A Guide to Holiness
Copyright © Manna Ministries (NI) 2005. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form/by any other means: electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise;with out the prior permission of the Copyright Holder. Published by Mann Ministries (NI)
In All Countries
Senior Teaching Elder L. D. Smith, Manna Ministries (NI)
This publication is sent out free of charge, subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher prior consent.
Written and sent out in the United Kingdom by Manna Ministries (NI)
Adapted from the Authorised King James Version, 1611.
True Worship:
Grace, Faith and Sanctification
What does it mean to have a relationship with the Lord God, what do we know about the Lord God, what image do we conjure up when we go to Him in prayer, do we believe that He is sitting upon a great white throne of judgment with a big stick ready to strike us with his wrath if we do something wrong that displeases Him, or do we know or understand the fulness of His love towards us, to many He is the God of love, without any righteousness, to others He is a hard God without compassion! like the Jews of old who believed within their hearts that if you sinned or your mother or father sinned, God’s punishment fell upon you without mercy, like the tower of Selom that fell and killed eighteen people or the blind man who was born with no eyes, those who taught this where not the ordinary people who believe in superstition, those who taught this were the religious leaders of the day, but they where so far away from the truth, and the heart of God.
Even when the Lord God told them through the prophets that He desired mercy (loving kindness), and not their sacrifices, they took no notice, and its sad to say that in our society today nothing has changed from the thinking of the pharisee’s, for we may know about his grace, but do we know anything about his nature, other than to call him God, as if we would call the pastor “man” and not by his name, with the Lord God we miss the point and fall short of his mark, we run aroung seeking to serve him, (to serve the Lord God is good if you are called to serve), but Worship is what the Lord desires, for to worship Him is to Love Him, and this becomes clear when you read the first four commandments, or when you read what Christ said to Martha concerning her sister Mary, as she sat at the feet of Jesus in worship, (luke c10: v38-v42), for Mary had chosen the good part, that was to worship, both of the sisters loved Jesus, but Martha was more concerned with the feeding of the body, while Mary was more concerned about the feeding of the soul, we know this because of the different reaction of the two sisters at their brother’s tomb, (john c11:v19-v40), Martha said to Christ after she was told by Him, that He was the Resurrection and Life that she would see the Glory of God performed that day, allow by this time her brother Lazarus was rotting in his tomb, remember, she confessed with her mouth moments before that Jesus was the Son of God, Martha believed with her head, but not with her heart, but Mary believed with her heart, for when she came to where Jesus was, she fell at his feet and worshiped him, just as the wise men had done when He was a child, (matt c2:v11).
Mary believed with all her heart, that Jesus was the Christ, Martha said all the right words, but Mary did all the right things, and that’s the differents between serving and worshiping, both these sisters loved Jesus, both believed in Him, but it was Mary’s worship of Him that deeply moved Jesus in spirit.
I believe that it is safe to say that the Lord calls us first, to learn how to worship Him before we try to serve Him, for there is nothing worst, than the blind leading the blind, you may love the Lord Jesus, and yet never learn to worship Him, missing out on His blessings, this can come about through a number of reasons, 1. you have not died to self, 2 you have not developed a relationship with Christ, 3. you’re to busy selling Him, 4. you have not been taught how to worship, 5. you have not searched for Him with all your heart, 6. He’s not first in your life, no matter what the reason maybe, one thing is sure, that unless you developed your relationship with Him, you are going nowhere for God.
To develop a relationship with the Lord God you must go back to the beginning of His word, and realize that the moment you became a christian, you are born-again, that is; you where born a “babe”, not an intellectual, not an expert in the word of God, and you’re not even an adult in the family of God, for according to His word, He only has children, for such is the kingdom of God, so humility is the order of the day, no humility no blessing.
Let us now start at the beginning of His word, and we find that we where made in their image, after the likeness of the Father, Son and Holy spirit, this means our physical form, not our moral, for man is in moral ruin because of sin, we also know that God is spirit, thus we must worship Him in “spirit and truth”, you may ask the question? how do we know that we were created in His image and likeness of our creator, we find the answer to this within Holy-Writ,(the scriptures) for we find in the book of Genesis, that the Lord God is a living Being who can speak, that He has intellect, He has breath, He has hands, He can walk, He has compassion, He has a heart and emotions, and feelings, a spirit, He has eyes, and a nose, He can smell aroma’s, He has ears and can hear, He is a Genius, He knows grieve and sorrow, and He laughs, (gen c1:v3, c2:v7-v18, c3:v8, c6:v3-v8, c8:v21, c16:v11, john c1, ps59:v8), these are just some of the Attibutes and Properties of the Lord God, He is also a Father, and to His childern he provides, discipines, rebukes, chastises, feeds, clothes, protects, exults, He loves and hates, He can bless or curse, He can kill of make a live, He can destroy or make whole, He can Anoint or disapoint, He can be a friend or an enemy, He can answer or remain silent, we as His childern must understand that He is Holy, Righteous, Just, Meriful, Awesome (omnipotence), All powerful (omnipresence), He is everywhere (omniscience), He knows all things, He is the “eternal one” (Jehovah), He is truth (Immutability), He is the Most High God, (Elyon, the Father).
He is the creator (Elohim the son), He is the living God (Eloah the Holy spirit), and we must treat the Almighty with the up-most reverence, and not to take Him or His name in vain or for granted, for the relationship between the Lord God and His children, is one of Holiness and hatred of sin.
The greatest property that the Lord God possesses is Love, for God is Love, His love is a giving love, for He gives of Himself to those that do not deserve his love, the Greek word for God’s love is “Agape”, it is an action, one of affection and helpfulness, in that we having no hope within ourselves to be reconciled to the Lord God, that He took it upon Himself through His love to act on our behalf, that through Christ Jesus His only begotten Son, we who have received him as our saviour are now acceptable to a Holy and Just God through the atonement at the cross, we have now liberity from sin, but not license to sin.
Holiness is the call to His children, be Holy as I am holy, for Holiness places you within the perfect will of God, and releases the fulness of his grace, (eph c2:v19), the greatest miracle that the Lord God shall ever perform within the life of a child of His, is the transforming of them into the image of Christ Jesus who is the Brightness of the Father’s Glory, (heb c1:v3, rom c8:v29).
Grace is the receiving of divine favour, (mercy) the love of God the Father, Son and Holy spirit, bestowed upon guilty man, Where the law of God condemns, His Grace Redeemed, it is when God’s grace (love) is instilled in us that we see ourselves in true light, for it is then that our sinful nature is revealed and the realization of our hopelessness before a Holy and Righteous God is manifested, (isa c6:v5), luke c5:v8).
Finding that we have no hope within ourselves, like one drowning in the sea, and crying out in despair, it is by the grace of God that he extends His arm to rescue us in answer to our cries of hopelessness, and placing us upon a rock, that is immovable, (ps 11:v2, ps18:v2), the rock of salvation, it is the Lord God meeting man at his point of hopelessness, and bestowing upon him grace on grace, the unmerited favour of the Lord God and the foundation of our salvation, justification and sancification, (eph c1:v8, c2:v8-v9, rom c3:v25, heb c2:v9, 1pet c1:v2).
Grace is the revealing of God’s love upon the human heart (soul), it is the acknowledgment of this love (grace) towards the recipient that is the beginning of the “first step on the way to salvation”, that is, through grace God’s mercy is revealed.
1. The acknowledgment of God’s love, brings the recipient under conviction, (luke c1:v77), their need for salvation.
2. The receiving of God’s love through faith, the acceptance of salvation and repentance, (act c2:38).
3. The consecration of God’s love (grace) in you, is the way of salvation, (act c16:v17), and the exercise of Reverence towards God for the love (grace) bestowed upon you, and the working out of your salvation, (phil c2:v12).
Holiness (purity) through God’s (grace), is being transformed into the image of Christ, and is the way of Holiness, (heb c12:v14).
It is through grace that the recipient comes under conviction, that leads to repentance and the receiving of salvation, this is termed born-again, a babe in Christ, it is from this period in time when the penitent shall begin their journey on the way of salvation, learning Godliness and developing a relationship with Christ Jesus, being led by the Holy spirit, and learning to walk in the spirit, the Holy spirit which is called the spirit of truth shall endeavour to guide the child of God into the paths of righteousness, but this can only be achieve if you are open to the Holy spirit, He shall never force anyone against their will, this is why so many do not receive a blessing, because they have grieved the Holy spirit, if one has surrendered their life to Christ the Holy spirit shall teach them to pray, read and study the word of God, which shall result in the joy of their salvation, and they shall grow in the way of Holiness.
As the penitent recieves the gift of grace from the Lord God they also birth the gift of faith, thus bringing forth justification and sanctifcation leading to salvation, for it is by grace through faith that you are justified, and it is by grace that we are also sanctified, (made Holy through Christ), we are made righteous by faith and sanctified by the truth, (Christ), and this occurs from the moment you go down on your knees, to the time you get back up again, it consist of your repentance from sin, the turning away from all iniquity,(unrighteousness), all that transgresses against the commandments and oracle of the Lord God, and the receiving of the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart, (life) as your saviour, obeying His commandments, from this moment you are sealed by the Holy spirit and baptisted by Him.
It is only when we are in the perfect will of God, (rom c12:v1-v2), that we are enabled to walk in the way of Holiness.
When we enter into the way of salvation from the conviction of sin and repentance through grace, we begin our journey on the way of salvation through faith, it is only through the surrender of “self”, that enables the recipient of grace and faith to travel on the way of Holiness.
The way to salvation can only come through Christ Jesus, for it was by the shedding of his Godly Blood, that we find redeemption from sin, and it is this great Grace of the Lord God, which delivers us from His coming wrath, (judgment upon the ungodly and a sinful world), for He is our passover Lamb, and His Atoning Blood is what cleanses us from sin. (john c1:v7, rom c5:v11).
This can only come about if we walk in the light of His word, for this is our olbigation before God, and the working out of our salvation, (phil c2:v12-v13, heb c7:v25), Christ Jesus is the only source where the grace of God is to be found, it is upon His righteousness, death and resurrection that the power of God’s Grace is fully displayed unto salvation, and it is this salvation (grace) which is given freely to all who would receive it from the hand of the Lord God, for it is by salvation (grace) that the foundation for our redeemption is laid, and upon which we build our relationship with Christ Jesus, to trust and obey!.
It is only through God’s mercy (grace) that we are enabled to come to repentance of sin, (2tim c1:v9, rom c11:v6), for it is the work of the Holy spirit, that brings about conviction of sin and the need of salvation within the recipients heart and the renewing of their mind.
It shall be our attitude towards sin, not merely just the forsaking of sin, but to grasp the full meaning of sin and its consequeces, that results in a real change within the life of the recipient, true repentance leads to salvation, the jugdment of self and our actions, (2cor c7:v10, 2thess c2:v10, rev c2:v5, 1 kings c8:v47, matt c3:v2, acts c20:v21), bringing about a sorrow after a Godly manner, so as to produce within us the fruits of repentance and the revealing of God’s will for our life.
Through repentance we are sanctified, (made Holy) in the knowlegde of the truth, (john c17:v17), and brought to the recognition of sin and a hatred of it, (rom c3:v20), and the acknowledgment of sin within our own nature in opposition to God’s will, (ps 5; 2cor c7:v9-v10, matt c27:v3, luke c18:v23),and the conviction of sin leading to confession and forgiveness, (pardon), the total cleansing of our sinful nature, and the birth of a new creation (born-again), a willing soul that is not forced into obedience, but obeys from a surrendered life, giving in love, (ps51), presenting your body as a living and Holy sacrice, serparating yourself from the world and all ungodliness.
Being transformed by the renewing of your mind, (rom c12:v1-v2)in thought, word and deed, surrender, separation and the renewing of ones mind is not a one of event, it is a daily commitment, a process that can take a life time for some, it is the working out of your salvation, (phil c2:v12),(the child of God must live his life in Holiness), for the way to salvation (grace), and the way of salvation(faith) is the beginning of the journey in the way of Holiness, (isa c35:v8) being transformed to the image of Christ, (heb c12:v14).
Hence we are by God’s grace and faith justified and sanctified by the truth, (Christ Jesus), but salvation can only be fulfilled (realized), when the recipient stays within the will of God, to go outside of His will, is to built on sand, (2john v8, john c17:v12), to stay within the perfect will of the Lord is to become an overcomer, remember many shall cry Lord! Lord! but Christ said to them, I do not know you, (matt c7:v22-v24, luke c9:v62).
Through the love (grace) of God comes knowledge of Him, that is, to get to know Him and form a relationship with Him, for through knowledge comes Holiness, (prov 3:v6), but the key to the knowledge of the Lord God, is Love, for the love of God always comes first, as in salvation, first came grace (the love of God, divine favour), then faith, (justification), and then being sanctified, (made Holy by Christ), then learning Godliness, (true worship), and then having grown in maturity (becoming perfect in God’s grace), having been transformed into the image of Christ, you walk now in the way of Holiness, having achieved full sanctification in your life, (purity and righteousness through Christ).
Love! knowledge and salvation is to live as the Lord God would have us live in Holiness, gaining victory over sin, and becoming an overcomer, through the work of the Holy spirit within the soul (mind) of the recipient, through faith we are justified, (accepted as righteous), and by the truth (Christ), we are sanctified, (made Holy), thus Holiness only comes to the believer, from their relationship with a Holy God, for we are to become partakers of His divine nature, (2pet c1:v4), and share in his Holiness, (heb c12: v10).
The fear (reverence) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy one is understanding, (prov9:v10), to hold the Lord in Awe, or to have any knowledge about Him, can only be found in His Love, for to have a knowledge about God does not mean that you know God, for the Lord searches the heart to honour only those that love Him, for God is love, and it is only through His love that those who are in love with Him can embark on the journey of knowing the Lord God, (prov 2:v1-v2), and developing a relationship with Him, if you should meet anyone who claims to be a christian or even professes to love Christ Jesus, and yet they never mentions His name in conversation, it would be safe to say that they are not in love with Him nor is He first in their lifes.
Salvation can only come if we look away from self and surrender our self-will before a merciful God, that through faith in his love, we may be clothed with the righteousness of His Son, the gift of God; “Christ Jesus,” for it is only through our faith in Christ, that the Lord God reveals His will to us, from a saving faith to a faith that shall move a mountain, to the greatest faith of all. (matt c8:v10; c15:v28, luke c7:v9), when you are in love with some one, it is your desire to know all you can about that person, thus the call by the Lord God to love Him with all your heart, mind, body, strenght and soul, (matt c 22:v37, mark c12:v30-v33, luke c10:v27),
The Lord God seeks total commitment in every part of the recipients life, for if you lack commitment towards him, you shall lack knowledge about him, and this shall put you outside of the perfect will of God, and shall only led to grief throughout your life, but to commit yourself to Him, is to be assured of the peace that passes all understanding, you shall lack nothing, nor shall you fear anything, to grow in fellowship with Christ Jesus is to grow in relationship with Him that shall become intimate as in marriage, two hearts knitted together as one, for intimacy with his children is at the heart of the Lord God, his love is so deep, that he gave His Son (Christ) as an Atonement, that we may be reconciled to Him, the ransom paid in full, the just for the unjust, bearing our sins in His own body on the tree, this was his love in action, the ultimate sacifice, no greater love can be found, than the love of one who would lay his life down for a friend, (john c15:v14-v15).
It is not His will, that we should stay at the cross, but it is His disire that we be raised to the level of Holiness and that we be transformed into His image, for such is His love that He cries out, come let us reason together, though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as snow, though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool, (isa c1:v18), the Lord has given His righteousness to us through faith, it is his will that we as His children do not continuosly try to work through Him, but that He may work through us, it is for this reason that the child of God is called to obedience, to resurrender his life to Christ, and that self-will (ego) dies, nailed to the cross, so that your soul may thirst and hunger after His will for your life, (ps 42:v1-v7), this is the will of the Lord for His children, and this is the only way in which we may travel the narrow road, and as we travel along the narrow road our trusted companion the Holy spirit shall comfort, counsel and led us into all truth, ( rom c8:v26-v39), producing within us the nature of Christ through the manifestion of His fruit, (gal c5:v22-v25), it is not a journey where we are taught self-esteem, but Christ-esteem, for it shall be the Christ in us, that the Father shall look upon, and it shall be the christ in us, through which we shall be able to have fellowship and communion with the father, we have become a new creation, born of the spirit of God, possessing within our heart His perfect love, the love that covers a multitude of sin, for as many as receive Him, to them He gave the power (authority) to become the children of God, ever to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God, (john c1:v12-v13), note; this comes only by the will of the Lord God, and it is only possible to reach your full potental for what the Lord has for you in your life, when you are completely within His perfect will, this is the inheritance that the Lord God has for His children, that each be fully within His will, but sadly not everyone who says Lord, shall enter the kingdom of Heaven.
What is the perfect will of the Father, (Elyon, the Most igh God), that we as His children present our bodies a living sacrifice, Holy and acceptable to Him, which is our reasonable service to Him, (rom c12:v1-v2), to be Holy as He is Holy, (1 pet c 1:v16),to glorify His name, (matt c5:v15), to love our enemies, (matt c5:v45), to be perfect in love, (matt c5:v48), not to be a hypocrites, (matt c6:v1-v8), to place the Lord first in our lifes, (matt c6:v9), to have a spirit of forgiveness, (matt c6:v14), to seek first His kingdom, (matt c6:v32),to trust Him, (matt c6:v26), to have an intimate relationship with Him, (matt c7:v11), to surrender your life to Him, (matt c7:v21), to bear witness of Him, (matt c10:v31-v32), to pray to Him, (matt c11:v25), to reveal the truth to the world and the children of God, (matt c11:v26-v27), to seek after His righteousness, (matt c13:43), to have a sincere heart, (matt c15:v11), to renounce self-centreness, (matt c16:v27), for it is His will to guide us, (matt c18:v19), for us to have a forgiving heart, (matt c18:v35), for His children to show humility, (matt c20:v23), to have a Father son relationship, (matt c23:v9), for His chilren to have a good character, (matt c25:v34), to have confidence in him, (matt c26: v53), it is His will that we all come to salvation, (mark c8:v38), that we do not grieve the Holy spirit, (mark v11:v26), that we show mercy, (luke c6:v36), that we worship Him only, (luke c10:v21), that we recognize that all authority is in Him, (luke c10:v22), that He is lord over all our life, not just part, (luke c12:v30), that we know our need for repentance, (luke c15:v18-v21), that we do not divorce, (mal c2:v16), to trust in Him knowing that you shall receive eternal life, (luke c22:v29), to know that the Father loves the Son, (john c3:v35), and that it is His will that we are born-again, (john c1:v13), that we know to worship Him in spirit and truth, (john c4:v23), to honour the Father and the Son, (john c5:v23), that the world knows you are a child of God, (john c5:v36), that you learn from Him, (john c6:v45), that you know He is the living God, (john c6:v57), that you are sanctified through Him, (john c10:v36), and that the Father is glorified through Christ, (john c12:v28), that none shall come unto the Father except through Christ, (john c14:v6), that the Father and the Son are inseparable, (john c14:11), that He up holds you, (isa c41:v10), that He is your friend and brother as well as your Saviour, (mark c3:v35), that we do not go outside of His will, (rom c1:v10), that we intercess for others in prayer, rom c8:v27), that we can enter into His perfect will, (rom c12:v1-v2), that He has filled us with joy, (acts c15:v32), so that we give freely of our wealth, (2cor c8:v5), that He died for our sin, (gal c1:v4), that we should serve Him with all our heart, (eph c6:v6), that we should stand perfect and complete in His will, (col c4:v12), to give thanks for all that He has done for us, (1thess c5:v18), that we endure and hold to our faith and love in Him, (heb c10:v36), that we do good, (1pet2:v15), to live our lifes in accordance to His will, (pet c4:v2), to abstain from sexual immorality, (1thess c4:v3), that we share in Christ’s suffering, (1pet c4:v19), that we test all spirits, (1john c4:v1), that we are not ignorant of satan nor his schemes.(2cor c2:v11), it is the Lord’s will for you to bless those that curse you and pray for those that persecute you, to give to those who you know won’t give you back, (luke c6), it is His will that we love the unloveable, if our enemy takes us a mile we must go two, if we are struck on the cheek we must turn the other cheek, for this is the attitude that christ displayed, (phil c2:v1-v11), and if we are to be His disciple we must display the same attitude as Christ, but the child of God can be sure of one thing as they walk through life, and that is, they shall suffer at the hands of satan and the world, (2thess c1:v5; 1thess c3:v4), we are not to be unwise, but are called to understand how our enemy works, and what the will of the Lord Jesus is in any given situation, (1pet c5:v8, eph c5:v17), and to be filled with the knowledge of His will, Hs wisdom and spiritual understanding, (col c1:v9), we must pray, for only through prayer, do we stand complete in the perfect will of the Lord God, (col c4:v12), for the effective prayer of a righteous man shall accomplish much, (james c5:v16).
Within the perfect will of the Lord God you shall never find, sickness or disease, for such is His grace for His children, (isa c53:v5, 1 pet c2:v24-v25), but you shall find within scripture three area’s where sickness and disease are mentioned, 1.the flesh, 2.the world and 3. the devil, if we have a disease or a sickness, its not because the Lord God has failed you, and I don’t want to sound pompous or come over arrogant and not sensitive to a sister or brother who are suffering an illness at the hands of the enemy, all I can say in this matter, is that your suffering is to the God of glory and for the glory of God, (ps 29:v3; john c11:v4), but our sickness or diseases are more than likely of our own making, due to our failure to study the word of God or pray for understanding of the word, it is we who do not meet the requirments laid down for us, it is because of our lack of knowledge towards the Lord God, that our relationship with Him is one of a distant cousin and not of reverence, we imprison ourselves with ignorance, and defeat ourselves because of our lack of understanding, which results with us always struggling, with issues that have already been put to rest, and that is why we have so many backsliders within the nation and within the church.
If you go back to the book of Genesis, to the fall of man, you cannot but notice that the first utterance from satan was his opposition towards the spoken word of God, (gen c3:v1), and his opposition is carried right throughout the old testament, and when you open the new testament, we find that the first utterance of satan was in like manner, (matt c4:v3; luke c4:v3), satan knows that ignorance of God’s word shall cause confusion and divison, and left to your own devices, you shall struggle and even doubt the validity of the Lord in your life, and the more you struggle the more you shall become deluded and walk out of the Lord God’s hand, (john c10:v28-v29), and when this occurs you will have walked away from your only protection, satan knows he cannot pluck you out of the Lord’s hand, but he also know that you have a “free will”, so through persecution, tribulation and affliction he will try to get you to walk out of the hand of the Lord, remember the Lord cannot force you to stay in His will and protection, He may put many obstacles before you to try and prevent you from going out of his will and protection, but such is His love that He shall never force you to stay.
Within the new testament there is much said about suffering, but if you read from acts to revelation, you shall see that the suffering of the child of God is not to do with sickness or disease, but to do with persecution, tribulation and self-affliction, self-affliction is clearly revealed within the church at corinth, the sickness and death that is recorded within the church of corinth was to do with immorality, which is the only sin, that you sin against your own flesh, to commit sin is to place yourself outside of the will of God where he cannot protect you, for when you sin you are in a state of rebellion, (disobedience) and in direct opposition to the word of God.
There are some other instances which are recorded, that of the disciple Doras, (act c9:v37), who is recorded as becoming sick and died, but she was raised from the dead by the apostle Peter, as to the reason why she became sick and died is recorded in verse 42 of chapter 9, it was for the glory of God, and her sickness was due to her work for Christ, then there was Epaphroditus who became sick and close to death, (phil c2:v27), why did the disciple Epaphroditus become sick, verse30, it was because of his work for Christ, then came the disciple Trophimus, who became sick (2tim c4:v20), why did he become sick, verse 17 because satan had attack him, Trophimus had been with the apostle Paul for many years, (act c20:v4; c21:v29), he did not just pack up and leave Paul, according to Paul this was a full frontal satanic attack, in the same manner which happened to Peter, (luke c22:v31), Trophimus was not suffering from any disease or affliction because of sin, nor was the disciples Doras or Epaphroditus, they were suffering because of a satanic attack upon the servants of the word.
The church would seem to be a sleep concerning the difference between disease and sickness and satanic attacks, such as, afflictions, anguish, pressures, and burdens, the promises of the Lord God was to give His children divine healing, (isa c53:v5; 1pet c2:v24), the healing of all sickness and disease, to make you whole! if we receive no divine healing the problem does not lie within the Lord God the problem lies within ourselves, we must ask ourselves are we within the perfect will of God, am I dead to self and if not, you have found your answer, no one can answer this question only the person who is suffering.
If you are within His perfect will, you can expect to receive afflictions, pressures, persecution, trouble, anguish and tribulations, from the world and the enemy, the Lord God did not say within Holy-Writ that He would keep us from tribulation and persecution, He forewarned us that because we belong to Him we shall suffer tribulation and persecution, (john c16:v33, acts c14:v22, rom c5:v3, c8:35, c12:12, 2cor c1:v4, c7:v4, 1thess c3:v4, 2thess c1:v4, rev c2:v9, c7:v14), when you turn to the book of James, it becomes clear that he is addressing individuals who profess Christ as their Saviour but are not walking according to His word, showing that they have not fully surrendered their wills to Him, thus putting themselves outside of His will, so in chapter 5, the apostle James addresses two things, “suffering and sickness”, on the subject of suffering he simply says, let him pray and count it all joy when you fall into various trails, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, (bearing pain calmly), for blessed is the one who perseveres under trail (testation), for when they have been approved they shall receive the crown of life.
This reveals a very deep relationship with Christ Jesus, it is the bringing of our human will into subjection to His divine will, and it is only at this point in our relation with Christ that the Holy spirit, (the power of the Lord God) shall flow through us without obstruction or hindrance bringing forth the joy of our salvation and the peace that surpasses all understanding (phil c4:v7).
And on the subject of sickness, note; that prayer, onointing with oil, faith and confession of sin, (repentance) are all needed (james c5:v14-v16), but more important is the need for prayer, especially the prayer of a righteous man, (a santificied man, one who is walking in the way of Holiness), one who has died to self and alive to Christ, he is within the perfect will of God, for when you are in the perfect will of God anything you ask for, you shall receive, for you shall never ask for anything outside of His will for your life,(selfish reasons) such shall be the closeness of your fellowship with Him.
Timothy we are told had a stomach disorder, but it was not unto death, and the apostle Paul used common sense when he told Timothy to use a little wine for thy stomach sake, and as for Pauls infirmity, it is clear from scripture that it was for Pauls humility, (1 cor c12:v7), it was not given to Paul by the Lord God, it was given to Paul by satan, but like Job of old, it was not given unto death, but for suffering, and that fits into the pattern for the child of God as they journey on lifes way, we must renew our minds daily to Christ by the power of the Holy spirit, no longer should we as the children of God struggle, for our freedom and our liberity are found within the word of God, as children of God we become partakers of His suffering, for we suffer according to the will of God, (1pet c4:v19), and if the world and the devil makes us suffer through their unrighteousness, then how much more shall the God of righteousness pour out his indignation upon an iniquiteous and Godiless world.
Suffering comes for two reasons, for temptation, and for testation, temptation is from satan, (jam c1:v3), the Lord God does not tempt anyone, for there is no temptation, that is trail, that shall overcome a child of God, that they shall not be able to endure their suffering, (1 cor c10:v13), for greater is the power in you than the power that is in the world, temptation comes from the enemy, the evil one, it has to sides, negative and positive, the negative side is to entice you into sin, its positive side is when you fall into sin, for sin brings great suffering long before its wages are due, so many are like Job’s wife when suffering comes through satan or their own sin, they curse the Lord God for something that He has not done, and satan knows that this is blasphemous and takes great delight in peoples ignorance and their lack of knowledge towards the Lord God and His word, (2cor c2:v11; c4:v4).
The Lord God does not tempt anyone, but He can use the temptation from satan, as a positive for righteousness sake and the building up of our faith, thus turning temptation into testation, that through our sufferings we may bring glory to His name, (1 pet c2:v18-v21, rom c8:v18, 2cor c1:v5-v7, heb c2:v10, 1pet c4:v13), it can be very hard for a child of God to come to any understanding as to why they are suffering, yet it is true to say that when we are suffering it is to the Lord God that we turn for help, we know that the Lord God does not send suffering, and we are aware that He can deliver us from our suffering, so why do we suffer? it is easy to say that its for the building up of your christian faith, but the truth is you are at war with the world, the devil and the flesh, so suffering for Christ’s name sake is part and parcel of the conflict and your salvation.
Yet the Lord God looks upon our suffering as unrighteous judgment, for you are not being judged for truth’s sake, but for hate’s sake, for the world and the god of this world(satan) hates the Lord God and Christ Jesus, (john c15:v18), and so it is for this reason that the Lord God said that judgment beginnings with the house of God first, (1pet c4:v17), also that through suffering we are more incline to purges ourselves from sin and to seek the will of God for our life, (heb c2:v10), Christ also forewarned us that they hated him first and made Him suffer, (john c15:v18, matt c10:v22, c24:v9, mark c13:v13, luke c21:v17, john c15:v24-v25, c17:v14), we also suffer for righteousness sake, thus becoming partakers of His suffering, (1pet c4:v12-v19), there is so much said about the baptism of the Holy spirit, but little or nothing about the baptism of suffering, “the baptism of suffering” is referring to the suffering that Christ Jesus would have to accomplish before He gave up the spirit, (luke c12:v50), this baptism is the fulfillment of Isaiah chapter 53 verse 5, and 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 24, hence suffering begins when you pick up your cross and follow the teachings of Christ Jesus, (matt 10:v38, c16:v24, mark c8:v34, c10:v21, luke c9:v23, c14:v27).
The child of God may live in the world, but they are not to be of the world, they should be aware that the world has eroded the Holiness of the Lord God,Hhis laws and commandments, but sadly the world has come into the church for the church speaks no more on Holiness, sin, repentance, or Godliness, they have their own god, not the God of the Bible, but a god of their own imagination, (jude c1: v4) whom they call the god of love, a god who will love you no matter how you live your life, you don’t need repentance with this god, just come as you are, without change in your life, you don’t have to deny self, just mix everything together, and you have a modern day church, filled with homosexuality, divorce and adultery, but the true child of God, they that have been born-again, know that you must put to death the deeds of the flesh, (col c3:v9, rom c8:v13), and all worldly habits, dying to self, and presenting your life which has been sanctified by Christ, laying it upon God’s altar for Godly worship and Holy service, knowing that without repentance their shall be no forgiveness of sin, nor Holiness within the life of the carnal minded, (rom c8:v8, 1cor c3:v1-v3), for it is only through Holiness, that the fulness of God is released, (acts c26:v20, luke c17:v3, rom c8:v29, c12:v1-v2, c14:v8, 1 cor c5:v9, 2cor c7:10, eph c2:v19), it is only through sanctification that we can ever hope of entering into the perfect will of God, but sanctification can only occur when one has laid their life upon the altar of God, then moral excelence, knowledge, preseverance, Godliness, self-control, brotherly kindness, love, shall flow (2pet c1:v2-v8), the manifestation of the fruit of the Holy spirit within the life of the child of God as “he”, (the Holy spirit) begins His work of transforming them into the image of Christ Jesus,(rom c8:v29; gal c5:v22-v23), for we as the children of God have been appointed, (chosen) to know His will, to see His righteousness, and to hear His voice, (acts c22:v4, eph c1:v5-v9, col c1:v9-v14, heb c13:v20-v21, 1john c5:v14, mark c3:v35, john c4:v34, c6:v39-v40, rom c1:v10, c12:v2, c15:v32, 1cor c1:v1, 2cor c8:v5, gal c4:v4, eph c6:v6, col c4:v12, 1thess c4:v3, c5-v18, heb c10:v36, 1pet c2:v15, c3:v17, c4:v2-v19, 1john c2:v15-v17, eph c5:v1-v17, if you truly seek the will of God for your life you shall find it, (1chron c28:v9, c29:v5, exod c35:v5-v35, it is His will that all should know the truth, (john c3:v16), and that we all receive the revelation of His Son, (matt c11:v25-v27, c16:v17, luke c10:v21-v22, rom c16:v25, gal c1:v12, eph c1:v17, c3:v3, 1pet c1:v13, rev c1:v1, for His name is the only name that is given for salvation, acts c4:v12), it is through our faith in Christ Jesus that justifies and makes us righteous before a Holy God, a covenant between a mercyiful God and a surrendered soul, a soul that is filled with humility, that was losted but now plucked from the gates of hell, once dead in sin, but now dead to sin, sanctified by Christ Jesus Himself, and now being transformed into the image of the saviour by the fruit of the Holy spirit, from a corrupt and sinful nature, to one of purity and Holiness, (rom c6:v2).
The work of the sanctifer begins within the soul, (ps 51:v10), conforming the soul into the glory of Christ, (2cor c4:v4, col c1:v15, rom c8:v29), set apart from the world and the life in the flesh, conscrated as a precious possession for the Lord’s own purpose, a royal priesthood, (1pet c2:v9), servants of righteousness unto Holiness, (sanctification), (rom c6:v19), without which no one shall see the Lord God, (eph c4:v24, matt c5:v8, 1tim c6:v16, heb c3:v18-v19, c12:v12-v17), sanctification is one of the Great truth’s that the Lord God has revealed to His children, we know that without sanctification (Holiness) no one shall see the Lord, and without Holiness,(sanctification) no one shall be able to walk on the road which is called the Highway of Holiness, it shall be only for the redeemed, (isa c35:v8-v9) for it is their obligation to walk in the way of Holiness, (living and walking in the Holy spirit), (gal c5:v25) for it is the only way of salvation and reconciliation with the Father through Christ, and as we journey along the way of Holiness we shall be taught by the Holy spirit how to worship the Lord God in spirit and truth, and no one shall be able to journey on the way of Holiness unless you first fulfill the teaching of the first commandment, (matt c22:v37), for to love Him is to worship Him, and to wait on Him. (ps 27:v14), we are obligated to worship the Lord in spirit and truth, (john c4:v23-v24), why must we worship the Lord God in spirit, because nothing of the flesh is pleasing to the Lord, (rom c8:v8), for man’s nature is considered as totally corupt, unregenerate and unsanctified, (rom c7:v5), and “in truth”, the truth being “the word of God”; and Christ Jesus is “the word” that became flesh,(john c1:v17; c14:v6), so the truth is, that we as the children of God are to be transformed into the image of Christ,and have His attitude in all areas of our life, we are to die to self, hence we have been given a helper and counselor,(john c14:v26), the Holy spirit who indwells within us, (john c14:v17, c16:v13), leading us into all truth, from babes (being sanctified) to maturity and (living and walking in the spirit) Holiness (sanctification), remember the Holy spirit shall never force anyone into submission of will, it must be done of your own “free will”, this shall mean the differents between working through Christ Jesus in your own strenght or allowing Christ Jesus to work through you in His strenght,(john c14:v17, c15:v26, c16:v13).
When the Lord Jesus Breathed upon the disciples, he said “receive” the Holy spirit, (john c20:v22), the word “receive” means, “to get hold of”, so what Jesus was saying to the disciples, was to get hold of the truth, and the word “breathed” means, “to quicken, spring up, to germinate, to make alive”, the Lord Jesus was not giving them the Holy spirit, for the Holy spirit was already within them, (gen c2:v7) for it was the Holy spirit that “Elohim” God the Creator! Breathed into man and made him a living soul, and our creator was, the Lord Jesus Christ, for althings were created by Him, for Him and through Him, (col c1:v16; rom c13:v26, 1cor c8:v6).
The breath that Christ gave to make man a living soul, was “Eloah the living god”, (the Holy spirit, the third person of the Holy trinity), for the Holy spirit is called the spirit of truth, who shall lead you into all truth, and “Eloah” is always within scripture connected with true worship, (duet c32:v15-v17, 2chron c32:v15, eza c4:v24, job c9:v13, ps 18:v31, the spirit of truth, and the spirit of life, ( rom c8:v11, 2cor c3:v6, gal c6:v8), it was the indwelling of the Holy spirit at creation which gave man life and made him a living soul.
After the fall of man and his lost of fellowship with the Lord God, the Holy spirit remained within man (the subconscious) becoming the light to his “conscience” that small inner voice that convicts us when we are about to do something wrong.
So when the Lord Jesus Breathed upon the disciples He rekindled the Holy spirit within, (2cor c4:v2, john c8:v9), of all the miracles that Jesus performed, the very first, was the turning of water into wine, (john c 2), note there were six water jars, six is the number of man, they filled the jars to the brim with water, and Christ turned it into wine, the picture here is of mans spiritual hopelessness, he was spiritually dead before the Lord God, Christ showned here two ways that are open to man, 1. He could heal man’s spiritual blindness and reconcile him to His creator, 2. or man could reject their creator and remain under judgment, (ps c60:v3, jer c25:v15, num c28:v7, gen c 27:v28-v37), Christ indeed was showing His Glory here, for it was the first miracle to occur in Israel for four-hundred and fifty years.
Christ Jesus wanted them to recognize Him as their Messiah, but the darkness that surrounded their soul blinded their eyes to the truth, it was as if their conscience were seared and the light of the Holy spirit could not shine through, (1 tim c4:v2), it is the Holy spirit who is that little voice you hear telling you when you are about to do something wrong, and it is this spirit of the living God that returns back to the Lord God, when you have breathed your last, (eccl c12:v7), and it is the spirit of God that reveals the life of a person, that is why the righteous shine like the stars of the expanse, (dan c12:v3), the light of God cannot be engulfed by darkness, but where there is no light darkness reigns, the human soul (self) consists of man’s! will, mind and emotions, this is the heart of man, while his flesh consist of the five senses, sight, hearing, smell, taste and fellings, mans conscience (the conscious knowledge of good and evil) occurred in man after his fall from grace, for he could not have had any knowledge of Evil before the fall, since all was good in creation, (gen c1:v31), it is the work of the Holy spirit upon the conscience mind that brings about a change of heart, for it is from the heart (soul) of man that all unrighteousness originates, (matt c15:v19, luke c6:v45, gen c6:v5, ps 14:v1-v3, rom c1:v28-v32), and it was at the fall of man, that satan instilled into mans heart, selfwill, (ego), and ego is feed by the mind, (intellect) and influenced by emotions, (our fellings) thus we have a war between the Holy spirit and the flesh raging within our soul for control, (gal c5:v17, 1 pet c2:v11).
The five senses is the outer man, the flesh which shall perish, (die and return to dust), and the soul, (will, mind and emotions) are the inner man, which shall live forever, as to where it dwells is up to the individual, there are only two places in which the soul of man can go, heaven or the lake of fire, that is why it is very important to let the Holy spirit have dominion over your life, for to let self-will (ego) rule, places you within the will of the devil (2tim c2:v26) and within his dominion, (kingdom), it is from satan that egoism first originated, (isa c 14:v13-v14, ezek c 28:v1-v17), you don’t have to be possessed by the devil in order to be like him, (john c8:v44), just be a liar that shall be suffice, they say talks cheap, it cost you nothing to speak, or is that the truth, (matt c12:v36-v37), it is for this reason that one must die to self, and be led by the Holy spirit, it is the only way in which the child of God can be sure that they have (sanctification),walking in the spirit, and traveling on the Highway of Holiness, immersed in the perfect will of the Lord God, when man was created, he was in the prefect will of God, but when he disobeyed the will of God by eating of the tree of knowledge, he became subjected to the will of satan, (2 tim c2:v26),if one reads the parable of the sower, it shall become clear that as soon as one recieves the word of God, satan is the first to attack the recipient of God Grace in his bid to take away the word of God sown within their heart, (mark c4:v15, luke c8:v12), satan will always use our weakness against us when we try to follow Christ Jesus and His teachings, after all it was satan who instilled within our hearts ego, through our first parents, (gen c3:v6), for when the woman (Eve) saw that the tree was good for food, (lust of the flesh,) and pleasant to the eyes, (lust of the eyes), and would make one wise, (boastiful, egoism), she placed her will above the will of the Lord God.( 1 john c2:v16).
It was egoism that gave birth to pride and all the depavity that corrupts the soul, (2 pet c2; rom c1:v18-v32), and if you are outside of the Lord God’s will it is not hard for satan to make you feel worthless, after all he is called the god of this world, (2cor c4:v4), and is able to blind the minds of those who do not believe that Christ Jesus is the Messiah, he has the ablity to influence human thought, (matt c26:v35, luke c22:v31), he can cause pain and suffering, ( see job, and the epistles), he seduces by the power of suggestion, (matt c4:v3, luke c4:v5-v6), he can murder, (john c8:v44), he has the advantage over unbelievers, for he is supernatural they are not, he uses enticement to get into the human mind, bringing out the worst from the human heart, he uses our own corrupt nature against us, look at Job, who was righteous, his only protection was his faith in the Lord God.
Outside of the Lord’s will you do not stand a change against satan, but for the grace of God go I, this is why it is very important to be in the perfect will of God, and why we must have a close relationship with Him and come under His protection, and to know what His will for our life is, to come to an understanding of His worth, and in homage to His love (grace) we learn to worship Him, not just ascripting praise and thanksgiving to Him with our mouths, but with ours hearts filled with love, for true worship can only come from a heart that is in love with Him, and desiring to be transformed into the likeness of Him, Holy! because He is Holy, and because He commands it.
We may be born in sin, but we do not have to live in sin, for by the power of the Holy spirit which dwells within the very heart of the child of God, is Liberity, the power over sin within your life, such is His grace towards us, that he opened away through Christ Jesus for which we can cry Abba Father! for it is through the Blood of Christ Jesus that we are cleansed from all sin, (john c1:v7, acts c20:v28), purchased, (rom c5:v9), justified, (eph c1:v7), redeemed, (13:v12), sanctified, (1 cor c1:v2), he is our righteousness, (1 cor c 1:v30), and as His children we are obligated to live Holy lives, for to do other wise, shall result in the quenching of the Holy spirit (1 thess c5:v19), and to have the living spirit of God no longer striving with us in our struggle to be come overcomers, (gen c6:v3, rev c2;c3).
It is not enough to talk the talk, we as children of the Most High must also walk the walk, if we are to journey along the narrow way, the way of Holiness, (matt c7:v14), that leads to life, but understand the call to Holiness does not exempt you from suffering presecution or tribulation, from the moment you surrender your life to Christ Jesus, the attacks from the flesh, the world and the devil shall begin, (2 tim c3:v12), but thanks be to the Lord God that Christ has equiped us in every good thing to do His will, (heb c13:v21), and that righteousness produces perfect love, and perfect love , produces Holiness, (1 john c4:v18, 2 cor c7:v1), and that Holiness places you within the will of the Lord God (eph c4:v24).
Be Holy, as I am Holy, (lev c20:v7, eph c1:v4; 1pet c1:v16), for Holiness releases the fulness of the Lord God, (eph c2:v19), the greatest miracle that the Holy spirit shall ever perform within your life, is the miracle of transforming your into the image of Christ Jesus who is the brightness of the Fathers glory, (heb c1:v3, rom c 8:v29).
The Holy spirit the third person of the “Holy Trinity”, (matt c28:v19), He is the invisible origin of life from the Lord God, He came from the Lord God and He shall return to the Lord God, (gen c2:v7, eccl c3:v19-v20.
It is the Holy spirit that bestows spiritual gifts upon the children of God, (i cor c12:v11, heb c2:v4), He is their comforter, counselor and the spirit of truth, the Holy spirit speaks, (acts c13:v2), guilds, (john c16:v13), leads, (rom c8:v14), seals, (eph c1:v13-v14), commands, ( acts c16:v6-v7), intercedes, (rom c8:v26), convicts, (john c16:v8), testifies, (john c15:v26), appoints, ( acts c20:v28), He is intellectual, (1john c2:v1), He has emotions, (eph c4:v30), and a will, ( 1 cor c2:v11), and He judges, (john c8:v50), He is the power of life, the spirit of Jehovah, (Christ Jesus), who awakens the soul of man, regenerating it Godwards, and rebirthing man from the temporal to the spiritual, for on two occasions the Lord Jesus Breathed upon man, one was at creation in which man became a living “Soul”, with a physical (characteristics) and moral likeness to the Lord God, but when man sinned, he lost his moral likeness (purity), which was his sinlessness, but kept some physical likeness, such as intellect, emotions and his will, (gen c9:v6, james c3:v9), the first Adam (man) was created from the dust of the ground, thus making him earth-bound, but the second Adam (Christ Jesus), was not created from the dust of the ground, but conceived by the Holy spirit, making him God-bound, so when Christ Jesus Breathed upon the disciples and said receive the Holy spirit, He was demonstrating His divine power over flesh, world and the devil, for through the power of His resurrection He dealt a death blow to satan,(gen c3:v15), for Christ now holds dominion over death and hell and possesses their keys, and the key of David, denotes His Authority over the realms of life and death and all dominions, (rev c1:v18, c3:v7, eph c1:v20-v23), and when Christ breathed upon the disciples it was the revealing of a “Great Revelation”, that through His Sacrifice as the “Lamb of God,” (the Shedding of His Blood) and by the power of the resurrection, the way was now opened for reconciliation with the Lord God, and to worship Him in spirit and in Truth offering up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ, (1pet c2).
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The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Much confusion has arisen within the church today, concerning the baptism of the Holy-spirit and to its Gifts, but lets remind the reader, that the Lord Jesus plainly taugh that we would know His disciples by their fruits, and not by their gifts, (matt c7:v16-v20), I personly believe that all the gifts of the Holy spirit are for today, as revealed within holy-writ, but great emphasis is placed upon the speaking in tongues as a sign of being baptised in the Holy spirit, yet if there is to be a sign that is given, and I do not belive that any one practical gift of the Holy spirit is given as a sign, but I do believe that the sign for one baptised in the Holy spirit is one who displays the fruit of the Holy spirit within their christian life (walk), and not one who is exercising any one of its gifts, but even if Holy-Writ cannot persuade your thinking concerning the speaking in tongues and the baptism of the spirit, it would seem that prophecy rather than the speaking in tongues is the seal for the baptism of the Holy spirit.
Corinthians chapter 12 verses 8 to 10, to one is given the word of wisdom, through the spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same spirit; to another faith by the same spirit, and another gifts of healing by the one spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues, the gifts of the Holy spirit are given for unity not diversity, and in chapter 12 verses 29-30 the question is posed are all Apostles, no! prophets, no! teachers, no! workers of miracles, no! gifts of healings, no! do all speak in tongues, no! do all interpret, no! of corse the answer is “no” for the Holy spirit gives the gifts at his disception, (1 cor c12:v11).
We are to earnestly desire the greater gifts, not the least of the gifts, the least being tongues and their interpretation, and the greater gifts being Apostles, prophets, teachers, etc, notice also that between chapters12 and 14 of first Corinthians where the Apostle Paul is relating to the gifts of the spirit, he inserts the supremacy of love over all the gifts of the spirit, (chapter 13), note also that Christ said that you shall know His disciples by their fruit, and the very first fruit that the Holy spirit reveals is “Love”, (gal c5:v22), the gifts of the spirit are external where the fruit of the spirit is internal, and in chapter 13 we are told to abide in three virtues, Faith, Hope and Love, and the greatest of these is Love, for “God is Love”, and in chapter 14 Paul says pursue love, for love is the key to your salvation, yet he says desire earnestly spiritual gifts especially that of “prophecy”, ( 1 cor c14:v1), for tongues only edifies “self”, but prophecy edifies the church (body of believers), (1 cor c14:v4), and when tongues are used within the church, they must relate to , a revelation, (revealing of a truth), knowledge (the beginning of wisdom), prophecy (one who speaks forth from God), and teaching (the bring forth of the truth by the Holy spirit).
Note also that tongues according to the apostle Paul are languages, all of which have a meaning, (1 cor c14:v10), if one speaks in a tongue, there must be an interpretation, (verse 13), and if there is no interpretation, then the one speaking in tongues must be silent, (verse 28), note also that within the church (assembly) only three may speak in tongues at any given time, (verse 27), note also that tongues are for a sign, not for the belivers, but for the unbelievers, note also that if an ungifted man (christian brother) who has not been blessed with any gift of the Holy spirit he shall not receive any edification but shall be in confusion, (verses 15 and 23), thus to him the Lord God shall have become a God of confusion, (verse 33), note also that Paul the apostle said that he speaks in tongues more that any other within the assembly, however he says that in the assembly (church), he would desire to speak five words with the mind, (intellect) for instruction rather than speak ten-thousand words in a tongue, (verses 18 and 19), and the five words he would speak are, “Christ died for our sins”, (1 cor c15:v3), note also that in verses 39 and 40, Paul does not forbid the speaking in tongues but clearly states that they must be done in a orderly manner as directed by Holy-writ, in 1corinthians chapters 12 to 14, paul the apostle also makes it clear that we are to desire earnestly the “gift of prophecy”, (verse 39).
So speaking in a tongue is for self edification and not for the edification of the whole assembly (church), and they are not permitted by the Lord God to speak in tongues all at the same time, lest they become a Holy huddle of confusion, but only two or three are permitted to speak in a tongue when the church gathers for worship at any given time, and that there must be an interpretation, and the interpretation must be one of the following, 1 a revelation, 2 a word of knowledge, 3 a word of prophecy, 4 teaching, without one of these interpretation, the one speaking in a tongue must sit down and be silent within the assembly, (church) (1cor c14:v6).
It would seem that the gift of prophecy is to be the forerunner within the church, since prophecy is the only gift that edifies the whole body of believers, (the church) (1 cor c14: v3), the baptism of the Holy spirit which is in fact the filling of the Holy spirit would seem to have prophecy at its centre, Acts chapter 2 the day of pentecost, it is revealed that they were speaking in tongues, (acts c2:v1-v4), and what where those who were speaking in tongues speaking about, “The Mighty Deeds of the Lord God”, verse 11, it was a word of teaching, in verse 6 it was a word of revelation, verse 7 was a word of knowledge, and in verse16 it was a word of prophecy, and when three thousand was added to the chuch it was through the teaching of prophecy by Peter the Apostle that this occurred, (acts c2:v42), and when the five tousand were add to the church again it was the teachings of the prophets by Peter that this occurred, (acts c 4:v5), but there is no mention of these eight thousand converts (Disciples) speaking in tongues, and in chapter 4 verse 31, note that the believers after praying where all filled with the Holy spirit, and began to speak the word of God with boldness, and this is linked with prophecy, for the testimony of Jesus, is the spirit of prophecy, (rev c19:v10).
Note also that it was not the disciples who were doing the wonders and signs, but the Apostles (acts c2:v43; c3:v6; c4:v8; 5:v12, Ananias at the conversion of Paul (Saul), prophecied, (acts c9:v17-v19), and Peter at Cornelius house prophecy by bearing witness to the testimony of Christ Jesus, and Cornelius house hold begin to speak in tongues, exalting God, (a word of revelation), ( acts c10:v46, c11:v15), and Paul when he baptised John’s disciples they spoke in tongues and prophecied, (acts c19:v6).
Within the book of the Acts of the Apostles, the word tongues is mentioned three times, acts chapter 2 verses 4 to 16, (a word of prophecy), acts chapter 10 verses 38 to 43, (a word of prophecy), and acts chapter 19 verse 6 (a word of prophecy), and the word prophet and prophecy are mentioned over thirty times (acts c2:v16;v17;v 18; v30; c3:v18; v21; v22; v23; v24; v25; c7:v37; v42; v48; v52; c 8:v28; v30; v34; c10:v43; c11:v27; c 13:v1; v15; v20; v27; v40; c15:v15; v32; c19:v6; c21:v9; v10; c24: v14; c26:v22;v27; c28:v23; v25).
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The purpose of the fruit of the Holy spirit, is to conform us into the likeness of the Lord Jesus, to produce within us a Christ like character, that is to grow from babes to full maturity, having instilled within us the Holiness of God,(eph c4:v13), and this can only come about through a close and intimate relationship with Christ, for the fruit of the Holy spirit is the seal of the Lord God, and it is only through the displaying of the fruit of the spirit within our lifes, that those in the world may know that we are born-again, the children of the Most High God, (“Elyon”), unlike the gifts of the Holy spirit, which are given by the Holy spirit at His discretion, they do not reflect nor can they be held as evidences that one is walking in the Holy spirit, (walking in the way of Holiness), but the fruit of the spirit can be used as evidence that one is indeed reflecting the nature of Christ Jesus, (phil c2:v1-v11), it is this that the Lord God desires for His children, the bringing forth of the fruit of Righteousness, (phil c1:v11), for it is only through the Holy spirit that these graces are produced, they cannot be counterfeit, for these virtures can only be produced when the child of God is within His will and the Holy spirit operating without hinderance, (gal c5:v22-v23), the virtures of the Holy spirit are, Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Meekness and Temperance.
Love is the fulfilling of the law, that is “agape love”, God’s love, a giving love, to lack this love within your christian walk is to lack Christ Jesus in your life, it is only when the love of God abides within us, that we have strength, for it is the spirit of love that deliverers us from “self”, (self is the most destructive element of the soul), love places us within the body, the bride of Christ, (eph c1:v22-v23), being baptised (sealed), by the Holy spirit as part of the one body, having one heart and being of one mind, (acts c1:v14; c2:v1), giving up “self” to love in the service of others, for this is to have the same attitude as Christ Jesus, ( phil c2:v5), it is divine love working through us, for the Lord God is “love,” and His nature is always in giving, He is the loving one, the beloved one and the spirit of the loved one, hence we walk in love together, for where there is no love there is ego, (self), but where there is love there is liberity, (john c13:v1-v35; 1cor c13).
If you have not died to self, you shall never be alive in Christ, pure love can only come from the spirit of the loved one by grace, (divine favour), and that is why we are requested to ask for the filling of the Holy spirit, all may be sealed with the Holy spirit at conversion, yet not all are filled with the Holy spirit at conversion, for this depends on yieldedness to God’s will, (eph c5:v17-v18; acts c2:v4; c4:v31), for it is only through surrender of self that the Holy spirit may lead us into the fruit of righteousness and Holiness, (gal c5:v22, rom c6:v22; eph c5:v9; phil c1:v11-v22; c4:v17; heb c12:v11), and without the fruit of the Holy spirit you shall lack power, for the baptism of the Holy spirit is none other than the “baptism of love”, (jude 21).
The opposite to the fruit of the Holy spirit is the fruit of the spirit of Iniquity which consist of adultery, fornication, impurity, lascivious, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealously, outbursts of anger, dissensions, heresies, envy, murder, drunkenness, revelries, the grumblers, the arrogant, the mockers, the worldly minded who cause division, the flatter, the egoist, the deceiver, the lovers of money, the boastful, the disobedient, the ungrateful, the unholy, the unloving, those who are irreconcilable, the slander, the malicious gossips, the uncontrolable, those who are brutal, the haters of good, the treacherous, the reckless, the conceited, the lovers of pleasure, the ungolly who hold to a form of godliness, the depraved mind and the wicked in heart, (gal c5:v19-v20; 2tim c3:v1-v7; james c3:v15-v16, jude16).
The fruit of the spirit of iniquity was first revealed by satan in the garden of Eden, and then by Eve before she had taken from the tree of knowledge, and then by Adam because of his silences, (gen c3:v1-v6), the result was death through sin, (rom c5:v12), the disobeying of the revealed word of God, (gen c2:v17), they put self-will above the will of the Lord God, they believed satans lie! and as a result sin with all its consequences entered the human race, and their fellowship with the Lord God was broken, and their fellowship with iniquity was born, passing down through mankind, ego was realized, and pride was given birth to, Cain killed his brother (Abel), why because his ego was bruised, which resulted in him becoming angry, his anger was shown upon his face, and the out come of his anger was murder, why, because he did not master sin, (gen c4:v5-v8), but cultivated his iniquity by lying to the Lord God about the murder of his brother, (verse 9), a blow here for those who say you cannot master sin, when the Lord God says you “CAN”,(verse 7), you shall be Holy for I am Holy, (lev c20:v7;1pet c1:v16).
Note; The first utterance of satan recorded within Holy-Writ, Genesis chapter 3, “has God said , you shall not eat from any tree of the garden?” verse 1, you surely shall not die, verse 4, it was to contradict the spoken word of the Lord God, the mistake that Eve made was to converse with satan, for it shall always result in the birth of vanity, (ego), many believe that satan has no authority over the child of God, this is true, but it is only true when the child of God remains within the will of God, outside of God’s will there is no protection, (james c4:v7; 1pet c5:v8; eph c6:v11), note, the Lord GJd did not converse with the serpent (satan) but prounced judgment upon him, (gen c3:v14), and the Lord Jesus when being tempted in the wilderness, did not get into a debate with satan, but only answered him by quoting the scriptures, “It is writen”, an example by which we would do well to learn from, (luke c4:v4).
How did satan deceive Eve, through his spirit, that is the spirit of iniquity, he blinded her through vanity, (ego), for she never knew anything but goodness, (gen c1:v31), she never encounted evil until the day that satan appeared in the garden, he blinded her mind to the truth, a sin that is very relevant today, to do what is right in your own eyes, and to believe that good intentions are right, but sadly only to find that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, salvation stands or falls upon the “word of God”, this attack of satan on Adam and Eve, was an attack upon the very “word of god,” an attack upon the very integrity and nature of the Lord God, the first lie of satan to Eve was to bring into question the spoken word of God, and it resulted with Eve placing herself outside of God’s will, for her reply back to satan was to utter two untruths, first she said, that the Lord God had told Adam they may not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil “nor touch it”, but the Lord God did not say they could 'not touch it', only that they could not eat from it, and the second untruth was, that if they eat from it or touch it they 'might die', but the Lord God said you shall “surely die”, Eve also omitted the word “freely”, which emphasis his love towards mankind,(gen c2:v16-v17),so even before Eve had eaten from the tree of knowledge satan had seduce her to stand outside of the will of God, thus leaving herself with no protection against satan’s deluding influence, thus it is revealed that he feed Eve two more lies, by telling her that if she eat from the tree of knowledge she surely would not die, and when she eats from it, she shall be like God, and these lies told by satan, resulted in three self deceptions by Eve and Adam, (gen c3:v6), lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life, (ego), (1 john c2:v16), the placing of self-will above the will of the Lord God for your life.
Note also, that during this attack of satan upon the Lord God’s word and His handiwork (man), that Adam was with Eve, (gen c3:v6), that is why it is recorded within the scriptures that Eve was deceived but Adam eat knowingly, (1 tim c2:v14), the result of disobeying the Lord God and not trusting Him shall always open the way for sin, thus sin through the disobedience of Adam and Eve exploded unto creation with all its dreadful conseqences, and our fellowship with the Lord came to an end, and mans soul became poluted and corrupt, and the blame game started, Adam blamed the Lord God, and Eve blamed satan, and depravity was born and mans soul was polluted and remains in that state to this day hence mans need for a saviour.
Depravity always spirals downwards, (hell bound), man is always struggling but never dying to self, always allowing satan to ensnare and trap him, never being able to break away from his temptations,of bongage, afflictions, wealth, possessions, greed, jealously, vanity and ego, always asking the question what is sin?, never coming to understand that sin is any thought or word or deed not in comfromity with the will of the Lord God, is lawlessness, (1 john c3:v4), the law of God is intented to reveal sin in its true character, for through the law comes knowledge of sin, (rom c3:v20), and disobedience to the expressed will of God, (the word of God), and shall put you in a state of rebellion against the very heart of the Lord God, (gen c6:v6), for the origins of sin comes from the heart, for the heart is deceitful above althings and corrupt, (jer c17:v9), and from the heart all evil arises, (mark c7:v20-v23; luke c6:v45), and as long as mans heart is comtaminated by sin, he shall always have the tendency to do evil, (ps 58:v3; isa c48:v8), sin if allowed shall rule within the heart of man, even those who profess to be regenerated, (born-again), for as we think at any given time, shall determine our character, (prov 23:v7), it is only through the work of the Holy spirit that we can put to death our sinful nature, and have the victory over sin, for the Holy spirit is the spirit of truth, that leads us into all truth, setting us free from the law of sin and death, (rom c8:v2), we may be justified through faith and sanctified through Christ Jesus, but the child of God has an obligation towards the Lord God, and that is to yeild ourselves as servants of righteousness unto Holiness, (rom c6:v19; c12:v1-v2), and to present our bodies a living and Holy sacrifice, acceptable to the Lord God, which is our spiritual service of worship, and not to be comformed to this world, but are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, that we may prove what the will of God is for our life, for the perfect will of the Lord God, is to comform us into the image of His Son, (Christ Jesus), the removal of our corrupt and sinful nature, to one of purity and Holiness, this is the end result of sanctification, that we become partakers of His divine nature, (love).
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Sin originated from “satan”, he was created beautiful, perfect in beauty and full of wisdom, he had the seal of perfection, and was the anointed cherub, who guarded the very throne of the Lord God, (exod c25:v20), until his heart was lifted up because of his beauty, thus he corrupted his wisdom by reason of his own self-importance, (ego) and pride was born, and it filled his heart, resulting in slander and animosity against the almighty God, thus sin originated through satan, (ezek c28:v11-v18), and satan through ego, (self-importance), deceived himself by believing in his own heart that he could take over the universe, so he exalted himself by uttering the words, “I will”, and boasting that he would ascend into heaven, and that he would put his throne above the stars of the Lord God, that he would divinely sit in the assembly of judgment, he wanted Christ’s Glory, and he wanted the power of the Father, the Most High God, (isa c14:v13-v14), this is where sin originates, within the heart, satan who was created by the Lord God and called Luifer, meaning “Morning Star”, the bright one, became the enemy of the Most High God, and the Adversary to the truth, ego will always give birth to pride, you can be five feet tall in stature, and have a ten feet ego, this is the problem with many individuals today, everybody wants to be a somebody, and within the church we have most who want to serve, (to be seen), and few who want to worship, (show humility),(luke c10:v40-v41, isa c6:v2).
The wages of sin is death, for sin always breeds pride, vanity and conceit, it puffs up self will, and is self-centred, it was sin that brought satan to nought, and it is the sin of pride that every human has within their hearts to a lesser or higher degree, that produces within, selfishness that results in spiritual blindness, of course we are not blind to the obvious sins, such as murder, fornication, adultery, idolatry, homosexuality, thief, drunkeness, sorcery and the gross immorality etc, (1 cor c6:v9; rev c21:v22; deut c22:v22; lev c18:v8), but to the less obvious sins which lie within the heart and mind such as sins of omission, (matt c25:v14-v46), or sins of the heart, presumptuous sins, (ps 19:v13), that are played out within the mind, (num c15:v30; matt c5:v27), or the hatred you have for someone within your heart, you may not express it with your mouth, but it is still sin, (1 john c3:v15), be under no illusion what is done within the heart shall be revealed, sin is lawlessness and a transgression against the Lord God, it is an assault upon the foundation of His throne, (ps 97:v2), and an insult upon His Holiness. (1 pet c1:v13-v16).
Sin does not always appear black or grotesque or even heinous, man can always justify his sin, and it has been so from the fall of man from God’s grace, remember Adam blaming ths Lord God because He gave him the woman, and the woman then blaming satan, yet both of them had a “free will”, for the Lord God not creat them as robots, it was “their choice” to disobey the Lord God and to believe satans lie, after all they did have fellowship with the Lord God before their actions destroyed it, (gen c3:v8), the Lord God was no stranger to them, but satan was, true to say that Eve was deceived by the 'master of deception', but like so many others they placed themselves open to his influencing powers the moment they converse with him in their own foolishness, satan is supernatural we are not, it is only possible to overcome satan if we remain within the will of the Lord God, for greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world but this shall only comply if you remain within the will of God, for outside of His will we fight a loosing battle, look at king David man after God’s own heart, but the moment he went outside of God’s will, satan was able to move against him, (1 chron c21:v1-v8), and the apostle Peter, the man who was given the keys of the kingdom of God yet satan was able to sift him, (luke c22:v31), to the point were he denied ever knowing the Lord Jesus, it is for this reason that we are commanded to put to death “self” (ego), nail it to the cross, so that satan cannot take advantage of us, hence when we are free from self(ego) we can then present are body as a living and Holy sacrifice, that will be acceptable to the Lord God, that is what faith is all about, (Father Always In Thy Hand), it is to trust in the Lord God, and knowing that you are dead to self, but alive to Christ Jesus, this is the perfect will of the Father for his children.
Sin comes natural to man, no one has to teach a child to lie or steal, this is because we inherited our parents nature(Adam and Eve) from their fall from grace, the Lord God had no desire for man to fall from His grace, but because He is a Holy God and a Righteous God, who can not look upon sin or iniquity, hence through our sin we fall short of His Glory, but such is His Grace (love) towards falling man, that he took upon Himself the sin of the world, at the cross, as the ulitame sacrifice for sin, fulfilling the demand of a just, righteous and Holy God, and became our “Propitiation”, (rom c3:v25, 1john c2:v2; c4:v10),
Sin is indeed a very serious subject and the Lord God takes it so serious that He forwarns what the consequences of sin shall result in, if allowed to take its dire course without repentance in this life, for it shall determine your abode in the life to come, (1cor c6:v18;c15:v56; rev c21:v8), yet within society today sin is looked upon as being trivial, but lets make it quite clear, society may deny sin, mock sin and even make jokes about sin, but the one thing that society shall not be able to do, is to escape the wages of sin, the call of the Lord God is for man to turn from sin unto righteousness, and this can only be done through repentance, repentance is the turning to the Lord God and away from sin, it is through grace by the work of the Holy spirit, who having brought the recipient unto conviction of sin, now leads them into repentance, it is by God’s grace that any recipient comes to repentance, for it is the Lord God who grants repentance that leads to the knowledge of the truth and life eternal, (2 tim c2:v25, acts c5:v31, c11:v18).
Repentance is the putting to death of “self” (ego), and is the first step along the narrow way, to repent is not a one time act, the repentance that takes place at the new birth (born-again), is the beginning of a progression of confession, (confession to God not to man), (1 john c1:v9), for the cleansing of the soul, (isa c1:v16-v17), repentance operates from the heart, (soul) to the outside (attitude), it is the seeking after righteousness, it is by the power of the Holy spirit that we cease sinning habitually or continually, we through Christ Jesus have been given 'Liberty', that is liberity to say no to sin, we are made aware that the flesh wars against the spirit continously, but by the power of the Holy spirit we can renew our minds daily, unto the things of God and away from the things of the flesh and the world, there shall be times when we as the children of God shall fall short of the attitude of Christ Jesus, but the Lord God has given us mercy to seek his forgiveness by confessing our sin to Him, confession arises when a child of God falls into temptation, but repentance from sin must show a change in life style, commitment and yeilding to Christ Jesus, salvation that does not lead to repentance and a change in the recipients life is not genuine salvation, repentance is a requirement that must be fulfilled, for repentance is “humility” at work, (2 chron c7:v14), that brings forth fruit in keeping with repentance, (matt c3:v7-v8), for the fruit of repentance is in keeping with the fruit of the Holy spirit, (walking in the spirit is walking in the way of Holiness), hence the comment from the Lord Jesus Christ, that by your fruit shall all men know “you’re mine”.
In repentance the recipient comes as a dead sacrifice (dead in sin) to receive pardon, (forgiveness), but in sanctification they come as a 'living and Holy sacrifice', it is the total surrendering of all, (body and soul), to the obedience and trust of the Lord God that ensures your salvation, for nothing less shall be acceptable to the Lord, repentance is not an addiction to faith it is at its root the very heart of faith! from which springs our sanctification.
As grace leads the recipient to conviction and the journey to salvation, repentance leads the recipient to being sanctified, (made Holy), the recipient becomes born-again, thus a babe in Christ, a new creation, cleansed and made Holy by the blood of Christ’s atonement at calvary, it is the blood of Christ which is the root of our sanctification, for through Christ we have redeemption, the liberation from guilt and the burden of sin, for the recipient is sanctified (made Holy), and baptist within the Holy spirit, the moment they repent and receive the Lord Jesus into their heart as their saviour, thus starting the process of salvation, (the regeneration of the soul), and grace with faith are poured out upon the recipient, enabling them to become overcomers, being perfected unto Holiness by the operation of the Holy spirit, and this process starts as a babe, when the recipient is born-again but ends in maturity (perfect Holiness), when a person is born-again into the family of God, they are but a babe, for no one is born-again as an adult, (in the spiritual sense), therefore it is one thing to be made Holy, (sanctified), yet it is another thing to grow in Holiness, (walk in the way of Holiness), sanctification is indeed the supernatural work of the Holy spirit who’s task it is as the spirit of truth to transform the child of God into the image of Christ Jesus, by washing us in the word, (revealing the truth of God’s word), the opening of our minds to the scriptures, (which can only come about through humility).
Holiness is what constitutes the family likeness, and this is reflected in our walk and our conversation, and it is this very fruit that we must display to a dying world, for the fruit of the Holy spirit is indeed the true seal of Holiness, and we are comanded by the Lord God to be Holy as he is Holy, for to live a Holy life is to ensure that the Lord God shall work through us, therefore we must be dead to sin and obedient to His will, it is the only sacrifice that the Lord God ask of His children! to fulfill this, is to worship Him in spirit and truth (john c17:v17, rom c12:v1-v2), we cannot have a relationship with Christ Jesus if there is no Holiness (sanctification) in our life, for without Holiness we shall not see the Lord, (heb c12:v14), Holiness must be a characteristic of all who are redeemed, they must display the attitude of Christ and the fruit of the Holy spirit, those who display these vitures are indeed the children of God, sealed from the foundation of the world.
The carnal mind is opposed to Holiness, (1 cor c3:v1-v4), Holiness is what the child of God must thrive towards, for to walk in Holiness is to show that sin no longer reigns within our life, we have become alive to the Lord, and dead unto sin, within the old testament, the High Priest had the words, “Holiness to the Lord” upon his forehead, we as priests of the Lord God must offer up a spiritual sacrifice that is acceptable to the Lord God, through the Lord Jesus, and that is our Holy living, (Holiness to the Lord), the consecration of ourselves to the will of the Lord God, for it is to His Glory that we were created.
It is not that one grows into Holiness, it is that the Lord God has given grace, through which we may walk in the spirit, (walk in the way of Holiness), for it is the Lord God who put His spirit within the heart (soul), and it was the Lord who rekindled His spirit within the recipient heart, (soul), that they may walk in His ways, sanctified by Christ Jesus (made Holy) when we are born-again, sanctification (Holiness) shall wash you with His word, (eph c5:v26; titus c3:v5), and bring you into perfection, (maturity), for by His blood, (heb c9:v18-v23), He justifies, (rom c5:v9), purchases, (acts c20:v28), redeemes, (eph c1:v7), and cleanses us from all sin,(1john c1:v7), to be a disciple of Christ Jesus is to be obedient to His word, obedience is not just to hear His word but to act upon it, (matt c7:v24-v27), for obedience reflects the Holiness of the Lord God, (heb c12:v14, 1pet c1:v15-v16, matt c5:v48 ).
To be obedient to the Lord God, is to have the Holy spirit working within your heart, comforming you more and more towards Holiness which is the image of Christ, and it must be within the heart of a disciple to be transformed into the likeness of their saviour regardless of the cost, this truth shall always offend those who live by the worlds standards, but the child of God knows that its not where you stand in the world that matters, but where you stand in the Lord God, they know that their life must be put upon God altar, for it is here that grace can be found, the Lord God will never force the recipient against his will, the decision must be made freely by the individual, for when consecration occurs the Lord God Glorifies, (rom c8:v17-v30), attitude is the essence of Holiness, (phil c2:v5), and not to yeild to the Lord God’s will totally, shall result in the loss of individual blessing, (1 cor c11:v30; 1 john c5:v16-v17).
The Lord Jesus shall refine and purifer His disciples, (mal c3:v2-v3), therefore we have within us a consuming fire, which purifies and cleanses us from all sin, but Christ not only purifies and cleanses but also refines, leading us to maturity, (perfection), and Holiness, (sanctification), to be perfect as your father (God) in heaven is perfect, seems impossible for a sinner, since no flesh is pleasing to the Lord God, for the human heart is the seat of all sin, (mark v7:v21), but with the working of the Holy spirit within the heart all things are possible, for perfection comes through love, (agape), God’s love, it is this love which is instilled within the recipients heart by the Holy spirit that makes perfect, our righteousness comes through Christ, and through His righteousness comes Holiness (sanctification), note; again that no one shall see the Lord without Holiness, (sanctification) (heb c12:v14), so for the child of God to see the Lord they must have sanctification (Holiness) through God’s love (agape), for God is love, (i john c4:v8), to the apostle John perfection, is perfect love, (1 john c4:v17), to the apostle paul being perfect is maturity, (heb c13:v21; to the apostle James being perfect in Christ is patience, and obedience, (james c1;v4), to the apostle peter being perfect is stedfastness in faith and obedience, all of these have the sincerity of the heart, and that is what Christ Jesus said, blessed are the pure (sincere) in heart, for they shall see God, (matt c5:v8).
Salvation is the product of grace and faith, a work of God, justification is the cleansing of our sin by the blood of Christ, an act made possible by a gracious God, through the death of His only begotten son, the just for the unjust the way now opened for reconciliation to those who believe, and coming to sanctification by the washing of water by the word, which is the pure love from the “God of love”, and it is the instilling of this love within the heart of the child of God that results in them becoming perfect in His sight, the perfecting of the love of God can only come through the fruit of the Holy spirit, remember the Lord Jesus said; you would know His disciples by their fruit, for being Godly is to have a knowledge about God, but being Holy is being like God, Holiness is the hinge on which the door of salvation swings.
Many believe that through Christ and Christ alone comes their salvation, they believe that they do not need to do anything, since Christ has done it all for them? this is true in part, but its not the whole truth, for such is the church today that one needs only to ask Christ to be their saviour and all is well within, there’s no talk of repentance, no change in life style, no words of obediences, no sacrifice upon the altar of god and no need for a Holy life, just live as you please, forget about the Bible, forget about the commands of Christ and still go to Heaven at the end of your life, but this is not what Christ Jesus says, He says the way is narrow and few shall find it, He says count the cost before becoming my disciple, He says you must die to self, He says you must obey His word, He says you must not be a hypocrite, He says not all who call me Lord shall be saved and He says you must do the will of the Father, so what is the will of the father for His children, it is to be Holy, and this can only come about through the death of the old man, (old nature), the death of “self,” and this can only happen by the manifestation of the fruit of the spirit, which enables the child of God to walk in the way of Holiness, to live in the spirit and to be led by the spirit, it is through the fruit of the Holy spirit that the child of God is transformed into the likeness of Christ, and the first virtue to be mentioned in the fruit of the Holy spirit is Love, but the manifestation of the fruit of the spirit can only come into fruition when you have laid your life upon the altar of God, and sanctified by Christ Jesus, for it is this sacrifice that is well pleasing to God the father, for it is only at this period in time that the Holy spirit shall flow through the child of God unhindered, for it is only through the surrendered life to God and Christ Jesus that the Holy spirit operates, (gal c2:v20; rom c6:v4; col c2:v12), Holiness is not optional to the disciple of Christ, it is paramount to salvation, and growth in the fruit of the Holy spirit, which is growth in Holiness and the comforming to Christ Jesus.
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Faith, (believe and trust) fidelity and assurance, without which it is impossible to please God, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, (heb c11:v1), it is faith that enpowers the child of God to respond to obedience, (rom c16:v26), and its faith that enables us to become an overcomer in the world, (1john c5:v4), we may fall into temptation (sin), (1john c2:v1), but we shall not stay there for sanctification is at work within us, (phil c2:v13), and by the power of the Holy spirit He shall perfect us, (phil c1:v6, 1thess c5:v23-v24), for through faith righteousness is inputed to the child of God by Christ Jesus, through His spirit (rom c3:v21-v24), to be justified by faith guarantees our sanctification! faith and righteousness and sanctification (grace) are inseparable, (rom c10:v10; c4:v3), for true faith is what produces the fruit of the Holy spirit, for only obedience to the will of God can release saving faith, faith like grace is a gift from the Lord God,(eph c2:v8), faith is not just merely believing in what you have not seen, it has a foundation of trust, when the Lord Jesus said no one shall pluck you out of my hand nor my fathers hand, it is the fulfillment of the promise that Christ would never leave you nor forsake you, but the believer, must lay hold of this promise trusting and believing with all their hearts, for to do less is tantamount to unbelief, faith itself is coming to the understanding that no matter what happens on your journey through life, we have this hope, this promise, this truth and can cry alound, “father always in thy hand”, for faith is not weak but strong, we as children of the Most High God, we may fall but we shall not fail, for at the heart of faith is repentence, for it is faith that brings salvation, a faith that creates a pure heart and a right spirit within, and it is our faith that is pleasing to the Lord God, and it is faith that brings forth Joy and peace, and that enables the child of God to persevre and reveal the evidence that their faith is indeed real, (col c1:v22-v23, 1thess c4:v7-v8, 2pet c1:v10-v11, james c1:v12, c2:v14-v26), grace and faith are the epitome of the Lord God’s love.
Salvation the redeemption from sin by the grace (favour and love) of God through the Lord Jesus Christ, (matt c1:v21, rom c5:v9-v10, acts c4:v12), salvation (justification) cannot be serperated from sanctification (Holiness), for salvation is the on going process of transforming the recipient (believer) into the image of Christ, (rom c8:v29; c13:v11), this must be the desire of the disiple of Christ Jesus, for the Lord God is a Holy God, and calls for His children to be Holy, they must walk in the spirit, (walk the way of Holiness), to do less shall be to suffer lost, (1cor c5:v5, c11:v30;,c6:v16-v20), salvation brings suffering and then glory, for the greatest miracle that is recorded within scripture, is the salvation (redeemption) of a sinners soul, the regeneration of what was once spiritually dead, being resurrected to a new birth with spiritual sight, salvation is by no means natural to man, but a supernatural work of the Holy spirit through Christ Jesus, the sovereign act of a Holy god, for it is not because a person seeks after the Lord God, for salvation only comes when the Lord God first pursues the sinner, (john c15:v16, luke c19:v10, rom c3:v11), salvation is a revelation from the Lord God that leads to true worship and adoration of Himself, (phil c3:v3), for a person cannot be born-again, baptised in the spirit, washed in the word and made perfect through Christ Jesus and not worship in spirit and truth, for the objective of salvation is to make true worshippers, (john c17:v17).
Salvation places the recipient within the new covenant, being born-again, (babe in Christ), a new creation a spiritual rebirth (regenerated) by a Godly act of love that seals and baptists you in His spirit, (john c1:v33), and places you within His body ( 1cor c12:v13), (the body of Christ, the church! the true catholic church, the universal church were most of it is in heaven, every generation of the true church on earth, is but a ramnant of the church in heaven), you are purified by the water of the word, (eph c5:v26, john c15:v3), this is the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy spirit, (titus c3:v5), this is the essences of being spiritually purified and spiritually reborn, salvation always gives the recipient a new nature that leads into a life of righteousness, (character and behaviour), this is what separates the child of God from the world, (phil c2:v1-v11), good works (deeds) shall become second nature if one walks in the light. (1john c1:v7).
Salvation has given the child of God liberity, but liberity has a price, the liberity that the child of God recieves from the Lord Jesus is not a lience to sin, but the right (liberity) to reject sin and say no to it, a universal atonement does not mean universal salvation, for atonement is for sin, salvation (redeemption) is from sin, salvation (redeemption) only comes into effect when the penitent has received the Lord Jesus as their saviour (their atonement for sin) and have repented from their sin (turned away from sin), for if there is no repentance there shall be no forgiveness, (luke c17:v3), salvation is not ultimately a human decision, for the lord god is both the “Author and Finisher” of our faith, (heb c12:v2), but two things are required if we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, (phil c2:v12), the first is repentance, (the turning away from sin and iniquity, and the confessing of our failings as we walk the way of salvation), and secondly the conscration of our lifes to the Lord, for without conscration there cannot be sanctification (Holiness), that is to walk in the way of Holiness.
Within the scriptures there can be found many promises from the Lord God to His child, but if you read these promises it shall become quite clear that each promise has a requirement that must be meet before that promise can be released, remember the Lord Jesus is were you put him in your life, He can be close or far away, it is “your decision”, the word of God is the will of God, therefore we must renew our minds and pray that the Lord opens our minds to the understanding of His word. (will), these are a few of Lord God’s promises, John’s gospel chapter 3 verse 16, the promise is everlasting life, the requirement, you must believe, Lukes gospel chapter 6 verse 38, the promise, you shall have abundances, the requirement, you must give first, Lukes gospel chapter 14 verses 25 to 33, the promise, becoming a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, the requirement, your “all”! to become a mature christian you can not remain a babe all your christian life, you must grow in the knowledge of the Lord or forever remain a spiritual cripple, so let us not remain as babes feeding upon spiritual milk, but let us arise and take the fight to the enemy, cleansed by the washing of water with the word, (eph c5:v26), justified, sanctified and loved by the Lord God Almighty, Amen!
Two words arise here, water and word, this water has nothing to do with water baptism, for water baptism does not give life, and as the apostle paul says it is for the removal of dirt, water baptism is only symbolic, but the water mentioned here is indeed spiritual, for it is living water, that is, new life through the Hholy spirit, (jer c2:v13, c17:v13, zec c14:v8, john c7:v37-v39), and the “word” we know to be Christ Jesus since the word became flesh, therefore we are born-again (washed) by the word and received into the baptism of his spirit, the baptism of christ’s death and resurrection, (rom c6:v4, col c2:v12, eph c2:v6, titus c3:v5, salvation always leads to consecration,(2tim c1:v9).
There are four types of love agape, philadelphia, eros and epithumeo, but the love that is part of the fruit of the spirit that every child of God must have in their lives as a seal that they are baptised in the Holy spirit, is “agape” the love of God, the love that pours itself out towards others when there is nothing to justify such love, it is the greatest love that anyone can bestow upon an other, it is unselfish, in the words of the Lord Jesus, greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends, you are my friends. (john c15:v13-v14; matt c5:v43-v46; c19:v19; luke c6:v35; c10:v27; john c13:v34-v35; c15:v9-v10, icor c13; 1john c4:v7-v21).
The Joy of my salvation, it is this Joy within the heart that gives meaning to life, true Joy can only be found in the Holy spirit (the heart of God), its revelation began upon the hills of Bethlehem, by the angels, that the Saviour had been born, (matt c1; luke c1), this Joy was not from the kingdom of this world, for the Joy of this world is always mingled with sorrow and bitterness, and the worlds Joy is but temporal, true Joy comes only from the kingdom of God, its like finding a great treasure, as the light of the gospel falls upon the heart and the scales fall from the eyes and you see for the frist time the Glory of the Lord God, and your total hopelessness and unworthiness, and as the tears flow down your face the Holy spirit introduces you through repentance to the man of sorrows, who took the sin of the world upon Himself,(isa c53), the Onointed and Blessed One of God, His only begotten son, pure love that enters into the heart of the recipient and releases the Joy of salvation, (john c17:v13; c16:v20-v24; c15:v11; matt c25:v23; c13:v44; ps 51:v12; hab c3:v18).
The peace that surpasses all understanding, the reconciliation of fallen man to a Holy God, made only possible through the cross, and the sacrifice of a Holy and Just and Righteous God, as a ransom for sin, Christ Jesus who shed His precious blood and stands before the Father as a witness that every promise made towards the child of God (the redeemed) has been fulfilled, (rom c3:v25-v26; c5:v9; eph c1:v7; col c1:v20-v22), through the blood of His sacrifice we the redeemed are justified by faith, and through His grace we find peace with God, (rom c5:v1), Christ Jesus the Prince of Peace, who bestowes upon His disciples peace, (john c14:v27; phil c4:v6-v7), through obedience to the will of the Father Christ became for us our sin offering and our peace offering, He is our Peace, (eph c2:v13-v18).
Long suffering, to endure patiently all sufferings through trails and attacks both physical, moral and spiritual in order that we become partakers of Christ’s suffering, (1 pet c4:v13), the world hates God and as a child of God, the world also hates you, it is then a blessing when the world rejects you and persecutes you even unto death, (rom c8:v28-v29; c12:v12; 2 tim c3:v12; luke c8:v15; rev c1:v9; c3:v10; c14:v12), blessed (happy), are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven, blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and presecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of me, (christ), rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in Heaven is Great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you, (matt c5:v10-v12), remember these words that I have spoken to you, if they persecuted me, they shall also persecute you, (john c15:v20).
Gracious in character and demeanour, such as the good samaritan,(luke c10:v33), who reached out from his very soul in an act of compassion (kindness), to one who was a stranger, not a friend and most likely his enemy, it is this graciousness that we as the children of God must bestow to others, for it was this same graciousness and kindness that our Lord Jesus poured out upon us, for we were strangers towards Him, losted and in despair, He picked us up binded up our hurts and placed us upon His shoulders and called us friend, it is only through His graciousness that we came to repentance,(rom c2:v4), and it is now within the child of God by the power of the Holy spirit to reach out and help others who are in distress and need, for this is our cause to manifest the attitude and display the very nature of the Lord Jesus.(phil c2:v1-v11), “let your light shine before men in such away that they may see you good works, (deeds), and glorify your Father who is in Heaven”, (matt c5:v16).
the fruit of the Holy spirit manifests all Goodness, Righteousness and Truth, within the life of a disciple of Christ, (eph c5:v9), they are to display the same moral virtues that Christ displayed during His ministry, ( 2thess c1:v11; matt c5:v44; c7:v17; c13:v38; c19:v17; john c10:v11-v33; rom c2:v4, phi; c2:v5), the fruit of the Holy spirit is the signature of the Lord God, and reveals His presence within the life of the believer (disciple), for it is revealed within scripture that no one is Good except the Lord God, (matt 19:v17, luke c18:v19), therefore to manifest this virtue of the fruit of the spirit within your life, is to reveal the seal of the living God upon your life, and that Christ Jesus lives in your heart and that you have within you the fullness of the Holy spirit, and that you are rooted and grounded in is Love, (eph c3:v17-v21), full of His goodness and filled with His knowledge.
To Believe and Trust: faith is what links the soul to the Holy spirit, and leads us unto salvation, (1pet c1:v5), faith is feed through love, (gal c5:v6), faith is fidelity, for faithfulness is the surrendering (trusting) of your life into the hands of the Lord God, body, mind and soul, it is to obey and trust, to belief in the reliability of truth, (john c1:v1-v18; c5:v30; c8:v32; c14:v6; rom c12:v1-v2; phil c2:v1-v11), to grasp hold of the love of God, that we may become more than conquerors (overcomers) through His love,(rom c8:v37), it is also impossible to please the Lord God, without faith,(heb c11:v6), it is faith that produces our Good deeds, for we walk by faith and not by sight, (2 cor c5:v7), for faith is the substance (assurance), of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, for by it the elders obtained a good report, (hem c11:v1-v2), here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus, “write, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord” (rev c14:v12-v13; 1thess c4:v16; 1cor c15:v52), faith? (father always in thy hand).
Like our saviour we are to be humble of heart and gentle towards others, we are to display humility within our christian walk, for through humility comes honour, (prov 15:v33; 18:v12), for blessed (happy) are the meek for they shall inherit the earth, (matt c5:v5), it is through the love of God that meekness sends forth the mercy of the Lord od,(matt c11:v29; c23:v12 ; col c3:v12), and brings the child of God into obedience to the will of God, (john c13:v14-v17), humility must be at the heart of the disciple, having the same attitude as Christ who existed in the form of God, being equal to God the father in nature and essence, (phil 2:v6), but did not hold back His love for fallen man, (john c3:v16), He could have punished man for his disobedience and wickedness, (gen c6:v7), and would have been just and righteous in doing so, but instead He took the form of humanity and became a man of flesh, (john c1:v14), the incarnation of God in man (Imannuel), He was a man of no reputation, (isa c53:v2; phil c2:v7), a carpenter, yet He was the King of kings, (1 tim c6:v15; rev c17:v14), who was Gentle and Humble in heart, ( matt c11:v29), (meek and lowly in heart), so without meekness (gentleness and humility) you shall not be able to conform into His Likeness. (rom c8:v29; c12:v1-v2; titus c3:v2; 1pet c3:v15).
Self-control, to be masterful over your sinful nature (the flesh), the iniquity that proceeds out of the mouth comes from the heart, and it is what defiles a person, for out of the heart comes forth all evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness and slanders, these are the things that defile a person, (matt c15:v18-v19), note; three things here, 1.mouth, (the abode of the tongue), 2.heart (the corrupted soul), 3.evil thoughts, (the depravity of the mind), the child of God is not to allow anything to dominate their life outside of the Holy spirit, the remedy or cure for these three things are given within scripture, 1. for the tongue to be bridled, you must become the perfect man transformed and conform to the likeness of Christ Jesus who is the image of the Father, (john c14:v9; 2con c4:v4), thus becoming perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect, (matt c5:v48), and this can only come about, by walking in the way of Holiness (walking in the spirit), (gal c5:v16; rom c12:v1-v2), 2.the corrupt soul, which is (the heart of man), can be cleansed by the Holy spirit, creating within you a new heart, and a steadfast spirit and soul, (ps 51:v10; ps 24:v4), 3. the depravity of the mind, (the evil thoughts), we are to yield to the Holy spirit that he may transform us by the renewing of our mind, (rom c12:v1-v2).
These characteristics of the Holy spirit must be possessed by the child of God if they are to be transformed into the image of Christ Jesus, for these virtues of the spirit not only reveal Godliness but the life of Holiness! many believe within the church that one cannot obtain Holiness within this life of flesh, this is true if you walk in the flesh or think in the flesh, if one could not obtain Holiness I believe the Lord God would have said so, but the question must be asked who do you believe, man or the Lord God, for the Lord God said! “Be Holy, as I am Holy”.
Salvation has Come (matt c2:v1)
There must be repentance and the turning away from sin, and a change of attitude towards God and the things of God, for the growth of the fruit of the spirit, (matt c3:v2-v8), the baptism of the Holy spirit, the sanctifying of those who have truly repented and truned to Christ for the cleansing of sin through His Blood, thus the new life begins, a new creation, born again, a babe, the birth of saving faith, and the right to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ Jesus, the journey alone the way of salvation, grace now abides within and faith is its companion, and as we fare led by the Holy spirit, (the spirit of truth) we are being washed and feed by the word, and through grace we are able come to the altar of God, no longer a babe drinking spiritual milk, but eating the spiritual meat, and being able to rightfully divide the word of God, and a time for the decision to conscreate your life to the Lord Jesus in obedience to His word, full surrender of self-will to His will, knowing that it is no longer “I” that live, but Christ that lives in me, now we walk in the way of Holiness, (sanctification), to be perfected (transformed) into the image of Christ Jesus, (matt c3:v11).
The disciple of Christ Jesus is to shine before men, this is done through good works, (deeds) the reaching out and the helping of others without self gain, it is this that brings Glory to our Heavenly Father, for our righteousness lies within the Lord Jesus, (matt c5:v16).
The disciple is to choose his words wisely, and if they lack wisdom all they have to do is ask, and they shall receive it, (matt c5:v37).
Love is the key to salvation, and it is agape love, (god’s love), that the disciple of Christ shall receive from the Holy spirit, salvation is God’s love in action, read 1 corinthians chapter 13, (matt c5-c7).
The disciple is to strive for perfection, when the Lord Jesus said; be you perfect as your Heaven Father is perfect, He was referring to the love of God, for the essence of the Lord God is love, for “God is love”, and it is the indwelling of His love within the disciple which shall take him to perfection, it is the Lord God’s grace (love) that is instilled into every child of God at the new birth, this love is agape love, it is a sacrificial love, a love which is freely given, but a love that cost Godly Blood to be shed, and it is in this love that holiness is found.
A child of God can achieve this through the holy spirit, for perfect love is dying to self and being alive to
God, this places the child of God within the perfect will of God, and allows the Lord God to work through you, remember,” God is love ”, so when a “Perfect and Holy God” with Perfect love, (grace), works through you, you can be assured that you have become perfect in love and Holiness, and those who say otherwise, have not died to self, their ego you will find is alive and kicking within them, (matt c5:v48).
Read chapters 5 to 7 of matthew to understand agape love.
the disciples of Christ Jesus shall be known by their fruits, attitude and works (deeds), their christian walk, (matt c7:v16).
They are to act upon the word of God, work out their salvation, to live in a manner, as the Lord would have them live their lifes, to walk the walk not just talk the talk, (matt c7:v26).
Christ Jesus must come first if we are to become His disciples, the cost of fulfilling true discipleship can be found in the first and greatest commandment, (matt c8:v22).
The disciple must follow Christ without question, this is based upon faith, that is to believe and trust, using the word of God (bible) as a measuring rod against all other teachings or influences within the world, (matt c9:v9).
The disciple must learn and understand the difference between mercy, (to love and show loving kindness), and sacrifice, (the performing of a ritual) which has no love or faithfulness in it and is done out of habit rather than out of a relationship, (matt c9:v13).
The disciple of Christ must be obedient to His word and submit to His authority, and be prepared to suffer all hardships and hostility towards them when they confess Him as their Lord and Saviour, for the Lord Jesus does not have secret disciples, (matt c10).
The invitation to become a disciple of the Lord Jesus, and learn from Him all what it entails to be a disciple and to receive salvation, note; there is not two options as a follower of Christ, such as, 1 a believer or 2 a disciple, they are both the same, and His word applies equally to both, (matt c11:v29).
The disciples of the Lord Jesus is not to be a hypocrite, they are not to wear a mast for public life, they cannot run with the fox and hunt with the hounds, for this is building a house upon sand, and may end in the committing of the unpardonable sin, (matt c12:v14).
The disciple must bear witness to the truth, (Christ Jesus) at all times, those who deny Christ Jesus as the Saviour speak against the truth, (the Holy spirit, who is called the spirit of truth), it is through the truth (the word) that we stand or fall, (blessed or condemned), remember blasphemy comes from a bitter heart (a poisoned soul), (matt c12:v32).
It is only when the disciple is in the perfect (divine) will of the Lord God, that Christ Jesus says we have a spiritual relationship that is counted as obedience, unlike Eve who when outside of His will, and meet satan halfway, (matt c12:v37-v50).
The parable of the sower, the stages between the coming under conviction and the laying down of your life upon the altar of God, the conscreation of the disciple, according to our Lord Jesus you have a seventy-five percent chance of not becoming one of His disciples, for satan, the world and self (the flesh) shall try to prevent you, (matt c13:v3-v23).
The disciple is to display faith and trust, for Christ is the creator (Elohim), and through our faith and trust in Him we can move mountains, two little prayers the disciple must remember, “Lord help me” and “Lord save me”, (matt c14).
The disciple must understand that through Holiness there is no sickness in the body, mind or soul, for Christ took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses, Christ Jesus bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds we are healed.
The disciple of Christ must learn to control thier talk and what comes out of their mouth, they must renew their minds daily and focus on what is Holy, thus banishing all evil thoughts, (matt c15:v17-v20).
To become a disciple of Christ Jesus you must deny self, (put Christ first), pick up your cross, (destroy all egoism), and to follow Him, (be obedient to His word), (matt c16:v24-v26).
The disciple of Christ Jesus must have humility in their christian walk, (matt c20:v28).
Concerning discipleship, Christ Jesus said; “many are called, but few are chosen”, who are the few, remember that many call themselves disciples of Christ Jesus, and even performed miracles, cast out demons and prophecy in His name, but the Lord Jesus said; He did not know them, and cast them into outer darkness, the reason for this is simple they did not have the love (agape) of the Lord God within them, for Christ said; when He was sick they did not visit him, when He was hungry they did not feed him, when He was naked, they did not clothe him, there reply was when did we see you lord to do these things, and the Lord Jesus replied, when you did not do it to one of these little ones of mine, you did not do it to me, so who is the few that are chosen, those who live and walk in Holiness and act upon His word, that is why they are called the elect of God, because they resemble their Saviour and their heavenly Father (matt c22:v14).
The disciple of Christ shall have the two great commandments within the heart, to love the Lord God with your all, and to love your neighbour as yourself, note; that the very essence of the Lord God is revealed here, everything that He stands for is revealed within these two great commanments, all the laws of God and all his promises that where spoken through his prophets are all wrapped up in love, love the Lord God and love your neighbour, and love yourself, for God is love, (matt c22:v37).
The disciple must be Christ centred, for Christ centredness produces good character, and good character produces good deeds, the disciple of Christ shall have hope, and he or she shall have faith, but most of all they shall be filled with the love of Christ towards others, (matt c25:v31-v46).
The disciple of Christ Jesus is not to tolerate anyone who teaches a different gospel other than the gospel of Christ Jesus, you are not to welcome them into your home, your not to bless them, least your blessing becomes a curse upon your own head, you may pray for their soul, that they may have the scales removed from their eyes and come to the truth of the gospel of Christ, that they may receive salvation and eternal life, (mark c7:v7-v9).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to be filled with humility and not to seek after their own interest, but rather the interest of others, they are to be the salt of the earth, salt stands for prudence, permanence and incorruption, but what is interesting is the fact that the Lord God made a covenant of salt with the Levites, who were redeemed, cleansed and consecrated to the service of the Lord God, and they had no inheritance in the land, the Levites are typical of the disciple of Christ, the covenant of salt is a covenant of sacrifice, thus for the disciple of Christ to have salt within them they must sacrifice there own ambitions, and with humility of mind must regard others as more imortant than self, for through humility comes honour and the blessing of heaven, for it is this attitude within the disciples of Christ Jesus that makes for peace, and spreads love abroad, (mark c9:v49-v50).
The disciples of Christ Jesus is to give to all that ask, to forgive those who take what rightly is yours, they are to love, do good, to be like our heavenly father kind to the ungrateful, they are not to judge the world, for the Lord God has judged the world already, they are not to condemn they are to forgive where possible, this is the way of the Lord God, not mans way, here lies the application of Gods blessings to His children, (luke c6:v27-v38).
The disciples faith is what produces hope and hope and faith are bound together by love, and it is perfect love that casts out fea,r and it is love that covers a multitude of sin, (luke c8:v25).
The disciples of the lord jesus can only receive power and authority when there is unity of love within the body, (assembly), all of the same mind and purpose, where hearts are knitted together, then and only then shall power and authority flow from the Holy spirit through us, and to us, (luke c9:v1).
The disciple of Christ Jesus must show loving kindness (mercy) to all, for God’s love responds to need, (luke c10:v37).
The disciple of Christ must be persistent in prayer, it is not that the Lord God takes pleasure in what would seem to the carnal minded as beging, it is putting the spiritual and temporal into prospective, that we who are flesh and men with feet of clay are addressing the Most High God who is spirit and eternal, and worthy of our prayers, our praises, and our worship, (luke c11:v5-v13).
The disciple of Christ through the Holy spirit shall know the difference between enlightenment and delusion, between hypocrisy and Holiness, between ritual and righteousness, and between vanity and piety, hypocrisy always ignores God’s call for sanctification, (Holiness), Holiness is not how you appear on the outside, for the Holy spirit does not chance a person from the outside in, on the contrary, it regenerates the soul (the inner man), from the inside out, the flesh can never please the Lord God, it is only the spirit (soul) of man through the Holy spirit that can truly worship the Lord God in spirit and truth, you cannot live the christian life and walk in the spirit and manifest the deeds of the flesh such as immorality, impurity, enmity, jealousy, greed, etc, to live as such, is the evidence that you are not washed,(regenerated), nor sanctified by the blood of Christ Jesus, (luke c11:v33-v52).
The disciple of Christ Jesus seeks first the kingdom of God and His Righteousness, he or she must be prepared to sell all they have to promote and spread the Good News of the kingdom, their heart is not to be found in riches or fame, but in Christ Jesus, He is their treasure, (luke c12:v31-v34).
The disciple of Christ Jesus is to have the spirit of forgiveness at all times, but if a person does not repent of their sin, then there cannot be forgiveness, forgiveness only comes through repentance,(luke c17:v3-v4).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus knows that there is two ways in life from which to choose, the broad or the narrow, repentance that leads to obedience, or sin that leads to death, look at the parables of the pordigal son, the pharisee and the tax collector and the rich young ruler, they reveal the foolishest of man's thinking, believing that the lord god works through merits, and not by grace through faith, (luke c18:v10-v24).
The disciple of Christ knows that he must follow the Lord Jesus not run ahead of Him, for a pupil is not greater than the teacher, nor the servant his master, (luke c18:v39).
The disciples of Jesus must render to the Lord God the things that are for His Glory, honour, loyalty, love, worship, obediences and Holiness (luke c20:v25).
The disciple of Christ is called to bear witnesses that He (christ) and He alone is the Saviour, and that salvation comes through no other, (luke c24:v48).
The disciple of Christ Jesus is born-again of water and spirit, water is symbolic for purification, water in the old testament was sprinkled upon the altar and sacrifice, the promise of the new covenant, is to cleanse through the washing of the word, (the “word” being Christ, thus we our cleanse by His blood) creating a new heart, and right spirit within, spirit baptism takes place at conversion, it places the recipient into the body of Christ, and the recipient is thus purified by the washing of the word, the regeneration and renewing of the spirit within. (john c3:v5).
The disciple of Jesus must always live in the truth, (john c3:v21).
The disciple of Christ Jesus must worship in spirit and truth, from the heart, (john c4:v23-v24).
The disciple of Jesus is to feed upon the word of the Lord God, for this is the will of the father for His children, for man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, this is the food for those that hunger spiritually, (john c4:v34).
It is the will of the Lord God, that every disciple bears witness to the Lord Jesus as their saviour, this is the only work that a person can do that is acceptable to the Lord God, (john c6:v29).
The disciple of Christ has the promise that they shall be taugh by the Most High God, our heavenly father, (john c6:v45).
Know one can become a disciple of Christ Jesus unless it has been granted by the Lord God, then the Loly spirit gives eternal life to the soul, (john c6:v63-v65).
The disciple who walks in the will of the Lord God is taught to discern all teaching, for they are a child of the light, seeking the Glory of God, (john c7:v17-v18).
The disciple of Christ is not to judge the assembly (the church) by appearance, but with righteous judgment, (john c7:v24).
The disciple of Christ is to do what is pleasing to the father, by abiding within His word, for it is the truth that sets you free, (john c8:v29), so it is with the spiritual life of the disciple of the Lord Jesus, who has been sanctified (made Holy) they need not think that all is lost when he or she struggle or fall into sin, on their walk in the way of Holiness, for they need only to confess their failing and repent of it, to a merciful God to be forgiving, for sanctification grows with spiritual maturity, (john c13:v10).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus shall aways abide in His commandments to love one another as He loves us, for by this all men shall know that we are His disciples, (john c13:v34).
The christian faith works through love, and the measure of that love within the recipient shall reveal if they are a disciple of Jesus or not, (john c14:v21).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus, receives the peace that passes all understanding, the reconciliation of the recipient to the Lord God through the death of our Lord Jesus on the cross, for through Christ we are a new creation before the Lord God, (john c14:v27-v28).
It is only through the Holy life of a disciple that the power of the Holy spirit can flow, (rom c1:v4).
The evidence of a regenerated life is the manifestion of the fruit of the spirit in the disciples spiritual walk, (rom c2:v7).
To knownly habitually sin while professing to be a disciple of Christ Jesus, is blaspheming against the Holy spirit, (rom c2:v24).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to grow stronger in faith, knowing within his heart that all of the Lord God’s promises shall be fulfilled, (rom c4:v20).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus has within him the fulness of the Lord God’s love in the manifestion of the Holy spirit and Christ, (rom c5:v5).
The disciple of Christ Jesus knows that the Lord God demonstrated His love towards us, and that the extent of that love was revealed within Christ Jesus His only begotten Son, who gave his life at calvary freely for the forgiveness of our sin, that we may receive grace and the gift of righteousness, (rom c5:v8).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus knows that death to sin, is serperation from the ruling power of sin in their life, and that our union with Christ is what sanctifies us, it is through His gift of grace, that we are a live to the Lord God, a new creation, and that our new life is based upon our union with Christ, our being servants to righteousness, remember death is separation not extinction, 1. physical death separates body and soul,(jam c2:v26, 2. spiritual death is separation from the Lord God, (eph c2:v1), 3. the second death is eternal separation from the Lord God, (rev c20:v14), (rom c6:v2).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to be aware that they are baptised into Christ death by the Holy spirit, that is when Christ died we also died with Him, the old man, old nature, (sinful flesh), we died because we were dead in sin to the Lord God, but when the Lord Jesus arose from the grave, we were raised with Him to the glory of God the Father, in the likeness of His resurrection, that we may walk in newness of life, dead to sin and alive to righteousness, sanctified through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, (rom c6:v4-v23).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to serve the Lord God in newness of the spirit, (rom c7:v6).
The disciple of Christ Jesus must walk according to the Holy spirit, for the Holy spirit shall only operate within if we live to righteousness, for it is the Holy spirit which leads us to life in abundance, both physical and eternal, (rom c8:v4-v14).
It is the disciples obligation to be conformed to the image of christ jesus, (rom c8:v29).
Nothing shall be able to separate the disciple from the love of God, (rom c8:v39).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus are called the elect, but the elect are not saved without first meeting the requirments of the promise, (believing the message), (rom c10:v14-v21).
The disciple of Christ Jesus is to present his body as a living and Holy sacrifice, dead to sin, (rom c12:v1-v2).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to be without hypocrisy, and to abhor evil, and cling to what is good, being devoted to one another in brotherly love, ( rom c12:v9-v10).
The disciple of Christ Jesus is to overcome evil with good, (rom c12:v21).
The disciple of Cchrist Jesus is to have a proper attitude towards governing authorities, (rom c13:v1-v2).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is not to have debt, (rom c13:v8).
The disciple of Christ is to do althings in love, for love is the fulfillment of the law and the key to salvation, (rom c13:v10).
The disciple of Jesus Christ is to clothe himself with Christ, (the light), for Christ is our protection, (shepherd), and to be obedient to His commandments, (rom c13:v12-v14).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is called to edify one another not gossip about one another, (rom c14).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus must learn that it is by the power of the Holy spirit, that we achieve anything, and that the Holy spirit only manifests its power when the disciples are of one mind and purpose, for sanctification only comes by way of the Holy spirit, through love of Christ and love of truth, (rom c15:v13-v30).
The disciple of Christ Jesus is to have the mind of Christ, (to think as Christ thinks), have His attitude and the fruit of the Holy spirit, for it is only through spiritual awareness that the disciple of Christ can discern spiritual wisdom, Christ Jesus who became for us wisdom from God the father, our righteousness, our sanctification and our redemption, (1 cor c2:v13-v16).
The young disciples (those who are babes in Christ), lack wisdom (maturity), and cannot rightfully divide the scriptures, for the young disciples to grow they first need to be rooted within God’s love, agape! to learn this, is the first step of wisdom, and wisdom shall take you to the throne of God, (1 cor c3:v1).
The disciple of Jesus Christ is a temple of God, it is by the indwelling of the Holy spirit that sanctification comes, as individuals we are living stones, who belong to a royal priesthood and are citizens of a Holy nation, (1 cor c3:v16).
The disciple of Christ Jesus is to know that sexual immorality is the only sin in which you sin against your own body, the disciple was bought with the “Blood of Christ Jesus” who indwells the heart by the power of the Holy spirit, to commit sexual immorality is to dishonour (pollute) what is Holy, (1 cor c6:v19-v20).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus must abide in love, for love is the greatest gift that the Lord can give to His children, for love is the giving of Himself, for 'God is love', (1 cor c13).
The disciple of Christ cannot remain as babes but must grow to maturity, (1 cor c14:v20).
The disciple of Christ Jesus must seek after righteousness and cease from sinning, (1cor c15:v34).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to manifest the attitude of Christ in their moral flesh, for it is the life of Christ radiating from the child of God that brings Glory to our Heavenly Father, our flesh is decaying, but our soul and our spirit is being renewed daily, (2 cor c4:v11).
It is the love of Christ that compels the disciple to die to self and live for Him, as a new creation representing him as his ambassador of His word, (2 cor c5:v14-v20).
The fruit of the Holy spirit is the God given virtues of the disciple, revealing character and intergrity, (2 cor c6:v6).
The disciples of Christ Jesus must keep themselves from all defillment of the flesh and the soul, (2cor c6:v14-v18).
The disciple of Christ must guard against satan influencing the mind by perverting the word of God, (2 cor c11:v3-v4).
The disciples of the Lord Jesus must examine themselves to see if they are in the faith, (if Christ Jesus is Lord of your life), (2 cor c13:v5).
The disciple of Christ begins his journey of salvation by grace through faith, for it is through our faith in Christ Jesus and the out pouring of his grace that enables the holy spirit to bring us to spiritual perfection, (gal c3:v3-v14).
The disciples of the Lord Jesus walks by the spirit, they walk in the truth, for it is by walking in the spirit which gives us victory over the flesh, to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus is to crucify the flesh, the putting to death our old sinful nature, (gal c5:v16-v24).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is sanctified through Him, given the faith to believe in Him, sealed in the promise of Him and created by Him, (eph c1 and c2).
The disciple of christ jesus is to walk in a manner worthy of his calling, displaying the fruit of the holy spirit in his christian walk, (eph c4:v1-v3).
the disciple of Christ is to grow into a mature christian, to the fulness of Christ Jesus, being transfromed into His likeness, laying aside the old nature and being renewed in the spirit of your mind unto sanctification, (eph c4:v13-v24).
The disciple of Christ Jesus must bridle the tongue, for the tongue can grieve the Holy spirit when used in anger, or bitterness or slander, (eph c4:v29-v31).
The disciples of the Lord Jesus are to be imitators of Him, they are to walk in love, (eph c5:v1-v3).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is not to partake with anyone who is in direct disobedience to the teachings of Christ, for it shall contradict your faith and your chirstian walk, for as children of the light we must walk in the light and display the fruit of the light exposing the deeds of darkness, the disciple must walk as a wise man or woman filled with the Holy spirit, (the truth), Holy and blameless, (eph c5:v7-v27).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus must do the will of the father from the heart, (eph c6:v6).
The disciples of the Lord Jesus have been filled with the fruit of righteousness (acquittal) that comes through Christ, (phil c1:v11).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to live in a manner worthy of His Gospel, (phil c1:v21-v27).
The disciple of Christ Jesus must have humility of mind, and display the attitude of Christ, (phil c2:v2-v5).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to be blameless and innocent, and above reproach, (phil c2:v15).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to be perfect, (mature), (phil c3:v15).
The disciples of the Lord Jesus must give if they are to receive from the Lord God, (phil c4:v18).
The disciple of Christ Jesus must be filled with the knowledge of His “Will” in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, that they may walk in a manner worthy of the lLrd God, and please Him in all respects, (col c1:v9-v10).
The disciple of Christ is to be firmly rooted in Him and established in the truth, (faith), (col c2:v7).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus does not need anything added to or anything taken away from the Gospel of Christ Jesus for salvation to be complete, for they are complete in Him, perfect and complete in the will of God, (col c2:v10).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to have the spirit of forgiveness, and the fruit of the Holy spirit, (col c3:v12).
The disciple of Christ Jesus is to be full of love, for love is the perfect bond of unity, and produces the peace that surpasses all understanding as Christ rules within the heart, (col v3:v14-v16).
The disciples speech should never be obscene or corrupt, but full of grace and edification, (col c4:v6).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to walk in a manner worthy of God’s calling, so that He (the Lord God) may establish your heart blameless in Holiness, (sanctification), (1 thess c3:v13).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus must abstain from sexual immorality, this is the will of the Lord God who is our sanctification, the Lord God has call His children to Holiness (sanctification) purity of mind, body and soul, it was the Lord God who sanctified you (made you Holy) at your conversion, and it is the Lord God who commands a progression of Holiness (sanctification) in our christian walk, (be you Holy as I am Holy, (1 thess c4:v3-v7).
If the disciple of the Lord Jesus yields fully to the perfect will of God, then the Lord God of peace by the power of the Holy spirit shall release full sanctification, (1 thess c5:v23).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is not to live in a disorderly manner, (2 thess c3:v6).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to discipline himself for the purpose of Godliness, (piety), (2 thess c4:v7).
The disciple of Christ Jesus is to pursue, Righteousness, Godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness, (fruit of the spirit), (1 tim c6:v11).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to avoid worldly and empty chatter, (1 tim c6:v20).
The disciples of the Lord Jesus can only be of use as a vessel for honour, if they cleanse themselves of worldliness and pursue righteousness with a pure heart, (sincere), (2 tim c2:v21-v24).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus shall receive tribulation and persecution from the world, (2 tim c3:v12).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus who is pure in heart shall receive wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ, (2 tim c3:v15).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to be an example of good works, purity in doctrine, dignified, reverence and sound in speech which is beyond reproach, (titus c2:v7-v8).
The disciple of Christ Jesus is to disown ungodliness and worldly desires, but are to live sensibly, righteously and Godly, (titus c2:v12).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to be subject to ruling authorities, they are to malign no one, and quarrel with no one, (titus c3:v1-v2).
It is by the Lord God’s grace that the disciple of the Lord Jesus is washed in the blood and cleansed from sin, by the continual renewing and regeneration by the Holy spirit in the life of the disciple, (titus c3:v5).
All disciples of the Lord Jesus should come to the place where they have the albility to teach the gospel, to fail at this point shall result in never coming to the knowledge of the truth and forever remaining a babe lacking in spiritual growth, it is only through maturity in the faith that the senses are trained to discern between good and evil, (heb c5:v12-v14).
The disciple of Christ cannot live his life in sin, after receiving the knownledge of the truth, if so, there is no longer a sacrifice for sin, for we receive not a licence to sin, but liberity that we may not sin, therefore salvation is not once saved always saved, salvation to the disciple of the Lord Jesus is to remain within His will, (heb c10:v26).
The disciples of the Lord Jesus are disciplined by the Lord God that we may learn from Him and share in His Holiness, discipline is for those who have been trained to yeild to the fruit of righteousness, the fruit of the Holy spirit, (Holiness, love, obedience, faith and peace etc, (heb c12:v10-v11).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to offer up a sacrifice of praise, we are to do good and share with others, for the Lord God has equiped us in every good thing to do His will, (heb c13:v15-v16).
The disciples faith in the Lord Jesus is perfected by being grounded in the will of God, for it is through God’s will that good works are produced and faith is made complete, (jam c2:v22).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus who comes to maturity, is perfect in moral and spiritual growth, (jam c3:v2).
It is the command of the Lord God for the disciple to submit to His authority, (jam c4:v7).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to love his neighbour, not judge them, (jam c4:v12).
The disciples of Christ Jesus has the sanctifying work of the Holy spirit within their hearts enabling them to obey the teachings of Christ Jesus, (1 pet c1:v2).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to be Holy in all their behaviour, and are to conduct themselves reverently, (1 pet c1:v15-v17).
It is for the disciple of the Lord Jesus to know that love is the key to their salvation, (1 pet c1:v22).
The disciple of Christ is to grow in respect to their faith and their salvation, not all will grow into maturity (perfect) but all can sanctify ( hold sacred) Christ Jesus within their hearts, (1 pet c2:v2).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to be virtuous in their christian life, that they may put to shame those who would slander them, (1 pet c2:v15).
The disciple of Christ must die to sin, and be alive to righteousness, (we have been acquitted from sin through the crucifixion of Christ Jesus, that we should live our lifes in Holiness for Christ’s sake who justified us), (1 pet c2:v24).
The disciples of the Lord Jesus must be humble in heart, and of one mind, (purpose), (1 pet c3:v8).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus must “sanctify” the Lord in their heart, (hold sacred, consecrate, Holy) for Christ is Lord of their life and is enthroned within the heart, (1 pet c3:v15).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to be fervent in love, for love covers a multitude of sins, (1 pet c4:v8).
The disciple of the Christ Jesus has received faith from Him as a gift through His righteousness, leading to knowledge, and Godliness, that they may be paratakers of His divine nature, (2 pet c1:v2-v8).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to walk in the light, (walk in truth and Holiness, walking in the spirit), if the disciple of the Lord Jesus says he has no sin, (original sin, the indwelling principle of sin rather than the act of sinning), he deceives himself and the truth is not in him, the apostle John is addressing babes in Christ with this statement, for in chapter two, he calls them “little children”, who have been sanctified and made Holy through the blood of Christ, for you must confess before you can profess, confession is the acknowledgement of sin, (repentance), and profession is the acknowledgement of Christ Jesus as your Lord and saviour, (salvation), we are born in sin therefore all have sinned.
(1 john c1:v8-v10).
The Lord Jesus has made it possible for His disciples to live in a state of Holiness, if this could not be achieve the Lord God would not have said; be you Holy as I am Holy, and John would not have said; these things I write to you, so that you may not sin, and if anyone sins we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, John was addressing babes in Christ not the matured, (perfect), (1 john c2:v1-v2).
The disciples of theLlord Jesus are to keep His word within their heart and act upon it, for to keep His word is to have the love of God perfected within the heart, obedience to Christ and His teachings is the test of faith, and the proof of this is revealed when we walk in Holiness and displaying the fulness of the spirit, (the fruit of the holy spirit), (1john c2:v3-v6).
The key for the disciple of Christ Jesus to walk in Holiness is Love, and the key to remain within the perfect will of God is obedience, (1john c2:v10-v17).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus who practices righteousness is born of Christ, (1john c2:v29).
The disciples of Christ Jesus purify themselves when they put their hope (faith) in Him, for he is pure, (perfect), (1john c3:v3).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus does not practice sin, (unrighteousness) because he is born of the spirit of god, hence His (Christ) seed abides within him, making it impossible to commit a sin unknownly, for such is the Holy spirit within, that he always convicts us against unrighteousness, and through maturity and a close relationship with Christ Jesus the disciple is able to become an overcomer, (1john c3:v9).
The disciples of the Lord Jesus are to have love for one another, and abide in His name, (1 john c3:v23-v24).
The key to salvation is “love”, for God is love, and His love is manifested within His disciples, for if the disciples love one another the Lord abides in them and His love is perfected in us, for perfect love cast out all fear, (1 john c4:v7-v21).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus must keep His commandments (rule of conduct), through which we shall overcome the world and show that we are born of God, for this is our victory, and our faith is Christ Jesus, to obey and to trust, (1john c5:v3-v5).
The love of the disciple for Christ is revealed when they walk according to the commandments of the Lord Jesus,(2 john c1:v16).
The disciple of the Lord Jesus is to walk in the truth, (3 john c1:v3-v4).
The disciples of the Lord Jesus must keep themselves in the Love of God, for His love is able to keep them from stumbling and make them stand in the presence of His Glory blameless with great joy, (jude c1:v21-v24).
The word loving-kindness is not mentioned within the new testament, for loving-kindness means to favour, and the Lord God favoured humanity with the gift of “His only begotten Son”, and of His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace, divine love, the unmerited favour of the Lord God, the foundation of our salvation, for “God is love” and gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life, such is the love of the lord god that it is the key to salvation.
You shall love your enemies, (matt c5:v44).
you shall be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect,
(perfect love), (matt c5:v48).
you shall love your neighbour, (matt c19:v19).
you shall love the Lord God with your all your heart, (matt c22:v37).
you shall love your neighbour as yourself, (matt c22:v39).
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, (mark c12:v30).
To Love the Lord God with your all, and to love your neighbour as youeself is worth more that all the religious rituals, (mark c12:c33).
love your enemies, (luke c6:v27).
you shall love the lord god with your all, (luke c10:v27).
Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end, (john c13:v1).
Jesus said; a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you, (john c13:v34-v35).
Jesus said; if you love me, keep my commandments. (john c14:v15).
He who keeps my commandments loves me and will be loved by my father, (john c14:v21).
If you love me you will keep my word, (john c14:v23-v24).
Jesus said; I love the Father, (john c14:v31).
Jesus said; abide in my love, (john c15:v9).
Jesus said; as the Father loved me, I have loved you; abide in my love, (john c15:v9).
Jesus said; if you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, (john c15:v10).
This is Jesus commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you, (john c15:v12).
Jesus said; greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friend, you are my friends, if you do whatI I command you, (john c15:v13-v14).
Jesus said; these things I command you, that you love one another, (john c15:v17).
Jesus said; the father Himself loves you, because you have loved me, and believe that I came forth from God, (john c16:v27).
Jesus said; the glory which you gave me I have given to them, that they ma ybe one just as we are one; I in them, and you in me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them as you have loved me, (john c17:v22-v23).
Jesus said; “O Righteous Father! I have declared to them your name, and will declare it, that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them” (john c17:v25-v26).
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy spirit who was given unto us, (rom c5:v5).
But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (rom c5:v8).
We know that all things, work together for good to those that love God, to those who are called according to His purpose, (rom c8:v28).
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ, shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword, (rom c8:v35).
In all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us, (rom c8:v37).
I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, (rom c8:v38-v39).
Let love be without hypocrisy, abhor what is evil, cling to what is good, (rom c12:v9).
Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honour giving preference to one another, (rom c12:v10).
Own no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law, (rom c13:v8).
Love does not commit adultery, nor murder, nor thief, nor lie, nor covet, love does no harm to a neighbour, love is the fulfillment of the law,(rom c13:v9-v10).
Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the spirit, that you strive together with me in prayer, (rom c15:v30).
It is written: “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those that love Him” (1 cor c2:v9).
But if anyone loves God, he is, known by Him, (1 cor c8:v3).
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and have all faith, so that I could remove mountians, but have not love, I am nothing, even if I give all that I have to feed the poor, and even give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing, for love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; does not brag, is not arrogant, nor does it act unbecomingly, it does not seek its own, is not provoked, nor does it take into account a wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth, for love bears all things, believes all things and hopes in all things, and endures all things, love never fails,when I was a child, I spoke as a child, and I thought as a child, and understood as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things, for now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known but now abide faith, hope and love, for the Greatest of these is “Love”, (1 cor c13).
If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed, (1 cor c16:v22).
For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus; that if one died for all, therefore all died, (2 cor c5:v14).
But as you abound in everything, in faith, in utterance, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in love for the brotherhood, see that you abound in this grace also, for I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others, (2 cor c 8:v7-v8).
Therefore show to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, (2 cor c8:v24).
Brethren, farewell, become complete, be of good comfort, and of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you, (2 cor 13:v11).
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I that lives, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me, (gal c2:v20).
For in Christ Jesus neither Jew nor Gentile avails anything, but faith working through love, (gal c5:v6).
For you, my brother have been called to liberity, but do not use your liberity as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another, for all the law is fulfilled in one word, “love”, (gal c5:v13-v14).
The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance, (gal c5:v22).
Just as he; chose us in Christ Jesus, before the foundation of the world, that we should be Holy and without blame before Him in love, (eph c1:v4).
Therefore after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, (eph c1:v15).
For the Lord God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, (eph c2:v4).
That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God, (eph c3:v17-v19).
I, therefore, the prison of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of your calling with which you were called, with all humility, gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, (eph 4:v1-v2).
Speaking the truth in love, that we may grow up in all things into Christ Jesus who is the head, from whom the whole body is joined and knitted together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love, (eph c4:v15-v16).
Walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and gave Himself for us, (eph c5:v2).
Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, (eph c5:v25).
So husbands ought to love their own wives, as their own bodies, (eph c5:v28).
Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, (eph c6:v23-v24).
And I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and in all discernment, (phil c1:v9).
Fulfill my joy by being like minded, having the same love, and being of one mind and one purpose, (phil c2:v2).
We have heard of your love for all the saints, and your love in the spirit, (col c1:v4-v8).
That our hearts may be encouraged and knitted together in love, (col c2:v2).
Remembering through prayer your work of faith, and labour of love, (1 thess c1:v3).
And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another, (thess c3:v12).
Concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another, (1 thess c4:v9).
But let us who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, (1 thess c5:v8).
And esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake,(1 thess c5:v13).
Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ, (2 thess c3:v5).
The grace of our Lord was than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus, (1 tim c1:v14).
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind, (2 tim 1:v7).
Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus, (2tim c1:v13).
But when the kindness of our Lord and Saviour appeared,His love was manifested towards mankind, (titus c3:v4).
All who are with us greet you and greet those who love the faith, (titus c3:v15).
I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith, which you have towards the Lord Jesus and towards the saints, for I have come to have great joy and comforted in your love, for the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, (philem c1:v4-v7).
For the Lord God is not unjust as to forget your work and the love that you have shown towards His name, in that you have ministered to the saints and still minister towards them, (heb c6:v10).
And let us consider one another in order to stimulate our love towards good works, (heb c10:v24).
Let brotherly love continue, (heb c13:v1).
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trail; for when he has been approved, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to them that love Him, (jas c1:v12).
Listen, my beloved brethren: has the Lord God not chosen the poor of the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those that love Him, (jas c2:v5).
If you are fulfilling the “Royal Law” according to scripture, “you shall love your neighbour as your self” (jas c2:v8).
And thought you have not seen Him, you love Him, and thought you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressaile and full of glory, (1pet c1:v8).
Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another ferently with a pure heart, (1pet c1:v22).
Honour all men; love the brotherhood, fear the Lord God, and honour the king, (1pet c2:v17).
All be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love the brethren, be kind hearted and humble in spirit, (1pet c3:v8).
He who loves His brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in Him, (1john c2:v10).
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him, (1john c3:v1).
In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifested: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he, who does not love his brother, (1john c3:v10).
And this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, (1john c3:v11).
We know that we have passed from death to life, because we have loved the brethren; he who does not love his brother abides in death, (1john c3:v14).
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us; and we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren, (1john c3:v16).
But who so ever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth, (1john c3:v17-v18).
And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us, (1john c3:v23).
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God, (1john c4:v7).
Those that do not love do not know God, for “God is love”, (1john c4:v8).
In this the love of God was manifested towards us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him, in this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the “propitiation” for our sins, (1john c4:v9-v10).
Beloved, if god so loved us, we also ought to love one another, (1john c4:v11).
No one has seen God at any time, if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us, (1john c4:v12).
We have known and believed the love that God has for us, for “God is love”, and He who abides in love abides in God, and God in him (1john c4:v16).
Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world, (1john c4:v17).
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment, and he who has fear is not made perfect in love, (1john c4:v18).
We love Him because He first loved us, (1john c4:v19).
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? (1john c4:v20).
And this commandment we have from him; that he who loves God must love his brother also, (1john c4:v21).
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him, (1john c5:v1).
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments, (1john c5:v2-v3).
Grace and mercy, peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love, (2john 1:v3).
This is love; that we walk according to His commandments, (2john c1:v6).
Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you, (jude c1:v2).
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life, (jude c1:v21).
Jesus said: as many as I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent, (rev c3:v19).
Holiness is the reshaping of the soul through spiritual rebirth, and is associated with the divine presence of the Lord God, and without Holiness within the life of the recipient, there can be no manifestation of the Lord Gods presence, (1pet c2), for mans soul comes from the essence of the Lord God; and therefore can only be regenerated by the recipient who has nullified their own desires, (died to self), thus allowing the Holy spirit to flow in the operation of the wakening of the soul to its rightful owner, the Lord Jesus Christ, (Elohim),(gen c2), if the pursuit of Holiness is not the desire of the recipient then the fulness of salvation shall never come into fruition, remember that the call of the Lord God to the recipient ,is to search for Him with all their heart, and in doing so, He shall reveal Himself to them, but if the recipient of the gift of salvation only takes delight in the things that are pleasing to their own nature (ego), then the richness of holiness with all its blessings can never be received, hence to merely call yourself a christian is not your assurance into the presence of the almighty nor your place in heaven, for the recipient must rightly be taught, that at the moment they receive the gift of salvation, they have become a priest of the Most High God, and must worship Him accordingly as the scriptures teach, note; that I emphasize as the “scriptures teach”, not as man teaches.
And the scriptures teach us that,
1.He (Christ Jesus) must be first in the recipients live, (matt c10:v37-v38)
2.We must love Him (Christ Jesus) with our all, (mark c12:v30).
3.We must conform to the image of Christ Jesus. (rom c8: v29).
4.We must have the same attitude as Christ Jesus, (phil c2:v1-v11).
5.We must obey His (Christ Jesus) teachings, (john c14:v15).
6.We must be Holy as He (Christ Jesus) is Holy, (1pet c1:v16).
7.We must understand that the gifts of the Holy spirit are what they are “gifts” that cannot within themselves bring salvation to the recipient, just as your wealth, talents or time cannot bring salvation, (1cor c13); it is only through the love (grace) of the Lord God, that salvation is received as a gift through the Lord Jesus Christ, and that it is by His love (agape through the Holy spirit) which He instills within our spirit thus performing the miracle of creating within us a new spirit that cleanses the soul of the recipient, it is this love (agape love) that transforms the soul within, manifesting the fruit of the Holy spirit within producing a clean heart (pure soul) and a right spirit within.
I have greatly wondered in these present days as to why Holiness is seldom or never mentioned within christian circles, it is as if it has become a mystery, but if today is the day of salvation, then surely it is also the day for Holiness, it is true to say that one is made Holy, (sanctified) when you receive salvation, quoating that great christian brother Calvin, as once saved always saved! but calvin himself believed that suffering would be a manifestation of taking up the cross of Christ Jesus, and that suffering was also part of the process of Holiness, not as a punishment, but the price in which the recipient must pay for their love of Christ Jesus, Calvin recognize fully that one must walk the way of Holiness if they are to conform to the image of Christ Jesus, brother Calvin knew that suffering was part and parcel for the cleansing of the soul through spiritual rebirth, (rom c8:v17;phil c3:v10; 1pet c4:v13), for what is Holiness but the love of God and what is the love of God, but Christ Jesus; and who was Christ Jesus but the truth! and is it not the truth that sets you free, and if Christ Jesus was called the “Holy one of God” (mark c1:v24), and the spirit of God called “the Holy spirit”, should we then as His children not live Holy lifes before Him, are we not baptist into the baptism of His death and resurrection, are we not to obtain full sanctification and spiritual perfection, (that is Holiness unto the Lord), the conforming and transforming into His likeness, being consecrated by His blood (heb c10:v20), to a new and living way, not the old way but a new and living way, the way of Holiness.
Full sanctification or spiritual perfection is not being a perfect person according to the flesh, for all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of the Lord God, Holiness therefore is of the spiritual realm, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and against powers and rulers of the darkness of this age, and of spiritual hosts full of wickedness in heavenly places, (eph c6:v12), hence His love not only gives us full sanctification, but also gives birth to our faith, for it is His love that perfects our faith, for He is the Author and Finisher of our Faith, (heb c12:v2), hence we must gasp hold of the promise spoken by the Lord Jesus, that no one shall be able to pluck you from His hand or His Fathers hand, “Father Always In Thy Hand”, the promise to the recipient is that if they trust him and feed of his love then the father child relationship shall grow, and the journey of full sanctifacation shall begin.
The walk along the Highway of Holiness, (the way of Holiness), can only proceed when we are ingulf in the love of the Lord God, and it shall be at this point in the recipients life that faith (belief and trust) shall enable the child of God to cry unto the Lord, teach me O! Lord your ways that I may walk in your path (isa c2:v3), and two hearts shall be knitted together, within Christ Jesus all are made perfect, as man He (christ jesus) is the image of God, (2cor c4:v4; col c1:v15), and it is His love “agape love” within the recipient heart that cast out all fear, covers a multitude of sin, is the fulfillment of the “perfect law”, and is the greatest of all things, so to be transformed into the image of Christ is to possess the mind of Christ (to have the attitude of Christ Jesus towards the Lord God and others), to have the same love within your heart that flows from the heart of Christ Jesus, it is this love that makes one Holy and Righteous before the Almighty, and it is this love that Sanctifies, Justifies and Glorifies, for “God is Love”, it is this love (agape love) which is the very foundation within the Heart of the Almigthy, and it is upon this foundation that any relationship between the Lord Jesus and the recipient can be embellished, make no mistake there can be no fellowship with the Lord Jesus if there is no Holiness (agape love) within the life of the recipient, for Holiness is the sustains that binds our fellowship with Christ Jesus, and places the recipient before the throne of the Most High God, (Elyon), (heb c4:v16), for it is at the throne (the throne of Grace) of the Lord God were the fountian of pure love (Holiness) is received.
It was the Lord God Himself who called Noah “a righteous and perfect man”, who walked with God, revealing God's love towards Noah, and it was this close fellowship that was built through love that produced faith within the heart of Noah, and Abraham was told by the Lord God to walk before Him and to be perfect, perfection being a life which is filled with the love of God producing integrity, faithfulness and justice, this is how the child of God should walk in their daily lives, for it is this way of life that is in keeping with the Lord God, (2sam c22), for when you walk with the Lord God, you behave in like manner as the Lord God, you become like the Lord God, your fellowship with the Lord God grows stronger as your love grows deeper, this is perfection, and this is what every child of God should be aiming at, a deep personal relationship with the Lord Jesus (Elohim), for it is only through a deep rooted relationship with the Lord Jesus that Holiness and perfection can be obtain, Holiness is a relationship where the child of God is led by the Holy spirit (Eloah) allowing them to walk in the spirit, it is a relationship of total commitment, and it is within this relationship that the love of God (Holiness) is made perfect, (1john c2:v5-v6).
It is sin that hinders our relationship with the Lord Jesus, it is our old nature our egoism which destroys our fellowship with the Lord, it is only when we die to self and cry with all our hearts “that it is no longer the “I” that lives within, but that the Lord Jesus Christ now rules and sits on the throne of your heart, the death of the old nature (the old way of thinking) shall herald forth the bright morning star, and the new creation the perfect man, the Holy man, shall be born, the new birth a child after Christ's own heart, for our Holiness can only be found within the Lord Jesus Christ, for only in the person of Jesus can liberity be found, grace now abounds within the heart of the recipient, and as a new creation we partake of His divine nature, sanctied in the truth,(Christ) (john c14:v17-v24), opening the way for the recipient to worship as a true worshiper worshiping in spirit and truth.
The narrow way now opened before the recipient, the way that only a few shall find, that narrow road, the way of Holiness that we must travel with the love and mind (attitude) of Christ Jesus towards others, for no longer do we think as the world thinks, now we must bless those who curse us and do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who spitefully use us and persecute us, we are to love our enemies, and give to them what they ask, we are not to turn away anyone who wants to borrow from us, we are not to judge, but to let the Lord God Judge for us, the child of God is to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, for through this one action all the blessing of Heaven shall be pour out upon the recipient, these are only a few of the teachings of the Lord Jesus, and like all the teachings ofCchrist they teach his disciples “love” and it is His love within the disciple (the recipient) that brings the child of God into the way of Holiness and a personel relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, for it is the acting upon the teachings of christ that makes the child of god a “peculiar person, totally opposite to the teachings of the world, scriptural teaching is a requirement if one is to travel the narrow way, (the way of Holiness), for they reflect to the child of God the mind of Christ and the attitude in which they are to treat others.
If anyone reads their Bible in a regular basis it shall become evident to them that every promise within Holy Writ has a requirement that has to be fulfilled before that promise can be receive, (i.e.)the most famous scripture quoated today, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that who so ever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, (john c3:v16).
The promise to the recipient is everlasting life, and what is the requirement, “you must believe”, you must put your faith totally in Him and in the promise of His love, you must trust in His love, for without faith (belief and trust) how can the recipient by Holy as the Lord God is Holy, how can the recipient receive the Holy nature of the Lord Jesus, for it is His love that motivates the heart of the recipient through the Holy spirit, thus producing a peculiar people through the new birth, and the manifesting of inner love (Holiness), yet this is but a taste of His great grace (the Love of God).
what does this word “peculiar” mean, since it is clear from the scriptures that only those who are a peculiar people to the Lord God shall find the “narrow way” that leads to life, (matt c7:v14).
Seven times within the scriptures the word “peculiar” is used, and only in one occasion in ecclesiastes is it used by king Solomn, but in the other six times it is used by the Lord God, and the meaning of this word peculiar is “belonging exclusively to one”, something special, possession and treasure, but what is interesting is the fact that there is a seventh scripture that is found in the book of Malachi, and the word used here by the Lord God to those that love Him is “Jewel” and the meaning of this word Jewel, is “peculiar, special and treasure,” this brings the number of scriptures back to seven, and has great spiritual importance; for seven is the number of God and denotes, “spiritual perfection”, let us now take a look at these seven scriptures.
1. Now therefore, if you obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine. (exod c19:v5).
2. You are a Holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. (deut c14:v2)
3. For today the Lord has proclaimed you to be His peculiar people, as He has promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments. (deut c26:v18).
4. For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself and Isreal for His peculiar treasure. (ps 135:v4).
5. Then they that feared the Lord spoke to one another and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of rememberance was written before Him for those who meditate on His name; they shall be mine, says the Lord of Hosts, on the day that I make them my Jewel, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him, (malachi c3:v16-v17).
6. Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good work. (titus c2:v13-v14).
7. You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a Holy nation, a peculiar people; that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1pet c2:v9).
Within these seven scriptures the way of Holiness is revealed and the way of salvation opened, divine grace revealed, and the requirement is in obediences, for obedience is to conform! and to conform is to “make similar” which is in accordance with the scriptures, for as children of the Lord God we are to live are lives in accordance to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, hence it is not the breaking of habits that brings Holiness into the life of the recipient, it is their love for the Lord God, a love that has been instilled within the heart of the recipient by the wonderful work of the Holy spirit, it is this love, the love of God that conquers, not a set of rules or a form of Godliness, if anything, let us learn from the hypocrisy of the pharisees, what did they lack, was it not Love! for those around them, did not the Lord God tell them that he desired mercy (love) rather than sacrifice, is it not the love of God that brings forth the peace that passes all understanding, and is it not true to say that the love of God is free from all hypocristy, and is not hypocristy the blight of our human nature, but God's love within the recipient works no evil to his neighour, and is the fulfillment of the law, love releases great blessing to those that love the Lord God, and it brings the recipient into the presences of the Almighty, it is love that produces faith, for love is the action of obedient faith, and our Holiness comes through our love of God, for which enables us to walk in the spirit, it is love that motivates our obedience towards Holiness, the conforming to Christ's image, love is the essence of God's Holiness, and it is the manifestation of agape love within the recipient that makes them the perfect man, the Holy man, it was through Christ’s love in the offering up of His own life as an “Atonement for sin” that perfected forever the sanctification of those who love him, and I stress the word “Love” for as Christ is in the recipient and the recipient in Christ they are made perfect through love, (john c17:v20), this is called entire sanctification, or spiritual perfection, it is not of the flesh, (for no flesh is pleasing to God), but the heart, for the heart is the very soul of man and it is to the soul (mind) that the love of God is conquering, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places,(eph c6:v12),
If you are in doubt about love being the essence of the Lord God's Holiness, then I leave this portion of scripture for you to meditate upon.
should it profit me if I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal, and though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing, and though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing, love suffers long, and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; love bears all things, believes all things, endures all things, love never fails. (1cor c13:v1-v8).
mockers shall mock, and the fool will say there is no god, but be under no illustion, the wrath of the Almighty shall come upon this sinful world, (isa c13:v11; c26:v21; ps 149:v5-v9), for such is His love, that He must punish sin, (lawlessness), for He is a just and a righteous and a “Holy God. (rev c19:v11). “amen!”
Faith
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Salvation
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Holiness and the fruit of the Spirit
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Peace
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A brief look through the Gospels, concerning Discipleship
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A brief look through the Epistles, concerning Discipleship
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“Love” is the key that opens the gate to the narrow way,
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