The seed is the word of God. Then the word, like Christ, is made flesh in our mortal bodies. But the seed must be sown in good ground, in a “good and honest heart.”

Spiritual growth is how much of God’s Spirit of love grows in our hearts. He wants us to bear the peaceable fruit of righteousness in a fully mature growth which Christ calls bearing 100-fold fruit. To bear this amount of spiritual fruit, we must “know him that is from the beginning,” the beginning of all things. “Beginning” is from the Greek word arche. This “arche/beginning is not a recent, little beginning. It is big and deep and goes back before the worlds were framed by the word of God. The same word is used in John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word.” Or, we can now say, “In the beginning was the Seed.”

This study gives us the key to the garden gate. This study about the Seed/Son opens it. And it gives us knowledge on how to enter the 100-fold fruit bearing growth. For knowing Christ from the beginning is the key.      Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[Order your free copy of The Additions to the Faith, with free shipping. Just send your name, the name of the book, and your mailing address to my email: wayneman5@hotmail.com ]

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