Category Archives: spiritual growth

February 21, 2018 · 9:10 pm

Faults Are Not Sins

At this point, some may be asking, Why the emphasis on the repentance doctrine? Let’s get on to the resurrection of the dead and healings and miracles.

This we will do, but to get to the growth where God would entrust us with His power to heal and raise the dead like the early apostles, we must do what they did, study what they studied, learn what they learned, and suffer what they suffered. To get to the 100 fold growth, we must “continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine,” the first of which is “repentance from dead works.” Then we will have fellowship like they had, and the breaking of the bread of life, and prayers, and fear, “and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.” The miracles came after they continued in the doctrine of  Christ.  (Acts 2: 42-47). This is after they repented and were baptized (v. 38-41).

Repentance is the cornerstone of Christ’s doctrine. He came preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” He also said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” No getting around it. His remnant/elect, the sons and daughters of God, His princes and princesses—they will know these doctrines backwards and forwards. They must know them and do them, for they are pre-destined to sit on thrones with Christ, judging the nations. If you and I want this, if we really desire to go all the way with Christ, then we must pay the price of admission and completion. And it costs a lot—like everything. Law school’s a must for lawyers. Medical school’s a must for physicians. And the school of the prophets is a must for God’s future apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. And a part of our basic education is understanding the difference between sins and faults.

Back to the Greek

“Sin” and “fault” are two different words in the Greek. The word “sin” is translated from the word harmatia (G266), 172 times. The word paraptoma (G3900) is translated “fault, trespass, offense, fall.” We see here two distinct words for two different kinds of offenses.

We begin our new spiritual growth cycle after receiving Christ’s Spirit in our hearts. This germination and growth begins by faith. We begin as little children with the new nature from God. And as in the natural, even though little children are sincere and delightful at times, they lack maturity. They mimic the spirit around them, be it good or bad. They are not perfect, and neither are we in our new spiritual walk with God. Our old sin nature is gone, thanks be unto God, but we are left with the task of repenting of our shortcomings. Our minds must be renewed and re-programmed through study of His word.

Repentance from Sins and Faults—There Is a Huge Difference

Not knowing the difference between sins and faults breeds doubts and fears in a Christian’s mind. Some will wonder and ask themselves, “Did I just sin? I feel bad about what I did. Was it  a sin?” The problem is that many followers of Christ mistake their faults for sins. This lack of knowledge causes them to forever keep themselves in chains of self-condemnation, and this stunts their growth in Christ. Many become discouraged. But to grow into the “fullness of Christ,” we must understand what faults are and how they differ from sins.

Sins are the fruit of our original sin nature we are born with. A sin is an action that breaks the Ten Commandments. As stated above, when we surrender our old nature to the death on the cross with Christ, our old sin nature dies along with the sin it produced. We become free because “he that is dead is free from sin.” Sin does not control us anymore In God’s eyes we are His sinless little children; He imputes His new righteous nature to us as we reckon it done by faith. Simply amazing faith and power (Rom. 6: 1-12)!

Delineating the Difference between Sins and Faults

Through belief in His resurrection, we receive a new nature, a law-abiding one of love. However, many imperfections in our character and make-up remain. God waves no magic wand for us. There is no “Poof!” that instantly transforms us into being perfect Christians.

We have many habits of thought and actions that are not pleasing to God. Before coming to Christ and His cross, we had our own thoughts that were programmed by the world and its thought-giver, the devil. Our old life was filled with habits of thinking and actions that still exist after our initial repentance from sin. And most of these thoughts and beliefs are in error. These make up the old leaven that must be purged after we come to Christ and are born again.

We are not talking about theft, adultery, false god worship, murder, stealing, hatred, coveting, etc. These are sins of the old nature that are repented of when we die with Christ on His cross. But after the sins are dead and gone, we still have many faults, shortcomings, trespasses and imperfections to be repented of. Note: If you still hate, steal, commit adultery, covet, then you still have the old nature and need to take it to the cross and surrender it to death.

The Divine Nature

The Spirit of Christ in Peter tells us that we are to grow in God in order to produce powerful fruit. We are called unto glory. But first, we are to partake of His “divine nature.” God has promised us “great and precious” things. But before this happens we lack certain aspects of His nature. As we begin walking in His footsteps, we fall short. We now have a new heart, but our lack of maturity in Christ produces trespasses and faults.

Peter says we need to add aspects of God’s “divine nature” to the faith we now walk in: virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and agape love (translated “charity”). He says that these things operating in us will insure that we will be fruitful in the knowledge of God. With God’s divine nature within us, we will “make our calling and election sure.” These additions to our faith will also illuminate “an entrance…into the everlasting kingdom” of Christ (II Pet. 1: 4-11). Not having these seven additions to the faith operating in our Christian life is a fault, not a sin. For we cannot begin to add them until the sin nature is gone.

Lack of Patience

Some have said that losing patience with another person is a sin. But “patience” is an attribute of God’s nature. It is His patience that we must add. As new Christians we are still running on our old concept of patience, and we will run out of it eventually. “Losing patience” is a fault, not a sin. God looks on the intent of the heart. In this example we see someone who intended to be Christ-like, but there is a lack of God’s nature. There’s a lack of maturity. God’s patience has not been added to this new Christian’s nature.

As said before, spiritual growth does not happen with a snap of the finger, mystically and magically. Receiving God’s patience into our being comes with an overcoming on our part, for “tribulation worketh patience.” Patience is endurance, and going through trials develops godly patience.

Here’s an example of the difference between a sin and a fault. Christ magnified the law when He taught on this commandment: “Thou shalt not kill.” [“Kill” here is better translated “murder.”] The Spirit taught that the spiritual root of murder is hate. “And he who hates his brother is a murderer” (I John 3: 15). We as Christians have passed from darkness to the light of love, and we no longer hate anyone. We may become impatient with someone in our dealings with them. But this is not a sin; it is a fault. For the Spirit has not grown up in us to fully express the 100 fold love and patience of the Father. But we are headed that way in our growth. Big difference.

Finally, sin is a “nature” thing. It is in mankind’s original nature to break the Ten Commandments. That is why it is said that if you are guilty of one of the commandments, you are guilty of them all. To break them all is in that nature. But God has made a way to put to death our first sin nature. He replaces it with the “new man,” the spiritual nature that sins no more. But we lack maturity and still have faults and shortcomings to be repented of.

Why This Lesson Is Important

If a Christian believes that faults are sins, he will not believe this scripture: “Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (I John 3: 9). He will say to himself, “I am born again and I sin.” And that Christian will look at his fault and call it a sin, and he will reject this passage because of it. And he will miss this precious truth. And his growth in Christ will be stunted.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

13 Comments

Filed under additions to our faith, apostles' doctrine, belief, children of God, faith, love, repentance, sin, sons and daughters of God, spiritual growth, Spiritual Life Cycle

Tagged as ,

February 14, 2018 · 4:11 pm

Repentance from Sin and Faults–But What’s the Difference?

If we were to outline the apostles’ doctrine “Repentance from dead works,” it would roughly look like this:

I. Repentance from Dead Works

A. Repentance from sin

B. Repentance from faults

We see that this teaching of repentance is divided into two distinct categories that are very different in meaning. Most people do not know the scriptural difference. The denominations have their own definitions. There is much confusion.

Especially when it comes to sin. Some say that shuffling your feet on a sawdust floor is sin. Some say that sipping a glass of wine is a sin. Some say losing your patience and yelling at someone is a sin.

God looks at the intent of the heart and not the outward appearance of things like natural man does. Sin is the state of spiritual being that we are born with. It is based on the love of self and the ego’s unquenchable drive for self-aggrandizement. In essence, sins are the actions one does in the worship of one’s self.  Sin is selfishness incarnate. It is a spiritual state of self-worship and all that it entails. The scriptures say that “Sin is the transgression of the law” (I John 3: 4). That “law” is the Ten Commandments.

“Thou shalt not steal” is a pretty plain commandment. One steals from another for selfish reasons. It is not to help the victim of the theft. “Thou shalt not covet.” This is desiring things that another has, including wives or husbands. This is sin. As you go down the list of the Ten Commandments, you see how the worship of the self dominates and thereby breaks every one of them. Self-worship is the root cause of sinning.

Love Fulfills the Ten Commandment Law

The law must be taken as a whole to be understood. Breaking the Ten Commandments is a state of spiritual being alienated from God, who is Love. The state of Love keeps or obeys the law.  The old nature of man wants and takes for himself. The new nature of Love gives to others. “Love works no ill to his neighbor: therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13: 9-10). There is no law against loving others. But there are laws on God’s book against selfishness and the sin that comes out of it.

The old original Adamic nature that man is born with cannot keep the law, try as he will. But “love fulfills the law.” God’s Spirit of love does keep the law—inside us! The old nature we are born with cannot obey the law, for its nature is opposite of loving God and others. This is why the old nature must die on the cross with Christ. “The wages of sin is death,” so for the lost person, it is best to just die now (spiritually) and avoid the rush. Death is coming for all who have sinned, for all who have broken the Ten Commandment Law. Christ’s sacrifice as our sin offering has given us an opportunity to let our sinful selfish nature die with Him, be buried with Him, and to be resurrected with Him—by believing God’s word about Him.

The old nature is a sin nature that must die in revelation with Christ. This is how we repent from sin. By faith we receive an earnest of His Spirit in a new life in Him by faith in His resurrection.  God has given us a portion of His Spirit that is sufficient to change our lives from sin to righteousness. It is now that we can begin to grow in this new life He has given us. At this beginning stage we are spiritual newborn babes in Christ. And there are things to digest in the milk of the word given by God’s five offices. We learn how to do certain new things in our new walk, and we learn of old things that need to be gotten rid of.

These are called faults. These actions are not breaking the Ten Commandments; they are not sin. Children of God have them. These shortcomings must be repented of as they are revealed to us—if we desire to grow in God. Many followers of Christ confuse faults with sins. Faults are habits of thoughts and actions generated by a lack of knowledge of God’s plan and purpose. Faults in Christians are things in our lives that show our lack of spiritual maturity. [More on “faults” next time.]  Kenneth Wayne Hancock

****[Be sure to order your free copy of my latest book, The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. It explores our rich destiny as the princes and princesses of God. It is free with free shipping. Just send me your mailing address to my email:  wayneman5@hotmail.com   I will get it right out to you. You need this book if you are serious about growing up to be like Peter, John, James, and Paul and the rest of the apostles.]

3 Comments

Filed under apostles' doctrine, crucified with Christ, death, death of self, love, Love from Above, old self, repentance, sin, spiritual growth

Tagged as , , , ,

February 3, 2018 · 3:39 pm

Repentance and the Spiritual Growth Cycle

The early apostles continued steadfastly in the doctrines that their Savior had laid out for them in the three and one half years that He taught them. We will do the same thing if we sincerely desire to walk in that same power that they did. The first teaching was “repentance from dead works” (Heb. 5: 12-14; 6: 1-2).

Our whole walk in God is all about the first of His doctrines, and then by extension all of them. All things have become new because we have turned from our old ways for self, and we have by God’s grace and mercy turned on to the path of Light.

Our new life in Christ is a life of growth. Our old physical life was one of growth to adulthood. Then sadly it is marred by decay and eventual death of the earthly body. The good news is that Christ has overcome death and has brought immortality to light. “Repentance from dead works” is a process in our spiritual life cycle that gets rid of the old thinking that brought forth death; it then takes on His thoughts that brings life.

Our new walk is a continuing development, much like a garden seed that goes through its growth cycle. We, too, are growing. Upon germination, we spring forth as a seedling through simply believing His word on all of this. Christ said that the kingdom growth cycle is like a man sowing seed in a field and the seed came up—first the little blade spearing its way to the sunlight, then it heads out, and then the grain fills out in the head and matures and dries, and then you have seed to be made into bread or replanted for a future harvest. “The seed is the word of God (Luke 8: 11).

Our life in Christ grows into new and stronger stages. Repentance must be accomplished at each level, in order to grow into the next stage. In other words, we must repent from being a seedling in order to eventually grow into a full grown plant with the strength to hold the fruit that the Spirit of Truth is bringing. For a seedling cannot bear–physically nor spiritually–the fruit that’s borne by a mature plant. It is just not strong enough. Besides, He said that He would not put on us more than we could bear.

Consequently, we as the seedling/children of God must repent of whatever is hindering us from growing into a mature Christian. “That we be no more children, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine…” We must rather “purge out the old leaven” concepts that we brought into Christ. Errors about Him in our thinking taint the bread of life. Yes, Christ in us is the bread of life that spiritually raises those that are dead in their sins. We have the awesome responsibility to get it right. When we do this, the same spiritual fruit–the same love, joy, and peace that Christ Himself bore—will come, along with its power to touch lives around us.

A Continuing Process

This is not a “one and done” process. As in all of the apostles’ doctrines, many layers are to be unfolded. We enter into Christ by repenting of our sins through the cross experience in our own hearts. We die with Christ by believing that our old sinful nature dies with Him on the cross. And “he that is dead is freed from sin” (Rom. 6: 5-7). In God’s eyes our old life is already dead and gone, for He calls things that are not as though they already were (Rom. 4: 17). That’s an example of “the faith of the Son of God.” When we think like He does about the sin question, then we are free from sin and sinning. We then are ready to walk on by repenting of faults in our life. Sin is defined as “the transgression of the law,” the Ten Commandments (I John 3: 4). We cannot keep them on our own strength. Consequently, we rely on Christ’s Spirit that we receive by faith in His resurrection to keep the law. He is Love, and “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13: 10).

This is a continuing process. However, we are not talking about fighting the dragon of sin in our personal lives every day. There is nothing more pathetic than to see a long-faced pastor stand up and tell his congregation, “I am a sinner saved by grace and I always will be a sinner.” That’s his testimony. Are you serious? I am glad he is speaking for himself. We have all sinned—yes, in the past. But all are not sinning in the present. Has he never read what the Spirit wrote through the apostle John? “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him sins not: whoever sins hath not seen him, nor known him” (I John 3: 5-6). Wow! That is not harsh; that’s love speaking. Tough love. And it is time we wake up and smell the righteousness that comes by believing His word.

For we have died on the cross with Christ, and our sin nature died with Him. Therefore, sin has no more dominion over us (Rom. 6: 12-14). Settle it. Believe it. Once and for all. Furthermore, once sin has been repented of by believing in Christ’s resurrection in us, we are free to work on our faults. Our faults consist of erroneous thoughts about God and the bad habits they encourage.

I’ll close this my letter to you here. There is much to absorb. May Yahweh bless you with spiritual understanding. If you are comprehending what the Spirit is saying to us all here, then blessed are your eyes for they see. We simply must do what is necessary to grow into “the fullness of God in Christ.” That is the vision that He has for us—to become exactly like Christ. There—I have said it again. Next time we shall explore how to get rid of our faults. Once this happens, the sky is the limit!           Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[Be sure to order your free copy of my latest book, The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. It explores our rich destiny as the princes and princesses of God. It is free with free shipping. Just send me your mailing address to my email:  wayneman5@hotmail.com   I will get it right out to you. You need this book if you are serious about growing up to be like Peter, John, James, and Paul and the rest of the apostles.]

1 Comment

Filed under apostles' doctrine, cross, crucified with Christ, death, death of self, eternal life, gospel, immortality, old leaven, repentance, resurrection, righteousness, sin, spiritual growth, Spiritual Life Cycle

January 20, 2018 · 9:51 pm

True Worship and Prayer

True worship, then, is worshiping God in spirit and in truth. “And so it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.” When we are born into this world, we are a living being, a living soul. But when we are born from above, we become a spirit that gives life; we become a “life-giving spirit.” (I Cor. 15: 45 NIV)

“For that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3: 6). Brothers and sisters, as born again Christians, we are now spirit because we have been born of the Spirit of God. Each seed bears its own kind.

We are new creatures—spirit-creatures now. We are no longer of the earth, although we do dwell in these clay earthen bodies. Now that we are changed into a spirit, He calls us the “last Adam.” Since we are new spiritual creatures, we simply must stop speaking as the first Adam did, as we used to. But someone will say, “Well, it is all I know.” True, but that is why we must study the written word and dig deep and get it into our new hearts. For the word of God is spirit. Christ said, “The words I speak unto you are spirit and they are life.” And He has told us to study His words, and study we must in order to do Him justice. We owe our King that (II Cor. 5: 17-19; John 6: 63).

Now That We Are Spirit

We now may enter into true worship of our Father, for only a spirit being, born of the Spirit, can worship the Spirit of Truth, which is our Father. “God is a Spirit,” a Spirit-Being that gives life to the dead. We know this because we were once dead in our sins, but now we are made “alive unto God” through Christ’s resurrection of the dead. Engendered by the Supreme Spirit-Being, we now have His life-giving seed within our hearts. And this seed is the word that the Father has spoken and now written down in our hearts. We now are a part of His heart, born of His Spirit, and now able to give life like He did for us. We do this by sharing His word with others. This is the bread of life, broken for you and others. His seed becomes bread that will sustain others unto eternal life. His word is the seed, now ground into unleavened flour through our shared sufferings and baked into the bread of life. This is the partaking of the bread; this is communion—the spiritual sharing of His word, plan and purpose. Everything else is window dressing, if it is done without true knowledge in true worship (John 4: 24; Rom. 6: 4-11; I Pet. 1: 23; John 6: 33-35).

We now are a spirit that can make others alive. When we relate the truth of Christ to the lost, and they respond, we are being used by God to raise the dead, for they are dead in their sins. As we share our testimony of how God gave us new life in Him, we are giving new life to others. This is how we are a “life-giving spirit.” This is part of the 30 fold “resurrection of the dead,” the fifth apostles’ doctrine. If we are faithful in giving others a new spiritual life, then the Father will grant us more power to perform Lazarus-like miracles. It is coming for those who can receive it.

Those who have ears that can hear what the Spirit is saying to us—they will stand in reverential awe of this mighty Spirit of Love, who shares Himself. And as our hearts bow before Him, stupefied beyond mere human words at His majestic mercy, a brokenness comes over us as we begin to worship our humble Father and King. For He seeks such who are like Him, who have a broken spirit and a contrite heart. For they are the only ones who may enter into this rareified court. For God’s love has melted our hearts from which gratefulness pours forth. And this gratitude is expressed in communication back to the Father in the form of prayer.

Prayer—What Do We Say after “Thank You”?

We cannot but pray, for it is the foundation of a spirit’s worship of the Great Spirit Yahweh. Prayer is invisible; it ushers forth from the spiritual heart with waves of thanks splashing on heaven’s shores.

No wonder we are told to “pray always.” I could not understand that as a young Christian. It sounded impossible. How many times can we say thank you to God? What else should we express to Him? What other things should we discuss with Him?

In essence the disciples asked these same questions. After seeing Christ pray, they said, “Lord, teach us to pray.” First He told them how not to pray. Don’t pray in public to be seen of men like the hypocrites do. Go into a secret place. Don’t use “vain repetitions, as the heathen do.” Then He taught them what to say by giving them a model prayer.

And then He gives them the key. “After this manner therefore pray ye…”  He then gives them the example prayer. Just mouthing the words of it does nothing. He wants our hearts full of His ideas that are contained in the phrases of the prayer communicated back to Him. When we earnestly speak to Him about the things that are on His heart—wow! We make contact with the Power of the universe, the Power that created it all, the Power whose thoughts and ideas will come to pass. When we get on His page, speaking to Him with details of His plan to carry out His will and purpose—then we will have effective communication, then our prayers will touch His heart and take on a gravity in His heart and mind.

When we pray in accordance with the concepts contained in His model prayer, then we will get His attention. Then He will say, “Wait, I believe that they are getting it. Let’s give them what they need, and have asked for, to get the job done. They asked for the tools to complete My plan. Let’s give them the power to finish the work before us.”

The so-called Lord’s Prayer shows us exactly what to pray for. It lines out His plan. But natural man does not perceive the things of God; he has misused the prayer and cheapened it. He has used it as penance and a good luck spiritual charm to be chanted. Satan has made it so common that many reading this now will not be able at first to see just how important it is, for it has lost its original meaning.

A Blueprint

Christ gave us the model prayer as a blueprint to show us what to pray for. Each phrase has deep meaning pertinent to our one-on-one relationship with our Father. God wants to hear the meaning of the phrases of the prayer come forth out of our mouths. This is a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savor to Him. He wants us to be able to elaborate upon His plan and purpose, and share with Him our desire to accomplish His plan for mankind. All this is contained in the model prayer. God wants us on board with what He is doing, which is establishing the Kingdom of God right here on this planet. For He told us, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” He is saying, Don’t ask for material things for you and your family. He already knows all about your wants and needs. What He wants to know is this: Are you in or out? If you are in then speak to Him about His plan and purpose; speak to Him of the spiritual. Show Him that you care for what He cares for. In a word, He wants us to be like Him.

His vision of His plan to fulfill His purpose of multiplying Himself in human beings—it is all there in the concepts and thoughts of His example prayer.

Take the phrase: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” May the Father’s government come to this earth. Let the Father’s will make it happen here. His plan encompasses His kingdom and government. We should be seeking it first.

So much more can be said about His kingdom—the who, the what, the where, the when, the how, and the why. We’ve only just begun. I have written specifically about the model prayer, which gives more information about the meaning of each of its phrases.  [Check out these articles: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/?s=Lord%27s+prayer ].

The bottom line for the future manifested sons and daughters is that we must begin to pray the way He wants us to. His example prayer shows us what to pray for. It reveals the mind of Christ, which we are to have. It shows God that we are serious about His plan. Praying with the mind of Christ forming the words is worshiping in spirit and in truth.

It’s like when Christ asked, If your son asked you for bread, would you give Him a stone? If we ask Him for the spiritual tools to bring in His kingdom, He will have our back.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

2 Comments

Filed under apostles' doctrine, eternal purpose, faith, kingdom of God, manifestation of the sons of God, prayer, Spirit of God, spiritual growth, Spiritual Life Cycle, The Lord's Prayer, will of God, Word

January 14, 2018 · 5:34 pm

Vain Worship–The Opposite of True Worship

Truth is free from error, by definition. The Father is searching for “true worshipers.” Christ said, “The true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4: 23-24). You want to get God’s attention? Start repenting of error filled worship and get into worshiping Him in a true way, and He will definitely take notice of you. Because He is seeking out somebody like you–somebody who will get rid of the errors and get into the true way of worship.

Christ taught us that our worship of the Father must not only be spiritual in nature, but also full of truth and free from error. Since He is the truth, our worship of Him must be grounded in truth, or it becomes “vain worship.” Vain worship is fruitless, futile worship. There is no profit in it; it affects nothing. God tells us to repent of error filled worship. This is part of “continuing steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine” of repentance from dead works.

For vain worship happens when erroneous concepts about God are taught by the preachers, pastors, and priests. When natural men concoct doctrines out of the thin air of their imaginations, vain worship is born. “In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” They disregard God’s words and teach unregenerate man’s traditions (Mark 7: 7-8). Their imaginations become doctrines, and these talking points become traditions, and then finally these false traditions become commandments for the masses to obey. This is error-filled vain worship.

Some Examples of Vain Worship

Churchianity is rife with false doctrines. Its foundation lies rotting on the sand. They say that repentance occurs when a sinner feels sorry for their sins and accepts Christ as their personal savior. Sorrow for sinful past actions is a good thing, but “godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation” (II Cor. 7: 10). The sinner wants to change his ways, but the preachers won’t tell them how He effects that change in their hearts.

They have prospective Christians being baptized in water as a mandatory action before joining the church. But they don’t teach them that the real baptism happens when the old sinful self is immersed into Christ’s death. The sinner’s old heart and spirit must die with Christ and be buried with Him, and be raised with Him through belief in His resurrection. This is the truth that we should rejoice in and worship in! This is true repentance from sin. But does anyone ever speak of our escape from sin and sinning, symbolized in water baptism (Rom. 6: 1-12)? Sadly, no. We all should ask the preachers, “Why aren’t you teaching Romans 6? Just read it aloud to the people, and let the Spirit reveal His truth to those that can receive it.”

Then there’s the matter with being “born again.” They say that feeling sorry and “coming down to the front” in an altar call is being born again. But there can be no new birth without the old seed of man’s sin nature dying first. Christ said, “He that loses his life for my sake and the kingdom’s sake will save it.” There has to be a losing of one’s old sinful life before one can be “born again” or born from above, which is being born of that incorruptible seed, the word of God” (I Pet. 1: 23).

Furthermore, they teach that “faith” is us believing God’s word—accent on “us” doing the believing. They say to the young Christian, “You gotta have faith,” as if that person’s faith is a different commodity than the one that God has. There is only one faith; the Spirit in Paul made that clear in Ephesians 4: 3-5. The true faith is “the faith of the Son of God.” It is His faith. When we receive Christ’s Spirit we receive His belief system; we now possess in our hearts the very same faith/belief that Christ displayed in the gospels!

It is not, “I have faith in God.” But rather it is, “God’s faith now is in me!” Paul gives us the secret that he lived by: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2: 20). Paul was dead, yet alive with Christ living in his earthly body. And the life on earth that he was living, he lived by Christ’s faith. Nobody else’s. Notice that Paul did not say, “I live now in this flesh body because of my faith in God.” No.

Newsflash! The Spirit of Christ is not just living in apostles like Paul; Christ lives in our hearts, too!

We are told by Christ to worship the Father “in spirit and in truth.” But the Christianity of the churches lies seething in error taught today by their preachers, pastors, and priests. These false concepts prevent sincere Christians from worshiping in truth. You cannot worship God in truth if your mind is full of error. When we comprehend that the Father is the Spirit of Truth, then we will realize that no room exists for error in His house of worship. And we are His house.

His Love Is Greater than Falsehoods about Him

And yet, despite the false teachings about our King and Savior, His love still touches hearts. The story of Him giving up His earthly life as a ransom for us all reaches down deep into the core of our existence. When we glimpse that inscrutable, boundless love—the greatest love the world has ever heard of—it still pierces harden hearts and leaves an indelible imprint. Today, at this very moment while you read these words, Christ’s story is touching thousands in spite of all the false concepts and traditions about Him.

After all, He is Love Incarnate and is come down from above, filled to overflowing with abundant mercy upon all who opens their heart to Him. No matter the dastardly sin nor the craven crime, He will touch all who come to Him sincerely. Even as He prayed for His mocking torturers, “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.” That’s our King; that is who He is.

His love calls many, but He chooses but a few to fulfill the spiritual life cycle and be His elect; they are chosen to grow to full maturity during these latter days. When you read the gospels, you will hear Christ speaking to those destined to be “conformed to the image” of the Son of God. Christ does not dumb the message down. It is open to all; “whosoever will may come.” That’s the God we serve.

But He now commands us to learn of Him. Learn the true path, the uncharted narrow path that the eagle of Rome has not seen. The time has come to put away childish things—things that will stunt our spiritual growth, things that will prevent us from becoming like Peter, John and Paul, things that will block us from becoming fit to inherit the earth upon His return to this sad, corrupt globe.

When Christ returns to earth, little children of God will not be admitted into Christ’s inner circle where He will assign His manifested sons and daughters their duties for the rulership of the planet.

If we want to be one of these 100 fold over comers, it is time to put away the childish desires for oneself. It is time to seek Him and His purpose and plan and not material things that will all waste away. It is time to lay hold of the plow that will turn this world over, instituting His righteous government in its stead. It is time to quit playing church and begin to repent of the errors in our worship. For He is the only hope for the survival of mankind. Our destiny is to be used by Him to save the world. He is seeking a people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. When He returns, will He find us doing that?       Kenneth Wayne Hancock

3 Comments

Filed under apostles' doctrine, baptism, Christ, crucified with Christ, death, elect, eternal purpose, false doctrines, false teachers, mercy, old leaven, repentance, sin, spiritual growth, Spiritual Life Cycle, truth

December 10, 2017 · 10:59 pm

The Cross Experience, Repentance, and the Kingdom of God

You are a Christian. You want to win souls to Christ. But what is the exact message that you need to deliver? Christ is our example. What did He say to them?

Christ did not mince words. The first words out of His mouth were these: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Abrupt, perhaps. Straight to the point. Yet that short message is packed with meaning. He is saying, You must repent of your sins because God’s kingdom is right here, right now, waiting for you to enter. But you must make a spiritual entrance. If you do not change your old ways, you will miss this opportunity to be with Me in My kingdom, for I am its King.

The Spirit of Christ in the apostle John continues explaining what He is talking about. Unless you are born from above—born again—you cannot see nor enter the spiritual kingdom of God. This is being born of the Spirit. Except a man be born again [born from above], he cannot see the kingdom of God…Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. John 3: 3-5.

Everybody has heard that, but few know what it means. In order to be born of the Spirit, thereby guaranteeing your entrance into His kingdom, there must be a dying of the old seed within us. And that old seed is the old heart, the old Adamic sinful nature. “Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone. But if it die, it brings forth much fruit” (John 12: 24).

Our old sin nature is like a bad seed that keeps producing sinful actions. And there is only one way to rid ourselves of it, and that is to surrender it to the death of the cross with Christ. That will bring the change of heart when we believe that He plants a new righteous seed in our hearts. This new seed germinates by faith in His resurrection. It sprouts forth love, joy, and peace. This is the born again experience. It comes out of repentance from sin. When a man gets this right, then he will have seen and entered the kingdom of God.

The Cross Experience

Many preachers speak about Christ suffering and dying on the cross for us. They say that He was our substitute; they say to just believe in His death and resurrection and you are saved. Many speak of this, but few explain what God requires of us concerning the cross. Just acknowledging Christ’s death is not enough to get rid of the old sinful nature. The old nature that we are born with has to die, or it will keep sprouting up. That’s why so many people back slide into sin. They back slide because their old sin nature is still there.

What the preachers fail to realize is that when Christ died on the cross, mankind’s old sinful nature died with Him. We are to examine ourselves. God is now asking, Has your old sin nature died on the cross with Christ? As professing Christians, have you laid down willingly your old sinful life, letting it die with Christ? Or have you just felt sorry for your sinful ways and “walked the aisle” like they encouraged you to do? Most mistake this experience as being “born again.” It is good to feel sorrow for the sinful way we have lived. “Godly sorrow leads us to repentance.” However, it is not repentance from sin (II Cor. 7: 10).

To the Cross

Godly sorrow leads you to the cross, the spiritual place of your repentance, which is the first of the apostles’ doctrine. Next, you must realize that Christ took upon Himself the sins of all mankind, and He died as a lost man. For He has made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. II Cor. 5: 21.

When Christ died on the cross, the sin of all mankind died with Him. In God’s eyes, everyone’s  old sinful self died when He died. He could take all the sins of the whole world on Himself because He is the only man in history who was perfect–a perfectly sinless human being. He was the only One pure enough to be the sacrificial “Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” (John 1: 29). He was the only One pure enough to wash away your sin and mine.

This is how the shedding of His blood cleanses us of all sin. The life is in the blood. When Christ bled out on the cross, the life of sin, the strength of sin, the force of sin died. That is the power of the blood of Christ—because sin’s life force, sin’s blood, drained out, leaving sin lifeless within us. God just requires us to believe it, to believe His word about it. It is through belief that we become new creatures whose life force is restored by the power of His resurrection.

Our old nature died with Him on the cross. It is a spiritual death, not a physical one. Our old selves are already dead in God’s eyes. Why would any one knowing this continue to go on sinning? “Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” And they won’t come to the light lest their “deeds should be discovered” (John 3: 19-20).

But I Am Baptized

Yet, some believe that after they are baptized in water, somehow mystically they are okay. But baptism is an outward symbol of a spiritual event called the cross experience. Do you not know that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? We are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Romans 6: 3-6.

Our sin nature died on the cross. We are free! Free from the guilt, the shame, the mental torture, the indignity, the pain, and the fear. Free!

Sin is the breaking of the Ten Commandments, and it is the written record of what the old sinful nature can and will do (I John 3: 4). Sinning is the old nature still manifesting itself through actions that break the law. “And we know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin” (I John 3: 5). By dying with Him, we are freed from the bondage of sinning!

Free! Free from sin and sinning! Free now to grow spiritually to the point where we will bear much fruit like Peter, James, John and Paul. Free! Are you kidding me? Believe this truth in Christ, and you’ll be walking in a new life, freed from sin, for He has given us a new heart (Ezek. 18: 31).

This is true repentance. This is being born again of His incorruptible seed, the word of God (I Peter 1: 23). By faith we have to reckon our old self dead and gone with Christ on the cross, and also reckon ourselves alive unto God by faith in Christ’s resurrection. He said it; we believe it, and now we walk in its light. He gave His word on this. He is way ahead of us. He already sees us as righteous before Him. He is just waiting on His elect to believe His word, to believe like He believes. He with great patience waits for His chosen ones to awake unto righteousness, thus fulfilling His purpose of reproducing Himself.

This freedom from sin and sinning is the fruit of repentance wrought at the cross. It is the key to being born again and entering into His kingdom. This is why, to win souls, Christ spoke these words: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”      Kenneth Wayne Hancock

{If you liked this article, hit the “like” button. Please make a comment. I will answer them all. And be sure to send for my latest book The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect; it is totally free. Just send me your mailing address to my email: wayneman5@hotmail.com If you appreciated this article, you will be thrilled with the new book. I wrote it for you. You need this book if you want to grow spiritually and be like Peter, James, John, and Paul.
“Greater works” we will do with His help and guidance. Order it now, my brothers and sisters.}

8 Comments

Filed under apostles' doctrine, baptism, Christ, cross, crucified with Christ, death, death of self, eternal purpose, faith, kingdom of God, old self, repentance, resurrection, righteousness, sin, sons of God, Spirit of God, spiritual growth

Tagged as ,

November 25, 2017 · 3:59 pm

Seeing and Entering the Kingdom of God

Oh, how we need the Prince of Peace to return! Our hearts break when we see a toddler’s legs reduced to jelly in a Syrian minefield, when we see a sobbing volunteer who could not save her. Oh, how we need Him to come and rule with a rod of iron the forces who have strangled the earth with merciless savagery! We need His righteous judgement on the masters of war, the rulers of darkness. Oh, how we need His Love to rise like the sun across the blood-soaked earth, and with its light begin to heal our wounds and dry our tears. We here on this crimson plain ask You to come back soon. We need your kingdom to come. Come back and heal us. Take away our fears of each other. Banish hatred from the land. Sow in its stead tender grains of love and peace. Everlasting Father, please help us. We won’t make it without your touch. We won’t make it without your righteous government coming to earth.

*******For more on this order your free copy (with free shipping) of my new book The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. Details here: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/free-new-book-the-royal-destiny-of-gods-elect/ *******

With a broken spirit, we will begin to see the kingdom of God after being born from above (translated “born again” in the KJV). We then may enter the kingdom of God after being born of water and of the Spirit (John 3: 3-5).

We receive a new heart and new spirit, and this is the start of His kingdom within. For now a portion of the King’s Spirit dwells inside of our hearts. He begins His rule within us. Our desires change for the better. We are less and less selfish; we begin to think of others instead of ourselves. When He is ruling in our hearts, the kingdom is present in us. His Spirit of Love enters our hearts, and God’s reproduction of Himself in us begins. The kingdom of God is the spiritual and physical location where this reproduction is taking place.

The kingdom of God starts small like a tiny grain of belief in Christ in a person’s heart. Then this little light, this little seed of faith grows as others are won to His cause. But they will only seek Him desperately when their creature comforts are taken away. Then they will find  Him. It was always so. As more respond to the kingdom message, then it grows into a nation, which is Christ’s body of believers. Inside them, Love (God) is growing and maturing by His Spirit within them. Then this kingdom goes national, international, worldwide, galactic and universal.

The Spirit in Isaiah speaks eloquently of the King of this Kingdom: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (9: 6-7). The underlined and bold words prove that the Kingdom of God is a government with political as well as religious overtones because it institutes peace and not war.

Let us dig deeper into this passage. Everyone agrees that the “child” referenced above is Jesus Christ, Yahshua the Messiah. But let us see what the Spirit says about His kingdom. The kingdom of God is a “government.” And it is Christ’s government, for He is its sovereign ruler. He shoulders all of the responsibility of rulership. He is called “The everlasting Father” because the Father Yahweh resides fully in Him. He is called “The Prince of Peace” because through His rule, 1,000 years of peace will permeate this planet. And there will be no end to Christ’s government and peace, for He will be “upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom.” Christ will rule here on earth with righteous judgement and justice forever. The zeal of Yahweh will make it all happen.

Being a Citizen in His Kingdom

The Kingdom of God at present a spiritual one. Upon Christ’s return to assume His throne and rule, it will add a political dimension, for He will rule all nations. For now, to be a part of His government/kingdom, we must give up our earthly life with its lusts, desires, and aspirations for self. That is what it costs to be a citizen in His kingdom. Then we must replace our petty desires with His desires. We must take Christ’s yoke upon us and pull the plow with Him, never looking back.

What are we plowing with Christ? He’s plowing up the whole earth in order to plant His righteous word everywhere. Unregenerate man is the ground that is plowed and then planted. When the Sower begins to sow the seed, only the broken ground will receive the seed (Matt. 13). The broken ground is a broken heart and a contrite spirit in a humbled person. That is the ground that is able to receive the seed, the word of God.

Many nations and peoples will flow into His government. And He will bring some of us to His throne room. Those chosen for this honor will sit with Him, and He will make them “rulers over ten cities.” If chosen for this honor, we will be viceroys, ambassadors, and administrators for the King (Luke 19: 17; Rev. 3: 21; Isa. 2: 2-4).

It’s All about the Kingdom

For 1,300 days, both pre- and post-resurrection, Christ taught exclusively about His Kingdom. He spoke of Himself as a soon-to-be exiled King. His teachings are centered in the government/kingdom of God. His doctrine separates the good and true from the bad and false concepts, ideas, and assumptions of false teachers. By purging the doctrinal errors, He brings His subjects into a closer walk with their King.

The Kingdom is the place where God is growing. His Kingdom is the realm of His influence. He is not fellowshipping with those in error. He commands all people everywhere to repent from what they are doing and who they are serving because the Kingdom is here. Right now the King through His Spirit of truth has taken up residence in the hearts of His saints. His presence is growing and will grow until His kingdom fills the whole earth.

Many Are in Error

Many professing Christians are in error. Christ has harsh words for those who claim to know Him and fail to seek first His kingdom. Again, His kingdom/government is utmost in His mind. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’(Mat. 7: 21-23).

There will be much weeping on that sad day for lukewarm Christians. These professing Christians thought that they were worshipping and serving God. They knew the lingo and the outer trappings, but not Him and His purpose. They will be rejected by Him and they will weep bitter tears. It would have been much better for them to have wept for the widows and orphans and little children who were being slaughtered in the killing fields of this wicked world system—much better had they sobbed and cried out for Him and His kingdom to come and end the injustice and suffering. Much better had they not relied on the pastors’ and preachers’ faulty vision for them.

Nevertheless, upon being rejected, millions of people will try to justify their brand of Christianity to the King Himself! And they will weep in shame after He says to them, “I never knew you.” And why will this happen? Because they did not know Him as He really is! They did not believe the Son’s own witness about Himself, when He commanded us, “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.” They had Him as a third person of a Trinity; they did not believe that the fullness of the Father dwelt bodily in Christ. They missed it. They missed His oneness; they missed the “Holy One of Israel.” That will be a sad  and dreadful day.

“Only the one who does the will of my Father” will be allowed to enter the kingdom. And what’s the Father’s will? “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life…” And to “believe in Him” one must believe His words, especially His words about Himself, which are these: “The Father is in Me” (John 6: 40; 14: 11). And, of course, this further proves that God is One and not three. Simple belief in what He says about Himself emanating from a clear mind free from false doctrines—that is all He wants us to do. That’s the kingdom walk.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

5 Comments

Filed under belief, Christ, elect, eternal life, eternal purpose, faith, false doctrines, false teachers, kingdom of God, old leaven, repentance, Spirit of God, spiritual growth

November 5, 2017 · 4:29 pm

Knowing Christ as He Was in the Beginning

We now realize that God wants to glorify a certain group of Christians for the last days. They will have grown into full maturity; they will no longer act like little children of God who are mostly alive for what they can receive from the Father. They are His first fruits. They are called the manifested sons of God; they are the ones for these last days that will fulfill the Father’s purpose of reproducing Himself.

They are the over comers in the church ages of Revelation 2 and 3. They will bear 100 fold spiritual fruit. They will rule with Christ in the Kingdom of God upon His return to earth. They are the “kings” in the phrase “King of kings.”

John refers to spiritual Christian growth levels when he writes to “children, young men, and fathers.” These mature Christians are the fathers. And John writes to the fathers “because you have known Him from the beginning” (I John 2: 13-14).

Knowing Christ as He Was in the Beginning

Brethren, if the Father has laid on our hearts to answer this high heavenly calling and election to be His sons, then we need to know Him that is “from the beginning.” In the gospels, we see the Son of God, the Father clothed in human flesh, loving the people, healing them and teaching them.

But to know Christ “from the beginning,” we must know of His actions and deeds in the beginning. We must go back to that primeval epoch, when on the earth everything “was good” in the Garden of Eden. We must see Him during the Exodus, communing with Moses and sitting on the mercy seat in the old tabernacle. We must see Him in the fiery furnace of Babylon with the Hebrew children and in so many other scenes.

When we know of Christ’s literal exploits on earth in OT times, we are one step closer in being what He wants us to be—one step closer in being His friend like Abraham—one step closer in knowing Him that is from the beginning—one step closer in being a spiritual father—one necessary step closer in becoming a vessel God will use to reproduce Himself in. That is what it is all about. We must decrease so that He can increase in us.

And just who was this Holy Entity that appeared and communed with the prophets and patriarchs hundreds of years before the Son would be born in a manger? That Holy One that was from the beginning, that we believe was made flesh and dwelt among us, we call God.

The Hebrew scriptures declare Him to be Yahweh. Over 6,700 times His name Yahweh appears in the Old Testament. He came to this earth many times bodily, taking a personal interest in His eternal purpose and plan in reproducing Love.  This God, this great Spirit of Love, who poured Himself into a human body and laid down that life willingly, has proven by His resurrection that He is worthy of our praise.

The First and the Last

Christ said that He is the first and the last. The Father Yahweh also said that He is the first and the last (Rev. 1: 11; Isaiah 48: 12). This is the great mystery of the Godhead. This is the one that we must get right in order to grow to full maturity. We must get this in order to “know Him that is from the beginning.”

The Son said that He is the first and the last, and the Father said the same thing. They both cannot be the first and the last. A father by definition is first and then the son is last. How do we solve this mystery? The answer is that the Father and the Son are one. The Son said that they were one.   “I and my Father are one.” The Father is the invisible Spirit, who inhabits His body, the Son. It is Yahweh, the Spirit, the Father, speaking through Isaiah, and it is the invisible Father speaking through the Son in Revelation.

God spoke to us through His prophets in times past, but has in these last days spoken to us by His Son (Hebrews 1:1). God spoke to His people through the old prophets with the same Spirit that He spoke to the Israelites through Christ. There is only one God; there is only one Spirit. And God, who is a Spirit, is invisible. Yet, He resides in a spiritual body, His Son.

On the road to Emmaus, Christ after His resurrection appeared unto two men with little faith. They talked to Him, and “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24: 27).  These scriptures are the Old Testament, and Christ says that they speak of Him! This proves that the OT scriptures speak of Yahweh-in-human-form—in other words–Christ.

Christ delivered His people many times in the Old Testament; His mercy endures forever. His love carries the same power to heal in every era of time–past, present, and future. Christ’s deeds give universal comfort to all who just believe His report. When we believe that He is the Word made flesh, and contained the Father Yahweh inside His vessel, when we really see Him as He is—then we have seen the Father. We then will know Him that is from the beginning.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

3 Comments

Filed under apostles' doctrine, Bible, Christ, elect, eternal purpose, Garden of Eden, glorification, Love from Above, manifestation of the sons of God, princes and princesses of God, sons and daughters of God, sons of God, spiritual growth

Tagged as , , ,

October 21, 2017 · 5:49 pm

Oneness of God–Key to 100 Fold Growth

Newsflash to All Future Manifested Sons of God

The Trinity concept of the Godhead is a grievous error; it is an abominable false doctrine that aspiring sons and daughters of God must repent of. It is ubiquitous in its reach, spread by the minions of the Catholic and Protestant churches. “Trinity” does not appear in the Bible. Neither do the words “three persons.” If we stubbornly cling to this false concept the way its tentacles cling to our minds, our spiritual growth will be stunted, and we will never bear 100 fold spiritual fruit, never be in His inner circle, and never fulfill the royal destiny that we are called to do.

To be like Christ, we must see Him as He really is. We must know Him the way He was and is in the beginning. The Oneness of the Godhead explains all this, and in so doing, it disproves the Trinity.

Children, Young Men, Fathers

The apostle John wrote to all three growth level Christians—30 fold, 60 fold, and 100 fold, as seen in the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13. He called them children, young men, and fathers. He gave a specific reason why he was writing unto the spiritually mature fathers. I write unto you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning.

We see here that he makes a definite distinction among little children, young men, and fathers—30, 60, and 100 fold Christians.

The future manifested sons of God for these latter days will be the fathers that John is writing to. You fathers will know Him in a pure unadulterated state—knowledge of the Self-Existent One prior to fallen man’s false concepts about who God is. You fathers, you manifested sons of God, will know Him as He really is and was. There will be no false concepts or imaginations seeping into your minds about the truth of God’s nature and Godhead. You will have purged out all false teachings and the old leaven of man’s thinking as to who God really is and what He is really like and is about. You, sons, will know Him as He is from the beginning. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. I John 3:3.

The sons of God will not have false concepts of who the Holy One of Israel is. They will, therefore, become just like their Father. Each seed bears its own kind. Like begets like. They will become fathers and, yea, kings on the same throne as their Father King. They will, in fact, be able to engender others with this great power and essence from above. They will have everlasting life generating in and out of their new spiritual bodies. They will be fathers like their heavenly Father. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. John 1:12.

David knew Yahweh well. In fact, Yahweh said that he was a man after God’s own heart. Let’s learn from this pattern son about Him that is from the beginning.

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!

“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 groanings 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 solved.

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? 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. Christ said as much: “The Father that dwells in Me, He does the works” (Jn. 14: 11). Yahweh created everything, in His pre-existent 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 in His Son and with those of a broken spirit and a contrite heart.

This Oneness doctrine enables us to “see Him as He is,” which, in turn, enables us to be like Him. “We know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (John 3: 3). We shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He is. And He is the Holy One of Israel, not three.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

6 Comments

Filed under apostles' doctrine, Christ, elect, eternal purpose, false doctrines, King David, manifestation of the sons of God, old leaven, repentance, Sacred Names, sons and daughters of God, sons of God, spiritual growth

June 24, 2017 · 3:42 pm

The Apostles’ Doctrine Prepares Us to Go Inside the Veil

As I share these teachings on the apostles’ doctrine, I remember some 45 years ago when I received the seeds of this knowledge from my mentor. I thank God for him, for the patience he had with me as I exited for good the old life and entered the new life in Christ. I had help; I needed help. I was blessed to not be separated by hundreds and thousands of miles, desperately reaching out through a virtual reality atmosphere for the truth. We were family; we lived in our own community; we worked together every day for years and worked out our problems as a family. It was in this environment that I first learned of the apostles’ doctrine. My teacher with great joy and clarity taught us that and much more [When he passed away I published an elegy that you can read here: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/i-will-remember-him-that-way-elegy-for-my-mentor/ ].

After decades of study, which is the watering of those seeds that the Spirit planted by His teacher, I now share that harvest. The harvest of seeds is seeds. I now sow the seed. Never forget: “The parable is this; the seed is the word of God.”

We saw last time that doctrines are teachings. And the doctrine that the apostles had was Christ’s very doctrine. Some people have a big problem with the word “doctrine.” I have heard it said by preachers, “We don’t want doctrine; we just want Jesus.” That is so ignorant, in the pure sense of the word, because the word says, “Whosoever transgresses and abides not in the doctrine of Christ, has not God” (II John 9). We are to not only know what His doctrine is, but we are also to abide in it. “Abide” in the Greek here means “to stay in, to continue in, to remain in.” We are to stay in these teachings. That’s heavy, yet it shows just how important Christ’s teachings are. And the comforting thing is that His apostles have the same doctrine. And the apostles’ doctrine is the very bedrock foundation of God’s house for the latter days.

It is interesting that God uses many different metaphors and similes taken from the everyday life of a farmer, a peasant, a gardener, or a builder. He likens His word to a seed that is sown, which is spoken into the ground or into a person’s ear. And for some, it will take root in their hearts as we see in the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. And then He likens His word unto water, living waters delivered by His Spirit. Once a person has tasted the living waters–who has really taken a nice, huge gulp–nothing else on this planet will quench the thirst for the truth. Things of the earth, the material things that appease on a natural level will never suffice a human called by His Maker, for they are created to be the glory of God—a spiritual being.

But when the apostles’ doctrine is taught, many turn away. When repentance from sin is taught, then many begin to walk away. It is a tough one, especially if they believe that they are already in His good graces. And yet, “Repent” was the very first word that our Savior said to every one he met. He said over and over again, “Repent, for the…” For the what? For the “kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It is so near that its very King was standing in their midst, and He knew that repentance from sin was their ticket into His kingdom. For no cheats, liars, thieves, and adulterers will reside in His kingdom. Repentance takes care of that. Which is to say, the cross experience takes care of that (more on that later).

Christ’s doctrine solidly in our hearts is the foundation. Only those who are solid and grounded and do not waver when the test comes—these are the ones who will go on to perfection, which is full spiritual maturity. This is when Christ is fully formed in us. These teachings are to be a part of us, yet we will have to leave them eventually in order to go on unto perfection (Heb. 5: 12-14). After a foundation is completed, a builder has to put up the walls, rafters, and roof, and finish the job. He can’t keep monkeying around with the foundation; he will never complete the vision of the architect; he will never finish.

The First Principles

The apostles’ doctrine is the “first principles of the oracles of God.” These teachings are only the first teachings that the elect must have in their heart. They are the milk of the word and not the meat. Though they seem at first glance to be advanced, they really are elementary principles. It is like when we took pre-algebra in grade school, how we thought it was so hard, while it was only just a preliminary to the mathematical pain that would be coming in the next few years.

These teachings are for little children, even “babes in Christ,” who are mostly alive to see what they can receive from their new spiritual Father. But our destiny is not to be little children of God. No. For we have this hope that God will be reproduced within us. And this “hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast and which enters into that within the veil” (Heb. 6: 18-20). Our Savior Yahshua (Jesus) has already entered into this 100 fold growth as our high priest to guide us on in.

Inside the Veil

“Entering into that within the veil” means going into the 100 fold growth, which is us fully matured spiritually with the Spirit of God manifested in us. It helps our growth to get a glimpse of just what is behind the veil. For the tabernacle in the wilderness, whose construction blueprint was given to Moses by God, serves as types and shadows of the spiritual house of God, “whose house are we.” The apostle escorts us on into these higher realms in Hebrews 6 and 7. Yet he encourages us to leave those very first principles in order to fulfill our calling as a “royal priesthood” (I Pet. 2: 9). We see our calling is to follow in Christ’s footsteps in being that kingly priest, “called after the order of Melchisedec.”

We do not enter this rarified atmosphere of knowledge without great humility, the kind shown in our service to our King Yahshua. He ever lives now to intercede for us when we come to Him with our petitions on this “walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” As our High Priest, we thank Christ for obtaining for us a better covenant that has purged our “conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Heb. 9: 9-14). No more recriminations, nor guilt, nor shame. No more guilty consciences, for He has wiped the slate clean. This is the fruit of the very first apostles’ doctrine—repentance from sin.

There is much to see inside the tabernacle, which is “the example and shadow of heavenly things.” The old covenant of the blood of animals only purified the “patterns of things in the heavens…but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these” (Heb. 9: 23). What is a better sacrifice than the blood of animals? The blood of the Lamb of God “that takes away the sins of the world.” So Christ’s blood cleanses whom? Human beings, who are the “heavenly things themselves.”

We are heavenly things, brethren. With Christ’s Spirit now within us, we are heavenly beings, not carnal and of the earth. We are spiritual beings now. And we need to walk in this truth. For this truth is an example of what we will get into after the apostles’ doctrine is solid in our hearts. This is where the Spirit wants to take us. The question is this: Can we dispel our doubts long enough to hear His voice. Can we humble our human minds long enough to receive from a teacher, who really is the Spirit of Truth in a human body. But when the Spirit of Truth is come, He will teach us all things. He does not just mystically float around willy-nilly seeking whom He may inspire. He resides in His teachers, apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors.

Inside the Veil

“Let us go on to perfection” [spiritual maturity]. Let us go on to where Christ wants us—inside the veil, sitting with Him. Wait a minute—get this—sitting down with Him on His throne!

This is His vision, which will attack our meager belief system until we fully believe this: “All things are possible to him that believes.” Belief, which is faith, is the second of the apostles’ doctrine.  Kenneth Wayne Hancock

5 Comments

Filed under apostles' doctrine, eternal purpose, kingdom of God, manifestation of the sons of God, perfection, Spirit of God, spiritual growth, sufferings of Christians