Heb 6:1 ¶ Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
A dead work is any work that we perform which has not been called for and begun by the Holy Spirit.
Mt 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
A good work is a “Spirit led” work
2Co 3:7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
Was to be done away to render useless, and inoperative, just as an old car that finally breaks down.
(There is a glory which is energized within dead works)
But it is a glory that is being rendered useless, and inoperative, just as an old car that finally breaks down.
Any activity, which is performed outside of the voice of God, will manifest the blessings and the glory of God temporarily.
The ministry of death must be done away. Many of these works are accomplished out of our logic and intellect, fleshly compassion, earthly or soulish what appears to be right, noble, and charitable, instead upon strict reliance to the voice of God. To walk in the Spirit entails complete adherence and reliance upon the still, small voice.
8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
Much more abounds the office of the ministry of the Spirit in glory.
10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
All dead works, programs, plans, and schemes, that have been glorified by the church, indeed are not glorified because much greater is the glory when done through the ministry of the Spirit.
11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
(Dead works) are performed through God’s glory because they still retain a measure of God’s blessings upon it.
The things of the Spirit abide however permanently in the world of God’s glory.
Obedience
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;)
Various definitions of abounded:
God has given us in great abundance. He has excelled towards us; He has been affluent, rich, or dealt in excellence towards us. He has made to abound to or He has conferred to us this thing superabundantly.
This is God’s mode of dealing with His saints at all times.
The abundance of blessings comes within the limitations of wisdom.
Wisdom then, is performing all things in accordance to the will, dispositions, arrangements, and timing of God.
Prudence: Is the step-by-step guidance of God’s will by the voice of the Spirit, and His time schedule to carry His will out.
The superabundance that comes into our life is limited in proportion to doing all things in conformity to God’s will, and carrying them out step by step in His direction and His timing. This is what it means “toward us in all wisdom and prudence;”)
Growing Up Into Christ Rather Than Things Wanting the Works Instead if the Ways of God
1 Tim 6:6 ¶ But godliness with contentment is great gain.
Greek (paraphrase & my thoughts) what is great gain is (not selfish material acquisition but) godliness with contentment.
Contentment - Is a most interesting word.
It is defined as the sufficiency, satisfaction, which a man and woman find solely in their spiritual condition apart from relying on any satisfaction or dependency on circumstances or the world. It is defined as the state of being so filled with the Spirit of God that the believer is self-sufficient solely in the fullness of the Spirit and the revelation of the Person of Christ living inside of them.
This self-sufficiency and satisfaction, causes this believer to become independent and autonomous of the influences of circumstances, finances, and worldly affairs, as their means of sufficiency and satisfaction.
Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
My God shall fill full all of your necessities in proportion to the riches found in the world of His glory. (not the world of selfish prosperity)
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
Marvin Vincent translates this scripture; “We brought nothing into this world because we can carry nothing out.”
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
Greek: Our sufficiency and satisfaction must be found in the good state of our spiritual life, and in having “a sustenance or nourishment that will thoroughly meet God’s needs for us and not our wants ” and clothing.
9 But they that will (to counsel plan for and deliberately purpose to) be rich fall into temptation (the trials of the devil and sin) and a snare (the same word used for a snare used to catch birds and beasts, unaware), and into many foolish (absence of understanding) and hurtful(injurious) lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.( which cause men to sink into destruction and perdition)
10 For the love of money (a fond love) is the (a) root of all evil: which while some coveted after (to stretch out after in order to grasp) they have erred from the faith (to be led astray from the truth and into idolatry), and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (Grief, distress and pain.)
11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
“flee”! Our English word for fugitive comes from this word. Several dictionary definitions such as a runaway, a person who is fleeing, or someone who takes to flight describes the fugitive. My friends, we must be fugitives from the love of selfish material gain.
Likewise, I love the word “follow after”, which is none else than the word for persecute!
My friends, we must be fugitives from the love money and persecute instead righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and meekness!
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Greek: By the “spiritual dice playing” of men in which they work around you with the goal of implementing the methodology or a “system” of error or plantezing. (From the word for a “planet” or one who wanders)
“children”- Infants, and other minors that are immature and untaught.
Tossed to and fro - dashing or surging waves. In changefulness and agitation the infant is carried about by every wind of or degree or doctrine.
Sleight of men Dice playing and deception. Instead of growing up into the revelatory knowledge of Christ, we make philosophies, or things (debt release, miracles, positive confessions, being blessed, prosperity) the main focus.
Doctrines become divine truth. Things, blessings, miracles, and financial prosperity become what we grow up into instead of the Person of Christ. Our growth becomes lop-sided.
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
speaking the truth “thruthing” into we grow into Christ in all things or also confessing the truth may in love grow up into.
Confession is an outward expression of what is really part of us.
The revelation of The Christ must be the end and the object of all of our growth.
Christ is the object and goal to which our growth in its every stage must look to or be directed.
(Additional notes:)
The church is tossed to and fro by every new doctrine, as it hungrily chases after it, believing for that very doctrine to be its source of liberty and salvation.
The church today grows up into a message of claiming positive confessions, which are done outside of the rhema word of God. This message pampers and deceives the church away from the trials and sufferings that it must go through so as to learn to operate solely by the rhema word of God.
The church likewise grows up into a message of selfish financial prosperity, which robs it from the season of material deprivation that it must go through so as to learn to walk by “true” faith, which is the principle for the power of God to be manifested into a lost and dying world. The church blindly continues to grow up into things that will never bring it liberty or salvation. This is why the American church desperately hurts. Numerous of the men and women of God which continue to bring these doctrines, because they themselves are deceived, enjoy great importance and financial wealth from the very church that desperately goes after their teachings as it seek the joy and freedom that it will never find until it grows up into the revealed person of Christ instead. Many of the doctrines of men only work when you throw money at them. We are indeed caught in a spider’s web!)
Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Greek: You cannot be a slave to two lords… You will hate one, and love the other one unconditionally…you will embrace one; and think little of the other…Ye cannot be a slave to God and to material acquisitions.
Matthew six and twenty four is proportional scriptures. To the extent that we embrace material gain for the wrong motives is to the same extent that we will think little of, and hate the Lord.
By hating the Lord, I mean to say that we will hate what He requires from us that regard the yielding up of the material wealth that we dearly embrace. Our ability to obey the Lord, as Lord, will be restricted likewise to the extent that we are submitted to the lordship of material gain.
4)Purity
1 Cor 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
2Cor 1:12 ¶ For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.
2 Cor 2:17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ
The word sincerity is defined as being judged by the sun or the “rays of the sun” (not “Son”).
Only a life of purity before the Lord will make us into a clear windowpane by which the rays of the sun or can clearly shine through. An impure life will make us into a dirty piece of glass through which the image of the Lord can hardly be seen.
If the enemy cannot see the sunlight of the Son of God, he shall not leave us alone until the day and the time that he does, and if he does. Remember our enemy, the devil, is the greatest legal lawyer that this universe will ever see, apart from God Himself. He will claw and cleave for every inch of us that has not pass by death into resurrection.
Philippians 1:9 ¶ And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge(thorough knowledge) and in all judgment;(discernment)
Greek: (my paraphrase included in italics) That your love may abound yet more (but always held bounded within the river banks of a) a full precise and accurate knowledge of the things of God and in all discernment (Judgment is defined as discernment. Likewise charity must be always held in check within the river banks of our discernment of God’s voice and our discernment of what is of God, and what does not come from Him.)
10 that ye may approve things that are excellent;( what differs or excels) that ye may be sincere (judged by the sun) and without offence till the day of Christ;
Greek: That you may recognize as genuine upon examination the things that are differing. Your recognition of what differs will allow you to choose only what is excelling or best towards your fulfillment of the things that pertain to Christ. This will cause you to become so pure that it will allow for the beams of sunlight to shine through you unhindered. Likewise you will become as one that has nothing that will make others stumble when they observe your life before the Lord.
Ps 89:20 I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him
Hebrew: “With oil of My separation I anointed him”
The anointing comes in proportion to the separation from the common and unworthy things of this world into the sacred and holy things of God.
1Tim4:7 But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.
Exercise thyself; Comes from the word for gymnastic which in turn comes from the word gymnos, which is defined as “being naked.”
The practice in the days of Paul was for athletes to exercise almost naked so as to be unhindered as possible for vigorous training.
1 Timothy 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
There is big difference between getting saved, going to church and performing religious activities versus that of “laying a hold on eternal life.” To lay hold on, is to grab on to, pull in, and make it our own possession The Lord is never satisfied with our simple conversion and even our faithful attendance in church. He wants us to experience as much of the fullness of eternal life as possible while in our earthly tent, which is to know God through the fullness of the revelation of His Son within our lives.
Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently (agonizing with athletic zeal) for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect (to the very maturity of Christ’s character) and complete (fulfilling every aspect of Christ will, will so that you have total confidence and assurance in everything that He wants from you) in all the will of God.
Perfect: Brought to a place of spiritual maturity in ever aspect of our lives
Complete: Having a full assurance and understanding of everything that God has willed for our lives and perform it with all spiritual maturity
Brought to the very maturity of Christ’s character so that we can fulfill every aspect of Christ will through this character.
James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
The prayers of a righteous individual carry more than the needed inward strength (like Popeye) in them to efficiently and energetically obtain all from the Father’s will.
Nothing in Common With The Devil
Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
The Greek word for worketh is defined as giving energy to.
The word for disobedience is being non-compliant. (Christian and non-Christians alike, the devil does not show partiality)
Simply speaking it signifies that in any area of our lives in which we habitually are non-compliant or disobedient in this very area we energize the devil to work his system of error.
Eph 4:27 Neither give place to the devil.
v Do not build an airport runway upon your life for the devil to land and take off.
John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
Hath nothing (Greek absolute negative) “The devil has absolutely nothing in me or nothing in common with me.”
Mark 1:24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.
Greek: There is absolutely nothing in common between you and us, Jesus (the) Nazarene, have you come to destroy us?….
This is a highly crucial verse in that it teaches us about our true authority before Satan and his demons. The authority that the demonic discern in the Lord, and causes them to tremble is that because of the Lord’s absolute purity, and sinlessness, there is nothing in common between them and the Lord Jesus. Herein lies our key to overcome the demonic within our lives, and then to be used by the Lord to deal with it in other people’s lives.
Matthew 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Absolute binding of the enemy can only occur, when each and every part of our lives have come into conformity with the will of the Lord, and the enemy is forbidden a place or space where he can afflict us
In actuality Jesus tells us the following. The word for bind is “is to forbid”. The word for loose is “to permit”. Whatever we forbid or bind upon the earth shall come to pass, if it is of the Lord. This is because God will honor our obedience and count it as forbidden in the heavenly realm. He will then execute His righteousness to cause us to successfully carry out the binding on earth, which He decreed in the heavenly realm through our obedience.
The same is true of our loosing, or our permitting. God will bless our obedience and will loose or permit in the heavenly realm, when we loose upon the earth. He then sends forth His power to cause us to execute the act of loosing as was decreed in the heavenlies.
Herein lies the true meaning of Biblical binding. To bind is not to allow or permit something to occur. Genuine binding of the demonic only occurs within a pure life, which has no defilement with what is common with Satan and his cohorts. At every point of our lives in which purity reigns and the devil shares nothing in common to us, he has been bound. Now mind you, we will never experience absolute purity and sinlessness on this side off heaven. Please let us be assure that if we live in habitual disobedience and chronic bondage our vocalized confessions of binding the enemy is scorned and mocked by him who will continue to afflict and latch on to us wherever he finds sin.
Mat 12:29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
Greek (paraphrase) No one will have the dunamis power to come into the strong one’s house in order to change the situation, thoroughly plunder his goods until they are laid waste, and then occupy. (Like the USA is doing in Afghanistan.) He must bind the strong one first and then he will be able to thoroughly plunder.
The strong man is the demon that is last to be bound from our lives. He is the one that we can discern constantly standing before us face to oppose and withstand us every second of our lives in a variety of deceptive measures.
The Lord has allowed the strong man to afflict me until I have bound every major area of sin in my life through obedience to Him, which has led to liberty in those areas. After completing this process, the Lord is now dealing with the strongman in my life. Let us now look at the next set of scriptures.
Luke 11:21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:
· Greek: When the strong one fully furnished with weaponry guards his palace, his goods, wealth, and property lie in peace.
22 But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.
Greek: But when a stronger one than the strong man comes upon him with a hostile intent, attacks him, and conquers him, he takes from the strong man the armor which he trusted in and thoroughly distributes out (to others) the strong one’s weapons and goods.
Jesus is obviously the stronger one.
The strong man must be defeated in two ways. His binding by us is the point in which there is not one significant area of unrepentant sin left in our lives. Secondly, it is only the revelation of the Lord Jesus laboring in us by His grace, and attacking the strongman as the stronger one, that is effective
With the strong man is finally bound and conquered we find ourselves running, leaping forward, and plundering for the Lord!
Transformation and Working Out
Phillip 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Carry out or work out our salvation to an utter completion, growing up into Christ in all things.
Here Paul commands us to work out, carry out, and accomplish absolutely everything to completion that pertains to our salvation, and that with utmost serious cautiousness.
The command is in the middle voice signifying that the responsibility is ours, and it shall be done through implicit obedience, much prayer, and through accurate knowledge of the word.
Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand,
We are encouraged here to take the whole armor of God and having done all to stand, to stand therefore. "Having done all" is the word to “work out”.
The cartoons of the coyote and the roadrunner are wonderfully depicted this word. In one of their many scuffles, as a ball of dull is kicked up, both of these guys always got lost in their dusty fights. When the dust finally settles, the roadrunner usually remained standing. This is exactly what it means to “having done all, to stand.”!
We must fight by the Spirit without compromise, or without discouragement, until we remain standing victoriously; as Satan, sin and the world lay scattered at our feet in full visibility, once our ball of dust finally settles!
The command is to carry out all things in our lives against sin, bondage, the world and the devil to a complete victory!
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Do not follow the schematic or blue print of this world but be metamorphosized by the overhauling of your mind… so that you may approve the good, well pleasing (not to us but to God) and “spiritually mature” will of God
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Greek: But we all with our face uncovered.
Though our faces have been uncovered at our conversion, a believer that has an “open” face is one that is yielded to the Lord and gladly obeys Him.
He or she welcomes all that God has for them; their faces are opened to His dealings in their lives.
Quite the opposite, the person who has a “closed face” is one who secretly does not receive another, and is in opposition or disagreement with that other, judging them in their heart.
To the same image are being “metamorphosised” out of glory and into (the next level) glory even as from the Spirit of the Lord.
The Testimony of The Conscience and The Minister
2 Cor 4:1 ¶ Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not Because by the mercy of God, we were called into this ministry, we do not become discouraged. (We know that if God divinely summoned us, He will take care of us, and see us through; therefore we do not lose heart.)
2 But have renounced (we gave up once, and now forbid) the hidden things of dishonesty (anything that brings shame or disgrace to the gospel, or to us), not walking in craftiness(not conducting ourselves in the doctrines of men), nor handling the word of God deceitfully(by trickery, adulterating or corrupting God’s word for base gain) ; but by manifestation of the truth (but by manifesting the gospel in its accuracy and genuineness through the Word of God and by our lives) commending ourselves to every man’s conscience( we present ourselves to every type of men’s conscience) in the sight of God. (Before the constant gaze of God).
(We must remember that the conscience of man is a component of the voice of the Holy Spirit. Paul here says, that the soundness of the apostle’s doctrine and the genuineness of his or her life in accordance to the gospel must be so great, that it must hold up to the scrutiny of the voice of God bearing witness or passing judgment to what the apostle ministers in their hearer’s consciences.
Secondly, the apostle must also deal with the scrutiny of God Himself, whose penetrating look is ever upon the apostle.
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