Tag Archives: Spirit of truth

November 23, 2024 · 10:17 am

Guarding the Logos

As Christians, we have feelings for Christ. We see His love for us, and it touches our hearts. But do we love Him the way He desires us to? Let us learn from the Master Teacher how to love Him more deeply.

Christ said, “If a man love Me, he will keep my words” (John 14:23). Let’s dive a bit deeper. Let’s focus on the words “keep” and “words.”

“Keep” is translated from the Greek word that means “to guard from attacks.” The word “words” is translated from the word logos. This is the same “logos” used in the famous verse of John 1:1. “In the beginning was the Logos…and the Logos was God.” The logos is the mind of Christ. It is His thoughts and words of His purpose and plan.

Therefore, Christ is saying, If a man loves Me, he will guard the logos; he will guard the Word, the mind of Christ, from any assaults from the enemy. He will stand guard against any attack on His thoughts and His mind. Guarding the logos means not allowing the enemy to sully His purpose and plan.

Starting with Our Own Minds

And it starts with us. First, we must start by guarding our own minds from the attacks of the devil. This entails putting on the “whole armor of God.” We, with the Spirit’s help, must start “casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (II Cor. 10:5). This is guarding the Logos.

Since we are to have the same mind of Christ, we are to guard His thoughts that are developing within our own mind. We do this through purging and pruning away old false concepts about Him. We then begin to share the truth by the Holy Spirit. This truth is found in His thoughts concerning His kingdom.

The mind of Christ is the Logos. It is the whole plan and purpose of God. We are to guard this truth, this Logos, in our own minds and then protect it as we grow spiritually for His sake. He said, “If a man loves Me, he will keep [guard] my words [logos]…” He is saying, The person who loves Me will watch, guard and protect the Logos. He will stand watch and guard the mind of Christ. By this, we show Him our belief and dedication to His cause. This is us abiding in Him.

When we guard the Logos, then something wonderful happens. Christ says, “And My Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him” (Jn 14:23). This is God abiding in us.

First, it is us abiding in Him. This opens the door to Him abiding in us. Again, this glorious presence happens when Christ sees us guarding His logos, when He sees us “keep His words.”     

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[If you have read this article to the end, you must like the content. Please hit the like button; I’d like to know how many have read these words of truth. Yes, the Spirit is taking us into deeper living water. He did say that the Spirit of truth “will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). This essay will soon become a chapter in the new book that we are working on, called The Abiding. I hope you enjoyed the preview. Meanwhile, get all crazy and make a comment or send me an email. Tell me what you think about it. Ask a question. Start a dialogue. I would love to know better the “few there be to find” life (Mat. 7:14).]

4 Comments

Filed under abide, armour of God, belief, Christ, eternal life, eternal purpose, glorification, God's desire, immortality, kingdom of God, Spirit of God, spiritual growth, truth, Word

Tagged as , , , , , ,

April 23, 2016 · 4:45 pm

“Walking in the Spirit”…of Truth

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Masses and Their Teachers Are Asleep

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Walking in the Spirit

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 Comments

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

Tagged as , ,

July 25, 2015 · 6:46 pm

Christian Growth–Additions to the Faith (Part Two)

Those of us who believe in the God of the Holy Bible have faith that He created the millions of galaxies and has a guiding hand in His creation. He made us and knows us and has instituted His plan and purpose for us and this earth. We have to believe that much.

Is it then a stretch for us to believe that this all-powerful Supreme Being has left us the map to find the treasures of His Spirit which is to grow up in our hearts? Christ is the truth, and now, if we are His, then His Spirit of truth is in us. Are not then the scriptures of truth, the Holy Bible, a book of written clues to help us find the treasures of His grace, mercy, and pleasure? He did say, Seek and ye shall find. So we have to believe that the Creator God is powerful enough to make sure some of His created human beings would preserve for us in our day a book that contains God’s treasure map.

For the scriptures contain for posterity the clues to the ultimate desire and longing of mortal man–immortality, eternal life, everlasting life. This is the reward Christ promised His followers.

It is all there in the Bible. Why then can’t we see clearly the clues to spiritual growth? Could it be unbelief that we can grow into having the same spiritual power as the early apostles? Like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They like Peter saw that the tomb was empty, but they just did not believe that Christ was actually raised from the dead. And that unbelief blinded them so much that they did not recognize Christ Himself when He joined them on their walk. And after Christ showed Himself to them, then they believed and “their eyes were opened.” Before, “their eyes were holden that they should not know him.” And when He opened their eyes, they said, “He opened to us the scriptures” [1].

God Is the Only One that Can Open the Scriptures to Us

It is all Him, brethren. He opens the door that no man can close. And this door is the door to understanding and enlightenment as to the spiritual growth in His Kingdom. And this door that He opens is the opening of His written word that speaks of Him, the Word, the Logos.

Why are we not walking like the early apostles? It is because we have 2,000 years of false doctrines  and false concepts about Christ super-imposed on top of the initial truth. The early apostles literally saw Christ in action. He made them to be solid in their belief, for He needed witnesses to write the clues down that we would be pondering in our era.

They had the pure doctrines of Christ after He showed Himself after the resurrection. But now we have the traditions of men. That is why we do not grow very much. The mud of man’s traditions have been smeared on the eyes of the sheep of His pasture. And now He is crying to His people, Come home to Me! Leave your old concepts about Me behind. Cut off the traditions of men from your thinking. Repent of your sins, once and for all, and return to Me, and I will show you the new and living way.

Yes, what if the clues to the mysteries of spiritual growth are clearly given to us in the scriptures, and we have but to listen with fresh ears and hungry believing hearts the new thing that God wants to teach us.

For, brethren, there is so much more than what churchianity is teaching us. Let me put this in all capital letters. I hardly ever do this, but what I am about to write is so important. IF THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUR INFORMATION ABOUT GOD IS IN ERROR, THEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH IS NOT SPEAKING THROUGH THEM TO YOU.

That is why our Savior says for us to “prove all things.” Test everything. Examine all things. All things includes also what you think to be false. Prove it out from the scriptures, asking the Spirit of truth’s guidance. Seek and you will find the answers as to what is true and what is false. Getting this right is huge, and every one must bear their own burden of proof. And remember what the apostle John wrote to us: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many  false prophets are gone out into the world.” Test the teachings, for there are many false teachers out there (I Thes. 5: 21; I John 4: 1).

Once the old leaven teachings about Christ are purged out of our minds, then we are ready to add to His faith that “was once delivered to the saints.”  For it is His faith now in us. Seven attributes of His divine nature are to be added–not to just blind faithof ours in something about Christ. But added to His faith that was delivered to us. For there is only one faith, not many (II Peter 1).

Adding more of His divine nature is what spiritual growth is all about. But we must get rid of the false concepts before the Spirit of truth, which is God Himself, will come to take up His abode in us more fully. Which is the definition of real spiritual growth [2].        Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

1. Luke 24: 13-32

2. For more on this, check out these articles: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/category/false-prophets/

[For more on the additions, check out these articles: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/category/additions-to-our-faith/ ]

5 Comments

Filed under additions to our faith, apostles' doctrine, belief, children of God, eternal purpose, false doctrines, false prophets, false teachers, immortality, old leaven, spiritual growth, Spiritual Life Cycle

Tagged as , , , , ,

June 15, 2013 · 3:23 pm

First Step in Becoming a Son or Daughter of God

A seeker once asked the Seer, “How do you get into the family of God?  I see what you mean about respecting God’s awesome power and sovereignty.  At least a little.  But what do I have to do in order to get involved in this sonship the Bible keeps on talking about?”

“The first thing is to feel in you inner being, in your heart, that you need to change.  Unless  a person admits that he is not living right before this awesome Creator God, that person cannot get closer to God.  God has a written law, handed down by the Son of God himself to the prophet Moses.  It is called the Ten Commandments.  It was in effect from the creation of man and woman.  It was in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve.  They are called the commandments of righteousness.  And everyone has broken them.

“God laid down the law: You shall have no other gods before me [especially ourselves].  You shall not make for yourself a graven image and bow down to it and serve it.  You shall not lift up the name of God [Yahweh] falsely.  Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Honor your father and mother.  You shall not murder, nor commit adultery, nor steal.  You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.  You shall not covet or desire for yourself anything that belongs to your neighbor.

“Those are the commandments as found in Exodus 20.  Mankind, led by their old nature, breaks them.  Many people who claim to know the Bible say that the law was done away with.  But the Savior Jesus (Yahshua) said in Matthew 5: 17, ‘Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets.  I have come…to fulfill them.’

“And the way He fulfills the law is giving us His Spirit.  But this only comes after we identify our old sinful self on the cross with the dying Savior, and let our old sinning heart die with Christ.  This is repentance from sin.  Then we must believe that when Christ resurrected from the grave, we, too, were raised from the dead–to walk now in a sinless existence–through belief that His Spirit is now leading and guiding us in this new life in Christ.  This is faith toward God, the second of the apostles’ doctrines.

“And it is with these two extremely important and fundamental truths that a new son or daughter of God is born–born of the Spirit.  But a person must have a need.  God knows His own; He is aware who is written in the book of life, and He will help them and favor them (grace) and lead them into these truths.

“But this is only the first step in the growth to becoming His son or daughter.  For this is the foundation that must be built upon with more of His truth and Spirit.  For never forget this one thing: Salvation is just the first step in God’s growth cycle.  He wants us to mature into full grown fruit-bearing capability as His ruling cadre in His kingdom during the 1,000 year reign!  Go and learn what that means.  Seek God for it.  Study, dig deep, for the kingdom’s treasures are much greater that gold and precious diamonds and jewels.

“Ask Him to send a true teacher who will help you get started.  And then, as you get stronger and more mature, you will have no need that any man should teach you, for you will have the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, leading you into all truth” (John 14: 16-26).

3 Comments

Filed under apostles' doctrine, belief, death of self, elect, faith, kingdom of God, repentance, sons and daughters of God

Tagged as , ,