Immortality Road

Yesterday’s manna will not feed the hunger of today’s sons and daughters of God. Yesterday’s manna will not sustain them on their spiritual quest to be like Paul, Peter, James, John and—yes, like the Son of God Himself. Yesterday’s bread from heaven, the light that was given hundreds of years ago to the churches, will not strengthen the future manifested sons and daughters of God. The elect have a higher calling than to just receive salvation. They are pressing “toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus/Yahshua” (Phil. 3: 14).

Yesterday’s manna was the perfect food for those who had never heard of Christ back in the early days. Tell them the story of how He died for them. Introduce them to Christ; tell them about His great love for them. Tell them about salvation through faith in Christ.

But now God has a people, a chosen remnant, who have heard this story since childhood, and they need something more than an incessant introduction to Christ. They need the meat of the word to satisfy their spiritual growing pains. They need Him, the truth. They need the hidden manna in the form of His full purpose and plan to fulfill it.

[This is Chapter 5 of the new book The Apostles’ Doctrine: The Seven Teachings of Christ. Pre-order you free copy with free shipping today by sending your mailing address to my email: wayneman5@hotmail.com  Limited copies so order soon. Be sure to mention the title]

His Purpose Is the Bread of God that Is Hidden

But what is the end product of God’s purpose for these who have the “high calling”?  They are “the called according to His purpose.” They are being called right now to be used by the King to fulfill His purpose. “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son…” (Rom. 8: 28-29).

We see here that God knew these before. Look. He is the Creator—omni-everything, “knowing the end from the beginning.” Of course, He knew beforehand what they would become, much like a novelist creates characters and knows their destinies before the book is published. Furthermore, He gave us a destiny before we were ever born into the human mire.

We have a forerunner and an example. Speaking to Jeremiah, God said, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jer. 1: 5). Somebody is saying, “Well, that was Jeremiah. He was a great personage of God, and I’m just little old insignificant me sitting here…” But that is not how God looks at us. God knew us before we were born; He has given us a destiny before we came to earth. And what is that destiny? “To be conformed to the image of His Son”!

To be like Christ! That is God’s purpose: to reproduce Himself in a body of many sons and daughters through Christ. Christ formed in us! Now before that last line slips unnoticed back into the ether, remember what Christ said, “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19: 26).

God foreknew us and gave us this destiny before we were born. That’s why He called us with this high calling. Then He justifies us (gets the sin out of our lives—first step). Then He glorifies us (become like Christ—full reproduction of God in our vessels) (Rom. 8: 30).

We are His elect, His chosen ones. And He will “freely give us all things” in order for His purpose to be accomplished (8: 32).

Becoming like Christ–this truth came from heaven. It is the heavenly manna that is hidden from the masses because of their hard heart of unbelief. Believing this manna is spiritually eating it.

When we cease striving to make our own selfish desires a reality—even in our church and worship–and when we embrace God’s purpose and walk in it, the struggles in life subside. We see clearly now that He is for us, that He is helping us do what He has purposed us to do. By faith in His Spirit coming down into us, He takes over and the love, joy and peace flows. And we no longer feel like it is us having to powerlessly fight everything out there. Frustration evaporates. Things become easier because we begin to realize that “it is no longer I that lives, but Christ that lives in me.” Victory is ours. He has our back because we have His.

The Daily Bread

What do we do right now to get His plan moving in us?  He said to pray that God “give us this day our daily bread.” We are to pray for the spiritual bread from heaven, the spiritual manna that this day and time requires. Right now we need our daily bread, and if we cry out to him for the bread from heaven for our day, will He give us a stone? You know He won’t.

We need the bread of heaven for today, not the doctrines of yesterday that have been tampered with. Yesterday’s manna is full of additives–false doctrines and traditions. It has become another gospel, one that is about Christ and not what He actually taught. It is like the manna in Moses’ day. It physically fed the children of Israel in the wilderness, but it was only good for the day it was collected. It went bad if they tried to eat it at a later date. Yesterday’s manna will not nourish us today. It has gone bad. It has been mixed with pagan motifs and false conceptions and imaginations.

But the true bread from heaven is the Son of God. He is the “hidden manna,” and in Him are His  purpose, plan, thoughts, and desires, which if a man eat, if a man ingest, if a man believe—he will live forever (John 6: 58).

The bread from heaven is hidden from natural eyes; it is the Spirit of Truth that “guides us into all truth.” And the truth is a deep pool that contains one special “pearl of great price” bidding us to swim into the depths until we find it.

Yesterday’s manna cannot help us to grow strong for the end times. Only today’s bread from heaven will suffice us and strengthen us for the arduous quest we are on. Be strong, you mighty men and women of valor!

Today’s manna, today’s food necessary for the sons and daughters of God to grow strong in His Spirit—is Christ and His doctrine. In the hidden manna we will find the Spirit of Truth that will teach us to throw away the false and cleave to the true. In the hidden manna we find the hidden wisdom of Yahweh and His power.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[The following is from Chapter 39 of the new book The Apostles’ Doctrine: The Seven Teachings of Christ. It is due out in March 2019. Copies of this 325 page trade paperback are limited. Reserve your free copy with free shipping by sending your mailing address to my email: wayneman5@hotmail.com  Be sure to mention the title]

When God baptizes us in the Holy Spirit, He immerses us in His very own active spiritual nature, a nature that is truth. The truth about Him is the very hallmark of the reality of Him being our new life. For the Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost is the Spirit of truth and is the Spirit of Christ. Christ’s Spirit is the Comforter, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit [same word in the Greek]. A careful study of John 14 through 16 shows that the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are one. Christ said as much in John 17: 22: “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.”

This sets the tone of true worship. As Christians, we sincerely desire to come together to worship God, to get closer to Him, to touch Eternity and be touched, in turn, by His eternal Hand. We feel a need to worship God, but “worship” is one of those scriptural words that means different things to different people. In fact, both true worship and “vain worship” exist. Our worship will fall into one of these categories (Mark 7: 5-7).

To really comprehend just what “worship” means to God (which is all that matters), we should go and see what the Master Teacher says about it. Christ, as always, teaches in short, concise statements. His words are like gold that must be mined out from the rock hard concepts that mankind has imagined about God. “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4: 24). To understand what Christ is teaching us, we need to dig deeper into these three words: “worship, spirit, and truth.”

 “Worship”

Let’s face it; everyone has their own private interpretation as to what “worship” means. Every church organization has their own take on proper worship. But even their members can’t agree. So what did Christ mean by “worship”? The Greek word means “to kneel, to do homage, to kiss the hand… profound reverence” (G4352, Strong’s). Here we see a picture of reverential submission, as unto a king. The Hebrew word for “worship” means much the same: “to bow down…to honor God…to do homage, to submit oneself” (H7812, Strong’s).

This definition implies not just an acknowledgement of the Father, but a humbling of oneself before Him. “Worship” entails doing homage, submission, and bowing down and kneeling before the Father. Because God does not look on the outward appearance of things, worship of Him must be a matter of the heart. This kind of worship of the Father, however, must have two qualities; it must be “in spirit” and “in truth.”

“In Spirit”

Because the Father is an invisible Spirit, we need to honor and bow down and submit ourselves to Him in a spiritual way—not a physical way. But how do we do that exactly?

“Spirit” is from the Greek word pneuma [# 4151 in Strong’s]. It means “a movement of air…of the wind…” Since God is an invisible Spirit, worship of Him must come out of a spirit nature. It takes a spirit to worship the Spirit. After all, if we have been truly “born again,” we are spirit. “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3: 6-8). If you are born of the Spirit, then you are a spirit and not the earthly body you see in the mirror. Since we are spirit, we merely reside now in an earthen body of flesh. Christ calls those that are born of the Spirit—a spirit. This knowledge helps us worship “in spirit.”

Moreover, He likens us to an invisible wind that blows across the earth. We are free like the wind is free, for we are a spirit born out of the loins of our Father, who is the Spirit of truth. We are like the wind, free to love others, not bound by the physical restraints imposed by worldly tradition peddlers. We are free to love with the soft breezes of compassion and mercy, free as the wind to soothe those who sweat in turmoil, who now writhe in the darkness of this cruel world’s overseer. And there is no law against this wind of love that now inhabits our frail bodies, that now is exhaled through us, His lungs and mouth.

“So is every one that is born of the Spirit.” And because each seed bears its own kind, we as new spiritual creatures in Christ have an “earnest” of His Spirit within, and He now breathes out of our mouths the word of God. That is part of true “worship.” It is submitting our bodies to be used by the Spirit of God within us to utter His words of life to others. It is allowing the Spirit to minister through us. And His word through His children’s mouth “will not return unto [Him] void, but it shall accomplish that which [He leases]” (Isa. 55: 11).

Some are saying, Wayneman, now you have lost it. No! Al contrario. I believe that I have found it and that I am sharing it now. At our new birth, He has transformed us into spiritual entities that no longer need anything material or physical to worship our God. The Spirit that now resides in us was before buildings, before wood and metal, before the earth was ever formed. And now we as a quickening spirit are uniquely qualified to worship Him in spirit—because we are a spirit. Why do we then insist on trying to worship God in an earthly manner?

Since we are an invisible spirit in His eyes, dwelling in an earthen vessel, let us not try to worship Him with visible, tangible, physical things. Worship of the Father must be done, first, in spirit. True worship comes from believing in this invisible Hebrew God, who is a Spirit. He is not material, physical, nor temporal, but rather an Eternal Spirit. Therefore, He is not impressed with physical things that man uses to worship Him. We are part and parcel of Him. Therefore, we are not under all of man’s vain and perhaps sincere attempts to worship Him, traditions that fall like cardboard dwellings in a summer rain.

Approaching Him with any material object, idol, icon, or picture is not worshiping Him in spirit; the Spirit is beyond the realm of our five senses. Consequently, we must believe that He will not be found in temples and church houses and buildings with religious names. Nor will God be impressed with physical things used in those buildings. Why? Because they are all of the material and physical realm, and He is of the invisible, spiritual realm. And He has translated us into His spiritual realm, calling us a spirit with the ability to give life to others. “And so it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit” (I Cor. 15: 45). Christ in us is the last Adam. And we now can give life to others through His Spirit and word within–when we share.

Knowing this frees us from believing that “going to church” is necessarily the way to worship Him. For His body of true believers is the church. We are the church, the habitation of God. Our corporate bodies are the temple of God. God does not dwell in buildings made with man’s hands (Acts 7: 48-50). If we say, “I am going to church,” our words betray us, for we are saying that the building is the church. It is a simple statement, but it is revealing, for it shows that the thinking is in error. If we are serious about becoming like the apostles and prophets of old, then we must purge out the old leaven of false concepts of worship.

The woman of Samaria believed that the site of Jacob’s well was a special place of worship. She thought that the well was a holy place because the patriarch Jacob once drew water there. But Christ explained that true worship does not hinge on a physical place like a temple or church house or a geographical location.  He told her, “The hour comes, when you shall neither in this mountain, nor yet in Jerusalem, worship the Father…the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth” (John 4: 20-24). Even today, people still make pilgrimages to Jerusalem thinking that being in Jerusalem is a more special and holier worship.

True Worship Comes from Broken Spirit and Contrite Heart

But, true worship of the Father is not founded on the physical; it is rooted in the spiritual. It must be in the invisible, spiritual place of the heart.

Christ’s words are spirit. The Spirit of Christ was in Isaiah, and He expounded on worshiping in spirit. “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that you build unto me?…For all those things has my hand made…but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word” (Isa. 66: 1-2).

It is as if Christ is asking all of us, “How can you take satisfaction in building an edifice to worship Me in, when I created the world and everything in it? You take my trees and cut it into lumber. You take My clay and bake it into bricks. And then you put them together and believe that I am pleased to dwell there. No amount of physical works of your hands will move me. Your sacrifices and offerings and incense and prayers and songs—that is not what touches My heart. You want to worship Me in spirit? Then come before Me now with a broken spirit and a contrite heart. Come to Me humbled and with reverential awe, so much so that you would tremble at My power and glory. Come to Me now with gratitude for delivering you from sin and sinning. Worship Me, trembling at my word. For My word is truth.”

Finally, worshiping “in spirit” must be tempered with “in truth.” And “thy word is truth.” But some will say, We are very spiritual at our church. We worship the Father “in spirit.” But there are many spirits. We are told to “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (I John 4: 1).

There are many “winds” out there, many spirits. But most are not from God. How are we to know the good from the bad spirits? There is only one way—through knowing and studying the written word of God. To worship Him “in truth,” we must have the right concept of who the Father is. Our spiritual worship of the Father must be based in truth.

Many followers approach Him spiritually. They know that He is invisible. But Christ said that we must worship the Father in truth. We cannot just believe that He is a Spirit and go about our prayers and praises in a spiritual way without knowing the truth about what He says about Himself and how we should worship Him.

Connecting the Dots of “Worship”

 Worship must be done in spirit and in truth. What is the truth? “Thy word is truth.” Christ said, “The words I speak, they are spirit and they are life.” Consequently, spiritual worship cannot be void of the truth, which is God’s word. In fact, because “a little leaven leavens the whole lump,” error in God’s teachings about Himself and His program spreads until the whole worship service is found very wanting in God’s eyes. He expects us to get it right. He expects us to “purge out the old leaven that the lump may be holy.”

Old leaven is false doctrines that have entered into the worship of the churches of Christianity. And if there are any false teachings in the worship, then it ruins everything, for it is not holy. It can’t be holy if it is untrue.

So how do we get worship right? What will make it holy in God’s eyes? Praying for you and me, Christ said, “Sanctify them [make them holy] through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17: 17). It is the truth that makes the worship service acceptable to God. The truth found in His word is what makes our worship holy. Stilted formalism and a hushed affectation in the “house of God” is not worshipping in spirit and in truth. Neither is the loose musical freedom seen in the yearning drumbeats that stir desires of religious ecstasy. No, the worship that God wants won’t be found in the thunderous beat of modern music. Neither will shouting from the pulpits awaken our God. He will come in a “still, small voice,” free from emotionalism. He will come in words of truth (I Kings 19: 12). The worship of the Father will be “in spirit and in truth.”

Everybody Believes They Already Have the Absolute Truth About the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

 The bottom line is this. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is an immersion into the action of truth. We see this unfold in John 14-17.

The time for Christ’s ascension was close at hand. He was giving last minute instructions to His disciples. They were concerned about Him leaving them. They felt like orphans, soon to be abandoned by the One who had fathered them in this new way. They needed comforting. Consequently, He then promised them that He would send a Comforter after He ascended. This Comforter is the Spirit of truth, who “dwells with you and shall be in you” (John 14: 16-17).

Christ continues: “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (v. 18). This promised Comforter is, of course, the Spirit of Christ, who we know now is the Spirit of truth. Then He speaks even more plainly: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost…He shall teach you all things” (v. 26). ]“Holy Ghost” and “Holy Spirit” are translated from the same Greek word. ]

Later in the discourse, Christ says, “…When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth…and He will show you things to come” (16: 13).

It is all about truth. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is an immersion into the Spirit of truth, for the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth—He will guide you into all truth. We are told to worship the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4: 23-24). Truth, truth, truth. Baptized into the Spirit of truth. Completely immersed, engulfed, and submerged in truth. This is being baptized in the Holy Spirit.

We see that “truth” is at the very heart of this stage of spiritual growth. IF THERE ARE FALSE DOCTRINES BEING BELIEVED, FOLLOWED, AND/OR ESPOUSED, THEN IT IS VERY UNLIKELY THAT THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, WHICH IS THE HOLY SPIRIT, IS LEADING THAT PERSON.

Truth and falseness don’t mix. Bitter water and sweet water do not issue from the same spring (James 3: 11). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. When the Spirit of truth comes into our lives, He will “guide us into all truth” (John 16: 13). The sons and daughters of God are led by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8: 14). By definition, being led by God is being led by truth, for God is truth. He is ultimately leading us into glorious sonship (Heb. 2: 10). There is absolutely no room in these passages for error in doctrine. No room for false teachings and concepts.

“But I Have Had an Experience with God”

 Many have had supernatural experiences and some may say, “Well, I know that I have had the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and now you are trying to take that wonderful experience away from me.” No, I never argue with nor challenge someone’s testimony of God’s visitation in their life. He visits in dreams and visions and revelations. He does this to call people, to wake them up and snap them out of the spiritual slumber of their worldly walk. And changes in their behavior from their experiences can be truly breathtaking.

Many, however, sincerely believe that these experiences constitute being filled with  the  Holy Spirit, for lack of a more accurate word. But the Holy Spirit is an immersion into His Holy Truth. How can their experiences be holy and full of truth when they are still breaking the law of God—still sinning, in other words? How can it be the Spirit of Truth when that person is walking in error?

God is dealing with many people today, calling them into a deeper walk. And because of false teachings about God and His plan, they mistake ex-periences with Him as the baptism in the Holy Spirit. We are admonished to examine ourselves to see if there be any false teachings in our lives. Those going on will put an end to those habits that they know do not please God. They are the ones chosen to go all in. They are the few that will answer the “high calling of God in Christ.” They will be the ones to “continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine.”

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Stop. Please don’t touch that screen. Slow down for just a moment the race car thoughts that rush around and so often crash against the walls of reality. Stay with me a little while, and I promise I will give you thoughts of peace and comfort.

Rest a moment and be assured that your Creator knows precisely who and where you are and loves you anyway. For you are not alone on the world’s racetrack. We are in it, too, for we, like you, are playing the cards that He has dealt us. For make no mistake; He has placed us in the 21^st Century and in the country where we reside. Our personal time and place, along with the joys and the sufferings, are ordained by Him for this reason: that we would seek and perhaps find Him.

He made us, after all, in His image and likeness. Therefore, we are His offspring. It is like we are children on a picnic in the park with our dad. We are sitting on the red and white table cloth. We are talking, and we look up and our dad is gone. We take off running around the woods, searching for him. We’ve lost him. Where is he?

We race around and spin and look up at the green arms of the giant trees and then we look down at the brown bed of leaves at our feet. But our dad is not there.

We think that we are lost. But we do not know that he is leaning against a giant red oak, smiling with a four leaf clover hanging in the corner of His mouth. He then sees our distress and hears our cries and walks back around that tree and says, “Hey, guys. I’ve been here the whole time. I’ll never desert you. I’ll never leave you alone.”

That’s our God. “…He is not far from any of us.” He is omnipresent. We live in His Spirit; we move around in His Spirit. Our very existence is derived from Him (Acts 17: 24-28).

So now, if you will, close your eyes a moment, and rest your face in your hands and thank Him for breath and life. And thank Him for being right there where you are. Thank Him for this opportunity today—as you breathe in—to just believe in His magnificence and His creative genius and His merciful love, that He would share His purpose and life and wisdom with us.

And now our thoughts are beginning to walk more slowly. We’ve left the rasping asphalt of  tableted technologies, and now our feet are savoring the crunch of green grass. And now we sit down and look up and down and around, and finally we look inside our chest, and we realize that He is sitting there, smiling, on the throne of our heart. And we smile at Him, knowing that He is very near and that He will always be with us and that He will never leave us. KWH

[Below is the “Introduction” of my new book The Apostles’ Doctrine: The Seven Teachings of Christ. I will announce how you can order your free copy with free shipping very soon. May our Father bless and keep you]

Introduction

 We cannot do things to achieve salvation from God, but we must do certain things in order to grow His Spirit within us after we receive a new heart and after we are “born again.”

Because our Creator has a purpose of reproducing Himself (Love) in us, He, of course, has a definite plan to fulfill His purpose. He has thought it all through and lined it all out in His written word. And in His scriptures of truth are contained the thoughts of the Son of God, the “Word made flesh.” And these thoughts contain admonishments, and when done by us Christians, we will grow up to be like Him, which fulfills His purpose. [This is discussed in The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect, published in 2017.  It is free with free shipping to all who ask. See details here: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/free-new-book-the-royal-destiny-of-gods-elect/.]

We understand now that God is Love and that His purpose is to repro-duce Himself in us. We were created as a house for God to dwell in, for Love to dwell in. And we understand now that God has a plan to carry out this purpose of reproducing Himself. We see that this plan entails His kingdom, first to be established in our hearts, and then it is to be set up as a literal world-wide government headed by our King, the Son of God, upon His return to earth.

And we see that an integral part of God’s plan is the law of harvest. God is the Seed, the Word of God. And this Seed/Word “was made flesh and dwelt among us.” Christ is that Seed that germinates in our hearts and starts to grow as a grain of corn is planted, dies, and resurrects and grows in our gardens. We, too, begin to grow spiritually.

But then something bad happens to young Christians. The weeds spring up and begin to choke the word/seed. Babes in Christ are fed tainted milk, which are false concepts about God. Materialism with its many temptations subvert God’s plan from coming to fruition. Tough decisions arise for the babe in Christ for which Christ says to “count the cost.” The way grows narrow and difficult to navigate, where one finds few fellow travelers. And then the world extends a very wide and welcoming road where many go and seem to have wonderful fellowship, and the pilgrim is tempted to take that avenue.

What We Are to Do

But if God is calling us to the “higher calling” of being used for Him to reproduce Himself through, then we must ask ourselves, What do we do now to grow spiritually? Not what man’s traditions say to do, but what do the scriptures say for us to do. Tradition tells us, Go to church and give your tithes and offerings, confess your sins, do the best you can, and you will go to heaven when you die. But, is that all there is? Will God really be pleased with that? Is that all there is to it?

Surely not. For I do not see much growth in the lives in Christian circles. People do get cleaned up and start living a better life, but many backslide into their past actions. Many just remain regular attendees of their church services, content to be a part of a Christian social fabric. Is that what the prophets and apostles of old prescribed for our growth? Is that what the church in the book of Acts did?

No. We are given at least seven general “things to do” as Christians to effect proper spiritual growth. First, the early church “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine” (Acts 2: 42). The apostles had a doctrine, and it was the same that Christ had. “Doctrine” means “teachings,” and they were delivering those teachings to the new converts. Some preachers asininely say, “We do not want doctrine; we just want Jesus.” They must not know that “whosoever transgresses and abides not in the doctrine of Christ has not God” (II John 1: 9).

What were the apostles’ teachings? They are concisely found in Hebrews 6: 1-2. They are the foundation that when done, will help us grow unto “perfection,” or complete spiritual maturity. They are repentance from dead works, faith toward God, the doctrine of baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, eternal judgement, and perfection. How many Christians would be able to list these vital concepts that the apostles taught? Few even know about them. Whose fault is that? God says it is their pastor’s fault. God pronounces a woe unto the shepherds for not feeding the flock of God with proper teachings (Ezk. 34: 1-10).

This book is by no means an attempt at a full rendering of each of the seven doctrines of the apostles. Each one could be the subject of several books. Nevertheless, what I have endeavored to do is to present an introductory treatise on Christ’s teachings, which stresses their importance and clarifies their function in the fulfilling of God’s purpose and plan.

Many think that such an endeavor has already been done many times, that there is no need for another Christian tome on the subject. However, most books that address Christ’s teachings come out of a strict denominational matrix which extrudes a tired predictable dough of regurgitated dogma void of original inspiration.

I have approached them as a Literature major would: Casting off the chains of preconceived interpretations, I read and study the eyewitness accounts, and with the Spirit’s guidance, extract a thesis from the sacred texts of the Bible. And then I go about proving that thesis using the texts themselves.

Two Major Sections of the Book

 The first part explains the importance of the apostles’ doctrine. An outline of foundational concepts about Christ’s teachings is also offered to facilitate more understanding of how these teachings help fulfill God’s purpose of reproducing Himself.

The second part of the book addresses each of the seven doctrines. The light shed therein serves to illuminate the path of each individual’s spiritual pilgrimage. Like I have said to my students over the decades: I cannot educate you. I can give you the tools, but you must pick up and use the tools. You must educate you.    KWH

[A note on the Sacred Names of Yahweh, Yah, Yahshua: I use them in this book. There is great revelatory truth found in the meaning of His name. Those interested may request the author’s book Yah Is Savior. Order your free copy with free shipping by sending your request to my email: wayneman5@hotmail.com . Include your name, mailing address, and the title of the book.]

The phrase “kingdom of God” has been used so much by so many people from so many different religious backgrounds that its real meaning may have been lost.  Heretofore, most  have understood the phrase to mean “God’s kingdom,” or the kingdom that belongs to Him.  And this is true, it does belong to Him and His children.  However, there is another way to look at that phrase, and that is “the kingdom of the Spirit.”

It says in John 4 that “God is Spirit.”  Therefore, “kingdom of God” can be construed as “kingdom of Spirit.”  Or, in other words, it means a form of order and government headed by a Sovereign entity that is comprised of Spirit.  The Master did say that “the flesh profits nothing; it is the spirit that makes alive.”  “All is vanity,” in other words, except the invisible spiritual things.

We are admonished that we should seek first this invisible spirit kingdom.  Also, the only true worship of the Father is in spirit and in truth.  It is not any old spirit worship, but it must be spiritual and truthful. It won’t be anything remotely having to do with earthly natural things.

True worship is an invisible connection between our spirit in the human heart and the Eternal Creator Spirit.  It is the connection you cannot see.  You cannot legislate it, tax it, build fine buildings in order to coax true worship into your midst.  It is an invisible agreement between the Creator and His special spiritual creation, Adam.  “The true worshipers must worship the Father in spirit and in truth.”  They must find out the truth about His invisible Spirit reign within, for “the kingdom of God (Spirit) is within you.”

It is a realm of the heart, an inner sanctum full of true thoughts about the true nature of things.  “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation.”  You can’t see it with your fleshly eyes.  It is not of this earth.  Consequently, when we look out over this earth, anything we see, be it ever so religious, cannot be or have anything to do with the kingdom of Spirit (God).

“Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights.”  The kingdom of God is a dimension and realm that our five senses don’t pick up on.  It is not of this earth.  It must first be believed on, and then it will begin to manifest itself to the understanding of our hearts.  We will never see it first with our earthly eyes and then believe.  Faith must be exercised—believing having not yet seen with the fleshly eyes.  The kingdom of God is the government of God, who is Spirit, and who rules in our hearts by His very essence, which is spirit.

Lastly, the kingdom of God can only be seen and entered through being “born again,” or more properly translated, being “born from above.” We must be born “of the Spirit.” This happens through our spiritual death, burial and resurrection with Christ–by faith (John 3: 3-6; Romans 6).

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

We, the children of God, need to rest. We need to “be still and know that He is God.” We are “tossed to and fro” and we scurry about entangled so easily by the cares of this world and its entrapments.

“There remains a rest to the people of God” (Heb. 4: 9). But what is this rest that God promises His children and how do we get there?

We enter into rest through belief. But by believing what exactly? Many believe on the Son of God, and yet they are still struggling, still exhausted by the constant onslaught of the world. Believe what?

We need to take our faith and belief to another level. We need to grow to a point where we believe that it is “no longer I that lives, but Christ that lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God” (Gal. 2: 20).

First, as the apostle Paul tells us, “Examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith…Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you…” (II Cor. 13: 5).  We are to look inside of our own hearts to see where we need to be. Have we really experienced the cross where our old self dies with Christ? Have we taken the plunge and died with Christ? We need to believe this. Is our old life buried with Christ? We need to believe this. Then “through faith in the operation of God that raised Christ from the dead” we, too, have been raised to walk in a newness of life (Col. 2: 11-14). We need to believe this.

So, when we believe that it is the Spirit of Christ living and walking around in our bodies, then we let Him do His works. We cease to do our own thing. And this is when we enter into His rest. This is when we observe the Sabbath day. This is how we keep it holy. “For he that is entered into His rest, he also has ceased from his own works, as God did from His” (Heb. 4: 10). Read this again, for herein is a revelation that few on the earth has had. It is a precious promise straight from the throne of the King. Slow down and savor these words.

How can this be? What does the above mean? When we begin to really allow Christ to walk in us and let Him do His work through us, then we will have stopped doing our own thing as if we were still alive [Remember, we have died with Christ on the cross  as in Romans 6: 6]. We have “ceased from [our] own works, as God did from His.” This is the rest. This is the keeping of the true Christian Sabbath day.

Ceasing from our own works means that we are no longer there dictating what our physical bodies do all day long. We no longer are imagining that this pleases God or that pleases Him. No. this rest is when we are out of the picture, when we have allowed God to take control of our thoughts and actions. At this stage we are doing His works, for He in us is doing His works. This is entering into His Sabbath rest. This is the Christian Sabbath. Wow!

How Do We Do This?

As we believe His word, we do enter into His rest. And His rest is His confidence and belief that the plan contained in the Seed/Word/Logos has come, is coming, and shall come to pass just like He created the “incorruptible seed, the word of God” in the beginning.

He believes in us more than we believe in Him. Or rather, He believes in His plan working itself out in our lives–even though we don’t even understand it fully as of yet.

He knows that His thoughts, which are formed into words, “will not return unto Him void, but will accomplish” what He sent them to do. And believing this solidly, God now rests and waits with great patience on us to finally believe the same thing. “There remains therefore a rest [keeping of the sabbath, from the Greek word sabbatismos] to the people of God” (Heb. 4: 9).

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

To grow in God, first, we have got to know things—His things. “Knowledge of the holy is understanding” (Prov. 9: 10). If you want to take a look at a human being without this kind of knowledge, then observe the young man in Proverbs 7. He does not know of His plan to perfect us. He hasn’t a clue about the spiritual maturity that can transform us into righteous powerhouses. He has no knowledge of God and His thoughts and ways, and he is left as prey for the lion Satan who “goes about seeking whom he may devour” (I Pet. 5: 8).

The young man is a type of all young men who are “void of understanding” and who lack true knowledge of the holy. He easily falls prey to the “woman with the attire of a harlot.” This loose woman in Proverbs is a symbol of the false religious system; she is exposed later as “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Rev. 17: 5). She through flattery and empty promises of love and peace seduces the young man, and he goes down “as an ox goes to the slaughter.” The Spirit concludes with this warning: “She has cast down many wounded; yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.”

So we see that the young man was indeed destroyed for lack of true knowledge of God. False knowledge taught by the mother church and her daughters about God will ruin us. This is the lesson of Proverbs 7. Without much extrapolation, we see that, yes, we must have His knowledge; without it we are a complete spiritual failure in our Maker’s eyes.

After attaining His knowledge of His plan and purpose, we must begin  to do what we now know to do. “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Free from what? Free from thinking that you have to sin. For that is exactly what the churches keep pounding into you.

But God has it all lined out. To grow to full maturity/perfection, to be like the apostles and prophets, He’s got a grid of requirements that we are to do. These are not works to get salvation or stay saved. No. We do what He’s asked us to do because we love and appreciate Him. Yahweh desires for us to grow to be like Him, so that we can be a channel of His love to the world. That is why we do the knowledge. We are to be “doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving [our] own selves” (James 1: 22).

The word says that we can do all things through Christ. The harlot church teaches that we will be sinners right down to the bitter end of this mortal existence. The churches teach that we can never grow to maturity/perfection in this life, that we will always be sinners.

But the apostle John did not believe that. Here’s some knowledge for us. “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin. Whosoever abides in Him sins not; whosoever sins has not seen Him, neither known Him. Little children, let no man deceive you…” (I John 3: 5-7). These have got to be the least quoted verses in the Bible.

And as for the argument that we cannot be like the early apostles, that it was just for their time, the word says that grace teaches us “to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” The “present age” is our time, too, for Christ does not change (Titus 2: 12). We know that it is possible; just look at the early apostles and their doctrine that took them to maturity/perfection. And nowhere does it say that we cannot be like them–“in this present age.”    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

It is sad, really, to see the pastors, preachers and priests go through the liturgical motions of laying on of hands when their heart is still in a state of sin. I know that many are merely trusting their denominational mentors who taught them in their seminaries and bible colleges. Being made free from sin is not in their curricula.

Many of them are sincere, which makes it even sadder to see them trapped in the false doctrines. They have the remnant’s teachings collected in the Holy Bible, but they lack a witness today.

What is the problem with their laying on of hands? By thinking it is their hands and not God’s hands, they think that their dutifulness and their soberness and their righteousness will touch God, and surely He will hear from heaven. And surely He will keep His word and heal this poor person or grant a baptism in the Holy Spirit to this one.

Yes, He will answer the prayers of His remnant, those whose sinful old natures are dead, buried, and risen with Christ to walk in a newness of life. He said that He will answer the prayers of those who have become His body now—where it is not their body with their hands, but it is now holy men [and women] of God, moved by the Holy Ghost, laying His hands on the sick.

For His remnant “is dead and [their] life now is hid with Christ in God” (Col. 3: 3). One of the remnant who communed with the risen Christ said that it is no longer I that lives, but Christ that lives inside. (Gal. 2: 20).

Somebody will say, “But I quote that verse in Galatians 2: 20.” Yes, people can quote scripture all day long, but one will know that it is real if “all things have become new” with a new heart, and a new life, a new Master. You say that you go by every word of God. But the word is clear and succinct: “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” How is it a new life in Christ if sin is still plaguing you as your slave master? “For he that sins is a slave to sin” and “no one can serve two masters” (II Cor. 5: 17; John 8: 34).

He wants repentance from sin not everlasting penance. When repentance from sin is accomplished in a person’s life, it is over and done with. That person is free, “for he that is dead is freed from sin” (Rom. 6: 7). Coming into Christ is not joining a benevolent social club; it is a renunciation of a sinful life and a dying, a burial, and a resurrection with Christ.

To the Pastors, the Shepherds of His Flock

With much respect of God’s plan to have pastors feeding the word of God to the people of His pasture, I write this. We who endeavor to feed the flock of God must get it right. We must dig deep and take no teaching for granted. For Yahweh has pronounced a woe upon the pastors of His flock who teach false doctrines and precepts (Ezk. 34; Jer. 50: 6). Prove out the above paragraphs. If you still break the Ten Commandments, turn to Him now from that path. Go to the cross once and for all and let that old sin nature expire with Him and be buried with Him, and, praise God, be raised to walk in a newness of life. For we who feed the flock of God will receive the greater condemnation at His judgement seat if we do not get it right with the Chief Shepherd. We must never forget how austere our Master is, for He will say to some very devout and well-meaning shepherds, “Depart from Me; I never knew you.” And they will say, “But, Lord, we preached in your name and did good things for you…”

I get nothing material for writing these words—no money, no recognition, no laurels. And that is fine. If I can help one person to become a manifested son or daughter of God, my reward is secure. After the smoke of tribulation clears, just to be able to see each other be a part of His Kingdom here on earth, to be able to stand side by side as members of His cadre, to witness Christ in His glorious spiritual body come forth through the portals and address His people there in Jerusalem. Wow! And in that first year of His Thousand Year Reign, as we look at each other and smile, it is enough that we can be present at that holy convocation. That is our reward. Just to look upon Him, and who knows, perhaps to speak to Him, He who made the worlds and everything in them. To see His plan and purpose come to fruition—that is enough. Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[This is an excerpt out of Chapter 46 of my new book, The Apostles’ Doctrine.]

[This is Chapter 44 of my new book The Apostles’ Doctrine, due out late this fall.]

The elect, the remnant in the last days, repented of their sins. They forsook their selfish ways. And they walked in God’s faith like the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles of old. And the elect for these latter days became particular members of the body of Christ. And they grew to become the hands of God—God’s very own hands—hands that are destined to be laid upon a sick and dying earth.

To fully grasp the depth of this the doctrine of the laying on of hands, we first must see things through God’s eyes, the way He sees them. For He sees it through the lens of His purpose, which He has embedded in the pages of the Scriptures of Truth. Knowledge of His purpose is the key that unlocks every good door that He desires us to open. Believing in His purpose casts light on the incomparable calling of the “hands of God.”

It Is All About the Creator’s Purpose

All spiritual roads lead us back to God’s purpose. For His purpose is the glue that holds the meanderings of men’s feet steadfast on the paths of righteousness. Believing in His purpose gives our lives meaning. And when life goes sideways, as it will do, we can rest in the knowledge that it is all part of the plan to fulfill His purpose.

And this is His eternal purpose: God is reproducing Himself in human beings. He is in the process of multiplying Himself and planting His Spirit of Love throughout the universe. It is the reproduction of agape love, pure and simple. And He will do it through the body of Christ—you and I—if so be that we have surrendered to His plan and purpose. Nothing else can give our lives true meaning. He is Love and His desire to reproduce Himself in and through us is incomprehensible grace. There is really nothing else of any value in heaven or earth to compare to this kind of Love. For God-Love is the seed of all things and the harvest of all things.

And God has poured it all into His Son. It is all there. The Son is our chance to shine as we have given up our desires for vain self- glory and have put on the mind of Christ, who is the Seed-Son. We are created for His pleasure, and it pleases Him to expand His nature of Love using us as the medium. This is the theme of my 2017 book The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect [1]. He is sovereign; He calls the shots. He works all things out according to His plan and purpose.

When we see things through the eyes of His purpose, then we will comprehend how such a grand Spirit of Love needs us His people, as we need Him. He needs us to be the channels of His love to those in need. And we need His agape love flowing down and through us to give our lives fulfillment and meaning. “We love God because He first loved us and gave Himself for us.” God is that Spirit of Love who needs a body of people to love through. And yes, He wants to be loved and appreciated just like we do.

Why He Created an Elect

 Consequently, to fulfill His purpose, He has created and fore-ordained certain individuals, who are predestined to respond fully to the calling and election He has placed on them. He has left nothing to chance. He will make it happen. He cannot fail. If He has called and chosen you, you will respond, even when it looks to natural man’s eyes like you are resisting Him, for your names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. It is a done deal; we just have to be Hit witness through acting on knowledge of His plan.

He calls these people His elect, His chosen ones, His remnant. They are alive today, but dead to themselves, and the new life inside their hearts is the life of Christ reproduced again, a brilliant seedling bursting through the sullen earth, growing and living by the faith of the Son of God (Rom. 8: 18-33; II Cor. 3: 18; Col. 1: 27).

The Creator has given to His chosen ones the heart and ability to see these things of which we speak—to realize that they are His corporate body, His literal torso, legs, arms, and His hands. For He needs hands to show mercy and love to those entering into His Kingdom. He needs hands to bless and guide others out of the pervading darkness. Without hands it is difficult to lay foundations to physical as well as spiritual buildings—skills needed during the reconstruction of this world after Great Tribulation and His return to His throne.

When we begin to see things through God’s eyes, we will see that we, the body of Christ, hold a special place in the King’s heart. For He will choose certain members of His body to be His hands, chosen for a special calling. For He will place His hands upon people to heal them and bless them, much the same way that Christ sent forth His disciples out two by two.

He said to them, “He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do…” (John 14: 12). How could we ever do anything greater than raising the dead? Their deeds will be greater, for they will be more numerous. Because it is the time of the harvest, thousands of the sons of God will do the same works that Christ did. For at that time their hands will be Christ’s hands. They will do the acts of Christ because Christ’s Spirit will be fully formed in them.

It is through this promise of the “manifestation of the sons of God” that the purpose of God will be fulfilled (Rom. 8: 19). His Life, Love and Essence will be multiplied, for He will have reproduced Himself in His elect for the last days. They will come right on time. That time is now.

Thousands of His elect will lay the “hands of God” on the peoples of this world, and by the Spirit of Christ within them, they will heal the nations as they herald the coming of the Kingdom of God. God will lay His hands on this sick world, and He will heal it on an international level.      Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[1] A trade paperback copy of The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect is available—free with free shipping. Just send your mailing address in the USA to wayneman5@hotmail.com  Please mention the book by name.