Category Archives: Spirit of God

“I Saw Yahweh Always Before My Face”

The prophet David and the apostle Peter join together in proving yet again that it was none other than Yahweh of the Old Testament who walked in human form as the Savior in the New.

It is the day of Pentecost and the apostles have just been filled with the Holy Spirit, and Peter stands up and preaches. He tells the people that what is happening was foretold by the prophets of old.

He tells them that Joel prophesied of this mighty move of the Spirit, quoting him. “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and you sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2: 17).

He then tells them about the Messiah, the Savior, mentioning Him by name–Yahshua of Nazareth–how He was approved by God because of the miracles He performed and how He was delivered up to be crucified by the predetermined plan and purpose of the Almighty. And then He was raised from the dead.

And then Peter alludes to David and quotes him on that day of Pentecost, speaking about this Savior who was raised from the dead. Peter’s words: “For David speaks concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face…(2: 25). Peter was quoting Psalm 16: 8. If you read that, you will see that “Lord” there is rendered “LORD.” And we know that “LORD” in all capital letters is a title, a convention that the King James translators invented, taking the place of the word “Yahweh,” the true name of David’s God. Any encyclopedia or Bible scholar will confirm this.

So, “I foresaw Yahweh always before my face…” It was Yahweh that David spoke about so lovingly. Yahweh! And Peter quotes that exact passage referring to the Messiah!

Peter continues to quote the Psalm 16 passage. “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” (v. 10). We have to see what the word “hell” really means here. It is translated from the Hebrew word sheol, #7585 in Strong’s Concordance. That same word is translated “grave” over thirty times in the old testament scriptures. David is singing about a great hope that he has that his nephesh, his own earthly being, will not be left in the grave, that some day God will give him a new spiritual body. This assurance comes because Yahweh has shown him that the Messiah, God’s Holy One Incarnation, Yahweh in human form, will be raised from the dead before His earthly body is decayed or corrupted.

We see in these passages that Peter and David had this revelation. The Savior was Yahweh in human form. It was Immanuel, God with us, walking and talking with us. And thus the passages about the Savior in Isaiah resound through the ages to us: “I am the first, and I am the last, and beside me there is no God…I, even I, am Yahweh; and beside me there is no savior…There is no God else beside Me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside    Me ” (44: 6; 43: 11; 45: 21). Paul, of course, backs all of this up when he says, “God (Yahweh) was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself” (II Cor. 5: 19).

Our Savior wants us to see Him as He really is. This revelation will help us do that.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock    [First published in The Search newsletter, January 2001   For more on this, see my first book found here: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/book-yah-is-savior-the-road-to-immortality/ ]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Comment

Filed under Christ, King David, Sacred Names, Spirit of God, Yahshua, Yahweh

The Light of Love from Above

[ Full article found here: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2016/10/15/the-light-of-love-from-above/ ]

Light is that ephemeral miracle we take so much for granted. It physically exposes the dark corners of our rooms, and it also spiritually makes known the hidden recesses of our hearts and minds.

Light is that essence of the divine that heals our blindness and ends our vain gropings to make meaning of the hopeless darkness of our first earthly estate.

Of course, God is Light, and He is Love which casts out the fear of remaining in the dungeon of despair. God’s Son is the way out of that calamitous corridor of personal corruption. Through Christ’s Spirit we no longer inflict collateral damage to all who crossed our path. We now shine the light of love.

We who are called and chosen by the Redeemer to escape this dungeon of darkness have laid hold of His outstretched hand. He has snatched us up out of that selfish march to death that we were on and has shined the truth of His words into our hearts. His thoughts are like the early morning rays of the sun that sharpens our perception of just what our world can be.

Instead of the coarse commonality of our selfish old nature, our Creator has now enlightened our eyes as to His desire to use us to reproduce Himself in us. Astounding as it may seem, He is now shedding more light onto His plan to “bring many sons (and daughters) unto glory.” And this glory is the unearned privilege to sit with Christ on His throne when He returns to set up on earth the 1,000 year reign of His kingdom. He is, after all, the “King of kings” [1].

In a word, His purpose is to reproduce, like a seed, His Love in us. Since God is Love, when we love others with His Spirit of Love, God is reproducing Himself [2].

God has a plan to make all this happen. He has written it down on how to walk in the light of His love. He has left us instructions as to how people will act when God’s Spirit of love is leading them.

These instructions are called in the holy scriptures “the law.” The “testimony” is the witness of one who through God’s Spirit follows the instructions as to what Love looks like walking around in a human being.

Love–agape love–the love from above–this love is God. And this love, when poured into the heart and mind of man, fulfills all the descriptions of what love is. We look to our example, the Son of God. He is Love incarnate. And the Love that He is, now resides in His children’s hearts. And we are growing in His plan and purpose as He grows in us.

This love from above follows the instructions of the law as to our actions. In a nutshell, the ten commandment law requires that we love our neighbor as ourselves. Therefore, the Spirit of Love-from-above-within-us fulfills the law [3].

God’s Love is the Light that now shines into and through our hearts and minds to others.

Christ has left us teachings to help us fulfill His purpose. They are like a treasure map with footsteps leading to a throne room. He has entrusted the map to His apostles. The apostle Peter exhorts us: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; which you do well to heed, as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the morning star rises in your hearts” [4].

  1. Rom. 8: 18-19, 28-31; Rev. 3: 20-21; I Tim. 6: 15
  2. 2. I John 4: 8-12
  3. Romans 13: 9-10
  4. II Peter 1: 19; Rev. 22: 16

 

 

 

 

 

 

8 Comments

Filed under agape, apostles' doctrine, calling of God, children of God, Christ, elect, end time prophecy, eternal purpose, glorification, God's desire, light, love, Love from Above, manifestation of the sons of God, mind of Christ, princes and princesses of God, Spirit of God, truth

The Mystery of the “Holy One of Israel”

“I and my Father are One…”

A major prerequisite in becoming a manifested son of God is knowing Him that is from the beginning. The sons of God will know Him and the power of His resurrection. They will have solved the puzzle, the mystery of godliness.   “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh.”

Things kept secret from before the foundation of the world will be understood by the sons of God. “The secrets of Yahweh belong to them who are in awe of Him, and He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets.” Yes, the sons of God are destined by Him to know all the mysteries of Deity; they will know their Father that is from the beginning. They will be just like their Father and will, in fact, be spiritual fathers to nations and kings.

Learning the Mystery from King David

David is pouring his heart out to the Father Yahweh all the way through Psalm 102. He talks to Him throughout, expressing his faith in the great One who created all things. What is astounding about this is that this very same passage is quoted by Paul referring to the Son of God! Let me repeat that: Paul quotes this psalm when referring to the Savior, the Son of God, Jesus/Yahshua of Nazareth.

“Hear my prayer, O Yahweh” (rendered “LORD” in most versions). Hear me, please, he is saying, in my hour of need, for I am in trouble. His enemies are all around him; he fears for his life. His literal time here on earth is running out; the sun is going down to the dark night of the grave. His flesh is soon to be consumed and turned back to dust. “My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.”

But he says that Yahweh (v. 12) shall endure forever. He is from forever and shall go on forever. Yahweh will appear (v. 16) and hear the prayers of His people. “The people that shall be created shall praise Yahweh.”

David Goes Back to the Beginning

 And then David remembers and acknowledges Yahweh as the One who looks down from above and hears our groaning because of our mortal state and comes down to loosen us from this death (vs. 19-20). It is Yahweh who gives us this hope of transcending our mortality. And then David reaffirms his belief in the One who has “laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands” (25).

Paul quotes this very same passage from Psalms in Hebrews 1: 10. He establishes early on that he is talking about Yahshua the Messiah. First he says in verse 2 that Yahshua, Yahweh incarnate, created all things. He mentions the Savior purging our sins (3).   And then he quotes Psalm 102: 25, speaking of the Savior: “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands.”

Paul is quoting the psalmist who addressed all of 102 to Yahweh. And David said in that psalm that Yahweh created all things. But Paul in Hebrews 1:2 says that the Son created all things. Now there seems to be a contradiction here. If Yahweh, the Father did create all things, then how can Paul, and the apostle John also, say that the Son created all things?

The answer is that both are right. Yahweh did create all things, while He, being the Spirit that He is, resided in the glorified vessel we know as the Christ, the Anointed One, the Son. Yahweh, the Spirit/Father dwelt bodily in His “expressed image,” the Son, and created all things through Him. For Yahweh did create all things.

This is the mystery of God. This is the secret; this is the enigma. Our finite natural thinking minds have difficulty in conceiving the answer to this mystery because we want to see two Gods up there. That is the way we deal with this problem as to just who did the creating. If there are two up there, the Father and the Son, then which did the creating of the worlds? The scriptures in many passages state that Yahweh did the creating. And in many other passages, the apostles say that the Son did the creating. So we begin to think, Well, the Father delegated the creating for the Son to do, by just telling Him to do it.

But this is natural thinking. Could we not just as well believe the scriptures and have the Father be this invisible Spirit who resided in a form, a human looking form, a form from which human beings were patterned? And this form with Yahweh the invisible Spirit/Father dwelling within—could not this One God have done the creating? There is no contradiction in this concept of the Creator. Both accounts are correct and do not contradict anything. You have Yahweh inside a special vessel doing the creating. This concept coincides with the scores of times that He is called the “Holy One of Israel.” It confirms all the times that the prophets said that Yahweh is not only the Creator, but also the Savior! It confirms all the times that the NT writers said that the Messiah did the creating. In fact, it does not contradict anything at all.

In this concept of the Godhead, the Father and the Son are one. Is not that what the Messiah said? “I and my Father are one…If you have seen me you have seen my Father.” The Father is in me and is doing the works. This is the central core message that will solve the mystery of God: the eternal Spirit Yahweh was in the Messiah, reconciling the world unto Himself. This is the great mystery.

Paul speaks of this mystery of God to the Colossians. He says in chapter 2: 1 that he is concerned. Something is already at work to corrupt the vision of the Holy One of Israel in their eyes. He longs for their hearts to be as one in love, “to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.” Here we have God, the Father, and the Anointed One all mentioned together as making up the mystery. And then he goes on and says that “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” are hidden in the Messiah.

Just what was in the Son, the Messiah? Whatever that was, was “all the treasures.” Christ said that the Father was in Him. Paul said that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” Other apostles said that the Son was full of the Spirit of the Father. This is an important point to Paul—for his brothers in Colosse to know this mystery of the Godhead. In fact, he warns in v. 8 for them to beware of the traditions of men that will come in with man’s philosophy and vain deceit. And then he drops the bombshell in v. 9: “For in him (the Messiah) dwells all of the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”

He said all. “All” means that there is not any more to be placed in there. All of the Spirit, all of the Father, all of God, was in the Messiah. But man’s philosophy teaches that the Father is still sitting in heaven in some kind of form watching the proceedings below. Traditions teach us that there are really two up there now. But Paul teaches us that all of the Deity dwelt bodily, that all of the Great Father/Spirit God Almighty was comported about in the body of the Son of God. It is difficult for people today to agree with Paul just as it was hard for the Pharisees and Sadducees to believe, too. It is just unbelief that tricks a heart into not admitting and believing that the Father was fully in Him.

Be that as it may, the mystery of Elohim/God is that the Son has all of the fullness of the Godhead dwelling bodily. For in Messiah all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form. Col. 2:9, NIV. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. KJV. For it is in Christ that the complete being of the Godhead embodied, and in Him you have been brought to completion. NEB. For in Christ there is all of God in a human body, so you have everything when you have Christ. Living Bible.

No matter how you slice it or dice it in whatever version of the Bible, it still comes out the same. All of Deity was in the Son of God. Period. And the Father Yahweh, the Great Spirit, “was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.” Col. 1:19.

Back to Col. 2:3, speaking of Yahshua, Yahweh in human form:   “All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge was hid in the Son.” The Father Yahweh, was Himself in the Son, the Anointed vessel who was to carry Yahweh around in on earth.

The mystery is this: Yahweh, the Creator, poured Himself into the Messiah. Everything that that Anointed One did, it was Yahweh Himself doing it. Yahweh created everything, in His preexistent form, which is Yahshua. Yahweh is an invisible Spirit; He is not a man sitting up there. The only place He resides is in the high and lofty place and with those of a broken spirit and a contrite heart.

Moses confirms that Yahweh created all things. In the song of Moses, Deuteronomy 32, he begins by praising Yahweh. “He is the Rock, his work is perfect.” And in v. 6, “Is not Yahweh thy father that hath bought thee? Hath he not made thee, and established thee?” Right here in the torah we see that Yahweh is the Rock that created the children of Israel. But I thought that the Son created all things.

A contradiction? No, for Yahweh, the Great Spirit Father “was in Messiah, reconciling the world unto Himself.” It is Yahweh in human form that did the creating. The Father was in the form, the Son, doing the creating. “And his name shall be called…the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” Isa. 9:6. How can this be? Only with the invisible Father/Spirit residing in the Son (“all the fulness of the Godhead dwelt bodily in the Messiah”) can this be.

The Father dwells in the Son, “who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.” Col. 1:15. Yahshua the Messiah is the visible image of the invisible Father/Spirit Yahweh. Yahshua cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. John 12:43-44. Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been   among   you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father…don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?…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 miracles themselves. John 14:9-11.

I believe that it is the Spirit of God within me at this moment that is writing down these things. But how does the reader know that these things are really true? How can the reader be sure?

     The scripture reveals a sure way to tell if someone has the Spirit of truth—a sure way to know if a person is of the truth and is telling the truth.

You will know you have really come in contact with the Spirit of Truth because the person who has the truth will speak about the Savior as He really is. The Master said so. “When the Spirit of truth is come He will testify of Me.” John 15:26. When someone receives the Spirit of truth within themselves, they will speak of the Savior. But the Spirit of truth will speak of the Savior truthfully. The Spirit of truth will tell the truth about the Savior. The Spirit of truth within a person will tell of the true nature of the Savior.

But that is tricky because everyone speaks about the Savior. Everyone speaks of Jesus Christ. Some even speak of Him using His true Hebrew name Yahshua. There are thousands of denominations and organizations speaking about a savior, and they all have different concepts of who He is. Consequently, they all could not have the Spirit of truth. Yet everyone thinks they have the Spirit of truth.

How can one be for sure? The Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, will guide us into all truth; He will show you things to come; and He will glorify the Savior; He will receive the things about the Savior and will show us them (John 16:13-16). You will know that you really have the Spirit of Truth because He will speak of Yah-is-Savior; He will testify of the fact that the Self-Existent One-is-in-human-form and is Savior. The Spirit of truth = Comforter = sent to us by Yahshua = proceeds from the Father = the Spirit of truth shall testify of Yah in human form. The Spirit of Truth shall lead us into all truth about just who the Savior is, which is Yah-in-human-form.

And it is by that very same Spirit of Truth residing within us that we will be a witness of just who the Savior is. And you also shall bear witness, or testify, of Yahshua by that same Spirit of truth within us. The Spirit of Truth is the Spirit of Yahshua. Yahshua the Savior said that He is the truth. And Father, the eternal Spirit, dwelt bodily in the Savior, the Anointed One.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock  {This is Chapter 23 taken from the book The Unveiling of the Sons of God. Here’s the link to the entire book: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/ebook-the-unveiling-of-the-sons-of-god/ }

5 Comments

Filed under elect, glorification, God, King David, manifestation of the sons of God, sons and daughters of God, sons of God, Spirit of God, spiritual growth, Yahshua, Yahweh

“To the Law and to the Testimony”–Being the Witness of God’s Love

God is Love, and He is Light. Therefore Love is Light, for agape Love makes known God’s plan to carry out His purpose, which is to reproduce Himself, to magnify His nature of Love in and through us. He will accomplish His purpose  of reproducing Himself, and He will use us humans to do it. Consequently, mankind has an extremely important part to play in God’s purpose and plan. After all, God did say in His word that “man is the glory of God.” And God is glorified when His Love, His nature is reproduced in us.

God’s plan to accomplish this reproduction of Himself, then, centers on man as the environment where it will take place. And His plan has been written down in words, called the Logos, the Word, which was “made flesh and dwelt among us” in the form of the Son of God (for more see the previous four essays).

Instructions

The Holy Bible is this library of books comprised of the written down word of God that gives us instructions on how He will accomplish this reproduction of Himself (Love). [The Spirit in this moment is giving us precious secrets as to what He is doing–secrets so rare that some may never have heard them before. His servants do not know these secrets; His friends, however, are privy to them, for He reveals the mysteries of His will, His purpose and His plan to His friends, His confidants, His followers chosen to walk in the “high calling” (John 15: 15; Phil. 3: 14).

These instructions are called the law. In the OT Hebrew, the word is torah, meaning “instruction, doctrine”               (https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H8451&t=KJV). It is from an old root verb meaning “to teach.” Teach what? Instruct us in what? The law instructs us as to God’s purpose and plan and how we can be a part of it.

The reader will notice the words above in bold print. There is an enigmatic passage of scripture containing all of these words and more. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isa. 8: 20). If they do not speak concerning the law (the standard of God’s reproduction of Himself) and the testimony (the Spirit of Christ, which is the Spirit of Love)–if they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. They just will not know what they are talking about.

“No light in them…” But in Christ “was life and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.” Love is the light shining into the dark, lost hearts of this world. Love loves the unlovable (John 1: 4-7). The Word (Logos) was God. The Word contained life, and this life was the light of men.  The Word was made flesh and became the Light that lightens every man who comes into the world.

The words we speak should agree with the law and the testimony. If someone speaks a word not in agreement with them, then there is no light in them. And because the light makes known as to who God is (Love) and what He has done for us in including us in His plan of reproducing Himself, those with “no light” are in trouble. They do not know God nor His purpose, plan, nor vision of sharing His nature of Love with His creation.

The “law” instructs us as to what Love will do when present in the human being. The “testimony” is the witness of the presence of the Spirit of God operating and loving through a person. It all goes back to the nature and heart of God, which is the Spirit of love. His eternal purpose of sharing love and His plan to reproduce Himself (Love) in us is prelude in seeing clearly the kingdom of God as the vision of God in the past, present, and future.

The law is what Love demands. It is the standard by which we may know who has the Holy Spirit of Love and who does not. The testimony is that Spirit of Love in action through a human being because of God’s presence in them.  God’s Spirit of Love in a person is the witness (testimony) of God in the earth. The Love that Christ showed the world when He laid down His life for us–when that same Spirit of Love abides in us, the law is fulfilled. “For he that loves another has fulfilled the law.” For all of the Ten Commandments “is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself…therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13: 8-10; Gal. 5: 14).

I cannot say, “In conclusion…” because this is just the beginning. It is all about Love, which is to say, God. He wants to share Himself, multiply Himself, reproduce Himself–in us. This knowledge is paramount , for we cannot spiritually grow properly without this knowledge. Without it we are as Martha of Bethany, who was satisfied with being a servant of earthly things to the Master. With this knowledge we become as Mary of Bethany, who sat at the Master’s feet, soaking in the glorious mysteries of His love. And when Martha complained to Christ that Mary wasn’t helping serve, He said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10: 38-42 NKJV).   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 Comments

Filed under agape, Bible, calling of God, Christ, elect, eternal life, eternal purpose, glorification, kingdom of God, light, love, Love from Above, Spirit of God, spiritual growth, will of God

Love Makes Known the Plan of God

We know that God is love and God is light. Therefore, Love is Light. Since light makes things known, then Love makes manifest as well. Love sheds light on what and who God is. Where agape love is present, the Spirit of Love makes God known. We see God when we see love–true selfless love from above, as we see in Christ’s laying down His life for His friend [1].

Christ said, “I am the light of the world.” In this He was saying, Through my life, death, and life-after-death, I make known the Father’s purpose and plan of reproducing Love. If you believe in Me and the love that I showed when I laid my life down for you, then that same Spirit of Love will engender in you a new life that will, in turn, enlighten others who now sit in darkness. He will give us His own Spirit of love. Consequently, we will become  the light of the world because He will be living His life through us, His body  [2].

In a word, in a seed thought, God is Love. He is the greatest thing in the universe. Everyone will agree. All the poets and writers of song down through the ages confirm that Love–selfless love–is a divine thing and that it should be emulated by mankind.

Man knows this, even down into his DNA. He knows that he should love his fellow man. The truth is that God created him to be the “glory of God.” Man is designed to contain the Spirit of Love, which is God. Man was created as a temple for the Spirit of Love (God) to dwell in. Man knows that this kind of love is what we should strive for [3].

We are moved by the soldier who fell on a grenade to save the lives of his buddies, or the stranger who died in a house fire saving a little child. And millions are touched by the selfless love shown by our Savior on the cross.

God is Love and is the greatest and most powerful thing in the universe. And because Love by its very nature shares with others and gives, God could not but create a plan to share Himself with His creation.

He purposed it and being all-powerful was able to implement His purpose and plan of duplicating and reproducing Himself. He planned this all out in His mind. He thought it into existence. Thoughts are comprised of words that occupy first His mind. And He has given us the power to think His very same thoughts. First we must have the knowledge of the thoughts about His purpose and plan. Then we must choose to surrender our restless minds to His thoughts. When we start thinking His thoughts, then “the peace that passes all understanding” will come upon us.

His purpose is to reproduce Himself, to reproduce Love throughout His entire creation. He is the Seed of Love that will reproduce itself. He became the Seed, which is the Word, which is the Logos, which is comprised of the thoughts of His Mind. And this “Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” His plan was to pour this reproductive energy into a human vessel that could “fall into the ground and die” and through the resurrection, would “bring forth much fruit” at the harvest.  The much fruit is the thousands of manifested sons that will sit as kings with Him on His throne upon His return to this earth.

Those that overcome all things in this era have a royal destiny. They are chosen; they are elected by God for this honor. They do respond; they do study and pray that they be counted worthy for this honor, but it is all through His grace. For it is God that gives them the strength and power to continue against the gainsayers, the unbelievers, the worldly, and the ones with precious little faith. God gives them the determination to get up and face the spiritual enemy who lurks in the halls of minds. God helps their unbelief and sees them through to the finish line.

For they serve their great invisible Father Yahweh, who resides in His Son, who is the Head of the body of an organism called the church. And when this vision becomes as crystal in their hearts and minds, they will realize that all scriptures that pertain unto Christ pertain unto them, for they are His body. When we abide in Him, the scriptures speak of us.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

  1.   I John 1: 5; I John 4: 8; Eph. 5: 13
  2.  John 8: 12; John 15: 13; Matt. 5: 14; Col. 1: 18
  3. I Cor. 11: 7; I Cor. 3: 16, 6: 19

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 Comments

Filed under agape, armour of God, body of Christ, church, death, elect, eternal purpose, knowledge, light, love, Love from Above, manifestation of the sons of God, mind of Christ, resurrection, sons and daughters of God, Spirit of God, vision, Yahweh

“Forgive Them”–In Training to Be a Royal Priest

I asked God, How do I love other people–people that I meet that I don’t even know?

I did not get an answer immediately, but in two or three days this thought just “popped” into my mind: “You’ve got to forgive them.”

“Forgive them?

“That’s how I loved you unconditionally. Forgive.” And with that our thought-conversation was over.

So, this person that I have never seen before crosses my path, and just like that, I am to forgive him. But how do I forgive someone I don’t even know? The answer is we are God’s priests and ambassadors. We intercede for them. We are in Christ’s stead now. We are His face and hands and mouth. “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (II Cor. 5: 20).

Be reconciled because God has already through the shedding of His blood caused all of our sins to depart. They are already gone. When we believe this, then we manifest the witness of this grace in us.

We are to recognize this in each other: that God has forgiven them and has caused their sinful self to pass away. We forgive them because God has already forgiven them. Their sins are washed away; they need only to “bring forth fruit worthy of repentance” to witness the record of our common salvation from sin.

We forgive another by enlightening them as to God’s forgiveness if they walk in darkness. Your sins are forgiven you; they have departed through God’s mercy and you have been absolved of all guilt and shame. You are clean now. The Savior has given Himself as a ransom for us all. The darkness of your soul and the evil that your heart did once conceive is no more. You are washed clean. Repent now, and walk in this new life.

God has forgiven us all, and in essence, we recognize this as we also forgive each other (Matt. 18: 21-22, 35).

In Training to Sit on the Mercy Seat

For us who are running the race to be a part of the “manifestation of the sons of God” in these last days, we are in training to be kings. We are, after all, a “royal priesthood” and a “chosen generation.” We are to be those kingly intercessors for all of God’s people.

Right now we are in training for this position. To be those future manifested sons and daughters, we must first carry inside through the Spirit this belief that the stranger we meet is not a stranger at all. He is rather one of the human beings that God loves and has forgiven. God loves them just as much as we believe that He loves us.

When we see the stranger in this light, then the Love (God) will shine through us to them. We will then have become messengers of mercy, for we will be in sync with Him.

For mercy is what we are talking about. It is God’s great mercy that forgives, that loves us so much that He would send our sins away for good, freeing us from the guilt and shame.

For mercy is a kingly attribute. Mercy comes from the throne. It is the mercy seat that is the fount of forgiveness and compassion. We the sons and daughters of God are called to grow spiritually to the point that we will be invited to sit with Him on His throne–the seat of mercy.

Mercy. To be able to love the unlovable. To free the ungrateful. To forgive the unrepentant and obstinate. To cleanse the souls of spiritual lepers, “to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives,” to open the prison doors, “to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” And why will He enable us to do this? “That they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD (Yahweh), that He might be glorified” (Isa. 61: 1-4).

The small minded say this is only about Christ. But I say that all this is about us, too, for we are His body. He is the head, and we are the body of this spiritual entity called the King of Righteousness. Without Him we can do nothing; He is the head, the brains and the heart of our organism. But we are to have the mind of Christ, and when we do, He will invite us to sit with Him on His throne [It sounds incredible, but it is right there in His word]. “All things are possible to him that believes.” Amazing God, our God.

When we are filled with His agape love–Him, in other words–we will treat the penniless wretch the same as the mayor and bank president. The one thing that puts everyone on the same playing field is a sinful past. Both pauper and the prince are in need of mercy and love and forgiveness.

But mercy and truth come as a package. Having mercy is showing His true kind of mercy, not man’s kind. Mercy without truth–well, as Christ said, Even the Pharisees love those that love them. And truth given without mercy is harsh and cold and seldom penetrates the human heart because of a lack of compassion. Christ’s Spirit is the whole package–merciful and truthful.       Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 Comments

Filed under additions to our faith, agape, body of Christ, elect, love, Love from Above, manifestation of the sons of God, sin, sons and daughters of God, Spirit of God, spiritual growth, truth, Yahweh

God Is Love and Is the Light of the World

“You can fight against hatred and sadness and chaos, but you cannot fight love, joy, and peace. If you do, you will lose. For light vanquishes darkness, even as the morning conquers the night.” [Jan. 7, 2016, spoken to some  of my negative thinking students.]

Christ said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8: 12). How is He the light of the world? The apostle Paul said that light makes things known (Eph. 5: 13). We enter a dark room; we switch on the light. Now we know what is around us, what is coming at us. With the light we can see what the future holds for us.

Darkness is the opposite and is the absence of light. And people are sitting in darkness at present, just like they did as Christ was beginning His ministry in Galilee (Matt. 4: 16; Isa. 8: 22). And then they saw a great Light, just like the masses in our age will see at His second coming. Yet, a remnant will see that Light before His return, and they will respond to God’s plan and purpose to reproduce Himself through Christ in them.

Spiritual darkness has descended upon the people, and they know that they are in darkness. They realize their sinful state because they do not want their deeds brought to light. They know innately that what they do is not done in agape love but in selfishness. For this reason those eaten up with darkness hate the light because the light exposes their evil actions. Their death warrant is already signed; their rejection of Light’s pardon seals it (John 3: 19-21). But some will come to the light.

How, then, is Christ the Light of the world? His life illuminates God’s purpose. He is the plan to carry out that purpose. For the Father has poured it all out, written it all down, and has enacted His whole plan to reproduce Love, which is God Himself–it is all in the Son of God. Knowing Christ is knowing the Father’s plan, for “He has declared” the Father (John 1: 18). Christ has “unfolded in a teaching” God’s plan; He has laid it all out for us to see. For He is the Logos, the Word made flesh.

God is love. His purpose is to reproduce Himself (Love) in the earth. This love is His life. And His life of love is the light that illumines our path here on earth. It is the ray of light that overcomes the darkness of hatred and despair. And this Love/Light/Life is poured into Love’s Son, the Logos/Word that declares all this, which is the Father’s heart and mind.

How Love Is the Light

We know that God is love and God is light. Therefore, Love is Light. Since Light makes things known, then Love makes manifest as well. Love sheds light on what and who God is. Where love is present, the Spirit of Love makes God known. We see God when we see love–true selfless love from above, as we see in Christ’s laying down His life for His friends. Thus, Christ saying, “I am the light of the world.”

John’s Letter to Fully Matured Christians

John wrote to Christians of all spiritual growths about these matters. “I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning” (I John 2: 12-14).  It is as if John is speaking to us now: “You fathers have settled the sin question that plagues little children of God; sin is eradicated out of your lives. And you as ‘young men’ have conquered the devil and his temptations. And now you are fully matured spiritually and have known God that is from the beginning. As one of God’s friends, you not only know, but have  His mind and heart that existed from the very beginning. You know His purpose of reproducing Himself. You know His plan to implement that purpose–a plan to create a kingdom, a government with His Son as the King, who will rule and reign for 1,000 years here on earth. You know that some of us humans will rule with Him, as His Spirit will inhabit them fully, thus fulfilling His purpose.

“You fathers have known Him from the beginning, how the Father shaped His purpose and plan into thoughts expressed in words, which comprises the Logos, the Word of God. And you know now how the Father poured the Word into His Son, ‘made of a woman, made under the law.’ And you know that the Son was the Seed of Love, giving up His life a ransom for many. And you know that the harvest of that Seed in our hearts is the ultimate realization  of the fulfillment of God’s Purpose of reproducing Himself. This harvest is called ‘the manifestation of the sons of God,’ or the unveiling of the sons of God. Fathers, you now, like Paul and Peter and John among others 2,000 years ago, are privy to the mind of God and His Son, thoughts so precious and ancient, that little finite minds fizzle into the ether of the spiritual world, that heavenly paradise that was in the beginning before the earth ever existed.”

Now We Know

It has all been written down in the scriptures of truth. It is there for the spiritually hungry, for the thirsty, for the famished. For only a few will find this way of truth (Matt. 7: 14). Christ is the way, the path to God’s heart. Only those desperate enough to want to change their current life will find this path in the wilderness of sin. Only those who are willing to go through Christ’s sufferings will be exalted in that day.

Christ’s life illuminates man’s path to comprehending just who God is and what He is accomplishing in the earth. We can only see God and His purpose and plan when we see the love shown in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, which is the greatest love. When we believe in His resurrection–in us–then we enter into this hidden realm of which we speak.

Christ is the Light that makes known the Father’s purpose. And we all should take heed to the “more sure word of prophecy…as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in [our] hearts” (II Pet. 1: 19). And that “day star” is the Spirit of truth that is the Word which is a “light unto our path” (Psm 119: 105).

And this light will speak “to the law and to the testimony” (Isa. 8: 20).

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

 

 

4 Comments

Filed under children of God, church, elect, eternal purpose, kingdom of God, light, love, Love from Above, manifestation of the sons of God, mind of Christ, sin, sons and daughters of God, sons of God, Spirit of God, spiritual growth, Spiritual Life Cycle

Walking in the Spirit Comes from Knowledge of God’s Purpose of Reproducing Himself–Being About Our Father’s Business

We are admonished in God’s word to “walk in the Spirit” and to “abide in [Christ]” (Gal. 5: 16, 25; John 15: 4). But in order to get in step with the Spirit, we need to not only know the Spirit’s destination, but also the why and the how of God’s intentions. In order to abide in the Spirit, we need to know what the abiding entails and how to get there.

Simply put, in order for us to walk in the Spirit, we must first know what God is doing and where He is going. “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” (Amos 3: 3). We must agree with Him as to the where and when of His Spirit. He said that we are to have the mind of Christ and to think the way He does (Phil. 2: 5). Christ is doing His Father’s business (Luke 2: 49).

And the Father’s business is God reproducing Himself. This is His purpose, and He has a plan to finish His work.

God has given us many clues as to His purpose. Every living thing in both the vegetable and animal kingdom is striving to reproduce itself. Just look around. It is what it is all about. You striving in your life to find “the one,” that special one to mate with–the drive  has been put in your DNA by your Maker, and it is another clue as to His purpose: God is reproducing Himself, His Love, and His life. And He has the plan to make it happen. And we humans are the spiritual environment in which He is doing this reproducing of Himself.

Only when we understand His purpose and then believe it, will we be able to walk in the Spirit or abide in Him. If we are operating on a different spiritual wavelength in our worship, then we are not staying, remaining, nor abiding in Him and His purpose and His plan to achieve His purpose of reproducing Himself.

People of God, we say that we want a closer walk, a closer relationship with Him! This is our opportunity. Oh, to cease to be Christ’s servants and to become His friends! To hear Him say to us, “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knows not what his lord does: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” To be His friend! To be given this rare knowledge of what the Father is doing. To have Christ trust us so much that He with His great loving heart would include us in these secrets and mysteries of what the Father’s purpose is! To be trusted as a friend that knows what His Lord is doing! To be a part of His inner circle (John 15: 15).

And don’t tell me that it is not for us. That is a cop out. Two chapters later in that same flow of truth, Christ prayed for you and me: “Neither pray I for these alone [seated around the Last Supper table], but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one…and the glory which thou gavest me I have given them…” (John 17: 20). That’s us, brothers and sisters, if we can believe it.

He has promised us that if we abide in Him, whatever we ask, He will do. If we are walking and abiding with Him then what we ask will further His purpose. Those are the prayers that will get through–those that are asked by us to further His purpose and plan.

When We Have Another Purpose

But if we have an agenda and purpose and plan other than His, then we do not have true worship of the Father, for we will be following our own imaginations as to what will please God. God does not need another church building on another corner. He does not need another minister preaching the same sermons spoken a hundred years ago because those sermons, though they may be sincere, smack of stale incense wafting up into God’s nostrils. Small-hearted prayers for ourselves won’t get through the brass heavens to His ears.

Understanding His Purpose

However, when we do get His purpose and take it to heart and begin to work to help bring it to pass, then our power increases by His Spirit, and we become co-workers with Christ in doing the “Father’s business.”

Christ is all about doing the business of the Father. He is doing His will and finishing His work. The Father’s work? Reproducing Himself.

And what are we to do? We as members of Christ’s body need to be doing what Christ is doing, which is the same work. To do the works of God, we need to believe upon Him whom God has sent, and to finish His work. We are to bear witness to the truth about how God is reproducing Himself through the Seed Son. The works that God will do through us will be a witness that Christ the Seed has resurrected in us. The Seed Son will have germinated in us as we show forth the resurrection power through many signs and wonders done very shortly on this earth.

But it all starts with wisdom and knowledge, which happens to be the main ingredients of the first two “gifts of the Spirit.” Yes, as we get on the right road, God the Spirit begins to give us gifts to help us help Him fulfill His purpose. The first is “the word of wisdom,” and the second is “the word of knowledge” (I Cor. 12: 8).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 Comments

Filed under body of Christ, church, eternal purpose, gifts of the Spirit, knowledge, mind of Christ, resurrection, Spirit of God, wisdom

Connecting the Dots–Starting With Agape Love

Revelation comes from the Spirit of Truth connecting dots–in us. The  “dots” are statements of truth found in the written word.

Anyone who has a Bible can memorize passages of scripture. But it is only the Holy Spirit that leads us into all truth (John 16: 13). And He leads us into more and more revelatory truth by tying things together–“…line upon line…precept upon precept.”

It has been said before and we all should take heed: If we are not receiving more and more truth and light in our Christian walk, then one of two things is happening. Either we have all the truth already or the Holy Spirit is not guiding us “into all truth.” I believe that it is the latter.

Only God can make the light bulbs come on, and He does it by connecting the dots of truth together into a bright wall of meaningful light, a light of Love.

Take the divine council of Yahweh that we see in the book of Job 1 and 1 Kings 18: 20-23. Upon seeing this we ask, What is the significance of this for my life right now?

Then other scriptures come to mind, tying in with them. We remember Peter miraculously being broken out of jail by an angel of God (Acts 12: 5-17). Peter was imprisoned by Herod. The church prayed for him, and God sent an angel that delivered him. Peter goes to the house where the body of Christ is praying for him. He knocks on the door. A young woman named Rhoda goes to the door, hears Peter’s voice, and turns and goes back and tells everyone that Peter is at the door. They, knowing the severity of Herod’s prison say, You are crazy. That could not be Peter; it is his angel (v. 15).

Connecting the Dots

Peter’s angel? There is deep truth here in Acts 12; we need to connect the dots. They did not believe that Peter could escape Herod’s prison. So in their minds there was only one explanation: The personage at the door had to be Peter’s angel. I mean, if it walks like Peter and sounds like Peter, and if Peter, who was with Christ for 3 1/2 years, is in Herod’s prison, then it must be Peter’s angel.

Why would they say that? There must have been a current teaching in the  early church that we don’t have today, saying that members of Christ’s church have a heavenly counterpart that can visit the earth. Each member has a heavenly spiritual body that looks and sounds like them and that can visit earth–an angel, if you will. [Wow. That just gave me a shiver.]

If this is not the case, then why did they think it and say it? They thought it and said it because they were taught it by the apostles and teachers in the body right after the resurrection. I know of no denominations that teach that. So either the early church was in error or today’s churchianity is. Very few Christians are going to take that leap. Why won’t they? Because their church don’t teach it.

Yet the apostle Paul confirms the above by speaking  about the two bodies that we have–an earthly one and an eternal heavenly one (II Cor. 5: 1). He calls it our “house which is from heaven.” The Spirit through him also writes that “there are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial” (I Cor. 15: 40).

Most preachers won’t touch this for fear of being ostracized by their denomination and congregation. They just won’t connect the dots–not on this one.

Can’t Help But Wonder

The question arises: If it be so that our spiritual body was in heaven with God before our life on earth began, then why should we have this earthly experience? Why go through all the pain and suffering? What is the point? Why could we not have just lived in our heavenly bodies, happy ever after?

This is an age-old question. Knowing His purpose gives us the answer. He desires to reproduce Himself–agape Love. Knowing this is the starting gate of all understanding and knowledge. To duplicate, to multiply, to reproduce Himself, sufferings must come to the vessels He is using for His reproduction. That’s us. We need to get over it; we are being used by Him. We must endure human sufferings, for they are the only experience that will shape and mold us into vessels of agape Love and mercy.

God cannot reproduce Love (Himself) without suffering. Suffering with Him is the crucible that forges us into becoming His kings and queens, vessels fit to reign. The scriptures declare as much. You have read them: “If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him…Joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be glorified together…Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings…” (II Tim 2: 12; Rom. 8: 17; I Pet. 4: 12-13). Paul welcomed sufferings knowing that they were his calling card to God’s throne room.

But human sufferings make no sense without the knowledge of His eternal purpose of reproducing Himself (Love). When we believe that they are a necessary to fulfill His purpose, then the sufferings become more comprehensible.

The only reason that Christianity has worked in the hearts of men for the past 2000 years is because of Christ’s love shown to human beings through Him sacrificing Himself for others. He said, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15: 13). He did not just say it; he did it.

That kind of love breaks up a hard heart. In our first earthly Adamic sinful state, we got beat up by others, betrayed and abused. And as a defense mechanism, we hardened ourselves and grew cynical. If we ever thought of God, we more than likely blamed Him for our spiritually destitute condition.

It was only the greatest love–the love that lays down his life for another–that will melt a cold bitter heart. That kind of Love is God, and He wants to sow it as a seed into the earth–through us. As we lay down our lives for others in following Him, the seed of agape love is sown into the hearts of other human beings. And that love for Him and His people will grow and grow, and it will become a great harvest of love in the earth at the end of the age. It will grow until Love “is all in all.”

God’s unselfish love in laying down His life is the first dot that we need to connect from. And the second is us laying down our lives for others. We are the offspring of Love and Light. In Him we are the light of the world, making manifest His Love to the world by letting love shine selflessly.

The Seed is the Love that we find in Christ, our example. And that Seed of Love is now within us, and we now have become the sower of that seed in the parable of the sower (Mt. 13). He now through us His body is sowing His love abundantly for the abundant harvest coming soon.

{Don’t sit on this article; share it.}

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 Comments

Filed under body of Christ, children of God, christianity, church, eternal purpose, glorification, light, love, Love from Above, mercy, resurrection, sons and daughters of God, Spirit of God, sufferings of Christians, truth

“Walking in the Spirit”…of Truth

Simple, really, isn’t it? Understanding the plan of God. Yes, simple to comprehend once He opens our eyes and anoints them with His eye salve.

Anoints. That word is so abused in today’s Christian circles. Preachers boasting about “having the anointing” while being eaten up inside by false doctrines and concepts. It is  enough to make the angels around the throne of God weep and say, “How much longer, O Lord?”

Do they not know that the “anointing is truth”? We are anointed with the truth when the Spirit of truth comes into our lives. Question: Does someone have the “Spirit of truth, the Comforter” when they are still practicing false concepts and false teachings about God? “Truth” and “false” (I John 2: 27).

How can a Christian have the Spirit of truth and still walk in false teachings? Christ said that a good tree does not bear corrupt fruit (Luke 6: 43). We are told to “examine ourselves” and to “purge out the old leaven” of false teachings. It is only then that we will be anointed with the Spirit of truth, who will lead us into all truth.

This takes courage to start with “the man in the mirror,” and to be brutally honest with ourselves about purifying our walk with God.

The “simplicity of Christ.” We are admonished to not corrupt it (2 Cor. 11: 3). “Simplicity” is from a Greek word meaning “free from pretense” and hypocrisy; sincerity, single minded and not double minded. How can it be corrupted? Through the same deceit that Satan used to beguile Eve, the apostle Paul says (v. 4). Satan taught falsehoods about God in the Garden, and we know how that ended. Paul goes on to warn us to beware of those who preach another Jesus (Yahshua), and those who receive another spirit, and those who teach another gospel than the one that Paul taught.

The Masses and Their Teachers Are Asleep

So, how can we corrupt the simplicity of Christ? By interpreting God’s precepts using the worldly wisdom of the sleeping blind.

“For the LORD has poured out on you
The spirit of deep sleep,
And has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, namely, the seers” (Isa. 29: 10).

The religious teachers of the people today–today–are in a deep sleep and cannot see what God is doing in the earth. The blind are leading the blind, and the people, incredibly, are asking to be deceived.

“The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?” He’s talking about our time, the “latter days” (Jer. 5: 31; Jer. 23: 20).

In our day, brothers and sisters, the people will be so deceived that they will be demanding of their preachers, pastors, priests, and prophets to teach them false teachings about God and not the truth. The Spirit of Christ in Isaiah says the people will “say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits” (30: 8-10).

There is a deep sleep of deceit that covers the people, according to Isaiah and Jeremiah. And until God awakens His people out of the darkness of their first natural life, they stammer, unable to read the book that contains the vision of God. Most of the masses sincerely speak words trying to get closer to God, but they “have removed their heart far from” [Him]. They teach and learn about God, but it is taught by the precept of man (Isa. 29: 9-14).

The book that details the vision of God’s plan to carry out His purpose of reproducing Himself is sealed and closed and cannot be read without the Spirit of Truth really operating in one’s life. And to have the Spirit of God operating in one’s life, one has to “walk in the Spirit”–the Spirit of Truth. If a person is still walking in falsehoods about God and His plan, how, pray tell, can they be walking in the Spirit of Truth?

Walking in the Spirit

How do we do it? When we answer this question: “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” (Amos 3: 3). We will walk with God when our hearts agree with Him.

Before we can agree with anyone, we first must know what they are about, what they stand for, what their purpose is, what their goals and philosophy of life are, and what their thoughts are. It is the same with God. We must not only know these things about Him, but we must change our thinking to match His thoughts. That’s the difficult part.

We must have a deeper knowledge of God and His mind to be able to agree with Him.  We must change our thinking to agree with His thoughts. We must submit to Him. And when we do this, He will meet us there in that spiritual neighborhood. And He will walk with us because we went to where He is. When we repent of the false teachings and agree with His thoughts about what He is doing in the earth, then He will meet us there and will walk with us in Spirit and in truth.

And with the agreement comes the walking in the Spirit, which yields many benefits. Abraham walked with God, and he was called the “Friend of God” (James 2: 23).

Friends with God. God’s friends. That is what is ahead for us. Christ said that a mere servant does not know what  their Master is really doing. “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” (John 15: 15).

Christ’s Spirit will give us the knowledge of what the Father wants us to agree with Him on. When we agree with our whole hearts, then we will walk in the Spirit and become the friends of God.

But let us all be forewarned.  If we do not purge out the things that don’t agree with God’s thoughts and truth, then we will not be His friend. For example, what will we tell Him on Judgement Day when He asks, “What about the green tree that you have brought into your home during the winter solstice?” How would we answer? (Jer. 10).

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 Comments

Filed under Christ, end time prophecy, eternal purpose, false doctrines, false prophets, false teachers, Garden of Eden, old leaven, Spirit of God, vision, wisdom