Angels and the Holy Spirit

“Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:14)

Angels have an important role in helping the Church extend the Kingdom of God.  They have many functions like bringing God’s protection and delivering God’s messages, but the function we hear little about is their ability to carry the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  If we can discern the working of the Holy Spirit through angels, we can exercise our faith to receive more of God help through them.

The way the Holy Spirit works through angels is like the way He works through believers, but in a deeper way.  “For we know in part and we prophesy in part.  But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.” (1Cor. 13:9,10).  Angels do not have the limitations we have of dwelling in a physical body; they are spirit beings and so can respond more easily to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. 

The important thing to realize is that the gifts of the Spirit release the grace of God through us to others.  Likewise, Angels are created in such a way that they can serve as vessels of God’s grace.   A good example of this is found in the Book of Exodus.  “Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.  Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious before him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in Him.” (Ex. 23:20,21 NASB).  You will notice that in this translation they do not capitalize the word “angel” and its pronouns, whereas some other translations do.  This is because many believe that this angel is a theophany, which the Encyclopedia Britannica describes as “a manifestation of God in sensible form”.  In other words, they see this not as an angel, but as God Himself taking on the form of an angel.  I like to think of it as God manifesting Himself through an angel, rather than actually being the Angel.  There are different classes of angels and the type that God manifested Himself through in the burning bush or the pillar of fire may be one of the higher classes.   

Is it so difficult to believe that God can manifest Himself through angels?  That does not make the angel a form of God, but rather a vessel of God.  When the angel speaks for God in the first person, he is merely prophesying.  I believe this is what John encountered on the Isle of Patmos.  The experience was so profound that he even “fell down to worship at the feet of the angel” who showed him those things. (Rev. 22:8).  I think that John knew better than to worship angels so the manifestation of God through the angel must have been so powerful that he thought God was present there Himself.  In the verse just before this we hear the Lord say, “Behold, I am coming quickly!  Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” (Rev. 22:7).  I believe the Lord was speaking prophetically through the angel, which led to John’s response.

It is clear from the angel’s response to John that we can also receive angelic visitations.  “See that you do not do that.  For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book.  Worship God.” (Rev. 22:9).  Angels are sent to help us, so we must receive their service as from God Himself, but we must discern between the messenger and the Sender.  Please note that I am not suggesting we command these angels, just that we prayerfully receive their ministry.  They come to us on assignment from the Father with special missions.  If you read the biographical accounts of those who have been mightily used by the Lord, you will often read about the supernatural activity of angels in their ministry. 

For me, this is about working with God.  We are entering the days of a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  If we want to participate in what God is doing, we must understand how He works.  The Holy Spirit executes the Word of the Lord by working through yielded vessels.  As believers, we are always being exhorted to yield our lives to God for His service, but that is not the case with angels.  They do not hesitate to yield to Him as His messengers of power.  If we can understand that God works through anointed vessels, both human and angelic, we can exercise our faith for more of what God wants to do.

Have you ever been in a meeting where someone witnesses the presence of an angel?  We respond with joyful amazement, but God is looking for a deeper response.  When He reveals the presence of angels, it is to encourage us to work with them.  Why else would the Holy Spirit reveal their presence?  For example, I was once a member of a church where someone discerned the presence of an angel with a healing anointing.  This church was known in the city as a ministry where physical healing miracles often occurred.

The discerning of spirits allows some to see the angelic realm, but it is not necessary to “see” angels to know they are present.  My ability to discern the presence of angels is not visual, it is intuitive.  I do not, however, wait for this discernment before exercising my faith.  I believe that God is always wanting to do much more than we can think or imagine (Eph. 3:20), so in meetings I exercise my faith for God to release His angels among us.  The anointing usually falls upon the meeting before I can discern their presence.  I am not looking for angels; I am looking for the work of the Holy Spirit through them and through us. 

As we see the activity of angels increase among us, it is important not to focus on them.  We must keep our eyes on the Lord, allowing Him to work through us, and to send His angels to help us.  The Scriptures are full of examples where God’s help came through them.  “Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw.  And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2Ki. 6:17).

Eastern Ways

“For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with eastern ways.” (Is. 2:6)

Since my early Christian Walk, I have been very sensitive to the influence of eastern religions in our culture, probably because I needed deliverance from it.  I came to the Lord as a young man experimenting with drugs and new ideas. As a new believer,  I had friends who were delving into eastern religions, and I wanted to bring to them the truth.  The problem, however, was that the enemy still had some influence over my thoughts.  I understand now that I needed cleansing in the spirit of my mind.  Through instruction, prayer, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, I was gradually set free. 

Because of the things I suffered in those early days, I became increasingly sensitive to the anti-Christian nature of these eastern religious ideas.  What surprised me then was that other Christians around me, even some of my leaders, were not.  One of them at the time was reading a popular book which appeared to be about our potential as humans to achieve great things, but its real message was that this power was already in us and we only needed to realize it; we did not need a “Teacher” to enable us to fly.  The idea that we can achieve great things is not wrong, but the spirit in which we do it is critical.  We can do things in love, or we can do them through human pride.  Without Christ setting us free from our old nature, we will always do things from selfish motives. 

When I went back to Toronto to visit the group that had nurtured me in the first year of my new life in Christ, the leader took me to see the original Star Wars movie.  It was supposed to be about the battle between good and evil, but I quickly saw its underlying message of eastern mysticism.  The lead character was learning to rely on “The Force” to defeat evil.  We can say that this is like our dependence on the Holy Spirit, but actually it was about “martial arts”, which are an expression of Buddhism.  There is no life force outside of God, but not all created life is in subjection to God.  The mystery of the ages is that God is bringing all things back into submission to Christ.  “Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.” (Eph. 1:9,10). 

Not all things are as they appear.  There is a great deal of interaction between the natural world and the spiritual world that we do not realize by observation.  We only know it by spiritual discernment.  What practisers of eastern mysticism do not realize is that coming into union with a “mystical force” is coming under the influence of a spirit being.  These spirits were created by God, but they took what is His and submitted it to Lucifer in the Fall.  I have seen the evidence of this while praying for deliverance over people.  One of the strongest expressions of this was when we prayed for a new believer who had trained to work as a professional kick boxer.  During the prayer session, he manifested the motions of a serpent.  Christ was able to bring him freedom, hallelujah!  Our culture has tried to de-spiritualize practices like karate and yoga, but does that really remove the influence of the spirit behind them?  Maybe I am over-cautious, but I would rather do without something than to unwittingly come under the influence of something evil.

One common area that Christians come under the influence of eastern mysticism is in matters of health.  The claims of alternative medicines are often based on personal testimonies, and sometimes even supported by scientific evidence.  Even if something works, however, does that make it right?  For me, the issue is always, “What is the spirit behind this?”  If the practice involves bringing the body in line with some “life force” of the universe, it is rooted in eastern mysticism.  Examples of this are acupuncture and reflexology.  Sometimes they speak of it as coming into balance with the yin and the yang, which is the basis of Chinese superstitions.  The spirit behind the yin and the yang is divination.

In the home I grew up in, there was a divination ball.  I do not remember where it came from, but I remember that in my ignorance I tried it to see if it worked.  I wish I could say that this happened before I received salvation, but I cannot.  It could be that I was drawn to it because there was already a stronghold in my mind, I do not know.  But one thing I know is that shortly after doing this, I was shown by the Lord that I was under the influence of a divination spirit.  The conviction was so strong that I immediately began to fast and pray for deliverance.  By the second or third day, I was free!

Even as I write this message, I know that many will disagree with me.  As a pastor I was able to help some people cleanse themselves from these influences, but I also witnessed a family leave the church because of it.  Knowing that these things can be controversial does not stop me from sharing its truth.  When God spoke through Isaiah about the nation practicing eastern ways, they did not repent, and the result was further moral decline and eventually they were deported to Babylon.  There are consequences to submitting to these influences.  At the very least, they will limit the grace of God in our lives.  “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword” (Isa. 1:19,20). 

I fear that the open door the church has given to the enemy in this area may have resulted in an increase in false doctrines.  We cannot ignore the spiritual principle that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1Cor. 5:6).  Instead, we should “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2Cor. 7:1).

Releasing The Spirit

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (Jn. 7:38 NKJV)

Releasing the river of life through our lives is an important way to extend the Kingdom of God.  There are times that I do this purposefully in prayer and worship.  When Jesus spoke these words, He was talking about the Holy Spirit who would be given to believers on the Day of Pentecost.  Lately I have been practicing releasing the Holy Spirit into my life the same way that I would release the river of life.  When I do this, I am attempting to walk “in” the Holy Spirit as we are exhorted to do in the Scriptures.  “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” (Gal. 5:25 NASB).  There is a difference between living by the Spirit and walking by the Spirit.  Living by the Spirit refers to our new life in Christ.  We have been born again by the Spirit and have a new spiritual life in Christ.  To walk in the Spirit is to express this new creation life in our daily lives. 

The process of walking in the Spirit is essentially a posture of the heart maintained by faith and right thinking.  First, it is a position that we assume in our hearts by faith, in submission to Christ.  Because we have believed the gospel, the Holy Spirit lives inside of us.  To walk in the Spirit, we must recognize His presence and submit to Him as Lord.  We can develop a relationship with the Holy Spirit, but it is different than with the Father and the Son.  The three Persons of the Trinity have different personalities and different functions.  For example, the Father is the provider, the Son is the administrator, and the Spirit is the enabler.  There are more aspects to their roles but to have a relationship with each One, we need to understand their roles.  I talk to the Holy Spirit, but I only ask Him for help within what I understand to be His role.  For example, my prayers are directed to the Father, in the name of Jesus, but I pray with the help of the Holy Spirit.  I consciously lean on Him to help me to pray according to the will of the Father. 

There are many ways that we can walk in the Holy Spirit.  We can ask Him for help to worship.  I don’t know what it is like for others, but for me, when the anointing comes upon my worship, even my voice sounds different.  We can also rely on the Holy Spirit to minister, not just with spiritual gifts, but also with power.  To take authority in the name of Jesus is not a formula, it is a prophetic act.  When I do this, I release the Spirit in the words I command.  When I say I release the Spirit, I do not mean that I command the Holy Spirit; rather, I consciously believe He goes with my words to perform them.  This is how the Trinity works.  When God created the heavens and the earth, the Father decided what would be; the Son spoke it into existence; and the Spirit brooded over creation to bring God’s words to pass.  (See Gen. 1:1 and Jn. 1:1-3.)

Another practice that helps me to walk in the Spirit is the way I think.  This has to do with visualizing myself walking “in” the Holy Spirit.  When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit comes “upon” us (Acts 1:8), which is different from salvation when He come “in” us (Jn. 14:17).  When I minister under the anointing, I sense the Spirit “upon” me.  The way I think and pray as I minister is I try to see myself “in” Christ as He minister through me.  Recently, I have begun to practice this same thinking for “walking in the Spirit”.  In my time of devotions, I recognize the Holy Spirit’s presence inside me; then I consciously release Him into my life.  Again, I am not commanding the Holy Spirit, I am just opening my soul to Him, in the same way that I can open my heart to the Father and the Son for fellowship (Rev. 3:20).  I then try to see myself “in” Him as He surrounds me, and we walk together in my daily life.  To maintain this conscious practice of the presence of the Holy Spirit requires a constant prayerful attitude (1Thess. 5:17).

Walking in the Spirit this way may appear simple, but it is not so easy in practice.  It requires faith and surrender.  The hardest part is to surrender.  When I decide to release the Holy Spirit to take over my soul, I “feel” the resistance of my flesh.  In faith, I take a position of victory which is based on what God says, rather than on how I feel.  By faith, I consider myself dead to the power of sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:11).  My spirit is quite willing to obey the Lord, even if my flesh resists it (Matt. 26:41).  Identifying with the death and resurrection of Christ gives me the victory.  “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20).  I like how the NKJV and the NASB say “I live by faith in the Son of God.”

To release the Spirit, I must position myself submissively in Him, prayerfully “see” myself walking in Him, and maintain this position with an attitude of faith.  The benefit of walking with the Holy Spirit this way is the immediacy of His help.  He is ever-present and always available to help.  I only need to acknowledge Him and request His help.  Not only does He help inspire my daily activities, but He also directs my prayers, and He helps me to grow in the fruit of the Spirit.  As in any relationship, if I resist or grieve Him in any way, I must be quick to repent and commit again to obedience by faith. 

Dividing Soul and Spirit Part II

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2Cor. 10:4,5)

This verse tells us that strongholds of the enemy are “thoughts”.  They are “arguments” that chip away at the pillars of truth that help support sound doctrine.  When someone gives in to these false teachings, they become more and more focussed on those “arguments”.  The power behind these teachings drives them to convince themselves and others that they are right.  They begin to repeat the same isolated verses as “arguments” and change the meaning of biblical words that do not agree with these “arguments”.  They are not “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2Tim. 2:15). 

I am convinced that when true believers go into error, the Lord works to bringing them back, but if they refuse, they will experience the discipline of judgment (1Cor. 11:32).  There are false teachers who are not true believers.  They belong to the enemy, and for them judgment is delayed because the Lord judges those that are His.  My desire for true believers in error is that “God perhaps will give them repentance, so that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” (2Tim. 2:25,26). 

Before we go further with this message, I would ask that you would take a moment to pray.  Ask the Lord to guard your heart and mind against pride.  If you have given in to a false teaching, pride will keep you from receiving the truth that will set you free.

The doctrine I started to address in my last article is the message of “Inclusion”.  It teaches that all of mankind was included in Christ in His death, so everyone is already saved from sin and death.  Doctrines like this have the appeal of emphasizing the kindness and goodness of God.  I agree that God is good, but I also know that He is just.  Christ has paid the ransom for our freedom from sin and death, but He has not removed our freedom to choose.  The problem some have with this is it seems unfair because people are blinded by sin.  There are foundational principles of the Gospel like repentance from dead works, faith toward God, and eternal judgment (Heb. 6:1,2).  We are exhorted by the writer of Hebrews to move on from these foundational truths, but that does not mean we reject them.  They provide a firm foundation for other truth.

I agree that the traditional doctrine of heaven and hell seems unfair but rather than reject the foundational principles of the Gospel, we should trust God to be both loving and just.  I personally am not convinced that after this earthly journey we live eternally with God, or we face eternal punishment in hell.  Hell, or Sheol, is the keeping place of the dead; it is not the eternal lake of fire.  At the final judgment, those who reject Christ will be cast into the eternal lake of fire.  Death and Hell themselves will be cast into that lake of fire.  What happens between this life and the final judgment is up to God. 

The Apostle Peter tells us that Christ “went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah” (1Pe. 3:19,20). “The gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” (1Pe. 4:6).  The understanding Peter had about this is still a mystery to us.  For example, why was the gospel only preached to those who died before the flood?  It seems to imply that there was a dramatic change in creation at the flood which also affected where spirits are kept after death.  Note also that Christ preached to the spirits of dead men, not to their souls.  If they accepted the message, would only their spirit be saved?  One thing is clear, if Christ preached to them it implies that their forgiveness was not automatic; they had to accept the message.  It also implies that if they chose to reject the mercy of God, they would stay in their prison until the final judgment.

This doctrine of “Inclusion” is closely related to the hyper-grace doctrine.  That false doctrine takes aim at the religious spirit which has become so much a part of the Christian experience.    We must resist every influence of a religious spirit, but this also should not be at the expense of truth.  The challenge we face when understanding salvation “by grace through faith” is the part that obedience plays.  We are justified before God by faith (Rom. 5:1); we do not have to work for it.  Why then does Scripture also say, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12)?  Like a seed that sprouts it must continue to grow, but because it is spiritual, it must still be “by grace through faith”.  Romans Chapter 5 says that since we are justified by faith, we have access to grace.  We need to abide in this grace to complete the process of salvation.  When we are justified, our spirit is saved.  When we walk in grace, our soul is sanctified through obedience of the truth (1Pe. 1:22).  This is not obedience by our own power, it is God who works in us “both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:13).   

Sanctification of the soul is a process.  It is not instantaneous like justification.  We become conformed to the Word of God through repentance and faith.  After obtaining salvation, we must not turn back to works of religion to complete our sanctification.  We obey the commandment of love by grace through faith (Gal. 5:6).  Our faith must be in the finished work of Christ.  We must live as dead to sin and alive to God in Christ (Rom. 6:11).  As we allow Christ to live in us by His Spirit, we bear the fruit of the Spirit.

The difference between walking in the Spirit and living by religion is freedom.  With freedom comes responsibility, and with that comes accountability.  A basic weakness in man is to shy away from responsibility because of accountability.  We are afraid to fail.  By grace, however, we can overcome fear and do what pleases God.

Dividing Soul and Spirit

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12)

Discerning between soul and spirit is not easily accomplished.  It is compared to the separation of joints and marrow and the discerning of thoughts and intents in the heart.  This is not too difficult, however, for the Word of God.  I believe one of the challenges in understanding our redemption is the lack of distinguishing between soul and spirit.

Lately, I have been hearing some concepts of redemption that are alarming to me.  What makes them threatening is that they are coming from people who love God and have a clear calling on their lives.  As I mentioned in my last article, we cannot walk away from believers just because they have different views than us.  We are a family.  Even so, that does not mean we cannot have a conversation about these disagreements.  I am referring to the doctrine of Inclusion. 

The idea that all of mankind is included in God is not a new concept; it is a basic doctrine in Buddhism.  It is based on the concept that God is everything and we are part of Him because we are part of the universe.  If we already exist in God, we do not need to get saved, we only need to become aware of our oneness with God.  The pursuit of spirituality, then, becomes not holiness or redemption, but enlightenment.  Even though there is a big difference between the Buddhist concept of God and the Christian belief, what happens if we try to blend their different ideologies?  The result is a syncretism which accepts all religions as different expressions of the same truth.  

The Scriptures are clear that God is “in” everything, but can we say that He “is” everything?  There is a passage in the Bible that says something close to this, but we must be careful to interpret it with other Scriptures.  “Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” (1Cor. 15:28).  This verse does not say that God already “is” all in all, but that He “may be” (i.e. become) all in all.  Looking at the context of this verse, we see that it is referring to authority.  God is bringing all things into subjection to Christ, who is Himself in subjection to the Father.  Other passages referring to this are Ephesians 1:7-10 and Hebrews 2:5-9.

The basic belief of Inclusion is that when Christ died on the cross, He placed all of mankind in Himself, so we were all crucified with Him.  The Evangelical belief, however, is that when Christ died on the cross, He took our sins upon Himself.  We are not united with Him in His death and resurrection until we are baptized into the Body of Christ by the Spirit (1Cor. 12:13).   If all of mankind is included in Christ without the need for repentance and faith, then there is no longer any accountability for sin.  If this is the case, then there is no judgment, and thus no need for mercy.  The spirit behind the Buddhist concept of inclusion is antichristian in nature. 

Just because believers are becoming entangled in these doctrines does not mean that they have departed from the faith.  It is a sign that there is something lacking in traditional Evangelical doctrines.  As we enter the end-times, many Christians are experiencing heavenly encounters.  In these visions, they are seeing things which are shaking their traditional belief systems.  Is it possible that more people go to heaven than we originally believed?  I believer the problem with the traditional view of heaven and hell is the lack of dividing between soul and spirit.  If we take Scriptures and apply them to the whole of man without distinction between body, soul, and spirit, we risk misapplying them. 

A basic evangelical doctrine is that the soul is eternal and will either live with God or be separated from God eternally.  Is the soul eternal because of the spirit?  Is it possible that the soul, like the body, has no life without the spirit (Jas. 2:26)?  Does the spirit of man stay connected to the soul forever?  God can distinguish between soul and spirit, but does He separate them?  If He does, a person could be saved in spirit, even though suffering the loss of body and soul.  In Ecclesiastes 11:7 we read that the body returns to dust and the spirit returns to God.  What this verse says about the spirit is interesting, but it does not mention the soul, so it prevents us from drawing conclusions.

These are concepts that concern mankind in general, but what about for believers? Does salvation mean that because the spirit has eternal life in Christ, the soul and body do also?  In the book of James, we read that even a believer’s soul can die if they return to their sins.  “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.” (Jas. 5:19,20).  Can a believers’ spirit be saved but not the soul?  The Apostle Paul seemed to imply that when he said he was delivering someone to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that their spirit may be saved (1Cor. 5:5). 

There is another verse that is used to justify inclusion.  “To this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in God who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.” (1Tim. 4:10).  This verse seems to imply that there are different degrees of salvation, which would make sense if we divide the soul from the spirit, but we cannot conclude this from one verse alone.  It could also be implying that salvation is available to all men, while it is received by those who believe.  In any case, the gospel must be preached, and men must receive the message before it is applied to them.

It is not wrong to ask questions but what is important is that we “rightly divide” the Word of God as we ponder these questions.  We cannot base our conclusions solely on one aspect of God’s nature, like His kindness.  God is love, but He is also just.  Without justice, we cannot have a kingdom of joy and peace.

The Lord’s Reward

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:2)

What was the joy set before the Lord as a reward for enduring the cross?  Was it to sit at the right hand of God in glory?  He already had that before coming to the earth so it must be something else.  I believe it was the joy of seeing the redemption of mankind, and the restoration of His creation.  In love, He would lay down His life for His friends (Jn. 15:13).  For creation, it was a return to what God had originally created, but for mankind, it was more.  The Father was putting the Second Adam to sleep so He could make a helper suitable for Him (Gen. 4:18-23).  From redeemed man He was going to make a Bride for His Son (Eph. 5:25).  The Lord has been patiently waiting for His reward.  He will receive it at the marriage celebration when He presents to Himself a Bride that has made herself ready (Rev. 19:7). 

How important is it to you that the Lord receives His reward?  Jesus is always concerned about His joy being fulfilled in us (Jn. 15:11; 17:13).  Should we not be concerned about Him receiving His reward?  If we make ourselves ready, both individually and corporately, this will come to pass.  Certainly, maturing in the fruit of the Spirit is part of our preparation but there is more.  We will never reach full maturity or fulfill our destiny unless we are also functioning as properly joined members of His Body (Eph. 4:16).  We must realize that we are not independent of one another.  As I have shared in other articles, we are living stones being built together into a spiritual house for God (1Pe. 2:5).  Jesus prayed on earth that we would be one with each other, with Him, and with the Father (Jn. 17:20,21).  In the Spirit, we have been joined together as one body in Christ.  We are in God and He is in us, both individually and corporately.  We must mature in this corporate unity before we can be a mature Bride.

It is not an easy thing for us to mature in unity.  Most of us probably do not even know what it means, or we would not be doing some of the things we do.  It requires a change in mindset about our identity.  We are individuals, but we are not independent.  “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another” (Rom. 12:5).  We need to change our mindset from an independent identity to a corporate identity.  Even how we view spiritual maturity should change.  We hear a lot about becoming mature sons of God, but personally I do not believe that should be our main goal.  Gifts were given to every believer to edify the Body “till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph. 4:14).  Please note that “a perfect man” is singular.  God views the goal of maturity as believers walking in love, as one man.

I used to think that when the Church reaches maturity, we will have a unity of knowledge, but this passage in Ephesians is referring to a unity of “the knowledge of the Son of God”.  We are to grow in our knowledge of God, not in our knowledge of doctrines.  We are to work at building up the body of Christ in love.  To separate from other believers because of doctrine is not love.  A family is still a family, even if the members think differently.  Walking in unity means that even if we have different views, we can agree to walk together to serve God (Amos 3:3). 

It takes effort to accept believers who think differently than us, but what if God has given them something that we need?  What has helped me to listen to teachers who so not see everything the way I do is to remember that “we know in part and we prophesy in part” (1Cor. 13:9).  If we only see in part, then from where do we get the other parts?  We all want to have a full picture of things, but God only gives each of us a portion of it.  We usually make up the rest from what we “think” is correct, which usually includes some human traditions. When I listen to someone’s teaching, I try to discern what God is saying through that person, but I also try to distinguish it from what they may have added to it from their own understanding.  Because they say something I cannot agree with does not give me the right to walk away from them.  I accept them as members of God’s family, and I try to see what Christ is doing in them.

There is a place for honest conversations about the things we disagree in, but these can only occur when we make a commitment to walk love. Love is the bond that keeps us together (Col. 3:14).  Too often, we put others in theological boxes which we would not want to be placed in ourselves.  Unless a teaching is a “destructive heresy”, we should not focus on confronting it (2Pe. 2:1).  If we focus on what is true, the things that are not true will fade away. 

There is a maturity and a unity of the Spirit that we must contend for if we are to become the Lord’s reward.  In a previous article (The Lord’s Search) I shared how the Lord is still searching for a body of believers who will stand in the gap as one man to intercede for the land (Ezek. 22:30).  He is looking for us to fulfill our priestly ministry with one heart, one mind, and one voice.

Union and Communion

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”  (2Cor. 13:14)

One of the writings that greatly influenced me early in my Christian life was the book by Hudson Taylor, Union and Communion.  It taught me the importance of establishing a walk of unbroken communion with our Lord.  Lately I have been learning about meditating on our union with God as a means of experiencing His presence.  Prior to this, my practice of meditation had been to prayerfully ponder the Word of the Lord according to Joshua 1:8 and Psalm One.  As I have been learning more about meditation, the Lord has brought me back to those initial experiences of communion with Him.  It is like returning to my first love, but now with greater understanding and maturity.

The verse above provides a good summary of the key functions of the Trinity.  I like this verse because it emphasizes the role of Holy Spirit in our communion with God.  It is through the Spirit that we have fellowship with the Father and the Son (1Jn. 1:3).   Lately, gaining a better understanding of our union with God has been an earnest request of my heart.  I want to know experientially what Jesus meant when He prayed, “that they all may be one, as You, Father are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (Jn. 17:21).  Here are some of the things the Lord has been teaching me.

The first thing the Lord reminded me of when I asked this question was that the Church is the mystical body of Christ.  This is a picture of our union with one another, but it also explains our union with God.  Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One.  If we are His Body, and He is the head, we become the means of His expression to all creation.   Jesus Christ is the brightness of God’s glory, the expressed image of His person (Heb. 1:3).  As members of His body, we likewise should express the glory and person of God.  The Church is different than the rest of creation in this regard.  “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Ps. 19:1).  We are different because we do not just declare His glory, it is expressed “through” us.

The description of the Church as the Bride of Christ also illustrates the way God’s glory is supposed to come forth from us.  “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God.  Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.” (Rev. 21:10,11).  The Bride of Christ “has the glory of God”; she does not just “reflect” the glory.  She “has” it because God dwells in her.  This description of the Bride is the condition of the Church after she has come to maturity.  What is further needed for the Bride to be made ready? (Rev. 19:7; 21:2).

When I commune with God, I begin by focusing on the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.  As I become aware of His presence, I begin to fellowship with the Father and the Son because they also are present in the Holy Spirit.  “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” (Jn. 14:23).  We can individually experience the presence of God.  This is the first step in experiencing the union that Jesus prayed for.

Another description of the Church is that she is the house of God.  “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1Pe. 2:5).  We know that God dwells in each believer, but this verse is speaking of a corporate house, the New Jerusalem.  It is a spiritual house made up of living stones; each one in communion with God.  Then, each stone is properly fitted together into the house that God is building.  The prayer that Jesus prayed for our unity with God began with a prayer for us to be in unity with each other. (Jn. 17:21).  True unity of the Church, I believe, will only come after we are individually experiencing our union with God in the Spirit.  A religious spirit will not bring about unity in the Church; only the Spirit of God can do that. 

The main Scripture I use in my meditation for communion is: “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” (1Cor. 6:17).  To me this means that the Holy Spirit and my spirit live together in the same body.  We are one in the same sense that a man and a woman become one flesh through marriage.  I can, at anytime, turn inward to fellowship with the Holy Spirit.  There is much teaching these days about experiencing the realms of the Kingdom while still in our physical bodies.  This is what the Celtic saints did, and they greatly influenced their world as a result.  The Apostle John had a heavenly experience on the Isle of Patmos when he was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.” (Rev. 1:10).  If we want to walk with God in a deeper way, we must learn to be “in the Spirit”.

Another principle we can use is that of the breath.  In Genesis we read that God breathed into man the breath of life (Gen. 2:7).  The Holy Spirit is the breath of God.  As I breath in air, I activate my faith to breath in the Holy Spirit.  He already is inside of me, but when I activate my faith this way, His presence fills my soul.  “But you know Him (the Spirit of Truth), for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (Jn. 14:17). 

There are other Biblical illustrations, like the elements of the Lord’s Supper, that help us to meditate on our union with God.  What is important is not the illustration we use, but that we become entangled with Him as we wait before Him in faith and surrender.

From the Heart

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”  (Prov. 4:23)

What is the heart, and how do we function from it?  According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary, the main Hebrew word for heart is Lēb, which means the center of a thing.  For humans, this refers to the seat of our thoughts, will, and emotions.  As such, the heart appears to be a part of the soul.  The word for “soul” (nephesh) is sometimes translated as “heart”.   “For as he thinks in his heart (soul), so is he.” (Prov. 23:7).  On the other hand, Scripture sometimes speaks of it as distinct from the soul.  “And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart (Lēdāb) and sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.” (2Chron. 15:15).  Lēdāb, which is a synonym of Lēb, refers to the “inner man”.  

The heart is also distinct from the spirit.  “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Ps. 51:10).  Our spirit and the Holy Spirit are one. (1Cor. 6:17).  If we want to perceive the thoughts of the Spirit, we must listen with our heart.  “I meditate within my heart, and my spirit makes diligent search.” (Ps. 77:6b). 

We have often heard the advice that we should follow our heart.  This is the only way to be true to ourselves, but it requires that the motives of our heart be pure.  Jesus told His disciples, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” (Matt. 15:35).  When we are born again spiritually, we are given a clean new heart (Ezek. 18:31).  By grace, we can maintain this heart in purity. 

The Apostle Paul used the illustration of a ship on the waters to describe our walk of faith (1Tim. 1:19).  Lifting the sails of our heart, we capture the wind of the Spirit.  There are other winds, so we must be careful to follow only the Holy Spirit.  Many are afraid to walk by faith because they are afraid of getting into error.  We need not fear error if we remain humble and are motivated by love, which issues from “a pure heart, a good conscience, and from sincere faith.” (1Tim. 1:5).  A good conscience is needed to maintain a pure heart.  Without these, we will go shipwreck in our walk.  Paul gives Timothy examples of ministers who suffered this fate (1Tim. 1:20; 2Tim. 2:17).

Everything flows from the heart.  Even when we operate from our minds, we reflect a condition of the heart, which in this case could be unbelief.  The parable of the Sower describes the conditions that will produce a good crop.  It begins with good soil, which we have if we are born again.  Next, we need to cultivate it, plant the right seeds, provide the proper environment, and keep it free of weeds. 

Cultivating the soil of our heart will remove any hard areas and dislodge the weeds that have been growing there.  This is an ongoing process as we go in to possess the land of our soul.  Hard areas of soil are the result of having been trampled on.  We all have areas that need deliverance and healing.  Most of this happens in the beginning of our walk, but the process of transformation will continue until we reach maturity.  These areas are part of my soul; I do not regard them as part of my heart until they come to the surface.  Then I deal with them through forgiveness, repentance, and faith.

Planting the right seeds is such a joyful time, so full of hope.  In the natural, we give a lot of attention to the seeds we plant.  It is no different for the garden of our heart.  The passage of Scripture that exhorts us to “keep our hearts” also tells us to listen attentively to instruction and to hide it in our heart (Prov. 4:20,21).  We have control over what seeds are planted in our heart.  Jesus taught us to seek first the kingdom of God, “For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Lu. 12:34).  “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.  For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Col. 3:2,3). 

The main way to grow a good crop is to develop a relationship with God in the Holy Spirit.  “But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it.” (Matt. 13:23).  The seeds we plant must have time to germinate and grow.  This means they must be meditated upon until spiritual understanding comes, then they must be acted upon.  The Holy Spirit provides the moisture, and the Son provides the light energy.  The Father is the Gardener who oversees the entire process.  “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” (Jn. 14:23).  If we fellowship with God in our heart, He will make His home there.

As everyone knows, once you plant a garden, it must be tended.  Keeping the weeds from growing is essential.  No-one likes to deal with sin.  The problem is we tend to punish ourselves for it, but that will not cleanse us.  Only the blood of Jesus can do this, and it is given freely.  “For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.  Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.” (1Jn. 3:20,21).  As we choose to believe the love that God has for us (1Jn. 4:16), we can let Him search our heart for anything that will harm us (Ps. 139:23,24).  We cannot do this effectively ourselves because our heart may deceive us (Jer. 17:9,10).  We must depend on the Holy Spirit to convict us of what is wrong (Jn. 16:8).  Guarding our heart is intentional and it requires diligence.

“But the ones (seeds) that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.” (Lu. 8:15). 

From Glory to Glory

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”  (2Cor. 3:8)

When I deal with something in my life, I want to overcome it and never have to come back to it.  I think most of us are the same.  Recently, I was meditating before the Lord on why some victories are only partial.  Why do I sometimes have to return and fight the same battles again?  Take my health for example.  Why must I deal with hereditary factors when I have already placed the blood of Jesus between myself and my ancestors?  Even through water baptism, I have believed that the claims of the enemy on my body were removed when I identified with His death.  So, why should I have to continually confess His healing promises over my body?  Is it because I have not actually won the victory? 

As I was meditating on this, the Lord reminded me of a prophetic experience Rick Joyner described in his book, The Torch and the Sword.  With the weapons the Lord had given him, he was restoring life to spiritual movements of the past.  Out of curiosity, he wondered what would happen if he used his weapons to destroy a tree of worldly knowledge.  What he found out later was that because he did not plant a new tree in its place, another evil tree which was worse than the first grew in its place.  “You foolishly cut down one of the trees and did not plant the torch in its place.  You know very well that every time you displace the devil, or one of his strongholds, he will try to return, and if he can he will come back many times more powerful.” (p. 102).  

I have for a long time understood this principle when it comes to evil spirits, but I have not normally applied it to his strongholds.  There actually is a biblical basis for its application to strongholds.  When the Lord promised to go with the Israelites to take possession of the promised land, He told them, “I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.  Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.” (Ex. 23:29,30).  Besides extending the Kingdom on the earth, the land we take possession of is our own souls (Lu. 21:19).  Even though we fight the same type of battles, we continue to take on new territories.  We are going deeper as we grow in maturity and become more established in revealed truth.  We are being changed from glory to glory. 

How we win these battles is very important.  We must maintain a mercy focus.  We extend the Kingdom by receiving and extending mercy.  We conquer by bringing all things under subjection to Christ. He has already defeated the enemy on the cross.  Our victory is in Him.  As we submit an area of our live to Him, the shed blood is applied to it.  The land is redeemed by mercy.  Paul understood this: “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has give us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2Cor. 5:18).  We must not be focused on the enemy, or our problems.  What does a focus on mercy look like?  You keep your eyes on the Lord, constantly aware of His great love for you.  When something gets in the way of your relationship, you deal with.  If it is a thought or an emotion that is not Christlike, you confess it and accept His forgiveness, and you give it to Him for transformation.  If it is an interference by an evil spirit, you look to Christ within.  Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (1Jn. 4:4).  Resist the enemy, and he will flee from you. (Jas. 4:7).

If we resist this reconciliation, the enemy will strengthen his hold on our land.  Overcoming will be more difficult, but God is greater than our weaknesses.  We need to take time to fellowship with Him and “behold His glory”.  As we rest in His presence, His love will change our desires and imparts to us the anointing which will break the yoke of the enemy (Isa. 10:27).  We cannot change ourselves, it is “by the Spirit”.    

When we take territory, we must inhabit it.  We do this by allowing Christ to live through us.  Beholding the Lord brings revelation of truth.  We see who we can be, but we must take possession of this truth through obedience (1Pe. 1:22).  As we redeem the land, we must put to death the old patterns and establish new ones.  The Word will become flesh in us as we “receive with meekness the implanted word”, which is able to transform our soul (Jas. 1:21).  It is the Word planted in us that produces fruit.  Our responsibility is to provide the right soil and climate.  The soil is conditioned by mercy.  The climate is the light of His presence.  It is not enough to experience His presence; we must abide in it.  We must learn to walk in union with the Holy Spirit.  “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” (1Cor. 6:17).   He will empower us to be vessels of His grace (2Tim. 2:21).  He will watch over the Word to accomplish it in us.

Our transformation is gradual.  Just because there are areas of our lives that need renewing does not mean that we are not walking in victory.  Our spirit man is an entirely new being in Christ.  We are a spirit being with a soul in a physical body.  The soul is essential for us to function in this physical body, and it must be transformed for us to live in a new resurrected body.  The transformation of our soul is the working out of our salvation; it is an expansion of our territory.  We have received a new life in Christ, and now we walk with Him to redeem the land (Gal. 5:25).  We were made alive by the Spirit but now we must walk in the Spirit to “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2).

The Middle East Conflict

“‘A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.”  (Prov. 22:3 NIV)

Christians understand that conflicts in the Middle East will continue until the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The more we understand the source of these conflicts, the better we are at discerning the times.  The Day of the Lord will come as a surprise for those in the world, but as children of light we should not be caught unaware (1Thess. 5:1-4).  We should watch and be sober, “putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation”. (1Thess. 5:8).  As we see danger approaching, we should not hide in fear, but rather take refuge in the secret place of God’s presence (Ps. 91).  We should be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, putting on our spiritual armor so we can stand in the evil day (Eph. 6:10-18).  In this article I want to share why I believe Iran will be involved in this conflict until the end.  As you see events unfold, you will not fall into deception like the rest of the world. 

My focus on Iran started many years ago when I listened to a teaching from the Book of Daniel.  Jesus Himself directed us to the Book of Daniel to understand end-time events.  He told us that a time of sorrows would precede the Great Tribulation.  We are currently in this time of sorrows.  The beginning of the Great Tribulation, Jesus said, would be marked by the “‘abomination of desolation’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (Matt. 24:15).  In a divine visitation, Daniel was told that the king of one of the four divisions of the Greek Empire would “take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation.” (Dan. 11:31).  This occurred during the time of the Maccabees, but Jesus also spoke of it as a future event.  The king who did this in the past was Antiochus Epiphanes of the northern (Syrian) kingdom.  He was a type of the antichrist.  The actual antichrist will be “broken without human means” (Dan. 8:25), but this man died a natural death.  Although some of the prophecies in Chapter 11 were fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanes, others belong to the last days.

In earlier visions, Daniel was shown that the Medo-Persian kingdom would be replaced by a Greek kingdom, and that this kingdom would be divided into four.  From one of these kingdoms would arise a king that would speak “pompous words against the Most High” and “persecute the saints of the Most High” but God would rule in favor of the saints, destroy this king and establish His Kingdom forever. (Dan. 7:25-27).  Now we know that the Greek Empire was replaced by the Roman Empire, but since some prophecies for the king of the north still need to be fulfilled, I expect the antichrist to come from a restored Syrian Empire.  The teaching I heard stated that this restored Syrian Empire would include Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Lebanon.  It is not surprising to me that Iran is involved somehow in all these countries. 

Even though nations are involved in end-time events, it is important to remind ourselves that the powers behind them are spiritual.  There are principalities over nations looking for ways to influence mankind.  Kingdoms may change, but the unseen rulers remain.  The spirit of the antichrist was in this world in New Testament times and has remained until now.  In the end, this spirit will find expression in the man of sin, the son of perdition (2Thess. 2:3).  Scripture tells us that the “mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He (he) who now restrains will do so until He (he) is taken out of the way.”  (2Thess. 2:7).  Bible translators are not certain about which pronoun to use here.  Some people believe that this is referring to the Holy Spirit who will be removed from the earth with the Church at the start of the Great Tribulation.  I disagree with this doctrine because people will still get saved during that time, and salvation cannot happen without the working of the Holy Spirit.  I believe that “he who now restrains” is a spiritual power working through other nations.   

Considering Iran as the leading nation in a restored Syrian Empire, which nations or people groups are currently opposing it?  The first is Israel; the second is Saudi Arabia; the third is America.  Obviously, the spirit of the antichrist would target Israel because they brought to us the Messiah, and they will believe in Him in the last days.   Saudi Arabia is the enemy of Iran because their people are mostly Suni Muslims while the people in Iran are mainly Shiite Muslims.  Suni Muslims believe that Shiite Muslims are heretics.  The civil war in Yemen is part of Iran’s conflict with Saudi Arabia.  The United States is an enemy of Iran because it is a world power that opposes its goals.  It is also an ally of Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The Shiite branch of the Muslim faith believes in a messiah-type prophet that will rule the world.  The main leader in Iran is the Ayatollah who is both a religious and political leader.  Similarly, the government of the antichrist will be both religious and political.  Now even if the Shiite faith is used by the spirit of the antichrist to advance its goals, the son of perdition will reject all religions and claim himself to be god. 

Communism also is antichrist in nature.  The alignment of Communist countries with Iran and Syria is already occurring but the main threat of Communism is towards America.  As long as The United States continues to hold the balance of power for the West, the revealing of the son of perdition will be delayed.  This is why there is such an effort by demonic forces to weaken and divide America.  If my understanding is correct, when America loses this balance of power, we will see the start of the Great Tribulation. 

As we see the Day of the Lord approaching, we must continue to take refuge in Christ and work with Him to bring about His purpose.  Our prayers are needed so more people can be saved.  Paul tells us there will be a great falling away of believers before the revealing of the antichrist, but before this falling away we should expect the often-prophesied end-time revival.  With this outpouring of the Holy Spirit will be an increase of spiritual power amongst believers.  Let us be open to all that God wants to do to equip us to stand in the evil day (Eph. 6:13).