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By Gary Amirault
(Rather lengthy, but important article)
Many years ago, I was in the middle of a very busy business day,
about to enter a printing shop when I saw a homeless person come
to the door of my car. I knew he was going to ask me for money.
Under my breath I said, Lord, please dont put him in my life right
now. I am too busy. What a stupid thing to say! Of course the Lord
put him in my life.
He was a chronic alcoholic who lived under a bridge and often found
himself in trouble. He had no teeth. One of his relatives had them all
pulled, but never got around to getting him dentures. Although he
was in his 50s, his mental abilities were that of a child.
I ended up spending several weeks trying to get him help with his
alcoholic problem and other serious needs. The experience showed
me how ineffective our social service programs for helping alcoholics
are. At one point during these few weeks, I took him to a minister in
hopes of having him delivered of unclean spirits. We commanded
everything under the sun to come out of him, but he just stared at
us, annoyed.
The words I love you for example can have many different
meanings depending upon who said them, at what time and to
whom, and for what purpose. True meaning goes far beyond the
actual spoken or written word. This article is about learning to go
beyond the It is written Church mentality which has brought
legalism, fundamentalism and many other isms which have
prevented us, His people, from moving into the Spirit of His Holy
Word. There are many forces in this world arrayed against Gods
people to prevent us from entering into our inheritance. Bible
translating and interpreting has been an area in which the devil has
had a field day. In the coming years, this is going to change. Get
ready for a mighty outpouring of revelation that will truly set His
people free that we may go into the world and into creation itself to
set it free from its bondage to corruption. We need to get free to
love with His love first.
Let me give the reader another example of reading the white and
the profound effects such an experience can have on ones life and
the lives of those around them:
What really troubled Martin Luther about this verse is that it stated
that the righteousness of God (which Luther wanted more than life
itself), was revealed in the Good News, that is, the Gospel. But
Martin saw no good news in the Good News. He saw nothing but
condemnation. Luthers problem is one countless Christians face
today as well.
Luther read the words in the Bible through the theological definitions
of Dark Age theologians who twisted the meaning of words like
grace, sanctification, justification, faith, righteousness, justice, etc.
from their true original meaning. This is exactly what the Jewish
leadership did with the Scriptures when Jesus came to Israel 2,000
years ago. Jewish Rabbis like Hillel, Shamai, Gamaliel, etc.,
reinterpreted the meaning of words and concepts in the Bible so
that people couldnt see the truth anymore even when they were
reading the Scriptures themselves. Their teachings put scales over
peoples eyes preventing them from seeing the truth because the
words and concepts were redefined, turning the truth into a lie.
Church leaders did the same thing in Luthers day as many still do
today. Even though Luther was sincerely trying to understand Gods
will, these traditions and teachings of men prevented him from
seeing what was plainly written. (See Matt. 15:6-9)
Every denomination does this. Some key people in the past (usually
men) interpret words, phrases, or books of the Bible a certain way,
attract disciples which form churches which create institutions to
perpetuate that teaching, add more teaching, build centers of
education to train men and women to perpetuate this faith,
excommunicate those within who deviate from this new system,
develop Sunday School curriculum, build publishing houses which
publish only books that stay within that system and wholla a new
denomination which locks its members into a mindset invented by
some men and/or women long dead.
After the light broke through, when those very same words the
righteousness of God were seen through the revelation of the Holy
Spirit, Luther said that he was altogether born again and had
entered paradise itself through open gates. Luther had entered the
peace that passes understanding which Jesus promised to give all
those who received His faith. This peace is a supernatural peace
nothing in this world can duplicate. The true understanding of a
handful of words in a corrupted Latin text read by the light of the
Holy Spirit completely changed Martin Luthers life. This is
REVELATION. This is what reading the white is all about.
Being in the Spirit, being led by the Spirit, being filled with the
Spirit, etc. floods one with the supernatural; and He greatly affects
our feelings, both physical and spiritual. The gifts of the Holy Spirit
and the fruit of the Holy Spirit and the works of the Holy Spirit
should explode from our being and should manifest in great
expressions of feelings! Revelation, like when the light of God
touches down on a portion of Scripture brings a delight that is often
indescribable a delight that most literalists, legalists,
traditionalists, fundamentalists have not yet enjoyed. Why? Because
they are DEAD! The dead have no feelings.
On the day of Pentecost, when the tongues of fire fell upon the 120
disciples, they were DRIVEN into the streets of Jerusalem declaring
the wonderful works of God in all the languages of the world. Let
me tell you, these men and women were FEELING wonderful! When
the Holy Spirit moves through a Christian they KNOW it. True faith is
not blind. The faith of Christ in a believer brings them into a
relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ that affects every
part of the body, soul and spirit including the emotions. Show me a
Christian who says he trusts in the Lord but is not emotional about
the things of God and Ill show you a dead Christian who has
swallowed the traditions of men and not the Living Word of God!
True faith will bring tears of great joy. True faith will bring an
exhilaration that makes what the world calls exciting look quite dull.
A Spirit-filled Christian life should be exciting, adventurous, holy, full
of compassion, full of joy, full of love and great peace. True, we
should not trust in our feelings. Feelings can be misleading, but
when the faith of Christ truly comes into our hearts, there will be
indescribable joy which is a feeling. And if these things are not a
part of ones Christianity, they really should seek Christ again in a
fresh way and seek out fellowship with other hungry believers who
express the Life of Christ. True faith really gives one the ability to lay
down their life for the gospels sake.
These people are miserable in the inside. The wrath of God abides
on them. (John 3:36) But his wrath is not something God imposes
upon them; it comes as a result of not having the love of God in
their hearts. To be deprived of the goodness of God is to experience
wrath. God is not actively bringing circumstances into these lives to
make their life miserable. They bring the misery upon themselves
because they are cutting themselves off from opportunities of
receiving love and kindness.
I have spent a great deal of time in prayer and study learning about
the traditions of men which have been injected into the minds of
the modern Christian which render the word of God of no effect.
There are countless thousands of them. (The books Pagan
Christianity by Frank Viola and The Way Church Ought To Be by
Robert A. Lund are excellent sources for information about how far
the church has strayed from the teachings of Christ and His
apostles.) I have been forced to step out of my comfort zones many
times. While in the short run it has been very discomforting, in the
long run having to be forced to compare teachings and traditions
among many different denominations has been extremely beneficial
to my spiritual growth. I only gave one example in Martin Luthers
life to illustrate the power traditions of men have over our minds
and hearts. This one revelation on the righteousness of God made
Martin Luther one of the most influential men on the face of the
planet. This single revelation was a major source of light that began
to dispel the Dark Ages. A single person being freed from religious
darkness can literally revolutionize the world. Who knows, perhaps
you are the next one.
Projectionism
Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your
whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body
also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not
darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of
it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp
shines on you. (Luke 11:34-36)
For example, some Jews in former times and even in modern times
believe the Bible teaches that they are the only true representatives
of God, that the rest of mankind are not true Adamites, they are not
true human beings. They say that Arabs and those who think like
them or support them are Amalakites who Jews are commanded to
wipe off the face of the planet. Where did they get such teachings?
From the tradition of the elders found in the Babylonian Talmud,
the foundation of modern Judaism. The Talmud is a collection of
commentaries of supposedly the wisest of Jewish Rabbis of ancient
times. Modern Judaism is directly descended from the Pharisees of
Jesus day. The Jewish Talmud is filled with all sorts of racist and
elitist material which lends support to the kind of things carnal
minds are filled with.
I have also come across Christians who believe that white Christians
are the only true representatives of God, that darker skinned human
beings are beasts of the field, not really human beings. And they
use certain verses and certain interpretations of those verses to
prove to themselves they are correct. Neither Jews nor Christians
who teach these abominations are correct!
The driving force behind a Christians life is the Holy Spirit. But even
He has become nothing more than a doctrine or creed in many
denominations and churches. Even the best doctrines or teachings
or creeds about the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, are as dead as
fallen trees. The Holy Spirit is alive and must be alive IN US if we are
going to be effective in the Kingdom of God. He is not a concept
He is not a doctrine or a statement of belief even if the statement is
perfectly phrased. The Word must be quickened, made alive by the
Living Presence of the Living Word of the Creator. Inspiration,
revelation, impartation, intercession, travailing, quickening,
prophesying, manifesting, etc.these are the manifestations of the
Spirit of Truth. It is a great travesty that these very things are often
utterly rejected by much of the church world -- and we wonder why
the church is so spiritually ineffective. The Holy Spirit must pour out
of us in great power like rivers of Living Water in a dry parched
desert. Nothing less will do.
For the Spirit of Jesus Christ is the Spirit of prophecy. (Rev. 19:10)
Do not despise prophesying. (1 Thess. 5:20) Oh foolish Galatians!
Who has bewitched youThis only I want to learn from you: Did you
receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are
you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made
perfect by the flesh? (Gal. 3:1-3)
In short, Paul was saying that any attempt to try to relate to God via
our own efforts, our thinking, our concepts, etc. is utterly foolish,
useless and actually contrary to Gods way. Gods way is by HIS
Spirit. The love, power, the word, the truth, the gifts, the fruit of a
life of righteousness all come via His Spirit they do not come from
our intellect, our efforts, our theology, etc.
It seems natural for man to fall back into the old way even when one
has received the Holy Spirit. It is not only possible, but quite
probable for a Christian to grieve or quench the Holy Spirit and to
miss or bury the things He gives us. To grieve or quench the Holy
Spirit is as natural as succumbing to the power of gravity. The very
forces of this world are arrayed against the power of the Holy Spirit
within a person. Satan does not go after Christians who talk a good
talk but are useless in the kingdom of God. Those individuals are
already under his power. He goes after those who are still full of the
power of the Holy Spirit. Satan is not upset there are Christians in
the world. Names mean nothing to him. It is the power of the Holy
Spirit residing in a Christian who has learned how to maintain a
living vibrant relationship with God through Him that is a danger to
Satans kingdom. The book of Acts is an example of what every
church in the world should look like regarding the power of the Holy
Spirit and how He can change things through His Body. To the
degree our church does not look like the body of Christ in the book
of Acts, to that degree it has grieved or quenched the Spirit.
And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto
the day of redemption. (Eph. 4:30) Quench not the Spirit. (1
Thess. 5:19)
Paul, nearing the end of his course must have been deeply grieved
as he watched much of his work return to darkness:
Hold fast the form of sound words, which you have heard of me, in
faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was
committed unto you keep by the Holy Spirit which dwells in us. This
you know, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of
whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. (2 Tim. 1:13-15)
If much of the church was falling away from what Paul termed my
gospel during his own lifetime, imagine how far the modern church
may be from Pauls teachings which he honestly believed was the
only true gospel to be preached. Paul told Timothy to hold fast the
form of sound words heard from him from which many were turning
away. The church plunged into the Dark Ages because it turned from
Pauls gospel. Being led by the Holy Spirit was replaced with
thousands of traditions of men and doctrines of demons. Those
traditions and teachings have filled the earth. The natural course of
human kind seems to gravitate towards religion instead of an
intimate relationship with God. It seems the greatest effort or
work on our part once we have received the faith of Christ in our
bodies is to keep the Spirit of God within us stirred and active. Paul
uses the analogy of fire to describe how we can become spiritually
ineffective: I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is
in you through the laying on of my hands. (2 Tim. 1:6, NIV)
All I have shared is not to say there is no need for newer and better
translations of the Bible, there certainly is. Most of the popular
English Bible translations are still riddled today with Dark and Middle
Age theology which entered into the Reformation Bibles. These early
English translations still have a strong hold on modern day
translators who are still translating according to the tradition of the
elders instead of being inspired by the Holy Spirit and using sound
translation techniques. There are key Dark Age doctrines which have
crept into the pages of our modern Bibles through translators whose
minds are still bound by false teachings about God and His plan for
the of salvation of mankind. This article cannot go into all of that.
Suffice it to say, while weve come a long way from the time the
church did not allow lay people to read the Bible a time in which
the only official Bible was the corrupt Latin Vulgate which Jerome
translated in the fourth century AD -- we still have a long way to go
regarding purer translations of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek
Scriptures into current languages. (The reader is encouraged to
subscribe to our Tentmaker Bible Matters Email List for helps with
Bible translations. Past articles appear
at http://www.tentmaker.org/Biblematters/bible-index.htm) Even the
popular English Bible translations such as the following ones have
serious errors in them which greatly misrepresent the God of the
Bible and His plan of redemption of mankind: King James Version,
New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, New
American Standard Version, New English Translation, Complete
Jewish Bible, International Standard Version, New Century Version,
Good News to Modern Man, Amplified Bible, Living Translation, New
Jerusalem Bible, Third Millenium Bible, New King James Bible,
Modern King James Bible, Twenty-first Century King James, Scofield
Reference Bible, The Message, and many more.
The early Reformers had very few resources with which to determine
the true meaning of the texts before them. The Hebrew and Greek
scholarship at that time was greatly lacking in the Church due to the
fact that Latin had become the sacred language of the Roman
Catholic Church. As a result, there were many words, phrases,
concepts, persons, places and things in the original languages with
which translators were unfamiliar. However, even Jewish Biblical
Hebrew scholars in modern times have difficulty determining the
actual meaning of many parts of the Old Testament. The modern
Jewish Publication Societys Tanakh (a recent translation of the Old
Testament) notes hundreds of words and phrases of which Jewish
Hebrew scholars even today do not really know the meaning. This
kind of integrity is greatly lacking in the Christian publishing
industry.
The Inerrant Bible is a myth that still covers the Christian Bible
translating community and prevents them from being as honest as
they should be with those purchasing their translations. For example
the original 1611 King James Bible contained many marginal
readings which revealed their lack of understanding of certain
words. These marginal readings have since been removed from
modern printings of the KJV to bolster belief in the Biblical Inerrancy
Doctrine. The Translators to the Reader Preface found in the
original KJV has also been removed. Why? Because their statements
clearly contradicted the idea that their translation was original and
without error. (See The English Bible From KJV to NIV by Jack Lewis,
Baker Publications)
Let me give you another example of how the Anointed Living Word
works. Richard Wurmbrandt was an atheist Jew (now deceased) who
was converted to Christ through the love of a German carpenter in
Romania. He became a Lutheran pastor.
This Jeremiah must not have been a very important man. Ive never
heard of such a man. Stalin, Lenin, these are important men. Ive
heard of them. Now if God would speak to such an unimportant man
like Jeremiah, perhaps he might speak to me.
Speaking of Washings
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church,
and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with
the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to
himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such
thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians
5:25-27)
As is often the case, stories in the Bible contain much deeper truths
than what one finds on the surface. Jesus washing His disciples feet
holds a special place in many peoples hearts. (John 13:3-17) The
surface lesson is that we should humble ourselves, take the lowly
position, and care for your brothers and sister in the Lord. But there
is something much deeper here. When Peter realized he made a
mistake with his comments, he asked Jesus to wash all of him, not
just his feet. But Jesus told Peter that only his feet were dirty they
were what needed to be cleaned. Feet speak of walking. Spiritually
this world is dirty. Jesus prayed not that His disciples be taken out of
this filthy world, but that they be protected from the evil of it. (John
17:14-20)
We are Jesus feet in the earth. Jesus must clean His Body, which
we are, because we live in a dirty world. Jesus told Peter he could
have no part IN HIM, unless he allowed Jesus to wash his feet. In
essence, Jesus was saying that His feet (his disciples which we are)
must be washed clean by the washing of the word every day.
Sanctification is connected with being washed by His Word. If we are
going to represent Him in His holiness, we must allow Jesus to wash
us daily. We are bombarded with sinful images and foul words and
ideas every place we go. Watch a couple hours of television while
allowing the Holy Spirit to show you what He sees. Our walk, His feet
must be cleansed daily for our sake as well as Jesus sake.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things
were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that
was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend
it. (John 1:1-4)
Paul, the apostle, adds the following in his letter to the Colossians:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are
on the earth, visible, and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or
principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for
Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And
He is the head of the body, the ekklesia, Who is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the
preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness
should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him,
whether things on earth, or things in heaven, having made peace
through the blood of His cross. (Col. 1:15-20)
As one can see from the above two verses, it is impossible to get a
complete handle around the word of God. The universe and every
book and human being combined cannot hold the Word. We must
greatly enlarge our understanding of what the Word of God found
in the Bible is all about especially when it comes to communicating
with this Word.
For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the
man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts
of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of
the world but the Spirit Who is from God, that we may understand
what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words
taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit,
expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the
Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them,
because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes
judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any
man's judgment: For who has known the mind of the Lord that he
may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. Brothers, I could
not address you as spiritual but as worldly-- mere infants in Christ. I
gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.
Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is
jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not
acting like mere men? For when one says, I follow Paul, and
another, I follow Apollos, are you not mere men? What, after all, is
Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came
to believe-- as the Lord has assigned to each his task. (1
Corinthians 2:11 - 3:5, NIV)
Paul is stating quite plainly that it is quite possible for someone who
calls himself a Christian to still be quite carnal to think with the
natural mind instead of the mind of Christ. Denominationalism (I am
of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Luther, I am of Wesley, etc.) is NOT
spiritual. Therefore, if a Christian is doing carnal things like dividing
the body of Christ into denominations and sects or participating or
supporting such behavior, can they possibly be using the mind of
Christ? What would Paul say if he were alive today about the tens of
thousands of different denominations of Christianity in the world
today? Can anything spiritual come from such carnal divisions?
Can such sectarianism handle the solid food of which Paul speaks?
Judge yourself before He has to make the judgment.
Jesus killed so to speak the works of the devil. Jesus spoiled, that
is, conquered and took possession of Satans possessions, and gave
them to His body. In that sense, we may now kill and eat. (Col
2:10-23) The heathen are our inheritance (Psalm 2:8; 79:2) We are
to plunder Satans kingdom of souls lost in darkness. However, if we
interpret verses like this with the carnal mind, we may think, (as
some modern Jews and Christians believe today) that God is saying
to kill unbelievers and take their physical possessions. In Israel
today, there are many Jewish settlers who feel Biblically justified in
killing Palestinians and stealing their land because certain verses of
Scripture command them to do so according to their fleshly
interpretations. And tens of millions of Christians support these Jews
in this endeavor.
The Bible is full of many verses which are often taken literally and
turned into total nonsense as a result. This sometimes affects
millions of Christians as well as the world we are called to influence.
For example, Jesus said,
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye
eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life
in you. (John 6:53)
He may give impressions. He may use one of the gifts of the Holy
Spirit or one of the gifts of men spoken of in the book of
Ephesians. His Presence may rest upon a person in such a way that
they actually feel His weight, His glory upon them. He may
communicate through unutterable groanings. (Rom. 8:26-27) While
we may not understand what He is saying or doing, we know God is
active in us as we participate in His intercessions through us. He
may use symbolic actions like the man who took Pauls belt, bound
himself with it and prophesied that Paul would be imprisoned if he
went to Jerusalem. (Acts 21:11) He may briefly open ones spiritual
eyes and allow one to see something others cant see as in the case
of Elijah and the armies of the Lord in the clouds. Those who seek to
truly be led by the Holy Spirit must open their hearts and minds to
being spoken to by any of these means as well as others. There are
many Christians today, who will not allow God to use them in many
of these ways. This limits Gods Word in them. This is the sin of
unbelief which is very prevalent in the church. Being led by the Holy
Spirit requires great trust a trust which many Christians do not
have. People love rituals, ruts, rote, regulations. Many of the rituals
in religion, I believe, are demonically inspired. It is the demons who
love these things. And if one tries to take these empty forms away
from people, one will often notice a violent reaction. Try taking
Easter, Christmas, Mass or Rosary beads away from some folks and
you may see a violent, demonic reaction.
Part of the problem with being led by the Holy Spirit is the many
counterfeits which also operate which give an appearance of coming
from God. Yes, there are false prophets by the train-load. Yes, it is
easy to misinterpret dreams and visions. Peter, himself, seemed to
have problems in this area. Yes, there are false impressions. Yes,
there are leaders whose intention is to draw disciples after
themselves. Yes, one can hear inner voices that are not from God.
These and many more reasons are why countless Christians do not
move deeper into being led by the Spirit. We do not want to be
deceived. But the fact of the matter is, if we do NOT move into being
led by the Spirit and open ourselves to the many ways He
communicates with us which are not normal to natural human
communication, then we are already deceived. The carnal mind is at
enmity with the Spirit. And if we do NOT use the means of
communication God has ordained in the Scriptures, if we default to
the natural mindset, if we will not yield ourselves to the means of
communication the Holy Spirit employs which are quite unnatural for
us, then we are not advancing the Kingdom of God. We are really
working for the devil while pretending to be serving God.
The contrast between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant is
tremendous; (read our The Pillar Laws of the New Covenant and
Old Covenant Versus New Covenant.) Literal or natural readings of
many passages of Scripture actually cause one to turn evil to good
and vice-a-versa. Misreading the Bible can bring spiritual death.
Mixing Mosaic Law with the Law of the Life in Christ Jesus has
brought spiritual death to many Christians. Literal reading of
passages meant to be seen in the light of the Holy Spirit often turn
the word of God into an abomination. One of the apostle Pauls
biggest problems was getting people to see the types and shadows
of the Old Covenant by the Spirit, not with natural eyes. At the end
of his life, Paul stated that most of his disciples in Asia had
abandoned him. Very few Christians, even today, really understand
what Paul was saying. That which appears as life in the natural is
death in the Spirit and vice-a-versa. In the natural, it is better to
receive than to give. Not so in the Spirit. In the Spirit, one must first
die before they can actually live. Whoever finds his life, will lose
it, and whoever loses (kill, spiritually speaking) his life for My sake
will find it. (Matt. 10:39) See? So much between the natural secular
world and the Spiritual world of Jesus are opposites or in reverse.
That which the natural world (or religious world) calls good very
often is evil in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Getting on Target
We must get back to Love from a pure heart and a good conscience
and a sincere faith. Now there is a prayer. Lord, give me a heart
pure enough and a conscience good enough and faith sincere
enough for your love to flow purely and freely. Amen. Anything that
prevents us from moving in these waters is probably not from Him.
Legalism, literalism, etc. is to flowing in the Spirit like cholesterol is
to arteries. We must avoid it at all costs if we are to be effective. We
must allow our hearts to be enlarged to receive and impart the
fullness of His Word and His Spirit. God seeks to impart to us His
Word and Spirit because He desires we worship Him in Spirit and in
Truth. His Word is Truth. As we worship Him in Spirit and in Truth
the world will be drawn to Him through us. Truly the world, that is,
the heathen, are our inheritance as we share Him with them. It is
truly a joy -- it is true living to bring the Word of Life to the
unbelieving world. THIS is our inheritance! This is what Christians
are called to do -- to give Life to a dead world! It IS truly better to
give than to receive.
Mount of Transfiguration
When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, the Father also spoke
the words This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased. But
this time on Mount Hermon, He added, HEAR HIM! Under the Old
Covenant, the voice the children of Israel were to hear was the Law
of Moses and the prophetic utterances of the prophets. Elijah, on the
mount of transfiguration represented the Prophets and Moses
represented the Law. God the Father overshadowed them all and
then Moses and Elijah disappeared they faded away. This
symbolized the passing away of the Law and the Prophets. The letter
of the Law was being replaced with the Living Word of the Son of
God Who is ever at the right hand of the Father making intercession
for us. This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well-pleased. Hear
Him! Oh, if we could just fully embrace the fullness of the
importance of those words!
Jesus was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and
His clothes were as light. This is one of many types and shadows
and scriptural proof that the Mosaic Law was done away. Yet many
denominations of Christianity resurrect parts of it thinking it would
be beneficial when in fact it only produces death. This scene
occurred on Mount Hermon, the snow-covered Mountain north of
Israel which represents God the Father. All the waters that give life
to Israel whether in the form of dew at night or the Jordan River
originate from Mount Hermon. Its strategic placement, it being
snow-covered year around, it being the highest mountain in the
region, etc., all speak volumes. This vision speaks of the fulfillment
of the type of the Feast of Tabernacles found in the Mosaic Law.
That is why Peter wanted to build three tabernacles, one for each of
the glorious beings on the mountain.
The Father said, HEAR HIM! Faith comes by hearing and hearing
by the word of God. (Rom. 10:17) This is how faith comes NOT by
reading the KJV, or the NIV or any other translation. It must be a
Living Word. We are NOT saved by our faith in Jesus Christ we are
saved by Jesus faith placed in us. It is the faith OF Jesus Christ that
saves, not our faith. If we receive the faith OF Jesus Christ through
hearing His voice, then the process we find in Ephesians 2:8-10 has
room in our lives:
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer
sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of
the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, Who through the
eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your
conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Heb. 9:13-14,
NASB)
Cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Here is the great battleground of Christians. For most of us, it is not
going back to the sins of the flesh it is being trapped into a life of
producing dead religious works that have an appearance of
producing life, yet they are dead. Slavery in Egypt represents
slavery to the flesh in the Bible fleshpots of Egypt, (Ex. 16:3). But
slavery in Babylon represents slavery to religion doing things that
appear to be holy, but which produce no life. Preston Eby, in the
52nd part of his series From the Candlestick to the Throne, writes:
And by the angel of the church in Sardis writeI know thy works,
that thou has a name that thou livest, and art dead (Rev 3:1). The
Holy Spirit says to the church in Sardis, You have aname -- a
reputation and recognition by the people that you are alive. This
name that they have relates to their works. They have a name that
they live because they are filled with all kinds of activity, but the
sentence of the great Judge of all is, Thou art dead! Instead of
operating in the power of the Holy Spirit Who is the life of the body
of Christ, like computerized robots they go from the form of flesh-
generated programmed activity that appears to the undiscerning
eye to be evidence of life. But their works do not originate out of life,
but stem rather from a realm of death the death of the carnal mind
and human zeal. Endquote.
Jesus fulfilled all the types and shadows of the Mosaic Covenant in
Himself. The types and shadows are but pointers to spiritual realities
found in the Living Christ. We must enter the reality of the types and
shadows of the words of the Old Covenant, not repeat bastardized
reenactments which bring us no closer to the spiritual reality than
visiting a road sign annually which points to Jerusalem. Actually, the
road sign will never bring the traveler to the destination to which it
is pointing until the traveler LEAVES THE ROAD SIGN. Putting the
name Jesus into the ritual wont bring one any closer to the reality of
the type than without it. Dead works is dead works with or without
the name of Jesus added to it. One can engage in just as much
idolatry using the name Jesus as without it.
Idols cant see or hear yet we follow them much more than we
realize. Dead works is synonymous with idolatry. God spoke to
Ezekiel about the idols in the hearts of Gods priests. (Ezekiel 14:1-
11) These are akin to the traditions of men to which Jesus referred
in Matt. 15:6-9.
Throughout much of the Church Age, this and many other passages
of Scripture have had the power of those words squeezed right out
of them through false theology -- through the tradition of men. I
have heard many pastors teach and preach that the power of the
early church is no longer needed. They say God gave the early
church great power because it did not have the New Testament
Scriptures. These false preachers also say that when the New
Testament Scriptures were canonized, the power of the Holy Spirit
through the gifts of the Holy Spirit were removed from the church.
They say the gifts of the Holy Spirit have ceased gifts such as the
word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working
of miracles, prophesy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of
tongues, and interpretation of tongues.
Tens of thousands of ministers have rendered millions of Christians
harmless to the kingdom of Satan through a single theological
dogma that the gifts of the Holy Spirit belong in the past they are
not for today. These theologians use a single verse of Scripture for
their proof text,
But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part
will be done away. (1 Cor. 13:10)
Living Words
A perfect translation of the Bible will not bring the truth into our soul
if we are filled with traditions of men which make the word of God of
no effect or if we have corruption in our hearts. Some of the most
evil men I have encountered in my Christian walk have practically
memorized the Bible.
When Jesus was tested of the Devil after the forty day fast in the
wilderness, Satan used Scriptures to try to tempt Jesus. I have heard
in more than one sermon how Jesus defeated Satan by quoting
Scriptures. In two of the three temptations, Satan quoted Scriptures.
Jesus replied all three times quoting Scripture. But what was the last
Scripture Jesus quoted which ended that spiritual battle?:
"It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word
that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Matt. 4:4, NIV)
Every word that comes from the mouth of God is far more than the
700,000 plus words found in most Bible translations. Jesus limited
Himself greatly for the first part of His ministry because part of His
role as the Messiah was to fulfill all that the Law and Prophets
spoke of Him. Jesus was born under the Law. He fulfilled all the
types, shadows and requirements which the Mosaic Law, Prophets
and Writings required of the Messiah. That is why Jesus allowed John,
the Baptist, to baptize Him, Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do
this to fulfill all righteousness. (Matt. 3:15) What righteousness?
The righteous requirements of the Law and Prophets which pointed
to who the true Messiah would be. This was how Israel could
determine who the real Messiah was. The Law and the Prophets laid
out many requirements which the true Messiah would fulfill. But
once He fulfilled them, then they were abolished then Jesus could
say, It is finished! He could then inaugurate the New Covenant
sealed with His own blood, not the blood of bulls and goats. The New
Covenant was a covenant of Living Words, not words on sheep skins
or stones, but words written on the heart.
One of the types in the Old Covenant which pointed to this New
Covenant was the gathering of Manna in the wilderness. They could
only gather what they could eat that day. Only on the day before the
Sabbath could they gather enough to last the two days so they did
not have to work on the Sabbath. This speaks typically that we are
to receive daily instructions from the Lord. Yesterdays word is
represented by yesterdays Manna it became rotten.
Denominations which are perpetuated today based upon some men
who have long died are feeding their members yesterdays manna
it is dead! Furthermore, the children of Israel who refused to move
with the Cloud and the Pillar of fire DIED in the camp because they
refused to go further. Oh, dear Christian, hear the word of the Lord!
Remember this: The Old Covenant dead letter; The New
Covenant Living Word.
Satan knows the Scriptures. So do his angels of light who are often
in the form of ministers and Bible teachers. Some of the most evil
men I have met were pastors who could almost quote the entire
King James Bible word for word. It will require something far more
spiritual than quoting Scripture verses to defeat the Devils devices
against us. The average Christian raised in a typical denomination or
Christian movement is more than likely to have been subjected and
indoctrinated to a host of ideas and definitions which are contrary to
the true Spirit of God, even as Martin Luther was.
The true God of the Bible is much more loving, powerful, merciful,
forgiving, wise, efficient and just than any denomination or mind of
man has conceived of Him. The Dark Light in fallen man still holds a
grip upon the minds of Christians even though most will not
acknowledge this or take serious steps to come into the true Light of
the Spirit of the Son of God, the Savior of the world. But I sense a
wave is on the horizon which will sweep away a lot of the traditions
of men in Christianity which have hindered the growth of those who
espouse the name of Christ. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
The judgmental one will see Jacob I loved, Esau I hated, (Rom.
9:13) and use the verse to prove that God hates some people even
as they are born. According to some theologians some people are
born to be eternal enemies of God destined for an eternal burning
incinerator. Love filled eyes will go to the end of the Jacob and Esau
story and find God took good care of Esau. And after Jacob, the
conniver and deceiver whom God loved was humbled at Peniel
after his wrestling match, he saw Esau in a different light: I have
seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast
pleased with me. (Gen. 33:10) (Oh, that modern Israel and modern
Jews could learn this by the Ruach Ha Kodesh, the Holy Spirit!)
Suffice it to say, God blessed both Jacob and Esau. He simply had
different plans for them. Part of Gods plan to bring Jacob to maturity
was to have Esau as his enemy for a season.
Summarizing
In summary, the true Word of God is not the Bible, it is Jesus the
Messiah, the Son of God and Savior of all mankind. John, the apostle
wrote,
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were
written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have
room for the books that would be written. (John 21:25, NIV)
For millions of Christians, the Bible has been made into an idol. For
them, God has become a set of rules and rituals contained on a
couple thousand pages of paper covered with a couple pieces of
cow, sheep or pig skin. If you dont believe it, throw a Bible on the
floor in some churches and watch the reaction. Visit a Jewish
synagogue and watch the rituals performed around taking Torah
scroll out of its special closet.
The Bible is letters on a white page. Jesus is the True Letter, so to
speak. He is the Word of God, the Father -- He is the Law of the New
Covenant the Law of the Spirit of the Life in Christ Jesus, as Paul
states in Romans 8. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, is the white
page on which the True Word is written. (John 4:23-24, 14:16-18,
15:26, 16:13-15) Without the white or the light it would all be dark
and we could not see anything. It is He, the Holy Spirit, that Jesus
said He would send to lead us into all Truth. Remember, Jesus was
looking for a people who would worship the Father in Spirit and in
Truth. (John 4:42) The Truth is an Anointed (Spirit) Word. He did not
instruct us to create thousands of institutions with tens of thousands
of different ideas about God and how to do things to please Him. To
the degree ones Bible translation, Sunday School, Bible studies,
sermons, books, etc. help bring us to the Father through the True
Word of God, Jesus and His Holy Spirit, these things are helpful.
However, much of the activity in most denominations of Christianity
is simply man-made traditions void of Gods power and purpose and
therefore not only useless for establishing the kingdom of God, but
actually a hindrance to it.
But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and will know, not
the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the
kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. (1 Cor. 4:19-20, KJV)
The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart
and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (1 Tim. 1:5, NIV)
The English word sincere comes from the Latin and means
without wax. In ancient days, dishonest potters would sell pots
that contained cracks by filling the cracks with wax. They then
covered the wax with clay dust to hide the wax. When the heat
comes, of course, the defect would be revealed by wax melting
causing the water to spill out. The only one who can really check our
vessel to see if we have been deceived or have deceived ourselves
is the fiery Holy Spirit. Sincere faith is a faith that honestly opens
itself to the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit. It is not proud. It does not
desire to hide anything, but to bring it to the light so that it may be
properly dealt with by God.
When Jesus told the man with the demon-possessed son that all
things are possible to those who believe, he replied, I believe, help
my unbelief! May we all have a faith that is ever being submitted to
God for inspection. Only God knows how corrupt we truly are.
Sooner or later, we will go into the refiners fire. Everyone will be
salted with fire. Why not volunteer to go to the head of the line.
From a spiritual perspective, it will greatly improve our quality of life
on earth.
In summary, the Best Bible Translation is one that will conform your
life to the incorruptible image of Jesus the Messiah, the Anointed
One, the One full of the Holy Spirit without measure. If you want to
be translated into His marvelous kingdom, then let the true Word
of God, Jesus, and His Holy Spirit completely have their way with
you. They will indeed lead you into all Truth. And your Bible
translation, regardless of which one you use, will be transformed
right before your eyes.