Category Archives: Spirit of God

March 20, 2020 · 7:22 pm

Angels Are Under Our Authority–Part 1

The concept of angels has fascinated human beings for millennia. Man’s imagination is fertile ground for every conceivable manifestation of them. Angels come in every shape and size, from stylized little cupids hovering like hummingbirds to mysterious figures cloaked in the shadows of night or glistening with the rays of the sun.

Some Christians today even believe that these heavenly beings are to be feared and obeyed and held in worshipful pose. But what is the truth about angels? What are they scripturally, and what is our relationship with them really about?

Knowledge about them is revealed when we see how the angels interact with the Son of God. By exploring the springs of His authority, we may imbibe draughts of understanding concerning angels. We find this knowledge in the first chapter of Hebrews.

Authority = Power

As we have seen above, “authority” and “power” are translated from the same Greek word. Christ has promised to give power to His disciples, His disciplined ones. We read in the gospels about once flawed fisherman healing the sick and raising the dead. And these same men, moved by the Spirit of God, proclaim that we can do these things, too.

We are talking about power given to us from on high—power to be His witnesses that He is God, power to cast out evil spirits, power to heal, even power to raise the dead. The elect will be granted authority to do these things. And we will learn that it is the authority that He gives us that brings the power to do the mighty works. For He has promised the overcomers that we would do “greater works” than what He had done. Christ said, “He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (John 14: 12).

Let us examine “authority”—what it is and where it comes from. Analyzing the first chapter of Hebrews shines much light on the subject. Back before Christ came, the great Yahweh spoke to mankind through the prophets. But during the last twenty centuries, He has spoken to us by His Son. Very important, for the Son is heir of all things, and it was by the Son that the world was created (v. 1-2).

The Son of God was invested by the Father with several wonderful attributes. The Son is “the brightness of His glory.” He is “the express image of His person.” The Son upholds “all things by the word of His power.” All this was fulfilled by Him “when He had by Himself purged our sins,” He “sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (v. 3).

It was after He had “purged our sins” that all of these accolades were confirmed. It was at the cross through His death, burial, and resurrection that He proved that He is the greatest love.  “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15: 13).

In the next verse the apostle tells us that the Son was made “so much better than the angels.” And why was the Son made so much better than the angels? Because of His name. Because of His destiny pre-written and distilled in His name. The Son was made “so much better than the angels,” for He has “obtained a more excellent name than they.” The Son’s name is Yahshua which means: “Yahweh is the Savior” or Yah saves. It was by His laying down His life for others that He became the Savior and showed Himself to be agape love incarnate, thus fulfilling the meaning of His name (v. 4).

There’s Power in His Name

The Hebrew name for the Savior, Yahshua, is extremely important for many obvious reasons, especially when it comes to receiving power to be His witnesses {Be sure to order my book Yah Is Savior: The Road to Immortality. It is free with free shipping. Details at the end of this article}.

After Pentecost Peter and John were asked how they had healed the lame man “at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful.” Peter praised Christ and said that “His name through faith in His name has made this man strong…” (Acts 3: 6, 16). Christ’s name through belief in His name is the key to the power [“faith” and “belief” are both translated from the same Greek word].

The power to heal came through the Savior’s name by believing in the meaning of His name—His Hebrew name, Yahshua. Christians are stymied in their spiritual growth because they either do not know about Christ having a Hebrew name, or they don’t believe it. And it is this unbelief that is short-circuiting them from ever becoming like Peter, Paul, James, and John. If we want to walk like them, we must believe what they believed.

Christ was given at birth the same Hebrew name as the patriarch Joshua, which means “savior.” “Yahshua” means “Yah is Savior” or “Yah is Salvation.” The angel told Joseph in a dream, “Thou shalt call His name JESUS (Yahshua in Hebrew) for He shall save His people from their sins” (Mat. 1: 21 KJV). The center column reference of the World Bible Publishers edition says “Savior.” They know.

So Peter and John knew of the power of not only knowing His name, but also knowing and believing the meaning of His name. Yahweh is the Savior. That is what Christ’s name means. The early apostles knew that Yah had come in the human form of Christ. The prophets declared it. “I am Yahweh (the LORD) and beside me there is no savior” (Isa. 43: 11). Peter and John knew that the great Creator Yahweh was walking around in human form. They knew that His Hebrew name contained this information, and they believed it. And that was the source of their power. Read many more scriptures declaring this (https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=saviour&t=KJV&ss=1#s=s_primary_0_1).

The apostles knew. They knew that Christ had a “more excellent name” than the angels, which gave them power over the angels—all angels—the “good” and the “bad” ones.

[Ordering My Free Books in Paperback 

I am now able to send you a copy of my books absolutely free with free shipping.  Please specify which one.

Yah Is Savior: The Road to Immortality explores the deeper meaning of our Savior’s Hebrew name Yahshua, which means Yahweh is the Savior.

The Unveiling of the Sons of God explains how the whole creation is waiting and longing for the manifestation (the unveiling) of the sons of God for these latter days. Christ will be totally formed in His elect as they will have grown and matured spiritually into His likeness and power.

The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. It explores God’s vision for us, to be kings with Christ and how He will use us to reproduce His nature of Love.

My latest book is The Apostles’ Doctrine. Their doctrine was Christ’s teachings. And the early church walked in those teachings. This book reveals just what they are and how to walk in them.

Send your request, specifying which one of my books you desire, to my email address:  wayneman5@hotmail.com Include your name and mailing address. For those outside the United States, or who may prefer a pdf copy of the last two books mentioned, please specify.  Also, you may read the first two books online at my website Immortality Road found here:   https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com

God bless you and your family, and thank you for taking a stroll with me on Immortality Road.]

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Filed under angels, Christ, faith, Sacred Names, Spirit of God, Yahshua, Yahweh

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March 14, 2020 · 8:23 pm

Virtue—Why We Must Add It to Faith

Because “all things are of God,” the very faith that we have now as Christians is not innate. We were not born with a belief in Him and His plan and purpose. It did not come up into our consciousness one day after we heard of the gospel. We received it from Him. We have “obtained like precious faith.” For the Christian life is lived “by the faith of the Son of God” which He has given us. We are now believing what He believes. He calls many, but chooses [elects] a few to fully walk in His faith (2 Cor. 5: 18; 2 Pet. 1: 1; Gal. 2: 20; Mat. 22: 14).

He has promised us through His faith now in us that we can walk with His “divine nature” coursing through our spirit. But we are admonished that we must diligently add to our faith seven aspects of His divine. By adding them we will make our “calling and election sure” (2 Pet. 1: 10). The first one to be added is virtue, or moral goodness.

But why do we need to add this moral goodness? When we first come into God and His ministry on earth, we are like babes. We do not know how to come in (to God’s plan and purpose) or go out (to do His will). We are, nevertheless, elated. We feel great joy and immense gratitude for the way our Father has with open arms welcomed us back into His presence.

By faith we have taken the plunge and have renounced our old life by submitting our selfish lives to the death of the cross with Christ (Rom. 6: 1-12). It is a stepping out there into the unknown, trusting our Father to protect us and sustain us on our new pilgrimage.

As we begin to walk in our new spiritual life with Christ, we experience a lifting of the burden of sin-guiltiness. New freedom flows in and around us. We exult in the liberty as Christ breaks the chains from off of our hearts.

It is here in this spiritual child’s playground that young Christians want to stay. They reason, “Why leave a good thing? I have always just wanted peace and love and joy, and Christ has granted me that. I am happy in this new life.”

And they stay right there. But God wants us to grow. So the joy and the elation begin to wane. And so at Christian gatherings pastors and church leaders try to drum up the spiritual reverb to simulate the initial joy that the “babes in Christ” first felt.

And so what started as God’s deliverance into His new way of living with joy and peace, turns into habit and ritual. Worship services turn into attempts to recapture that first moment of euphoria when they came into Christ. And the new flush of freedom becomes a carte blanche to act on whatever thought comes to mind. But spiritual children cannot discern which thoughts are from God and which are not. They do not “have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb. 5: 14).

Because they have taken the faith of Christ and in the end used it to secure more joy for themselves, they must be admonished to “use not your liberty as an occasion to the flesh.” And because the child of God seeks a church house where members are like minded, there is no one to guide them away from the pitfalls of that kind of fellowship. They do not know that this spiritual environment just enables young Christians to stagnate and not grow. Ironically, the flow of the Spirit is blocked.

Some may be wondering, “Well, what else is there? I have given my life to Christ and have walked in the joy and freedom that He provides. So, what more is there? What do we need to do?

Peter gives the answer. We are not to remain spiritual “babes in Christ” forever. We are to grow and become full grown men and women of God like the early apostles. To remain as little children of God always seeking more stimulation in order to receive more joy is not the plan of God for any of us. He wants us all to grow spiritually. He wants us to “make our calling and election sure.” And to do that, we must add to our faith these seven attributes of the Spirit’s divine nature (2 Pet. 1: 3-12).

This is so crucial for our growth unto full maturity. Let me put it another way. If we do not heed what the Spirit is teaching us through Peter, we will remain children, “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Eph. 4: 14). Little children will be deceived by false teachers, thereby stunting their growth.

So the first step to spiritual maturity is to “add to your faith virtue [moral goodness].”

[Ordering My Free Books in Paperback

I am now able to send you a copy of my books absolutely free with free shipping.  Please specify which one.

Yah Is Savior: The Road to Immortality explores the deeper meaning of our Savior’s Hebrew name Yahshua, which means Yahweh is the Savior.

The Unveiling of the Sons of God explains how the whole creation is waiting and longing for the manifestation (the unveiling) of the sons of God for these latter days. Christ will be totally formed in His elect as they will have grown and matured spiritually into His likeness and power.

The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. It explores God’s vision for us, to be kings with Christ and how He will use us to reproduce His nature of Love.

My latest book is The Apostles’ Doctrine. Their doctrine was Christ’s teachings. And the early church walked in those teachings. This book reveals just what they are and how to walk in them.

Send your request, specifying which one of my books you desire, to my email address:  wayneman5@hotmail.com  Include your name and mailing address. For those outside the United States, or who may prefer a pdf copy of the last two books mentioned, please specify.  Also, you may read the first two books online at my website Immortality Road found here:   https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com

God bless you and your family, and thank you for taking a stroll with me on Immortality Road.]   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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March 7, 2020 · 3:21 pm

Man Dies, Talks to God, and Comes Back to Life

Man Dies, Talks to God, and Comes Back to Life

Maybe you have seen on youtube where this man dies. His heart stops beating, and he is gone for ten minutes. But he says that the passage into God’s presence is peaceful. God does not show His face; the man only sees His form from the back.

And God asks him, “Do you have any questions?”

The man gets embarrassed because he can’t come up with an interesting question. The only thing that he can think of to ask seems rather trite. “What is the meaning of life?”

“Oh, that’s easy. It is Love.”

And the man says, “I thought that was it.” And then right after that, the man came back to life.

Love. “God is love.” God is this divine, selfless agape love. God is invisible, for He is like the wind. You only know that the wind exists when you see its effects upon things in the five-senses-realm. We feel the wind’s effects on the trees and on our face, yet we cannot see it. Such is the Spirit of God (John 3: 5-8; 4: 24).

We know God is real and exists, for we see His effects on people. We see those addicted to drugs freed from hellish bondage. We see families restored, lives changed overnight. We see hands that stole, steal no more. We see eyes that lusted after women look up to the heavens and give thanks to this great Spirit of love for deliverance.

It is through the love that God showed to us when He “gave His only begotten Son” that we see God. For love sacrifices itself for another. “Greater love has no man than this that he would lay down his life for his friends” (John 15: 13).

And because God is this invisible Spirit of Love, we must approach Him through faith—believing having not yet seen. And through faith we begin to understand His plan to fulfill His purpose, which is this: God is multiplying Himself; He will reproduce Love—Himself—and He will do it in us (Matt. 13: 3-23). That is our calling. “Many are called, but few are chosen” by Him to be a part of this glorious vision of God reproducing Himself (Matt. 20: 16).

A Word about Faith

Again, it is not our puny little faith that we need to muster up. No. The scriptures speak about God’s faith, God’s belief [“faith” and “belief” are translated from the same Greek word]. It is all about His belief and His faith in Himself and His power to accomplish whatever He has spoken. It is His ballgame in His ballpark. The bats, balls and gloves are all His. The rules are His; He wrote them. And, oh, yes. He owns us the players. For we do not belong to ourselves any longer (I Cor. 6: 19-20). It is not about us trying to believe the word of God. We are to “put on Christ.” This means we are to believe like He believes, which is how the Father believes.

The problem that Christians have is that they still believe that they are alive and well. But He said that we are a “new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (II Cor. 5: 17). He sees us as such. Therefore, we need to believe it; that is walking in faith—His faith. He said that you and I are dead with Christ, that we “are crucified with Christ” (Rom. 6: 6; Gal. 2: 20). That is the Father’s belief. You and I need to believe what God believes. When we do, we are walking in faith and in the light. He said that we no longer live but that it is Christ that lives in us. And the “life [we] now live in the flesh we live by the faith of the Son of God…” (2: 20).   He has faith in Himself and belief in Himself. And He now believes that He lives in us! Believe it. Walk in it. Believing what He believes is walking in faith. It is walking in the Spirit and walking in truth.

Because God is invisible, it takes belief; it takes faith to please our Father, the Spirit of Love. After we believe that He exists, we begin to grow spiritually. We believe in His goodness and that goodness grows in us and heals our body, soul, and spirit. This is virtue—this awareness of God’s goodness now transported into our hearts, now changing us first and then growing to the point where His goodness and righteousness overflows out to others.

But there are bumps in the road to immortality. Trials come to test our mettle. Our knowledge of God’s good is seemingly thwarted by evil at times. We must not be dismayed (I Pet. 4: 12). It is all part of His plan. Our hearts are purified in the forge of God’s plan for our life in Him. The result is the gold of pure love, the divine Love that He is and will use through us to rule with Him in His Kingdom of peace, coming to this planet shortly.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Filed under agape, belief, crucified with Christ, death of self, elect, eternal purpose, faith, kingdom of God, light, love, Love from Above, Spirit of God, truth

February 24, 2020 · 6:42 pm

“Abide in Me and I in You”–What Does It Mean? How Does It Happen?

One of Christ’s New Commandments is, “Abide in Me, and I in you” (John 15: 4). This is not a polite request. It is a command. It is simply put in plain English, but what does it mean exactly? How does He abide in us, and how do we abide in Him? In order to obey this command, what exactly do we need to do?

First it helps to go to the Greek. “Abide” in the KJV is translated from the Greek word meno 61 times. It is also translated “remain” sixteen times, “dwell” fifteen times, “continue” eleven times, and “tarry” nine times. “Abide, remain, dwell, and continue” gives us a picture of how the word is used.

The Vine and the Branches

The verse “Abide in Me, and I in you” comes in the middle of a metaphor Christ was using to give us a picture of how the abiding of His Spirit takes place. Back in John 15: 1, He likens Himself to a grape vine, “the true vine.” He says that the Father is the husbandman or the vinedresser. Every vine has branches. But He says that if a branch does not bear fruit, the Father purges it or cuts it off and takes it away. He then prunes those branches that are bearing fruit so that they may bear more fruit (v. 2).

We need to pause here a moment. “Purges” the fruitless branch. “Cuts it off? Takes it away? Whoa. This is some serious sentiment here. The Father’s not fooling around. He’s all about bearing more and more fruit by pruning those of us who are supposed to bear fruit.

Then Christ the Great Teacher explains this new commandment. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in Me.” He is the Vine and we are the branches of that Vine. He is saying, Dwell in Me, and let Me dwell in you. Remain there free from false concepts. Continue in my plan and purpose. You can do this by believing Me that the Father, who is the Spirit, dwells first of all in Me. Since He is in Me, He can be in you.

Christ commands us to abide in the vine. How does a branch abide in the vine? It is an extension of the trunk of the vine. It is merely a conduit of the same sap (Spirit) that runs through the vine. Branches of the vine are where the fruit is borne. But they will only bear if they surrender to being a channel for the rising sap of the vine (v. 4).

Christ clears it up. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (verses 5-6).

How Do We Abide/Dwell/Remain/Continue in Christ and He in Us?

We abide in Christ when we remain (abide, dwell) in His plan to accomplish His purpose. When it is “no longer I that lives, but Christ that lives in me.” This will take place after our trek to the cross where we surrender to His way and spiritually die with Christ and resurrect with Christ. It is never preached, but it is the only way to the Father. Do this and then He will abide in us. But that won’t happen if we believe that there are two distinct Gods up there, for the Father is the invisible Spirit abiding in the Son of man, which He earnestly desires to be us, too.

It is by believing that the Father dwells in the Son. That’s what the Son said. “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works” (John 14: 10). Christ said that the Father Yahweh dwells in Him, and it is the Father/Spirit that is doing the miracles. You want to be a miracle worker like the early apostles? This is our ticket to enter that spiritual world that they walked in.

Then in the next verse comes another crucial New Commandment. “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves” (v. 11). This one is paramount to obey because if we cannot obey and believe that the Father/Spirit abides/dwells in the Son, then He won’t abide in us either. Not fully, so that we can bear “much fruit” like the early apostles and Christ.

But…If we do obey and believe Christ when He says that the Father abides in Himself, then look what happens. “He who believes in Me [believes His word that the Father dwells and abides in the Son], the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do…” (v. 12). The Father will dwell in us and do the same miracles that the Son of God did—if we believe Christ’s words about the Father/Son relationship.

The Abiding is when the Father, who is the Holy Spirit of Truth, comes into us and walks around in us and performs the works that He has always done.

To be continued…

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

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Filed under cross, crucified with Christ, death of self, eternal purpose, manifestation of the sons of God, resurrection, Spirit of God, spiritual growth

February 16, 2020 · 6:30 pm

Reviewing the Plans for Your Perfection

Our minds are finite, poorly attuned to the Infinite One’s thought. Our Father said as much. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways…” (Isa. 55: 8).

Even when a heart yearns for the truth, when new light dawns, often that heart refuses to believe. And even if the new truth is not rejected by us, it can fade in the darkness of trials and temptations. Such is the word about God’s purpose and His plan to fulfill it. We all need a review of what matters the most to our Father, according to His own thoughts.

His purpose for His creation is to reproduce Himself. You have heard it here before, but until it becomes the lyrics to the song our heart sings, we must hear it again. God is in the process of reproducing agape Love—in us. He will use the human being to do this—not an animal or vegetable or carved pillar of stone.

Because He does all things well, He has an exact plan to accomplish His purpose. He is sovereign and knows what He is doing. To fulfill His purpose, He will fill certain human beings with His Spirit, which is unselfish divine love.

They will be led by His Spirit to seek Him. First, He will place a desire in them to know the truth about our existence on this planet. They will seek for the meaning of life and will give up their old selfish life in exchange for a ticket to join this spiritual quest. Little by little, their new spiritual Father will answer their questions of Who? and What? and How? and When? and Where? and Why? He will eventually lead them into all truth and help them solve all the mysteries of God.

The Initiation

Their initiation into this new spiritual family will begin at the cross where they will willingly yield up their old sinful selfish life. And from there He may use direct revelation to unveil His plan. But most often He will reach them through His teachers of truth. For they, like the apostles and prophets, are offices of God. They are God’s gifts to His body of believers “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ”  (Eph. 4: 12). They not only teach true concepts, but also help those coming up to purge out false concepts about the Father and Son.

This relationship concerning the Father and the Son is the key ingredient of knowledge that we need to fulfill God’s purpose in the earth. He will fulfill His purpose of reproducing Himself when He fills you and me with His Spirit of agape Love.

Unlike what many Pentecostal and charismatic voices teach, this filling us up with His Spirit comes slowly and deliberately. First, His presence will only come into a clean temple. He will arrive after a proper foundation of sound teachings is laid. These teachings are called “the apostles’ doctrine.” They are the teachings that the early rain apostles had in their hearts. They were Christ’s teachings; His teachings were His doctrine. And His became theirs. [Send for my latest book The Apostles’ Doctrine. It is free with free shipping. Just send me an email requesting it by name with your mailing address in the USA. If you live overseas, I will send you a pdf. Send to wayneman5@hotmail.com ].

The Spirit Growing

Once we are fed the “milk of the word, which is Christ’s teachings, we begin to grow into inquisitive spiritually healthy children, growing day by day. “Growing” signifies that the Spirit is growing in us, whereby, if we continue through much study and prayer, we will grow up to become strong men and women of God, just like the apostles and prophets.

So, how does the Spirit grow within our hearts? Christ, the Master Teacher, gives us the answer. He has given us several commandments. The first one is the first word He spoke to the crowds. “Repent.” All must go to the cross and let our old self die with Him. And then we are raised up with Him by believing in His resurrection, now within us. Our belief in His resurrection brings our own resurrection in Him. [All of this is explained in The Apostles’ Doctrine.]

After we get this solid in our hearts, Christ gives us several “new commandments” to obey [See https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/?s=new+commandment+commandments ].  Many of these are found in the four gospels. These will trigger the growth of the Spirit in our hearts. Obeying these “new commandments” is like when you feed your garden rich compost. It jump starts the growth of the Spirit within us. And this Spirit is the Father, and is Love, and is the fulfillment of His purpose of us becoming like the early apostles and prophets and Christ Himself. He said that we would do “greater works” than the miracles that He had performed.

Finally, obeying Christ’s commandments insures His growth in us through His abiding presence in us. “For without [Him] we can do nothing.” [https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2019/10/]

{I would like to know what you think. Be sure to comment, subscribe and like.}

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Filed under agape, apostles' doctrine, children of God, cross, eternal purpose, perfection, repentance, resurrection, Spirit of God, spiritual growth

February 9, 2020 · 6:30 pm

Betrayal and Forgiveness Develops Agape Love

There will be tears and anguish in our Christian walk. As “babes in Christ,” we sought to escape painful situations. We ran from problems, which most of the time created even more problems. Little children want to laugh and play; that includes little children of God.

When we first came into Christ, we did not know that there would be excruciating “fiery trials” on life’s menu. As little children of God we scratch our heads and go, “Huh?” We do not see why there has to be trials and heartbreaks. We do not see that God uses trials in our Christian walk as fire that burns out impurities.

We always are taken aback when the trials come. Attacks and reproaches from strangers will come, but their sting usually serves to bolster our faith. Peter tells us that these trials are not a strange nor rare occurrence. They are rather part of the “sufferings of Christ” (I Pet. 4: 12-14). Because we are members of His spiritual body called “Christ,” when we go through trials, it becomes part of Christ’s sufferings. We are one in this thing with Him.

Reproaches from without our circle of earthly and spiritual families are not the source, however, of our bitterest tears. When we are betrayed by those we trusted and loved the most, then the onslaught of acrid tears will flow. And the heart will churn and pound in utter disbelief. How could they do this? Why would they be so cruel to us, as to aim their words like poisoned arrows that pierce hearts that loves them? But Christ did say that a man’s enemies are they of his own household (Matt. 10: 36).

From Suffering to Forgiving

Swimming in this pool of dismay, we will cry out asking God, “Why? Why did they betray me?” And we will seek Him for solace and comfort. And He will finally lead us to the realization that the way out of the anguish and despair is to forgive them for their trespass against us.

For the truth is this: God has allowed the entire incident outlined above to happen to us. “All things are of God” (II Cor. 5: 18). There are no accidents in the Grand Scheme of His Wisdom. He allows, and some say instigates, these trials to happen to us in hopes that we will enter into the sanctum of forgiveness.

For forgiveness is the capstone of His divine character. It is the seminal portion of His divine nature that we are to express. God’s purpose is to reproduce Himself. He does this by bringing us to spiritual maturity through loving and forgiving others. For it is only His Spirit that can flawlessly do this. He has promised us His Holy Spirit to abide/remain/stay in us. He is the Forgiver now working through us. So He in His infinite wisdom has provided betrayals, deceits, lies, and back-stabbings to give us opportunities to exercise the power He has given us to forgive.

My Ordeal by Fire

It has been 35 years now since I survived the “fiery trial.” The pastor that I followed for 14 years as a full time missionary inexplicably spread untruths about me amongst the brethren. The person who led me to Christ and helped me into a wonderful deliverance from drugs and riotous living—my teacher and mentor—wounded me deeply. My wife and I left with nothing except five little children, four suitcases, a slandered reputation, and shattered hearts.

I could not understand for many years what happened to us, and especially why. I wandered in a daze for years. Yet when the time came, God put it into my heart to seek Him again concerning it all. And He has shown me what happens through the trials of betrayal.

In a word, it is part of God’s plan to bring us to spiritual maturity. He uses the forge of sufferings to purify our faith in Him. Through this He nurtures our growth until we express His divine nature through our walk in the Spirit. He ignites this growth by giving us something and someone to forgive. Once we get that, then He will work with us and through us to grow into more spiritual maturity.

He has commanded us to forgive each other. When we keep His command, agape love is produced in and through our hearts. Furthermore, He has promised to come and live and abide in us if we will forgive and obey the rest of His commandments. This in turn enables us to grow to be like Peter, James, John, and Paul. That’s what He has laid on our hearts, isn’t it? to be like them?

Consequently, “Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial that is to try you as though some strange happened unto you…”

“It is only Love, and that is all…” Agape Love, that is.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[Be sure to order my free books. Details found here: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/donate/ ]

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October 13, 2019 · 3:48 pm

A Closer Walk Through the Abiding

All of us desire a closer walk with God. We desire a proper prayer life with a doubtless trust that He hears us and will answer. God has promised us this closer walk with Him—but under certain conditions. He explains in His word how it will happen.

We notice that the abiding comes with two conditions. They both hinge on an understanding of the Son of God. Christ says, “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, then you can ask what you will and it will be done unto you” (John 15: 7). That is an astounding conditional promise of unlimited answered prayers. That is a closer walk with Him.

The First Condition

The first condition is “If you abide in Me.” The Greek word translated “abide” is also translated “remain” and “stay.” So, He is saying, If you remain in Me, if you stay in Me, and my words stay and remain in you—then I can trust you to receive My power to teach, heal and show forth Me to the world.

I have accented the “Me” here for a reason. His elect will remain in the real “Me,” the real Christ, the real truth as to who He really is. It is about staying in the real Christ. We cannot abide, remain and stay in Christ if we have an incorrect concept of who He really is.

It is like this: A new football coach has arrived. He wants to run a completely different offense than last years. The team only knows what they were taught last year. The team cannot continue, stay, and remain in the new coach’s system if they don’t know it. The team can only abide and stay in the new offense after they learn and practice it. To be successful, they must let go of the old system and embrace the new.

Likewise, to abide (continue, remain, stay) in the Son of God, we must know who He really is and walk in it. We must let go of the old leaven concepts as to who He is and cleave unto the “new.” He did not say, If you abide in one of man’s many concepts of who Christ is, then you will have a closer walk with God. No, Christ said to remain or abide in Me, or remain in the truth of who He really is. Those whom He has chosen to reveal Himself to will find the real Christ.

Many False Concepts about Who Christ Is

There are many false concepts of Christ out there that are confusing the masses. The word “many” keeps cropping up in unhappy scenarios. “Many false prophets are gone out into the world” (I John 4: 1). False teachers will be among us in the last days, “and many shall follow their pernicious ways…” (II Pet. 2: 1-2).

Christ warns us to enter into His kingdom by the narrow gate where “few there be that find it.” Many will enter through the wide gate into the broad and easy way that leads to destruction. And “there are many who go in by it” (Matt. 7: 13-14). In the very next verse, Christ shows us clearly who ushers the masses through the wide gate that leads to destruction. “Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing…” They will attire themselves to appear to be Christian preachers, pastors, priests, and evangelists.  They are difficult to spot because they talk about Christ, “but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (v. 15). These are Christ’s words of warning.

We have all read these passages, but have you ever wondered why pastors do not warn us about the false prophets and false teachers? Much is written on the subject. The Spirit in Paul even warns us that they transform themselves into the apostles of Christ. “For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” And Satan’s ministers are transformed into “ministers of righteousness” (II Cor. 11: 13-15).

There. Three apostles—John, Peter, and Paul–and the Chief Apostle warn us about the many false teachers, preachers, and prophets in this world. This must be extremely important for us, since so much of the word of God is devoted to warnings about false teachings. They are pervasive. It is everywhere. These false teachings present a false picture of who Christ is and what His purpose is. As long as Christians are remaining in a false concept of who Christ is, they are not obeying His New Commandment: “Abide in Me…” The real Me.

So, who is the Son of God?  “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.” Yahweh, the Father, dwelt in Christ, the Son, who is the “expressed image of the invisible God.” There is only one God. “Hear, O Israel, the LORD (Yahweh) our God is one” (Deut. 6: 4; Mark 12: 29). The Father is an invisible Spirit, and He dwells in the Son. He that has really seen the Son has seen the Father. For the Son of God houses the Father, who is invisible.

This is why Christ commanded us, “Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me” (John 14: 11). He also gave us another New Commandment: “Abide in Me, and I in you” (John 15: 4). Very few ever hear about the abiding. He also said for us to “seek first the kingdom of God.” Not many speak of a kingdom headed by Christ. He said that He would return at the end of the age. Very few speak of this government that will “fill the whole earth.” His apostles speak of “the manifestation of the sons of God” in our era (Rom. 8:19).

In all of Romans 8, the apostle Paul speaks of a sublime time for mankind. Nothing less than a conquering of death for us humans, a time at the end of this age that God will wipe away all tears from mankind’s death swept eyes. God has chosen out a few thousand human beings to be the first fruits of His immortal harvest. The astounding thing is that it will happen right here on this planet. For He is coming back to earth to reign in righteousness for a thousand years! A new era of immortality will supplant the old ways of death for humans. Through His abiding in us, He will sustain His life in us in a new spiritual body, a body impervious to disease and death. This is all conceived of and delivered to us by our King.

Very few have ever heard of such a thing happening. Yet these things comprise Christ’s words to us. The reason it’s very few is because they are not taught this truth. They are taught false doctrines that give a false picture of the Savior. The Savior is coming back here to reign for a thousand years. We may rise up to meet Him, but we are coming right back down here to earth with Him. Until the old leaven (false teachings) is purged out of Christ’s followers, they will never be able to abide, remain, and stay in Him. The elect will purge out the false teachings about Christ and will repent of them.

The Second Condition

The first condition consists of us abiding, staying, and remaining in the true concept of Christ. The second condition is for His words to abide or remain in us. It boils down to the interpretation of His words. There are interpretations many, and they are dictated by our concepts of just who He is.

Christ said “and if my words abide in you…” His word is truth. When the Spirit of truth is come, “he will guide you into all truth…and will show you things to come” (John 16: 13).

Let’s see what His written word says about His words. “The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life” (John 6: 63). “Thy word is truth” (John 17: 17; I Kings 17: 24). So when Christ speaks of His words abiding in you,” He is saying that it is the truth that abides in you. If people are deceived by false teachings about Christ, then how can the truth ever abide, remain, and stay in a person?

Therefore, it is paramount that we understand that His words are His New Commandments and the Apostles’ Doctrine. And if we hope to receive this wonderful promise of full answers to all of our prayers, then we need to know His New Commandments and the Apostles’ Doctrine, which are Christ’s teachings. If we do not know them nor do them, then the Spirit will not abide in us, no matter how much we scream and holler.  [Order your free copy of my latest book The Apostles’ Doctrine. Ordering info at the end of this article.]

Our personal understanding of His words are colored by the words that we have heard about Him since childhood. Sunday school and church services and picnics paints a picture of Christ for protestant churches. And the Catholic mass with its rituals, confessions, and bazaars and bingo nights paints another. Both are woefully short of the words of the Spirit of truth.

Yet Christ said, “If my words abide in you…” His words are found in His New Commandments and His doctrine. It is only through cleaving to them that we may abide in Christ. Let John tell you: “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son” (II John 1: 9).  Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[Ordering My Free Books in Paperback

I am now able to send you a copy of my books absolutely free with free shipping.  Please specify which one.

Yah Is Savior: The Road to Immortality explores the deeper meaning of our Savior’s Hebrew name Yahshua, which means Yahweh is the Savior.

The Unveiling of the Sons of God explains how the whole creation is waiting and longing for the manifestation (the unveiling) of the sons of God for these latter days. Christ will be totally formed in His elect as they will have grown and matured spiritually into His likeness and power.

The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. It explores God’s vision for us, to be kings with Christ and how He will use us to reproduce His nature of Love.

My latest book is The Apostles’ Doctrine. Their doctrine was Christ’s teachings. And the early church walked in those teachings. This book reveals just what they are and how to walk in them.

Send your request, specifying which one of my books you desire, to my email address:  wayneman5@hotmail.com  Include your name and mailing address. For those outside the United States, or who may prefer a pdf copy of the last two books mentioned, please specify.  Also, you may read the first two books online at my website Immortality Road found here:   https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com

God bless you and your family, and thank you for taking a stroll with me on Immortality Road.]

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October 10, 2019 · 10:13 am

The Way to the Abiding

What if there was a way to have God inhabit us, to take up residence in us. What if He were to have a prescribed procedure, which if followed, would create in us a welcoming habitation for our Savior and King. What if there was a way for Him to dwell in us—really make His abode in us, an everlasting presence, like the early church in the book of Acts.

The Abiding is a state of being where the Spirit of truth comes into us and abides or remains in us. The Son of God is the way for us to receive this state of being. Christ said that He is the Way. But the way to what exactly? The way to becoming His temple where He dwells, where He rules from, where He lives. The way for us to be His temple, the  place for our Father to hang His heart on. That is our destiny.

He is the Way forward toward this goal. How then do we follow the Way? He operates through His Spirit. It is through this auspice that He will inhabit us. But His Spirit is like the wind; it is invisible. So then, it takes faith—believing without first seeing.

But many have a problem with this invisibility. They don’t realize that you cannot please an invisible God if you don’t believe that He exists because you cannot see Him. It takes faith to see the fruit of the action of the Spirit. It is like believing that there indeed is a thing called “wind.” We believe that “wind” exists because we see its effects on the trees; we feel its coolness in summer and its frigidity in winter. We have also seen God’s effect on hearts, how he heals broken ones, how He encourages us with edifying words of love. You have seen humans touched by pure agape love.

“God is love” (I John 4: 8).  He has promised us the way to have Him, Agape Love, not only visit us on rare occasions, but also abide in us on a permanent basis. Christ is the Way to get there. He shows us the steps to take on the way to Him fully living in us. The way is the road we travel to get to that spiritual destination. He illuminates the path, for “God is light.” And the lighted pathway is His teachings, His pure unadulterated doctrines. Christ the grand and glorious Teacher has left us with His words. And it is His words that will show us how to be the temple of the Spirit, the place of His habitation, the place where He stays and remains. [The following is of utmost importance for us. Satan, an angel working through thoughts of the mind, has a job. It is to distract us—right now—to introduce other things for us to think about—things of this world and not the words of Christ to us. Remember this when your mind begins to wander away from the following. This subterfuge and distraction by Satan is ordained by God to test us, to give us a victory in Him when we overcome him and his distractions.]

How the Abiding Comes and Inhabits Us

One of Christ’s New Commandments is this: “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me” (John 14: 11). That is a command to us His disciples. If we obey this command, He has promised us that we will do even “greater works than” those He has done. “He that believes on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do…” (v. 12).

Verse 12 elucidates verse 11. Believing on Christ in verse 12 equals believing that the Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son. When we believe that Yahweh, the invisible Spirit Creator, dwelt fully in the Son, then we believe on Christ. To say it plainly, Christ explains the way to have the Father abide in us. He commands us to believe that the Father Yahweh is in Him. This is believing on Christ. To believe on Christ is to believe His words about His relationship with the Father Yahweh. Yahweh, the Father, dwells inside the Son. “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:  9).

This is the truth. Christ is the Anointed One by definition. He proclaimed that He is the truth. Truth is the anointing that remains or abides in us after we obey His commandments, His New Commandments. “But the anointing which you have received of Him abides in you…the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth…” (I John 2: 27).

The anointing of the truth comes to us by His Spirit. Christ our great Teacher has lined it out how to receive this anointing. First, we must believe on Him by believing that the Son was in the Father and the Father in the Son. After this comes the “greater works” (John 14: 11-12).

Second, the “greater works” come through answered prayers. “And whatsoever you shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (14: 13). We pray, but not the kind of prayers we have sent up over the years. These prayers must be based upon His will, plan and purpose. Nothing for self; everything for Him. These prayers must be asked in the Son’s name. His original Hebrew name, not his English name. Asking in His name is acknowledging the meaning of His name.

For the meaning of the Son’s Hebrew name contains nothing less than the secret of the universe. The Son’s name is Yahshua, the same as the patriarch Joshua. Yahshua means “Yahweh Saves” or “Yahweh Is the Savior.” Remember this verse? “And you shall call His name Jesus [Yahshua], for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1: 21). The meaning of His name goes with us believing that the Father Yahweh is in the Son. For Yahweh is the Savior. The Spirit through Isaiah says, “I even I, am the LORD [Yahweh in Hebrew]; and beside me there is no savior” (Isa. 43: 11; 45: 21). Believing in the meaning of the Savior’s name is obeying Christ’s New Commandment to believe that the Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son. The anointing in the form of the Spirit of truth teaches us all spiritual things. {Be sure to order my free book with free shipping Yah Is Savior. See end of article for details)

Third, keeping Christ’s commandments is loving Him. “If you love Me, keep my commandments” (John 14: 15). Especially believing that the Father Yahweh is in the Son, doing the works. And after we do this and keep His other commandments, He will give us a wonderful gift—the Comforter—“that He may abide with you forever” (14: 16). This Comforter is the Spirit of truth who “shall be in you.” This is the anointing/truth that will abide, stay and remain in us (v. 17).

In order for the Spirit of truth to abide in us, we must have the truth contained in His Spirit. Without the truth as to who God is and what He is doing in the earth, it is impossible to have His abiding presence which guarantees Him granting whatever we ask of Him. The truth is paramount—the truth of His purpose of reproducing Himself in us and His truth of His plan to get there.

And with this abiding, He wraps us all up into One. “At that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (v. 20). We become one with Him. What an astounding promise. This promise is attainable now to His elect. It is not for the sweet bye and bye. His first fruit company of sons and daughters need this truth/anointing to accomplish the work He has scheduled for us in these latter days. We desperately need a closer walk with the Savior (John 14: 15-20).    Kenneth Wayne Hancock   (to be continued)

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October 3, 2019 · 12:38 pm

“Believe Me that the Father is in Me”—Important New Commandment Leading to the Abiding

We have seen that the Father’s purpose is to multiply Himself (Love) in human beings. He is “bringing many sons unto glory.” He has a plan to accomplish this. His plan centers on His Son known as Jesus Christ to most English speakers (Hebrew name Yahshua).

Christ is the Seed/Son that through His sacrifice of the greatest love, many will receive immortality. In fact, the way to the Father is through the Son. If one rejects the Son of God, he rejects the Father because the Father is in the Son. It is how Christ did the great and mighty works; it was the Father inside of Him doing it (John 14: 9-10).

We have also seen that Christ has given His disciples, including us, New Commandments for us to keep. And it is here in John 14 that He instructs us, “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me” (v. 11). This is a commandment! A new commandment! A New Commandment with precious and powerful promises.

He says to believe Him that the Father is in Him. You won’t find this commandment in the Ten Commandments expressed like this. This commandment is new and is given to help us know the Father, the mysterious Yahweh.

The Promises after Obeying This New Commandment  

When we obey and keep this commandment to believe that the Father dwells in the Son, three great powers are promised. First, He has promised that we will do the same works and miracles that He did, and even greater works. Second, if we ask any thing in His name, He will do it.  And third, He has promised to give us the Spirit of truth who will “abide with you forever.” Christ even gives a prophecy concerning those who keep His New Commandments: The Spirit of truth “shall be in you” (John 14: 11-17).

After reading John 14, we realize that the Father Yahweh is none other than the Holy Spirit that dwelt in the Son. And Christ is simply teaching His disciples the next steps in receiving the Father’s Spirit into us. When Christ promises that He and the Father will “make our abode in” the believer, He is showing us how we are able to grow spiritually. When He abides and remains in us, much spiritual fruit will be produced in us. And that means that the Spirit of truth, the Father, will come into us literally and will remain and stay and grow in us.

All we have to do is believe and obey Christ’s New Commandments. He is the great Teacher; everybody says that He is. So now He is teaching us in John 14, 15, and 16, how to grow up to be like the Son of God. This is a key understanding of how God reproduces Himself. The key is us doing what Christ tells us to do: Believe that the Father was in the Son (among many other New Commandments).

Many of us have read these chapters in John so many times that we are coaxed into a complacency, built upon immature concepts. I am asking each of us to look into these passages with urgent and fresh eyes.

If we do this right, Christ has promised us a marvelous thing, a position with Him that every serious Christian has pondered: “He that believes on Me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14: 12). Some may think, Oh, that sounds easy enough. Just believe that the Father is in Christ, and boom, the power comes. The key point is this: Your belief in Christ is measured by your belief of His words about Himself.  And He said that the Father was in the Son.

But most have been taught that the Father and Son are two distinct personages. This is old leaven teaching. How does one get rid of it? Understanding the “Vine and Branches” metaphor shows us the way.

Christ likens our spiritual growth to the growth of a grape vine—what it goes through in order to bear much fruit. Christ likens Himself to the “true vine,” and the Father is the husbandman. We are the branches of the Vine. If we are not bearing any spiritual fruit, He will cut us off of the vine to wither without the life-giving sap, which is the Spirit. If we are bearing a little fruit, He will prune and purge us that we may bear more fruit (John 15: 1-2). This pruning and purging is when He delivers suffering into our lives. These are in the form of betrayals, heartbreaks, and hard times that prompt us to seek God in a more fervent way.

This pruning is a cleaning process. In John 15: 3, He says, “Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” Cleaned from the stain of sin first, yes. But then we must be cleansed from all old concepts about the invisible Father and the Son, who is the express image of the Father. It is Christ’s words that cleanses us “with the washing of the water by the word” (Eph. 5: 26).

His promises, when believed, are overwhelming. He commands us: “Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty [hidden] things which you know not” (Jer. 33: 3).

Believe. He commands us several times to believe. First, believe in His resurrection. Then believe that our old self is dead and that we are walking in a new life now with Him and Him in us. Next, we believe that the Father is in the Son and not sitting beside the Son. When we get this and do this, then we can be trusted to do the greater works that He promised we would do (Jn. 14: 12).

We show our love of the Savior by keeping His New Commandments. For He said, “He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves Me…If a man love Me, he will keep my words [His New Commandments], and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him” (Jn. 14: 23). This is the Abiding; this is when He grants that His Spirit remains in us!

This is so profound that it strains our credulity. This is a conditional promise made by Him who created us and loved us and saved us. He will abide in us if we believe Him—belief shown by us keeping His New Commandments. This is the abiding; this is the key to spectacular spiritual growth. Christ calls this “much fruit.” And this spiritual growth is the development of His divine nature of Agape Love within us. This fulfills His purpose of reproducing Himself in us.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Ordering My Free Books in Paperback

I am now able to send you a copy of my books absolutely free with free shipping.  Please specify which one.

Yah Is Savior: The Road to Immortality explores the deeper meaning of our Savior’s Hebrew name Yahshua, which means Yahweh is the Savior.

The Unveiling of the Sons of God explains how the whole creation is waiting and longing for the manifestation (the unveiling) of the sons of God for these latter days. Christ will be totally formed in His elect as they will have grown and matured spiritually into His likeness and power.

The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. It explores God’s vision for us, to be kings with Christ and how He will use us to reproduce His nature of Love.

My latest book is The Apostles’ Doctrine. Their doctrine was Christ’s teachings. And the early church walked in those teachings. This book reveals just what they are and how to walk in them.

Send your request, specifying which one of my books you desire, to my email address:  wayneman5@hotmail.com  Include your name and mailing address. For those outside the United States, or who may prefer a pdf copy of the last two books mentioned, please specify.  Also, you may read the first two books online at my website Immortality Road found here:   https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com

God bless you and your family, and thank you for taking a stroll with me on Immortality Road.

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September 21, 2019 · 6:36 pm

Obeying Christ’s New Commandments

The teaching on the spiritual growth of “much fruit” is so profoundly ephemeral that we all must “put ourselves in remembrance of these things.” The following is not mindless repetition, but rather a stirring up of our minds for the vision ahead. The Spirit of truth knows our foibles of memory. Thus, He teaches us a new concept, laying it upon a sure foundation of rock.

To comprehend why we are here on this planet, we must know of our Creator’s purpose. His purpose is to reproduce Himself in human beings. He is Agape Love, and His will is to fulfill His purpose. He has a plan to accomplish this multiplication of Himself.

It is through this knowledge that light is shed on His plan. He has chosen His apostles, teachers, and prophets to expound on His plan to accomplish His purpose. And He is now revealing His plan to any who have an ear to hear and eyes to see.

The apostle John records Christ’s last major discourse in chapters fourteen through seventeen of the gospel of John. These teachings are for those chosen by Him to be used to fulfill God’s purpose. Christ calls this bearing “much fruit.” He likens the elect to being branches of Himself, the Vine.

To bear “much fruit,” we must abide in Christ and Christ in us. To abide we must obey Christ’s New Commandments. Bearing much spiritual fruit is called many things in scripture: the “manifestation of the sons of God,” “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” 100 fold fruit bearing found in Matthew 13; the remnant; the elect; the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.” They all lead to the fulfillment of His purpose—the reproduction of Agape Love in us.

Knowledge of the New Commandments

Christ gave several new commands to His elect. The New Commandments are not to be confused with the Ten Commandments. They go far beyond the Ten Commandments in spiritual depth. The Ten Commandments are a schoolmaster to bring us to the awareness of sin and our need for a Savior and His Spirit within our new heart. But Christ came to magnify the law. With His Spirit in us, we now are equipped to reproduce His love. And we do this by keeping His New Commandments. They are for His elect, His first fruits who will be exactly like the Seed/Son. They will be the first in this last generation to fully bear much fruit. I.e., the remnant in our day will bear the same spiritual fruit as the early apostles and Christ Himself. He said as much: “Greater works shall you do…”

These New Commandments serve as landmarks on the road to immortality. As we by faith in Him begin to first understand them and then obey them, we grow up spiritually, and His Spirit manifests Himself in us. For example, Christ commands His elect, “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.” This is a commandment. He explained it by saying, “I and My Father are one.” The elect will see the oneness of God and will believe Him (John 14: 11).

He commanded, “Abide in Me.” This means stay and remain in Him, like the branches stay in the Vine and do not detach themselves. Abiding in Him means staying in His teachings, purging out all of the false doctrines and concepts that challenges the truth of God. If we stay in the false doctrines about God, we cannot abide in Him and He in us. But if we keep this commandment, we will bear much fruit, which is 100 fold spiritual fruit bearing.

Here are some of Christ’s New Commandments: 1. Abide in Me; 2. Believe that the Father is in Me; 3. Don’t judge others; 4. Forgive; 5. Give; 6. Love your enemies and each other; 7. Pray for others; 8. Do good to your persecutors; 9. Turn other cheek; 10. Seek first Kingdom of God; 11. Don’t think about tomorrow or earthly things; 12. Lay up treasures in heaven—Mt. 6: 20; 13. Resist not evil; 14. Be merciful like He is merciful.

Keeping the New Commandments Grows Love in Us

Keeping His commands exercises the Spirit of Love within us. God’s nature of divine agape love grows within our hearts. All of His commands are facets of agape love. These new commands set the parameters. When they are obeyed from the heart, our actions show that God is in us of a truth. For only God can obey them.

Christ commands us many times. Each command reveals another aspect of His nature of agape love. He commands us to “forgive.” When we forgive those who have hurt and betrayed us, agape love grows within our hearts. Only God can forgive like this, and He is manifested in us when we obey His command to forgive. We are His offspring; He forgave, now we forgive. Each seed bears its own kind.

We can only forgive like this when we fully appreciate Christ’s forgiveness toward us. We love Him first because He first loved us, and gave Himself for us. We first forgive God for allowing the hurt and sufferings to take place in our lives. Then we forgive the one who hurt us. And through this crucible, the fire of God’s love melts our cold hearts, and what is left is a diamond crystal of agape love.

The addition of manifested agape love radiating out of our hearts happens when we obey Christ’s New Commandments. This is how we grow spiritually. This is how God’s purpose is fulfilled. This is how the love-from-above flows down into us and through us to the world. And this understanding leads to the abiding, when the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us and remains in us, or abides in us.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Filed under additions to our faith, agape, elect, eternal purpose, false doctrines, forgiveness, knowledge, love, Love from Above, old leaven, sons of God, Spirit of God, spiritual growth