GOD'S GAME PLAN!
Before you begin your Bible study, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, be sure you have named your sins privately to God the Father.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(Known Unknown and Forgotten sins)
1Jn 1:9
You will then be in fellowship with God, Filled with the Holy Spirit and ready to learn Truth from the Word of God.
"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth,"Jn 4:24.
GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE
NEVER BEFORE IN HISTORY has every believer in Jesus Christ pos¬sessed two royal Warrants—his priesthood directed toward God and his ambas¬sadorship directed toward man and circumstances. Never before in history has every believer been indwelt simultaneously by God the Son, Jesus Christ, and by God the Holy Spirit. Never before in history has so much personal responsibility been delegated to every believer as in the present era—the Church Age. Never before in history has a body of believers received all its instructions in writing—the completed canon of Scripture. Never before in history has the ritual in worship been re¬placed by illustrations. Click here: http://rbthieme.org/topand.htm
In the Old Testament, The Tabernacle, Exo 25:8-9 The Feasts, The Offerings, The Sabbath, The New Moon, and later The Temple and The Gates of The City of Jerusalem, Neh 12:31-39 Etc.. Represented who Christ Was, Is, and will always Be, and what He would do, and the progressive stages of the spiritual life of Israel and the spiritual life Christ would use to grow to maturity. In the past believers used ritual as teaching props (Theatrical property) to aid in understanding the meaning of the doctrine. Today we have the reality of what Christ has accomplished! All these advantages and many more have been taken by God and reduced to a system, a protocol system designed in heaven to function on earth now. The unprecedented series of blessings from God to the believer has been reduced not only to a protocol system but to one system with eight categories. Since it is a power system, we will call it the Divine “dynasphere.” (joy, Jn 17:13 glory, Jn 17:22 Love complex, Jn 17:26 all mean the same thing the spiritual life for the believer NOW!) Jn 17:13-26
Beyond the protocol plan of God, with its one dynasphere (system) of eight gates, is the plan of Satan for your life—a cosmic system designed to make you, the believer, an enemy of the Cross (Php 3:18). As a believer living in this Church Age, you have an option to exercise: life in the Divine dynasphere as the protocol plan of God, or life in the cosmic system, Eph 2:2-3 as the strategy of Satan. (Spirit and Truth or Ignorance and Arrogance and Satan's thinking!) You cannot exercise that option until you have accumulated the facts—information about the plan of God for your life.
This book is designed to place in perspective the simple and sometimes com¬plex facts about the plan of God. The principles of Bible doctrine presented in this book bring together categorically the information you need to be a winner. Ignorance of God’s plan will make you a loser! Rejection of God’s plan will keep you entangled in the yoke of bondage, Satan’s cosmic system, 2Ti 2:25-26; 1Sa 15:22-23).
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, Gen 6:5. "I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done, Gen 8:21. "And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. "It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. "It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed, Luk 17:26-30.
O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called "knowledge"-- which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you, 1Ti 6:20-21. But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests,(thoughts) but man's," Mat 16:23. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ, 2Co 11:3. These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit, Jud 1:19.
The only way out is to learn God's Thoughts in the filling of the Spirit and think with them, God has made a way, regardless of human intellect or IQ, we can all reach maturity! Click http://rbthieme.org/creation.htm
For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, (Satan’s system) but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man (Unbelievers and Carnal Believers) does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have The Mind of Christ, 1Co 2:10-16.
Mastery of these facts will provide for you the options and decisions neces¬sary to glorify God in the fulfillment of His plan. The plan of God for the Church Age believer is that intersection of life where the protocol of heaven meets the protocol of earth, (protocol: A strict long established code or procedure, (God's Plan) giving complete submission to superior rank and authority, (God's Word) with due order of precedence, (Christ: Heb 12:1-4) coupled with exact correct precise procedure!) (Obedience: 2Ti 2:4) for the purpose of glorifying our Lord Jesus Christ.
You stand at that crossroads as you open the pages of this book! On the first Christmas in history, the virgin birth of Christ, God the Father gave Jesus Christ a prototype of the Divine dynasphere. This protocol system sustained our Lord throughout His life on earth. An unprecedented change had taken place which necessitated a new plan, The presence of Jesus Christ, the God of Israel—who had resided as the Shekinah Glory in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and later the Temple—had come in the flesh!
And the Word [Logos, the title of Christ as eternal God] became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory [Shekinah Glory manifested through the Divine sys¬tem], glory as the unique Son of the Father, full of grace and Truth. (Jn 1:14)
We are now commanded to reflect that same Shekinah Glory, the presence of Jesus Christ, who indwells us (Jn 14:20; Col 1:27). Our bodies are His temple during the Church Age; we are His new sanctuary (Rom 8:9-11; 1Co 6:19-20).
Jesus Christ is the “author and perfecter of our spiritual life” because, as a man, He resided in the prototype Divine dynasphere; the operational Divine dyna¬sphere now belongs to us (Heb 12:2). God has given us the sphere of power, the system of protocol that we need to “proclaim the virtues” of Christ in our lives (1Pe 2:9). As believers we come to love our Lord Jesus Christ—our “most important love” (Rev 2:4)—by living within the system in which His humanity lived. By obeying the mandates of His protocol system, by thinking His thoughts—Bible doctrine, the “mind of Christ” (1Co 2:16)—by utilizing the power that sus¬tained our Lord, we become “imitators of God” (Eph 5:1). The dynamics of Christ’s humanity becomes our dynamics. His virtues become our virtues; His capacity for happiness becomes our capacity; His glory becomes our glory (2Co 3:18).
INNOVATION WITHIN A SYSTEM
God’s plan for your life is analogous to the game plan for the Superbowl. Two teams are involved, and two systems are in competition. One game plan works and wins; the other fails and loses. There is only one game plan that wins for the believer—the Divine dynasphere with its eight gates.
In His matchless grace God has provided a precise instrument system. We are not authorized to fly by the seat of our pants. Without a system we have no standards, no coordination, no performance, no effectiveness. Success demands a system! A system is a coordinated plan that unifies and directs the efforts of all the diverse individuals and elements within an organization. No coach can inno¬vate on the playing field without a cohesive system of organization, authority, training, and discipline.
Innovation without a system is disastrous in any realm—athletics, business, politics, economics, the military, social life, spiritual life. We as believers in Christ cannot successfully innovate in our lives, exercising wisdom and common sense in the challenges that confront us, unless we live in the system God has or¬dained. Each life is unique; the system establishes protocol for all. God does not tell us precisely what to think and do in each situation; He gives us freedom to apply the correct doctrine in our own lives. But innovation and practical applica¬tion must be within His system. Each believer must learn God’s game plan just as a professional athlete learns the playbook.
One of the most effective systems in professional football forbids the quarterback to call the plays. The coach personally directs every play from the sidelines. He is the one who does the thinking and plans the strategy. The players execute the game plan with confidence because they know the system works. No quarterback under pressure on the field can outthink the coach.
Every successful system has a purpose, policy, and structure of authority. On a football team the coach’s purpose is to win; his policies promote winning; and his structure of authority takes the talented, the arrogant, the strong, the weak, the lazy, the unconcerned, teaches them to concentrate under pressure, and transforms them into one of the finest teams in professional football. The smart coach devises his system to be greater than any of its component parts, greater than any individual player. The system enables his organization to establish a consistent winning record over the years regardless of who is on the team. It does not matter who executes the plays, as long as he does it the coach’s way! God’s perfect system—the Christian way of life—is greater than any human system or individual Christian. God’s plan works in every generation, for anyone who will follow its mandates. The Divine system transforms all kinds of believers into mature Christians, winners in the devil’s world (Jn 12:31; Jn 14:30; Jn 16:11; Eph 2:1-8; 1Jn 2:13-14). In God’s system the purpose is to glorify Jesus Christ; the policy is grace; the authority is the sovereignty of God. Christ is glorified by the salvation of unbelievers and the imputation of blessings to believers; the policy of grace is delineated in Bible doctrine; Divine authority is embodied in the Word of God (Rom 1:16) and delegated as temporal authori¬ty under the Divine laws of establishment (Rom 13:1-8). Like the coach, God has done the thinking, planned the strategy, and called the plays. As believers our responsibility is to execute His plan! Isa 14:24
MANY COMMANDS, ONE DYNASPHERE
God has issued hundreds of commands throughout the New Testament. We are instructed to be filled with the Spirit, to confess our sins, to love the brethren, to rest in the Lord, to maintain humility, to learn and apply the Word of God, to love God and be occupied with Christ, to acquire virtue, to resist evil, to achieve spiritual maturity. These imperatives are not isolated mandates unrelated to one another; all these diverse commandments for the believer combine to form the perfect Divine system.
If you keep My mandates, you shall reside in the sphere of My love. (Jn 15:10)
God’s system is designated the “sphere of love” or love complex to em¬phasize love as the supreme Christian virtue (1Co 13:13). The New Testament commands us to love, but no one can obey these commands without understand¬ing that love is an entire sphere, a complex of interrelated elements, a system of power. I have coined a term for this Divine system from the Greek nouns dunamis, “power,” and sphaia, “sphere”: the “Divine dynasphere.” This descriptive synonym emphasizes the efficacy and sustaining strength of the love complex.
In the future, keep on being strong [dunamai, the cognate verb of dunamis] in the Lord, even by means of the inner rule of His endowed power [the Divine dynasphere]. Wear for yourselves the full armor from God [the Divine dynasphere~ that you may be able [dunamai] to hold your ground against the tactics of the devil. (Eph 6:10-11)
In Eph 6:13-17, Paul illustrates the Christian way of life through an analogy to the Roman soldier’s uniform—his belt, breastplate, sandals, shield, helmet, and sword. The panoply of God consists of separate items of spiritual ar¬mor and weaponry, each of which contributes to the believer’s victory in spiritual combat. Just as the directive to “don the full armor of God” requires you to skillfully wield an array of offensive and defensive weapons against the enemy, so also the commands to reside in the Divine dynasphere demand obe¬dience to an entire system of Divine imperatives. The Divine dynasphere coor¬dinates every legitimate temporal and spiritual activity in life. By consistently living in this power system, the believer obeys all God’s mandates.
THE GATES OF THE SYSTEM
Since Divine mandates can be organized into eight categories, the Divine dynasphere has eight “gates.”
1. THE POWER GATE: the filling of the Holy Spirit.
2. OBJECTIVITY. basic Christian modus operandi.
3. TEACHABILITY: enforced and genuine humility.
4. SPIRITUAL MOMENTUM: perception and application of Bible doctrine.
5. MOTIVATIOMAL VIRTUE: personal love for God.
6. FUNCTIONAL VIRTUE: impersonal love for mankind.
7. MOMENTUM TESTING: acceleration of spiritual growth.
8. THE WINNER’S GATE: spiritual maturity, sharing the happiness of God.
Because all eight gates are engaged as one dynamic unity, I also designate the love complex as the “interlocking system of love.” A diagram of the system shows the coalescence of the gates.
http://rbthieme.org/the15.htm
Gates one, two, and three interlock to provide the power, objectivity, and receptivity needed for learning and applying the Word of God at gate four. Gate four is the momentum gate. All spiritual momentum in the Christian life is fueled by knowledge of Bible doctrine and accelerated by proper application of doc¬trine. Spiritual momentum carries the believer to maturity. Gates one through three constitute motivation essential for concentration on doctrine, whereas gates five through eight are result gates, the results of spiritual momentum. Gates five and six form a double gate that expresses the most vital concept in experiential Christianity: integrity precedes love. In dealing with mankind, God’s integrity always comes before His love; the essence of God establishes the precedent for the Christian way of life. We, too, must possess integrity before we have capacity to love God or man. This is the doctrine of virtue-love.
The first four gates of the system build Christian virtue, honor, and integri¬ty; love pervades the system at gates five and six. The virtues in gate five directed toward God motivate the functional virtues in gate six directed toward man and circumstances. These motivational and functional virtues stand or fall together. Gate seven provides Divine solutions to resolve the problems of life as the believer’s spiritual momentum is repeatedly challenged. Passing these tests ac¬celerates spiritual growth. (Sin nature, people, thought, system, and disaster testing) Gate eight, the objective, is spiritual maturity!
And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong, 2Co 12:9-10.
MATURITY AND INTEGRITY
Maturity, the goal of the Christian’s life, is achieved through steadfastness in the Divine dynasphere, where the believer acquires capacity for life, for love, for happiness, for ‘greater grace” or supergrace (Jas 4:6) beyond God’s faithful sustenance of all believers. The believer in gate eight has become a spiritual aristocrat invested with the title “Friend of God” (Jas 2:23). Through his tenacity to reside and function in the love complex, he has attained an honorable status in his soul that glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ.
The superior quality of the mature believer’s life is a testimony to Divine grace; all the mature Christian has and is depends entirely on Christ’s saving work and His gift of the Divine dynasphere. God can prosper the mature believer with a maximum expression of grace because he has capacity to appreciate God’s blessings without forgetting their source. In gate eight the believer recognizes the giver, God Himself, in every gift received.
The mature believer approaches life from the Divine viewpoint, which is manifested in discernment, thoughtfulness toward people, and the ability to astutely interpret current trends of history. Stabilized by his love for Truth, he is distinguished by his spiritual common sense. He maintains his poise in all cir¬cumstances, sustained by the unseen reality of his love for God. In the strength of the Divine dynasphere, the mature believer has constructed an edifice in his soul (1Co 3:9-17; Eph 4:12), an inner structure I call the “edification com¬plex,” with a penthouse that represents the happiness of God.
http://rbthieme.org/humility.htm
True happiness is achieved only in the Divine dynasphere. Happiness depends on virtue, honor, and integrity.
Integrity is a state or quality of being complete; an unimpaired state of honesty and purity; a soundness of moral principle; the character of uncorrupted virtue, especially in relation to Truth and fair dealing. Integrity is uprightness of character; probity; candor; uncompromising adherence to a code of moral or professional values; the avoidance of deception, expediency, artificiality, or shallowness of any kind.
Reduced to essentials, integrity is loyalty to Truth. Truth exists in three categories: the Divine laws of establishment, the Gospel, and Bible doctrine. Our residence in the sphere of God’s power is our loyalty to the absolute Truth of His design. In mandates that form part of Bible doctrine, He has prescribed for us this complete, interlocking structure for developing integrity so that, from His own integrity, He may share His happiness with us both now and forever.
For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the Divine Nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust, 2Pe 1:4.
PAUL’S PRAYERS CONCERNING THE Divine DYNASPHERE
The Divine dynasphere is the subject of two apostolic prayers by Paul, the man who exploited God’s power and advanced farther in spiritual maturity than any other believer. The apostle Paul is the greatest of all believers (2Pe 3:15-16).
For this reason, I [Paul], too, having heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and the love toward all the saints [func¬tional virtue, impersonal love toward all believers, gate six] do not cease giving thanks for you while mentioning you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a Spirit of wisdom and of revelation [the filling and teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit, gate one] in the full knowledge of Him [perception and application of Bible doctrine, the Mind of Christ, gate four, resulting in personal love for God, gate five], that the eyes of your heart [the thinking portion of the soul] may be enlightened [perceptive ability based on the first four gates of the system] so that you may know what is the hope of His election [know the objective of the system] and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints [temporal and eternal blessings to believers who live in the system], and what is the surpassing greatness of His power [spiritual victory from living in the Divine dynasphere] toward us who believe. These are according to the standard of the opera¬tional power [the function of the Divine system] of His inner power [Bible doctrine, gate four], which power [the Divine dynasphere] has been operational in Christ [the humanity of Christ living in the prototype Divine dynasphere throughout the First Advent] when He [the Father] raised Him from the dead and seated Him at the right hand in the heavenlies [Christ’s strategic victory over Satan through death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and session]. (Eph 1:15-20)
The second apostolic prayer expresses Paul’s exhortation that believers “become strong by means of His power [the Divine dynasphere] through His Spirit [the Holy Spirit, gate one] in the inner man” and that they “may be filled with all the fullness of God,” a synonym for spiritual maturity in gate eight of the Divine system (Eph 3:16-19). This second prayer concludes:
Now to the One [God the Father] Himself being able [dunamai, referring to Divine omnipotence] far beyond all things to do infinitely more than that which we could ask or imagine, according to the power [dunamis, the Divine dynasphere] being itself effective in us, to Him be the glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus with reference to all gener¬ations forever and ever. Amen. (Eph 3:20-21)
SPIRITUAL ARISTOCRACY
The love complex is unique to the Church Age, that period of human history from the day of Pentecost, Acts 2:1 circa A.D. 30, to the Wedding Feast / Harvest, which is yet future (Luk 12:35-48 ; Mat 22:2-14 ; Mat 9:37-38; Mat 13:37-43. We are on the victory side of The Cross, The spiritual life for the reality plan, was designed for Jesus Christ. This system of power could not be given to believers until Christ had proven the system throughout His life, ac¬complishing His mission for the First Advent, earning the glory of a new royal title, founding a new royal dynasty to which He could bequeath His system of power and love. Jn 4:23; Gal 5:22) During the Church Age, Jesus Christ as glorified royalty is seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven, while the Father forms on earth a royal family for Him. We are the new royal family!
Jesus Christ retains three titles of royalty, each with a royal family. As God, our Lord is Divine royalty, the “Son of God,” and His royal family is the Trin¬ity. As man, Jesus is Jewish royalty, the “Son of David,” and His royal family is the line of King David. As the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ won the strategic victory over Satan at the Cross and earned a third series of royal titles, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” and “The Morning Star” (1Ti 6:15; Rev 19:16; Rev 22:16). These last titles signify His battlefield royalty, His strategic victory over Satan.’
Royal Title
Royal Family
Divine Son of God God the Father
God the Holy Spirit
Jewish
Son of David
The Davidic Dynasty
Battlefield Lord of Lords
King of Kings
The Morning Star
The Church
THE THREE ROYALTIES OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
When Christ ascended to heaven, after perfectly accomplishing His mission on earth, He was rewarded with this third patent of royalty from the Father (Eph 1:20-23). For the first time our Lord possessed a royal title with no royal family. To establish a royal family for Christ’s new aristocracy, God interrupted the Age of Israel and inserted the Age of the Church. Designated the “body of Christ” (Eph 1:22-23; Eph 4:12), the “bride of Christ” (2Co 11:2; Eph 5:25-27; Rev 19:6-8), and implied in the vocatives “beloved” and “brethren,” the Church, the 144,000, the Millennial believers, all receive the New Covenant spiritual life Heb 13:20; 2Co 3:1-18; Heb 8:8-13. And this is His third royal family. Everyone who believes in Christ from now till the end of time, simultaneously becomes a member of the royal family of God forever and has ac¬cess to the completed Divine dynasphere, Rom 8:11-14!
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory [God Himself in a human body], glory as the unique Son of the Father, full of grace and Truth. (Jn 1:14)
And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men; Luk 2:52, Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, (Mature) He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, Heb 5:8-9. Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, Php 2:6-11.
As a demonstration of love for the Son, God the Father provided the Divine dynasphere to sustain the humanity of Christ who, from the virgin birth until His ascension to heaven, would face continuous opposition in the devil’s world. God combined certain Divine principles into a unique system. He took impersonal love and personal love—patterned after His own Divine attribute of love—and added the ministry of God the Holy Spirit as the power to support our Lord dur¬ing his earthly ministry. Given at the virgin birth, after He reached maturity He was fully empowered by the Holy Spirit, Isa 11:2-3; Isa 61:1.
Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased,"Luk 3:21-23.
Then tested! Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE.'" (He passed the lust of the flesh!) And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. "Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'" (He passed the lust of the eyes!) And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; for it is written, 'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU TO GUARD YOU,' and, 'ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'" And Jesus answered and said to him, "It is said, 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'" (He passed the pride of life!) When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time, Luk 4:1-13.
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD." And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing," Luk 4:17-21. Adam and Eve lost the earth to Satan. When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate, Gen 3:6 and the LORD won it back! and set the standard that we must overcome. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world, 1Jn 2:16.
'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne, Rev 3:21.
Ten days after our Lord ascended and was seated in heaven, the Church Age began, and the completed spiritual life was the first blessing given to each member of the royal family. On the night He was betrayed, fifty days before the Church Age began, our Lord prophesied to His disciples that they would receive the same system of Divine power that had sustained and blessed Him throughout the First Advent. He taught them that His love in the prototype Divine dynasphere was patterned after the love of God.
Reside [remain, persist) in My love [the love complex]. If you keep [observe, fulfill] My Thoughts, you shall reside in the sphere of My love, just as I have fulfilled the mandates of My Father and I reside in the sphere of His love [the pro¬totype Divine dynasphere]. (Jn 15:9-10)
Christ lived and functioned for thirty-three years in the very system in which we are now commanded to live! He succeeded in fulfilling perfectly God’s plan, not in His own power but in the power of the Holy Spirit, gate one in the Divine dynasphere. This same Divine power is now available to us; we too can fulfill the plan of God. We cannot be sinless, as was the humanity of Christ, but with the rebound provision, 1Jn 1:9 which enables us to recover instantly from the control of the sin nature; we can execute God’s game plan for our lives.
If we walk in the light [the Divine dynasphere] as He is in the light [the prototype Divine dynasphere], we have fellowship with each other [impersonal love, gates two, six, and seven] and the blood of Jesus Christ [the basis for rebound] cleanses us from all sin.9 (1Jn 1:7)
The believer inside the Divine dynasphere is also described as “filled with the Spirit” (Eph 5:18); he “walks by means of the Spirit” (Gal 5:16); and he is said to be “cleansed” (1Jn 1:9). He has “put on Christ” (Rom 13:14) because Christ lived in the original system. The believer in the love complex is “walking in love” (Eph 5:2), “loving one another” (1Jn 3:23), and, as we have seen, “residing in the love [complex]” (Jn 15:9-10). He is “holding his ground” in the full armor of God (Eph 6:11). Each phrase emphasizes a dif¬ferent aspect of our royal way of life.
Aristocracy means achievement. Christ achieved strategic victory in the angelic conflict and established a new and unique dynasty of spiritual nobility. As His eternal royal family we depend entirely on Christ and therefore must emulate the integrity He possessed in the prototype Divine dynasphere. He gave us the system by which we can in our temporal lives manifest the superiority of our eternal position. Integrity perpetuates nobility. Royalty lives by a superior code of honor, and as members of spiritual aristocracy, we fulfill the royal fam¬ily honor code and create Christian integrity by functioning in the Divine dynasphere.
CHARACTERISTICS AND PRIORITIES
In summary, God’s game plan, the Divine dynasphere, has the following general characteristics:
A purpose: glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ in time. The believer’s tactical victory exploits our Lord’s strategic victory over Satan in the angelic conflict.
An objective: spiritual maturity. Momentum toward spiritual maturity is possible only inside the Divine dynasphere.
A policy: grace. Grace is always the policy of God in the administration of His plan for sinful man.
A protocol: obedience to Divine mandates. Believers and elect angels in heaven observe Divine protocol; happi¬ness on earth is based on the precisely correct procedure of the Divine dynasphere.
A system: virtue first. The foundational virtue of humili¬ty, which is directed toward authority, lays the groundwork for motivational virtue toward God and functional virtue toward man and circumstances.
A point of reference: the justice of God. The holiness or integrity of God is composed of His absolute righteousness and perfect justice. Our point of contact with God is His in¬tegrity.
An authority: the Word of God. Bible doctrine reveals the essence of God to man and embodies the absolute author¬ity of Divine sovereignty.
A result: good decisions from a position of strength in the Divine system, control of your life, and a personal sense of destiny.
An enemy: the cosmic system of Satan.
These nine characteristics will become meaningful in the study we are about to begin. We can translate these axioms into a set of priorities, which provide a framework for organizing your life and applying doctrine under all circumstances.
In God’s plan the priority is Mandates first.
In God’s system, Virtue first.
In God’s purpose, Christ first.
In God’s policy, Grace first.
In God’s objective, Momentum first.
In God’s authority, Doctrine first.
These six priorities represent one superior way of life, one system of power and love, the Divine dynasphere, with different emphasis as the believer con¬tinues to grow. As we approach all eight gates of the Divine dynasphere, you will learn that these priorities enable you to make good decisions from a position of strength, take control of your life, and acquire a personal sense of destiny within God’s game plan.
Gate One, The Power Gate
THE SOURCE OF ENERGY
Just as the Holy Spirit sustained the earthly ministry of Jesus (Mat 12:18; Jn 3:34), the filling of the Spirit provides the power for our lives. On the eve of His crucifixion, fifty days before the feast of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit would be given and the Church Age would begin, Christ Himself prophesied the advent of the Spirit in the new love complex.
And when the Energizer comes [the Holy Spirit as the power source in the Divine dynasphere] whom I will send from the Father, that is, the Spirit of Truth [a functional title for the Holy Spirit] who proceeds from the Father, that one [the Spirit] will give evidence [make a deposition, testify] con¬cerning Me. (Jn 15:26)
The Greek noun parakletos, which I have translated “Energizer,” is used in the Bible only by the Apostle John, referring once to Christ (1Jn 2:1) but generally to the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:16, Jn 14:26; Jn 16:7). This title for God is translated “Comforter” in the King James Version and “Helper” in the New American Standard Version.
In the classical Greek a parakletos was someone called to the aid of another, particularly in the legal process; hence, an advisor, intercessor, or mediator in court. In Roman times, when the official Greek language of the eastern empire was translated into the official Latin of the west, the Latin equivalent for parakletos was advocatus, from which we derive the English word “advocate” or lawyer.
A parakletos was a professional legal advisor, sometimes a defense at¬torney. The word connotes ability, aid, and assistance, rather than assuagement of pain or distress, as the translation “comforter” suggests. Certainly comfort is implied; the one being aided by a powerful helper is relieved and encouraged. But eternal God, the third Person of the Trinity, does not come to the royal fami¬ly to say, “There, there, everything will be all right.” Instead, He was sent by the Father (Jn 15:26) to empower, help, and sustain the humanity of Christ against all the forces of evil Satan could hurl against Him.
This same omnipotent Member of the Godhead was in turn sent by the Father and the Son, Jn 14:26 to be the power source for the new royal family. The Holy Spirit reproduces in us the virtues of Christ when we ad¬vance in the Divine dynasphere (Eph 5:1-2; Gal 5:22-23; Rom 13:14). The Spirit’s title, Parakletos, must be understood in terms of power within the Divine system, in which we, like the humanity of Christ, must live in the devil’s world.
Christ’s final words on earth before ascending into heaven prophesied the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Energizer of the Divine dynasphere. The Divine power system would motivate growing believers to spread the Gospel of Christ throughout the world.
But you shall receive power [the Divine dynasphere] when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
God the Energizer has two basic ministries to the royal family, one of which is indicated by His functional title in Jn 15:26, “Spirit of Truth, or Doctrine.” He provides the spiritual IQ for learning Bible doctrine, which itself is the power of God (Rom 1:16). Thus the filling of the Spirit at gate one and the perception and application of doctrine at gate four interlock with each other (1Co 2:9-16). The Word and the Spirit join forces to form the greatest power system ever offered to any dispensation in the history of mankind.
And my message and my preaching [Bible doctrine] were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power [the Divine dynasphere], that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God [the Divine dynasphere]. (1Co 2:4-5)
Enhancing the believer’s IQ for perception of the written Word of God in gate four, the Holy Spirit also supplies energy for the believer’s function in the entire love complex (Gal 5:16-23). At all gates of the Divine system, the Holy Spirit energizes the Christian life with an unseen power that surpasses any ability, talent, genius, or achievement of man. "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life, Jn 6:63.We have an inexhaustible supply of spiritual strength in gate one of the Divine dynasphere; with this power we can obey God’s mandates and receive Divine blessings beyond imagination! Apart from the power of the Holy Spirit there is no spiritual life! Holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these. 2Ti 3:5
The Holy Spirit had a limited ministry to believers of Old Testament dispen¬sations, but the modus operandi of believers changed dramatically when the Church Age began. The Spirit endued certain believers of the past; He indwells all believers in the Church Age (Jn 14:17). We have a superior system, energized by God that even mature Old Testament believers did not possess. Never before has every believer been commanded to “be filled with the Spirit” (Eph 5:18) and to “walk by means of the Spirit” (Gal 5:16).
TWO POSITIVE MANDATES
The first of these two mandates commands the Church Age believer to reside in the Divine dynasphere.
Stop being intoxicated with wine, which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. (Eph 5:18)
The Greek verb pleroo, translated “be filled,” conveys a wealth of related meanings. Each of its four basic definitions applies to the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
“Fill up a deficiency”: Outside the Divine dynasphere we possess no ability to learn or apply Bible doctrine or resist the influence of Satan (Col 1:27-28; 1Jn 4:4).
“Be fully possessed”: God the Holy Spirit, who indwells the body of every Church Age believer (1Co 6:19), controls the soul of the believer residing in the Divine dynasphere (1Co 6:20).
“Be fully influenced”: The Divine dynasphere, with the Ho¬ly Spirit as the power source, is a comprehensive system that influences every facet of the believer’s life.
“filled with a certain quality”: The ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Divine dynasphere leads the believer to spiritual maturity, (Eph 3:19; Eph 4:10; Php 1:11; Rev 3:2; 1Jn 1:4).
This mandate to “be filled with the Spirit” orders us to enter the Divine dynasphere at gate one.
Pleroo indicates that the filling of the Spirit is an absolute. You are in¬side the Divine dynasphere or you are not; there is no middle ground for the believer. Under His filling ministry, the Holy Spirit fully energizes the believer and fully controls his soul. Although the Spirit fully controls the believer whenever he resides in the Divine dynasphere, the manifestations of the filling of the Spirit increase with maturity. In the immature Christian the Spirit has little Bible doctrine to use as raw material for producing the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal 5:22-23). The mature believer can use the Mind of Christ (1Co 2:16) to reproduce the virtues of Christ (1Pe 2:9).
Eph 5:18 teaches that the filling of the Spirit is the opposite of drunkenness. As the believer’s IQ for “spiritually discerning” the Truth of Bible doctrine (1Co 2:14-15), the filling of the Spirit contributes to concentration and mental focus, not to dissipation. Imbibing too much alcohol depresses the mentality, releasing uninhibited emotion; the filling of the Spirit supports lucid thinking and is indetectable, behind the scenes, and unrelated to emotion. The mission of the Holy Spirit to the royal family is not to make a name for Himself by interjecting ecstatic experiences but to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ (Jn 16:13-14).
This first mandate regarding the Holy Spirit contributes to the integrity of the entire Divine system. Christians who lack the complete doctrine of the Divine dynasphere assume that the filling of the Spirit is an end in itself when actually the power of the Spirit is a means to an end. The ultimate objective is the consis¬tent, coordinated function of all eight gates of the system, which result in phenomenal blessing for the believer and maximum glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The spiritual momentum required to reach this objective is commanded in the second positive mandate concerning the Holy Spirit, the mandate to function in the Divine dynasphere.
Keep walking by means of the Spirit. (Gal 5:16)
God never coerces your volition. He designed you and knows what is best for you at each moment of your life. He has established clear policies for you to follow so that you may fulfill His perfect plan for your prosperity and happiness. You can accept His authority and obey His mandates, or revolt and disobey. God’s sovereign authority cannot prosper you without your consent.
The filling of the Holy Spirit alone is not the entire thrust of the Christian way of life. Gate one, the filling of the Spirit, functions as part of a system in con¬junction with our volition. After we have entered gate one, we must by our own decisions enter the other gates of the complex; this is “walking by means of the Spirit.”
While filled with the Spirit, we claim promises, resist temptations to sin, and maintain the objectivity of basic impersonal love in gate two. We remain teachable through enforced and genuine humility in gate three. We establish the habit of doctrinal perception in gate four, where we also maintain a constant alertness in the application of doctrine to circumstances, Luk 16:10.Thousands of positive decisions in these first four gates of the Divine dynasphere comprise our Chris¬tian walk, resulting in personal love for God in gate five, the integrity of imper¬sonal love in gate six, stability under testing in gate seven, and the happiness of Christian maturity in gate eight. The filling of the Holy Spirit is the principle of the Christian life; walking by means of the Spirit is the function of the Chris¬tian life.
TWO NEGATIVE MANDATES
Two additional mandates define the power struggle in which the Church Age believer must rely on the Holy Spirit. God commands us to resist the power and influence of Satan. And stop grieving the Holy Spirit from God. (Eph 4:30) Do not quench the Spirit. (1Th 5:19)
These two mandates warn us that, when we sin, we cut off the power of the Divine dynasphere, permitting the old sin nature to seize control of the soul. The Divine dynasphere and Satan’s cosmic system are mutually exclusive. We always reside in one or the other: if not in God’s system, we live in Satan’s power system. We “grieve” the Spirit when we enter Satan’s system of ar¬rogance; we “quench” the Spirit when we live in Satan’s system of antagonism toward God, Truth, and the Divine plan. Both of these negative mandates describe the Holy Spirit in terms of an¬thropopathisms. Grieving and quenching are language of accommodation, describing God in human terms to make His infinite functions perspicuous to finite man. Perfect happiness belongs eternally to the essence of God. The third Person of the Trinity cannot suffer grief, nor can His infinite power be quenched. He is always omnipotent.
By negative volition we refuse to benefit from the plan of God so that the at¬tributes of God do not have their intended function in our lives. We may reject the grace provisions of God’s power system, but we cannot jeopardize the essence of God. God will always have His way; He will be glorified with us or without us! Our blessings accrue through obedience to the positive and negative mandates concerning the Energizer of the Divine system.
OPPOSITION THROUGH DISTORTION
So effective is our power source that we are not surprised that Satan would mount a concentrated assault against this Divine provision. With insidious cun¬ning he has distorted the doctrines pertaining to the Holy Spirit by counterfeiting bona fide functions of the past and linking them to human emotion and arrogance to consolidate his evil sedition. Satanic doctrines influence people to vie for spiritual status by claiming to speak in tongues, hear voices, see visions, perform miracles, heal the sick—all in a welter of emotionalism. The Church Age ministry of God the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with such practices (Rom 16:17-18; 1Co 13:8; Php 3:18-19).
The pursuit of such ecstatic experiences in the name of spirituality obscures the Truth and blasphemes against God. Christianity is a system of thinking— thinking the Truth—and the Holy Spirit provides the power that, first, aids our concentration in learning doctrine and, second, enhances our ability to apply in all the gates the doctrines we know.
A period of transition existed between the beginning of the Church Age in A.D. 30 and the completion of the written canon of Scripture in A.D. 96, when the Apostle John wrote Revelation. During this time spectacular but temporary spiritual gifts facilitated the change from the completed Old Covenant, Mat 5:17; Acts 3:18 into the New Covenant. Miracles and healings were performed to focus attention upon the Divine authority of the apostles and to authenticate their new message (Acts 19:11-20). The Spirit inspired the apostles to write the New Testament canon, including the doctrines of the Church Age, the “mystery” Acts 3:24 because they were now pertinent to the royal family (Jn 14:26; Eph 3:2-6). The gift of tongues was a bona fide ministry for the first forty years of the Church Age as a warning sign to Israel of her approaching national destruction, which occurred in AD. 70 (Isa 28:11-12; Acts 2:43). In that precanon transition period of the Church Age, the coming of the Holy Spirit as the power for the Divine dynasphere was accom¬panied by unusual and now defunct manifestations.
On the day the Church Age began, temporary gifts accompanied the Divine dynasphere; initially the ministry of the Spirit included functions that have since ceased to legitimately exist (1Co 13:8; Php 2:27; 2Ti 4:20). In the Scrip¬tures we must distinguish these overt, temporary ministries of the Spirit from His invisible, permanent ministries if we are to avoid the trap of emotional ar¬rogance. We must “rightly divide the Word of Truth” in order to execute God’s game plan for our lives (2Ti 2:15).
THE Divine DYNASPHERE AT SALVATION
Christ received the prototype Divine dynasphere at His virgin birth; the apostles and others received it on the day of Pentecost; we receive the Divine dynasphere at the new birth.
At the moment when anyone is born from God [the moment of salvation through faith in Christ], he is not sinning [it is impossible to sin inside the Divine dynasphere], because His seed (God the Holy Spirit] keeps residing in it [the Divine dynasphere]. Furthermore, he is not able to sin [inside the Divine dynasphere] because he has been born of God. (1Jn 3:9)
The Greek personal pronoun autos takes the same form in both neuter and masculine genders; the context determines whether this pronoun is translated “it” or “him.” In 1Jn 3:9 autos is rendered by the neuter, “keeps residing in it,” the Divine dynasphere. The Holy Spirit, as the “seed” or source of Divine energy for spiritual growth, perpetually belongs to God’s power system. The Holy Spirit does reside “in him’ ‘—in every member of the royal family—but in this passage John is not teaching the indwelling of the Spirit (1Co 6:19-20; Gal 3:2; Gal 4:6; Jn 7:37-39; Jn 14:16-17). The Spirit indwells the believer’s body, where He opposes the genetic old sin nature and seeks to fill, empower, and con¬trol the soul (Eph 5:18). We are permanently indwelled by the Spirit, even when we sin (Rom 8:9), but we are filled with the Spirit only when residing in the Divine dynasphere. Controlled by the infinite power of God the Holy Spirit, the agent of our eternal salvation, we cannot sin inside the Divine dynasphere, a status we first attain at the moment of salvation. When anyone believes in Christ during the Church Age, he receives simultaneously—entirely unfelt and undetected—the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the filling of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Spirit places us into union with Christ so that we share all He is and all He has; this union makes us members of the royal family. Unique among believers in all dispensations, we are “in Christ,” identified with Christ forever (Rom 16:7; 2Co 5:17). Like the baptism of the Spirit, which has eternal repercussions, the indwell¬ing of the Spirit is also permanent. Never before has the Holy Spirit resided in the body of any believer, but from the moment of salvation, God the third Person perpetually indwells the body of each member of the royal family. The finest believers, and all believers in between, are beneficiaries of this aspect of gate one of the Divine dynasphere: the body of every Christian is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1Co 6:19), just as in the pro¬totype Divine dynasphere our Lord described His body as a temple (Jn 2:19-21).
LEAVING AND REENTERING THE Divine SYSTEM: http://rbthieme.org/topand.htm
The baptism and indwelling of the Spirit cannot be lost, but we close down the filling of the Spirit each time we succumb to temptation and decide to sin.
And this is the message which we have heard from Him [Jesus Christ] and communicated to you, that God is light and in Him darkness does not exist [no compromise of God’s system with Satan’s system]. If we contend [claim, assert, maintain] that we have fellowship with Him [God] and keep walking in darkness [exiting the Divine dynasphere through sin, followed by continued function in Satan’s system], we lie and do not practice the Truth.... If we con¬tend that we have no sin [no sin nature, the source of tempta¬tion], we are deceiving ourselves and the Truth [the doctrine of sin or hamartiology] is not in us.... If we contend [when we have sinned] that we have not sinned [have not suc¬cumbed to temptation, have not exited the Divine dynasphere], we keep making Him [God] a liar, and His Word is not in us. (1Jn 1:5-10)
Under His filling ministry the Holy Spirit controls and empowers only when we reside in the Divine dynasphere. We begin our Christian lives filled with the Spirit, but that initial filling is short-lived because we still possess volition and the old sin nature still resides in our bodies (Rom 6:16-22; Rom 7:7-25; 1Jn 1:8).
As the resident antagonist against the indwelling Holy Spirit, the old sin nature is Satan’s inside agent for distracting us from God’s game plan, Jn 2:24-25; Gal 5:17. The sin nature is the source of temptation, but our volition is the source of sin. When the sin nature tempts us to commit a sin, we can resist the tempta¬tion and remain filled with the Spirit inside the Divine dynasphere. The Biblical mandates to resist temptation are incorporated into the love complex at gate one.
Submit therefore to God [execute the Divine game plan]. Resist the devil [in the power of the Divine dynasphere], and he will flee from you. (Jas 4:7)
No testing has caught up with you except the human kind; moreover, God is faithful who will not allow you to be tested beyond your capabilities, but with the testing He will also provide [through Bible doctrine] the way of escape so that you may be able [in the power of the Divine dynasphere] to endure it. (1Co 10:13)
We can choose to resist temptation and remain in the love complex, or we can acquiesce to temptation and eject ourselves from God’s power system. Because no one can sin inside the Divine dynasphere, we exit when we choose to sin. We are still saved, still in the royal family of God, still in union with Christ, still indwelled by the Spirit, but we must return to God’s system. Outside the love complex we can reenter through gate one just as we first entered at salva¬tion. God has given us the rebound technique, which restores us to the Divine dynasphere after we have sinned.
If we acknowledge [name, admit, confess] our sins, He [God the Father] is faithful and just so that He forgives us our sins [known sins] and also cleanses us from all unright¬eousness [unknown sins]. (1Jn 1:9)
By acknowledging our sins privately to God, we restore the filling of the Spirit and once again reside in the sphere of Divine power. All Biblical mandates to recover from sin and resume our fellowship with God pertain to gate one of the Divine dynasphere. These commands are variously phrased to emphasize dif¬ferent facets of the doctrine. We are commanded to “acknowledge our sins” (Jas 5:16; Rev 3:3). “yield” ourselves to God (Rom 6:13), “judge ourselves” (1Co 11:31-32), “lay aside every weight” (Heb 12:1), “put aside all filthiness” (Jas 1:21), “be in subjection to the Father” (Heb 12:9), “put off the old man” (Eph 4:22), “present our bodies” (Rom 12:1-2), “make straight paths” (Mat 3:3; Heb 12:13), “stand up again from out of deaths” (Eph 5:14), and “lift up the hands that hang down” (Heb 12:12).
Once we reenter the Divine dynasphere through rebound, the pertinent man¬date then becomes “walk by means of the Spirit” (Gal 5:16), the command to advance spiritually in the other gates of the system powered by the Energizer.
Gate Two, Basic Christian
Modus Operandi
THE BELIEVER’S OBJECTIVITY
Early in his Christian life the believer must learn the basics of God’s game plan. He must practice and master certain rudimentary skills until they become second nature to him. The new believer may not understand the system, but God has issued basic mandates and the believer must obey them. The Christian way of life begins with obedience, not with perfect understanding.
Gate two represents the routine procedure of the Christian way of life. Obe¬dience to basic techniques of daily life in God’s system creates and maintains ob¬jectivity.(Looking at life, people, circumstances and self the way they are! not the way you "feel" they should be!) Gate two, the objectivity gate, is mandatory for the function of the other gates of the love complex (2Ti 1:7). The techniques of gate two are designed to sustain the daily discipline of living in the Word of God, Psa 1:2-3.
The basic techniques of gate two go beyond rebound to include claiming Divine promises Rom 8:28-31 and exercising impersonal love, Rom 13:8. I will summarize the principle of claiming promises then define impersonal love, which is essential to the dynamics of Christian integrity.
Claiming the promises that God has given us eliminates fear, worry, and anxiety—sins that cut off thinking. The immature believer can cling to promises until he can learn enough Bible doctrine to fully understand God’s plan for his life.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight [accurate].
(Prov 3:5-6)
And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. (Deu 31:8)
Therefore, the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who wait for Him. (Isa 30:18)
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on Him, because He cares for you. (1Pe 5:6-7)
Promises enable the growing believer to enter the “peace of God which passes all understanding” (Php 4:7). In this peace or “rest” (Heb 4:1-3), he possesses the objectivity required to think clearly and function in the other gates of the Divine dynasphere.
Relying on the promises of God is only the first step of the faith-rest drill, a three-step technique for applying doctrine to life. A believer acquires the ability to utilize the entire faith-rest drill as he grows in doctrine, but from the beginning of his Christian life he can latch on to Divine promises and stabilize himself under pressure.
The practice of impersonal love also contributes to the new believer’s objec¬tivity. An entire gate, gate six, is devoted to the virtue of impersonal love, but at this point in gate two, impersonal love becomes an issue and must be developed as a category of doctrine.
SPIRITUAL PRODUCTION AND THE SUPREME CHRISTIAN VIRTUE
In John 15, where our Lord prophesied the coming of the Divine dynasphere, He also identified spiritual growth and maturity as the objective of the Divine plan! He emphasized that properly motivated Christian production results from spiritual advance. (We grow to be productive! We are not to be productive to grow!) Impersonal love is a category of spiritual produc¬tion and is essential for further growth.
You did not choose Me [God, not man, initiates grace], but I have chosen you [selected you for special privilege, in¬cluding the Divine dynasphere] and I have appointed you [to be placed in the love complex] that you should go [spiritual advance] and that you might produce fruit [maturity as the result of spiritual advance] and that your fruit [mature pro¬duction inside the Divine dynasphere] might persist [con¬tinued function in the Divine dynasphere after reaching maturity]. (Jn 15:16)
To illustrate mature production, Christ described effective prayer as the mature believer’s tremendous privilege to engage Divine power in personal or historical circumstances. Prayer is a weapon for the strong, not an expedient for the weak. Except for the rebound prayer, which restores the believer to the Divine power system, all effective prayer must be offered inside the Divine dynasphere, Psa 66:18. Because the Father is the author of the Divine plan and designer of the Divine dynasphere, all prayer is addressed to Him in the name of Christ, who won our salvation and pioneered the Christian way of life.
That whatever you might ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you. (Jn 15:16)
God’s commands for the royal family are classified as mandates for either residence or function. Residence in the Divine dynasphere is exploited through function in the Divine dynasphere. Rebound fulfills the mandate to “reside in love” (Jn 15:9); then in the strength of gate one, we generate Christian pro¬duction as we “walk by means of love” (Eph 5:2), obeying the functional man¬dates. Prayer is an example of a functional responsibility of every believer (1Th 5:17): in the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:26-27), the believer is given the privilege of bringing gratitude, intercessions, and personal petitions before the throne of grace (Heb 4:16).
A further definition of the “fruit” mentioned by our Lord in Jn 15:16 is found in Gal 5:22-23.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, happiness, prosperity, stead¬fastness, integrity, generosity, doctrinal confidence, humil¬ity, self-discipline. (Gal 5:22-23)
From these two verses we learn that the believer’s production encompasses far more than just the overt fulfillment of Christian responsibilities—giving, prayer, witnessing, service in the local church. These legitimate demonstrations of Christian service, when properly motivated, are the result of spiritual growth, not the cause. Integrity comes first; service demands integrity. True thinking creates true motivation; true motivation creates true action, a right thing must be done in a right way. Christian production is the coordinated, interlocking function of all the gates in the Divine dynasphere empowered by God the Holy Spirit. (2Th 1:11) This takes time and function in fellowship with God.
FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE
Heading the list in Gal 5:22, love receives top billing because it is the title of God’s game plan. First Corinthians 13 shows that love is a system and states that love is the supreme Christian virtue.
Now remain [temporary spiritual gifts are excluded] faith, hope, and love, these three, and the greatest of these [is] love. (1Co 13:13)
Given to only a few believers in the precanon period of the Church Age, temporary spiritual gifts are gone; only the superior virtues remain, which are available to all. The virtues of faith, hope, and love are part of our permanent heritage as spiritual aristocracy.
Translated “faith,” the Greek noun pistis has a dual connotation. In its ob¬jective sense pistis means “what is believed,” Bible doctrine. Never in any previous dispensation has Bible doctrine been committed to writing in a com¬pleted canon of Scripture. Pistis also refers, as here, to the believer’s application of doctrine to experience, the faith-rest technique. Just as “faith” represents an entire system of applying the Word of God, so also “hope” is a system, which is derived from knowledge of doctrine. Hope is absolute confidence in future Divine provisions and blessings (Rom 8:24-25). At each stage of a person’s life, he not only can enjoy the blessings he has but also can anticipate with assurance or “hope for” the blessings that will come with the next stage of growth. Thus, there are three hopes; together they trace an individual’s advance from being an unbeliever who anticipates salvation, to becoming an immature believer who looks forward to supergrace blessings, to becoming a mature believer who eagerly awaits the eternal rewards of heaven. The fulfillment of each hope lays the foundation for the next hope. No matter how much God blesses us, we can always anticipate more.
Both faith-rest and hope are subordinate systems that function within the larger sphere, the love complex. A believer can apply doctrine and advance from hope to hope to hope only inside the Divine dynasphere.
Click: http://rbthieme.org/the4.htm
Faith and hope depend on the Divine system, which empowers us to learn doctrine and sustain our spiritual momentum. Love is superior to either faith or hope because love is the characteristic virtue of the entire Divine system. We will develop the full significance of this virtue when we study the doctrine of virtue-love in connec¬tion with gates five and six of the love complex.
Even before the Church Age began, Christ encapsulated the entire Mosaic Law in two commandments: to love God and to love man (Mat 22:37-40). In the Divine dynasphere nearly every gate involves a specific category of love. In order to describe the basic exercise of impersonal love in gate two, we must define the overall concept of love. We must understand why love is the highest Christian virtue and the Biblical designation for the Christian way of life.
IMPERSONAL AND PERSONAL HUMAN LOVE
In English as well as the Greek, “love” is a transitive verb; love takes both a subject and an object. The subject is the one who loves; the object is the one loved, the recipient of love. In the sentence I love you, “I” is the subject, and “you” is the object.
This distinction between subject and object explains the two basic types of genuine love that exist between members of the human race. I have designated these two categories “impersonal love” and “personal love.” Impersonal love emphasizes the subject; personal love emphasizes the object. Impersonal love depends on the honor and integrity of the one who loves; personal love depends on the attractiveness, capacity, and response of the one who is loved.
By “impersonal” I mean that this love does not require intimacy, friendliness, or even acquaintance with the object of love. A close relationship between subject and object may exist but is not necessary; impersonal love is simply the consistent function of your own integrity toward other people. Imper¬sonal love can be directed toward friends, enemies, loved ones, strangers the attractive or repulsive!—in fact, toward the entire human race. In contrast, personal love requires that you know the object with some degree of intimacy. The object of personal love must be attractive to you, share basic values with you, and have capacity to love you in return. Only a select few people qualify as objects of your personal love, whereas all mankind can be the object of your impersonal love. Personal love, is designed for interaction with a few; impersonal love is designed to benefit the human race. Personal love is highly discriminating; impersonal love is non-discriminating. Personal love is conditional; impersonal love is unconditional, (In the Love Complex). Personal love creates weaknesses. You bring your own problems into any personal relationship, but so does the one you love. The problems, shortcom¬ings, and faults of two people are combined and multiplied by personal love. Your vulnerability to the influence of the one you love can spawn subjectivity and the mental attitude sins of jealousy, self pity, and bitterness. Personal love in the human race is highly volatile, emotionally charged, and complicated with variables and unpredictables that personal love cannot control. Often turbulent and frustrating, personal love is never stronger than the integrity of those in¬volved. An enduring personal love depends on impersonal love.
Impersonal love is the integrity that alone can strengthen, stabilize, and perpetuate personal love. The only variable in impersonal love remains under your control: your own mental attitude. Whereas personal love may lead to com¬promise of true norms and standards, impersonal love never compromises virtue or integrity. Impersonal love for mankind is a result of your relationship with God; personal love is often a distraction from what is most important, Bible doc¬trine. Impersonal love is a problem-solver; personal love can be a problem.
IMPERSONAL LOVE
I Love
Emphasizes subject
Demands integrity in subject
Requires no personal acquaintance
Directed toward all
Unconditional
Virtue
Strong
Stable
Variables under control
Depends on Bible doctrine
Problem solver
Mandatory PERSONAL LOVE
Them
Emphasizes object
Demands attractiveness in object
Requires personal acquaintance
Directed toward few
Conditional
Virtue dependent
Vulnerable
Volatile
Uncontrollable variables
Depends on impersonal love
Problem maker
Optional
IMPERSONAL AND PERSONAL LOVE
In 1Co 13:13 impersonal love, not personal love, is proclaimed the ultimate Christian virtue. Impersonal love, not personal love, furnishes the environment for faith and hope. Impersonal love is mandatory; personal love is op¬tional. Certainly personal love is legitimate and potentially wonderful, but it is virtue-dependent, hinging on the virtue of impersonal love, which represents the highest degree of integrity the soul can attain.
LOVE AND INDEPENDENCE
A believer with impersonal love does not rely on the object of his love for strength and support; he is sustained by Bible doctrine in his own soul. No variables or unpredictables are involved except those controlled by his own self-determination. Based on his own right decisions over an extended period of time to learn and apply doctrine, he can solve or cope with the problems of personal love and maintain a marvelous relationship with another person, or he can be content alone. He functions consistently whether faced with hostility or admira¬tion, antagonism or personal love. His attitude of impersonal love does not de¬pend on emotional stimulation, reciprocation, or attraction. He cannot be manipulated by flattery or approbation. This is the genuine and honorable in¬dependence of the believer who is spiritually self-sustaining. He does not depend on the advice of others or on a pastor’s counseling; Bible doctrine in his own soul gives him the strength and wisdom to live his own life before the Lord. Although genuinely humble and teachable, he is not controlled by what anyone else thinks, says, or does. Impersonal love, generated in the believer’s soul no matter whom he encounters, is the only category of love that can fulfill the Divine mandates to love all believers!!!
I [Jesus Christ] give you [believers] a new mandate, that you love one another; just as I have loved you [in the prototype Divine dynasphere], you also love [impersonal love] one another. (Jn 13:34)
Some Christians are admirable, but then again others are among the most ar¬rogant, self righteous, boorish, obnoxious people on the face of the earth. Even a wonderful, mature believer can have a personality, background, life-style, or combination of interests that makes him utterly incompatible with you. Accord¬ing to Divine mandates you must love all these believers. Obviously your ex¬clusive personal love cannot be granted to rude, arrogant believers or to those with whom you have no rapport. Nor should you burn up your nervous energy trying to do the impossible—personally love all Christians.
The only love you can possess for most individuals is based, not on their weaknesses, idiosyncrasies, or incompatibility with you, but on the strength of your own character. Through impersonal love your attitude toward everyone will be basically the same, manifested in courtesy, thoughtfulness, sensitivity to the feelings of others, tolerance, and flexibility in nonessential areas of disagree¬ment or dispute. Such attitudes can be consistently maintained toward any believer, regardless of how incompatible your personalities or modus vivendi (way of life) may be. Christian love is not condescending, hypocritical, or self righteous.
Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. (Rom 12:9)
Impersonal love is not a stoic, artificial, emotionless facade, but rather a gracious attitude consistent with the doctrine in your soul. The policy of imper¬sonal love is simply this: integrity toward all, no matter who or what they are. Through this attitude your spiritual aristocracy is revealed as you honorably represent Christ in the devil’s world.
Impersonal love must be directed not just toward other believers but toward unbelievers as well. You need not determine that a person is a Christian before you exhibit Christian love. This explains God’s commands that you love your neighbors—everyone in your periphery—and even your enemies.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself [from your own in¬tegrity]. (Mark 12:31)
You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you; in order that you may show yourselves to be sons of your Father [the author of the Divine dynasphere] who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you [personal love], what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same? (Mat 5:43-46)
Personal love for another member of the human race is not a virtue in itself but must rely on the true virtue of impersonal love. The Divine mandates to love all mankind command us to develop integrity and, in all our relationships with other people, to live by our own honor.
"With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Mat 19:26
REBOUND AND THE RELAXED MENTAL ATTITUDE
In contrast to the mature integrity of the advanced believer, basic imper¬sonal love at gate two of the Divine dynasphere is simply a relaxed mental attitude. Basic impersonal love is the absence of mental attitude sins toward those you know or do not know, toward friends or enemies.
But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (Luk 6:27-28)
The believer who utilizes rebound to reenter gate one after he has sinned, but who then becomes arrogant, jealous, angry, petty, vindictive, afraid, or filled with self-pity or guilt, has again removed himself from the Divine dynasphere. He has been tempted to sin and has acquiesced. This problem of chain sinning is solved by rebound and an immediate interlock with gate two. The relaxed mental attitude of basic impersonal love insulates the believer against the temptations of the old sin nature. You must rebound and then start remembering verses and principles and promises Rom 8:28-32; Rom 14:13, or the lack of stability will continue! When Gal 5:22 states that “the fruit of the Spirit is love,” some believers expect the fruit of the Spirit to appear, as if by magic, as soon as they rebound and regain the filling of the Spirit. When a feeling of love for all mankind does not materialize instantaneously, they assume that something is wrong with the rebound technique. They then resort to remorse, penance, self effacement, or self-reproach in an attempt to deserve God’s forgiveness and feel restored to fellowship with Him. This common practice among immature Chris¬tians is an exercise in futility. First, God forgives us because He is perfect justice (1Jn 1:9); the sin we confess in rebound was judged on the Cross. Second, we cannot earn forgiveness. Restoration to fellowship was earned for us by the only one who is qualified to earn it, the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who gave us His own Divine dynasphere. Human works added to the work of Christ are blasphemous (Eph 2:8-9). Third, we are instantly restored to fellowship, but the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Church Age is not related to feelings or emotion. We may feel wonderful or wretched and still be filled with the Spirit, just as we may have felt wonderful or wretched when we first believed in Christ yet were still saved. Emotion is never the criterion of spiritual status (Rom 16:18).
Fourth, the love designated as the fruit of the Spirit is impersonal love, not personal love. We need not feel any kind of special inner warmth to manifest the fruit of the Spirit. We must, however, avoid mental attitude sins in order to fulfill the Divine mandate to “love one another.” Finally, even freedom from mental attitude sins is not automatic with rebound. God is faithful (1Jn 1:9); rebound always works; we are always forgiven, cleansed, and free from mental attitude sins when we rebound. But our restoration to fellowship with God may last only a split second. We possess free will, and as soon as we rebound we can choose to sin again. At all times we are solely responsible for our own state of mind. We must interlock gate one with gate two as soon as we rebound, or we will be out of the Divine dynasphere again. Consistent impersonal love as the fruit of the Spirit requires us to be continually filled with the Spirit.
APPLYING DOCTRINE IN REBOUND
Only our volition can resolve the problem of chain sinning. With rebound, the filling of the Spirit, and the application of Bible doctrine, God has given us the power to break the momentum of consecutive sinning. Upon rebounding we must use doctrine to resist the temptation to follow one sin with another. Hence, rebound has three stages.
First, we claim God’s rebound promises by naming our already-judged sins to Him.
Second, we remember the doctrine that, because of the Cross, we are completely restored to fellowship inside the Divine dynasphere.
Third, we take control of the situation by forgetting that sin and moving on in the plan of God.
Claiming promises, recalling a logical rationale, and reaching doctrinal conclusions that enable us to take control of the situation constitute the three stages of the faith-rest drill. Faith-rest, which we will develop in greater detail in our study of gate four of the Divine dynasphere, is an essential technique that adapts to rebound or any other practical application of God’s Word. The ability to avoid mental attitude sins comes from self discipline in apply¬ing the doctrine we know. There is a pertinent doctrine to neutralize every men¬tal attitude sin. Vindictiveness and implacability are dispelled by taking God at His word when He says, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay” (Rom 12:19). Fear is removed by the doctrine that “if God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31). Arrogance and self-righteousness are excluded when we remember that we are not appointed to judge other people (Mat 7:1-2; Luk 6:37; Rom 2:1). And we are left with no cause for jealousy since our own blessings are sufficient and perfectly timed for our maximum benefit: we must concentrate on what we have, not on what we have not. (Mat 6:25-34).
Your love must be non-hypocritical; despise the evil [in¬cluding mental attitude sins], adhere to the good [the plan of God for your own life]; with regard to your brotherly love [impersonal love], be devoted to each other. (Rom 12:9-10)
In place of mental attitude sins, impersonal love insures the serenity of mind that lays the foundation for toleration, flexibility, courtesy, thoughtfulness, and discretion. These manifestations of integrity, demanded by the royal family honor code, become stronger and more constant as the believer advances in learning Bible doctrine under the power of the Holy Spirit (1Co 2:4-5). Doctrine in the soul is the raw material from which the Spirit manufactures the fruit of the Spirit. If you are negative toward doctrinal teaching and refuse to store up God’s Word in your soul, the filling of the Spirit will be intermittent and will not pro¬duce the characteristics of maturity. In the absence of doctrine, the old sin nature dominates the inner, spiritual conflict for control of the soul. By giving doctrine first priority in your life, you rise above the pettiness that engenders mental at¬titude sins, and you establish yourself in gate two of the love complex. Bible doc¬trine strengthens objectivity and sustains the relaxed mental attitude.
JESUS CHRIST’S IMPERSONAL LOVE
The perfect example of impersonal love was the Lord Jesus Christ living in the original Divine dynasphere. Since sin is impossible inside the love complex (1Jn 3:9) and Christ remained in the love complex throughout His Incarnation (Jn 15:10), our Lord never committed a mental attitude sin. He never departed from His impersonal love for all mankind, not even when being ridi¬culed by arrogant scribes and Pharisees. In addition to being our unique Savior, Jesus was also a man of matchless grace, courage, thoughtfulness, honor, and in¬tegrity toward people and circumstances. He possessed a resolute, stabilized mental attitude. Indeed, He reached maturity # 1 sometime before twelve years of age (Luk 2:42-52) so that His impersonal love rapidly exceeded the basic modus operandi (way of operating) of gate two of the love complex and became the functional virtue of gate six.
During His life on earth, the ultimate demonstration of Christ’s impersonal love was His stalwart attitude throughout His trials and crucifixion. Certainly no one can duplicate His saving work, but Christ enjoins us to emulate toward others the attitude He sustained toward all of us when He acquiesced to the ordeal of unjust and prejudiced treatment at the hands of evil men.
When anyone loves father or mother [personal love] more than Me [personal love for Christ, which motivates imper¬sonal love for mankind], he is not worthy of Me [he is not living in the Divine dynasphere as Christ lived in the pro¬totype].... And when anyone does not take up his cross [impersonal love and human desires] and follow Me [in the love complex], he is not worthy of Me. "He who has found his life (Human will) will lose it, (God's will) and he who has lost his life (living in the old nature) for My sake will find it.(The new nature that appreciates God!) (Mat 10:37-39)
Christ does not suggest we stop loving our parents, exhort us to endure literal crucifixion, or teach us to place a premium on suffering. Only His suffering was efficacious; the self-flagellation of religion is an abomination. Instead, our Lord commands us to obey the plan of God for our lives, setting aside every distrac¬tion. For Him the plan of God required death on the Cross; for us the plan of God secures maximum blessing in the power of the Divine dynasphere. The growing believer’s impersonal love establishes his inner strength and separates him from people, organizations, and activities that would clutter his mind with false con¬cepts, dissipate his time and energy, and interfere with his spiritual progress. Taking up one’s cross occurs in the soul; it is mental separation from the influ¬ences of Satan’s world.
THE EXAMPLE OF THE CROSS
Christ had been tortured and abused throughout the night in Jewish and Roman courts, but when He staggered from the Praetorium carrying that beam of wood on His lacerated back, He was neither a Jewish nor a Roman criminal. He was the perfect God-Man, the unique Person of the universe. He had been beaten and condemned to death by men who did not deserve to touch the hem of His robe. Throughout His seven trials He refused to execrate or rail against His cruel and unfair treatment. When scourged, He “opened not His mouth,” refus¬ing even to show pain (Acts 8:32). Our Lord’s valiant courage under the most agonizing pressure is proof that the power of impersonal love in the Divine dynasphere does triumph over evil.
As Christ was nailed to the Cross, He saw around Him wicked men gloating over their apparent victory. Yet He did not lower Himself to their level by de¬nouncing them. He functioned on His own honor and integrity. He did not react to their dishonor (Luk 23:32-46). Christ remained free from all mental attitude sins even when God the Father, who loved Him and whom He loved, imputed to Him the sins of mankind and became His judge. The pain of spiritual death was so excruciating to our perfect Savior that He screamed and kept screaming (Psa 22:1). He had the power to end His ordeal at any moment, yet He remained on the Cross and bore the punishment until every human sin was paid for in full.
As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. . Isa 53:11
When Christ was bearing our sins, no member of the human race deserved to be the object of His personal love. Only Christ was impeccable; everyone else is a sinner and contributed to His agony on the Cross. Personal rapport with anyone was impossible, and He endured the Cross alone, in the strength of His own perfect integrity, the quintessence of impersonal love. When He took up His Cross, He switched from personal to impersonal love, mentally separating Him¬self from the entire human race, including those He had personally loved during the Incarnation (Jn 19:25-27). Under Divine judgment Christ concentrated exclusively on the Bible doctrine in His soul, and He commands us to emulate His concentration on God’s Word, to remember Him and follow His example in the Divine dynasphere, Heb 12:2-4.
In the Communion service, or Eucharist, we focus our minds on Jesus Christ in a tribute, an auld lang syne, to the One we love (Luk 22:19). The bread represents the Person of Christ; the cup, His work of salvation on the Cross. As we partake of the bread, we remember the personal love of Christ: His love for the Father that motivated Him to obey God’s plan in every detail “unto death, even the death of the Cross” (Php 2:8). As we partake of the cup, we concentrate on His impersonal love: His integrity as He ‘endured the Cross, having disregarded the shame” of being imputed with the sins of mankind and judged by the Father in our place, Isa 53:10; 2Co 5:21; Rom 8:3. Impersonal love is far stronger than personal love. Impersonal love, not per¬sonal love, enabled Jesus to remain undaunted against those who were reviling and taunting Him, those who would never appreciate His saving work on their behalf, who would live out their lives in unbelief, die, and spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. He was fully aware of their arrogant, intransigent hostility against Him, yet He died in their place without harboring a single mental attitude sin, without succumbing to the temptation to retaliate (1Jn 2:2; 1Pe 2:22-23). Christ demonstrated a perfectly relaxed mental attitude as He operated on His in¬ner resources of Bible doctrine even when the sins of Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate, Herod, and the priests of the Sanhedrin came up for judgment on the Cross. Perhaps more startling to us, when the sins of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao Tse-tung were imputed to Him and judged, Christ’s impersonal love kept Him on the Cross without complaint.
SEPARATION AND IMPERSONAL LOVE
When our Lord commands, “Take up your cross and follow Me,” He means, “Develop impersonal love. Live on the basis of your own integrity from the Bible doctrine in your own soul. Do not let the pressures of life distract you from living according to God’s game plan.” By the order “take up your cross,” Christ is not advocating a martyr complex or self-sacrifice, as some Christians assume; He is advocating personal integrity. This is the true doctrine of separation,
And they went on to another village. As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head," Luk 9:57-58. (God's will must become more important than human security Luk 12:29-31) And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." But He said to him, "Allow the (Spiritually) dead to bury their own (Physically) dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God," Luk 9:60. (God's will 1Ti 2:4 must also be more important than tradition, sentiment, or social acceptance Jn 15:19) Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home." But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God," Luk 9:61-62. (Truth must be more important than what your family thinks you should do Luk 18:29-30) "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions, Luk 14:33. “If because of the Sabbath, (Heb 4:9-11) you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the rest a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word, Then you will take delight in the LORD, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; (Be a mature believer) And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the LORD has spoken," Isa 58:13-14.
As members of the royal family of God, we are in the world but not of the world. Our spiritual heritage is heavenly, not earthly, yet God preserves us alive in the devil’s world after salvation to represent the absent Christ. God does not totally separate us from the devil’s kingdom but intends that we advance to spiritual maturity and become imitators of God and ambassadors of Christ in whatever circumstances we find ourselves (Eph 5:1; 2Co 5:20). God is glorified by our lives in the devil’s world when we can be prospered with phenomenal blessings of supergrace in the midst of the failures, pseudo-blessings, pseudo-happiness, and misery that characterize Satan’s counterfeit systems.
The devil’s world has a pull greater than any force of gravity to draw the believer away from the Divine dynasphere. Regardless of our dedication or altruism, we cannot improve Satan’s evil system; we can only avoid his in¬fluence by opting for the power of God’s perfect system. God alone can successfully oppose evil. He will eradicate evil in His perfect time, but our human good contributes nothing to the Divine plan (Isa 64:6). Indeed, Satan sponsors human good, and the old sin nature produces human good. The quickest road to evil is always through human good. We must depend on Divine power, which alone produces intrinsic good (Rom 8:28).
God’s purpose for our lives on earth requires that we mentally separate ourselves unto Him. As we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we renew our minds with the Mind of Christ (2Pe 1:2; Rom 12:2; 1Co 2:16). Simultaneously we separate ourselves from satanic distractions that would swerve us away from God’s plan. Impersonal love, which depends on the subject, never the object, is the requisite attitude toward anyone or anything that would prevent us from fulfilling our spiritual destiny. Impersonal love obeys the Divine commands to avoid reversionism, (2Th 3:6-14; 2Ti 3:5; Heb 13:13) perversion, (1Co 5:10) emotionalism, (Rom 16:17) negative voli¬tion, (Mat 10:34-40; 1Jn 2:15-17) marriage to an unbeliever, (2Co 6:14) idolatry, (2Co 6:15-16) distracting social life, (1Pe 4:3-4) and crime, (Prov 1:10-19).
We must separate ourselves from Satan’s nefarious, multifaceted systems, but always our emphasis must be separation unto God, not separation from the world. Each believer must stress the function of Bible doctrine in his own soul and his own Christian integrity, not the object he wishes to avoid. We must focus on doctrine, not on the evils we intend to leave behind. In this manner we avoid the arrogance of self-righteous crusading, which itself is a subtle satanic trap. The proper spiritual priority places doctrine before the influence of any personal relationship, even beneficial relationships built on doctrine (Mat 10:37; Rom 12:1-3). As a result of spiritual growth, we leave behind entanglements that would impede our continued advance, 2Ti 2:4. Loyalty to the Truth supersedes but does not eliminate loyalty to people and organizations. Separation means, first, to avoid distractions by switching from personal to impersonal love in mental separation. Then, only if necessary and if possible, physical separation is a drastic measure to avoid satanic influence by removing yourself from a relationship. In most cases mental separation is sufficient without the unwarranted major surgery of abruptly removing yourself from those who were once close friends, loved ones, or associates. If you retreat from every situation that puts pressure on you, you will be continually running from one problem to another without making any progress in the Christian life. Often pressure is designed to teach, and you accelerate your spiritual growth by re¬maining under pressure, exercising impersonal love, and waiting on the Lord! Impersonal love insulates you from false influences, even when you are in their presence, while also eliminating instability, bitterness, hostility, malice, subjectivity, revenge, and arrogance. Impersonal love is not swayed by any rela¬tionship but continues to operate with capacity for life under all circumstances. Impersonal love is civilized separation, in contrast to the boorish, arrogant behavior of those Christians who call attention to themselves by self-righteously “taking a stand” against the world!
THE INTEGRITY OF GOD / DIVINE LOVE
In designing the power system that would sustain Christ’s humanity on earth, God patterned the love complex after His own Divine attribute of love."According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it, Exo 25:9.
The outside of the Tabernacle was plain leather ram's skins. (The Human body of Christ) Heb 10:5; Exo 25:5. The Inside Pure Gold, Silver, Beauty, (This is an illustration of the copy of God's Nature) That Christ perfected in the Love Complex, and that we manufacture inside the same system! For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the Divine Nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust, 2Pe 1:4. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world, 1Jn 4:16-17.
God is much more than love. He is a Person; His essence consists of many attributes, all of which exist together in complete consistency and integrity. The function of one attribute never compromises any other. God’s love is perfect, but His love is also perfect in its relationship with His sovereignty, righteousness, justice, eternity, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, immutability, veracity, and all other characteristics of His essence, A case in point: God never blesses us on the basis of His love. God’s love motivates Him to prosper us, but any Divine blessing given to imperfect man must be compatible with God’s justice.
Justice and righteousness are the two Divine attributes that directly influence all God’s blessings to us. Together these two attributes have been traditionally designated the holiness of God (Isa 6:3), but holiness has become an obscure term. Integrity is a more definitive and meaningful word. Righteousness is the principle of Divine integrity; justice is the function of Divine integrity.
God’s justice is not an arbitrary or precipitous attribute but invariably operates according to the absolute standard of His perfect righteousness. What righteousness demands, justice executes: if righteousness disapproves, justice condemns; if righteousness approves, justice blesses. Hence, grace involves far more than “unmerited favor,” as grace is commonly defined. Grace is the policy of the justice of God for blessing mankind. Click: http://rbthieme.org/the2.htm
Since our sinful status at birth violates God’s standards, He cannot treat us on the basis of His personal love. Instead, every action that God takes toward sinful man must be endorsed by His justice to avoid compromising His righteousness. Because justice is the guardian of the essence of God, Divine justice, not Divine love, is man’s point of contact with God. Justice, not love, is the source of all Divine blessings. Toward us, Divine justice takes precedence over Divine love.
Under grace the justice of God has accomplished everything necessary to make us acceptable to His righteousness. This is the doctrine of propitiation (Rom 3:25; 1Jn 2:2, 1Jn 4:10) as the foundation for the doctrine of justification (Rom 3:28; 2Co 5:21). Propitiation means that on the Cross Jesus Christ satisfied the righteousness of God the Father on our behalf. Justification is the doctrine that, at the moment we first believed in Christ, God credited to us His own absolute righteousness and declared us to be totally acceptable to His integrity! By imputing Divine righteousness to us, God has made our position so ab¬solutely, eternally secure that He blesses us on the principle of His impartial fairness. Divine righteousness, resident in us, deserves blessing! (Not Us) The approval to bless us has come from the most exalted authority, the supreme court of heaven. Nothing can overturn that decision. Divine righteousness in the essence of God gives approval for justice to bless Divine righteousness in us. This judicial verdict is executed by God’s absolute justice, which gives us the right blessings at the right time.
Timing is essential. Even when we are spiritually mature, timing must be right. God has a plan for each believer’s life and knows each individual’s capaci¬ty; too much prosperity at the wrong time can destroy a person more quickly than intense adversity (1Co 10:13). Only through doctrine can we keep pace with God’s timing. In grace, therefore, God gives us every blessing that we have the capacity to receive and appreciate. He has already given us the means for developing capacity: the Divine dynasphere. If grace were based on love instead of justice, God’s plan would be reduced to favoritism, maudlin sentimentality, and competition for Divine approbation; the Divine dynasphere would become a hollow shell of superficiality.
LOVE BASED ON INTEGRITY
When we understand God’s policy of grace, we are confident that when He prospers us His entire essence is involved, not just His love. Divine love does not and cannot function independently of His integrity. But the connection between God’s love and God’s integrity has escaped most Christians today. Tragically, believers have created God in their own image, ascribing to Him their own superficial, emotional love. The Bible tells us that God is love, but that does not imply that He is sentimental about us. He does not bless or reward us for our human good works or sincerity in wanting to please Him. These are man’s illu¬sions, not God’s plan. God blesses us only according to His own game plan, and He disciplines us when we depart from His plan. God never changes: only man changes. Blessing or discipline from God perfectly reflects changes in man while the justice of God remains consistent. God is completely impartial; His standards are absolute; His love comes to us only by way of His integrity.
God’s love, therefore, possesses all the strength of His integrity. Likewise, in the Divine dynasphere our personal love for a few derives its strength from our integrity, and our integrity is demonstrated in our impersonal love for all.
Beloved [members of the royal family], let us love each other [impersonal love in the Divine dynasphere], because love is from God. (1Jn 4:7)
Love is from God because He is the source of the love complex and because His love is the pattern for all genuine human love. As John continues to explain Christian love, he specifies “everyone who loves,” referring to believers only, those to whom the epistle is written. Unbelievers are never addressed as “belov¬ed.”
Furthermore, everyone who loves [the believer’s imper¬sonal love] has been born from the source of God [initial en¬try into the Divine dynasphere at the moment of salvation] and has come to know God [impersonal love is visible evidence of the believer’s knowledge of Bible doctrine and God, (Jer 9:24) ac¬quired at gate four of the invisible love complex]. When anyone does not love [with impersonal love], he has not come to know God [malfunction of gate four], because God is love. (1Jn 4:7-8)
Genuine love between members of the human race originates from God because He invented the love complex and through the love complex has provid¬ed Bible doctrine. Capacity for human love involves thought, emotion, and physical and spiritual expression from doctrine in the soul. Knowledge of doc¬trine builds our integrity, which is our capacity for love, and orients us to the reality of God’s essence. In God’s essence His attribute of love is the pattern for human love. God’s attribute of love shows us in terms of absolute, ultimate reali¬ty the difference between impersonal and personal love and the true superiority of impersonal love. These distinctions are clarified by understanding the three categories of God’s love. His love is classified according to its objects: Divine love directed toward God, toward man, and toward policy.
GOD’S LOVE FOR GOD
PERFECT SELF-SUFFICIENCY
God’s love for His own essence explains 1Jn 4:8, “God is love.” Only God is said to be love. We may love someone or something or may be in love, but we never are love. Human love is always related to an object. “God is love” means not only that His love is an attribute of His essence, an integral part of who and what He is, and that Divine love is the quintessence of love, but also that His love does not require an object. Before God created the universe, He loved just as He loves today and will love forever. God is immutable and eternal, and as an attribute of His perfect Divine essence, His love always existed,
We may or may not have capacity to love, depending on our integrity. Our love for another person can grow or disappear. We can fall in or out of love, but God does not. Our love fluctuates; His does not. God’s love remains eternal and changeless because He is eternal and changeless. Changes in us do not create changes in God’s love. His love does not depend on us or any other object.
God’s integrity supports and guarantees His love, but His love also is directed toward His own integrity. This tremendous inner affinity within the at¬tributes of God is expressed in the statement that God is love. He loves who and what He is. God perfectly fulfills His own uncompromising standards; therefore, He loves His own righteousness and justice (Psa 11:7; Psa 33:5; Psa 37:28).
In man, total self-love is arrogance because we are imperfect and sinful; in God, total self-love is legitimate because He is absolutely worthy. God would compromise His integrity if He loved anything less than perfection, but He would also be compromised if He failed to love what is perfect, His own essence. If God did not love Himself, there would be no reason for us to love Him, but when we share His thinking through Bible doctrine, we come to share His own respect and love for Himself.
Remember the former things long past,
For I am God and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me,
Declaring the end from the beginning
And from ancient times things which have not been done,
Saying, “My purpose will be established,
And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.”
(Isa 46:9-10)
God knows Himself to be beyond comparison with any other being, and in the interest of absolute Truth He claims all glory for Himself. The purpose of God’s game plan is His own glorification through blessing us. Indeed, only om¬nipotent God is capable of glorifying Himself as He deserves, which explains why human good is unacceptable to God. Our residence and function inside His power system enables God to demonstrate the utter superiority of His nature and to be glorified to the maximum in our lives.
SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE DIVINE LOVE
God exists in three separate and distinct personalities, each having identical Divine attributes from eternity past: the Father, (1Co 8:6; Eph 1:3) the Son, (Jn 10:30; Jn 14:9; Col 2:9) and the Holy Spirit (Isa 11:2; Exo 31:3; Acts 28:25; Prov 1:23) The Godhead is one in essence, three in personality (Isa 6:8-9) We have been created in the Image of God. Body, Soul and Spirit, and these three are one! As believers we share His Body Soul and Spirit!
So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members’ one of another, Rom 12:5.
"He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me, Jn 14:24.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, Gal 5:22.
Our body has life, our soul has life, and our spirit has life, and they are one! (1Th 5:23) When the essence of God is in view, God is said to be one; (Deu 32:39) when the individual Members of the Godhead are in view, God is said to be three! (Luk 3:22; 2Co 13:14) The doctrine of the Trinity introduces a distinction in describing God’s love: God’s love for God is both subjective and objective. God’s subjective love is the love of each Member of the Trinity for His own integrity. God’s objective love is each Person’s love for the equal integrity of the other two Members of the Trinity. This means that God the Father subjectively loves His own righteousness and justice with maximum love, but since God the Son and God the Holy Spirit possess identical righteousness and justice, He also loves them with maximum objective love. Likewise, the Son loves His own in¬tegrity as a matter of subjective love and loves the integrity of the Father and the Holy Spirit with objective love. So also, the Spirit loves Himself subjectively and loves the Father and the Son objectively. Subjectivity is different in God than in man. The attributes of God’s essence guarantee that God’s subjective thinking is perfect, just as His objective thinking is perfect. In human beings subjectivity is a breeding ground for evil. A subjec¬tive person, whether believer or unbeliever, is preoccupied with himself. Sub¬jectivity cuts him off from God’s game plan. Therefore, the self-occupied person is arrogantly divorced from reality and in opposition to the Truth. God is the author of reality, the designer of the Divine dynasphere, which is patterned after His Nature. God is Truth (Jn 14:6; 1Jn 5:6).
We can learn Truth and think Truth, but God is Truth. We comprehend Truth in three categories: the Divine laws of establishment, the Gospel, and Bible doc¬trine. Every category of Truth is an aspect of God’s perfect purpose and design. The Divine decrees, through which God established the existence of every detail of reality, are based on all the attributes of who and what He is, which He has objectively revealed in the written canon of Scripture. God’s veracity guarantees His absolute freedom from compromise, contradiction, or falsehood in all He thinks, says, or does (Deu 32:4). His omniscience knows all things from eternity past, throughout history, and forever. His knowledge is not restricted, nor is His span of concentration limited, as is ours. Concentration is a human virtue, but God never needs to exclude one subject in order to focus on another. He is constantly occupied with all things at once! He cannot be distracted, lose His perspective, or become divorced from reality. Since He is a Person, God is conscious of Himself, and when He thinks about Himself, as He always does, He is thinking the Truth. God’s subjectivity is legitimate, necessary, and perfect, just as His self-love is legitimate, necessary, and perfect.
God’s love for God is subjectively internal within the essence of each Member of the Godhead
and objectively external between the Members of the Godhead. This establishes the pattern of love as a transitive verb with a subject and an object. At the absolute source of love, both the subject and the object are equal. Both are God. This love relationship between the three Members of the Trinity is the most exclusive relationship in the universe. The entry requirements are infinite, ab¬solute, and perfect—impossible for sinful man to meet. As fallen mankind we simply do not qualify for the same love that the Members of the Trinity merit. Our beggarly human good, by which we attempt to please God, is not only a blasphemous insult to His superior standards but is an arrogant attempt to in¬trude on God’s love and God’s plan. No wonder the Scriptures say, “By grace are you saved.. . not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph 2:8-9). No wonder we are dependent on the interlocking system of love, the system of power that God has ordained. We have no entrée with God apart from the system He has given us!
GOD’S LOVE FOR MAN
The second category of Divine love is directed outside the Godhead toward imperfect man. As in God’s love for God, Divine integrity is involved, except that now the integrity resides only in the subject, not in the object of love. Hence, God’s love for man is classified as Divine impersonal love and, toward those who fulfill His plan, Divine personal love. This further establishes the pattern for human love inside the Divine dynasphere. Divine impersonal love emphasizes the subject; Divine personal love emphasizes the object. Divine impersonal love emphasizes the integrity of God; Divine personal love emphasizes the spiritual condition and positive volition of the object. Divine impersonal love is uncondi¬tional, directed toward all; Divine personal love is conditional, directed toward the few who execute God’s game plan (Rom 9:13; Acts 26:17-18).
Divine Impersonal Love
Divine Personal Love
Emphasizes subject
Integrity of God
Unconditional
Toward all
Emphasizes object
Positive volition of man
Conditional
Toward a few
GOD’S IMPERSONAL AND PERSONAL LOVE FOR MAN
The criterion for God’s love, both impersonal and personal, is always His own absolute integrity: He loves only what His righteousness approves. Each Person of the Godhead loves absolute Divine righteousness, but how can God direct that same love toward imperfect human beings whom His perfect righteousness rejects and His justice has condemned? God cannot compromise any Divine standard without destroying His integri¬ty. If His integrity is destroyed, so is His love. This is a critical issue for man to understand. God cannot be God if He loves the unworthy, yet He is said to love all mankind (Jn 3:16), whom He condemns at birth (Rom 5:19). The solution is found in Divine impersonal love, which depends exclusively on the absolute character of God. Perfect God can create only that which is perfect. When He created Adam and the woman, the human race was a fitting object for Divine personal love. As perfect humanity Adam was not equal with God, but neither did he violate God’s integrity. No conflict with Divine righteousness and justice existed with man in the perfection of the Garden, with the result that Divine love was God’s point of contact with man. Adam and the woman were blessed from God’s love rather than from His justice. Grace is the policy of God’s justice in blessing sinful man, but man had not yet sinned. There was no need for grace until the Fall of man.
When Adam chose to sin, God condemned him. Divine justice, the executor of Divine righteousness, became God’s point of contact with man in place of Divine love. The emphasis in God’s relationship with Adam shifted from the ob¬ject, man, to the subject, God, whose righteousness and justice are absolute, immutable, and eternally worthy of Divine love. At the Fall of man, God switched from Divine personal love to Divine impersonal love. Divine impersonal love never relies on the merit of its object. Instead, the integrity of the subject established grace as an entirely new Divine policy, under which the justice of God initiated a plan to save fallen man.
For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through Him. (Jn 3:17)
Believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved. (Acts 16:31)
THE EXTENT OF GOD’S IMPERSONAL LOVE
Can perfect God love imperfect, condemned, depraved, unregenerate man? Yes, but only with impersonal love. We are born spiritually dead because of Adam’s Fall (Rom 5:12), but from the moment of physical birth every human being is the beneficiary of the integrity of God. Our lack of merit does not pre¬vent God from designing and executing a plan to save us without violating His own standards. Under the principle of grace before judgment, God delays final judgment to permit us the opportunity to believe in Christ and receive eternal life.
Or do you disparage [by maliciously judging each other] the riches of His generosity [God’s impersonal love, His “kind¬ness” to man based solely on His own integrity] and clemen¬cy [delay in judgment] and patience [His consistency regardless of our recalcitrance], not knowing that the kind¬ness of God [His impersonal love] brings you to conversion. (Rom 2:4)
God delayed mankind’s final judgment so that He could extend to us His kindness, His impersonal love. An impassable barrier stood between man and God.
Click: http://rbthieme.org/the13.htm
God cannot tolerate sin (Rom 3:23; Jer 17:9) He cannot cancel the penalty of sin (Rom 6:23); nor can He ignore the problem of our physical birth and spiritual death (Eph 2:1). Our position in Adam, which makes us objects of Divine condemnation, cannot suddenly become pleasing to God (1Co 15:22). God’s absolute righteousness can never accept our relative righteousness (Isa 64:6; Rom 9:30-33), nor can any attribute of God’s character be compromised (Isa 46:9; Rom 8:8; 1Ti 6:16). This barrier was removed by the work of Christ on the Cross so that only the Cross now stands between man and God. Only one issue remains: our volition. God cannot coerce our free will without compromising His integrity; He cannot arbitrarily save us. We must freely believe in Christ to be saved and avoid the Last Judgment (Rom 8:1).
If God preempted our volition in salvation, He would destroy His own plan. He would cancel the very purpose of salvation: that each individual might choose to have a personal relationship with Him. Therefore, in impersonal love God does everything except make the decision for us! Positive volition is the only missing link, the only factor needed to complete our reconciliation with God. We are born totally abhorrent to God, but a single decision of nonmeritorious faith in Christ closes the gap and establishes us as God’s beloved sons forever. The mechanics of salvation demonstrate the tremendous scope of God’s impersonal love, the absolute “riches of His generosity.” Without violating His integrity or relying on the unworthy objects of His impersonal love, God marshaled all His infinite genius and power for our advantage, “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,” (to a change of mind concerning Christ) (2Pe 3:9).
THE ALL AND THE FEW IN EACH PHASE OF GOD’S PLAN
God has provided everything for the eternal salvation of every unbeliever and the maximum prosperity of every believer in both time and eternity. If an unbeliever rejects God’s saving grace, he remains the object of only Divine im¬personal love until he dies, when the delay in judgment runs out (Heb 10:27). When the unbeliever accepts the work of Christ, he becomes the object of Divine personal love just as Adam was the object of God’s personal love in the Garden. But God’s plan for the royal family gives us a higher position after salvation than Adam enjoyed before the Fall. God’s game plan is to make us like His Son (Heb 2:10-11). This is the doctrine of sanctification.
Sanctification is a technical, theological term that refers only to the royal family (1Co 1:2; 1Co 1:30) Heb 10:19-20). We are set apart as sacred or consecrated to God; we belong to God under a unique, eternal con¬tract. Faith in Christ affixes our signature to a royal contract under which we share the sanctification of Jesus Christ, the “Holy One from God” (Luke 4:34; Jn 6:69). The death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and session of Christ fulfilled and therefore abrogated the old contract or Old Testament of the Mosaic Law (Rom 10:4; Gal 4:4-5). We live under a new grace contract, the new testament, which we fulfill inside the Divine dynasphere (Gal 5:14-23).
Sanctification is accomplished in three phases: positional, experiential, and ultimate. At the moment of faith in Christ, the believer is placed into union with Christ—positional sanctification and positional death (1Th 5:23; Rom 6:3-8). As the believer functions in Christ’s power sphere and acquires the Mind of Christ, Bible doctrine, he reaches spiritual maturity—experiential sanctification and experiential death (Jn 12:24-26; Jn 17:17). And in heaven the believer receives a body like Christ’s resurrection body—ultimate sanctification and ultimate death of the sin nature (Gal 6:8; 1Jn 3:2; 1Co 15:53-54).
This plan is based on God’s integrity and the work of Christ, not on any merit in the human race. We are the beneficiaries of God’s plan. God loves us because of who and what He is, because of the provisions He has made, because on the Cross His justice fulfilled the demands of His righteousness. This is grace! After salvation the justice of God remains the source of all our blessings. We were saved by grace; we are always under grace, whether objects of God’s im¬personal love or objects of His personal love.
In each phase of God’s plan—phase one, salvation; phase two, the believer in time; or phase three, the believer in eternity—a different category of people is specified. All members of each category receive Divine impersonal love; a few in each group qualify for Divine personal love by obeying God’s will.
God’s Impersonal Love for the All God’s Personal
Love for the Few
PHASE ONE
Salvation ENTIRE HUMAN RACE
Unlimited Atonement BELIEVERS IN CHRIST
Imputed Righteousness
PHASE TWO
Believer on Earth ALL BELIEVERS
Logistical Grace MATURE BELIEVERS
Supergrace
PHASE THREE
Believer in Heaven ALL BELIEVERS
Resurrection Body MATURE BELIEVERS
Eternal Rewards
OBJECTS OF GOD’S IMPERSONAL AND PERSONAL LOVE
In phase one God offers salvation to all mankind from His impersonal love, but only the few accept Christ as Savior and come under God’s personal love. In phase two all believers on earth are sustained and protected by God’s logistical grace from His impersonal love, but only the few utilize logistical grace, advance to maturity, and become recipients of supergrace blessings motivated by His personal love. In phase three all believers in heaven possess the resurrection body, but only the few receive special rewards, decorations, and honors as the most eminent eternal aristocrats.
Divine LOVE IN SALVATION
The category in view in phase one of God’s plan is the entire human race. The doctrine of unlimited atonement declares that Christ died for all mankind (Rom 5:6; 2Co 5:15; 1Ti 2:6; 1Ti 4:10; Tit 2:11; Heb 2:9).
And He [Jesus Christ] is the propitiation [He satisfied God the Father] for our sins, and not ours only, but also for the entire world. (1Jn 2:2)
For God so loved the world [with Divine impersonal love] that He gave His uniquely-born Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (Jn 3:16)
God manifests impersonal love toward everyone. He imputed human life to evil men, like Stalin and Hitler, and presented them with repeated occasions to be saved (Rom 11:32; 2Pe 3:9). The Cross is unconditional. In contrast, God reserves His personal love for only those few who believe in Christ and thus fulfill the conditions of the Gospel. In each generation a different proportion of all living people will trust in Christ, but those few, whatever their number, are the objects of Divine personal love with reference to phase one.
The work of salvation exacted a terrible price, the spiritual death and judgment of Christ on the Cross. No unbeliever has ever earned or deserved salvation, but if God has accomplished the most for those He loves impersonally, He can do only much more than the most for those special few He loves personally. God im¬puted all man’s sins to Christ on the Cross in behalf of the entire human race, but God goes much farther for those who believe in Christ: to them He imputes Divine righteousness.
The most remarkable of all Bible doctrines is that God credits His own righteousness to every believer. We possess forever the very principle and stan¬dard of God’s integrity, the quality that God has respected, honored, and loved throughout all His eternal existence. We could receive no more valuable or significant blessing. Now the same phenomenal love that has always existed be¬tween the Members of the Trinity is directed toward us. God loves His own righteousness; He has given us His righteousness; therefore, He loves us!
He [God the Father] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin (impeccable in the Divine dynasphere] to be sin on our behalf [the judgment of all human sins in Christ], that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2Co 5:21)
For by one man’s disobedience [Adam’s original sin] many [the entire human race] were made sinners, so by the obe¬dience of one [Christ submitting to the death of the Cross] shall many be made righteous [imputed righteousness at salvation]. (Rom 5:19)
And he [Abraham] had believed in the Lord, and He [the Lord] counted it to him for righteousness [Abraham re¬ceived God’s righteousness at the moment of salvation]. (Gen 15:6).
So I stand convinced that neither death nor life, neither demons nor rulers of demons, neither present things nor future things, neither powers, neither height [nothing in heaven] nor depth [nothing in hell] nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord [in union with Christ we share His righteousness]. (Rom 8:38-39)
As spiritual royalty each believer possesses a double portion of Divine righteousness. The righteousness of God the Father is imputed to us at salvation, as it is to every believer of all other dispensations (Gen 15:6). But we also share the righteousness of God the Son through our royal position in union with Christ (2Co 5:21). We are included in the dynamics of “God is love,” not because of who and what we are, but because of who and what God is, because of His integrity!
Divine LOVE FOR THE BELIEVER IN TIME
THE GRACE PIPELINE
After salvation the imputed righteousness of God becomes the home or target for Divine blessings that exceed salvation itself. This principle does not diminish God’s matchless grace in saving us but reveals His infinite capacity for prospering those He personally loves. God’s capacity never changes, but He can do far more for His sons than for His enemies (Rom 5:10). Imputed righteous¬ness creates in us a potential for blessings that never exists in the unbeliever. As a result Divine blessings after salvation can be greater than salvation itself because they are easier for God to give.
This is the doctrine that motivates the advancing believer to persist in learn¬ing God’s Word inside the Divine dynasphere. As he makes the transition from ignorance to cognizance of doctrine, the believer creates in his soul capacity for blessings. The believer’s capability to receive and appreciate Divine grace enables God to prosper him without distracting him and halting his spiritual momentum. Capacity from Bible doctrine in the soul is the missing link that converts potential for blessings into reality. The growing believer anchors his hope or confidence in the knowledge that, far more than his first entrance into the spiritual life at salvation, his life in gate eight will glorify Christ and result in maximum blessing. The principle of greater grace after salvation (Jas 4:6) is expressed by Paul in the words ‘much more” and “surplus of grace.”
For if by the transgression of one [Adam’s original sin], the death [spiritual death] ruled through that one [and it did; we are all condemned at birth for Adam’s sin], much more they [mature believers] who receive in life the surplus of grace [supergrace blessings in phase two from the justice of God] and the gift of righteousness [righteousness as the target in us for supergrace blessings] shall reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ [Now by living in fellowship, will reign over his sin nature]. (Rom 5:17)
The goal is experiential death, to reign over the sin nature now! (Mat 26:38-39; Then we will reign with Christ in eternity! (Rev 3:21) This is what it means to overcome. Christ did not have a sin nature, but was tempted far beyond anything we can imagine! (Heb 4:15) On the cross Satan tempted our LORD using the minds of the chief priests, the elders the rulers, the people, the sribes the soldiers, and the criminals. It was foretold what they would say! All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, "Commit yourself to the LORD; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him." Psa 22:7-8.
Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, "Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, (Mark 15:29)
In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, "He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. "HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE DELIGHTS IN HIM; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'" The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words. (Mat 27:41-44)
And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One." The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!"Now there was also an inscription above Him, "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, "Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us," Luk 23:35-39!
"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? ( The Thinking and Virtue of Christ's Nature completed in us!) (Mark 8:36) By imputing to us Divine righteousness, God has constructed a grace pipeline down which, in His perfect timing, He can pour all the blessings we have the capacity to receive. (Job 1:21) With Divine justice as the source and im¬puted Divine righteousness as the target. The grace pipeline is perfectly in¬sulated or encapsulated by the integrity of God. The encapsulated pipeline seals out all human merit because man’s relative righteousness falls short of God’s absolute righteousness and would create a weak link in the plan of God. Human good is abhorrent to God (Isa 64:6). He never blesses us because of our sincerity, personality, talent, intelligence, per¬sonal sacrifice, diligence, social action, tithing, or emotionalism. Genetically acquired advantages are ultimately a gift from God, and the opportunities to ex¬ploit advantages or overcome disadvantages are also a Divine gift. We cannot take credit for grace and demand that God prosper us for what He Himself has accomplished! Nor does legitimate Christian service, prayer, witnessing, or giv¬ing qualify us for Divine blessings. Honorable Christian activities are in themselves blessings and privileges, not the cause but a result of spiritual growth; they are Divinely afforded opportunities to express our love for God, which itself is a result of growth. (Jn 15:5) Even morality is excluded from the grace pipeline. Genuine morality must exist between members of the human race, but no human action, not even the most meritorious, has any credit with God! (Jer 17:5) Divine justice can bless only Divine righteousness. (2Pe 1:1-4) The encapsulated grace pipeline prevents all possibility of com¬promise to the essence of God while excluding all human self-righteousness. (Tit 3:5-7) God is never impressed with what we do; only we are impressed with what we do. (Prov 18:2) God pours blessings through the grace pipeline to every believer in phase two of His plan, but, as in phase one, a distinction exists between objects of Divine impersonal and personal love. Phase two includes all believers alive on earth. All members of this category experience Divine impersonal love through His ceaseless logistical support, but only the few who persist in the spiritual life become objects of Divine personal love with capacity for supergrace prosperity.
Divine personal love remains constant toward imputed righteousness in all believers, but in the Christian life, God’s integrity continually evaluates believers for blessing or cursing. Volition remains an issue. Even while He disciplines the reversionistic believer, God faithfully supplies all the necessities of life, just as He unfailingly supports the mature believer—while also enriching him with supergrace. Certain basic blessings are poured out to all believers; special additional blessings are reserved for the few.
Essence of God
Justice
The encapsulated grace pipeline
He never blesses us I B I Nor Legitimate
because of our sincerity, I L I Christian
personality, talent, I E I service, prayer
intelligence, diligence, } I S I { witnessing, or
per¬sonal sacrifice, I S I giving, qualify
social action, tithing, I I I us
or emotionalism. I N I for Divine
I G I blessings.
Imputed Righteousness
In the Believer
LOGISTICAL GRACE
Logistical grace, imputed by the justice of God to the righteousness of God in each believer, includes four interrelated categories of blessings.
1. Life support keeps the believer alive until the moment God has decided to call him home (Psa 68:19-20).
2. Temporal supply furnishes such necessities as air, food, shelter, clothing, and transportation (Mat 6:11; Mat 6:25-34).
3. Security provisions protect the believer amid the hazards of the devil’s world (Heb 1:14; Rom 13:4).
4. Spiritual provisions enable every believer to learn Bible doc¬trine and grow to spiritual maturity regardless of human IQ, background, or environment (Mat 4:4; Jn 17:17). Click: http://rbthieme.org/thefour.htm
No matter how you fail or succeed, God will never abandon you. (Heb 13:5-6) Wherever you go, whatever you do, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ you will always be supported by the power and impersonal love of God, for “underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deu 33:27). When the need is greatest, the Lord is nearest (Psa 46:1; Php 4:19).
The Lord is the One shepherding me. I cannot lack for anything. (Psa 23:1)
This I recall to mind [remembering Bible doctrine]; therefore, I have hope [confidence concerning phase two]: the Lord’s grace functions never cease [logistical grace], for His compassions [Divine impersonal love] never fail; they are renewed every morning. Great is Your faithfulness [Divine integrity]. The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore, I have hope in Him. The Lord is good [supergrace blessings in phase two] to those who wait on Him, to the soul who seeks Him! (Lam 3:21-25)
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus illustrated God’s generosity toward even the most undeserving believer by showing that every common sparrow and lily of the field receives the equivalent of logistical grace.
Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
(Mat 6:26)
Logistical grace is supplied to all believers in sufficient, though unequal, quantities to enable them to advance to gate eight of the Divine dynasphere. Equality is never the issue; neither envy of those with more, nor haughtiness toward those with less, has any place in God’s game plan. What matters is how you use the grace God has given you. The spiritual life itself is the epitome of logistical grace. All receive the love complex; few utilize its power. Every believer in phase two has resolved the issue of salvation and constant¬ly receives logistical grace, but many Christians fail to progress beyond salva¬tion!
"But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, (Believers who reached maturity) then the tares (carnal believers) became evident also, (Mat 13:26). Mature believers (Virgins) (Rev 14:4-5) are invited to the marriage supper, (Rev 19:7-9) and are reaped for the wedding. (Rev 14:14-16) The bride is all mature believers from every dispensation. (Heb 11:6; Heb 11:33-40; (Psa 45:9-17) Carnal believers are gathered and put into the wine press, (Rev 14:17-20; Joe 3:11-17 ) and will not get into the wedding, (Mat 25:1-13) Mature believers receive 30/60/100, in rewards. (Mat 13:23) Carnal believers receive a few lashes, many lashes, (Luk 12:46-48) or are thrown into outer darkness, (Mat 24:50-51; Mat 22:12-14) Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah, (Believers!) (Jud 1:10-13) At the Second Advent all unbelievers who received the mark of The Beast are killed, and go to the lake of fire! The other unbelievers are killed by His sword and go to Hades until the end of the Millennium. (Rev 14:9-12; Rev 19:20-21) The millennium is started by the protected believers, (Rev 12:6) "Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. (Believers!) Php 3:19; 1Jn 2:28) "Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. "But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase." (Dan 12:1-4) So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him. (Mal 3:18)
But grow by means of grace [logistical grace] and by means of the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ [logistical grace supplies Bible doctrine for the believer’s spiritual momen¬tum]. (2Pe 3:18)
SUPERGRACE
Divine justice is impartial; God’s game plan succeeds for anyone who exe¬cutes its mandates. God imputes the “much more” surplus of grace (Rom 5:17), or supergrace (Jas 4:6), to any believer who exploits Divine logistics. In any generation relatively few believers take advantage of their spiritual roy¬alty, “grow by means of grace,” and live as true spiritual aristocrats. Only a few establish the correct scale of values with Bible doctrine as first priority, refuse to be distracted from the Divine dynasphere, and maintain their momentum to gate eight. But these few believers become the objects of God’s personal love.
Only Christ has ever remained perpetually inside the Prototype spiritual life, but those Christians who grow until they spend the majority of their time in the Divine power system become the objects of Divine personal love. Thousands of decisions are required: to rebound whenever necessary, to persist daily in learn¬ing the Word of God, to apply doctrine as opportunities develop. (Php 2:12-16) Perception of doctrine is constant, a daily habit; application varies with circumstances. The mature believer has not attained sinless perfection, but by his consistent good decisions he has established a trend of relying on God’s power the filling of the Holy Spirit, and God's Thoughts, The Mind of Christ!
Supergrace consists of six categories of special blessings for the mature believer.
1. Spiritual blessings are the inherent reward of virtue directed toward God. The virtues of confidence, worship, and personal love toward God give the believer strength and happiness, while motivating the virtues of courage, morality, and impersonal love toward man!
Motivation Function
Personal love toward God = Impersonal love toward man
Confidence in God = Courage toward man
Worship toward God = Moral¬ity toward man
(1Jn 4:20; 1Jn 4:18; 1Jn 3:16)
2. Temporal blessings are designed uniquely for each mature believer. God gives the right blessings at the right time, which may include wealth, success, promotion, mental and cultural enrichment, leadership dynamics, improved health. (1Pe 5:6-7)
3. Blessing by association overflow to family, friends, and associates as God prospers the supergrace believer through blessing those in his periphery.( Eccl 9:14-15)
4. Historical impact is blessing by association extended to the believer’s community, state, and nation. Jesus Christ con¬trols history for the purpose of protecting and blessing those who love Him. (Lev 26:3-13)
5. Undeserved suffering demands intensified application of Bible doctrine, accelerating spiritual growth and increasing the believer’s appreciation of the Lord (Rom 8:17-18).
6. Dying grace is the mature believer’s final, glorious ex¬perience of Divine grace on earth (Psa 116:15). With super¬natural tranquility and eager anticipation, the “friend of God” (Jn 15:14) crosses the high golden bridge from the blessings of time to greater blessings in eternity.
Spiritual blessings give capacity for all the others. Spiritual blessings in¬clude sharing the happiness of God, capacity for life and love, a total apprecia¬tion for God and His Word! He has an unlimited capacity for Love (Fellowship) and Truth! (Psa 84:10) As our capacity increases God is free to give more and more! If God doubled His blessings every day (And He Does!) through eternity! We will never even start to tap the infinite capacity of God! (Luk 8:18) Amazing! (Song 2:16; Song 5:16) Also the ability to handle disaster, the ability to interpret contemporary history, freedom from slavery to the details of life, (Money, Sex, Social Life, Entertainment, Material Things,) adaptability to change, and a sense of security from knowing the plan of God for your life! Based on these spiritual blessings at gate eight of the love complex, God can then give the five additional categories of blessings.
Divine LOVE FOR THE BELIEVER IN ETERNITY
In phase three of God’s plan, every believer resides in heaven forever. In this category of mankind, the objects of Divine impersonal love are again distinguished from objects of Divine personal love. All believers in heaven receive a resurrection body (1Co 15:43, 1Co 15:53; 1Jn 3:2), but only the few receive special rewards. In heaven as on earth, Divine impersonal love is unconditional; every believer receives ultimate sanctification. But Divine personal love is conditional, depending on how you utilized God’s grace provi¬sions on earth. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, our Lord as judge will recognize those who attained spiritual maturity on earth (Jn 5:22, Jn 5:27; 1Co 3:11-14). Their positive volition will have permitted God to glorify Christ by imputing supergrace to them in the devil’s world. The perfect, just pronouncement of the Lord Jesus Christ will be to multiply those wonderful blessings into still greater rewards in heaven, Mat 13:11-12; Rev 2:17). These surpassing grace rewards will glorify, the Lord to the maximum throughout all eternity.
Believers will be rewarded in eternity in proportion to their Divine blessings in time. There is no equality in time; there will be no equality in eternity! God designed man to be free, not equal, and each believer will be rewarded according to the sum total of his freewill decisions for or against the Spiritual Life! There are now on earth and always will be in heaven degrees of Divine personal love according to the individual’s execution of God’s game plan. There are no degrees of Divine impersonal love because God’s impersonal love for man depends only on the unchangeable integrity of God.
GOD’S LOVE AS A POLICY
God loves God; God loves man; God loves as a matter of policy. Actually this category is a system of communication designed to explain Divine policies to man. For this purpose the Scriptures ascribe (Human characteristics) to God, called an anthropopathism. Derived from the Greek anthropos, “man,” and pathos, “an inner function of the soul with overt manifestations,” an anthropopathism is language of accom¬modation through which infinite God reveals Himself to the finite mind of man. The Bible declares that God hates (Rom 9:13), harbors jealousy (Exo 20:5; Exo 34:14; Deu 4:24; Deu 6:15); changes (Gen 6:6); and vents a violent anger (Jer 4:8; Jer 12:13; Jer 25:37; Jer 51:45; Eze 5:15). These qualities are in¬compatible with God’s essence, but such statements are descriptive and gain the attention of the hearer. When an unbeliever first hears the Gospel, he cannot comprehend all the coordinated functions of the essence of God that guarantee salvation. Knowledge of God develops later, after he becomes a believer and learns Bible doctrine over an extended period of time. But the unbeliever can understand the Gospel message, (Jn 6:44-45) A classic illustration of an anthropopathism is quoted by Paul from the Old Testament (Mal 1:2-3) to demonstrate the contrast between God’s policy for believers, and unbelievers, and positive believers negative believers.(Heb 12:25; 1Pe 4:17)
I love that Jacob, but I hate that Esau. (Rom 9:13)
God does not hate anyone. Personal hatred is a sin, strictly a human fault. Since human characteristics are being contrasted in. (Rom 9:13) We need to see: The Trasponsive Policy of God.
STIMULUS/ PROVISION:
CHRIST JUDGED FOR ALL! (1Jn 2:2)
RESPONSE
FREE WILL
POSITIVE NEGITIVE
(Jn 2:11) (Jn 12:37)
RESULTS
ETERNAL LIFE LAKE OF FIRE
LOVE HATE
God controls the stimulus and the results of His plan, we control the response. With believers God works the same way, the stimulus is His Word and Spiritual life; (Jn 4:23) if we are positive blessing, (Prov 8:17) negative discipline, (Prov 8:36)
When Jacob finally grew up spiritually and became the object of Divine personal love, God changed his name to Israel, (For you have striven with God, and prevailed) (He Reached Maturity!) (Gen 32:28-30; Gen 35:10).
GATE THREE, TEACHABILITY
HUMILITY DEFINED
Strength of character and resultant happiness are constructed upon a founda¬tion of humility. Humility is freedom—freedom from arrogance—allowing you to comprehend objective reality, the essence and plan of God. Humility is the basic virtue of teachability.
Good and honorable is the LORD; [Divine Integrity]
Therefore, He instructs sinners in the way.
He guides the humble in justice,
Consequently, He teaches the humble His way.
(Psa 25:8-9)
Self-centeredness is arrogance, delusion, foolishness. You are not the center of your life; you belong to a far greater plan centered in God. He “has blessed [you] with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3); your proud self-sufficiency is a myth that complicates your life, blinding you to the fascinating, gracious Person of God, separating you from your most important love” (Rev 2:4).
Humility seeks reality; humility desires and accepts Truth. The marvelous reality of God’s personality and plan gives your life its meaning, purpose, and definition, furnishing the perspective—Divine viewpoint—for solving your prob¬lems. But the humility needed to learn “God’s way” achieves far more than just the solutions to your problems; Bible doctrine in your soul creates Christian in¬tegrity, which is your capacity for life, blessing, and happiness. Humility is the initial virtue or strength of character that leads to all the Christian virtues in the remaining gates of the Divine dynasphere.
Humility is both a system of thinking and a way of life. As a system of think¬ing, humility is freedom from arrogance; as a way of life, humility is submission to legitimate authority. Humility responds to establishment Truth by submitting to temporal authority and responds to Bible doctrine by living in fellowship with God. Humility is a state of honor and integrity.
The fear [Being in fellowship] of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility. (Prov 15:33)
When arrogance comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom. (Prov 11:2)
A person’s arrogance will bring him low, but a spirit of humility will attain honor. (Prov 29:23)
Humility is a system of thinking under pressure. Courage and poise are the clothing that covers such thinking with glory.
The curse of the Lord is on the house of evil [the family liv¬ing under Satan’s influence], but He blesses the home of righteousness [the family whose members live in God’s system]. He makes war against the arrogant, but He gives grace to the humble. The wise person [humility is teachabili¬ty] will inherit honor, but fools [those who are unteachable] carry away dishonor. (Prov 3:33-35)
But He gives greater grace [blessings after salvation]; that is why the Scripture says, “God makes war against the ar¬rogant but gives grace to the humble.” (Jas 4:6)
God blesses all believers with logistical grace as He keeps us alive for the purpose of advancing to spiritual maturity within His system. He gives supergrace blessings only to those who possess capacity for blessings, and humility is essential for capacity.
In the same way, comparative novices [in the Christian life], be under the command authority of the pastors [elders]. All of you [in the congregation], fasten yourselves to each other with grace thinking [impersonal love], because God makes war against the arrogant, but He gives grace to the humble. Therefore, become grace-oriented under [the authority of] the ruling hand of God, that He may promote you at the proper time. (1Pe 5:5-6)
If God does not promote you, you are not promoted. Humility prevents in¬ordinate competition, self-advancement, and the arrogance of achievement. Achievement belongs to God; happiness belongs to the believer. This principle is fulfilled only in the life of the believer who resides and functions inside the Divine power system!
For everyone who exalts self shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself [living in God’s system] shall be exalted. (Luk 14:11)
But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all." (Mark 10:14-15)
Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." (Mark 9:35)
ORIENTATION TO REALITY, AUTHORITY, AND Truth
Both humility and arrogance are patterns of thought, but a humble person is oriented to reality whereas an arrogant person is divorced from reality. A genu¬inely humble man acknowledges his weaknesses and depends on a strength greater than his own, the power of the Divine dynasphere. Since he recognizes and submits to Truth, he thinks and acts from a position of strength. Paradoxical¬ly, an arrogant person places himself in a position of weakness by overestimating his strengths. He lives in a house of cards built on illusions of self-importance. He can neither think rationally nor make wise decisions, but succumbs to flattery or self pity, allowing his soul to be dominated by the old sin nature. Nearly every sin that man can commit expresses some form of arrogance, whereas the relaxed mental attitude of basic impersonal love demonstrates humility. Gates two and three of the Divine dynasphere interlock: no one can build the virtue of impersonal love except on the foundational virtue of humility.
Stop thinking of yourselves in terms of arrogance beyond what you ought to think, but think in terms of sanity [The Divine Viewpoint] for the purpose of being rational without illusion as God has assigned to each one a standard of think¬ing from Doctrine. (Rom 12:3)
No sane person considers himself perfect, nor is any man an island. People who live in close proximity to each other or who belong to any organization that seeks to accomplish an objective must submit to authority. Authority is the primary issue that humility faces. Submission to legitimate authority is humility; rebellion is arrogance. (1Sa 15:22-23) There is nothing demeaning or degrading in obedience to authority. Humili¬ty is not humiliation. True humility must never be confused with self-denial or asceticism. Nearly every self-abnegating person held up as a model of humili¬ty lives for the approbation of others and cultivates their pity or sentimentality as a means of controlling them. False humility is a malicious strain of arrogance.(Col 2:18) Humility is always related to Truth, and the source of all Truth is the Thinking of God. The Bible delineates three categories of Truth: the Divine laws of establishment, the Gospel, and the spiritual Truth of Bible doctrine. The laws of establishment are designed by God for the survival, orderly function, and prosperity of the human race; these laws pertain to believer and unbeliever alike (Rom 13:1-8; Mat 22:21). The Gospel of salvation is addressed to unbelievers only. (Jn 10:28; Heb 7:25) And Bible doctrine is the nourishment of believers in fellowship only! Because unbelievers and believers out of fellowship cannot comprehend spiritual Truth (1Co 2:9-16). Orientation to any category of Truth requires humility. Humility provides teachability.
THE UNBELIEVER AND THE LAWS OF Divine ESTABLISHMENT
God’s attribute of love is the pattern for all genuine love in the human race. Love among unbelievers, although limited, (Eccl 3:18) manifest God’s design just as do Virtue love among believers. The believer has full access to the spiritual life through the filling of the Holy Spirit and Bible doctrine.(Jn 4:23) The unbeliever has a limited life. (Eccl 9:3) Through genuine humility in obedience to the laws of Divine establishment. (Freewill, Marriage, Family, and Nationalism), (Neh 4:14) Under the laws of Divine establishment, unbelievers function to have the freedom to believe in Christ! (Jn 3:18) And believers to reach maturity! (2Ti 2:15)
"For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.' "Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, (Change their mind and believe in Christ!) because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." (Acts 17:23-31)
Enjoy life with the woman you love all the days of your life of vanity [the unbeliever’s life on earth] which He [God] has given to you under the sun; for this [marriage as a Divine in¬stitution for believers and unbelievers alike] is your reward in life, and in your toil [profession] in which you have labored under the sun. (Eccl 9:9)
The establishment unbeliever may be oblivious to the Divine origin of his per¬sonal principles and will spend eternity in hell, but he can experience a "marvelous life on earth." (As a bird in a cage!) (Prov 1:32-33) God’s system never depends on man but is effective for anyone, including the unbeliever, who will reside under its influence. If the spiritually dead unbeliever can discover happiness in a limited way how much more the believer, who can anticipate blessings in the complete, interlocking Spiritual life. The believer outside the Divine dynasphere can¬not be distinguished from the unbeliever, except that Divine discipline compounds the believer’s self-induced misery (Heb 12:5-6). The believer who rejects God’s game plan still belongs to the royal family, and will not go to the lake of fire. (Jer 18:12; Prov 30:21-22)
THE HERITAGE OF FREEDOM
The laws of establishment declare that freedom is man’s most valuable possession. Human freedom is the heritage of human birth, the extension of the volition of the soul as the uncaused cause of man’s thought and action. Freedom is self-determination, the function of free will uncoerced by threat or violence and not determined by environment, society, or genetics.
As a true man with human volition, Jesus Christ was free to accept or reject God’s plan for His first advent, and, contrary to personal desire (Mat 26:39), Christ agreed to be “obedient to the point of death, even the death of the Cross” (Php 2:8). In the Prototype Divine dynasphere our Lord established the prece¬dent of voluntary obedience to Divine authority (Heb 5:8-9); in the sphere of freedom, He freed us to receive salvation and to advance in the Spiritual life (Gal 3:13; Gal 5:1). Thus freedom also becomes the heritage of the new birth or regeneration, which gives the believer access to the complete Love com¬plex, the realm of spiritual freedom. With reference to gate one: “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2Co 3:17), and regarding gate four:
“you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free” (Jn 8:32). Bible doctrine is called the “Law of freedom” because Doctrine defines the believer’s freedom to glorify God (Jas 1:25; Jas 2:12). Positive volition toward the Word of God is the basis for freedom, as the Jewish prisoners of 586 B. C. dramatically proved while marching in chains to Babylon.
For I will walk in freedom because I seek Your Thoughts.
(Psa 119:45)
Not even the cruelest tyranny can remove your freedom to think Doctrine, nor can any excuse relieve you of your responsibility, for “redeeming the time” inside the Divine dynasphere (Eph 5:15-16; Col 3:10). Freedom as our human heritage and spiritual heritage also has become our national heritage. The Founding Fathers rose to the challenge of “Give me lib¬erty or give me death” and introduced the Constitution with their determination to secure the blessings of liberty.” The existence and perpetuation of national liberty demands respect for legitimately established authority, and depends on adherence to the laws of Divine establishment, believers and unbelievers. Ultimately, national freedom is maintained by God through believers who reach maturity! (Psa 127:1; Eccl 9:15) and military victory! (2Ch 20:27-30; Neh 4:9-14)
FREE WILL AND THE ANGELIC CONFLICT
Human volition resolves the angelic conflict, the prehistoric warfare between God and Satan. As one of the most powerful angels, Satan abused his freedom by revolting against God, (Isa 14:13-14; Eze 28:14-16) and then accused God of injustice in sentencing him to the Lake of Fire. (Mat 25:41) God created the human race in answer to Satan’s false charge, that freewill is not truly free unless you can do whatever you want, and that God in unfair telling us that His Thoughts and Rules are the only way! God is perfect in every way, and His Love and His Truth are perfect and unlimited! God has infinite capacity for fellowship that must have a target! and He does not want robots! He wanted Angels and Men, and they must have freewill! And this is what it takes for God to show His Plans are perfect! and this is the only perfect way that it could be done! BECAUSE GOD IS PERFECT! (Isa 43:10-13; Isa 44:6-8) Everyone who is in opposition must be removed from His presents! God The Son became a man and put God The Father's Word and Authority and Will above His own to the point of death! (Isa 50:4-7) to resolve the false charge, and to acquire a family of Angels and Men and to show that God's Thoughts and Plans are perfect! (Eph 3:10-11) So we see in Satan’s kingdom every way to live apart from the Authority and Rule of God. (Jas 3:14-15) From anarchy,(freedom with no authority) to tyranny, (authority with no freedom) and of course religion: Man by man's effort to receive Salvation, the Spiritual-life or approval from God by something he does! (Jer 17:5) Christianity is God doing all the work and man receiving His Salvation, Thoughts and Spirit, (1Co 1:26-31) and using them to live by! (Gal 5:25)
God made man lower than the angels, established him on one planet in the universe, and en¬dowed him with free will. The human race is a demonstration of God’s perfect essence in relation to free individuals. Volition is the one characteristic that man has in common with angels. Thus, through mankind Satan and his demons are shown that they are responsible for their own condemnation. God demonstrates His integrity to man under every possible variation of historical, personal, and spiritual circumstances. Some people live in the ideal environment of Eden or the Millen¬nium; others amid the terror of the Tribulation. Some are born into nobility and wealth; others into relative obscurity or poverty. Some have advanced under the spiritual heritage of Israel; others under the New Covenant. Each life is a unique demonstration of the Sovereignty of God and the freewill of man. (2Th 2:13) (Authority with Freedom!) Man was never designed to be equal. We are born unequal, and human free will insures further inequality. The more decisions people make, the more un¬equal they become. God has chosen His Spiritual life to be the way man can advance in His plan! we get in by faith in Christ! (1Pe 1:23-25; 1Pe 1:7) This is the demonstration of God Thoughts and Nature in class and finesse. (Refinement and delicacy of performance, execution, or tactful, diplomatic maneuvering) The worst that Satan and man can do! Only furthers God's Glory and plan. (Rom 9:17)
"For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled. (Rev 17:17)
Some people make wise decisions that create future options for greater decisions; others make wrong decisions that close down future op¬tions. No two people are equal, but in every case man in his own strength is too weak to resist the craft and power of Satan. (2Ti 2:26) We acquire strength only by relying on the power of God. (1Co 2:5) In all dispensations the Lord Jesus Christ is the key to history; Jesus Christ controls history and personally entered history to defeat Satan at the Cross (Eph 6:11-13; Heb 2:9; Heb 2:14; 1Pe 3:19-22).
The glorification of Christ is the reason for the existence of angels and men! And all things are being brought into conformity with this Divine objective! (1Co 15:27-28) God treats each person on an individual basis. God had you personally in mind when He designed the universe. He decreed a plan for your life that gives you a unique combination of limitations and opportunities within which to exercise your free will. As you freely choose to obey or disobey God’s mandates, you create your own integrity or dishonor, success or failure, happiness or misery, reward or retribution from the justice of God. But whether or not you succeed in the Christian life, God continues to treat you as a person, not as a failure or a success, not as attractive or unattractive. In imper¬sonal love He continues to faithfully provide logistical grace. Likewise, we must learn to treat others as individuals, not as rich or poor, smart or stupid, black, white, or brown, someone who can advance us or someone who might hinder us. In impersonal love from our own integrity, we must offer toleration, thoughtfulness, and kindness to all. Each human life plays an essential role in revealing to Satan and all the angels the absolute integrity of God. (1Co 4:9; Eph 3:10; 1Pe 1:12)
In perfect justice God permits Satan the freedom to prove his boast that he is equal with God (Isa 14:14), but Satan continually fails. He usurped the ruler-ship of the earth from Adam but has never been able to control his ill-gotten kingdom. Like a roaring lion, Satan is angered and frustrated (1Pe 5:8) because the counterfeit Millennium he seeks to establish is marred by arrogance, evil, suffering, and disaster, while God’s plan of grace extends the blessings of Divine impersonal love to all mankind. God’s perfect character is demonstrated in every human life; Divine impersonal love reveals the integrity of the subject, never the merit of the object. With us or without us, through us regardless of us, God will win the angelic conflict! Christ purchased the salvation of every human being (1Jn 2:2), and God desires that all believe in Christ, (2Pe 3:9) but even those who emulate Satan’s arrogance and reject the riches of God’s generosity inadvertently reveal God’s justice. Like Satan, the unbeliever rejects the fabulous potential that God has given him; then after maximum grace before judgment (Gen 6:3; Gen 15:16), eternal condemnation! This expresses God’s uncom¬promising Integrity.
For the wrath of man [maladjustment to God] will praise You [God]. (Psa 76:10)
In the negative volition of every unbeliever and believer, Satan witnesses his own guilt and God’s patience, kindness, and fairness, but the justice of God is revealed to the maximum in the mature believer. The doctrine of the angelic con¬flict explains the importance of human volition: our free decisions to reside and function in the Divine dynasphere enable God to glorify Himself by blessing us with His fellowship, (Jn 14:21; Jn 14:23) and Truth that will be with us forever! (2Jn 1:2) The angelic conflict also explains why increasingly marvelous blessings on earth become the criteria for eternal rewards in heaven. (Luk 19:26; Rom 8:14-18) The positive volition that glorified Christ in the devil’s world will much more glorify Him in eternity!
THE LINK BETWEEN FREEDOM AND AUTHORITY
As the author of deceit, anarchy, violence, and tyranny, Satan is the enemy of human freedom, which must be protected in the devil’s world. When God fashioned human freedom, he also designed multiple systems of authority to protect that freedom. Authority and freedom are not antithetical concepts, Freedom cannot exist without authority, nor can authority exist without freedom. There must be a balance. Freedom without authority becomes anarchy, in which no one is free; but authority without freedom is tyranny, which ceases to be legitimate authority. No tyrant can remain in power without the consent and cooperation of his victims. Freedom and authority are two sides of the same coin, and the Divine laws of establishment delineate the ideal systems of authority to sustain human freedom. Divine establishment is God’s organization of the human race. This first category of Truth—Divine establishment—defines the proper balance between freedom and authority. But humility is the link, the human choice of voluntary obedience to authority, that ties freedom and authority together. Whereas impersonal love is the supreme Christian virtue, humility is the basic human choice: for believer or unbeliever humility is orientation to life. Humility is also the foundation for all other categories of virtue. The believer can have neither the motivational virtue of personal love for God nor the functional virtue of impersonal love for the human race unless first he possesses humility. Without humility he is unteachable. Humility is the virtue directed toward authority.
Just as God’s attribute of love is the pattern for all true human love, so also Divine sovereignty is the ultimate basis for all genuine humility in the human race. God is absolute authority (Psa 145:14; Mat 20:15; 1Ti 6:15). Nothing exists that is not subject to Him. All reality is based ultimately on His Divine essence. Satan remains free to operate only by God’s permission; (Job 1:6-12) evil and human motivation continue only under the principle of delay in Divine judg¬ment by which God allows the angelic conflict to run its course. We exist by God’s sovereign decree and cannot challenge Him: either we adjust to His justice, (Through faith in Christ, Rebound, 1Jn 1:9, and Maturity) or we are ultimately destroyed by His justice. (Psa 73:27-28) God’s authority is not a separate attribute of His Divine essence but is de¬rived from all His attributes functioning together in perfect harmony. He renders account to no one; He consults no one; He needs no counsel or encouragement. God holds authority over us because He is the creator and owner of all things! (Psa 50:10-12), because He is the Redeemer of mankind (Isa 47:4; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14; 1Pe 1:18) and because He is the source of all Truth (Jn 14:6; Prov 8:5-8). From His sovereignty God has delegated authority to positions of responsibility in the human race so that those who hold them may sufficiently control and protect the freedom of mankind. Delegated authority “is a minister of God to you for good,” furnishing the environment for human prosperity. (Rom 13:1-6)
AUTHORITY IN HUMAN GOVERNMENT
The laws of establishment recognize four Divine institutions in the human race: volition, marriage, family, and nation. For each Divine institution God created a system of authority. The authority in volition is each person’s self¬ discipline, in marriage the husband, in the family the parents, and in the national entity the government in whatever form it is established.
Authority in a nation may be vested in one person, a small group, or a large segment of the nation’s population. Any of these governmental systems can be good or evil, depending on the integrity or arrogance of those in authority. Monarchy, aristocracy, and republic are positive forms of government; tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy are negative forms. Arrogance converts any legitimate governmental organization into a system of evil. Under the distortions of arrogance, monarchy, which is the rule of one man for the common good, is transformed into tyranny, the rule of one man for his own benefit. Through ar¬rogance aristocracy, which is the rule of a small elite for the common good, becomes an oligarchy, the rule of a small group for its own benefit. And through arrogance a republic, which is rule by the best of the population for the common good, degenerates into a democracy, rule by the worst of the population for their own benefit.
Good
FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE GOVERNED Bad
FOR THE BENEFIT OF SELF
One Man Rules
Monarchy Tyranny
Small Group Rules
Aristocracy Oligarchy
Large Group Rules
Republic Democracy
GOOD AND BAD SYSTEMS OF GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY
When the king is honorable and astute, monarchy is the most effective form of government. Jesus Christ will return as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and as the absolute monarch of the earth will establish perfect government dur¬ing the Millennium (Rev 19:15-16; Rev 20:6). The worst form of government is democracy, which is a thin veneer over anarchy devoid of virtue and integrity.
The United States Constitution established our nation as a republic, guaranteeing maximum personal freedom to every citizen. With freedom comes responsibility, and, more than any other form of government, a republic stands on the personal integrity of its people. In the Founding Fathers’ original con¬cept only the most qualified citizens could vote and participate in government, but when the franchise is extended to nearly all, a republic degenerates into a democracy in which the right to vote means little. When every irresponsible person has a voice in government, candidates campaign with slick public relations and mud¬slinging emotionalism. Policies are often established on self-serving means, and fear, catering to the greed of anyone who can organize a crusade and gain national publicity. A democracy fosters dishonor; a burgeoning bureaucracy expands to appease the selfishness of arrogant people and encroach on private enterprise. A republic and rampant bureaucracy cannot coexist; one destroys the other. The purpose of governmental authority is to protect citizens from criminals (Demonism on the inside of a nation) and foreign aggressors (Demonism from the outside) so that each individual might express his volition in an en¬vironment as free as possible from violence and coercion. (Jas 3:14-15)
HUMILITY IN THE HOME
ORGANIZATIONAL, ENFORCED, AND GENUINE HUMILITY
Authority precedes freedom. The Divine pattern for nurturing and protect¬ing freedom involves three categories of humility: organizational humility, en¬forced humility, and genuine humility. This pattern is repeated in the nation, business, the family, in the soul, in the local church, and, unique to the Lord Jesus Christ, in the plan of God for the Incarnation.
Humility begins when the fetus becomes a living human being at the moment of physical birth. The old sin nature must be re¬strained. Parents must control the sin nature in their children through discipline and training so that the children can eventually assume responsibility for them¬selves. The family is organizational humility, God’s initial defense of each per¬son’s freedom in the devil’s world.
In the home authority resides with the parents. This is enforced humility. Whether a child is reared by both parents, only one, or another adult as a sur¬rogate parent, the parents possess the authority and responsibility to train their children, to designate policy, and to require that their children comply with that policy. As long as a child resides under his parents’ roof or receives their finan¬cial support, he is subject to their jurisdiction.
Child Adult Christian Christ
Organizational
Humility Home and Family
Government and Employer Soul Local Church Plan of God for Incarnation
Enforced Humility Parental Authority
Police Officer Authority of Volition Pastor’s Authority Sovereignty of God the Father
Genuine
Humility Positive Response to Parents Self-discipline Positive Volition to Bible Doctrine Obedience to the Plan of God
CATEGORIES OF HUMILITY
Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it. (Prov 22:6)
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first command¬ment with a promise), that it may be well with you [in adulthood), and that you may live long on the earth. (Eph 6:1-3)
Children, be obedient to your parents in all things for this is well pleasing to the Lord. (Col 3:20)
Hopefully, parents are more discerning, prudent, and disciplined than their minor children, but this head start quickly disappears as the child approaches adulthood. In the child’s early, formative years, the father and mother must exploit these advantages to establish an environment of authority in which their children can grow and mature. Certainly love is not excluded from the training process, but parents properly express their love and instill a true sense of adven¬ture, self-esteem, and personal destiny in their children only when the family organization establishes, enforces, and maintains high standards of thought and action. Within this structure of stability and discipline, the parents treat the child as a person, not as an achiever who must constantly prove himself, earn his parents’ love and approbation, and uphold the family name. When excessive pressure to justify himself is removed, the child has maximum opportunity to live his own life and develop capacity for happiness and freedom as an adult. Authority demands responsibility, but no parent is perfect; all make mis¬takes from time to time. God’s system of enforced humility in the home does not require perfection. Certainly every responsible parent strives to be as fair as pos¬sible, but most important is a consistent system of authority. The objectivity of enforced humility, implemented by his parents, gives the child a stable, external support on which to grow and learn. The child himself is unstable enough without having to contend with weakness, permissiveness, vacillation, and continual inconsistency from his parents. When a child responds positively to parental discipline and respects authori¬ty in the home, he becomes teachable. This genuine humility gives him the capacity to learn from his parents; he is receptive to being inculcated with Truth. All parents are responsible for teaching their children to be thoughtful, cour¬teous, and respectful of the privacy, property, and authority of others, as demanded by the laws of establishment. Christian parents are entrusted with the additional responsibility of presenting the Gospel to their children and educating them in Bible doctrine (Eph 6:4). Genuine humility in the home is the child’s self-motivated obedience to parental authority and instruction.
IMMATURE ADULTS
The objective of rearing a child is to prepare him to eventually leave home with an adult soul to match his adult body. This transition from authority in the home to freedom in life is one of the most difficult of all transitions. Many people never make the changeover. Enslaved by ignorance and arrogance, they remain mentally childish long after they become physical adults.
Such people never acquire the true independence of human maturity, which is self-restraint in accepting responsibility for one’s own life. They would rather be slaves than free. Slaves are restrained by others and are responsible for nothing; juvenile ~adults” shrink from controlling themselves or accepting the liability for their own thoughts, decisions, or actions. They avoid the most basic freedom, the freedom within one’s own soul to think, decide, and feel. Their unwillingness to be free manifests itself in incessant complaining. They blame their past or other people for all their failures, insecurity, and frustration; they are preoccupied with themselves. An immature person has no capacity for impersonal or personal love. Like a cocked pistol with a hair trigger, his arrogance waits to take offense at the slightest snub or inattention. And anyone hypersensitive about himself is always insensitive to others. His subjectivity prevents alertness to anyone else’s feel¬ings; the thoughtfulness of impersonal love cannot exist when a person concen¬trates only on an exaggerated image of himself. Instead of operating from a position of strength in the Divine dynasphere, the childish person depends on others for his happiness. In weakness and selfishness he demands the impossible: unconditional personal love, such as an infant receives from its parents. He demands unmerited love and attention from other people, and if such approbation is not forthcoming he conspires to make them as miserable as he is. This is the demand syndrome, in which a weak person seeks to control everyone in his periphery. The courtesy and generosity of an individual may render him vulnerable to such unscrupulous manipulation. By exploiting the strengths of people, the weak control them. Eventually the man of Doctrine must discern that he is being victimized and separate himself mentally or physically from the petty tyrant in his midst. The arrogant believer in the demand syndrome has never learned that his happiness depends on his own free will exer¬cised in Fellowship with God, not on what others must think of him or do for him. Inordinately possessive, perpetually jealous, and in love with himself, he never acquires the capacity to admire or love anyone else.
HUMILITY IN THE SOUL
HUMAN INEQUALITY
When a young person leaves home, the new organization for humility is his own soul. He must face the reality of who and what he is; he must assume responsibility for all his thoughts and actions and for the development of his own integrity. He must learn his limitations, abilities, and strengths and live within them without frustration, without fighting them, without demanding equality with anyone else.
Freedom and equality can never coexist. God’s protection of freedom guar¬antees that inequality will be a perpetual historical trend. Never in the history of mankind can equality be achieved: first, because Satan gives preferential treat¬ment to his servants (Rev 6:15; Rev 13:4) and, second, because God has designated human volition to be the key issue in the angelic conflict. Both Satan’s injustice and God’s perfect justice insure human inequality in all dispensations. We are born unequal, but the very fact that God perpetuates our lives after birth means that we are also born with opportunity. Each individual is given the chance to succeed or fail, but even in success or failure inequality still exists. No two people succeed to the same degree, and no two equally fail. In periods of general prosperity, some people prosper more than others; in hard times some still prosper more than others. In an environment of freedom, as in the United States, good inequality exists; under tyranny, as in the Soviet Union, bad inequality exists. But whatever the economic, social, or political conditions, inequality remains an inescapable fact of life. Now and in eternity (Rev 3:12) One person may be less intelligent than another, yet he may surpass the intellectual in common sense, practicality, integrity, physical attractiveness, or athletic ability. Everyone possesses some trait in which he stands above other people and other traits in which he is inferior. No equality exists in any category, but that should not be a cause of frustration. There is nothing wrong because someone is better than you are in some field. A humble person hates jealousy, (Prov 8:13) and appreciates excellence wherever it is found. (Php 4:8) Inequality is not detrimental in itself. Inequality is distorted into a problem by the arrogance of resenting inequality or by the self-pity of refusing to face reality and exploit the opportunities of one’s own capacity in a particular realm. Beginning with the woman in the Garden, who desired to be equal with God, (Gen 3:5-6) mankind continually seeks to solve the problem of inequality, but alleged solutions merely create new inequalities. “Liberty, equality, fraternity” became the motivation of the French Revolution, but in deposing the crown and declassing the aristocracy, the conspirators elevated themselves. They did not want equality; they lusted for power, vengeance, and superiority. Robespierre climbed to power proclaiming equality but inaugurated the Reign of Terror, in which the guillotine claimed 40,000 lives, in order to control his fellow citizens and prevent his rivals from resolving their inequality with him. Victor Hugo later wrote that equality is merely the political translation of the word envy. Violence or revolution never solves any personal, social, economic, or political problem, but inequality is not even a problem. The solution to people’s problems is not equality but happiness and the “pursuit of happiness,” as expressed in our Constitution.
INEQUALITY AND HAPPINESS
Happiness can exist in every category of society (Php 4:11-13) for a mature believer, or one the way to maturity. When the dissatisfied office boy who assumes he would be happy as the president of the company is deluded. He would only take his old unhappiness with him into his new situation.
A dramatic historical example of a man who maintained his capacity for life under diverse circumstances is Joseph (Gen. 38—50). As a youth in Canaan, he was happy while superior to his elder brothers. During his adventures in Egypt he was happy as a slave, as the overseer of Potiphar’s estates, as a forgotten prisoner, and as prime minister of the Egyptian empire. Although Joseph was stripped of his insignia of rank—the coat of many colors—by his jealous brothers, he retained his leadership ability. They could not remove his mental attitude. (Psa 119:11; Prov 23:7) His integrity and happiness remained. Joseph was a leader under all circumstances and was as industrious at the bottom of the social scale as he was at the top. Slavery and prison tested and strengthened Joseph; God included inequality tests in his education, grooming this man of genuine humility to become the greatest man of his generation. Joseph remained faithful to the Lord, and his abilities were recognized, although he remained a slave. He was pro¬moted within the system of slavery (Gen 39:1-5) and within the system of prison administration (Gen 39:21-23). Rather than complain or conspire to gain his physical freedom, (1Pe 2:23) Joseph exercised the freedom in his soul. He oriented to his circumstances while exploiting the opportunities that God provided.
Joseph illustrates the principle that there is nothing demeaning in inequality. Overt status symbols and success standards are not the issue. The true issue is: Are you adjusted to life where you are? Are you grateful for what you have? (Col 2:7) Are you happy where you are? If you make yourself miserable there, you will never be happy anywhere else. Nor is there any excuse for unhappiness, because God has provided the logistical grace for every believer’s spiritual momentum in the Divine dynasphere. The believer’s happiness depends on his attitude toward learning and applying Bible doctrine. Only you can make yourself happy; only you can make yourself unhappy.(Col 2:8) By the time a person leaves home, he must understand that the most signifi¬cant issue in his life is his own volition. Each individual life is determined by volition, not by environment, genetics, or any other factor that psychology or sociology might hypothesize. Decision creates environment, not environment decision. Man is designed to be formed and shaped by his volition. The proper use of volition makes freedom a reality; (Jn 8:32) the false or wavering use of volition enslaves him to the details of life. (Gal 4:9) Despite any limitations in circumstances, talent, mentality, health, or appearance, each person has a soul— organizational humility—and the realization of his life’s potentialities come from his free will. Within the organizational humility of the soul, volition carries the authority. (2Co 5:15; Gal 2:20)
ENFORCED AND GENUINE HUMILITY IN THE SOUL
When a person uses his volition to obey legitimate authority, he has enforced humility. In his job or profession he submits with enforced humility to the authority of his boss. In athletics he willingly respects the authority of the coach and officials. In school he respects the teachers and administrators and adheres to their policies. In every contact with other people, his enforced humil¬ity causes him to respect their personal freedom, rights, privacy, and property. Even good manners manifest gate three of the Divine dynasphere. (1Co 13:4)
If a child fails to learn humility in the home, he must eventually learn it the hard way from the police officer, the judge, a demanding coach, an exacting employer. In this regard universal military training is vital to any nation. Mili¬tary training contributes to national defense and, whether or not required by law, represents each man’s obligation to his nation’s freedom. Military service also sets up a buffer zone in which young men can acquire the discipline they lacked at home—only now under the more stringent demands of a tough drill sergeant. Still, the best conditions for developing humility are in the home. Few people who establish a pattern of rebellion against their parents ever develop capacity for life, love, or happiness. The young person immersed in unrestrained recalcitrance closes down his future options. Bad decisions become cumulative; each abuse of freedom further reduces his chances of exploiting what God has provided. (Eccl 8:11)
Every person lives within the overlapping jurisdictions of different systems of authority, each of which predetermines certain decisions by its policies. If he obeys the rules and contributes to the purpose of those systems of authority that pertain to him, he possesses enforced humility. Orientation to authority is orien¬tation to objective reality. (Eccl 12:13-14)
Genuine humility in an adult soul is a system of thinking and a way of life. As a system of thinking, humility is freedom from arrogance and human view¬point; as a way of life, humility is grace orientation and capacity for life, thriving under legitimate authority. A believer with genuine humility has the self discipline necessary to fulfill his objectives in life beyond what anyone requires, forces, or influences him to do. He possesses a personal sense of destiny in that he eagerly submits to the plan of God. He understands the eternal significance of the glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that he positively controls his life, redeems his time, and keeps his priorities straight. He knows that God’s plan is greater than he is; he keeps his eye on the goal. (Jn 12:24-26)
I have fought that honorable fight. I have finished the course. I have guarded the doctrine [resident in my soul]. In the future a wreath of righteousness [one of many eternal rewards] is reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge [evaluator], will award to me on that day [the Judg¬ment Seat of Christ], and not only to me but also to all those [mature believers] who love His appearance. (2Ti 4:7-8)
The believer with genuine humility knows the doctrines of supergrace and eternal rewards, and lives in the light of Eternity!
HUMILITY IN LEARNING TRUTH
God has established for believers a way to grow spiritually, the autonomous local church, MP3 player, DVDs, and now the Computer, additional to the Divine institutions for believer and unbeliever; this is a Christian institution, a provision of logistical grace. Like all effective organizations this has purpose, policy, and authority. Its purpose is the communication and inculcation of Truth. And insists on good manners and restricts activities that would distract serious students from concentrating on the Word of God (2Ti 2:14-17). The pastor holds the highest authority. (Heb 13:7-17) He oversees a system, and the pastor’s authoritative teaching and his system of delegated authority constitute enforced humility for the royal family. Within this system of enforced humility, genuine humility is the believer’s positive volition toward Truth. Humility, both enforced and genuine, provides teachability. If you are emotional, if you are continually proving your¬self to others, if you relate everything in life to yourself, you are arrogant and unreceptive to all categories of Truth. As does any unbeliever, the believer re¬quires genuine humility to adjust to life in general, but he also needs genuine humility to faithfully learn and apply Truth and must learn to stay in fellowship. The believer’s humility is positive volition toward the Truth of Bible doctrine as well as Divine establishment.
An arrogant believer may listen to Bible teaching every day, but he is unteachable. He may go through all the proper motions; he may be considered a pillar of the church; but he remains preoccupied with himself. He is too subjec¬tive to accept the doctrines that expose his frailties and flaws. A hypocritical eclectic, he chooses to believe only what he wishes to hear and refuses to submit to the whole realm of Truth. As a result he never grows spiritually despite his continual exposure. The humble believer attends Bible teaching to learn God’s system, not to agree or disagree. When a person does not know what God’s plan is, his agreement or disagreement mean nothing. The humble believer grows because he is receptive to the Truth rather than protective of his inflated opinion of himself. The sin nature is a direct link to demon influence and must be overcome. (Jas 3:14-15) The enemy inside being rejected is the key to learning (so do not submit to self, (Rom 6:11-12) submit to God! A person who becomes a believer in adulthood has an advantage in the Christian life if he was authority-oriented as an unbeliever. He has a foundation. As he learns the Thinking of the Spiritual life, he recognizes this system to be the accelerator of his freedom rather than a confining maze of mandates, commandments, and prohibitions, as seen by a believer who resists authority. (This is a play book! Not a rule book!) But while there is life there is hope; God supplies him with the logistical grace to grow up spiritually. His environment or background is no excuse for failure to advance in the plan of God. He can develop respect for authority and Truth, but he must enter gate three the hard way. Under strict academic discipline and enforced humility he must persevere under the authority and teaching of his pastor. He must avoid mental attitude sins when he is tempted to malign the pastor, resent his message, or criticize others. He must remain constantly alert and rebound quickly when he sins. For any believer the transition from ignorance of Truth at salvation to cognizance at maturity is as difficult as the transition from authority in the home to freedom in adulthood. Few believers succeed. Most lack the tenacity day after day, year after year, to make the many right decisions to learn and apply Truth, to keep residing and functioning in Fellowship with God.
THE HUMILITY OF CHRIST
SUBMISSION TO ESTABLISHMENT AUTHORITY
The Divine laws of establishment embrace all mankind. Since our Lord Jesus Christ was true humanity, He too was subject to these laws. Born into the organi¬zational humility of a family, He grew up under the enforced humility of His parents. In genuine humility He was always obedient to His parents until He reached maturity. (Luk 2:40, Luk 2:51-52) Christ as an adult was subject to the same system of humility that for us replaces the authority of the home. Our Lord’s human soul was His organiza¬tional humility, and His positive volition in resisting every temptation to sin was His enforced humility. (Heb 4:15) He was always obedient to the Truth. By His own self-discipline He perpetually resided in fellowship and developed maximum capacity for life. His enforced humility merged into genuine humility. Since our Lord lived during the Age of Israel, Jesus fulfilled the principle of learning under authority. (Luk 2:46) So diligent was He in His studies that at age twelve He surpassed the theologians in His understanding of Old Testament Scriptures. (Luk 2:46-47)
SUBMISSION TO A UNIQUE DESTINY
The prototype Spiritual life was designed to sustain the humanity of Christ in accomplishing His unique mission, His destiny on earth. God’s plan for the First Advent called for Christ to enter Satan’s domain as a man, to remain impeccable and thus acceptable to Divine righteousness, and to voluntarily go to the Cross as our substitute in payment for the sins of mankind. (2Co 5:21) Christ lived under this system of humility to which believers must adhere. The plan of God was organizational humility for Christ. The will of God— the sovereignty of the Father, the author of the Divine plan—was enforced humil¬ity. And Christ’s obedience to the Father’s plan by going to the Cross was genu¬ine humility. Shortly before He was betrayed, Jesus expressed in prayer His gen¬uine humility under Divine authority.
Saying, ‘Father, if You are willing [God’s sovereignty over the humanity of Christ], remove this cup [the Cross] from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done [Christ’s genu¬ine humility].” (Luk 22:42)
Although the prospect of bearing our sins was abhorrent to Christ, He humbly submitted to Divine judgment in our place.
Keep on thinking this within yourself, which was also resident in Christ Jesus, who though He existed eternally in the essence of God [Christ is God], did not think equality with God a profit to be seized and held [unlike Satan, Jesus was not arrogant], but He deprived Himself [of the proper function of deity, voluntari¬ly limiting Himself in order to execute God’s plan] when He had received the form of a slave, when He was born in the likeness of mankind [perfect man, like Adam before the Fall]. In fact, although He was discovered in the outward ap¬pearance as a man [without a sin nature], He humbled Himself [genuine humility] by becoming obedient to the point of death, that is, the death of the Cross. (Php 2:5-8)
Christ’s attitude sets the example: (Mat 10:38-39) equality was unimportant to Him. Although coequal with the Father and The Holy Spirit, “He did not think equality with God a profit to be seized and held.” Our Lord the Creator submitted to the utter humility of becoming a creature, a man who was ignored, rejected, mis¬represented, ridiculed, and ultimately crucified. Despite abuse and injustice from people and the ignominy of exposing Himself to presumptuous, arrogant attacks from Satan, whom He had created, Christ never succumbed to approba¬tion lust or selfish ambition. He was motivated by His personal love for God; genuine humility gave Jesus capacity to appreciate God’s faithful support. (Jn 11:41). Far from being discouraged or bitter, our Lord’s attitude was one of con¬stant thanksgiving, which is the essence of true worship. Yet without humility gratitude cannot exist.
NO SELF-GLORIFICATION, NO SELF-DEPRECATION
Jesus Christ had nothing to prove. He came to pay for man’s sins, not to trumpet His own cause. Our Lord did not exalt Himself; (Jn 8:50) the Father exalted Him. (Psa 110:1) The mission of glorifying Christ on earth was assigned to the Holy Spirit (Jn 16:14). The Holy Spirit empowered the apostles to spread the Gospel of Christ and to record Church Age doctrine in the New Testa¬ment; (2Pe 1:20-21) the Spirit also empowers us to glorify Christ. God the Father loved the humanity of Christ with conditional, personal love, which hinged on our Lord’s obedience to the Father’s plan (Jn 10:17-18). Christ succeeded in every respect (Jn 15:10). He relied on the Father’s power system and was sustained by the Holy Spirit throughout His life, never once utilizing His own Divine power to act independently of the Father’s plan or to benefit Himself (Mat 4:3-11). Christ’s submission to the plan of God resulted in judgment; our submission results in blessing. This complete reversal of the purpose of the Spiritual life reveals the efficacy of Christ’s finished work and the scope of God’s impersonal love for mankind. Knowledge of Truth fuels in us the same mental dynamics that Christ possessed. But our genuine humility orients us to blessing, not cursing, from the justice of God. Humility generates gratitude, which results in true wor¬ship and love of God. In blind arrogance some Christians falsely claim to be humble in that they follow Christ in His sufferings, failing to recognize that Christ’s sufferings were unique. There is no spiritual significance or merit in our pain; only the work of Christ on the Cross was efficacious for our salvation. We add nothing to His finished work. This is not what the Bible means by humility. Christianity is not a system that glorifies believers for their legalism, sacrifice, and self-denial; Christianity is a life of multifaceted prosperity that glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. (Col 1:27; Gal 4:19) Humility is orientation to principle, to Truth, to the reality of God’s grace.
Gate Four, Spiritual Momentum
THE MOST IMPORTANT GATE
The fourth gate of the Spiritual life is a double gate—perception and application of Truth—that opens upon the richest treasure in the uni¬verse. Truth is the Thinking of God. The Bible is designated as the Word of God (Heb 4:12), the Mind of Christ (1Co 2:16), and the Voice of the Holy Spirit (Heb 3:7). Truth is our door to the reality of God and His marvelous plan. His Word is more reliable than anything we see, hear, touch, smell, taste, or feel; more real than empirical knowledge (2Pe 1:16-21).
Truth preexisted the human race (Prov 8:7-8; Prov 8:23), so that through the gen¬erosity of logistical grace, God makes available to us the wisdom of the ages. During the Church Age God reveals His essence and plan only through His writ¬ten Word, the completed, inerrant Canon of Scripture. (Heb 1:1-2) Our attitude toward Truth is our attitude toward God. If we pursue Truth, we love God; (Jn 14:24) if we listen to Bible teaching only at our convenience or when we are in trouble, then we ignore and insult God, (Heb 10:28-29) despite our pious pretenses. The one form of worship that gives meaning to all other expressions of worship is the perception and applica¬tion of Truth. Without a thorough growing knowledge, any alleged worship of God becomes ritual without reality (Mat 15:8).
When David wrote (Psa 138:2) the earthly temple did not yet exist. He was reflecting on the Truth (Temple) in his soul, which revealed God in the true Holy of Holies located in heaven. In the next generation David’s son, Solomon, would construct the Temple in Jerusalem to exacting Divine specifications.(Exo 25:9; 1Ch 28:19) As a place of worship, the temple itself was designed to communicate Truth by its very structure and furnishings. God’s grace enabled David to learn Truth, which gave him capacity to appreciate and delight in God's Thinking and Nature that was constructed in his soul the copy of the essence of God. (The edification complex) (1Co 3:9-10) God’s Person is who and what He is, and in order to live with God now and in eternity, we must share His Divine essence, (1Pe 1:15-16) the perfect coalescence of all His attributes. Now David makes one of the most dramatic statements in all of Scripture.
Because You have magnified Your Word [Truth] over Your reputation. (Psa 138:2)
God Himself elevates His Thinking above all else, above even His own Name. In no other way can we approach Him, understand Him, (Prov 23:7) or fulfill His plan for our lives. Truth is more important than the food we eat or the air we breathe. Divine blessings in both time and eternity are distributed according to the believer’s understanding of Truth (Heb 11:2). Nations rise or fall because of doctrine (Zec 8:3-8). Jesus Christ controls history in reverence for the Truth in the souls of believers. (Eccl 9:15) As we grow in knowledge of Truth, we become personally familiar with the Lord Jesus Christ. Perception and application establish the central gate of the Spiritual life. God’s Word generates spiritual momentum in the Christian’s life.
MANDATES TO LEARN AND APPLY DOCTRINE
The Scriptures repeatedly mandate the intake and use of Truth, as expressed by John in relation to several young people in his congregation in Ephesus. Several of her children had developed genuine humility and were positive toward Truth. They had moved from Laodicea to Ephesus in order to learn Truth from John face to face, while their mother continued to hear his written sermons, or epistles, which were read to the congregation in her home.
I was very pleased because I discovered that some of your children continued their momentum by means of Truth, even as we have received mandate from the Father.
(2Jn 1:4)
John explains that this Divine command for “continued.., momentum by means of Truth” is obeyed only in fellowship with God.
And now, great lady, I make a request of you, not as writing to you a new mandate but a command which you have heard from the beginning [of the Church Age], that we might love one another [with impersonal love], and the love is this, that we should keep walking in compliance with His commands [learning Truth depends on the other gates of the system]. And this is the mandate just as you heard from the beginning, that you should keep walking in it [residence and function in fellowship]. (2Jn 1:5-6)
The Divine mandate to learn and apply Truth is implied in Paul’s disserta¬tion on the pastor’s professional objectives.
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the Truth, the Thinking of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. (Eph 4:11-13)
Spiritual maturity comes through knowledge and application of the Mind of Christ, which results in emulating the integrity and capacity for life that He acquired in the original Spiritual life. “Full knowledge” or epignosis in the Greek (pro¬nounced eppy-no-sis), is Truth that the Christian understands and believes, If he does not understand and believe it is removed. (Mat 13:19; Luk 8:12) Paul continues with the pastor’s job description. The pastor must study and teach Truth in the power of the Holy Spirit. (1Co 4:20)
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves (Our sin nature) and carried about by every wind of doctrine (Satan's thinking), by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; (Jn 2:24-25) but speaking the Truth in love (In fellowship), we are to grow up (Reach maturity) in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
(Eph 4:14-15)
Writing to the Thessalonians, Paul reiterates the Divine mandate, but this time the command is related to the congregation. Those who listen to the pastor must be in fellowship in order to benefit from the spiritual Truth they hear.
But we request you, brethren [members of the royal family], that you appreciate those [pastors] who diligently labor among you and have charge over you [enforced humility] and give you instruction, that you esteem them very highly in the sphere of love because of their work. (1Th 5:12-13).
A pastor should be respected for his sound knowledge and conscien¬tiousness in teaching. His “diligent labor” consists of long hours every day in disciplined, concentrated study; He is an authority on Truth. Members of the congregation demonstrate their appreciation for the pastor by submitting to his authority and concentrating. Believers appreciate their pastor by allowing his work to produce its in¬tended result in their lives. (1Th 2:13) The pastor considers himself a voice, a spokesman who communicates God’s Word (Mat 3:3). He does not promote himself. He is impressed with God’s wisdom, not his own! He is most gratified by those who receive his teaching as from the Lord, (Heb 4:12) and use that teaching in their own lives as they advance to maturity.
TRUTH AND LOVE AS A WAY OF LIFE
All virtue, love, and genuine humility, for the believer, are found only inside the Spiritual life. Now the unbeliever can comprehend the Truth of Divine establishment, but the believer alone has access to the Doctrines of the Word of God. In gate four he advances beyond any strength, integrity, humility, wisdom, or happiness that the unbeliever can achieve! Love cannot exist without Truth. Truth makes love possible, because gen¬uine love is rational, never absurd, always dependent on thought, never strictly emotional. As the pattern, Divine love is rational because it is always linked with God’s absolutely consistent Integrity. Consistency of thought is rationality, and by virtue of His immutability, omniscience, and veracity, God is perfectly rational, totally logical. God is Truth, and God is Love; these two attributes are inseparable. (Jn 4:23-24; 1Jn 4:8)
Nor can Truth and love be separated in the believer. The Christian’s capacity for impersonal and personal love is increased by his consistent function in gate four. Understanding of Truth creates capacity for love. At gate four the believer fulfills the ultimate purpose of the Spiritual life: God’s objective for us is that we understand and live by His Word! God reveals Himself in the Scriptures, and a believer’s daily intake is the index of his love for God. Learning requires academic discipline, but God’s Word sur¬passes any subject that he might be taught in a school or college classroom. Truth is supernatural information. (1Co 2:12-16) God’s revelation extends beyond the range of human intellect or concentration and beyond man’s empirical powers to observe his environment. More than mastering and reciting an academic subject, learn¬ing and applying Truth constitute a way of life, the Christian way of life in fellowship with God.
But He [Christ] answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, (Human needs) but on every word that pro¬ceeds out of the mouth of God.’” (Spiritual needs) (Malt. 4:4)
The Christian life depends on learning God’s Word and this is not an isolated activity; it is part of the complete, interlocking system. The first three gates of the Divine game plan operate in con¬cert to motivate faithfulness to Truth, which in turn strengthens all the gates.
THE INTERLOCK OF THE FIRST THREE GATES
POWER AND OBJECTIVITY
Spiritual momentum from gate four of the Spiritual life depends on the first three gates. Gates one, two, and three furnish the power, objectivity, teach¬ability, and motivation needed to transfer Truth from the written pages of Scripture into the believer’s soul and then out again as application to life. We possess no capacity to assimilate, recall, or apply Truth apart from the unseen power of the Holy Spirit. (Jn 16:12-15; Jn 14:26)
We are able to understand spiritual Truth only when filled with the Spirit. As Truth accumulates in our souls, the Holy Spirit uses that Truth to increase our capacity to understand more Truth. The more you learn, the more you can learn. Truth builds on Truth. (Eccl 7:27)
You must be objective to avoid misinterpreting or misapplying Truth. This objectivity derives primarily from gate two. In gate two reliance on Divine promises, and the exercise of impersonal love secure freedom from mental atti¬tude sins, eliminating the subjectivity of arrogance, jealousy, self-pity, bitter¬ness, or a guilt complex. By exercising basic impersonal love, and rebounding when necessary, you maintain your orientation to the essentials of life, even when people or circumstances challenge you to lose your perspective (Get out fellowship) and turn your eyes on self. The two primary techniques are implementing basic imper¬sonal love. And using the faith-rest drill, claiming promises, establishes the relaxed mental attitude needed to rationally think Truth, and the switch from personal love or dislike, to impersonal love maintains objectivity. Gate three of the system also contributes to objectivity. Humility is obedience to authority, and authority-orientation is orientation to reality. Reality is objective, not emotional. The genuinely humble believer understands his significance in the overall scheme of God’s plan and human history; he rec¬ognizes that he is dependent on Truth for his integrity and that the source of his happiness is being in fellowship with God. The humble believer possesses a personal sense of destiny as he witnesses the glorification of Jesus Christ in his life. Objectivity in gate three makes him receptive and teachable; he is motivated to learn the Truth rather than prove how much he knows or how superior he is. The more Truth he learns in gate four, the stronger becomes his objectivity in gates two and three, which, barring the intrusion of arrogance motivates him to learn and apply still more Truth.
MOTIVATION
OBEDIENCE AND MOTIVATIONAL VIRTUE
Motivation is a major issue in the Christian life. When we study virtue, we will discover that motivational virtues exist inside the Spiritual life. A motivational virtue is the invisible counterpart for each visible, functional vir¬tue. For example, the virtue of confidence toward God motivates the functional virtue of courage toward man and circumstances. All functional virtues stem from motivational virtues, and all motivational virtues originate from your free¬will decisions to obey God’s mandates. God’s power system is perfect in that it not only leads to spiritual maturity but also motivates its own momentum (Php 2:13). Motivation for the percep¬tion and application is created by obedience to the mandates related to gates one, two, and three. But even in God’s complete, self-energized system, human volition remains the key. You can choose to remain in fellowship or reject God’s plan and live in one of Satan’s counterfeit systems.
No one can reach into another person’s soul and switch on motivation like a light in the dark. Nor can God force you to have the correct motivation toward His plan. He will never coerce (Force) your free will. Although God’s game plan is designed for your maximum benefit and His eternal glory, you are free to ignore His mandates. If you assume that your own plans are better than God’s design, you oppose yourself and Him, create your own misery, and incur Divine disci¬pline. (Jer 18:12) But fear of punishment is not the proper motive for adhering to Divine policy. If you are objective, you obey initially out of respect for God, and then even¬tually from personal love for God. As you come to know and appreciate Him through His Word. This motivation—this positive volition—must emanate from your own soul, not from any external source.
ESTABLISHING PRIORITIES, ORGANIZING A ROUTINE
Among believers or unbelievers the most admirable and successful people are self-motivated. In the conscience of the soul, where the norms and standards and scale of values reside, these individuals have established true priorities, and they make decisions consistent with those priorities. The self-motivated believer has identified his primary objective in life: spiritual maturity, which glorifies Christ. This objective becomes the standard for interpreting any situation that may arise. Every decision and every course of action supports this chosen objec¬tive; Truth takes first priority. This lucid self-motivation places him in a position of strength. He understands what is most valuable, and he will not be deceived or cajoled into opposing himself. Good decisions can be made only from a position of strength, in fellowship. Only bad decisions can be made from a position of weakness, carnality. (Out of fellowship) (Rom 8:6-8) A self-motivated believer operating from a position of strength builds his life on the principle of The Spirit First! The Truth First! He establishes a routine: for each day he decides what he wishes to accomplish that day. He sets aside time. (Eccl 11:6) Routine must be built on priorities, ranked ac¬cording to importance. Routine organizes a person’s life each day so that he ac¬complishes his objectives, fulfills his own principles. A routine is not a negative concept for dull, humorless people. Only through a routine can anyone harness his own time and energy and achieve anything in life either spiritually or tempor¬ally. Organization is good routine. Routine should be broken only by unusual events, like disasters or celebrations, not by illegitimate distractions. (2Ti 2:4; Eccl 8:8) (This is a war!) Routine and organization are professionalism in every area of life. A disorganized person is a loser. Someone may positively influence you to learn God’s Word, but that external push will not carry you. There is no substitute for self-motivation. You must give God's Will and Word first priority, (Mat 6:33) make your own decisions, establish and maintain your own integrity. We all face distractions, opposition, and influences that would prevent us from consistently learning and applying Truth. We must be motivated from within if we hope to fulfill God’s game plan over the course of our lives. Self-motivation is a synonym for one’s own positive volition. Even the best influence, the wisest advice, the most posi¬tive encouragement cannot keep you in fellowship and sustain your spiritual momentum.
IMMATURE AND MATURE MOTIVES
Self-motivation, like teachability, is an offshoot of humility. A humble per¬son is receptive to Truth and motivated to learn. Self-motivation can be developed by believer or unbeliever under the laws of Divine establishment. When a young person becomes an adult, he assumes responsibility for his own motivation, his own thoughts, decisions, and actions. From genuine humility he begins to make his own decisions rather than depend on his parents, although humility does not exclude seeking good advice when necessary. Unlike the youth who eventually leaves behind parental authority, a believer never outgrows his need for Bible teaching, as in the home, the believer’s motivation does change as he grows up spiritually. A new believer is not motivated by love for God. He may have a new lease on life, knowing that his sins are forgiven; he may be grateful for the Cross; he may inordinately fear Divine retribution; he may be caught up in emotional zeal; he may be seeking Divine favor or striving to please the person who presented the Gospel to him. Some of his motives may be legitimate, others not, but even the best salvation motivation will not carry him far. The realization that he is forgiven, and going to heaven, is a feeble flame. The Divine mandates connected with gate four of God s power system demand that he take up the challenge of the Christian life, to grow in the full knowledge of God. (2Pe 1:2; 2Pe 3:18) Initially you must execute God’s game plan from enforced humility. God commands perception of Truth; you simply obey! As you learn Truth, you realize that God has a purpose for your life. You discover that you possess God’s righteousness, that He supports you with logistical grace, that rebound is instantly available, that God has adopted you as spiritual royalty forever. You learn that you already possess tremendous blessings for which to be grateful, with greater blessings yet to come, and you begin to appreciate the source. You begin to love the Lord Jesus Christ. Within your soul your motivation changes from enforced humility (Commanded to obey) to genuine humility, (You want to obey) love for God, to occupation with Christ. (Or His Thinking) Truth becomes supremely important to you. Although you are never impervious to distractions, you are not as vulnerable as when a new believer. You have learned to maintain your own priorities. You have learned to say no to people and decline “opportunities” when necessary. You have learned to center your life on the treasure of highest value, the Word of God!
Most believers never take their initial motivation into the daily self-motivation that can carry them through many years to spiritual maturity. They lack the humility to accept a pastor’s authority, or they lack the will and discipline to master doctrines that are difficult or seemingly irrelevant. They never make a habit of learning Truth. Instead of seeking the Truth, they search for a pastor who will flatter and fawn over them. They do not desire Truth or a mature relationship with God; they want the approbation of a scintillating per¬sonality who will visit them, counsel them, entertain their questions, and stimulate their emotions—everything but teach orthodox Bible Truth. Believers who gravitate to such a pastor appease their own arrogance and accom¬modate themselves in weakness. A believer consolidates a position of strength only through his personal drive in submitting to gate four.
Temporal Transition
AUTHORITY IN FREEDOM IN
THE HOME ADULTHOOD
Genuine
Humility
Spiritual Transition
Genuine
Humility
IGNORANCE OF COGNIZANCE OF
BIBLE DOCTRINE BIBLE DOCTRINE
Reception
Retention
Recall
THE TWO MOST DIFFICULT TRANSITIONS IN LIFE
The two most difficult transitions in life overlap at gate four of the Spiritual life. At physical birth we begin life under parental authority and protection; we must become worthy of adult freedom. We make this transition through teach¬ability under the virtue of genuine humility. At spiritual birth we begin spiritual life ignorant of God and His plan and must become cognizant of His purpose for our lives. Again, we make this transition through enforced and genuine humili¬ty. Consistent intake and application over an extended period of time accomplishes this second difficult transition, the requisite momentum be¬ing sustained by self-motivation. The believer’s self-motivation manifests itself as academic discipline under his pastor’s Bible teaching.
Therefore, humble yourselves [“humble”: achieve genuine humility; “yourselves”: from self-motivation] under the mighty hand of God that He may promote you [with supergrace blessings] at the proper time [after you reach maturity]. (1Pe 5:6)
CONCENTRATION
All true love requires concentration. In impersonal love the subject concen¬trates on his own Divine Thinking; he declines to besmirch his integrity by succumbing to hatred, envy, bitterness, self-righteousness, lust or disillusionment toward the object.
According to my earnest expectation, (Concentration) and hope, (Confident expectation) that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, (Openness) Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ (Mat 16:24) and to die is gain. (promotion) (Php 1:20-21)
In personal love the subject concentrates on the object, on that person’s attractiveness, character, thoughts, and feelings. Concentration is essential to genuine sensitivity toward others. Without concentration there can be no capac¬ity for life, no success in any endeavor, and most detrimental, without concen¬tration no one can learn or use Truth in the Spiritual life. In addition to Divine power, objectivity, and teachability that accom¬panies self-motivation, the ability to concentrate is another prerequisite for the function of gate four. This requirement is also fulfilled by the first three gates of the Spiritual life.
At gate one God the Holy Spirit enhances the believer’s concentration. This is the teaching ministry of the Parakletos, the Energizer or Helper, who enables man’s finite mind to comprehend the infinite wisdom of God. (1Co 2:10) At gate two, Divine promises and basic impersonal love set aside distractions that would disturb concentration. Concentration is the opposite of distraction; it is focusing your attention on a single object to the exclusion of all others. If you cannot sustain mental focus, you are unstable. You lack the attention span required to pursue any thought to its conclusion. You vacillate from one subject to another. The relaxed mental attitude of gate two enables you to operate from your own mental integrity rather than swerve indiscriminately from topic to topic.
In gate three, teachability makes you a good listener. As you learn under enforced humility, you simultaneously develop your ability to concentrate. When you first start listening to Bible teaching, you may be able to con¬centrate for only five minutes before you become bored and restless. Just keep trying, obedient under enforced humility (Heb 10:25), your span of atten¬tion will gradually increase until you can easily follow the entire message, even when the topic is technical or unappealing to your usual interests. As a by-product of gate four, this increased ability to sustain your concen¬tration will carry over into everything you do. Life becomes richer.
PERCEPTION AND APPLICATION RELATED TO TWO ROYAL OFFICES
PRIESTS AND AMBASSADORS
At the moment of salvation, when we first enter the Spiritual life as believers, we receive two commissions from God related to the perception and application of Truth. I call these commissions ‘warrants,” since God has given them to us in the content of His Word.
A warrant is a written document that conveys certain powers and authorizes the performance of certain duties and responsibilities. A warrant officer in the army, for example, has received a document from the President entrusting him with the authority to carry out his assigned duties. Even a warrant for arrest illus¬trates the principle, since such a legal warrant is a document issued by a judge authorizing a police officer to carry out the duty of taking someone into custody.
As members of the royal family of God, we have received two warrants from God, which authorize us to carry out certain spiritual responsibilities. We have been appointed royal priests and royal ambassadors. These two appoint¬ments define our function in the Spiritual life and explain the invisible and visible aspects of the Christian life.
And He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father--to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
(Rev 1:6)
But you [members of the royal family] are an elect race [chosen for privilege, regardless of human ancestry), a royal priesthood, a holy nation [the spiritual pivot of God’s client nation], a people for God’s own possession [pur¬chased at the Cross and dependent on God’s power system, you are not your own], that you may proclaim [through the production of virtue] the virtues of Him [Jesus Christ in the prototype ] who has called you [selected you for the privileges of royalty because you believed in Christ ] out of darkness [satanic in¬fluence] into His marvelous light (the Spiritual life) (1Pe 2:9)
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. (2Co 5:20)
A Divine warrant is never to be treated frivolously. These warrants from God appoint us to the two highest offices anyone can hold in this life.
THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD
During the previous dispensation, a specialized priesthood existed in Israel. The priests were members of the tribe of Levi; they carried out the detailed responsibilities connected with animal sacrifices and holy days, which taught Truth by means of ritual training aids. The Levitical priests pro¬claimed the written Word and represented the people before God. Now that the Old Covenant has been fulfilled, a new universal priesthood exists. Jesus Christ is our High Priest (Heb 6:17-20). Since every member of the royal family is in union with Him, we all share His priesthood. Unlike the Levitical priesthood, the office of the royal priesthood is not hereditary, but perpetual; not based on physical birth, but regeneration. You are a priest; I am a priest. Whether young, old, male, female, (Gal 3:28) mature, immature, in God's system, or in Satan’s system, all believers are permanent members of our Lord’s royal priesthood (Heb 7:1-3). That does not mean, however, that we are equal. A few priests are pastors; whereas the priests in the congregation grow only under the pastor’s authoritative teaching. Spiritual growth is always a function of the priesthood; the privacy of the priest¬hood is designed for maximum perception of Truth. Likewise, spiritual bless¬ings from God are always given to us under our priesthood. Whether in the pulpit or in the pew the priesthood is our invisible, personal relationship with God. As believer-priests we represent ourselves before God. We do not need to confess our sins to a member of the clergy; we confess them immediately, silent¬ly, privately, directly to God (1Jn 1:9). Nor do we need anyone to pray on our behalf. We are commanded to come boldly before the throne of grace (Heb 4:16). And we do not require a special category of priests to perform rituals for us. The rituals of the Levitical priesthood were fulfilled by Christ and have been superseded as teaching aids by the completion of the canon of Scripture. The Church Age is the age of reading, not ritual. (most were illiterate) The only ritual man¬dated for the royal family is the Eucharist or Communion, in which every believer is commanded to participate (1Co 11:23-26). The Divine warrant that appoints us priests to God authorizes us to represent ourselves before Him. Our responsibility as priests is to grow spiritually. Our priesthood is the invisible side of the Christian life.
THE ROYAL AMBASSADORSHIP
Christ was a priest during the First Advent, but He was also an ambassador. In hypostatic union—undiminished deity and true humanity united in one Person forever—Christ represented God to man in the devil’s world (Heb 1:2). In union with Christ, every member of the royal family shares His ambassadorship.
Christ has been absent from the earth since His ascension, and we now rep¬resent Him, the King of Kings glorified at the right hand of the Father (Heb 1:13; Rev 19:16). Our ambassadorial instructions are in written form, the completed canon of Scripture, which is the Mind of Christ (1Co 2:16). By Word and by Spiritual life, we represent His Thoughts, and not our own! We are citizens of heaven, not of Satan’s kingdom, and as God’s emissaries we are supported and protected by Him in the enemy kingdom of the devil.
Every believer is in full-time Christian service. We may mix with foreign nobility, but we are ambassadors nonetheless. Whatever we do, wherever we are, we are Christ’s representatives (Col 3:17). In contrast to our priesthood, our ambassadorship is our overt, visible rela¬tionship with people and circumstances. As royal ambassadors we proclaim Christ by His Nature being completed in us.
But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies (Virtues) of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1Pe 2:9)
For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. (2Pe 1:4)
We are responsible to present the Gospel to unbelievers (2Co 5:20; Eph 6:20), but our ambassadorship goes farther than that. Witnessing, giving testi¬monies, serving, working in evangelistic meetings, in foreign missions, or in Christian service organizations—all this, if properly motivated, can be part of the spiritual ambassador’s function. The believer’s royal ambassa¬dorship encompasses all the visible virtues produced by the application of Truth. Hence, our ambassadorship, like our priesthood, is related to gate four of the Spiritual life. Gate four is the key to the Christian life. All the gates that precede gate four are support gates, and all those that follow are result gates. All spiritual advance and momentum come from the perception of Truth, and is the primary respon¬sibility of the royal priest; the application of Truth is the primary responsibili¬ty of the royal ambassador.
Royal Priest
Represent himself before God
Directed toward God
Invisible
Relationship with God
Produce motivational virtues
Worship
Confidence
Personal love
Perception of Truth
Powered by the Spiritual life
Blessings from God
Spiritual advance
Royal Ambassador
Represent Christ before man
Directed toward man
Visible
Relationships with man
Produce functional virtues
Virtue-Morality
Courage
Impersonal love
Application of Truth
Powered by the Spiritual life
Blessings to man
Spiritual service
As priests we represent ourselves before God; as ambassadors we represent God before man. Our priesthood is directed toward God; our ambassadorship, toward man. Furthermore, our warrants explain the invisible and visible parts of the Christian life. Our priesthood is our invisible private relationship with God in which we produce the motivational virtues; our ambassadorship is our visible public relationship with people and circumstances.
The ambassadorship depends on the priesthood; the visible depends on the invisible. And the power in both the perception and application of Truth, toward both God and man, is the power of the Spiritual life. No matter what we may do or how spiritual we may appear to others, we have no Christian impact without the united execution of our priesthood and our ambassador¬ship in all of the pertinent gates of God’s game plan. As priest and ambassador, each member of the royal family of God lives his own life before the Lord and makes his own decisions based on the Truth resident in his soul. (Rom 14:8-12)
FAITH-PERCEPTION
Never do we earn or deserve any credit in the Spiritual life. God’s game plan for the royal family is animated by grace, not human achievement. In gate four, as in every gate, God does all the work and we reap the benefits. We reap what God has sown, we receive what Christ deserved, and Christ received what we deserved! Amazing Grace! Man possesses three basic means of perception: rationalism, empiricism, and faith. In rationalism man engages his intellect, deducing a logical system to explain reality. In empiricism man hones his powers of observation for discover¬ing answers in the world and the universe around him. Man has explored and exploited many combinations of rationalism and empiricism throughout history, but in every philosophical or scientific system, man’s abilities and efforts receive the credit. If God’s plan relied at any point on our merits, that would become the weak link that would destroy the chain. Imperfect man can have no meritorious role in God’s perfect plan. Man’s third system of perception is non-meritorious. In faith the credit does not belong to the subject but to the object, not to the one who believes but to what is believed. This explains why faith is the only means of appropriating salvation. (Unless we were brain damaged, or die before reaching the age to make a free will decision) (2Sa 12:23) When sinful man believes in Christ, the subject has no merit. The object, Jesus Christ, has all the merit. Only Christ satisfies the absolute standards of God’s integrity. In this manner fallen man enters the plan of God without compro¬mising God’s character or corrupting His plan. After salvation the believer is commanded to reside and function in fellowship, but God does not suddenly reverse His policy. We are saved by grace; we must live by grace. Grace continues to exclude all human merit. Faith remains the only means of perceiving and applying Truth
I believe in Christ
Subject
Accomplishes no work for salvation
No merit
Receives the blessings Object
Accomplished all the work for salvation
All the merit
Receives all the credit
FOR BELIEVERS THE WORD
OPERATION Z
Click: http://rbthieme.org/creation.htm
God has supplied us with everything for learning His Word: the canon of Scripture, a pastor-teacher, books, the MP3 player, the DVD player and now the computer, the filling of the Holy Spirit, rebound, (1Jn 1:9) the human soul, the human spirit, physical life, and protection in the devil’s world. (Isa 41:13) These grace provisions are part of the grace apparatus for perception, which is "Operation Z" To summarize, the believer filled with the Spirit concentrates on the pastor’s message, resulting in gnosis, “knowledge,” in the mentality of the soul. The mentality has two parts: the human spirit or right lobe, God's Knowledge. and the kardia, “heart.” or left lobe, human knowledge. (Jer 17:9) And is the home of gnosis; the right lobe is the repository of epignosis, “full knowledge.” (Eph 3:19) Gnosis in the left lobe is receptive comprehension: "academic knowledge" which is not usable for application in the Spiritual life. A believer may be able to quote many verses or talk at length about many Biblical subjects, but if his knowledge is only gnosis, it is not edifying. Academic arrogance can exist in theology as easily as in any other field of learning (1Co 1:19-21; 1Co 2:14; 1Co 3:19-20; 1Co 8:1). If Truth is not believed, or not understood or not used, it is removed! (Mat 13:19-23; Luk 8:11-15) The application of gnosis doctrine is misapplication, and the Word misapplied generates legalism, inflexibility, insensitivity, and intolerance, pride and arrogance. (Heb 3:12; Heb 4:2) The believer clearly perceives a point of doctrine and now faces the issue of faith: does he or does he not believe what he has learned? (Prov 3:5-6; Mat 7:7-11) If he believes: that Truth is transferred to the right lobe and becomes Spiritual Thoughts and Spiritual Words! (1Co 2:13) By means of faith, it becomes genuine understanding of Divine Truth. (1Co 4:20) Only God's Thinking can be applied as spiritual wisdom and spiritual common sense. (2Co 10:5) Epignosis is also the building material for the edifica¬tion complex of the soul. (1Co 3:10-14) The process of transferring the Truth from the heart to the spirit is faith-perception. Truth always has the merit; we who believe do not!
According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, (God's Thoughts) wood, hay, straw,(human thoughts) each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.
(1Co 3:10-14; Jn 7:16-18)
FAITH-APPLICATION
REBOUND, RECEPTION, RETENTION, RECALL, RESIST, REPEAT!
According to his ability to concentrate, a believer may hear or receive half of the message communicated by his pastor. By faith-perception, he may retain only twenty percent of the half he heard, The objective is inculca¬tion with the Truth, but usable Truth accumulates gradually in increments. The believer develops a frame of reference for receiving and retaining further doc¬trine. Truth builds upon Truth. He must persist in learning “precept upon precept,.., line upon line” (Isa 28:10). This explains why the believer must be faithful in listening to Bible teaching as a daily routine, (Psa 1:2-3) and emphasizes the value of repetition by the pastor. Truth cannot be absorbed on a spurt of inspiration. Spiritual maturity belongs to the pluggers, to those who perpetuate momen¬tum in fellowship undeterred over the years. Your personal intake and application constitute its own reward, as you benefit from liv¬ing in the Truth. But learning and using God’s Word also represent an extended lifelong display of your positive volition. Non-meritorious positive volition resolves the angelic conflict: the angels watch mankind and observe man’s posi¬tive volition, which glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ (Luk 15:10; 1Co 4:9; Eph 3:10-11; 1Ti 3:16; 1Ti 5:21; 1Pe 1:12). As in perception, so also in application, human merit is excluded from God’s perfect plan. Both retaining and recalling the Bible doctrine that you receive are accomplished by faith. In faith-application the believer draws upon his inner resources of Truth to maintain his own integrity, cope with his own problems, and take control of his own life. He becomes spiritually self-sustaining. He is mentally well-organized so that he can face life with courage. By faith he employs both of the two basic techniques for applying Truth: impersonal love and the faith-rest drill.
EMPHASIZING IMPERSONAL LOVE
The first technique in faith-application, is the utilization of impersonal love in place of personal love. Christ applied this principle most dramatically on the Cross. Separation is always directed toward, never away from, so that when tested, the advancing believer decides in favor of Truth rather than reacting against changes in the people around him. As the subject of his own impersonal love, he maintains his personal scale of values, with Truth as his highest priority. If you are moving toward spiritual maturity at gate eight and your friends are antagonistic or completely indifferent to the Word, you will eventually leave them behind. You will not choose against them, by becoming a strident, self-righteous legalist; you will decide in favor of the Spiritual life. The Truth will separate you (Mat 10:34-38). People change; circumstances change. Only the Truth re¬mains the same. (Heb 13:7-8) An immature person might wishfully desire that pleasant moments or undefendable relationships last forever. But when you and former friends grow apart, impersonal love instead of personal love becomes your at¬titude toward them. Although you may see them frequently and congenially, you are separated mentally. As a matter of your own integrity, you continue to treat them graciously, with thoughtfulness and courtesy, just as you would be con¬siderate of anyone else in your area of life. The most demanding tests involving people are not tests that require a gradual shift from personal to impersonal love but those that demand an immediate application of impersonal love. When a friend or loved one offends you in some way, you are not justified in lowering yourself to the level of hatred, self-pity, or retaliation. Resentment or hostility this would only get you out of fellowship; instead, you fall back on your own frame of reference. You remember and think the Truth (Tit 3:2-3) and reject the emotion, (Php 3:18-19) and do not think about the imperfec¬tions of the object. No one is perfect! Everyone has weaknesses. From time to time we all require toleration. Impersonal love covers a multitude of flaws (1Pe 4:8) and permits personal love to flourish between imperfect, changing people.
THE FAITH-REST DRILL
CONQUERING FEAR WITH PROMISES
The second technique for applying doctrine is the faith-rest drill, a versatile technique for overcoming any difficulty, problem, or disaster in life! By faith the believer applies Truth logically while resting in God’s promises. In the three steps of the faith-rest drill, the believer first establishes the relaxed mental atti¬tude. He then concentrates on pertinent doctrines in a logical ra¬tionale, restoring Divine-viewpoint thinking. Finally, he reaches con¬clusions and takes control of the situation. Since concentration on Truth requires a relaxed mental attitude, the believer’s mental attitude becomes a prime target of satanic opposition, (2Ti 2:25-26) directed against God’s Word. Mental attitude sins and lucid, Spiritual thinking cannot coexist. Everyone is susceptible to different combinations of events, circum¬stances, or people that ignite arrogance, jealousy, bitterness, depression, or anger, obliterating Divine viewpoint. But perhaps the most potent enemy is fear. Fear is the mental attitude sin that shuts down thought and makes doctrinal ap¬plication impossible. No matter how much Truth resides in your right lobe, none of it can benefit you if your mind is immobilized in a state of panic, worry, lust, or greed. (Heb 13:5-6). The dif¬ference between staying in fellowship and getting out of fellowship is thinking under pressure! And you might have noticed as you read these books, you are tested on them; I am not following you around, God Is! And He set up these tests in eternity past, and He is not testing us more than necessary! (1Co 10:13) This is normal, (1Pe 1:7) the old man must die, (Rom 6:6-7) and the new man must become strong, (Eph 4:13) and this is the procedure. God controls everything!
'See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand!
(Deu 32:39)
THE FAITH-REST DRILL
Stage One
Stage Two
Stage Three
Claim a Biblical Promise
Apply a Doctrinal Rationale
Reach Doctrinal Conclusions
Take Control of the Situation
There is no fear in love ;(In fellowship) but perfect (Mature) love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, (discipline) and the one who fears is not perfected in love. (1Jn 4:18)
Everyone is susceptible to fear, even the mature believer. When fear catches you off-guard, you must quickly recover your mental poise, your ability to think and apply Truth in your soul. Rebound is the first requirement, for fear is a sin. But rebound alone will not conquer the source of fear. You need a tech¬nique that will enable you to apply Truth. The relaxed mental attitude of gate two is recovered by claiming promises found throughout the Bible.
Do not fear for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
(Isa 41:10)
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good (to get us to maturity) to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Reach maturity) For those whom He foreknew, (Thought about in eternity) He also predestined (Made a plan for us) to become conformed to the image (Same thinking) of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; (Mature believers) and these whom He predestined,(Made a plan for ) He also called; (Chose us for a privileged part in that plan) and these whom He called, He also justified; (Imputed His righteousness to us) and these whom He justified, He also glorified. (Seated us in Christ now) What then shall we say to these things? If (Since) God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
(Rom 8:26-32) This is a sample of the faith-rest drill there are many like it, just start with this one it works every time! Except when you do not use it, or believe it! First Claim a promise (Rom 8:28) Second Apply a Doctrinal Rationale (Rom 8:29-30) Thirdly Reach Doctrinal Conclusions (Rom 8:31-32)
THE PLAN OF GOD RATIONALE
Claim a Biblical Promise
Stage One: “God works all things together for good”
THE FAITH-REST DRILL IN ROMANS 8:28
A promise is a Divine guarantee, a capsule statement of Truth, a solid rock on which to anchor your mental attitude. Promises express the essence of God, provide instantaneous perspective, and reduce complicated situations to utmost simplicity. When you lay hold of the fact that God is working all things together for good, fear is brought under control. Where panic reigned, peace is now restored. But the inner peace of the relaxed mental attitude is only the beginning of the faith-rest drill. Claiming promises is never an end in itself; Divine prom¬ises alone can neither sustain the relaxed mental attitude nor solve complex prob¬lems. Promises set the stage for the most important aspect of faith-rest: thought.
REVERSE CONCENTRATION
The application of Truth calls for reverse concentration. Concentration during Bible teaching brings Truth into the soul; now concentration moves Truth out to meet the demands of the moment. On the strength of (Rom 8:28), (Rom 8:29-30) present a logical rationale extracted from epignosis doc¬trine stored in the right lobe. This series of five basic Truths restores Divine¬ viewpoint thinking.
Stage Two: Apply a Doctrinal Rationale
A. Foreknowledge
God thought about you in eternity past.
B. Predestination
God designed a plan for you in eternity past.
C. Election
God chose you for the privileged part of His plan.
D. Justification
God can bless you now because you possess His righteousness.
E. Glorification
God has seated us in Christ now, above angels.
THE FAITH-REST DRILL IN ROMANS 8:29-30
A rationale is a “reasoned exposition of principles, an explanation or statement of reasons, a set of reasoned rules or directions.” By mentally trac¬ing out a rationale in a crisis, you are re-explaining to yourself basic concepts of Truth that pertain to your relationship with God. This is necessary because fear and emotion have revolted against thought, and you must take conscious, deliberate steps to reinstate the rightful authority in your soul.
For [we know that] whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image (Thinking) of His Son, that He [Christ] might be the firstborn among many (Mature believers) brethren. (Rom 8:29)
Divine foreknowledge is God’s awareness of all the advantages He has prepared for each believer. “Foreknowledge” is a technical, theological term, referring to a category of God’s knowledge different than’ ‘omniscience.” Om¬niscience encompasses all Divine knowledge of the universe and angelic and human history, including all the alternatives and possibilities that could exist but will not. Foreknowledge is one portion of omniscience, a subcategory focusing on what will actually occur in the believer’s life. Foreknowledge is a positive concept that implies Divine care and support.
Foreknowledge assures us that God thought about us in eternity past; pre¬destination means that He designed a plan for us in eternity past. That plan calls for our sanctification, which culminates in eternity future, when we are com¬pletely “conformed to the image of His Son” in our resurrection bodies.
And whom He predestined, these same ones He also elected to privilege, and whom He elected to privilege, these same ones He also justified [declared righteous], and whom He justified, these same ones He also glorified. (Rom 8:30)
In God’s entire plan for human history, the New Covenant Age stands out as the era of unique privilege. God chose or elected each believer to be spiritual royalty, just as in the previous dispensation He selected Israel to be His client nation, and the line of levi to be priests and chose the line of David to bring forth the Messiah, and elected Christ to be the Redeemer of mankind. Divine election bestows special privilege, the honor of having an impact on history. Until Jesus Christ, the Messiah, restores Israel to client nation status at His second advent, God’s pur¬pose is for each believer to influence history as part of the spiritual pivot of a Gentile client nation. The believer fulfills his election by advancing to maturity in the Spiritual life.
Believers of other dispensations were not elected to the high privilege we enjoy, but all believers of every dispensation are justified or declared righteous. God imputes Divine righteousness to everyone in any era of history who believes in Christ as Savior, and with imputed righteousness God creates the grace pipe¬line, the potential for fabulous blessings on earth. Believers who exploit this potential and attain supergrace status will be rewarded or glorified in heaven. (Isa 53:11-12; Psa 45:13-16) Supergrace believers participate forever in the eternal glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ, who receives all the credit for any privilege or blessing we possess. In two verses, (Rom 8:29-30) Paul has outlined the plan of God. In their logical order the five Truths of foreknowledge, predestination, election, justi¬fication, and glorification encapsulate God’s design, beginning in eternity past and concluding with the mature believer. By utiliz¬ing this systematic reverse concentration on Truths previously learned, the believer can immediately recall his place in the overall picture of God’s grace. By this faith-application of Bible Truth, he stabilizes his objectivity.
DOCTRINAL CONCLUSIONS
After the plan-of-God rationale in verses 29 and 30, (Rom 8:31-32) reach doctrinal conclusions.
To what conclusion are we forced face to face with these things? God [is] for us, who [can be] against us? Who [God the Father] did not even spare His own unique Son, but delivered Him over in behalf of all of us, how shall He not with Him graciously give to us the all things? (Rom 8:31-32)
Stage Three: Reach Doctrinal Conclusions
Take Control of the Situation
A. “God is for us, who can be against us?”
B. “God gave us His Son, He will give
us all things.”
THE FAITH-REST DRILL IN ROMANS 8:31, 32
These conclusions, which are stated as rhetorical questions, enable you to take control of the situation that ignited fear and anxiety only a few moments before. With objectivity and confidence restored, you can evaluate your cir¬cumstances and take the action your Divine thinking dictates as a solution to the problem. (Psa 119:24) If the problem is hopeless, entirely beyond your capacity to resolve, then you can cope with the situation by intelligently trusting the Lord for a solution!
But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by [do nothing] and see the deliverance of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today.” (Exo 14:13)
(Rom 8:28-32) Occurs in a context that explains undeserved suffering. The mature believer employs the faith-rest drill to transform this maximum pressure into blessing. In dramatic contrast to your adverse circumstances, God demonstrates His power through your application of His Word. If Truth in your soul gives you mastery over the most difficult, frightening, and shocking situations in life, certainly Truth can sustain and bless you under more tran¬quil circumstances. The faith-rest drill maintains your ability to think and to appreciate the grace of God. Testing + Truth= Growth!
This is the way we grow, no other way! (1Pe 4:12)
THE FLEXIBILITY OF FAITH-REST
Various promises can be used in stage one of the faith-rest drill, and other rationales are available for stage two. Besides the plan-of-God rationale, the more advanced essence-of-God rationale can be skillfully applied. Example: You are worried about anything, (Or everything!) Lusting, Family, Job, House, Car, ETC... First: Rebound. (1Jn 1:9) Claim a promise. (Heb 13:5-6) Think Truth: God is Sovereign, and this is in His control! God is Righteous so this is good for me! God is Justice so this is fair for me! God is Eternal Life so if I die from this I have Eternal Life and I will be with God! God is Omniscience so God has always known about this and has the perfect solution! (Just a test) God is Omnipresent so He is here NOW! so if you think He forgot about you, remind Him! God is Omnipotent unlimited power to help! God is Immutable He will always do the same thing and will never change! God is Veracity and will never! Lie to you! AND GOD IS FOR YOU! SO WHO OR WHAT CAN BE AGAINST YOU!!! MOVE ON! GROW UP!! TRUST HIM!!! AND STAY IN FELLOWSHIP!!!!
The LORD said to Moses, "Is the LORD'S power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not."
(Num 11:23)
Looking at them, Jesus said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."
(Mark 10:27)
GOD IS: SOVEREIGN, (Psa 115:3) RIGHTEOUS, (Deu 32:4) JUSTICE, (Psa 89:14) LOVE, (1Jn 4:8) ETERNAL LIFE, (Isa 9:6) OMNISCIENCE, (Col 2:3) OMNIPRESENT, (Psa 139:7-12) OMNIPOTENT, (Num 11:23) IMMUTABLE, (Mal 3:6) AND VERACITY. (Jn 14:6) AND GOD IS FOR YOU! WHO CAN BE AGAINST YOU!
Or the logistical-grace rationale, (Mat 6:25-34) can comfort and strengthen even new believers. Any Truth you have stored as Spiritual thinking in your right lobe can be developed into a rationale to meet a test or crisis in your life. At one time or another you will need every doc¬trine you have had the opportunity to learn. If ever you lack inner resources, you have failed to arm yourself in advance. God provided the opportunity; the fault is your own (Mark 13:23).
The three stages of the faith-rest drill are flexible and adaptable to the needs of the moment. You may claim a Biblical promise in stage one, only to succumb to fear again. You simply return to stage one and start over. Or you may leap from stage one directly to doctrinal conclusions in stage three and then recall the logical rationale that bridged the gap. The faith-rest drill is active thinking; it is not a mechanical step one, step two, step three regimen that you switch on like an automatic pilot. Certainly there are those rare, shocking disasters that so up¬set your concentration that you can recover your mental poise only by strict ad¬herence to the step-by-step discipline of the drill. The point is that the Christian way of life demands thought.
You must learn Bible Truth on a daily basis as your first priority in life. When difficulties arise, you must switch from personal to impersonal love or claim one of the promises that you maintain on twenty-four-hour standby in your soul. From your stabilized soul you rationally call to mind pertinent doc¬trines that you have assimilated. Sustained by your doctrinal conclu¬sions you can proceed to use spiritual common sense in dealing with the specific problem at hand. Knowledge of Truth is the environment for thought.
Gate four of the Spiritual life opens to the most rewarding activity in life: in gate four you explore the thinking of God and employ His eternal wisdom as your guide and counsel. This vital endeavor gives life its meaning, purpose, and definition! Standing as the main portal of the Spiritual life, your perception and application of Truth represent your personal destiny, your calling, your true vocation in life.
CHRIST’S RELIANCE ON TRUTH
The humanity of Jesus Christ depended continuously on Truth in the prototype Spiritual life, setting the precedent for our function in the operational Spiritual life. In the Person of Christ are two natures—Divine and human—inseparably united without mixture or loss of separate identity, without loss or transfer of properties or attributes. Designated in theology as the hypostatic union, the union of God and man in the Lord Jesus Christ is personal and eternal. That is, as the God-Man, He is one Person, and He will exist forever as both undimin¬ished Deity and true humanity. Our Lord is the unique Person of the universe! (Jn 1:1-14; Rom 1:2-5; Php 2:5-11; 1Ti 3:16; Heb 2:14). In His Deity, Christ possesses all the attributes of Divine essence, coequal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Our Lord is omniscient; He never needs to learn anything because He has always known all things. Truth is His mind revealed to man (1Co 2:16). But in His humanity, Jesus was born as a helpless infant who needed to learn Truth under authority just as we do (Luk 2:46-52). Jesus received the Spiritual life at birth. This power system was the first Christmas present, from the Father to the humanity of Christ. We have noted Christ’s genuine humility at gate three as He submitted to the authority of His parents and teachers. Empowered by the filling of the Spirit at gate one, Jesus functioned at gate four for the perception of Truth. In that same power Christ continually switched from personal to impersonal love. God the Father incorporated impersonal love into His blueprint for the Spiritual life knowing that Jesus would be surrounded by vacil¬lating, unreliable people (Jn 6:60-66; Jn 13:38; Jn 18:17-27). Our Lord also applied Truth by means of the faith-rest drill. Perpetually in fellowship, He never committed a mental attitude sin! He was never afraid! He maintained a perfectly stabilized mental attitude. Stages two and three were in constant use. Christ was always rational and logical because Truth is rational and logical. He thought rationally and reached true doctrinal conclusions upon which His every action was founded! Even in the most dreadful ordeal ever suffered by a human being, the judgment of our sins in Him on the Cross, Christ was sustained by the Truth in His soul! (Isa 53:11)
Be concentrating on Jesus Christ, our Prince-Ruler [The example for the royal family], even the One who brings us to the attainment [of the objective, gate eight] by means of Truth [“faith” in the objective sense: “what is be¬lieved”], who [Jesus] instead of His present happiness en¬dured the Cross, having disregarded the shame [of bearing our sins and being judged by the Father], and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [the place of supreme honor]. For begin thinking about such a Person as Jesus Christ, having endured such opposition by sinners against Himself, in order that you do not become fatigued [by perpetual residence outside the Spiritual life], fainting in your souls. (Heb 12:2-3)
Deity cannot bear the sins of mankind or be judged for them. God had to become man to purchase our salvation! The humanity of Christ “was made sin for us.. that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him”(2Co 5:21). On the Cross, Jesus suffered alone, rejected by man (Isa 53:3), hidden in utter darkness (Mat 27:45-46), judged by the Father (Isa 53:4-5), upheld by the Holy Spirit, (Heb 9:14) And by the Truth in His right lobe! And this sustained Him and kept Him true to His purpose until the last sin of the last individual in human history had been paid for in full! (Jn 19:30) Our Lord’s final words on the Cross were His testimony to the supreme Importance of Bible Truth. Both Matthew and Mark record the fact that He made a final statement before He physically died. They do not record the content of Christ’s statement but emphasize what impressed them most, His phenomenal strength and breath control after His horrible, debilitating ordeal (Mat 27:50; Mark 15:37). Luke, too, remarks about the strength with which Jesus spoke, but he also records part of what Christ said.
And when Jesus had shouted with a loud voice, He said, “Father, into your hands I deposit My spirit,” and having said this, He let out His breath. (Luk 23:46)
Jesus quoted from His assimilated knowledge of the Old Testament Scrip¬tures; Luke recorded the Scripture reference. Luke did not copy down the com¬plete statement but pointed to the place where we can find it. We must go to the Psalms for the text of Christ’s powerful last statement.
Into Your hands I commit My spirit; You have delivered Me, O Jehovah, God of Truth. (Psa 31:5)
The last word our Savior spoke on earth prior to His resurrection was “Truth” The Lord Jesus Christ left us a legacy of utilizing doc¬trine within God’s system. The perception and application of Truth in the Spiritual life sustained Christ under circumstances far worse than we can imagine!!! Without any doubt! Truth can sustain us!!!
Gates Five and Six, Motivational and Functional Virtue
VIRTUE DEFINED
God loves you because He has integrity; with Christian integrity you can love Him in return. You acquire virtue, honor, and integrity not to impress God but to gain capacity to enjoy and appreciate Him, and His blessings! (Mark 8:36) There can be no lasting happiness apart from virtue. Indeed, virtue or strength of character is itself a Divine blessing. God has given you the power system that produces vir¬tue, when you faithfully obey His mandates. The most ancient definition of virtue connotes power, the ability that pro¬duces certain sublime effects. Our English word is derived from the Latin noun virtus, based on the root word vir, “heroic man.” Virtus originally referred to “the qualities of a man”: strength, bravery, courage, capability, worthiness, manliness, excellence in physical, mental, and moral standards. Virtue implies the fulfillment of moral duties, conformity to moral law. Virtue refers to man as he should be, as God designed him to be. This inherent power is generated by God, the inventor of virtue. Virtue or honor or integrity is His monopoly, and since we are inherently weak, we can acquire virtue only inside His sphere of power. (1Co 13:4-8)
No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and Him in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. (1Jn 4:12-13)
We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, (Mature) so also are we in this world. (1Jn 4:16-17)
God the Father sent His Son to provide eternal salvation and to provide the environ¬ment in which we can produce virtue in this life. The environment of virtue is the Spiritual life. In his second epistle, Peter uses the Greek noun arete, “virtue,” describing virtue as those qualities produced by the believer in fellowship.
Grace and prosperity [the blessings of maturity] be multi¬plied to you [through spiritual momentum] in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Seeing that His Divine power [the Spiritual life] has given to us everything pertain¬ing to life [logistical grace] and godliness [blessings of spiri¬tual maturity] through the true knowledge of Him [Christ] who called us to His own glory [the prototype Spiritual life] and virtue [arete, manufactured in the Spiritual life], through which things [both the Spiritual life and virtue manufactured in it] He has given to us His precious and magnificent promises, that by them [Bible doc¬trines learned and applied] you might become partakers of the Divine nature, having escaped the corruption [Sin nature] that is in the world by lust (because we are born with a sin nature that lusts!). (2Pe 1:2-4)
We “partake of the Divine nature,” fulfilling our design by following the precedent of our Lord Jesus Christ. Throughout the First Advent He resided continuously in the prototype Spiritual life. He perfected all the virtues and shared the happiness of God. Man needs a power greater than himself in order to generate virtue; he needs the same power that sustained the humanity of our Lord, the system that conquers the devil’s kingdom. (Rev 2:26) Paul uses the word arete when he issues a mandate to concentrate on the qualities that develop virtue.
Therefore, brethren [royal family], everything that is true [doctrinal], everything that is honorable [having integrity, which comes from Truth], everything that is righteous, everything that is pure, everything that is capacity for love, everything that is commendable; if there is any virtue [arete—and there is] and anything worthy of praise [and there is], concentrate on these thoughts. (Php 4:8)
You “concentrate on virtue” by concentrating on Truth; Truth reveals Jesus Christ, the perfect example of virtue. Christian virtue is not super¬ficial adherence to religious traditions or self-righteous avoidance of taboos; vir¬tue is strength of character based on thinking with the thoughts that God declares are real! (Heb 11:3) God's reality—based on the essence of God revealed in the Person of Christ. The Mind of Christ, Truth, in your soul forms the character of Christ as your life! (Gal 4:19; Col 3:2-4) Thought precedes action; motiva¬tion precedes function.
MOTIVATION TOWARD GOD, FUNCTION TOWARD MAN
Anyone who consistently resides in the first four gates of the Spiritual life develops Christian integrity, first toward God, then toward man and circumstances. Among the virtues of the Christian life—humility, worship, morality, confidence, courage, love—humility is unique. Humility is directed toward legitimate authority, both Divine and human. Standing alone as the foun¬dation for all other virtues, humility makes the believer receptive to Bible teaching and the unbeliever receptive to establishment principles. The resultant virtues for the believer are divided into two categories in gates five and six:
Motivational virtues and Functional virtues. These two categories are inseparable and must be studied as one doctrine. Gates five and six stand or fall together. Like two sides of the same coin, one cannot exist without the other.
All virtue has direction. The motivational virtues are directed toward God; the functional virtues, toward man, things, and circumstances. Each motivational virtue sustains a functional virtue; each functional virtue depends on its counterpart motivational virtue.
There are three outstanding pairs of counterpart virtues in the Christian life. The motivational virtue of worship toward God generates the functional virtue of morality toward man. (Heb 11:25-26) The motivational virtue of confidence in God supports the functional virtue of courage toward man. (Heb 11:33) And the motivational virtue of per¬sonal love for God sustains the functional virtue of impersonal love toward man. (Luk 23:34)
These virtues correspond to your two areas of responsibility as a Christian. You hold two Divine warrants: you are a royal priest and a royal ambassador. “Your priesthood is invisible and private, directed toward God. Your ambassa¬dorship is visible and public, directed toward mankind. As a priest you are re¬sponsible to represent yourself before God as a growing believer; as an ambas¬sador you are responsible to “proclaim the virtues of Christ” before man (1Pe 2:9). The motivational virtues belong to your relationship with God; the func¬tional virtues enrich your relationships with other people. Motivation precedes function; the priesthood sustains the ambassadorship; your relationship with God strengthens you in your relationships with people.
Motivational and functional virtues are explained by defining their charac¬teristics and by describing how these virtues become absurdities when aimed in the wrong direction.
MISDIRECTED VIRTUE
WORSHIP AND MORALITY
The strength of virtue is distorted into weakness when a virtue is directed toward the wrong object. Worship is a virtue directed toward God, which motivates morality as a virtue directed toward man. To worship man, however, becomes arrogance, and to direct morality toward God becomes legalism and self-righteousness. So we have been taught, directly or indirectly to be right with each other is to be right with God. This is from Satan. (Gen 3:7) This is very difficult when we are taught to be moral! Human morality is directed toward God. So that we can earn our way into heaven, by doing "good things" being a "good person" "treating others as you would be treated," performed in the power of the flesh, "anything that we do!" is meaningless, even using Bible verses, promises, and doctrines! (Jn 4:23; Jer 17:5) (THE DININE SOULTION IS THE ONLY SOULTION! (Heb 11:6) THE HUMAN SOULTION IS NO SOULTION!) (Rom 8:8) This is a supernatural life! and demands a supernatural way to live it! A right thing cannot be done in a wrong way! And a wrong thing cannot be done in a right way! A right thing must be done in a right way! We can be very honest in some areas, but are dishonest in others, this is normal, we are sinners! (Rom 3:10) And it is impossible, for a unbeliever or a believer "without maturity," (Eph 4:13; Mat 5:48) to have integrity in every area of his life! (Psa 39:5) So in this cosmic world, we see only, self-righteousness and relative-righteousness, and this automatically produces arrogance! (Mat 16:1) Worship before anything else, is our thinking being changed into His! (Rom 12:1-2; Hos 4:6) True worship is a priestly function. (Heb 10:25) Singing hymns (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16), offering prayer (Eph 6:18; 1Th 5:17), giving (2Co 9:7)—these are all aspects of worship. Worship always involves giving back to God something we possess from Him. (Eph 5:16) We can learn to worship from descriptions of high ranking elect angels who “give glory, honor, and thanksgiving” to the Lord (Rev 4:9-11). We cannot yet fully join these angels in giving glory to God, because we will be glorified only in heaven (Mat 13:43) we cannot give in worship what we do not possess. We will acquire glory when we receive resurrection bodies and eternal rewards. We can give honor to the Lord in this life, but only when we have acquired honor, virtue, integrity. If we lack Christian integrity in our Spiritual life, we cannot offer integrity or honor to God. Likewise, we can give God thanksgiving only if we have gratitude to give. Any believer who does not understand from knowledge of Truth what God has done for him cannot be grateful to God. For such a believer true worship is impossible. (Mat 15:8-9; Luk 11:40) He may be sincere, but any worship he affects is an arrogant, legalistic attempt to win God’s favor or gain a reputation among men. Any overt activities connected with worship must be performed as unto the Lord, in fellowship and not to please or impress man. (Mat 6:5) Another phase of worship is the ritual of, the Eucha¬rist or Communion Table. This periodic auld lang syne observed in memory of our Lord and Savior calls upon the Truth in your right lobe. The bread rep¬resents the Person of Christ; the cup, His saving work (1Co 11:23-26). The Eucharist tests your maturity, and understanding of Truth, and ability to concen¬trate. Memory is reverse concentration; remembering Christ is giving back to God in worship the doctrinal thought inculcated in your soul through learning Truth. The most important aspect of worship, which makes all other worship pos¬sible, is the perception of Truth. God gives us time, one day at a time; we “redeem the time” by devoting a portion of each day to the intake of His Word (Eph 5:16). Concentration in learning the Word of God in gate four of the Spiritual life is the highest form of worship directed toward God! (1Ti 4:12-16) When you elevate yourself or any other person above Bible doc¬trine on your scale of values, you have misdirected your worship (Psa 138:2). The virtue in worship is nullified; you live in subjective reality. Worship by those outside the Spiritual life becomes religion, the enemy of Christianity! A strong social life with God is occupation with Christ! These are synonyms for worship, motivating morality toward men. Morality is a function of the ambassador. For many Christians the word “morality” means no more than abstinence from illicit sex. Most certainly that is part of morality, but in its wider sense morality extends to all facets of life. Virtue-morality is honorably motivated adherence to the Divine laws of establishment and is required of the entire human race, believers and unbelievers alike. What the unbeliever can produce cannot be the Christian way of life! But he can contribute to the stability of his nation and his own happiness in this life. Christianity includes morality but exceeds morality through the combined opera¬tion of all the Christian virtues. A believer misdirects and distorts morality when he assumes that he is pleasing God by being good. He believes that if he is nice to people, has a sweet disposition, helps the poor, avoids certain taboos, and follows certain traditional Christian practices, then God must approve of him and bless him. This is utterly false! Blessings from God are related to the priesthood, not the ambassadorship; they belong to the believer’s relationship with God, not his relationship with the human race! Supergrace prosperity comes from God’s justice, down the grace pipeline to imputed Divine righteousness in us! When we develop the capacity to appreciate and enjoy that prosperity. (Isa 30:18) We never earn or deserve blessing from God; God’s own perfect righteousness is at the receiving end of the pipeline! He has done all the work. If we think we can merit God’s favor by our works, we are legalists (1Co 1:27-31). The legalist may look impressive on the surface and may be involved in many legitimate activities, but, again, a misdirected virtue has been robbed of its impact. Many believers appear to be extremely moral, but they do not reside in the Spiritual life. (2Ti 3:5) The believer who confuses his priesthood with his ambassadorship has placed himself under Satan’s influence. (2Ti 2:25-26)
CONFIDENCE AND COURAGE
The second pair of counterpart virtues is also distorted if virtue is mis¬directed. Confidence is a priestly virtue directed toward God; courage is a virtue of the ambassador directed toward man. Confidence toward God is the invisible strength behind the believer’s visible courage toward other people or adverse circumstances. But if the objects are reversed, the virtues are destroyed: courage toward God is blasphemous; complete confidence in man is naive at best and evil at worst (Jer 17:5; Jn 2:24-25). We are justified in placing total confidence in God because He is infinite, absolute, and eternal; He never has and never can fail anyone who trusts in Him. He is totally worthy of our complete trust! Confidence is a function of the priesthood and is related to learning Truth. The more Truth we know, the greater is our confidence in God! (Rom 10:17) Eternal security creates confidence in God.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38-39)
Prayer is an expression of confidence in God.
Beloved, if our heart [right lobe] does not condemn us [rebound not demanded because we reside in the Spiritual life], we keep on having confidence before God [face to face with God]. Furthermore, whatever we have asked we receive from Him because we continue to keep [execute] His mandates [residence and function in fellowship]. (1Jn 3:21-22)
We can repose our complete trust in perfect God, but we cannot place unqualified confidence in any member of the human race. Everyone fails from time to time (Psa 143:2; 2Ch 6:36; Eccl 7:20). We all possess the old sin nature as the inner dis¬torter of life! And Satan’s influence is too powerful for us to resist in our own strength (1Pe 5:8-9). An employer must be able to rely on his employees to do their jobs; hus¬bands and wives must trust each other; there is trust involved in friendship. However, trust in another person can extend only so far before it becomes naiveté. Total confidence in man is sheer idiocy. Confidence in man is never vir¬tuous in itself but is virtue-dependent; your confidence in God gives you a sense of proportion toward man. Jesus Christ in the prototype Spiritual life did not consider confidence in mankind to be a virtue.
Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, beholding His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not en¬trusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man for He Himself knew what was in man. (Jn 2:23-25)
Confidence without cognizance is not true confidence and is ultimately self-destructive. This is the problem when you place someone on a pedestal of perfec¬tion and then react with disillusionment. Like¬wise, false confidence in the alleged goodness and nobility of mankind is the root of political liberalism. Confidence in man is not a virtue, but courage toward man and circum¬stances is a functional virtue of the royal ambassador.
Fear not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God [courage is motivated by confidence in God]. I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (Isa 41:10)
Courage is an ambassadorial virtue. The believer overcomes fear with the faith-rest drill, reverse concentration in a logical rationale—to establish and sustain his courage.
Fear does not exist in fellowship. (1Jn 4:18)
Fear, worry lusting, arrogance, competing, hating, greed, discontentment with job, wife, husband, money, house, car, circumstances, Etc.. Lets us know we are out of fellowship! Rebound and start reading and keep reading! And little by you will overcome! (Gal 5:16-17; 1Pe 4:1-2)
We know when we are in fellowship! Because we have love, joy, harmony (tolerant thoughtful and generous) patience, kindness, integrity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (1Jn 2:5; Gal 5:22-23)
God’s objective is to bless you! Not to destroy you! When you use His logistical grace and execute His game plan, you have nothing to fear from God; courage is unnecessary and com¬pletely out of order. You may need courage to face life but never to face God! He has already blessed you beyond measure and is waiting to give you greater grace. (Jas 4:6) He is always near to help in time of need. (Psa 46:1) The blasphemy of misdirected courage is illustrated in the improper use of rebound. When you exit the Spiritual life and commit a sin, you must acknowl¬edge that sin privately to God to be restored to fellowship. (1Jn 1:9) When you follow God’s policy, you do so as a royal priest from your confidence in God’s ability to forgive you. The more you understand about rebound, the greater is your con¬fidence in God, you know with absolute certitude that at the Cross He has already judged the sin in question. The believer who abuses rebound, however, attempts to distort this simple grace procedure of the royal priest into a function of the ambassador. He faces his sinfulness with great courage, standing before God and promising to do bet¬ter next time. He performs some overt penance for all to see; he makes a great show of his remorse so God will be convinced of his sincerity. But a virtue that is misdirected ceases to be a virtue. Bravery in making promises to God, which cannot be kept, boils down to sheer presumption and arrogance. God does not want our human reasoning! He has already done all the work necessary to restore us to residence in the Spiritual life. We just believe God, and forget it and move on, and just keep moving!! (Php 3:13)
PERSONAL AND IMPERSONAL LOVE
The quintessence of motivational and functional virtue is virtue-love: per¬sonal love for God and impersonal love for mankind. At gate five of the Spiritual life, personal love for God is a function of the royal priest developed through the persistent intake of Truth. At gate six impersonal love for all man¬kind is the integrity of the royal ambassador displayed in the application of Truth. This is the structure of the Christian way of life. Hatred of one’s fellow believer is a malfunction of the ambassadorship. The lack of impersonal love as a functional virtue, which can be seen, indicates the lack of personal love for God as a priestly, motivational virtue, which cannot be seen. Malfunction in the visible indicates malfunction in the invisible. Any believer who lacks the integrity of impersonal love toward others and yet claims to love God is a liar. (1Jn 4:20) The objects of personal and impersonal love cannot be switched without destroying the virtue of love. When misdirected toward God, impersonal love becomes the arrogance of assuming that God must be tolerated or that we as sin¬ners have greater integrity than God. It is the arrogance of presuming we know how to run our lives better than He does and, therefore, that we can dis¬pense with His mandates. (Isa 65:2-6) On the other hand, personal love misdirected toward man becomes weak¬ness. Obviously any attempt to love the entire human race with personal love is ludicrous and doomed to failure, but even legitimate personal love for the wor¬thy few creates vulnerability. We tend to make exceptions for those we love; we are susceptible to making emotional instead of Truth decisions; and we are often wrongly influenced by our desire to please the one we love. Personal love for a member of the human race can be wonderful and rewarding, but it is not spiritual love.
For any believer who lacks the motivational and functional virtues, personal love becomes a dead end for his spiritual life. Personal love can destroy common sense, discernment, and good judgment. Close friends or loved ones may influ¬ence a growing believer to ignore or reject certain Truths, to leave the right church, to quit a job where he is satisfied and doing well, to move to another geographical area, even to enter a life of crime. Every important decision a per¬son makes will be influenced by those he has chosen to love.
Be not deceived, evil companions corrupt good morals. (1Co 15:33)
He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the com¬panion of fools will suffer harm. (Prov 13:20)
The only category of personal love that is a virtue in itself is personal love for God in gate five of the Spiritual life. Personal love for a man, a woman, friends, or family is not a virtue in itself but is virtue-dependent; successful per¬sonal love for people depends on the virtue of impersonal love in gate six. When based on impersonal love, personal love for a select few people can flourish. But lacking the virtue of impersonal love, personal love becomes emotional self-gratification, emphasizing self and producing arrogance, hypersensitivity, and misery.
Impersonal love is the supreme functional virtue, the dynamics of the am¬bassador’s testimony to the human race, and the primary Christian virtue re¬quired by the royal family. But the strength of impersonal love dissipates if not nurtured, sustained, and motivated by a growing personal love for God.
VIRTUE-LOVE AND OBJECTIVE REALITY
God is the paragon, the exemplar of virtue-love. Our standard of virtue is His Divine Nature, not relative systems of human ethics. For our understanding of virtue-love, we go to the source, to objective reality, to God’s love for us. God loves us because He has integrity. Love requires integrity; integrity comes first. Each Divine attribute has equal importance in the essence of God, but in the logical presentation of His essence to man, God’s holiness or integrity precedes His love. God is perfect; therefore, God is perfect love. Divine love is far superior to the strongest human love we will ever know, because God has absolute integrity that cannot and will not be compromised or violated.
God’s attribute of righteousness is the motivation of His integrity; His justice is the function of His integrity. The same as our priesthood: motivation. And the same as our ambassadorship: function.
Divine righteousness and justice secure God’s love for every believer. Divine justice condemned all mankind for Adam’s original sin, making sal¬vation by grace possible. Justice judged Christ as our substitute on the Cross. (Rom 8:3) Justice imputed Divine righteousness to us at the moment of faith in Christ. (Gal 2:16) Our point of contact with God is the functional half of His integrity, Divine justice. The justice of God did not impute His love to us; justice imputed His righteous¬ness. We have direct contact, not with His love, but with the attributes that protect and guarantee His love for us, the integrity of God. We now possess the righteousness of God. Imputed righteousness is more valuable than anything we could imagine or desire. We have it; it is there, within us. Now and forever there is no possibility that Divine integrity will be com¬promised as God pours out grace and blessings to believers; God can love His own righteousness in us with absolute, eternal love. In God’s dealings with man¬kind, integrity always takes precedence over love.
Divine integrity not only gives us a point of contact with perfect God but also lays the foundation upon which we can build virtue. The principle that God’s integrity exists in every believer is the basis for the system, the Christian way of life, within which we are commanded to live. In the Church Age the sys¬tem that accompanies, exploits, and is demanded by imputed righteousness is the Spiritual life. Residence and function in the Spiritual life constructs our integrity upon Divine integrity. God has given us limitless potential for pro¬ducing virtue. In the Spiritual life we imitate God as we build virtue on the Divine righteousness He has imputed to us. The Spiritual life is Christian integrity. No Spiritual life no Christian integrity!
No one has fellowship with God who keeps advancing out of bounds and does not remain [on the playing field] through the Truth of Christ. (2Jn 1:9)
Capacity to love God emanates from Christian integrity — loyalty to the Truth and orientation to the reality of God’s system. We advance in bounds inside the Spiritual life, in which Jesus Christ lived throughout His first advent. In gates one through four, we develop integrity. As we build integrity, personal love for God and advanced impersonal love for man enter into the system at gates five and six. The Nature of God establishes the pattern for the Christian life: He loves us because He has integrity; we love only when we possess integrity or vir¬tue. The motto of the Christian way of life is Virtue First, and we acquire virtue, honor, and integrity only inside God’s system.
Love is never stronger than honor. The English Cavalier poet Richard Lovelace expressed this Truth when he wrote,
I could not love thee Dear so much,
Loved I not honor more.
A man might tell a woman, “I love you,” but if he lacks integrity, his love is false. His words manifest only arrogance, whether lust, infatuation, response to flattery, desire to control, or fear of facing life alone. No matter how sincere or emotionally smitten he may be, if he lacks virtue, honor, and integrity, he does not love. He does not love any member of the human race; he does not love God. Subjectivity is living in a false reality, that is what we think reality is, instead of what God declares reality to be! And is a posi¬tion of weakness. Little by little our thinking is changed. (Or should be) The more we understand and believe and use, is how much reality we have of God and His Thoughts and His plan, and our objective and purpose. God is perfect and He has perfect plan, for us, the angels, the earth, and eternity! And this change will not take place, without a maximum reception retention and recall of Truth, and resisting temptation and distraction every day, for an extended period of time! Success in any endeavor in life requires the concentration to pay attention to detail while staying focused on the objective. And this demands self- discipline which is the consistent decision to do what must to be done, with the determination to avoid any distractions that hinder the accomplishment of an objective! In any sport, or medicine or music, military, Etc. Practice! Practice! Practice! But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. (Heb 5:14)
We have learned that the Son of God has come [the First Advent], and He has given us the faculty for perception [dianoia, the Spiritual life] so that we may understand God's reality; and we are in the sphere of objective reali¬ty [the Spiritual life] by means of His Son, Jesus Christ. This One [Christ] is the true God and eternal life. (1Jn 5:20)
The Attic Greek noun dianoia means “the ability to think, a way of thought, a purpose, a plan,” and in this verse, “faculty for perception.” Dianoia calls at¬tention to the Spiritual life as the believer’s only way, through the teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit to think spiritual Truth, regardless of human IQ we all have equal ability to reach maturity, (1Co 2:13) resulting in virtue (Gal 5:22-23). This means that any believer’s understanding of Truth is a potential, not an actuality, and that every believer is obligated to fulfill this potential through his own decisions to reside and function in the Spiritual life. Jesus Christ gave us the Spiritual life so that, through the perception and application of God’s Word, we might understand and appreciate His reali¬ty, so that we might know and love God.
PERSONAL LOVE FOR GOD AND
VIRTUE LOVE FOR ALL MANKIND
The mandates for gate five are not unique to the Church Age. Every believer of every dispensation is commanded to love God, by reaching maturity!
You yourself shall love the Lord your God with all your heart [your right lobe], with all your soul, and with all your power. (Deu 6:5) 'You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD. (Lev 19:18)
In the Church Age “all your power” takes on added significance: we have received the power of God the Holy Spirit as the Energizer of the Spiritual life. We love God only in the Spiritual life. No one loves God by being ordered to love Him, but God never issues a mandate without supplying the means of compliance. Through spiritual momen¬tum from the perception and application of Truth, we obey the Divine mandate to love God, and to love our neighbor as our self!
And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
(Mat 22:37-40) For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. (Rom 7:14) So that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Rom 8:4)
No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love (Spiritual life) is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and Him in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. (1Jn 4:12-13)
That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, (Spiritual life) to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;(Truth) and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, (Virtue) may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, (human thinking) that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. (Full maturity!)
(Eph 3:16-19)
Paul’s prayer declares that man by man’s efforts neither comes to know nor loves God. In Paul’s day the philosophy of Gnosticism was an insidious adversary of Christianity. Gnosticism combined Platonic rationalism with Eastern mysticism, added Persian dualism, and expressed itself in Christian vocabulary. Advocating strict asceticism on one hand while encouraging lascivious debauchery on the other, Gnosticism offered something for everyone and appealed to many people, believers included. The Gnostics derived their name from gnosis, which they used as a technical term for the special quality of knowledge they sought. But neither true human thinking gnosis in the left lobe of the soul nor false human thinking gnosis glorified by human philosophy measure up to the believer’s Spiritual thinking epignosis love for Christ. Paul’s prayer is partly polemical: it refutes the Gnostics. But it is also offered to God on the true assumption that the believer’s love for God through Bible Truth is infi¬nitely superior to any human philosophy or academic knowledge.
THE ESSENCE-OF-GOD
Who is God? What is His nature? The essence of God is revealed in every direct statement of Bible Truth, in each line of Biblical poetry, in every his¬torical or prophetical narrative recorded in the Bible. God is revealed in the God-Man, Jesus Christ, whose thinking is Bible Truth (Jn 14:6; 1Co 2:16; Heb 1:2-3). Each line of Scripture is essential to God’s revelation of Himself. Man and human history change; God remains the same. Different circumstances elicit different aspects of His character, so that His attributes are presented in Scripture through a wide variety of Divine decisions and actions. The Truth of Divine essence becomes the common theme that unifies all other Truths; all Truth emanates from the essence of God.
With spiritual knowledge of Divine essence, the believer is able to see God’s plan being fulfilled in the kaleidoscope of human events, but the knowledge (Thinking) of God in our souls also causes the believer to personally love God!
This I recall to mind, therefore, I have hope [confidence directed toward God]: the Lord’s grace functions never cease, for His compassions never fail, they are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion says my soul, therefore I have hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, [Stays in fellowship!] to the soul who seeks Him! [Positive to Truth, which is God! (Jn 1:1)] (Lam 3:21-25)
As a believer advances toward spiritual maturity only, by using God's Thoughts and Viture, in The Spiritual life! Paul explains this concept very clearly, we just have to understand, (in Greek "pas" in English "things") that there are many places in Scripture where things equals thoughts!
But just as it stands written [in Isa 64:4] things which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard [beyond empiricism], nor has it entered into the right lobe of man [beyond rationalism], the things that God has prepared for those who love Him. For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man (unbeliever or carnal believer) does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. (Must be in fellowship) But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. (Unbelievers or carnal believers) For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the Mind of Christ. (1Co 2:9-14)
This principle is familiar from (Rom 8:4-14) There, Paul illustrates the same concept! Things equals thoughts! And flesh equals carnality (being out fellowship)
So that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, (Carnal death, being out of fellowship) but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, (Truth) for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh (Out of fellowship) cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, (In fellowship) if indeed the Spirit of God dwells (Filling) in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. (He is an unbeliever) If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, (Retroactive positional death with Christ) yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. (Rom 9:30) But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; (Sin unto death: 1Co 11:30) but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds (Thoughts) of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Rom 8:4-14)
OCCUPATION WITH CHRIST
As a believer continues to interlock the first four gates of the Spiritual life, he expands his capacity for love in gate five. Gate five increases from love for God, which characterizes the growing believer, to occupation with Christ, which characterizes the mature believer. (Heb 11:27) Christ was the focus of Paul’s life. Despite the pressure and controversy that continually surrounded the great apostle, he was stabilized by his constant awareness of the Lord. Better than anyone else, Paul defines occupation with Christ: Jesus Christ was Paul’s very life.
According to my earnest expectation (Concentration) and hope, (Confidence) that I will not be put to shame in anything, (1Jn 2:28) but that with all boldness,(And openness to His will) Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, (2Co 5:15) whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ (Gal 2:20) and to die is gain. (OUT OF THIS FLESH! AND IN HIS PRESENCE!) (Php 1:20-21)
The supergrace blessings in gate eight fall into six cate¬gories, the first and most important of which comprises spiritual blessings. Spiritual blessings constitute your capacity for all other forms of prosperity, and occupation with Christ is itself one of the spiritual blessings of supergrace. The greater your momentum from gate four, the greater your capacity for loving God. When your capacity for personal love for God has reached the point of occupation with Christ, God can entrust you with phenomenal blessings without distracting you from what is most important—the source, God Himself. The fruits of spiritual momentum continually increase until you possess the capacity of soul that allows God to bless you to the maximum. God gives supergrace only to mature believers, because few individuals pass the prosperity test. Only the mature believer who is occupied with Christ keeps Truth as his first priority, and whether in national or personal pro¬sperity or national or personal adversity, passes each test with flying colors. King David, whom the Bible recognizes as “a man after God’s own heart” (1Sa 13:14; Acts 13:22), expressed this continual desire for Truth moti¬vated by his mature love for God.
One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord (Live in fellowship) all the days of my life, to behold the beauty (Friendship) of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple. (Share more of God's lovingkindness and Truth: Psa 117:2) (Psa 27:4)
Love for God is the basis for all true worship, all motivation for Christian production, all fulfillment of the plan of God, and all glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives! The Spiritual life empowers the royal family to love God, even as the humanity of Christ loved Him! (1Jn 2:10)
THE ROYAL FAMILY HONOR CODE
The mature Christian lives by a code of honor. Virtue First is his motto: he respects authority, loves God with personal love, and loves man with imper¬sonal love. The honor code demands all the virtues of God’s protocol system, the Spiritual life. As the supreme functional virtue, which depends on founda¬tional and motivational virtues, the believer’s impersonal love manifests the dynamics of Christian integrity. The mature believer represents Christ in a gracious style that reflects our Lord’s eternal aristocracy. Aristocracy is maligned as snobbery, social injustice, and tyranny, but in its true sense aristocracy connotes excellence, achievement, courage, and a sense of responsibility. Extraordinary men become outstanding by accomplishing more than their contemporaries, and when this superiority is passed down from gener¬ation to generation, the children, too, are inculcated with superior standards. Often the descendants of illustrious men do not share the energy or strength of character that distinguished their forebears. Therefore, the vigor of the nobility must be perpetuated through a code of honor. The young heir is taught the pro¬tocol of aristocracy. He is trained from birth to think and act with poise and courage, always in keeping with his own personality, We are spiritual aristocrats. We did not earn our exalted new birth, just as no royal infant deserves to be a prince. Our royalty is the result of the accomplishments of someone else. Jesus Christ founded our royal dynasty nearly two thousand years ago as a result of His strategic victory over Satan, for which He earned the exalted title King of Kings and Lord of Lords. At spiritual birth we enter the royal family of the Lord Jesus Christ, (Gal 3:26) and He has given us His code of honor by which to live. Our royal code of conduct is taught throughout the New Testament, especially by Paul in (Rom 12:1-21). We do not live under systems of legalism or religious tradition. We live objectively (IN God's Reality) with Divinely shared happiness in the Spiritual life of the King of Kings, not under the subjective, (One of Satan's realitys) deceptive influence of the ruler of this world. The Spiritual life is the power system that fulfills the royal family honor code.
1. Respect the privacy of the royal priesthood.
The Christian way of life is a life of freedom (Gal 5:1), exceeding even the freedom of Divine establishment. Privacy is essential to freedom. The principle of the honor code, then, is “live and let live” (Rom 14:7-8). This means abstaining from gossip, maligning, judging, character assassination, and evil speculation from rumors and hearsay evidence. (Rom 14:10-13) Respect for the privacy of the priesthood also demands toleration for the erroneous opinions of immature believers on nonessential matters (Rom 14:2-3). Ultimately Truth is the essential; everything else, to a greater or lesser degree, is non¬essential (Rom 14:19). As a believer grows in the Word, Truth corrects his opinions, with no need for unsolicited interference from other Christians. Toleration permits all believers to assemble and ap¬proach the Word of God with objectivity. As royal priests, representing themselves before the Lord, the immature have the privacy and freedom to grow, while the mature have continued opportunities to develop strength through flexibility.
2. Love all people with impersonal love.
Impersonal love emphasizes your own growth, which demands that you hold no grudge or resentment against anyone, especially other believers, who possess the same imputed righteousness of God that you possess (Heb 13:1; 1Jn 3:11). Impersonal love also rejects self-pity and never seeks to arouse or exploit the pity of others (Jn 15:12; Rom 12:9-10; 1Jn 4:11).
3. Recognize that all believers have a common objective.
God keeps each believer alive to advance to maturity in the Spiritual life. Under the honor code, therefore, you must persevere in the perception and application of Truth. You must submit to the authority of your pastor-teacher, but this also means that you must demonstrate courtesy, thought¬fulness, and sensitivity toward those in the congregation who may be at a dif¬ferent stage of spiritual growth (Rom 15:5-7).
4. Build integrity; do not distort morality.
Integrity (Staying in fellowship) is the standard of the royal family, superior to morality, which belongs to believer and unbeliever alike. The believer’s virtue is rooted in the filling of the Spirit and in Truth, whereas morality is the fulfillment (Submits to authority) of the Divine laws of establishment. virtue-morality, therefore, exceeds but also includes human-morality. Personal integrity is the sine qua non (Standard) of the Christian life; morality devolves into legalism when it is assumed to be the Christian way of life (Mat 15:8). Anything an unbeliever can do, cannot be the Christian way of life!
5. Never assume that human production is a means of Divine blessing.
Your talent, personality, intelligence, sacrifice, asceticism, and ability never merit blessing from God. He blesses His own imputed righteousness in you. God recognizes only integrity, which is the standard of maturity attained through residence and function in His power system. Divine integrity is the source of all blessings to man, and God blesses from righteousness to righteousness, not from His integrity to human works. Production is a result of spiritual advance, never the cause. When momentum from Truth in the Spiritual life is recognized as the cause of spiritual growth, integrity, and blessing, then self righteousness is excluded from your life (Mat 6:33).
6. Depend totally on the integrity of God.
In order to depend on God, you must be intimately aware of His attributes through understanding Truth. Your point of contact with God is His integrity. Hence, the entire Christian life can be summarized as Integrity First: A Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code. This total dependence on God’s justice and righteousness is called “hope,” the confident expectation of blessing (Rom 15:13). Such confidence motivates and sustains your spiritual momentum: you are carried to maturity by thinking, thinking under an honor code principle. Right thinking creates right motivation, and right motivation leads to right action (Rom 12:1-2).
7. Remember that the honor code is for all believers.
The royal family honor code is not just for brilliant or accomplished people. Simply because the royal code is superior to all other approaches to life is no excuse for arrogance. It is God’s system, His code, not yours. Both the Divine laws of establishment and the royal family honor code sustain your advance, blessing, and happiness. All believers, including you, rely on these two Divine systems (Rom 12:3; Rom 13:1-8).
8. More is demanded of the strong than the beginner.
We are all royalty, yet no two believers are equal. Even among royalty some are stronger and more advanced than others by virtue of their more consistent perception and application of Truth. The principle of noblesse oblige (Nobility obligates) applies. Maturity imposes the obligation of honorable, generous, and responsible behavior is a companion of high rank or noble birth (Rom 15:1-4). The strong are obliged to tolerate the nonessential, inconsequential, and occasionally obnoxious opinions and actions of the weak (Rom 14:1). An arrogant person might assume you are weak and might ridicule you for bending to the demands of immature believers, but there is no weakness in such flexibility. The strong believer is confident and says, “I may bend, but I will not break.” (Do anything, except get out of fellowship) He maintains a relaxed sense of humor about himself, about life, and about others. Impersonal love eases the strong believer’s duty to the weak believer.
9. Orient to authority.
Some people resent authority. But authority pro¬tects freedom (1Pe 2:13-18). Like human freedom, Christian freedom is not an isolated quality. Your freedom as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is an integral part of a system that includes free will, privacy, private property, and authority. Genuine humility submits to the pastor who faithfully teaches ortho¬dox Christian Truth from a systematic exegesis of the Scriptures (Heb 13:7-17). God has delegated His authority to pastors. (Eph 4:11)
JOHN TEACHES VIRTUE-LOVE
Virtue must be learned. We begin with Truth, not with virtue. We must obey God’s mandates and make the many positive decisions necessary to submit to the process of learning Truth: reception, retention, recall, resist, repeat.
We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love (Stays in fellowship) abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected (We become mature believers) with us, so that we may have confidence in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. (Sharing His nature and living by it) (1Jn 4:16-17; Heb 3:14)
Truth reveals the nature of virtue-love, which reflects the essence of God. The Greek noun agape, “love,” establishes a category that encompasses the entire system of practical theology. Virtue-love becomes a description of the Christian way of life (1Co 13:13). God’s purpose in keeping you alive is that you may develop a personal love for Him by reaching maturity. Until you have achieved love for God, you have accomplished nothing as a believer. Christianity is not witnessing, prayer, giving, singing, sacrifice, emotion. Even in their proper places these are results of maturity. Your primary function as a believer is virtue-love as a result of residence in the Spiritual life. Personal love for God is the motivator of all the normal, legitimate activities of the Christian way of life. God derives pleasure from giving us the option of going through life with virtue; He has established the game plan by which we can succeed. When we possess motivating virtue, we can obey all the functional mandates found in the Word of God, including the command to love all mankind—with impersonal love.
VIRTUE-LOVE AND FEAR
Along with virtue-love comes confidence. The advancing believer has mental poise and eager anticipation regarding even the ultimate test in life, the Judgment Seat of Christ, where our lives will be evaluated for eternal reward or loss of reward. Summoned before the God-Man, Jesus Christ, the absolute judge—who will decide the gravest possible issue, the final evaluation of each believer’s Christian life—the mature believer will stand in complete freedom from anxiety or fear. Such confidence, which we can also possess in this life! (The Goal!) Another pair of counterpart virtues are confidence in God and courage toward man and circumstances. The motivational virtue of confidence in God stands behind the functional virtue of courage toward people and circumstances.
In order that we may have confidence in the day of evalua¬tion [the Judgment Seat of Christ], because just as He is, so also are we in this world. (1Jn 4:17)
Christ, the future judge, possessed impeccable honor and virtue in the pro¬totype Spiritual life. We cannot be impeccable, but the completed Spiritual life can! Constructed upon the imputed Divine righteousness that we received at salvation, our honor and virtue imitates Christ as we persist in the Spiritual life in the devil’s world.
There is no fear in love; (In fellowship) but perfect love casts out fear, (Maturity) because fear involves punishment,(Divine discipline) and the one who fears is not perfected (A mature believer) in love. (1Jn 4:18)
Uncontrolled fear is the opposite of courage. Courage toward man and con¬fidence toward God stand together as counterpart virtues, so that when the men¬tal attitude sin of fear "or any other sin" controls the soul, all virtue is eliminated. Fear is a de¬stroyer of love because fear destroys virtue. The Spiritual life is the sphere of virtue, in which fear cannot possibly persist. Because courage toward man is the functional virtue motivated by confi¬dence in God, the believer who is sure of God’s omnipotence, faithfulness, and logistical grace remains in control of his life even under maximum stress. Courage is thinking under pressure; fear is inability to think. The coward is not nec¬essarily the one who runs away but the one who freezes mentally under pressure.
When a mature, virtuous believer continues to conduct himself with poise and carry out his responsibilities under tremendous strain, he makes the pressure look like no pressure and his courage look like perfect calm. By learning Truth in the power of the Spiritual life, the believer builds confidence in God, which gives him courage, poise, and freedom from anxiety in applying Truth to life. Describing love, the Greek adjective teleios indicates that nothing which belongs to this love is left out; nothing can be added to it as an improvement; nothing of its own excellence is lacking. Often translated “perfect,” teleios is an adjective of excellence. Aeschylus applied teleios to the gods as a Divine attri¬bute: “mighty, efficacious.” Plato used teleios interchangeably with arete, “virtue.” Teleios becomes a synonym for virtue, so that what is often quoted from the King James Version as “perfect love” takes on tremendous signifi¬cance when recognized to mean “virtue-love.” Satan sponsors false systems of love. Only virtue-love, which is the monopoly of God in the Spiritual life, expels fear as well as all other sins. This is not a reference to Divine discipline administered by the justice of God. The believer outside the Spiritual life produces both the fear and his own punishment. (Prov 8:36) Fear causes self-induced misery. By remaining in a position of weakness, a believer becomes his own worst enemy. He continually makes poor decisions, dedicating himself to a life of self-punishment. He cannot blame cir¬cumstances, environment, or other people for his unhappiness. He is the product of his own decisions (Isa 65:2) to ignore God’s game plan, and to refuse to live in the sphere of virtue. He has failed to achieve virtue-love.
VIRTUE-LOVE AND HATRED
In verse 19, John presents the pattern of virtue-love as found in the essence of God.
We love because He first loved us. (1Jn 4:19)
In eternity past God knew every act of sin, a believer would commit, yet He loved us with Divine impersonal love based on His own integrity. Integrity characterizes His every action toward us. Because of Divine integrity God the Father sent His Son to be born a man. As true humani¬ty Christ paid the penalty for sin, which was demanded by Divine integrity, so that anyone who believes in Him might be reconciled to God. Christ Himself possesses double integrity: as God He has Divine righteousness and justice; as a man He remained impeccable by staying in fellowship.
God the Father has always loved the Son with perfect, eternal love, but from eternity past the purpose of Christ’s first advent was always that He die on the Cross. At the Cross the integrity of God took precedence over Divine love as the justice of the Father imputed our sins to Christ and judged them in Him. (2Co 5:20-21) The integrity of God makes His love for us possible. Therefore, we love on the same principle: integrity first. The depth of our personal love for God and the stability of our impersonal love for man depend on our virtue, honor, and integrity developed in fellowship. Indeed, impersonal love is a technical term for the integrity or virtue of the subject.
(1Jn 4:20) presents a hypothetical case in which a believer has lost con¬trol of his life, as manifest in the malfunction of virtue-love.
If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. (1Jn 4:20)
When a believer is filled with self-righteousness, guilt, self-pity, jealousy, antagonism, bitterness, or implacability, he is not in control of his life. Mental attitude sins are a sign of having relinquished command of the soul to the old sin nature, succumbing to the devil’s influence. (2Ti 2:26) If a believer does not control his life, he cannot produce virtue. He has no functional virtue toward man and circumstances, and if no functional virtue, no motivational virtue toward God. Gates five and six of the love complex stand or fall together; they are coexistent or nonexistent. If one part is missing, the whole is destroyed. The Christian who hates his fellow believer has arrogantly elevated himself above others; he has obscured his personal sense of destiny, having removed himself from the power sphere of God, he resides in a position of weak¬ness from which he can make only bad decisions. Satan is “a liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44), and the believer who rejects God’s system lives a lie in Satan’s counterfeit system.
Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness (Virtue) is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin (Stays out of fellowship) is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, (We cannot sin in fellowship) because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness (Produce virtue) is not of God, (Not a believer) nor the one who does not love his brother. (1Jn 3:7-10)
This same principle is taught in (Jn 8:31-47)When the virtue of impersonal love in gate six is obliterated by mental atti¬tude sins, the virtue of personal love in gate five also fails to operate. Hatred toward anyone robs you of virtue toward everyone, including God. It is self¬-deception to claim that you have virtue toward invisible God if you have none toward people. Gate five is the beginning of the batter’s swing; gate six is the follow-through. There is no functional virtue without honorable motivation, and no motivational virtue exists if it’s inevitable result a relaxed mental attitude toward people is absent.
DIVINE MANDATES FOR VIRTUE-LOVE
Furthermore, we have this mandate from Him that he who loves God should also love his fellow believers. (1Jn 4:21)
This is the Divine mandate for a totality of virtue, for the unity of virtue-love toward God and man. You obey this command, not by seeking to love God and man, but by acquiring virtue in the sustained, coordinated function of gates one through four of the Spiritual life.
You cannot possess permanent virtue without a permanent source of motiva¬tion. Anyone can put on a show of loving his fellow believer, but in time, as circumstances change, the deception inevitably crumbles. Virtue must be prop¬erly motivated. In order to love all mankind with impersonal love, you need a strong personal love for God. Love for God is based on a solid foundation of Truth in the soul, applied in the power of the Holy Spirit, the objectivity of basic Christian modus operandi, and the continued teachability of genuine humility. Gates five and six of the love complex stand as one principle, but ultimately all the gates of God’s system stand or fall together.
First John 5 continues from chapter 4 and reiterates the link between motiva¬tional virtue and functional virtue.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ [Messiah, the Anointed One] has been born from God. Furthermore, everyone who loves the Father loves everyone who has been born from Him. (1Jn 5:1)
At the moment of salvation, every believer first enters the Spiritual life through gate one, the filling of the Holy Spirit. The system that was a birthday gift from the Father to the Son on the first Christmas becomes a birthday gift to us, not at our physical birth, but at our spiritual birth. (Tit 3:5-6) We possess the sphere of virtue, but no one automatically loves God. Nor does anyone automatically love all mankind. As we advance in the Christian life, we acquire that capacity for love. In the interlocking gates of the Spiritual life, motivational virtue toward God and functional virtue toward man gradually develop as one entity. As we enter gate five, we simultaneously enter gate six.
By this we know (Proof that we have virtue) (It Works!) that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. (Think with His Thoughts and His Reality) For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; (Satan's cosmic system) and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. (Spiritual life) (1Jn 5:2-4)
No one can live the Christian way of life outside the factory that manufac¬tures virtue, the Spiritual life. Every stage of the manufacturing process is clearly described in Divine instructions and commands, and the Lord’s mandates are not difficult to fulfill.
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (Maturity) Take My yoke [Spiritual life] upon you, and learn from Me [Truth, gate four, is the Mind of Christ], for I am gentle and humble in heart [gate three, genuine humility]; and you shall find rest for your souls. (In fellowship) For My yoke is easy, (Spiritual life) and My load is light (To reach maturity). (Mat 11:28-30)
We all enter the Christian life with some handicap from our lives as un¬believers or from exposure to false teaching. But every handicap and difficulty is nullified by God’s system of grace. Divine logistical grace, makes the difficult easy. Only our own negative volition pre¬vents us from living the Christian way of life and advancing in virtue. The only issue that remains to be settled is, How will our volition function?
ACCELERATED GROWTH UNDER PRESSURE
You will inevitably face momentum tests as a necessary part of life; obstacles lie astride the path of every believer’s growth. Testing in gate seven of the Spiritual life is not an exception to God’s grace; testing is an expression of God’s grace. God either permits testing or directly sends testing, (Lam 3:38) but His timing is always perfect. Only Truth can keep pace with God’s timing, and you accel¬erate your advance only by successfully overcoming obstacles! Indeed, you must pass tests in order to obtain the prize of sharing God’s happiness in gate eight. (Php 3:14) When you periodically encounter challenges to your progress, you either increase or lose momentum, depending on whether you pass or fail the test. Distractions to spiritual momentum can become the Christian’s ruin or one of the greatest opportunities for scoring tactical victories in the angelic conflict. If you are right with God, you can face the wrongs of injustice, disaster, or pressure with the power of the Spiritual life. (1Pe 1:6-7) As a believer you sustain your spiritual momentum through daily decisions to learn and apply Truth. You manifest the Truth resident in your soul through growth and application, but spiritual growth withers and faith-rest will not function outside of the Spiritual life. Man’s volition is designed to obey the mandates of God. Volition can be used to succeed or fail; grace provides only for success!
The proper function of volition is hindered by arrogance, which also neutralizes Truth in the soul. The “out of fellowship" believer, therefore, may know Truth, but he cannot make prudent, judicious, and correct application. He can only distort the Word of God. He follows the path of Satan in eternity past. The devil knew more Truth than any other creature, yet arrogance caused his fall (Isa 14:1-16).
In opposition to God’s game plan, Satan administers his own power system—the cosmic system—to prevent, impede, and reverse your spiritual momentum. Although the power of God is greater than the power of Satan, the devil can lure you into arrogance or hatred so that you never attain spiritual strength. You attain cosmic strength, which cannot sustain you. When you reside in Satan’s interlocking system of arrogance, you are a loser entangled in self¬-centeredness; in his interlocking system of hatred you are a dupe in rebellion against the mandates of God. (1Sa 15:23) Volition is basic authority in life, the guardian of the soul. Because your freewill can defeat the ingenious strategy of Satan, (Jas 4:7) you must strengthen your positive volition. You do so by consistently choosing to function in God’s system: concentrate to learn Truth, then concentrate to apply Truth. The mental exercise of making right decisions and to use the Spiritual Truth in your soul, in life’s pressures or in prosperity builds spiritual muscle and resolves momentum testing.
TAKING EXAMS, ENJOYING THE GAME
Momentum testing has a counterpart in academic life. In school you progress from one grade to the next because you have passed a series of tests. You have demonstrated your knowledge and application of the subjects taught in the previous grade. Likewise, as you achieve each level of spiritual growth, you will be tested for knowledge and application of Truth in that increment of your Christian development. If you have been constant in learning Truth under your pastor, you must take an exam, sometimes a pop quiz. Someone you love may die unexpectedly; an old friend may malign you; a cherished possession may be lost; your wealth taken from you. When misfortune comes, you take an exam. How do you face catastrophe? You have already learned the Truth necessary to control the situation, so you apply the Truth you know! You open your soul by the power of God the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:26) and begin to think, giving back to the Lord all He has taught you through the grace appa¬ratus for perception. Your use or misuse of the Truth you have learned determines whether or not you will grow at this particular stage in your Christian life. If you fail, (The only way to fail a test is to give in to the sin nature and not rebound you can struggle through it, just don’t give up! ) use (1Jn 1:9) and fall back and regroup for an opportunity to learn more and be tested again at a later time. (1Co 10:13) But you have missed the chance to accelerate your capacity for life. You cannot afford to flunk too many tests if you hope to advance all the way to maturity. God gives each believer only a finite number of days, and you must continually learn and apply the Truth, “redeeming the time” (Eph 5:16).
I learned to play football under a system called the single wing, which involved making the same moves over and over in practice, a hundred times, a thousand times, before I ever had the opportunity to execute plays in a game. There was no brush blocking; everything was precise. (This is God interacts with us!)To be effective I had to practice each play the same way again and again. All this was accomplished under the grueling but relatively no-pressure situation of scrimmage. After the team had mastered the system and could execute the plays perfectly on the prac¬tice field, then we were faced with real opponents. The pressure situation was the actual game. But I had to perform exactly as I did in practice: execute the play; throw a perfect block. Our opponents fell all over themselves while our team gained yardage. We were actually having fun, even under pressure, because the system worked.
The same principle applies in coping with pressure in life. You may hear a Truth repeated many times as the pastor faithfully exegetes the Scriptures over a number of years. Repetition means inculcation; under pressure you will need the entrenched knowledge of doctrinal concepts. When a crisis comes, you will discover that Truth works! Faith-rest is designed for pressure situa¬tions; indeed, the only tranquility in Christianity is humility, borrowing God’s strength inside the Spiritual life. In a hopeless situation reliance on God’s Word is the only solution! God alone can solve hopeless problems; man copes with problems in humility and watches the deliverance of the Lord (Exo 14:13). The perception of Truth is an academic function, but it is also a spiritual function requiring the interlock of the first four gates of the Spiritual life. Learning under the grace apparatus for perception demands the filling of the Holy Spirit, objectivity, and enforced and genuine humility. Likewise, applying Truth in gate four is also a spiritual function, demanding the interlock of all the gates of God’s system. The Divine commands to establish and increase your spiritual momentum summarize all the mandates related to the love complex.
And walk in love, (Stay in fellowship) just as Christ also (Did, and) loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. (Eph 5:2)
And this is love that, we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it. (In fellowship) (2Jn 1:6)
You perpetuate your momentum in two ways: through the perception of Truth and the application of Truth. Perception comes in Bible class; application comes in the problems of life, the momentum tests. No believer can advance without both functions of gate four of the Spiritual life.
SUFFERING AS BLESSING OR DISCIPLINE
Gate seven of the Spiritual life includes eight categories of testing and their solutions, but the suffering involved in any category of testing is designed for one of two purposes. You suffer either for Divine blessing or for Divine discipline. All causes of suffering and all forms of testing fall within these two categories, and when you come under pressure, the first question to resolve is whether you are suffering for discipline (We have been staying out of fellowship) or for blessing. (We have been staying in fellowship)
Suffering for Suffering for
Discipline Blessing
Issue Sin Grace
Status Cosmic System Spiritual life
Characteristic Unbearable Bearable
Viewpoint Subjectivity Objectivity
Solution Rebound Application of
Truth
CLASSIFICATION OF ALL CHRISTIAN SUFFERING
When you suffer for discipline, the issue is sin. (Jas 4:17) You are under pressure because you have made bad decisions from a position of weakness and are residing in Satan’s power system. You cannot claim that “the devil is after me”; you have pursued the devil. You have chosen to live out of fellowship! (1Co 11:31) Only God can convert Divine discipline, or self-induced misery, into blessing, and this He has done by providing rebound for reentry into the Spiritual life. When you are suffering for discipline, the issue is staying out of fellowship, and that is a sin, (Rom 14:23) but when suffering for blessing, the issue is grace. God is graciously testing you in order to stimulate your appli¬cation of Truth. You store the Word of God in your soul; He Generously expedites your progress toward supergrace. The distinction between these two general categories of testing is that suffer¬ing for punishment is unbearable, whereas suffering for blessing is bearable. You cannot endure Divine punishment or self-induced misery because you are in a position of weakness, slavery to the power system of Satan. But you can handle suffering for blessing through the power of the Spiritual life.
Testing (For blessing) has not caught up with you except the human kind; moreover, God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tested beyond your capabilities, but with the testing He will also provide a way out [The faith—rest drill in the Spiritual life] so that you can endure it. (1Co 10:13).
When you are suffering for discipline, your viewpoint is arrogance and sub¬jectivity: (Reality the way we think it is!) you blame others for your misfortune or feel sorry for yourself. When suffering for blessing, however, your attitude is humility and objectivity: (Reality the way God declares it to be!) You are using the doctrinal rationales of the faith-rest drill. You are teachable and alert to learn from the crisis. Rebound and maximum intake of Truth is the solution to suffering for punish¬ment; the application of Truth is the solution to suffering for blessing.
If you have persevered in the Spiritual life under normal circum¬stances, then when pressure arrives you will continue to function honorably. Sometimes the pain and the pressure are so intense that you may feel you are going down instead of up; right decisions may appear to set you back; compro¬mise of God’s Truth seems to be the route to quick advance or relief from pain. But by continuing to utilize God’s system, all testing is effectively resolved, and a higher plane of spiritual growth achieved! (Isa 28:28-29)
STRENGTH IN THE DIVINE SYSTEM
In the cosmic system not only are you unable to tolerate suffering, but you will continue to fail. You will become subjective, vacillating, untrustworthy, and you will drag others into your misery. You will impose on your friends or pastor, demanding their time and attention, seeking their sympathy. But no amount of counseling will avail. The best advice in the world falls on deaf ears when that person under pressure is in the cosmic system. Commiserating with such a person will not help. He resides in a sphere of power—Satan’s power— that he can escape only by his own volition. Before any Truth is usable to him, he must leave the cosmic system and reenter the Spiritual life. Unless he is willing to make this decision, he will continue to drain his friends and family emotionally, physically, mentally, and often financially. Inside the cosmic sys¬tem, no one can keep the Truth organized. That is why believers fall apart, become psychotic, go on criminal binges, and commit suicide. There are eight basic momentum tests, and for each test God has provided a solution. The objective application of Truth operates only inside the interlocking system of love. God has given us a system; His power is available to us only inside that system. We must obey His mandates in order to pass the momentum tests and forge ahead in the Christian life. God’s promise to “not permit you to be tested beyond your capabilities” applies only within the sphere He has provided.
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the Truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1Co 13:4-7)
The Greek verb makrothumeo means to be longsuffering, enduring, patient; to endure with courage and steadfastness; to exercise forbearance under provo¬cation; to be undisturbed by obstacles, delays, failures; to be able to bear the stress and strain of pressure. Fortitude belongs to the love complex because God knew that we would need endurance for accelerated spiritual momentum in the devil’s world. Stubbornness is not strength; stubbornness is weakness and inflexibility. A false code of honor is always inflexible, subjective, and arrogant, whereas perseverance in the Spiritual life is flexible, leading to integrity in changing, unpredictable circumstances.
Test Solution
1. Old Sin Nature Rebound & Truth
2. People Impersonal Love
3. Thought Doctrinal Rationales
4. Systems Impersonal Love and
Doctrinal Rationales
5. Arrogance Complex Spiritual life
6. Hatred Complex Spiritual life
7. Disaster Faith-Rest Drill
8. Prosperity Genuine Humility and
Perception of Truth
TESTS OF SPIRITUAL MOMENTUM
Integrity demands objective thought. When God commands you to perse¬vere in fellowship, He is ordering you to think Divine viewpoint. Right thinking leads to right motivation, and right motivation leads to right action. All the gates of the love complex function together as integral parts of the whole when Truth is being correctly applied. The fundamental conflict between the Spiritual life and the cosmic system, between the bearable and the unbearable, is emphasized in the first momentum test. If you control your old sin nature properly, (Gal 5:16) you assure that you do indeed reside in God's system and stand in a position of strength, ready to meet any challenge!
THE OLD SIN NATURE TEST
TEMPTATION VERSUS SIN
The old sin nature is the source of temptation but not the source of sin. Sin, human thinking, (Mark 8:33) and evil (Acts 5:3) (Satan's thinking) are the products of the sin nature when it controls the soul, but they are caused by human volition. Regardless of what you do in thought, word, or deed, you do it because you want to do it. You are responsible for all your thoughts, motives, and actions, whether sinful or honorable. (Rom 2:15-16) Ignorance is no excuse; insanity is no excuse. What you do, you choose to do! You must take responsibility for your personal decisions in order to find solutions to your problems. And by using Divine thinking we can never fail! Because God can never fail! Volition is the guardian at the gate of the soul, protecting the soul from the old sin nature, Satan’s inside agent headquartered in the body. Only your con¬sent allows the old sin nature to take control of your soul. (Rom 6:12) You alone convert temptation into sin. When you succumb to the solicitations of the sin nature, you automatically enter the cosmic system, entering via some variation of mental attitude arrogance. Mental attitude sins are motivational evils that lead to func¬tional evils. Mental attitude sins are expressed in verbal and overt sins and con¬tribute to sin nature good, (Mark 8:32-33; Isa 65:2-5) and sin nature evil. (Mat 15:19; Jer 17:9) Click: http://rbthieme.org/characte.htm
"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the Truth because there is no Truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (Jn 8:44)
All production from our sin nature, is ultimately from the nature we inherited from Satan. (Rom 5:12) Whatever we think or say or do out of fellowship is wood, hay, and straw (1Co 3:12-14) which is useless for spiritual growth and reward. (1Co 3:18-20; Psa 39:5)
In contrast, when you are residing in the Spiritual life and resist temp¬tation, you have invisible impact, growth, and blessing and in eternity reward! The only way to stay in fellowship consistently is to know God's reality for your life and to live in His reality! For the unbeliever: (1Ti 2:4) For the Christian: (Jn 8:31-32)
You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called. Now concerning virgins I have no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. I think then that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you. But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away. But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things (Thoughts) of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things (Thoughts) of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided! (2Ti 2:4) The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things (Thoughts) of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things (Thoughts) of the world, how she may please her husband. This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord. (1Co 7:23-35)
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ”He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
(Jn 12:24-26) These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. (Rev 14:4) For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
(2Co 11:2-3)
Objectivity: is living and thinking by what God declares to be reality! And this insu¬lates you against the world. (Cosmic system) (1Jn 2:15-17) And you have freedom from mental attitude sins and human subjectivity: (Jer 18:12) (Reality the way we think it is) This is an built in quality of impersonal love directed toward all people, circumstances, her, him, this, that, and everything else! Which is not only the highest Christian virtue but also your primary line of defense against failing the sin nature test! Temptation is not sin!! You do not lose your fellowship with God simply because you are tempted to sin! (Heb 4:15) Your love for God in the Spiritual life gives you the strength and wisdom to resist or avoid temptation. (Heb 12:4; Heb 13:13-14)
VOLITION AS THE GUARDIAN AT THE GATE OF THE SOUL
Sin has no place in God’s game plan; nevertheless, we all sin. Even the most mature believers fail from time to time. (Eccl 7:20) When you do slip into the arrogance complex through mental attitude sins, lying,(1Co 6:7) lust, (Mat 5:28) criticism, (Luk 6:35-38) or wanting to know about other people’s lives in Hollywood, or next door, (You just exited God's reality!) (1Th 4:11) the solution is no longer resisting tempta¬tion. It is too late for that. The answer is immediate rebound. (1Jn 1:9) Everyone in the cosmic system is a loser; you must quickly move back into the sphere of God’s plan in order to be on the winning side again! Rebound is tantamount to recogniz¬ing that you are responsible for the decision that took you out of the Spiritual life and that now it is your responsibility to get back in and stay in, through the grace system God has provided. The rebound technique both reinstates you in the Spiritual life and solves the problem of suffering for discipline. Suffering is unbearable only because you have rejected God’s grace system for dealing with suffering. The inner strength of the Spiritual life makes suffering bearable. In the cosmic system you are arrogant, subjective, and self-centered, which complicates your life and makes any difficulty intolerable. Being in fellowship gives you the ability to “endure with fortitude under pressure,” not with gritted teeth (Sometimes!) but in the confident serenity of your fellowship with God. When you suddenly find yourself in adversity, how do you know if you are suffering for discipline or for blessing? In the cosmic system, you are being disciplined; in the Spiritual life, blessed. But how do you determine which system is controlling you? The issue is unreality and sin. If you are sinning or have uncon¬fessed sin in your life, you are under the control of the sin nature in the cosmic system. If you have no unconfessed sins, you have passed the old sin nature test, at least for now, you are filled with the Spirit, and so the next step is to maximize your intake of God's Thoughts and Reality! (2Co 6:17-18) (Mat 10:34-39)
THE REBOUND RATIONALE
Rebound is an extremely simple application of Truth. If you keep short accounts with God, if you do not permit unconfessed sins to accumulate, then you need only a moment to name your sins privately to God. Restoration to fellowship is instantaneous, but the rebound technique is backed up by an entire structure of basic Truths. Rebound is easy for us because it was hard for Jesus Christ; it cost Him the Cross. In the perception side of gate four, you have concentrated on learning the salvation Truths of propitiation, redemption, and reconciliation, as communi¬cated by your pastor.
Click: http://rbthieme.org/the13.htm
Now in the application side of gate four, you reverse your concentration to bring these pertinent Truths to mind in a logical rationale. The rebound rationale ultimately leads to doctrinal conclusions that enable you to forget your failure and move on in confidence. (Isa 43:18; Php 3:13) Thus, rebound employs the three stages of the faith-rest drill.
In stage one of the faith-rest drill, your faith reaches out and claims a promise.
For this reason, many among you are weak [warning disci¬pline] and sick [intensive discipline], and a number sleep [sin unto death]. But if we judged ourselves rightly [rebound adjustment to the justice of God], we should not be judged. (1Co 11:30-31)
"How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing and fools hate knowledge? "Turn to my reproof, (Rebound) Behold, I will pour out My Spirit on you; I will make My Words known to you. (Prov 1:22-23)
If we confess [Name, cite, acknowledge] our sins, He [God the Father] is faithful and righteous [Justified] with the result that He forgives us our sins [Known sins] and also cleanses us from all unrighteousness [Unknown, and forgotten sins]. (1Jn 1:9)
You claim these promises by doing what they command: name your sins. As a member of the royal family of God, you are your own priest, representing yourself as a private individual before God. When you cite your sins privately to God, He keeps His promise to forgive you and cleanse you from all your sins, known and unknown, and forgotten. How you feel about your sins is not an issue. There is no reference to your feelings in the rebound promises. Emotion is never a criterion of spiritual status. What counts is God’s attitude toward your sins. Your emotion adds nothing, and a guilt complex is just another sin.
In stage two of the faith-rest drill, your faith reaches out and follows a logi¬cal rationale. According to the Truths of salvation, specifically the Truth of the first judicial imputation, your personal sins were imputed to Christ on the Cross and judged.
He [God the Father] made Him [Christ], who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf [In place of us; Christ was our substi¬tute], that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2Co 5:21)
Reverse concentration recalls the Truths that explain why rebound works every time and why the procedure is so simple. The sin has already been judged on the Cross, and the judicial verdicts of God are perfect, final, and irreversible. You can add nothing to a legal case that God has closed. By naming your sins, you are accepting the finished work of Christ on your behalf for the forgiveness of your sins, just as you accepted His work for your salvation. In both salvation and rebound all that remains for you to contribute is nonmeritorious positive vo¬lition. You merely accept what God has done. Rebound does not depend on you. That is why it works every time, and that is why, under the principle of grace, God receives all the credit. Your emotions, guilt, worry, and remorse are intru¬sions that stand in the way of your recovery and continued spiritual advance. In the third stage of the faith-rest drill, faith reaches doctrinal conclusions. You conclude that the sin in question has been paid for in full, that you are now back in fellowship with God, inside the Spiritual life, that you have escaped the cosmic system and are controlled once again by God the Holy Spirit. In the energy of the Spirit and obeying the mandates connected with the other gates of God’s system, you have regained control of the situation. Pressure and suffering may continue, but what was intolerable has now become bearable, in the dynamics of the eight gates of God’s game plan.
PEOPLE TESTING
REACTION AND ATTRACTION
When you fall victim to injustice, you can become bitterly impatient. “How long will my enemy triumph?” (Psa 13:2). Periodic opposition from people is inevitable because the majority of people in the world live exclusively in the cos¬mic system, and in the devil’s kingdom nothing is fair. Only God’s integrity is fair, giving you the Divine system for survival and happiness in all circum¬stances. God provides Divine establishment, logistical grace, Truth, and the Spiritual life, whereas people often give you nothing but vacillation, an¬tagonism, misunderstanding, slander, and disappointment. (Rom 3:10-18) Under such testing there is no excuse for becoming discouraged or cynical. (It is what it is!) Suffering for blessing is always positive: a mature believer’s integrity is revealed not only in his per¬sonal virtues but also, to use the old phrase, you can tell a person’s character by who his enemies are and what is he like under pressure. (Deu 20:8) You can be distracted away from the momentum line to maturity if you react to those who naturally rub you the wrong way. A personality conflict, if uncon¬trolled, can develop into a deep-seated hatred, revenge motivation, or the arrogance of complete insensitivity. Hostile subjectivity has no place in the plan of God. But your antagonists are only one category of people who can distract you from your spiritual growth. Your momentum can also suffer through those whom you love. Many a growing believer is led astray by someone he finds fascinating and attractive. Personal love can magnify weaknesses, create vulnerabilities, and obliterate objectivity. Hence, personal love for another member of the human race, no matter how romantic, is not a virtue. Such personal love is virtue-dependent, depending on the true virtue of impersonal love, which itself depends on the vir¬tue of personal love for God. Furthermore, personal love for God is erected on the foundational virtue of genuine humility, the teachability factor that enables you to learn Truth. Humility develops motivational virtue toward God; motivational virtue toward God sustains functional virtue toward man, which sustains virtue-dependent personal love toward man. Impersonal love is an indi¬vidual’s integrity, and integrity gives strength and stability to personal love.
If your personal love is not reciprocated, or if the person you love becomes a disappointment, then reaction sets in. Without impersonal love you enter the cosmic system through the mental attitude sin of arrogance and quickly interlock with iconoclastic arrogance, the arrogance of unhappiness, or discourage¬ment. All the tremendous energy of personal love is now expressed in disillu¬sion, depression, bitterness, implacability, self-pity, vindictiveness, or guilt reaction. The pain and confusion generated by personal love is a test of your spiritual momentum. (Eph 6:12) For a help in understanding, watch this movie!
Click: http://www.amazon.com/Truman-Show-Jim-Carrey/dp/6305252521
RELYING ON IMPERSONAL LOVE
People testing is generated by those you love or those you dislike, but the solution to both categories is impersonal love. Whether involved in personal love or personal hatred, the believer’s attitude must revert to impersonal love. When someone you love disillusions you or rides roughshod over your feelings, you switch your emphasis from that person to your own objectivity. (Who told you they would never let you down, they will! And you will let them down!) (Jn 2:23-25) In gates two and six of the love complex, you maintain your love and your own equilibrium and avoid bitterness! When you switch from personal love to impersonal love, you are actually falling back on the virtue that sustains your personal love for people. Impersonal love and personal love run parallel: one a virtue toward God, the other a virtue toward mankind. Impersonal love is the virtue of loving all and is also the capacity for loving a few people with personal love. No matter what may be the ups and downs of a personal love relationship, the capacity of impersonal love is always there. The foundation is consistent: your understanding of Truth, which builds your Christian integrity. When personal love falters and one of the select few who are the objects of your personal love suddenly becomes less attractive to you, you still have the foundation of impersonal love. (But you must think it and use it!) This becomes the mechanics for solving people problems. You do not demand that the object of your love change his personality to suit you or regain the qualities that attract you. Instead, you shift your emphasis from personal to impersonal love. If personal love is not working at the moment, you maintain your own stability. Your emphasis on impersonal love permits the object of your love the grace and freedom to be a person. They do not and cannot always live up to the high expectations you cherish in the objects of your personal love. We are all imperfect, and from time to time each of us is living proof of the total depravity of man! (Rom 3:12) Periodically we need to be tolerated with impersonal love just as our loved ones need to be graced occasionally by our impersonal love. Impersonal love is the only means of survival for personal love. Likewise, when you are tempted to enter the cosmic system through hatred, you must switch to impersonal love. Instead of indulging in vituperation, you must treat the offensive individual on the basis of who and what you are, not on who and what he may be. Impersonal love for all people fulfills the principle of live and let live. In social life impersonal love insures civilized behavior, poise, and graciousness. In business life impersonal love maintains your honor and professionalism, when dealing with people you may personally loathe. In spiritual life impersonal love enables a completely incompatible vari¬ety of believers to assemble in harmony, to hear the teaching of Truth. Without impersonal love you cannot sustain your happiness and growth in the devil’s kingdom, in close proximity with other people, each of whom possesses his own weaknesses, eccentricities, and old sin nature.
THOUGHT TESTING
POSITIVE VOLITION VERSUS NEGATIVE VOLITION
Momentum in the Christian life demands thought. What you think is what you are (Prov 23:7), and in order to grow up spiritually you must think Truth in both learning and applying. In thought testing the issue is positive versus negative volition toward Truth. In the arrogance complex of Satan’s cosmic system, negative volition makes an issue of self; in the hatred complex, negative volition opposes God and Truth. (Jas 3:14-15)
As a distraction to spiritual growth, negative volition can be a subtle detour from the Truth. Not everyone who is negative toward God’s Word blatantly rejects the message. Some Christians agree with everything the pastor communi¬cates and may be tenacious in attending Bible class but are nonetheless negative because they think only in terms of self. Bible Truth is objective reality, not subjective. Arrogance distorts all Truth. For a believer who is preoccupied with himself, thought testing occurs when a particular Truth strikes a point of hypersensitivity. (Some pet area of holiness or something you learned and used all you life) (Isa 65:2) Immediately he is tempt¬ed to shift his attention from the Truth and concentrate on self. (Isa 14:13-15) Will he resist the temptation, and focus his attention on learning the doctrinal principle being presented? Will he seek to accurately understand this Truth’s place in the whole realm of Biblical Truth? Or will he embark on Operation Over-think? If he indulges his arrogance he loses all objectivity and distorts God’s Word to ration¬alize conclusions that defy even common sense!
God is logical, not illogical; knowledge of Truth is the environment of true thought. But the hypersensitive believer refuses to concentrate on Truth, frequently going off half-cocked, straining to apply what he does not adequately understand. Only Spiritual Truth can be used for application, the construction of the edification complex, and spiritual growth. When a believer tries to apply carnal thinking to his life, he becomes shallow, relying on his own prejudices, subjective instincts, and stubbornness. Stubbornness may pass for positive volition, but the two are not the same. Stubbornness is a flaw that can exist in a stupid person or a smart person. His preoccupation with himself is the weakness that makes him stick with Bible class. He has no genuine interest in or love for the Truth. He is locked into inordi¬nate concern for what others think of him, so that he continues to attend even though he has never benefited from the pastor’s message. A believer also faces thought testing when a point of Truth runs counter to his personal opinions. His prejudices and preconceived notions are chal¬lenged, but instead of reacting with subjectivity, he reacts with antagonism against the Truth itself. (Prov 3:5-6; Psa 119:97-104)
THE NEED FOR A FRAME OF REFERENCE
In the process of growing spiritually, you develop a doctrinal frame of refer¬ence. The more you know, the more you can learn; Truth is built on Truth. When a principle is taught that is more advanced than your current frame of ref¬erence can accommodate, obviously you will not understand it. You may hear that rebound requires nothing more than privately naming your sins to God. If you were reared in a legalistic home, the Truth of rebound may shock you at first. You have spent all your life doing penance, trying to work up a feeling of remorse, promising God you will never commit that sin again, and suddenly you are told that your effort was in vain. Indeed, you are dogmatically taught that all your human works to earn restoration to fellowship with God have been blas¬phemous. Your immediate inclination is to reject the entire concept of rebound by grace.
Example:
The problem is your ignorance. Your frame of reference lacks the Truths of redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, the principle of the judicial imputa¬tion of all personal sins to Christ on the Cross, and an understanding of the privi¬leges of your royal priesthood. There is no way that the accurate Truth of rebound could possibly fit into the erroneous frame of reference of your reli¬gious upbringing. As a result you are tempted not only to oppose rebound but even to denounce the pastor as apostate. If you flunk thought testing on the issue of rebound, (1Jn 1:9; Psa 66:18)you will never take the step toward spiritual maturity!
You may not be able immediately to accept a particular point of Truth at face value, but you must be humble enough to realize that you still have a lot to learn! Just as, when eating fish, you would place the bones to one side of the plate, you also set aside the Truths you cannot accept. You do not throw out the entire spiritual meal. Eventually, as you continue to learn Truth, you will construct the frame of reference that enables you to understand and accept these Truths. You pass the thought test by objectively concentrating on what the pastor is saying so that you can comprehend the concept, receptive comprehension in the left lobe precedes full understanding in the right lobe. (Mat 7:7-11) As your frame of reference expands, you will be able to integrate Truths that seemed difficult at the time with other Truths that you have learned in the interim. Throughout your life as a believer, you will always have questions about various points of Truth. All of God’s Word is meant to be understood; it is revelation, not obscurity. Therefore, if you set aside for later the concepts you do not understand and continue to take in Truth, eventually those questions will be resolved. But then, other questions will take their place. You will never run out of things to learn. Spiritual growth is the dynamic process of increasing your Spiritual frame of reference and integrating Truth with Truth. (Luk 18:17; Heb 3:12)
THE COHESIVENESS OF TRUTH
A believer can also flunk thought testing by attempting to reconcile Truth with his favorite academic subject. This is the same problem as having a limited doctrinal frame of reference, but now the believer has a secular rather than a religious background. Contemporary theories of psychology, sociology, anthro¬pology, biology, or even the physical sciences may run counter to the teachings of the Word of God. The conflict exists either because Truth itself is mis¬understood or because the scientific theory is incomplete.
Actually all Truth fits together as one coherent whole under the omniscience of God; apparent contradictions are based on arrogance or ignorance in the minds of men! A believer may have been taught in college certain tenets of phi¬losophy that do not mesh with his current understanding of God’s Word. If he clings to the erroneous philosophy, he either rejects Truth or distorts the Truth to fit the mold of the false.
During the first century AD., the philosophy of Gnosticism presented a devastating thought test for the early Church. Many believers were lured away from momentum in the Spiritual life. Gnosticism incorporated Christian vocabulary but completely twisted the Truth, advocating as morality everything from self-indulgence, to self-denial. By mixing spiritual Truth with philosophical and mystical notions and appealing to the lust patterns of nearly everyone! (Col 3:9-10) The Gnostic religious philosophy seduced many early Christians. Your defense against thought testing is the faith-rest drill with emphasis on the rationales—the essence-of-God rationale, the plan-of-God rationale, the logistical-grace rationale. Loyalty to the Truth is Christian integrity, and only a believer with integrity can successfully resist falsehood. This solution demands that you exercise your freedom and personal initiative to habitually take in Truth. When Truth is ignored or treated casually, then doubt becomes another form of thought testing: you lack a fresh inventory of Truth with which to ward off false ideas. Truth in the soul becomes rusty when not maintained by daily intake based on self-motivation. The faith-rest drill cannot operate when the rationales have deteriorated through a lack of doctrinal perception. Reverse concentration of the faith-rest drill copes with thought testing because the logical delineation of Truth exposes the inconsistencies of false thinking and defeats its influence. Thinking the Truth is the only defense against thinking what is false. The conflict of the Spiritual life versus the cosmic system is the battle of thought versus thought. This warfare is waged in your soul: Divine viewpoint is pitted against cosmic-influenced human viewpoint. Satan’s evil counterfeits attack the reality of God’s plan. (Heb 5:14) Satan’s genius is far superior to any human rationalism or empiricism. Our only hope of passing thought testing, since we face such a superior enemy, is to rely on faith in the Truth, the Mind of Christ. That is what defeated Satan then, and does now! (Mat 4:4) This is the reason for our birth, to be born into God's family and to grow up to be a mature son! This is a controlled environment! (1Ki 22:20-23) And all the answers have been provided, (Mark 13:23) we just have to use then, for God is Integrity! He cannot pay the winners and the losers! (Jer 17:13; Mal 3:18; Heb 2:10)
SYSTEM TESTING
IN THE DEVIL’S WORLD
Genuine unfairness does exist in human organizations and systems. Sooner or later every believer on the momentum line when he is ready will be tested by an unfair system. In your job, family, doctors office, traffic, church, store, social club, marriage, restaurant, nation, city Etc.
For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," (Gen 1:3; Jn 1:5) is The One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge (2Pe 1:19) (Spiritual Thoughts leading to maturity) of the glory (Spiritual life) of God in the face of Christ. (Prototype) But we have this treasure (The Holy Spirit, Spiritual life, Truth, Etc.) in earthen vessels, (Human body) so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God! and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, (Sin nature test) but not crushed; perplexed, (Thought test) but not despairing; persecuted, (People test) but not forsaken; struck down, (System test) but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, (Rom 6:6-8) so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. (Rom 8:11) For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death (Disaster test) (Jn 12:24-25) for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested (Gal 2:20) in our mortal flesh. (2Co 4:6-11)
The advancing believer needs to know this is a nessary part of growth that God has brought to our life! (Deu 32:39) do not allow system testing to contribute to failure. (It is only a test!) (Rom 4:20-21)
And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, (Tests) so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (Spiritual life made stronger) Therefore I am well content with weaknesses,(Sin nature test) with insults, (People test) with distresses, (Thought test) with persecutions, (System test) with difficulties, (Disaster test) for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, (Tested) then I am strong. (Growth) (2Co 12:9-10)
"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. "If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, (To live in fellowship) because of this the world hates you. "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. "But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.
(Jn 15:18-21)
Should you become bitter or vindictive and vent your wrath to anyone who will listen? Should you take vengeance or seek to vindicate your sullied honor? Should you threaten to sue? Or fall into worry or self-pity? Indeed not! As a member of the royal family of God, possessing the Spiritual life that sustained the Lord Jesus Christ, you were never intended to behave as unbelievers do, or as believers behave in the cosmic system! But if you allow these momentum tests to lure you into a pattern of cosmic reaction, you miss your opportunity! You act like a spiritual peasant. Failing the system test means failure to advance at this particular stage of your spiritual life. No testing of the growing believer ever comes as an accident. (1Co 10:13) If you are treated unfairly, God has a purpose in it! He has a reason for bringing pressure into your life. His objective is to accelerate your growth and capacity for more lovingkindness and Truth! (Psa 108:4; Psa 57:3) When an organization implies that you have failed when actually the system itself, not you, has failed, you have an occasion to advance that does not exist under conditions of success. We can always learn from our failures; rarely do we learn from our successes. At one time or another everyone fails or is considered a failure! But it is your attitude in failure that determines your mettle, not your attitude in success! Anyone can conduct himself with dignity and poise under agreeable circum¬stances, but when difficulties abound, especially when the misfortune is unfair, then a person’s true growth is illuminated. What you really are is what you are under pressure!
Unless God opens our eyes, we will not see! You can try to never fail; God will make sure you do! (Job 5:17-18) Most do not have that problem! In other words, paradoxically, failure is the making of a person. No one can succeed without overcoming failure! In disaster he forges the virtues that lead him out of failure into success. Hence, system testing should be the challenge of the believer, not the destruction! You have no excuse for being shocked when you are treated unfairly. Who ever told you the world was fair? Or that you were perfect! (1Pe 4:12-13) You will fail, and you will be treated unjustly! (1Pe 2:19-24) In reality or just imagined, that is when we grow! When we use His promises! (Rom 8:28-32) Integrity comes from Truth, Bible Truth in the soul, which Satan opposes. As the enemy of Truth, Satan can only be unfair. But in the very quality he lacks, God uses to bless us! And provides strength to deal with his injustices. In Truth and by the integrity of living in the Spiritual life, (Eph 3:10-11) we have the solution to system testing. (Heb 5:8)
SOCIAL LIFE WITH GOD
In reality, the solution to all testing is our social life with God. In specific application, the answer is the combination of implementing impersonal love and using the faith-rest drill. Anyone with discernment and sufficient humility to possess common sense limits his social life! (1Co 9:24-27) He reserves his personal love for just those friends who are not only honorable and stimulating but are also compatible with his personality, interests, and objectives in life. (2Co 6:14-18) Beyond that inner circle are many acquaintances whose company he may enjoy on a limited basis. You choose your friends by their virtues; you like their approach to life and value their observations and opinions. Because of their integrity you respect their opinions and, therefore, you care what they think. When you become the victim of an inequitable system. Know that System testing often brings the added consequence of peer pressure and exclusion. You may imagine that your friends condemn you, "or they do" so you avoid them and cut out your social life altogether. But such a reaction is strictly preoc¬cupation with self. (Prov 16:7; Prov 21:1) You have fallen into the arrogance of human false reality, and self-pity of the cosmic system! But you may also react by going out of your way to explain yourself. You may devote tremendous energy to justifying yourself so friends will not assume the worst. But people will think whatever they wish to think. (1Pe 2:15) When you have been rejected, fired, or censured by an unfair organization, there will always be people who will look down on you. Gloaters are never hard to find, especially if you have excelled in the past. When your reputation and good name come under attack, you may lose some friends, but they were not true friends in the first place. If they forsake you, (Heb 13:5-6) God will not! You have a choice you can believe what you see and hear or you can believe God's Word! (2Co 5:7) Genuine believers are revealed under pressure! Therefore, momentum testing has the added benefit of winnow¬ing (Separating you from the wrong people) your social life. In the final analysis, your social life with God is far more important than your social life with people can ever be! Your relationship with God is your stability! (This is only possible by resisting your desires! and obeying His!) (2Co 5:15) He is not upset because you have been treated unfairly. He desires that you be occupied with Him! And He knows that system testing can accelerate your progress toward that goal! We normally call our fellowship with God “spirituality” or “worship” or “the Christian way of life,” but these often fail to communicate. “Social life with God” more aptly describes our fellowship with Him. We can also enjoy God during our lives on earth! Through His Truth and lovingkindness! (Psa 25:10) we can find pleasure in Him. Our social life does not depend on being able to see, touch, or hear God; the Word of God is a much “more reliable witness” than our human senses! (2Pe 1:19) When we make our relationship with God our most important social life. That is spiritual momentum! This is the interlock between Truth in gate four of the Spiritual life and personal love for God in gate five. If you’re social life with Him is right, then no failure or alleged failure in life can cause you to use your own volition to destroy yourself in the satanic system, this is based on your harmonious rapport with God! (Amos 3:3) Since the challenge to your spiritual momentum involves sin nature, people, thought, system, and disaster testing, the solutions to these separate pressures must com¬bine! The believer must utilize impersonal love to deal with the people in the sys¬tem and must use the faith-rest drill to cope with the injustices of the system itself. This will happen over and over and over again! Until you completely live in God's reality, by God's will! Or we live by our reality and our will! (Jn 6:66-68 ) and die the sin unto death, (Jer 23:17-18) your choice! (Heb 10:26-27) We are not our own we were bought with a price! (1Co 6:19-20; Jer 23:22) (Do we go all in! Or do we fold?) (1Jn 1:5-6)
DIRECT ATTACKS OF THE COSMIC SYSTEM SATANIC CONTROL OF THE SOUL
Satan has no integrity! In eternity past he received maximum love and gen¬erosity from God, which he repaid with ingratitude and treachery. Ruthlessly ambitious to advance himself, Satan promises happiness and prosperity he can¬not produce. His policies appear to be noble, elevated, and enlightened, “and no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2Co 11:14-15). But his apparent Truths always have a dark side. If you are not alert to his sinister lies, you become his slave.
If therefore the light [Half Truths] that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! (Mat 6:23)
Satan is a menacing foe, “like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1Pe 5:8). He is single-minded; he knows his objective—to discredit God and establish his own utopia on earth. He is well organized. He has a system for achieving his goal. To gain control over the kingdom he now rules, the devil manipulates mankind in the cosmic system. You as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ are Satan’s prey. Satan is an insidious genius who would deceive us all were we not protected by Truth in the Spiritual life. A magnetic leader, Satan commands vast forces of fallen angels or demons; Earth and fallen mankind belong to his realm. In the Bible Satan’s kingdom is called the kosmos, usually translated “world.” Kosmos refers to a system, an or¬derly, cohesive organization with a purpose, policy, and structure of authority. When the Bible declares that someone loves the world (2Ti 4:10; Jas 4:4; 1Jn 2:15) or lives according to the standards of the world (Rom 12:2; Eph 2:2), that individual resides in the satanic system of power. He enslaves himself to Satan’s authority, executes Satan’s policy, and thinks with Satan’s thoughts and fulfils his purpose! The cosmic system employs two dynaspheres, which pose the fifth and sixth momentum tests. The arrogance complex: Preoccupation with self, leads the believer into being lukewarm toward God and Truth, while the hatred complex: Preoccupation with others, multiplies that indifference into hatred toward God and Truth. Worldliness is individual involvement in the cosmic system. (Just being out of fellowship and not growing!) Satan encour¬ages superficial definitions of worldliness to camouflage his evil strategy. Legal¬istic believers mistakenly assume that worldliness consists of gambling, carous¬ing, dancing, drinking, or any behavior that shocks them personally. But while such activities may reflect poor judgment and may indeed involve sin in one cate¬gory or another, they are not the essence of what the Bible describes as worldly. Worldliness is what you think inside the cosmic system, (Prov 23:7) not just what you do. Satan’s ultimate weapon is evil thought—the subtle distortions, half Truths, and lies he uses to control man’s thinking! This ultimate weapon is called demon influence. When you embrace satanic ideas, (Thouhgts!) you are the dupe of Satan. Your sincerity does not protect you; ignorance is no excuse. You become your own worst enemy. When you believe ‘the father of lies” (Jn 8:44), the content of your own soul prevents spiritual growth and prohibits Divine blessings.
But that same Spirit [the Holy Spirit] explicitly communi¬cates that in later periods of time some [believers] will fall away from Truth [become apostate], paying attention to deceitful spirits [evil teachers] and concentrating on doctrines of demons. (1Ti 4:1)
“Doctrines of demons” enter your inventory of ideas when your volition operates without Truth—without Divine establishment, the Gospel, and Bible Truth. This absence of Truth, this vacuum in the soul, is called in the Greek mataiotes, “emptiness, vanity.” The vacuum draws in false Truths, (Thoughts) filling your soul with arrogance and antagonism.
For bombastically speaking arrogant words from the source of emptiness [The mataiotes vacuum], they [False teachers] keep enticing by lusts, by lasciviousness, those who barely escape from those who live in error [from believers living in the cosmic system]. (2Pe 2:18)
Man is weak not strong. We borrow strength—for good or for evil—from two antithetical sources: the Spiritual life or the cosmic system. If you re¬fuse the power of the Spiritual life, then you are controlled by the tyran¬nical cosmic system. When you reject Bible Truth, you receive the alterna¬tive, satanic Truth, with destructive effect. We either live and think with God's Thoughts and Spirit or Satan's thoughts and spirit!
"He who eats My flesh (Believes: in who He Is, The Christ!) and drinks My blood (Believes: in what He did, being judged for us!) has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. (Jn 6:54)
"It is the Spirit who gives life; (Spiritual thinking) the flesh profits nothing!! (Human thinking) The Words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. (Jn 6:63) But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, (Human provisions) BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" (Spiritual provisions) (Mat 4:4) This is a Spiritual life and requires spiritual thoughts! (Jn 6:48; Jn 14:6) Is not the cup of blessing (Communion) which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? (Lamb of God, being judged for us! Etc.) Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? (The perfect God-man unleavened in Thought and Person, (Mat 16:12) Etc.) (1Co 10:16; Num 9:11-12; Jn 19:36; Jn 7:16; Jn 14:24)
"You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth, And You gave them water for their thirst. (Neh 9:20)
"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit (In fellowship) and Truth." (His Thinking) (Jn 4:24)
No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles (Unbelievers and believers out of fellowship!) sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. (By being out of fellowship) You cannot drink the cup of the Lord (Be in fellowship with The Holy Spirit, Living water, Etc.) and the cup of demons; (False spirit, cosmic system!) you cannot partake of the table of the Lord (Truth, Bread of life, manna Etc.) and the table of demons. (Half Truths) Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we? (1Co 10:20-22) You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world (Living out of fellowship!) is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world (Living by Satan's thoughts!) makes himself an enemy of God. (Jas 4:4)
If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, (Staying in fellowship and reaching Maturity) he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the Truth, who suppose that godliness (The Spiritual life) is a means of gain. But godliness (Staying in fellowship) actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either! (1Ti 6:3-7) When we are not content with the Spiritual life and Truth we are living by the flesh!
For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh (In the cosmic system) but according to the Spirit. (In Fellowship)For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, (Carnality: being out of fellowship) but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, (In fellowship) because the mind set on the flesh (Satan's thoughts) is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, (Thinking of God) for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh (Out of fellowship) cannot please God! (Rom 8:3-8)
When human volition presents any opportunity, (When we get out of fellowship) Satan seizes the initiative; the individual “receives arrogance.” If the unbeliever refuses protection in the Spiritual life, through faith in Christ, (Jn 3:18) or obedience to the laws of establish¬ment, (1Ti 1:9) or if the believer fails to rebound and continue in Truth, arrogance inten¬sifies. False Truth and evil ideas infiltrate the soul until he can no longer make good decisions! Spiritual “blindness” blacks out his soul (Jn 12:40; 2Co 4:3-4); he develops “hardness of heart” or scar tissue of the soul (Exo 7:22; Exo 9:34). Unknowingly or deliberately, you fall victim to satanic influence by your own volition. You choose to submit to “the spirit that is now working among the sons of disobedience [Satan's spirit]” (Eph 2:2). Through active or passive consent, you create an opening for demon Truths to enter your soul. You may actively pursue evil, as in Satan worship or idolatry (Col 3:5) or you may passively render yourself vulnerable through drug addiction or through attitudes of self-righteousness, self-pity, anger, guilt reaction, being lukewarm, (Rev 3:16) or disrespect for establishment authority. Sin is not just sin; sin triggers the power of the cosmic system. (Rom 1:21)
PROFILE OF SATANIC POLICY
Both systems of Satan exploit your bad decisions, impris¬oning you in a maze of satanic deceit. By definition a Supernatural life is a system of power in which man is controlled by a power greater than himself. God de¬signed one system to bless man; Satan has two systems that enslave man. You cannot change these three realities! You can only recognize their existence and choose between them! The Spiritual life produces winners in life!! The two cosmic systems manufacture losers!!
THE COSMIC SYSTEM IS USED AS:
1. The vehicle for administering Satan's rulership of the world
(Eph 2:2),
2. A repository or classroom for the transfer of cosmic Truth to man (1Ti 4:1-2),
3. A tactical trap for enslaving mankind (2Ti 2:26),
4. A factory for producing losers (Heb 4:1-2).
In the arrogance complex, or cosmic one, man is preoccupied with himself. Because he exaggerates his own importance, he cannot appreciate Divine grace, nor can he enjoy the blessings of God’s plan for his life. By overestimating him¬self, he becomes his own worst enemy. He emphasizes self instead of God. In the hatred complex, or cosmic two, man is preoccupied with others and antagonistic toward God and the plan of God. A person who rejects, disputes, contradicts, or ridicules the Word of God creates his own frustration by fighting against the Truth. (Prov 8:36) The hatred complex emphasizes human viewpoint rather than Divine viewpoint.
The arrogance and hatred complexes reflect the history of Satan’s personal career. Originally he was the most powerful, intelligent, and personable of all angels; he was the anointed cherub, the exalted, aristocratic guardian of the throne room of God (Eze 28:14-15). But, savoring the admiration of other angels, Satan became preoccupied with himself (Eze 28:17-18). He re¬garded himself as the equal of God, and for this blasphemous arrogance he fell from grace (Isa 14:13-16). In his fall Satan lured one-third of all the angels into his self-centered conspiracy (Rev 12:4). The arrogance complex duplicates in man Satan’s attitude at the time of his own fall. Two cosmic systems exist because Satan intensified the strategy of ar¬rogance that he used originally against the angels. When God created man to duplicate the angelic conflict, (Acts 26:18) the devils darkness expanded from arrogance into deliber¬ate, violent opposition toward God. In bitter antagonism Satan contrived the fall of man. (Gen 3:4) The hatred complex duplicates in man Satan’s attitude beginning with the fall of man. The arrogance complex represents the philosophy of Satan in the prehistoric angelic conflict; the hatred complex is his philosophy in the human extension of the angelic conflict. When anyone lives continually in the arrogance complex, he is inculcated with the thinking of Satan as the ruler of fallen angels before the crea¬tion of man. Anyone who remains in the hatred complex is inculcated with the thinking of Satan as the ruler of the world after men became his prisoners. (Isa 42:7) Yes everybody! Nice people, and mean, and everything in between! (Rom 3:10-12)
COSMIC 1 COSMIC 2
Arrogance Complex, Hatred Complex,
Interlocking Interlocking System
System of Arrogance of Hatred
Preoccupation with self! Preoccupation with others!
Antagonism toward God
Own enemy Enemy of God
Fighting self Fighting Bible Truth
Emphasizes self instead of God Emphasizes human viewpoint
instead
of Divine viewpoint
Satan’s mental attitude at his fall Satan’s mental attitude after the fall
of man
Philosophy of Satan in the prehistoric Philosophy of Satan in the historical
angelic conflict extension of the angelic conflict
Philosophy of Satan as the ruler Philosophy of Satan as the ruler of
of fallen angels of fallen angels the world
Inculcation with the philosophy of Inculcation with the philosophy of
Satan before the creation of man Satan after the fall of man
Enslaved to self Enslaved to Satan
THE TWO PRISONS OF SATAN’S COSMIC SYSTEM
Each of Satan’s prisons creates human slaves. The gates of the arro¬gance complex interlock to enslave man to his own bad decisions; the hatred complex enslaves man to Satan. The arrogance and hatred complexes explain sin nature good, evil, and misery in the human race! (Mat 7:22-23)
But if you have bitter jealousy (Preoccupation with others) and selfish ambition (Preoccupation with self) in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the Truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
(Jas 3:14-16)
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, (Religion: nice on the outside) although they have denied its power; (Not living in fellowship) Avoid such men as these! (2Ti 3:1-5)
The Spiritual life explains virtue and capacity for love and happiness.
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, (No preoccupation with self!) is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, (No Preoccupation with others!) does not rejoice in unrighteousness, (Being of fellowship) but rejoices with the Truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1Co 13:4-7)
When we always think about what they are wearing, saying, or thinking, Etc. Or if we are always thinking about the future, the past, self, what we want, money, job (Mat 6:31-34) we are living in Satan's prison! (Prov 23:7) God's Reality is completely different! (1Jn 2:15-17) God does not need us to live in two worlds, (Jud 1:19) the way we participate is by growing to maturity, by staying in fellowship, and thinking with His Thoughts! (1Pe 4:1-5) And this is hard work! (Rom 8:17-18) As goes the believer, so goes the nation! If a minimum amount of believers don't reach maturity God destroys the nation! (Jer 40:2-3; Amos 3:6)
And to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need. (1Th 4:11-12)
The cosmic system continually threatens your spiritual momentum. Gates from the arrogance and hatred complexes interlock in many combinations, at¬tacking each believer’s personal weaknesses and areas of blindness.
Be of sober spirit, (Think Truth) be on the alert. (This is a war!) Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith [Truth]. (1Pe 5:8-9)
Wear for yourselves the full armor from God [The Spiritual life] that you may be able to hold your ground against the tactics (Thoughts) of the devil. (Eph 6:11)
The devious “tactics of the devil” are exposed in the gates of the cosmic system, but you cannot resist the cosmic system in your own power. Only Divine Viewpoint Thinking can defeat the sinister force of demon influence (Thinking) in your life. You must understand the commands of the Spiritual life and obey these prin¬ciples as a guide to using your own judgment and spiritual common sense. (1Sa 15:22-23; Heb 5:8)
SUMMARY OF THE ARROGANCE COMPLEX
The arrogance complex is like quicksand. You may enter by any gate, but once in this prison, you are in a position of weakness. In a state of weakness you cannot make good decisions. If, as a believer, you do not escape through imme¬diate rebound and application of Truth, you sink into new weaknesses; suc¬cumb to new sins that never before tempted you. Arrogance affects every facet of your soul; demon influence eventually alters your personality. Although one gate drew you into the system, many gates will pull you down until you are buried in cosmic involvement. (This is all God's plan! He makes it easy for us! His way blessing! Eternal happiness! ETC... Any other way! Misery then death! (Luk 16:28; 2Pe 2:17-22)
There are twelve gates in the arrogance complex:
1. Attitude arrogance
2. Negative volition
3. Authority arrogance
4. Self-righteous arrogance
5. Sexual arrogance
6. Criminal arrogance
7. Psychopathic arrogance
8. Arrogance of unhappiness
9. Iconoclastic arrogance
10. Rational and irrational arrogance
11. Arrogance of Christian service
12. Client nation arrogance
Gate 1, Attitude arrogance. Mental attitude sins are motivational evil, lead¬ing to the functional evils of all other gates of the cosmic system. When you are proud, jealous, vindictive, afraid, bitter, angry, unforgiving, or immersed in self-pity and guilt, you “give the devil an opportunity” (Eph 4:27). No other category of sin is as destructive to your spiritual momentum, for as a man “thinks within himself, so he is” (Prov 23:7). You must guard yourself against mental attitude sins!! Rebounding quickly and restoring the relaxed mental attitude of gate two of the Spiritual life.
Gate 2, Negative volition. Preoccupation with self leaves you indifferent to Truth. You may concede that Truth is God's Thinking, but your priorities are faulty. You ignore the Word of God, and although not antagonistic, you render yourself defenseless in the spiritual conflict. Satan manipulates you when you cannot wield the “sword of the Spirit” against false Truth! (Eph 6:17)
Gate 3, Authority arrogance. In pride man duplicates Satan’s original rebellion against God and the devil’s subsequent tyranny over man. Arrogant people under authority despise their leaders and conspire to overthrow or undermine them (Psa 12:2-4); arrogant people in authority abuse their power (2Sa 12:1-9). An arrogant, successful person assumes that the organization in which he excels depends on him, but in reality he depends on the organ¬ization for the opportunity and environment for success. The arrogant, unsuc¬cessful individual blames the system for failures caused by his own inefficiency, ineptitude, or laziness.
Gate 4, Self-righteous arrogance. The devil incorporates all possible good into his cosmic system (2Co 11:14), attempting to establish his own Millennium and prove himself "like the Most High God" (Isa 14:14). Satan distorts the morality ordained by Divine establishment into self-righteous arro¬gance. The self-righteous, legalistic Christian believes his experiences and achievements give him special standing with God, but “there is no partiality with God.” God deals with all mankind by the same standards of justice (Rom 2:11). Self-righteous people often become crusaders, imposing their prejudices on others. Haughty and vain, they judge anyone less perfect than themselves (Mat 7:1-2).
Gate 5, Sexual arrogance. When not harnessed by virtue in the soul, normal desire for sex becomes a powerful distraction to spiritual momentum (2Sa 11:2-4; 1Co 7:33-35). Self-centeredness demands self-gratification. Driven by lust, which is desire out of control, sex ceases to be an expression of his love between husband and wife. An unbridled quest for self-gratification uses rather than loves another person. Sexual arrogance destroys capacity for romantic love and leads to boredom, misery, impotence, perversion, and degeneracy (1Co 6:18). Sex becomes ritual without reality, a frantic search for happiness, not an expression of happiness and love that emanates from the soul.
Gate 6, Criminal arrogance. Criminality is an arrogant way of thinking (Prov 24:1-2). Despising all authority, the criminal chooses to become a crimi¬nal. His own arrogance, not his environment nor his upbringing, leads him to the criminal presumption that he is superior to the rights, privacy, and property of others. Instead of improving himself, he continually tries to prove himself, using and hurting others to demonstrate that he is in control. Other people exist only for his convenience. He prides himself in being above the law and regards him¬self as a good person. By his own volition, the criminal is unteachable. God ordains capital punishment for duly convicted criminals (Exo 21:23; Num 35:30; Rom 13:4).
Gate 7, Psychopathic arrogance. Apart from certain chemical imbalances in the brain that are physiological not sinful, psychosis illustrates the self-destructive power of human arrogance. Bad decisions limit future options; believer or unbeliever divorces himself from reality through his own volition (Rom 1:21-22). His subjective decisions evolve into a pattern of distorted thinking, which creates a fantasy world in his mind. He does not recognize this imaginary world as unreality and hence has no desire to remedy his illusions. Stubborn, intolerant, insecure, sometimes violent, he cannot relate to other people. This locked-in subjectivity often leads to suicide.
Gate 8, Arrogance of unhappiness. Happiness is a personal achievement at¬tained through obedience to Divine mandates. Happiness results from virtue and Truth in the soul translated into good decisions. In the Spiritual life consis¬tent good decisions create an environment for happiness in the soul. The arro¬gant person, however, expects circumstances, possessions, or other people to make him happy. When he is frustrated in these demands, he blames others. He wallows in self-pity, compensating for his bad decisions with further bad deci¬sions in a frantic search for new stimulation. Misery does not love company; misery demands company! The unhappy person with a martyr complex spreads a cloud of gloom over all in his periphery in order to control people and have his own way. The arrogance of unhappiness is subjective preoccupation with self.
Gate 9, Iconoclastic / Activism arrogance. Historically, in eighth and ninth century Byzantium, an Iconoclast or “image breaker” was a fanatic who destroyed reli¬gious images or objects of respect and worship. (Gal 1:13) Illustrating cosmic inflexi¬bility in personal relationships, an iconoclast is a person who is subjectively pre¬occupied with others: he builds up a perfect image of someone, then, discovering his idol’s human flaws, attacks this person he delusively worshipped. Worship is a virtue only when directed toward God (Exo 20:1-7). The arrogant person idol¬izes someone he should at most respect or admire. Inevitably the iconoclast discovers his idol’s feet of clay, suffers disillusionment, and reacts bitterly, de¬stroying the idol he alone created.
Gate 10, Rational and irrational arrogance. Whether ignorant and stupid or educated and brilliant, the arrogant fancy themselves rational when disputing or superficially interpreting the Bible. I call this rational arrogance, although no distortion of Truth is ultimately rational. God is rational, and He reveals Him¬self to the humble, the teachable, those with positive volition. (Psa 25:9) Truth cannot be reconciled with human philosophy and science; man’s thinking must recon¬cile itself to Truth. Irrational arrogance is emotional revolt of the soul. God designed emotion to be governed by Truth in the mentality; Satan exploits uncontrolled emotion.
Gate 11, Arrogance of Christian service. Satan lures sincere Christians into the arrogance complex by weaving normally legitimate deeds into a fabric of legalism. While performing Biblically mandated activities, these believers are oblivious to Satan’s manipulation, unaware that their spiritual momentum has come to a halt. God commands Christian service, but prayer, witnessing, giving, teaching, administration, and donations of time, assistance, and expertise to any field of Christian work can also be performed in the cosmic system! True Chris¬tian service is motivated by Bible Truth in the power of the Spiritual life. No other Way! Service performed to earn Divine approbation, impress other Christians, or stave off Divine discipline is “wood, hay, and straw” fit for burning, not for eternal reward (1Co 3:12-13).
Gate 12, Client nation arrogance. Satan rules the world, but Jesus Christ controls history. Our Lord selects certain nations to be His agents. These client nations have established governments that protect the freedom, privacy, and property of their citizens and, under the concept of separation of church and state, permit the Gospel and Bible Truth to be taught. These nations also allow organizations to initiate and support missionary activity to other countries. The client nation is also a haven for the Jews, a place of refuge from anti-Semitism and persecution in other parts of the world. Israel was the original client nation, to be God’s chosen people, whom Christ the Messiah will regather and restore to client status at His second advent. During the Church Age, however, God blesses the entire human race through Gentile client nations. Believers residing in a client nation are the “salt of the land,” the preserv¬ative of the nation (Mat 5:13), also called the “remnant” (Rom 9:27; Rom 11:5). Although unheralded in the annals of history, anonymous believers determine the up-trends and downtrends of civilization as Christ directs the course of history to bless or discipline His own. (Jdg 2:2-4) Therefore, to subvert the nations, it is Satan’s strategy to attack the integrity of believers (Job 1:10-11; Rev 20:3-8). When a majority of believers within a client nation become arrogant, rejecting Divine estab¬lishment and Bible Truth, these believers are guilty of client nation arrogance, hastening Divine judgment against their nation (Hos 4:1-6).
SUMMARY OF THE HATRED COMPLEX
When the gates of the arrogance complex, interlock with the gates of the hatred complex. Your pride intensifies into stubborn antagonism. When illusions of self-importance are exposed and challenged, you react with resentment. When Divine establishment, the Gospel, or Bible Truth contradicts your self-righteous delusions, you take offense at the Truth. You rationalize your sins and defend your conceit by denying and attacking Divine viewpoint thinking. To jus¬tify your evil, you despise the good. You become the ally of Satan in his unrelent¬ing hatred of God and the plan of God.
"If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. (A believer in fellowship) (Jn 15:19)
When anyone hates his fellow believer, he is in the darkness [The hatred complex], and he walks in darkness, and he does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (1Jn 2:11)
In these passages “hatred” is more than an isolated mental attitude sin; hatred is a satanic prison, a sphere of interlocking gates whose power can be resisted only in the greater power of the Spiritual life. Your antagonism toward the plan of God increases as the gates of the hatred complex interlock with each other. Negativism spreads to every area of life. Work, politics, entertainment, and friends all become targets of your uncon¬structive criticism. Having destroyed your own relaxed mental attitude and capacity for Divine blessings, you become a chronic complainer. Circumstances and people are never right; you are never satisfied. Enslaved in demon influ¬ence, you make yourself and those around you miserable. (1Co 10:9-11) You can never afford to succumb to any of the nine gates of the hatred complex:
1. The old sin nature
2. Negative volition
3. Degeneration
4. Antiestablishment
5. Demonism
6. Cosmic panaceas (cure-alls)
7. Religion
8. Anthropocentric academic speculation
9. Evil
Gate1, The old sin nature. As Satan’s inside agent the sin nature within man executes the devil’s sinister policy of hatred and antagonism! (Jer 17:9; Mat 15:18) Acquired by Adam at the Fall, the old sin nature exists genetically in the human body, “waging war against the principle of [the] mind” the human spirit where Bible Truth, “the law from God,” is received, retained, and recalled (Rom 7:22-23). By tempting man to commit sin, this inherent distorter of human life continually opposes the Divine plan for blessing man (Gal 5:17).
Gate 2, Negative volition. In the arrogance complex, negative volition ig¬nores God through preoccupation with self, but in the hatred complex preoccupation with others, and attacks God, the plan of God, and Bible Truth! Unbelievers who adhere to Divine establishment but then react to the Gospel with negative volition will begin to oppose the Truth they formerly believed. As a result, “the last state [of negative volition is worse for them than the first” (2Pe 2:20). Each rejec¬tion of Truth by believer or unbeliever intensifies negative volition until an indi¬vidual has locked himself into antagonism toward God (Exo 9:34-35).
Gate 3, Degeneration. Degeneracy is the abuse of freedom that weakens a nation from within, inviting enslavement by a dictator or foreign conqueror. When individual citizens compromise their integrity, the national spiritual life de¬clines, the quality of life within the nation deteriorates. Because of negative voli¬tion and prolonged arrogance, “God has delivered them over in the lusts of their right lobes to an immoral status,.. . to passions of dishonor” (Rom 1:24-26), to rampant crime, violence, sexual perversion, and drug addiction. Degenera¬tion is disorganized evil in contrast to political or religious tyranny, which is organized evil. A dictator monopolizes evil as he restricts freedom and controls the populace; degenerate himself, the tyrant suppresses degeneracy by forcing strict morality upon the people. To secure power, organized evil attacks disor¬ganized evil and persecutes Christianity; disorganized evil does not persecute but coexists with Christianity. Degenerate unbelievers and believers may be evangelized or exposed to Truth by Christians in the Spiritual life, who are the preservative of a nation, the “salt of the land.” (Mat 5:13 ; 2Ti 2:22 )
Gate 4, Antiestablishment. An arrogant individual contributes to the decline of society and the nation, but a rebellious, resentful person who hates Divinely delegated authority makes direct attacks against the Divine institutions—human freedom, marriage, the family, and the national entity. These institutions are essential for the perpetuation and prosperity of mankind, but individuals in the hatred complex subvert human freedom by denouncing its inherent components: volition, privacy, property, and authority. They ridicule the virtues of marriage and reject parental authority. They condemn, obstruct, and commit treason against the government. Malcontents obsessed with their own anger never offer realistic alternatives but desire only to demolish the authorities under which they live. Oxymoron: Anarchy Rules
Gate 5, Demonism. Satan commands vast armies of fallen angels or demons who execute his strategy for controlling mankind. Certain echelons of demons operate covertly behind the scenes; others create a diversity of overt effects. Demons can indwell the bodies of unbelievers, called demon possession, or in¬fluence their souls with “doctrines of demons” (2Ti 4:3). Demons cannot possess believers, who are protected by the indwelling Holy Spirit (1Co 6:19-20), but the subjectivity, confusion, and false ideas from demon influence effec¬tively neutralize the believer.
Gate 6, Cosmic panaceas. After aggravating the difficulties of life, Satan entices man with solutions apart from the Mind of Christ. Human viewpoint supplants Divine establishment, the Gospel, and Bible Truth. A panacea is an oversimplified, supposed cure-all prescription guaranteed to remedy a complex problem. Pana¬ceas captivate the ignorant, those who resent Truth and arrogantly cling to false premises. A prevalent historic panacea is human equality, yet equality cancels freedom! The key to freedom in life, is inequality! Now and in heaven! (Rev 3:21) Socialism, communism, and altruism all claim to accomplish good, but belong to the cosmic system! Although compassion and generosity are Christian virtues practiced by individual believers in the Spiritual life, Christianity is not a program of social action (Jn 12:8). Chris¬tianity is not a crusade to eradicate evil from the devil’s world, but a system of personal spiritual growth. Understanding and applying Truth that provides gen¬uine solutions to life’s problems!
Gate 7, Religion. Satan’s most insidious ploy against the human race is religion. Christianity is not a religion. Religion is man by man’s efforts striving to gain the approbation of God (2Ti 3:5); Christianity is man’s relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, and sharing His Thoughts and Nature! (2Pe 1:4) In religion man seeks God through personal merit and works (Eph 2:9); in Christianity God seeks man through the saving work of Christ (Eph 2:8). Christianity nurtures capacity for happiness when the believer turns over the control of his life to God through obedience to Divine commands. Religion breeds unhappiness when the proselyte surrenders control of his life and custodianship of his happiness to a hierarchy of human beings who enforce ritualistic systems of asceticism or lasciviousness. Christians who work for Divine blessing distort Christianity into legalism. They elevate themselves above Christ by emphasizing Christian service above His perfect, finished work on the Cross. Legalists exalt human production above obedience to Divine protocol.
Gate 8, Anthropocentric academic speculation. “Anthropocentric” means “centered in man; considering man to be the most significant fact of the uni¬verse; assuming man to be the measure of all things; interpreting the world in terms of human values and experiences.” If not seduced by religion, man can be deceived by philosophical, academic criticism to dismiss the Word of God as absolute Truth. When philosophical assumptions give central importance to man instead of God, academic research can amass persuasive yet fraudulent evidence against Divine viewpoint. Because human rationalism and empiricism cannot prove Biblical Truth, the pseudo-intellectual rejects Truth and “advances in knowledge out of bounds and does not remain on the field of play by means of the Truth of Christ” (2Jn 1:9). No one becomes a winner in life by running brilliant, intellectual touchdowns out of bounds, ignoring the mandates of the Divine game plan. Life must be interpreted in terms of God’s Reality not man’s. (Mark 8:33)
Gate 9, Evil. Evil is Satan’s self-destructive policy as ruler of the world. The cosmic system is his vehicle for administering this sinister policy. God warns against evil (Rom 12:9; 1Pe 3:9) and restrains evil in human his¬tory through timely Divine judgments (Gen 6:13; Gen 15:16; Mat 23:37-38; Mat 24:22). God will ultimately destroy all evil; God permits the devil’s policy to run its course in human history, to move people along! Although Satan labors to es¬tablish a perfect kingdom to rival the prophesied Millennium of Christ, the devil is incapable of enlightened rule. Evil excludes integrity (Heb 5:14). Evil, also called “good and evil” (Gen 2:9), includes much apparent good, along with deceit, violence, terror, and confusion. Evil is the manifestation of Satan’s arro¬gant, distorted genius in opposition to Truth, which is the manifestation of God’s grace.
This summary of the arrogance and hatred complexes forces us to one con¬clusion: for your own happiness, avoid the cosmic system! In genuine humility you must recognize that you are no match for Satan, now or ever, and must never give him an opportunity to exploit your weaknesses. Regardless of your level of spiritual maturity, his strategy appeals to your weaknesses. Human weakness can never defeat cosmic strength. You can successfully pass these momentum tests only by learning and obeying the Divine system. You can follow Christ as a spiritual winner only in the strength of the Spiritual life!
DISASTER TESTING
The believer’s reaction to intense suffering can divert him from the momen¬tum line and into the two cosmic systems. Loss of a loved one, a crippling accident, dismissal from a long-secured job, sudden disappearance of financial security, terminal illness—these major distractions can cause the believer to focus on himself and his problems to the exclusion of God's Reality. Even in the most dreadful circumstances, the believer must remain in control of his life, retain his personal sense of destiny, and make good decisions from a position of strength, the Spiritual life. If he permits himself to become enmeshed in mental attitude sins, he surrenders to spiritual laziness and refuses to take the re¬sponsibility for his attitude and actions! He has entered the cosmic system and failed the disaster test.
The solution to disaster testing is thinking by means of the three stages of the faith-rest drill. In particular, the shock of the crisis must be neutralized by claim¬ing Biblical promises in stage one of the drill. Promises are concise statements of God’s faithfulness and power, reminders of His plan for your life.
Self-pity and fear are often the immediate reactions in a disaster, and the believer controls his subjectivity and fear by reaching out with his faith to claim a Divine promise. Promises refocus attention on God instead of self; they clear the decks for action, establishing the inner peace of the relaxed mental attitude. Without the relaxed attitude of impersonal love, no one can concentrate on the logical rationales of stage two of the faith-rest drill. Mental sins like self-pity, fear, and worry cut off thought; they obscure reality; they eliminate common sense. In a crisis the believer must reduce com¬plexity to simplicity. He must remember promises, which clarify his eternal relationship with God, instead of being overwhelmed by the complications that beset him (Psa 61:2). When Divine promises have calmed his fear, then with a clear mind he is able to concentrate on God’s provisions and reach doctrinal conclusions. After concluding that “God is for us, who is against us?” (Rom 8:31), the believer can then approach the complexity of his current problems from a position of strength, not a position of weakness and reaction. Testing can come as personal disaster in which the believer faces a devastating situation in his own life, or it can take the form of historical disaster. Even the dangers and uncertain¬ties of economic depression, social degeneration, and military defeat cannot destroy the believer’s blessings under the plan of God. The believer inside the Spiritual life applies the logistical grace rationale. He knows that God will support and bless him as long as the Divine plan calls for him to remain in this life. He knows that Jesus Christ controls history and that no Divine blessing will be denied to any advancing believer! Historical circumstances never hinder God from blessing mature believers. The believer residing in the Spiritual life faces national and worldwide disasters with the same confidence in God and courage toward circumstances that he maintains in a personal crisis!
PROSPERITY TESTING
THE MOST DANGEROUS TEST
Disaster obviously challenges the believer’s equilibrium in route to gate eight of the Spiritual life, but a much more subtle and dangerous test is posed by prosperity. Historically, no nation has ever survived its own prosperi¬ty; individually, very few Christians successfully pass the prosperity test. Whether in national or personal prosperity, a believer is usually oblivious to the fact that he is confronting the gravest of all obstacles on the road to spiritual maturity. Prosperity tends to blind the believer to the source of his blessings and the importance of Bible Truth. This causes more spiritual casualties than does any other momentum test. God’s objective is to bless the believer on earth with spiritual, temporal, social, historical, and even dying blessings “exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (Eph 3:20). Phenomenal Divine blessings are in store for you, not just in heaven but here in the devil’s world. This supergrace prosperity requires great capacity of soul. The accessories of happiness that many people struggle to acquire bring only complications and disillusionment for those who have not developed the capacity for appreciating and using them. Neither wealth, status, promotion, fame, social life, sex, possessions, nor any other attainment automatically brings happiness. You must acquire the capacity for life, for love, for happiness. Such capacity is one of the mature believer’s spiritual blessings, which protect him so that other, temporal bless¬ings do not distract him from his continued spiritual growth! Prosperity is always a test of character, self-discipline, concentration, and capacity. That is the rea¬son the greatest blessings of the Christian life are reserved for mature believers or are given as a momentum test to believers who are just reaching the threshold of maturity. From the point of salvation onward, logistical grace provides what may be considered to be wonderful blessings, but the truly exceptional blessings are reserved for those who have developed capacity through consistent residence and function inside the Spiritual life! Because of your faithfulness to the commands of the Word of God, you will be prospered! God invented the Spiritual life as His game plan for blessing you, and His game plan works! God keeps His word; if you follow His plan, you will be blessed! In social life you may find a wonderful new friend. In business you may be promoted into a new position of confidence that carries great authority. Economically a particular investment may make you wealthy in a relatively short period of time. There is an infinite variety of blessings that God can give; God prospers each believer individually with a different combination of blessings. In the midst of your pleasure and enthusiasm, you cannot imagine that anything could go wrong. But if you forget your personal love for God, which motivates your impersonal love for man, and if you forget the source of your capacity for personal love, Truth, than everything will go wrong. Not only will you fail to enjoy your life, but any relationship you have, will multiply your own unhappiness and frustration! Any form of prosperity without capacity leads to boredom, dissatisfaction, and unhappiness!
CAPACITY FOR PROSPERITY
No matter what your particular blessings may be that prosperity becomes a test of your capacity. Will you become so preoccupied that you forget the source? Will you complain about what you do not have rather than appreciate what you have? (Heb 13:5) Will you forget that God gave you everything you possess and that He alone sustains you in this life? Many believers never pass the sophomore stage of their spiritual lives because they lose their perspective in the midst of the wonderful life that God has given them. Even with the relatively routine bless¬ings of logistical grace, they fail to pass the prosperity test. Spiritual prosperity in the soul is the basis for enjoying all the temporal pros¬perity that God can provide. The easiest thing in the world, however, is to lose your capacity. Your spiritual prosperity can disappear even though you still possess all the overt accessories of happiness. If you neglect Truth, that is all that is necessary for your capacity to evaporate. You will fail the pros¬perity test, if you assume that your spiritual momentum alone will sustain you. If you assume that since you have already advanced so far you no longer need to take in Truth every day, day after day, every day! Till death! You will fall into the cosmic system!!! Momentum must be continually maintained; no believer can afford to neglect the perception of Truth. (Eccl 11:6) But doctrinal perception is not merely a means to an end, a system of perpet¬uating your capacity for overt prosperity. Truth is its own reward!!! Truth in the soul is the fountainhead of happiness; temporal blessings are never the source of happiness. (Eccl 12:8) Your happiness from your social life with God inside the Spiritual life overflows into the realm of overt blessings. When your daily wor¬ship and fellowship with God through Truth are forgotten, then whatever overt prosperity you may still possess becomes ritual without reality! The secret to the prosperity test is genuine humility, which enables you to learn capacity and appreciation. Genuine humility motivates obedience to the Divine commands to faithfully absorb the Word of God! The perception of Truth in gate four not only produces love for God but also creates and maintains capacity for the blessings that He desires to pour out upon us as the demonstra¬tion of His power and integrity in the angelic conflict. (Eph 3:10-11)
STRATEGIC AND TACTICAL VICTORY
Every believer is a strategic winner (Eternal life) in the plan of God, but few achieve tactical victory. (Reach maturity) Christ won the strategic victory on our behalf; the Cross separates all believers from unbelievers, who remain strategic losers and will spend eter¬nity in the Lake of Fire. Our Lord has placed us in a position of supreme advantage over our arch¬enemy, Satan, just as a brilliant general decides the outcome of a battle by choos¬ing the terrain on which his forces will engage the enemy. At salvation Christ places us in a position of maximum strength, the Spiritual life! Although His strategic victory guarantees us eternal life and a resurrection body, there is no guarantee of tactical victory in this life or eternal rewards in heaven. We secure tactical victory on the battlefield of our own souls only through continued function in the Spiritual life. Our objective is to become double winners, (Rev 2:26) to seize and hold the high ground of spiritual maturity in gate eight of God’s power sphere! The strategic winner glorifies Jesus Christ once by making a single decision to believe in Christ for salvation; (Jn 3:18) the tactical winner not only believes in Christ but makes thousands of decisions to obey the mandates of the Divine system. The believer advancing to maturity maintains his perspective and organizes his life based on right priorities: mandates first, virtue first, Christ first, grace first, momentum first, Truth first. The strategic winner is one of the “all” in phase two of God’s plan who receives only Divine impersonal love; the believer who is also a tactical winner is among the “few” recipients of Divine personal love. The greater blessings of time and eternity are reserved exclusively for double winners. Although the single winner will receive a resurrection body in heaven, he loses all eternal rewards.
Strategic Winner Only
One decision glorifies Christ
All believers
Divine impersonal love
Suffering for discipline
Self-induced misery
Fears death
Will glorify God in eternity
Makes wrong decisions
Lives in the cosmic system
Strategic and Tactical Winner
Many decisions glorify Christ
Few believers
Divine personal love
Suffering for blessing
Shares God’s happiness
Fears nothing
Glorifies God in time and eternity
Makes right decisions
Lives in the Spiritual life
TWO CATEGORIES OF WINNERS IN THE PLAN OF GOD
Logistical grace sustains the strategic winner even though he lives in the cosmic system. In contrast, the tactical winner has exploited logistical grace in his advance to maturity so that now he is blessed by logistical grace and super-grace. No adversity can disturb his inner tranquility; (With practice!) any suffering he endures is intended for blessing and accelerated growth. The believer who is only a strategic winner, however, is upset by the most mundane problems and suffers unbearably under Divine discipline. In all circumstances he creates his own misery, which is relieved only by intermittent stimulation that he mistakes for happiness. In similar circumstances the tactical winner manufactures his own happiness from Bible Truth and shares the happiness of God.
The Christian who fails to exploit his strategic victory fears death and dies under maximum Divine discipline, the sin unto death. (Rev 3:3) The tactical winner fears nothing in life or death. The believer in the cosmic system is a strategic winner but a tactical loser; after salvation he will not glorify God, (By using God's Thoughts to live his life) until entering the eternal state. The believer in gate eight of the Spiritual life is a strategic and tactical winner; he glorifies God in time and eternity. The cosmic believer may be a permanent winner, but after salvation he makes wrong decisions from a position of weakness. The believer who exploits the power of the Spiritual life establishes a habit of making Divine decisions.
John delineates both categories of victory and declares that only our Lord’s strategic victory places us in position to win the tactical victory.
For this is the love for God [Motivational virtue], that we may continue observing His commands [Advance to tactical victory in the Spiritual life], because every category of humanity which has been born from God [Strategic winners] overcomes the cosmic system [Strategic victory as the basis for tactical victory], and this is the [Initial] victory which has overcome the cosmic system, our faith. Who is this person overcoming the cosmic system? No one else but he who has come to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. (1Jn 5:3-5)
As Peter was writing his second epistle, he knew that he would soon die and be present face to face with the Lord (2Pe 1:14-16). This impulsive apostle, who had overcome many obstacles on the road to spiritual maturity, concludes his dying words with a mandate to maintain momentum and achieve tactical victory.
You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard lest, being carried away by the error of unprin¬cipled men [Without virtue], you fall from your own stead¬fastness [Secure position in the Divine system], but grow in the grace [Logistical grace] and knowledge of our Lord (The Mind of Christ) and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2Pe 3:17-18)
Peter had earlier outlined the system for developing spiritual momentum. The first three gates of the Spiritual life support the intake of Truth in gate four, and the tactical victory of gate eight is a result of faithfulness in learning and applying the Word of God!
Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypoc¬risy and envy and all slander [Mental and verbal sins are eliminated by gates one, two, and three of the Divine sys¬tem], like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word [Truth], that by it you may grow [Tactical victory] in respect to salvation [Strategic victory], if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord [And you have]. (1Pe 2:1-3)
THE COMPLETED STATE OF HAPPINESS
The believer who passes the momentum tests accelerates his growth and enters the winner’s gate. Many blessings belong to gate eight, all of which con¬tribute to the completed state of happiness in which the believer shares the happiness of God. This final gate is the culmination and intensification of all the other gates. The inner strength of stabilized maturity is the ultimate objective of God’s game plan for the royal family!
Throughout the First Advent, Jesus Christ resided in fellowship. In His Gethsemane discourse, the night before He was betrayed, Christ spoke concerning the Spiritual life that He would soon turn over to His royal family. He stated that happiness is the ultimate goal of the Christian way of life!
"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. (Spiritual life) "If you keep (Obey) My commandments, (Thoughts) (Rom 6:17-18) you will abide in My love; (Spiritual life) just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. "These things (Thoughts) I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. (At maturity) (Jn 15:9-11)
The Apostle John identifies Truth as the source of the believer’s happiness.
In fact, we write these things [Truth] in order that our state of happiness (Spiritual life) might be completed! (1Jn 1:4)
In time before death we are to complete the Spiritual life!
The state of happiness is the Spiritual life! There are degrees of happi¬ness, from minimum for the immature person who occasionally resides in the system, to maximum for the faithful believer who per¬severes in his intake of Truth to maturity and beyond. Each gate contributes to the happiness of the one functioning in the system. There is no happiness for anyone outside God’s system! All true happiness is based on Truth; the temporal happiness of the mature believer who functions in all the gates is Amazing!! (Psa 84:10) God designed us; He created us. He “knows our frame” from eternity past (Psa 103:8-14). He knows a great deal more than we do! About everything! And what makes us happy! The completed Spiritual life is the envi¬ronment for complete happiness!!! The tragedy is that people assume they can find happiness through their own devices outside God’s system. And people can and will find happiness in everything under the sun, (Eccl 1:8-9) so will a dog that has a good bone a tree a blanket a dish, wags his tail, runs and jumps! Meaningless!! (Prov 1:32; Eccl 11:9)This attitude is the common ingredient of all people without Truth. Satan, who is utterly unhappy and frustrated in the angelic conflict, observed Jesus in the prototype Spiritual life. Our Lord’s constant inner happiness, stability, poise, and courage, which under varying cir¬cumstances had an entire spectrum of expressions but was never broken. Even at the decline of His nation (Luk 13:34), and the anticipation of His suffering on the Cross! (Mat 26:39) Which brought out expressions of Christ’s tremendous capacity for life, which included His constant, stabilized happiness in the plan of God. Christ’s happiness was stabilized by the Truth. He understood the Truth of Divine decrees: The decree of God is His eternal, holy, wise, and sovereign purpose, comprehending at once all things that ever were or will be, in their causes, conditions, successions and relationships, and determining their certain future. Which explains how all things fit into God’s overall viewpoint of time and eternity. But Satan rejects all Truth. Totally arrogant and desperate, Satan tried to destroy our Lord’s happiness. But no antagonism, opposition, injustice, or violence could destroy the power of Christ’s “completed state of happiness.”(Jn 14:27) Failing in his attack against Christ, the devil now concentrates his genius against the believer and unbeliever by counterfeiting the happiness that only the Spiritual life can produce. (Luk 12:19-21)
FALSE HAPPINESS IN RELIGION
Satan has no happiness to share. He therefore creates a worldly flesh-happiness to lure people away from God’s plan. As the ruler of the world, Satan has the power to provide emotional and external-prosperity. (Mat 4:8-9) He presents the attractiveness of wealth, fame, sex, and power as if they were happiness in themselves, but Satan’s most subtle and effective deception is religion. The ritual of going to church, giving money, "helping out" (Eccl 5:1; Mat 23:25-28) and not knowing the only way for reality is, (1Jn 1:9; Jn 4:23) The Spiritual life! Christians have the impression that they will be happy if they are performing certain “spiritual” functions, avoiding certain “worldly” activities, or receiv¬ing the approbation of others in the congregation or community. Because pastors and other religious leaders often encourage this fallacy as a way of life for happi¬ness, believers are tempted to fake happiness in order to vindicate their religious beliefs. True Christianity is not a ritual it is reality! The Christian life is residence in the whole Spiritual life. And making God's Thoughts and Plan more important than our own! (2Co 5:15) Until this happens the Christian will never understand true happiness! (Mat 16:23-26)
God The Son laid down his life as perfect God (Php 2:5-8) this is His WAY! If Christ is being formed in us mentally, and in Virtue we will think the same way, one mind one accord (1Co 1:10; Rom 15:6) Religion is Satan’s ace trump. The worldly-happiness of Christians out of fellowship is just as short-lived and ultimately de¬structive as the high from a drug. Spirituality, however, is residence and function inside the Spiritual life. Spirituality emphasizes not emotion but thought, thinking Truth. Emotion without true thought is involvement in Satan’s system! Many cults promote an aggressive, unrestrained “joy” as a means of enslaving and controlling their members. Emotion is used as a tool for breaking down the common sense of new converts. Often, joy is integrated with illegitimate forms of ecstatics connected with “speaking in tongues.” and is a satanic substitute for the genuine inner happiness of the mature believer! This is not to condemn legitimate expressions of emotion, nor to advocate a stern, facade of strict inflexibility. We are exploring a word found in the Bible, and in order to discover the accurate meaning we must scrape away the barnacles of religion. Gate eight of the Spiritual life is not devoid of emo¬tion, but emotion is in response to an entire frame of reference of doctrinal thought. Genuine happiness depends on Truth. (Jer 15:16; Neh 8:9-10; Jer 23:9)
HAPPINESS AS A BY-PRODUCT OF TRUTH
Although happiness is the ultimate objective of God’s game plan, happiness is strictly a by-product. God’s plan calls for us to pursue Truth in gate four of the Spiritual life. There is no shortcut to gate eight. The shortcut to happiness is the long road to misery!
For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, (Human provisions) but righteousness (Staying in fellowship) and peace (Maturity) and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ (By staying in fellowship!) is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then we pursue the things (Divine Thoughts) which make for peace (Maturity) and the building up of one another. (Growth) (Rom 14:17-19)
“Edification” refers to erecting a structure in the soul, the believer’s inner strength which is completed upon reaching gate eight. All believers share the common objective of spiritual maturity and under the royal family honor code are bound to avoid what would distract another believer from reaching the goal. (Rom 14:13) Happiness comes to those who keep faithfully learning and applying Truth.
"But seek first His kingdom (Truth) and His righteousness, (Staying in fellowship) and all these things (Human provisions) will be added to you. (Mat 6:33)
In contrast, those who seek happiness itself, whether in wealth, power, religion, or any other system of flesh-happiness, find only frustration, disap¬pointment, and misery. A frantic search for happiness merely intensifies the unhappiness that motivated the search in the first place, as illustrated by addic¬tion to drugs.
The Greek verb in (1Jn 1:4) which the King James Version renders “may be full,” is the perfect passive subjunctive form of pleröo. Pleröo has a number of related meanings: to fill up a deficiency, to fully possess, to fully influence, to fill up with a certain quality. The concept of pleröo is comple¬tion: “that our state of happiness might be completed.” The perfect tense of the verb indicates completed results from past action. Prolonged residence and func¬tion inside the Spiritual life brings about the completed state of happiness! Every gate of the system works at maximum capacity for the mature believer.
The passive voice of pleröo indicates that such happiness receives the action of the verb rather than produces the action. John makes it clear that Truth brings us to this completed state of happiness. Supported by the first three gates, gate four provides the spiritual momentum that result in gate eight. Truth pre¬cedes happiness. If we seek happiness apart from God’s plan, we will always be unhappy. God’s game plan calls for us to seek Truth, since happiness comes as a natural consequence of learning and applying the Truth. The subjunctive mood of pleröo means that the completion of our happiness is a potential, the fulfill¬ment of which depends on our decisions over a long period of time to keep residing and functioning in God’s power system.
John reiterates the importance of Bible teaching in the second epistle, in which he repeats the same form of pleröo.
Although having many [Truths] to write to you, I do not wish to do so with paper and ink, but I anticipate coming to you and teaching face to face, that our (Everyone's) state of happiness might be completed! (2Jn 1:12)
COMPONENTS OF COMPLETED HAPPINESS
The mature believer’s “completed state of happiness” in gate eight of the Spiritual life includes sharing God’s happiness, becoming spiritually self-sustaining, completing the edification complex of the soul, receiving supergrace blessings, and being appointed to the highest order of royal family knighthood. Sharing God’s happiness has nothing to do with circumstances or the details of life. (Money, sex, job, position, family, friends, wealth, etc.) Sharing the happiness of God is a result of knowing God! And being "brainwashed" with His Thinking! (Eph 5:26-27) God always has perfect happiness; when the believer shares the Thinking of God, as revealed in the Word, he shares God’s happiness.
You will make known to me (Truth) the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. (Rev 3:21) (Reward for reaching maturity) (Psa 16:11)
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones; and shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart. (Mature believers) (Psa 32:11)
"Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, (Learn Truth) for blessed are they who keep my ways. (Keep Truth) "Heed instruction (Obey Truth) and be wise, (Grow to maturity) And do not neglect it. "Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting (Positive volition) at my doorposts. (Rev 3:16) "For he who finds me finds life And obtains favor from the LORD!” But he who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death."
(Prov 8:32-36)
As the believer resides and functions inside the Divine system, he is strengthening his soul. He is making himself spiritually self-sustaining so that he can think, decide, and act with Divine-Viewpoint without seeking advice or approval from others! The more we know about God, the more we love Him, but, in addition, as we come to understand His commands and His plan for our lives! Divine guidance becomes easy to obey, because finally we can start to trust Him, with our lives! (Eph 3:20)
Divine guidance is why we are here, (Jn 12:26) this is God's plan; He does not leave it to us to live His plan! We need guidance, (Jas 1:5-8) and He gives it! You must obey it! There are eight ways God directs us, in (Acts 11:5-16) we have the pattern.
"I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came right down to me, and when I had fixed my gaze on it and was observing it (Thinking Truth) I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the air. "I also heard a voice saying to me, (The Word Taught) 'Get up, Peter; kill and eat.' "But I said, 'By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' "But a voice from heaven answered a second time, 'What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.' "This happened three times, (God Repeats) and everything was drawn back up into the sky. "And behold, at that moment ("Coincidence" no such thing for believers!) three men appeared at the house in which we were staying, having been sent to me from Caesarea. "The Spirit told me (Inside urging) to go with them without misgivings. These six brethren also went with me and we entered the man's house. "And he reported to us (Comparison of events and information) how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, 'Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.' "And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. "And I remembered the word of the Lord, (Remembering Verses, principles, etc.) how He used to say, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' (Acts 11:5-16)
Praying, Thinking Truth, The Word, Confirmation, Providential Coincidence, The Holy Spirit Impelling us, Comparison of events and information (In the Old and New Testament) Remembering! God Is The One bringing these thoughts to our mind! (Jn 14:26)
For we walk by faith, not by sight--(2Co 5:7)
This is walking by faith.
All Divine guidance excludes sin, and temptation! If the guidance does not line up with The Word then it is not God's guidance! This takes practice, (Heb 5:14) and God will not guide us beyond our capacity. (1Co 10:13) We discover that we can make good decisions from our own inventory of Truth The more you have, the more Personal dependence on God! and His Personal Guidance, (Exo 33:16) this is found in subordination to God’s system. The Spiritual life is our position of strength. The better we understand how God deals with us through a system, the more stabilized is our happiness and the more meaningful our lives become. God is perfect; He never disappoints; He has never let anyone down. As you learn about Him, you realize how wise He is, how faithful, how entirely wonder¬ful. You come to depend on Him! (Psa 25:9) And in doing so you gain a better perspective of people. With your confidence grounded in God, you can successfully handle any human relationship. No one can disturb, upset, or depress you; this is the strength of impersonal love, gate six, based on the strength of your occupation with the Person of Christ, (Jn 14:21) gate five. The combined power of these two gates con¬tributes to your strength in gate eight, and that is as strong as anyone can be in this life. (Rom 4:20-21) Such strength has nothing to do with physical muscle; it has everything to do with thoughts! Divine Thoughts!
"I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest," (Maturity) declares the Lord GOD! (Eze 34:15)
THE SPIRITUAL LIFE AND THE EDIFICATION COMPLEX
The Bible depicts this strengthening of the soul in terms of erecting a struc¬ture or constructing a building in the soul. This process is called edification. An edifice is a building, and the Greek verb oikodomeo, “to edify,” is a compound from oikia, “house,” and domeo, “to build.” The believer attains spiritual maturity when he completes the construction of the edification complex in his soul and grows thru the completed state of happiness. In the Old Testament the Tabernacle and the Temple building were illustrations of the edification complex for Israel, the building on the inside (Zec 6:12-13) and the feasts (Lev 23:5-6) the progressive stages of the Spiritual life. The gates of the system that Christ fulfilled! In the New Covenant we have the completed version! (Gal 4:19) Christ and His Spiritual life (1Co 3:11-16) are formed in us!
To whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
(Col 1:27) Which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, (Eph 3:5-6) So that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers (Demon rulers) and the authorities (Demon officers) in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, (Eph 3:10-11)
The mystery is Christ in us, and that all people are priests at the moment of Salvation! (Gal 3:28) In Israel only the priest could work in the Tabernacle and had to be born in the tribe of Levi, (Num 1:51; Heb 7:11-16) we are born again priests a new spiritual species, this is the New Covenant, (Jer 31:33-34; 1Co 11:25; 2Co 3:3-6); Heb 8:6-7; Heb 10:14-20; Heb 13:20)
These are illustrations that only the priests could perform! And they show who Christ Is and what He would do! and He did It! Now there is a new completed Spiritual life, that all priests are to perform, all we have to do is learn how! This is just to show the basics! We have the same doctrines in writing!
Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, (Humanity of Christ) in which were the lampstand (The God-Man light of the world) and the table and the sacred bread; (Perfect no sin or human thinking the Bread of life unleavened) this is called the holy place.(Fellowship with God) Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, (Face to face with God at maturity, now thought to thought) having a golden altar of incense (Prayer) and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, (Deity of Christ) in which was a golden jar holding the manna, (God's provision, Truth, the Spiritual life) and Aaron's rod which budded, (Human authority for teaching) and the tables of The Covenant; (The laws of Divine establishment) and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; (Righteousness and Justice of God) but of these things we cannot now speak in detail!! Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, (Christ judged) which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. (Group Rebound) The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. (Until Christ was judged) Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food (Who Christ Is) and drink (What Christ would do) and various washings, (Rebound, ordination regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation! (New Covenant) But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; (God The Father's realm)
(Heb 9:1-11)
The Old Testament is the ritual for what would happen, we read! The reality of what did happen, and think with it! This is a supernatural life and we use supernatural information that changes us from the inside out, (Mat 23:26) and makes us into mature priests, (2Co 3:18) ministers of the New Covenant! (2Co 3:9) The main job being to lead people to Salvation, and then to maturity! (1Ti 2:4) To glorify Christ by letting His Thoughts and Virtues to shine (1Pe 2:9) through us! (Php 1:20-21) So He can reward us now (Heb 11:6) in Satan's kingdom, and rule with Him in Eternity! (Rev 5:10) No more No less!
Happiness
Gate 8
Functional Virtue
Gates 2, 6, 7
Motivational Virtue
Gate 5
Humility
Gate 3
Bible Truth
Gate 4
Filling of the Holy Spirit
Gate 1
THE EDIFICATION COMPLEX RELATED TO THE GATES OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE
The system, which is the Spiritual life, and the edifica¬tion complex, which is the inner result of obeying God’s commands, merge at the ultimate objective. (Maturity) From the foundation to the penthouse, the floors of the edifi¬cation complex correspond to the building of the Temple in the Old Testament; the very same building is the completed reality Plan of God! The foundation of the inner structure of the soul! The unseen Temple supported by the filling of the Holy Spirit. (Eph 2:21) All Christian dynamics, strength, and growth are based on the power of the Energizer! The first floor of the structure corresponds to gate four of the progressive stage of the Spiritual life. Click: http://rbthieme.org/the15.htm Spiritual momentum in the system equals the construction of the edification complex. Click: http://rbthieme.org/humility.htm
This is happening in your life as you go through the gates of the system! Two things are happening! Growth from slavery to the sin nature, But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. (Maturity) (Rom 6:17-18) And growth out of Satan's world system! Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. (1Jn 2:15-16) (Isa 42:7; Luk 4:18;
To whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.(Maturity inside) We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. (Living by God's Reality on the outside) (Col 1:27-28)
And on this mountain (Maturity) He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, (Sin nature control) Even the veil which is stretched over all nations. (Cosmic system control) (Isa 25:7)
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, (Col 1:13)
To open their eyes so that they may (Choice) turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.' (Acts 26:18)
That their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, (Virtue) and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, (Maturity) resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col 2:2-3)
For I say, through the grace which has been given to me, to everyone who is among you, stop thinking of self in terms of arrogance beyond what you ought to think, but think in terms of sanity for the pur¬pose of being rational without illusion, as God has assigned to each one a standard [Of thinking] from Truth. (Rom 12:3)
For even if I should boast somewhat freely about our authority [The authority of the pastor in teaching Truth], which the Lord gave for edification [building up the believer through Truth] and not for destroying you I will not be ashamed of it. (2Co 10:8)
The happiness of the mature believer with a completed edification complex is the beginning of supergrace. The immature believer has limited capacity, which becomes maximum capacity when his spiritual momentum has carried him to maturity. Each gate of the Spiritual life contributes to the believer’s happiness; happiness exists in varying degrees until completed happiness is stabilized in gate eight. Consistently sharing the happiness of God belongs to the first category of supergrace—spiritual blessings. Spiritual blessings are the pre¬requisite for the other five categories of supergrace blessings: temporal bless¬ings, blessings by association, and historical impact, and special blessings connected with undeserved suffering, and dying grace. His state of happiness does not hinge on money, success, promotion, mar¬riage, or the approbation of others. Whether people appreciate him or not is inconsequential to his happiness.
I have come to know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret (Thinking by God's Reality) of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (In fellowship) (Php 4:12-13)
Since the believer who enjoys a mature relationship with God does not need any other special blessings, God can give such blessings to him. God can prosper the happy believer precisely because he will not base his happiness on the pros¬perity that God gives him. The details of life will not distract the mature believer from his first priority—his personal love for God through the intake and applica¬tion of Truth. At least, the details of life will not distract him if he con¬tinues in the Spiritual life.
But I hold this against you: you have abandoned [Forsaken, deserted] your most important love [The Lord Jesus Christ]. (Rev 2:4)
Worldly flesh-prosperity is the most difficult test for anyone to pass. In contrast to adver¬sity, which forces a person to draw upon his inner resources of Truth in order to weather the storm, prosperity tends to deceive the believer into letting down his guard. The prosperous believer may struggle to secure the blessings he has; he loses his momentum by emphasizing security instead of freedom. (Jn 8:32) He takes his eyes off the source of his prosperity. God in His perfect justice gives the bless¬ings of supergrace only to the mature believer who has already attained maxi¬mum happiness without reference to circumstances! Anyone who prospers without capacity, whether through the laws of establishment in the business world or by some satanic system of overt or emotional-prosperity, is no happier because of his achievement. That is why the Psalm says, “Do not be envious of evil men” (Psa 37:1).
THE SUPREME HONOR: FRIEND OF GOD
Every Church Age believer is a member of the royal family of God, but even among royalty there is no equality, now or in eternity. Volition makes the difference. By our own decisions we advance spiritually and attain supergrace and the other blessings of gate eight of the Spiritual life, or we retrogress into reversionism. (Moral and immoral degeneracy) Click: http://rbthieme.org/characte.htm
The in¬equalities among the spiritual nobility of the Church Age will be most dramatic at the Judgment Seat of Christ. There, the mature believer will be rewarded with tremendous eternal blessings, (2Ti 4:7-8; Jas 1:12; Rev 2:7) The superiority of the mature believer is not restricted to eternity future. On earth the believer who reaches gate eight of the Spiritual life and perpetu¬ates his spiritual momentum is invested into the most exclusive order of royal family knighthood. He is called the friend of God. The mature believer’s investiture into the royal order of the friend of God is the ultimate honor in this life. Few believers have ever attained this order of knighthood. (Heb 11:1-40; Jn 15:15) Now, inside the Spiritual life, every member of the royal family has an unprecedented opportunity to attain this supreme honor from our Lord. Even the believer who seems to you most unlikely to succeed has a far greater oppor¬tunity to become the friend of God than did Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Daniel, or any other outstanding believer of past dispensations. The friend of God ceases to be merely the object of Divine impersonal love; he now becomes the object of God’s complete personal love. At salvation all believers receive God’s righteousness, which not only completes their salvation but also gives them potential for all the special Divine blessings of time and eter¬nity. In our study of Divine personal and impersonal love, we noted that God can love personally only what His righteousness approves. When salvation is the issue, God loves us with personal love the moment we receive His absolute righ¬teousness. But when the issue is the Christian way of life, God cannot love us with personal love until we learn Truth and reach maturity. Every believer receives logistical grace as the constant demonstration of God’s faithfulness and impersonal love, but very few believers in any dispensa¬tion fully exploit logistical grace. Few even begin to fulfill the tremendous potential of imputed righteousness. As members of the royal family, we possess the same Divine righteousness that Abraham and Moses received, but our logisti¬cal grace is far superior to theirs. We have the complete Spiritual life to sustain our spiritual advance. We may have many reasons, but there is no excuse for failing to attain the maximum blessings of gate eight!
This, then, is the final goal of the Spiritual life—not only that we be occupied with the Person of Christ and enjoy maximum social life with God but that He can love us with maximum personal love and accept us into the exclusive circle of His friends! The supergrace advantages of being the friend of God are phenomenal. This is our purpose in life, our spiritual destiny!
THE TEST OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE
We have now developed the Spiritual life. In sum¬mary, God the Father gave a sphere of power to the incarnate Christ to sustain His humanity in the devil’s world. This was the prototype Spiritual life; Christ was the test pilot. For thirty-three years our Lord functioned inside God’s system, and despite continual temptations, beyond any we will ever know, (Heb 4:15) Christ resisted every satanic attack and perfectly fulfilled the plan of God. After accomplishing His mission in the First Advent, Christ turned over His power system to us. He ran the Spiritual life through a complete checkout and then gave the entire system to us so that we, too, can fulfill the plan of God for our lives. As the royal family of God, we have a power system greater than has existed in any previous dispensation. When our Lord was about to be betrayed, He gave us a command: “Reside in My love” (Jn 15:9). This is tantamount to a test pilot saying, “Fly it.” Christ had wrung out the system completely and reported “All systems go. The design was perfect. For us to obey that simple Divine command, we must know and obey many other Divine commands.
When a pilot receives orders to fly a mission, that one order incorporates many other instructions. He is implicitly ordered to check his instruments, to taxi to the end of the proper runway, to set his flaps for takeoff, to handle the throttle in a certain way, to follow a prearranged flight plan. There are literally thousands of functions implied in the command to fly a particular aircraft, all of which the pilot learned step by step. Same in the Spiritual life!
The Divine order to “reside in My love” is a single command that involves many other commands, but all of them interlock into one complete sys¬tem. The New Testament frequently refers to love and Divine power, but we cannot possibly obey our instructions if we fail to understand that love is a sys¬tem. Christian love is not a nebulous emotion encouraged by a collection of unrelated Bible verses; Christian love is a cohesive system of power. The Spiritual live in which we must conduct our Christian lives is comprehensive; we obey the order to “fly it” by properly operating in all of its eight gates.
Many believers try to live the Christian way of life in only one or two gates. Some make an entire modus operandi out of gate one, distorting the ministry of the Spirit by “speaking in tongues.” Other believers seek to apply personal love to all mankind without understanding the Truth of impersonal love; they sen¬tence themselves to a life of frustration.
Likewise, some believers take witnessing, giving, church attendance, and prayer out of the overall system. When properly motivated, these are legitimate Christian responsibilities of the royal ambassador. They fit into the Spiritual life as applications of Truth in gate four. However, when believers emphasize these legitimate activities in isolation from the system, then witness¬ing or prayer become illegitimate programs of legalism. Such believers go through the motions of serving God in order to impress other Christians or to im¬press God and earn His blessings. No one can earn or deserve God’s blessings and anything less than the entire love complex distorts God’s plan and incurs His discipline. God designed the entire system. The system as a whole is far superior to any of its parts. Each gate is legitimate in itself, but all the gates must function together as the Christian way of life. Only the believer who resides and functions in the love complex as a complete, balanced system obeys our Lord’s command to “reside in My love.” Stay in Fellow ship!
What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the Truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1Jn 1:3-7)
THE TEST OF TRUTH
The eight gates of the Spiritual life work together in the believer without fanaticism, without exaggerating, misapplying, or overlooking isolated Truths. All the pieces fit. This categorical Truth gives you a balanced approach to your Christian life, enabling you to execute the plan of God as one consistent, orthodox system of protocol. You know when you are in God’s system; you know when you are out. You understand the requirements of gaining and main¬taining spiritual momentum. Foremost in your priorities is “the author and perfecter of our faith” (Heb 12:2), Jesus Christ, who tested the prototype of the system. You become occupied with Him as you obey the very commands He obeyed, molding your life with positive decisions similar to His steadfast deci¬sions. The Spiritual life enables you to fulfill God’s purpose for keeping you alive, but this new categorization of the Christian way of life also answers longstanding questions concerning the Person of Christ.
End