Blog

  • Afterthought

    What is Repentance?

    Act 9:4
    “And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?”

    2 Cor. 7:10
    “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”

    Sorrow: Lupe (root) – signifies “pain,” of body or mind;

    Repentance: Metanoia Repentance (3341) (metanoia from meta = after + noéo = to understand) literally means “afterthought” or “to think after” and implies a change of mind.

    Gal 1:12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught [it], but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

    Christ revealed himself to Paul. Saul replied, “Who art though Lord?” The revelation of Christ changes us and makes us righteous by grace through the faith of Him in us. Knowing him is knowing absolute and total truth. Knowing Him is enlightenment of unveiled knowledge. This knowledge of him changes us. It causes us to have “afterthought.” This “afterthought” is the beginnings of Godly sorrow which changes us and causes us to grow as new creations in Him by the knowledge of Him. Christ was resurrected by the glory of the Father. The glory of the Father could be thought of as His unchanging essence. He is the “I am that I am” and because He “is” Christ Is The Resurrection. Death has never had authority over Him. All things were created by Him and for Him and by him all things consist. Christ said He and the Father are one. Jesus was crucified before the foundations of the earth. Jesus was resurrected before the foundations of the earth. That which was contrary to us and against us was nailed to His cross. Our old man was crucified with Him on the cross. We resurrected with Him. This knowledge makes me aware and changes my whole person: spirit, soul and body. I am ever-sanctified and grow in Him from glory to glory, faith to faith because of repentance by grace.

    Glory (1391) (doxa from dokéo = to think or suppose) means to give a proper opinion of, in this case a proper opinion of God. Glory then is the true apprehension of God. The glory of God means His unchanging essence, what He is essentially, the totality of His perfection. God is glorified when He is allowed to be seen as He really is.

  • When did the New Covenant and Church begin?

    Hebrews 9:16-17
    “For where a testament [is], there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament [is] of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.”

    After Jesus died, resurrected, was glorified and sat down on the throne.

    When did the Church become the Church?
    It is still a work in progress, but the after Christ ascended on high he gave gifts to men and sent the Spirit of God to earth. The baptism of the Holy Spirit.

    Acts 2:4 was the genesis of the New Testament Church not the Gospel of Matthew. To interpret the Gospels as the New Testament is inaccurate and can dilute sound doctrine. These books are intermediary between the Old and New Covenants. Technically, they are the Old Covenant.

  • Metabolized


    Metabolism
    Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that occur in living organisms in order to maintain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments.

    1 Cor. 9:27
    “But I keep under my body, and bring [it] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

    This could sound legal (religious) to many and probably has.

    Paul says, “The love of God constraineth us…” , “revelation of Christ in him” , “life he lives is by the faith of the Son of God.”

    My conclusion is the revelation has apprehended and passively arrested him.

    The revelation of Christ took and arrested Paul into the kingdom of the Father’s agapeo’d Son (Col. 1:13) almost without Paul’s knowing it. Paul grew and became more conscious and fully aware of this apprehension.

    The ‘knowledge’ of this apprehension or ‘apprehension’ of this knowledge consumed, absorbed, and metabolized Paul.

    In this supernatural, spiritual, metabolic process Paul’s will becomes Christ’s will which is really Paul’s will.

    Paul was who he was by the grace of God which is really who he was. This identity of ‘who he was by grace’ included his will.

    Essentially, Paul was IN Christ and Christ was IN Paul and because of this Paul has an overwhelming, engulfing, overflowing desire towards godliness (Tit. 2:11).

    This engulfing desire enabled him by the faith of Christ through His grace to willfully keep his body under subjection. This ‘willfulness’ is the good, perfect, pleasing will of Christ in Him. It was Christ in him.

    Passive: -adjective
    1. receiving, enduring, or submitting without resistance: a passive hypnotic subject.

    Apprehend: v. tr.
    1. To take into custody; arrest: apprehended the murderer.
    2. To grasp mentally; understand: a candidate who apprehends the significance of geopolitical issues.
    3. To become conscious of, as through the emotions or senses; perceive.

  • Kicking a dead horse

    1 Cor. 15:31
    “I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.”

    2 Cor. 4:10
    “…always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”

    I have heard so many Christians say, “You gotta crucify and die to your flesh!” “You gotta, you just gotta.” I have a question. If someone is dead then why would you have to kill them again? Romans 6 says, “We have been planted together in the likeness of His death.” We partake of His death and life by grace. The above scripture, 1 Cor. 15:31, can also read, “I am dead daily” in the Greek. I believe what Paul was saying was that he is ALWAYS dead IN Christ. All the time.

    As believers, we are not who we were.
    Col. 3:3
    “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”

    We do not have to “try” to die to the old self either if it is already dead. I’ve never seen a dead person “try” to die. Either they are dead or they aren’t. The next question is, “Is Christ your savior?” If He is, then you should know you are dead and no longer have to die anymore. We partake in His death. We partake of His nature by grace.

    If we are trying to “be dead” in Him then this could be looked at as necromancy.

    nec·ro·man·cy [nek-ruh-man-see] –noun

    1. a method of divination through alleged communication with the dead; black art.
    2. magic in general, esp. that practiced by a witch or sorcerer; sorcery; witchcraft; conjuration.

    Essentially, necromancy is a type of witchcraft. Samuel said, “Rebellion is as witchcraft.” If a believer is trying to die to self when he/she should already be dead in Christ then the next question is, “Is Christ truly their savior?” If He is their savior then they are not who they were. They are a new creation in Him. The old has gone. Jesus said, “Let the dead bury their dead.” I wonder why?

    Paul speaks of another gospel which really isn’t another gospel in Gal. 1:6-7. I’ve noticed brethren co-mingle the “other gospel” with the true Gospel and get entangled. Sounds like Galatians 5. This leads to the need and purpose for sound doctrine in the Church. It authenticates the Church and more.

  • Bought back

    1 Cor. 6:20 “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
    1 Cor. 7:23 “Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
    1 Cor. 6:19 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you,which ye have of God, and ye are not your own.”

    When we are redeemed or bought back the bible says we are not our (referring to old self) own. This tells me we are His. If we are His then we are our own in Him which is different. We were set free from ourselves by Him nailing to the cross that which was against us and contrary to us. We are under His authority and Lordship and serve in a new way of the Spirit because we want to. We want to because our will and whole creature was purchased at Calvary. Our will is His will and His will is ours. There is probably a tupos of redemption somewhere in the O.T., not sure where.

  • The enemy and accusation

    Finger of JudgmentAccuse:

    –verb (used with object)
    1. to charge with the fault, offense, or crime (usually fol. by of): He accused him of murder.
    2. to find fault with; blame.
    –verb (used without object)
    3. to make an accusation.

    The enemy is the accuser of the brethren. I am noticing the things the enemy can do such as accuse, lie, deceive, etc. are in essence powerless. he can accuse me of whatever, but even if I did something it was not reckoned to my account IN Christ. So, all he has left is accusation, frustration, expected judgment and fear.

    In Christ I am blameless, holy and without reproach. I have grace not to sin (Titus 2:11, Romans 6). That is who I really am by His grace and have been so before the foundations of the earth. The enemy is only a rebellious cherub who was originally created by the Creator for Him (Col. 1:16-17). Jesus sets me free from the old me (Gal. 2:20) or nature which was under the power of guilt and sin. Not anymore. No condemnation Ever for those who are after the Spirit of Christ.

  • Pushing peanuts with your nose


    Romans 12:1 speaks of “presenting your body a living sacrifice.” For the longest time when I have read this I think I need to push a peanut with my nose and tell God, “Look God I’m pushing the peanut with my nose! Aren’t you so proud of me?” Whether it be reading the Bible, fasting, going to church, participating in church ministry or events, doing any good deed, praying for a healing for someone, and the list goes on. Today, I spoke to two people. One man, whom I met recently, I talked to at the gym. He told me he’s been separated for seven months from his wife and hasn’t seen his daughters either in that time. Long story short, I encouraged, exhorted and gave him some direction. He went from, “I want a divorce” to “Do you think she still loves me?” When I got home my wife took our sons across the street to the neighbors kiddy-pool. All the kids on the street play a lot together. I had a long conversation with my neighbor talking about movies, electronics, etc.

    Man, where am I going with this, right?

    Anyways, this is what I saw later this evening. Both times at the gym and at home Christ was and IS the Living Sacrifice in me. The sacrifice is not a strenuous effort of self-will. It is not maintaining and walking some impossible statute, but because of the revelation of Him IN me and towards me I responded the way “He is” (improper grammar, but correct meaning) towards me my whole life because I strongly desired to. “He strongly desired to” IN me. This is so beautiful. The living sacrifice is Christ living IN me. It is living life very naturally ministering all the time to others through me because of fullness in me. It is more than that. Colossians says, “Let the word (logos) of Christ dwell in you richly.” Let Living Word dwell in you. The Word does not go away and come back, but stays. His Words endures forever. He lives in me by the unveiling of the mystery which has been kept hidden in ages past as Paul describes. This is also what Paul calls, “Walking or living in the Spirit.”

  • No Amdro Needed


    Amdro is an insecticide. I was thinking the other day about Adam and Eve (really Hebrew feminine form of Adam, the name Eve is post-fall) prior to the Fall. They were both in their birthday suits. I was thinking, “When they went to sleep did the ants or insects bite them?” My opinion is no the insects did not harm them whatsoever. Prior to the fall there was complete order in the earth. Man dwelled in God’s presence, walked with Him and had fellowship with Him. Creation did not possess fear in itself because fear had not entered into creation through the knowledge of good and evil. Perfect love casteth out fear. Prior to the Fall Adam and Eve did not know what sin was or missing the mark. Again, they had not yet received the knowledge of good and evil. How then would they know the difference? Previous to disobeying the Lord’s command their consciences were pure and not defiled. That most definitely will be another blog.

    There is a prophecy that says, “The lion will lay with the lamb.” If Jesus is our Redeemer and has reconciled all things to Himself then creation is “bought back” by Him and placed back in it’s original purpose with His redemptive power. In other words, the lion laid with the lamb prior to the Fall and will again after the Church becomes the Church Christ died for and not another aesthetically pleasing, non-gift operating denomination.