Bible, NT-10, Gospel-1, Intro
Part 2
LESSON 10
THE GOSPEL I
INTRODUCTION
PART 2
By Rev. G. Evan Newmyer
LESSON TEN – GOSPEL 1 – THE WEEK OF THE CROSS
We have four accounts giving us the written Gospel, each adding to the other covering a time period of no more than 34 years, running from the birth of Christ, to the Resurrection. We also find a great deal of the ministry of Jesus centered on one week, which was really nine days long; however, it nonetheless becomes one of great importance. The week began with the Anointed being anointing for burial, ending with the Resurrection of Jesus. Although one could say the actual verses for the week are limited to the ending chapters in each Account, we also fine during the ministry of Jesus, He pointing to the week, as well as its importance through teachings, parables and many statements. The Book of Revelation tells us the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world, thus we also find the purpose of the birth of Jesus was the Cross of Jesus. The importance can be seen in other ways, there are 1040 verses in Matthew, 678 in Mark, 1151 in Luke, and 879 in John. Out of those the specific verses found within the time element of the week of the Cross are 389 in Matthew, 253 in Mark, 313 in Luke and 343 in John, or one-third of the entire Gospel. Not counting the many references made before Jesus was Anointed in Bethany, such as Matthew 17:22-23 where Jesus talked about the Cross, or when John said, “Behold the Lamb of God”, which is a direct reference to the Cross, or when Jesus talked about being Born Again, which was presented after the Resurrection of Jesus. The Resurrection is included in the week, as well as many other Parables and verses pertaining to the week of the Cross, not counting the plans of the religious rulers well before the week regarding putting Jesus to death. All of this shows a great majority of the contextual material in the written Gospel pointing to the one week in all man’s history to bring a change beyond the ability of human existence.
All the way back in Genesis we find God created the earth in six nights, on the seventh He did rest, thus the creation was from evening to morning. The creation Jesus made possible is for the Children of the Day, a New Creation so complex and important it would take more than “six days”. Let’s face it, the week of the Cross is very special. Out of all the time of man from Genesis to the end of time there would not be another week like it, one special week to change all things by opening the Street to heaven for man by bringing a New Creation from God. A Creation no one is worthy of, but one everyone can have, whether Jew or Gentile.
The one week was so important the Holy Ghost spent much of the Gospel speaking about it, so do you think it would be nice to know what happened? Yes, not only were many Old Testament prophecies fulfilled, but there are other events helping us in our walk as Christians. We as Christians understand the four accounts are not the opinions of these four men, they are not what they presumed happened, they are not their viewpoints, rather these four men were merely scribes, the Author is still the Holy Ghost, the information contained in the four accounts prove it.
Natural man reads these accounts and presumes events are in conflict, then adds to the presumption with the false thought of the accounts being the opinions, or logic of men who penned the works. We know the accounts are named after the men, but we also know it’s not to give the men some special honor, rather it’s to give us a reference. Just as the chapter and verse numbers were added with the King James Version to give us references. Therefore, if we refer to “Matthew” or “John” one is not saying these men are the authors, rather it’s for reference only. What other evidence do we have of this? The Law of Moses, it was given to Moses, even named after him, but the source was not Moses. If the Gospel were merely what these men thought happened, all of us are wasting our time, but Praise be the Lord, it’s not the case, it’s not the case at all. We will find the events fit like a heavenly glove, each account contributing to the other giving us an overall picture, yet each account left to its own leaves gaps, or unanswered questions. The information in these accounts show there is no way the natural mind of man could have put this together.
There are some other matters one must consider, first, Jesus never lied; second, man has a tendency to form traditions. If Jesus said He would be in the grave three days, and three nights, and raised on the third day, then He was in the grave three days and three nights and raised on the third day. So, how does the three days and nights fit with being raised on the third day? Perfectly, the accounts will prove it. Traditions are natural concepts held by one generation, taken as fact by the next generation, then as truth by the next generation, finally ending as “doctrine”. The doctrines of men make the Word of God to no avail; therefore, it behooves us to find, then hold unto the Truth.
We begin six days before the Passover in John 12:1, the scene opens in a house in Bethany. In the house was a man by the name of Lazarus, a man raised from the dead by Jesus. A fitting place to begin this week, sitting in a house with a man Jesus raised from the dead looking to the moment when Jesus would be Resurrected from the dead. We don’t want to confuse what happened to Lazarus as being a “resurrection”; his was more of a resuscitation, since Lazarus came back to the same life in the flesh, thus Jesus is the first Resurrected from the dead. According to Matthew and John the house belongs to one “Simon the Leper”, who was the father of Judas (Matt 26:6 & Jn 13:2). The time element helps us, when we count these “six days” we must do so as a Jew. The day for the Jew begins at sunset, there are no part days. They have four watches for the day, and four for the night. If a Jew could use “part days”, then they could keep the sabbath in the morning, claiming the afternoon is another day. Not so, their sabbath day begins at sunset and runs to sunset the next day.
The sixth day from this date would be the Passover, the Passover is connected to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, both of which are outlined in detail in the Law of Moses. The weekly sabbath was always on a Saturday regardless of the date, but the High Sabbaths were connected to Feast days, they were on a date regardless of the day. The Passover was always on the 14th of Abib, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was a High Sabbath beginning on the 15th of Abib (Numb 9:5 & Lev 23:6). Accordingly the High Sabbath began as the sun set on the Passover, meaning the day change for the Jew is sunset, not midnight.
As we know Passover really began in Egypt just before the children left the bondage of Pharaoh, it has stood as a reminder of the delivering power of God every since, a fitting day for the Cross of Jesus. The Feast of Unleavened Bread immediately follows, yet Paul said we are the Bread (I Cor 10:17). The Passover was the Preparation day for the High Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened bread, since it was the day the lamb was slain. The weekly Preparation day was always Friday, with the weekly sabbath according to the Commandment on Saturday. Keeping these sabbaths separated will be the key to understanding the days of this week. All this shows the weekly sabbath is by Commandment, the High Sabbaths are by commandment as well, but they are outlined in the Law of Moses, not the Ten Commandments. The weekly sabbath was found in the Ten Commandments, linking it to the token for the Law of Moses, but the feast days were not in the Ten Commandments, but they are in the Law of Moses.
We’re still six days from the Passover, or better, the sixth day from this point will be Passover. It’s also important, we must keep all these things in mind in order to see how the prophecy of three days and three nights was completed to the letter. The scene is still in the house of Simon, but the focus has changed to Mary the sister of Lazarus. She had a pound of expensive ointment of spikenard, she was in the process of anointing Jesus. Whether she really knew what was about to happen or not isn’t clear, what is clear is the week of Cross begins with an anointing of the Anointed, or “preparation”. We will find this sixth day prior to Passover was a preparation day for the weekly sabbath, which makes the next day even more important.
The Scriptures not only show Judas saw this anointing, but he thought it a waste, he was able to persuade some of the other disciples into thinking it was a waste (Matt 26:8). We must take into consideration at this point these disciples were not Born Again, the Spirit was not yet given as John 7:39 points out. They were still motivated by what they saw, thus the disciples lacked spiritual awareness. Peter had a revelation many days prior, but it was not spiritual awareness, since he had no idea his revelation came from the Father until Jesus told him so.
Of course the excuse Judas used was to obtain money, with the guise of feeding the poor, but really he wanted more money in the bag, so he could steal more (Jn 12:5-6) . The reasoning of Judas sounded right, after all they were sent to feed the poor, every Jew on Passover gave to the poor. The more they gave, the greater their life for the following year would be. Wow, sell the anointing oil, give the money to the poor, sounds like a solid Jesus teaching, after all He tell the rich man to do just that, so how can He allow this waste? Judas’ statement seemed right, often what seems right to a natural mind, is out of order to the spiritual. After the disciples gained the New Birth their awareness would change, they would know Judas was nothing more than someone who loved power, but failed to loved the Lord. Judas was someone who allowed their lust to control their life, but at this point in time, including the time of the Passover meal they were still under the impression Judas was a key member in the ministry, as well as a trusted member, one so trusted the Lord Himself allowed the man to keep the entire ministry treasury. Of course we know Jesus knew Judas was a thief, He even called him a devil long before this point in time (Jn 6:70).
When Judas made his objection known, he was told by Jesus, “for the poor always you have with you: but Me you have not always” (Jn 12:8). Didn’t Jesus say He wouldn’t leave them? Yes, what can this mean? Are the poor associated with Judas? No, there are some ministries beneficial at anytime, feeding the poor is one of them, but there are other ministries happening only once. At the moment Judas had his golden opportunity to say, “yeah Lord, You’re right I’m sorry, forgive me”, but all he heard was “poor with you”. To this thief the saying was never going to come to pass, he would make sure the Kingdom would be set up on earth, with him as the treasurer. Judas used his “faith”, but in an evil manner. He made a decision to get what he “hoped for”, a treasury so great the city itself couldn’t hold it. Jesus talked about the kingdom, so all Judas had to do was help matters out a little, usher the kingdom in, then he would be in control of the treasury of a lifetime.
One time ministries, or one time ministry events are important, but we don’t want to lose sight of ministry duties either. The ministry of John the Baptist was a one time event, as was the ministry of Jeremiah, just as the Cross was a one time event, it never happened before, it would not happen again. Does it mean feeding the poor is a lesser ministry? Not at all, Judas could feed the poor the next day, or in a week, or in a month, or he could use the money he had been stealing to feed the poor. This one day was set aside in the time of mankind for one event, the oil was to be used for one thing and one thing only. To sell the oil would be misusing it, yet misusing the things of God is always a transgression. A transgression is crossing the line, or doing something we’re not suppose to, but iniquity is a failure to do what we’re suppose to do, or being unequal. Judas did transgress, but more important he was deep into iniquity. He was a “worker of iniquity”, since he worked at it. His iniquity was a failure to care for the charge Jesus placed in his hand, he was given a position, it was not to tempt him, but to give him the opportunity to deny his self nature, in order to be a trusted servant. Judas became a prime example of the “Lord, Lord haven’t we” people (Matt 7:21-23). It wasn’t what these people did, it’s what they failed to do (the will of the Father – Matt 7:21) which produced the saying, “Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity”. In order for a person to commit iniquity they must have the ability to do the effort, be commanded to, yet work at not doing what they should do, while doing other things they are required to do, thus making them Unequal.
As this anointing was going on in Bethany, the chief priests were putting together their nefarious plans to kill Jesus. Their envy was driving them to destroy the evidence of the miracle, Lazarus. Therefore, Lazarus was a walking, talking product of the power of Christ, because he was visible many of the Jews believed. To the religious leaders the answer was simple, remove Jesus, remove the evidence, and the people will forget. The purpose for Communion is to Remember, because the natural side of man wants to forget the good while retaining the bad.
John 12:12 goes to the “next day”, which would be five days before the Passover, making this next day a weekly sabbath day. This would be the day Jesus would make His entry into Jerusalem, this event is recorded in Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, and Luke 19:28-40, and in John 12:12-19. Since all four accounts have this one day, it becomes a marker for us in understanding what happened leading up to the Cross during the week. This day being the sabbath sent the religious rulers into a rage, here Jesus was allowing all the people to conduct labor, how dare He! The religious rulers told Him, “do something”, He was about to. Jesus didn’t get the colt, the disciples did, Jesus didn’t get the palm branches, the people did, Jesus didn’t lead them in shouting, they did it on their own, but the religious leaders came to Him. Their very act of coming to Jesus to ask Him to stop the people was a recognition on their part of His leadership, yet they failed to see it, rather they felt there a violation of the sabbath day.
John’s account jumps from the entry day to the night of the Passover, but the other accounts fill in the gaps for us. Since the entry is our marker in all accounts, we can go to Matthew 21:1-11 where we find Jesus making entry into Jerusalem. On the same day, or five days before the Passover Jesus cleaned out the temple then said, “It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer: but you have made it a den of thieves” (Matt 21:13). This is interesting since by this time Judas was being drawn to the religious leaders to bring about his plan, thus Judas being a thief, was drawn to the den of thieves. This would be the day after Judas saw the anointing oil, and heard “the poor with you always”.
The next morning, which would be four days before the Passover Jesus spoke to the fig tree, then Jesus went into the temple, where His authority was questioned by the religious rulers (Matt 21:18-22). The questioning shows this was the day after He cleaned out temple, helping us keep the days in order.
Mark adds to this, Luke confirms it; in Mark the event could be misconstrued in light of all Jesus taught us on Blessing. The Sermon on the Mount contained all Blessing and no cursing, but Moses went up to his mount and came back with a Law containing cursing and blessing. Jesus sees a fig tree, then makes a statement based on His knowledge as a statement of fact, not a prophecy, or a curse. The fig tree is a metaphoric symbol of the religious order of Israel; the metaphor connection goes all the way back to the Garden, where Adam used “fig leaves” to cover his flesh after he sinned. Jesus sees the symbol of the religious order to make a statement of fact. The Fig Tree would not produce fruit again, yet Jesus will talk about the leaves appearing at a later date. The Fig tree has two types of fruit, the first fruit is not eatable, the second fruit grows over the first making it eatable. The time of the second fruit was not yet, but Jesus was looking at the first corrupt fruit. In order for the leaves to be productive, the first fruit had to be in a position where the second fruit could not appear. If the second fruit covered the prior fruit, both would be corrupt, but the Leaves would not have a chance in the Night to be a covering.
The Olive Tree is connected to us, the olive oil was used by the Jew as fuel for the menorah, but not as a symbol of their religious order. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to give us the least commandments of Mercy, James tells us to anoint with Olive Oil, thus the symbol relates to Mercy. No one during the earthly ministry said, “Son of David have Grace on me”, but they did say, “Have mercy on me”. Grace is vital, but we can’t discount Mercy, we need both to be equal. The Olives from the Olive Tree cannot be taken directly from the tree and eaten, they must be prepared by soaking them in lye. In order to make oil for burning it takes eight days, but fig oil won’t burn. The Fig tree can be transplanted, which it will be, but if one transplants an olive tree it will not produce olives again. This paradox shows the Fig Tree can appear in the Night with leaves, but no fruit. However, no one can transplant the Olive tree then expect it to produce.
What structure does a tree have? A trunk, what did the religious leaders have? A temple, the temple even impressed the disciples, but not Jesus. Jesus knew the “trunk” (temple) of the tree would fall based on a corruption of the first fruit, thus Jesus saw something the naked eye couldn’t see, then used it as a lesson on Faith. Jesus perceived the hidden evidence making a factual statement, but Peter saw it differently, which shouldn’t surprise us. Many days prior Peter made another statement, then Jesus told him, “Blessed are you Simon BarJona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but My Father which is in heaven” (Matt 16:17). Peter like the rest of us thought one word from God made him a prophet, thus he also felt he could give Jesus advise, after all one revelation means all our words are revelations, right? Wrong, a short time later Peter made another statement, only this time Jesus tells him, “get you behind Me Satan: you are an offense to Me” (Matt 16:23). One minute Peter gets a thought from the Father, the next he gets a thought from the pit of hell, yet the man couldn’t tell one from the other, but Jesus could. This same Peter will see something, then make an assumption, but he missed what Jesus was doing. Jesus told us to Bless, Paul said we are to bless and curse not. Paul also told us all curses are nailed to the Cross, whether the are contained in the Law or not. Therefore, a Christian is free of curses, meaning they cannot put a curse on anything or anyone, since we are not under a curse. Jesus came to Bless us, not curse us, we can’t give what we don’t have. Since this tree is representative of the religious order of Israel we can’t for a second think the Son was cursing something the Father established. What did happen? The cleaning of the temple proved the religion came from the Father, but was placed in the hands of men. It was the evil in man, not the religion from God, making the fruit corrupt.
If Jesus builds the Church why does He tell many of the seven churches they have to repent? Because there are churches in the Rock, but there is only One Church on the Rock. God wanted the Tabernacle, David wanted the Temple. If someone tossed strange fire into the Tabernacle they died, but it’s obvious the religious rulers were robbing the people, yet they didn’t die. The temple was given to man by the permission of God, thus those in charge would have to make the change. Jesus pointed out the corruption, He didn’t force change, the same is true with the churches in the Rock. The temple was to be called of all nations a House of prayer, but they made it a den of thieves, showing the operation was in the hands of man. Who then had more power to resist Jesus? The devils? Or the religious leaders? The devils always did what Jesus told them, not one devil ever told Jesus, “I’m not coming out, and You can’t make me, so there”. Yet the religious leaders resisted Jesus time and again. However, when we came to the Cross the devil, the darkness, the wiles of the devil couldn’t stop us, all because of what Jesus did (Heb 2:14).
We can look at Mark 11:21, and the verses following. We just established Jesus spoke to the tree four days before the Passover, now Mark gives us the next day, or third day before the Passover. Jesus and the disciples were walking along, as they passed the fig tree Peter makes his statement based on his observation through his astonishment. The day prior this same tree had leaves, although it wasn’t “time” for the figs, it nonetheless had leaves. As well as the first fruit which appeared normal, Jesus spoke to it, then one day later there it is, dried up from the roots. Like Peter’s statement of “be it far from You Lord”, he makes another, “The fig tree which You cursed” (Mark 11:21). This time Jesus didn’t say, “Blessed are you Simon BarJona”, but He did say, “have faith in God”. What does faith have to do with cursing? Nothing at all, the Law of Moses is not of faith, yet it has the authority to bring a curse. Faith is based on pleasing God, what then could something cursed please God? The Fig Tree resisted Jesus, mocked Him, accused and tempted Him, it caused it’s own drying up. The tree was Dry, meaning it lacked Water, since Water is a metaphor for Mercy, we find the religious order was drying up for it’s lack of Mercy. The rest of Mark 11 defines what happened: Jesus connected the entire event to “when you stand praying, forgive” (Mark 11:24). There was surely more than enough reasons for the disciples to hold unforgiveness against the religious rulers, but they were told not to. Considering this is a faith issue, the event about to take place makes sense. The disciples were about to face the most horrid of events, yet Jesus tells them it’s a faith issue, they had to forgive, then believe God was able to bring the ability for them to forgive.
The issue of “believe you receive” is connected to seeing the mountain go, rather than come to us like a trained dog. They had to believe when they prayed forgiveness would be vacated by the Mercy of God. The Faith part was still a future manifestation of what was said. Yet, they had to believe what they said, this issue is seeing the spirit of the world go back to the world, thereby changing our viewpoint, rather than see cursing, we will see opportunity to bless. The tense used shows this mountain is over us, we’re not over it. Since the mountain was over us, we tended to interpret events by the mountain, as Peter did. Peter, like us needed to have the mountain removed, it had to be placed back in the Sea (world).
Unbelief is the mental concept of God not being able to begin something, doubt is the mental concept of God not being able to finish what He started. In Mark 11:23 the danger is not unbelief, since we said, but doubt. “Is the mountain gone? Doesn’t seem like it, oh well it didn’t work, it never does for me”. Faith must believe God is, then He is a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. If the mountain doesn’t appear to be gone, we pray the more. It will Go, Jesus said it would.
The fig tree had to have its authority removed, it was established to stand between the people and God; whereas the Olive Tree was established to bring man to God. Jesus was speaking of Olive Tree opportunity, not a Fig Tree separation. The context shows the Fig Tree was no longer effective for those who accept the Cross of Jesus (Col 2:14-15).
The entire next day Jesus was challenged by one religious group (the fig tree), then another (fig tree), each time they were causing the roots of their own tree to dry up. Which would have been two days prior to the Passover.
Mark’s account then gives us another clue, in Mark 14:1 we find the phrase, “after two days” was the feast of the Passover. This is the “feast” of the Passover, not the Passover, thus this is speaking about the night of the Passover. It’s not confusing when we know the Preparation day and Feast day are two different days, thus showing the plans Judas made with the religious rulers came just before the Passover. From Mark 14:3 it might appear as if Mark puts the anointing at Bethany at this time, but in context we read how the event at Bethany was the element to set Judas to the point of protecting the bag by selling the Lord. This is just another area showing how important it is to keep all the accounts together. Some think John’s account doesn’t fit with the other three, but if one takes the time to study certain key marks they will see John is merely filling in gaps by giving us a time line.
It’s here in Mark were we find the “lust” in Judas motivated him; the bag Judas held was not evil, the money in it wasn’t evil, the anointing by Mary wasn’t evil, but Judas saw it as evil to his position. The evil was in the heart of Judas, not the bag, money, or in the anointing. Natural man thinks things are evil, yet things are things, it’s what we do with them making them either good or evil. If we allow a lust to guide us in using the thing, then the thing will be used for evil, but it doesn’t mean the thing is evil. If we allow God to guide us, then the same thing is used for Good; therefore, the thing is just a thing.
We can close the eye gate, lock the ear window, slam the nose door shut, but all we’re doing is trapping the lust inside. James tells us God cannot tempt us with evil, simply because God has no evil in Him from which to tempt us, but God can give us a good gift, yet we can twist it into something evil, as Jude points out (Jude 4).
It takes two things to make a temptation complete, and two different things to make a test. A temptation is complete when the one doing the tempting has a lust, and the one being tempted has a lust drawing them to the temptation. Therefore, for a temptation to be complete both parties, the one presenting and the one being tempted must have a lust in them. A temptation is not complete when the one doing the tempting attempts to tempt another, yet there is no lust in the one being tempted. It’s exactly what we find with Jesus in the wilderness, the Spirit of the Lord took Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted, but the temptation was never complete, since there was no lust in Jesus. There are three main lusts from which the devil operates, the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, thus the devil tempted Jesus in these three areas, yet Jesus did not fall into sin. It places Jesus in a special grouping, He could not be tempted unto evil, neither will He tempt us unto evil.
A test is also found when a party without a lust presents us with a suggestion, or command, or event, as God did with Abraham, or as God did with the children, or as God does with us. If we have a lust in us, we will turn the event into evil, but it doesn’t mean the thing or event was sent as evil, or even as a means to induce evil. If we have no lust in us then the event becomes a testing to prove us. If we twist the test by a lust, we will fall into divers temptations, yet we still can rejoice (yeah right). No, we rejoice because the lust is exposed, thus exposure is the first step to being free. Any lust gains its power through deception and darkness, remove the deception and darkness, then we are free indeed. All this is important since Jesus will tell the religious leaders they are tempting Him, if one assumes God cannot be tempted, they would jump to the false conclusion of Jesus not being the Son of God, or God the Son, because He was tempted. Yet, we also read where God Himself said He was tempted by the children in the wilderness some forty years (Numb 14:22, Ps 95:9, Heb 3:9, 3:17 et al). The temptation coming toward God, and God being taken by the temptation are completely different. Any of us can send a temptation toward God, but it doesn’t mean He is tempted. God will send us back a test or exposure to our folly, but in no way does it mean we tricked God. The religious leaders will send lust filled temptations toward Jesus, but they will have no effect Him. Jesus on the other hand will present them with statements of Truth to set them free, which is producing a test, or exposure to their folly.
To continue on we find Judas making his deal with the religious leaders, but was Judas tempted by Jesus? After all Jesus did give him the bag, and Jesus knew Judas was a devil from the beginning. Sounds like Jesus predestinated the man for failure. After all, didn’t Jesus pray for Peter? Why not Judas? He never did like him, right? No, no, and no, Judas was given more opportunity and knowledge to make the right choice. Peter wanted to do something for Jesus, but found he was weak. Judas on the other hand wanted to do something to Jesus, two completely different things.
Both Mark and Luke will assist us in clearing this up, Luke shows the temple being cleaned (Luke 19:46), then shows Jesus being questioned. Instead of saying the “day following” he uses the term “one of those days”. Nonetheless we see the “fig tree” drying up from the root. The day before they partake of the feast of unleavened bread is the Preparation day, or Passover, thus the Passover is not a sabbath day, it’s a Preparation for the holy sabbath Feast day. Mark shows this by saying the Passover was the Preparation Day, with the Sabbath following (Mark 15:42). This would not be the weekly sabbath since Mark connected it to Passover (Mark 15:37). Mark also shows the women were standing afar off at the Cross on the Passover, which becomes important when we add Luke’s comments.
Regardless of the sabbath, there can be no work done. However, Luke shows the women made spices on the Preparation day, then rested on the sabbath according to the Fifth Commandment (Luke 23:54-56). Spices are made by cooking, yet Mark says the women were at the Cross (Mark 15:40), Matthew names some of the women as Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome (Matt 27:56). Matthew also shows it was evening as the beginning of the sabbath, leaving no time for the women to cook spices, or anything else.
Jesus was discovered raised before sunrise on the first day of the week (Sunday – Matt 26:28 & Luke 24:1). John fills in the gap showing it was early in the morning, but still dark (Jn 20:1). Putting this all together, and keeping the prophetic word of Jesus in tact we see the Cross was on a Wednesday as the Passover, at sunset the High Sabbath for the Feast of Unleavened Bread began, making it the first night. The next day would be the high sabbath on a Thursday, making it the first day. That night the second night, then Friday the weekly preparation day would be the day the women cooked the spices, making it the second day. Friday night the third night, Saturday the sabbath according to the Fifth Commandment the third day, the same day He was raised, yet the discovery would not be until Sunday morning. Jesus entered the grave at the beginning of high sabbath, was raised on the third day which was the weekly sabbath, making Him our Sabbath. Mark shows the sabbath had passed when Jesus was discovered raised, adding Luke we find the weekly sabbath of Saturday had passed (Mark 16:1 & Luke 23:54). This is why we must keep the sabbaths separated, or we would have the women standing at the Cross cooking spices, which no Scripture supports. With all the days accounted for showing the prophetic phrase “three days and three nights”, as well as “be raised on the third day” were completed as Jesus said. Why would this be important? If Jesus was in error regarding how long He would be in the earth, then He could be in error in any point. However, the Scriptures show He was not in error, thus what He said came to pass.
Further we find Matthew provides the information regarding the motivation of Judas for making a bargain with the religious leaders was based the anointing at Bethany (Matt 26:26). Judas was the first “anti Anointing”, or as John terms it, “antichrist”. The Pharisees never could touch Jesus, the breach had to be one from the “same house”. Judas didn’t even need the thirty pieces of silver, yet he took the payment from those who desired to crucify the Lord of Glory, making Judas a prince of the world.
Matthew 26:17-35 covers the meal, with Matthew 26:36-49 covering the Garden of Gethsemane. Mark 14:12 shows the “first day of unleavened bread” which is Passover, then speaks of the meal until Mark 14:31, with Mark 14:32-42 dealing with the Garden of Gethsemane. Luke 22:1 defines the Passover is the day before the feast of unleavened bread, showing the meal form Luke 22:7 to 22:38, then Jesus going to the Garden from Luke 22:39-46. John spends more time than any of them on the things said after the meal, which begins at John 13:1 until John 17:26, then John 18:1 shows Jesus in the Garden being arrested. These are separate studies giving us the particulars for the meal and Garden. The Meal is for those who believe, the Garden for those who reject the purpose of the Cross after they enter.
Jesus had five trials, first He was taken to the house of the high priest (Caiaphas) where the first trial took place in front of Annas. There were two priests involved, both were related to each other through marriage. Caiaphas was the high priest, but Annas was his father-in-law, Annas was the high priest until the Romans took over the land, when they appointed Caiaphas, but Annas remained as the voice behind the seat. Jesus first appeared before Annas (Jn 18:13), then before Caiaphas (Jn 18:14 et al). Then Jesus was taken to Pilate (Jn 18:28), which would be the third trial. Then He was taken to Herod, while at Herod’s the religious leaders were talking to Pilate, convincing him to crucify Jesus. Herod’s would be the fourth trial, then back to Pilate for the fifth trial.
Herod was a Jew, he was also a king appointed by the Romans, but he was not a priest. While at Herod’s palace Jesus was beaten, then a Robe was placed on Him. Jesus was also beaten at the hand of Pilate, but the purposes were different. Herod was mad because Jesus didn’t perform for him, Pilate was looking for some reason to pacify the Jews, so he could release Jesus.
When Jesus faces Pilate the second time, or the fifth trial He asked Pilate, “Say you this thing of yourself, or did others tell it you of Me?” (Jn 18:34). Showing while Jesus was before Herod, the Jews were talking to Pilate.
All these trials began around midnight, Mark shows the decision to crucify Jesus was at the “third hour”, but the Cross came at the sixth hour, then at the ninth hour Jesus cried out, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani” (Mark 15:25 & 15:33-34). Mark and Luke show it was nearing the sabbath, which would be the High Sabbath for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, not the weekly sabbath.
Jesus was taken down before sunset on the Passover, placed in the tomb where no dead body has been before. Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus went to Pilate to beg for the body of Jesus, so the body would not hang on the Cross over the high sabbath (Matt 27:57 & Mark 15:42-43). Joseph and Nicodemus used aloes and myrrh to help preserve the body of Jesus until the spices could be applied (Jn 19:38-39). The procedure was to mix the myrrh with the aloes, then pour it over the covered body. The manner of these “spices” is not the same as the cooked spices (Jn 19:40). At this time the women saw where Jesus was laid, meaning they were at the tomb at the beginning of the high sabbath (Mark 15:47).
The next day was the feast day as a High Sabbath, when the religious leaders went to Pilate in fear of someone taking the body of Jesus, then proclaiming He was resurrected (Matt 27:62-66). Pilate places a guard before the tomb, then the religious leaders engage in their feast day, which would have been a violation of the Law. The Law did have a escape clause, but it was not for the next day, it was for one month later (Numb 9:11).
Luke adds by telling us the women made spices on the preparation day for the sabbath according to the Commandment (Luke 23:56). Here is perhaps one of the biggest clues of all, the preparation day for the feast of unleavened bread would be the Passover, the very day Jesus went to the Cross, but in Luke we find the woman were at home on the preparation day, giving us a division of preparation days. The Passover day was the preparation day for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, but the weekly sabbath also had a preparation day on Friday. The preparation of spices and ointments for burial involves cooking and time, neither of which could be done on the sabbath for the Feast day, but would be done on the day following the high sabbath feast day. Remember they didn’t have microwaves. Also we found Joseph and Nicodemus had the aloes, but in Luke 23:55 the women are making spices, thus we have two different events at two different times. On the Passover, which would have been the 14th of Abib, Joseph and Nicodemus placed the aloes on Jesus. Then came the high sabbath of the 15th, then the weekly preparation day when the women cooked the spices and ointments on the 16th, then the sabbath according to the Commandment on the 17th.
There is only one sabbath day according to the Commandment, which is Saturday, thus the preparation of the spices was after the Feast day sabbath, but before the weekly sabbath. Since it was the weekly preparation day connected to the sabbath according to the Commandment it had to be on a Friday. This puts the Passover on a Wednesday, which would give us the right amount of days and nights. However, with this added information we can determine Wednesday as the 14th of Abib, that night the first night, Thursday as the 15th of Abib was the day the priests went to Pilate making it the first day, as the feast day, or high sabbath; that night would be the second night, the next day would be Friday the 16th of Abib when the women fix the spices making it the second day, Friday night the third night. Then the sabbath day of Saturday the 17th of Abib would be the third day. Since Jesus was raised before sunrise on Sunday, we find the Day of Discovery was Sunday, but He was raised on the third day, pointing to Saturday.
The first day of the week is always Sunday, the last day is Saturday. Since the tomb was empty before dawn’s light on Sunday we can discount Saturday night, giving us three days and three nights, with Jesus being raised on a Sabbath day. Once death takes place, the Law of Moses has completed its purpose, thus we impute ourselves dead on the Cross of Jesus, completing the purpose of the Law of Moses, but opening the purpose for the Law of the Spirit.
So how does Good Friday work into this? The Early Church held three days of gathering, with one day a week spent witnessing to the Jews in temple. Of course the one day for witnessing to the Jews was Saturday, but the day they spent in breaking bread was in accordance with the discovery of the Resurrection, the same day Jesus made Himself known to the disciples, which was Sunday. Paul also called it the “first day of the week” (Matt 28:1, Mark 16:2, Acts 20:7 & I Cor 16:2).
The Early Church also kept Wednesday, which to them was the day of the Cross, even today many local bodies still keep Wednesday as “Bible study night”. The Early Church also kept Friday, but it connected to the Friday of the anointing, not the preparation day for the weekly sabbath. From the use of Friday, with the misunderstanding of the various sabbaths, man began a tradition, only this tradition calls Jesus a false prophet. Rather than three days and nights we end with one night and perhaps two days.
We know the anointing of Jesus by Mary was six days prior to the Passover, making the sixth day the Passover, making the Passover on a Wednesday, thus the anointing day would be Friday. This gives us Friday for the anointing, Saturday for the entry, Sunday for the fig tree observation, Monday the day Peter saw it, the same day Jesus was challenged in the temple, but accepted by the people as their Passover Lamb. Tuesday when Judas made his deal with the religious leaders, then Wednesday for the Cross. Thursday the sabbath day for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Friday the preparation day for the weekly sabbath, Saturday for the weekly sabbath according to the Commandment, then Sunday the day of the discovery of the empty tomb.
With the information in hand, we find the morning the tomb was discovered empty. Another area where all the accounts play a part; if we read them all, putting them in order to the time and timing we find Mary went to the tomb, she found it empty. She ran back to tell Peter and John, who in turn run to the tomb, where they find the grave clothes, but no Jesus. They return to the house, but Mary stays. Then Jesus appears to her, she runs back to tell Peter, who runs again to the tomb, seeing nothing, he still doesn’t believe, walking away wondering. Giving us the evidence of Peter having two chances at this point in time to believe without seeing. Jesus appears to two disciples along a road, they run and tell Peter. Again Peter rejects the information, meaning Peter denied the Lord three times, then denied the Lord was raised from the dead three times. Jesus then appears and upbraids them with the unbelief. For a continuance of this study we now move to the “Commission of Christ”.
LESSON TEN – GOSPEL I – THE COMMISSION OF CHRIST
The word Commission means An assignment, when God calls, He Assigns, then He Equips, Trains and Sends forth. Jesus never made leaders, He made disciples who became leaders. Jesus made fishers of men, yet He ordained shepherds from among the sheep, there is a difference. Those in the Body are sent to build the Body (Rock), Jesus builds the Church. Never think we build the Church, yet we don’t stop tossing the Net until the Day ends. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said, “I say also unto you, You are Peter, and upon this Rock I will build My Church”. If we make the mistake of thinking Peter is the Rock, we are right back to another Law of Moses, or the placement of a human between us and God. Within moments of Jesus saying this He also told Peter, “Satan get behind Me”, at the time Peter was not Born Again, he also lacked understanding of the Cross and Resurrection (Mark 9:32), yet Paul said the Rock is Christ (I Cor 10:4). With the events and time element we can’t assume Jesus was talking about Peter being the Rock, rather the mystery is found in the Greek, the word for Peter is Petros meaning a stone, or small rock. However the Greek word used for Rock is Petra meaning a massive Stone, much like a mountain. Peter was a stone, one of those who will make up the Rock, as was John, Andrew, and the others standing there. We also find the phrase “upon this Rock” is present tense, but “I will build” is yet future. Jesus ordained the disciples as apostles before the Cross, but they were restricted to the position of being “sons of men”, they were not sons of God at the time. They were Commissioned to perform specific tasks based on what they had received, not what they were to receive. This then shows the prior to the Cross the disciples operated in Mercy, not Grace. There is one Gospel, but it has two elements, one of Mercy, one of Grace. The New Covenant is in the Blood of Jesus, making the Blood Grace, but we also know we come boldly to the Throne to Obtain Mercy, and Find Grace (Heb 4:16). We are not going to Find Grace, until we Obtain Mercy. It’s exactly what the earthly ministry did, established the Mercy of the Father on earth. As members of the Body our base in Mercy, as members of the Church we have Grace. Forgiveness of our sins by the Father is Mercy based, but Grace is in the Spirit by the Blood of Jesus for the remission of sin, two things, yet joined in the One God. The Gospel shows us we can walk in Mercy, and do many Godly things, yet not understand spiritual matters (Mark 9:10 & 9:32). Once the Father forgives us we obtain Mercy, then we are expected to give it to others. Grace and Mercy are the Equal areas for the New Testament saint, we can’t have one without the other, yet expect to be equal. The Commission is only for those who have obtained Mercy, yet they have also found Grace.
The disciples did many wonderful things before the Cross, but nonetheless the Greater works are predicated on Grace, since Grace brought us the Spirit. Every person who received the Cross is forgiven of their sins, they have Power on earth as a “son of man”. They also have the greatest opportunity of all time, the ability to be Born Again to become a “son of God” (Rom 1:3-4). There are two things stopping us, one is our lack of knowledge, which is taken care of; the second is our lack of belief in the Name of Jesus, which is a matter of choice. The “Name of Jesus” points to Authority, one can run all over town saying, “Stop in the name of the Law”, some may for a while, until they find out the one speaking has no authority. Anyone under the Unction of the Name over the Body has the power to cast out devils, the saving of the soul is the issue of Grace. It doesn’t mean casting out devils is bad, far from it, but we must not rejoice in our power over darkness, rather we rejoice because our names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). Anyone in the Body, Born Again or not, minding the Spirit or minding the flesh has the ability to cast out devils, or lay hands on the sick, but the purpose of our faith is the saving of our souls. What good would it do to cast out all the devils, yet hear, “I never knew you” (Matt 7:21-23)? We must be Equal, cast out devils, yet engage in the purpose of our faith, even the salvation of our souls (I Pet 1:9).
Testimony and Testament are different, a testimony is something said, but a Testament is compared to a Will. God gave us a written document allowing us to view the Will of Jesus to determine the provisions of the Gospel. The Will contains the promises to those left behind after the death of someone, thus the inheritance is not in hand until the death of the Testate, thus the Testate is the subject of the Testament. We are the only ones with a written Will from God promising us many things, including the saving of our souls. So, when does death come for us? At the Cross, the Cross could only be a factor after Jesus gave Himself. Yet, the Cross without the Resurrection lacks competence. The main part of being a Christian is based in the Resurrection of Jesus, thus we identify with the death and resurrection, not merely the death alone. By the Cross of Jesus we are able to impute the old nature (flesh) dead, but we also have the ability to have the same Spirit of Holiness declaring us sons of God because we are Born Again. The Rapture, or Catching Away is not a separate Resurrection, it’s the completed Resurrection of Jesus, thus the same Spirit who raised Jesus will raise us, a provision of the Will. From this we can see how important it is to know Jesus spent three days and nights in the grave, yet was raised on the third day. If what Jesus said regarding the Resurrection is not true, then neither is anything else.
Jesus read His own Will in the Gospel, the Book of Acts displays how the inheritance was passed on. The Book of Acts is the proof of the inheritance being real, it’s in hand, if we receive it by faith. Nearly half of the uses of the title Holy Ghost are found in the Book of Acts. It becomes the proof of “the Holy Ghost was given, because Jesus was Glorified in the Resurrection” (Jn 7:38-39, completed).
Jesus said several times, “It is given unto you”, or “It is for you to know”; therefore, Jesus not only read His own Will, but died in the flesh to bring it to pass, then was raised to seal the promise with the Spirit of Holiness before the Father (Rom 1:3-4). His Acts and Ways opened the Way for us to have the Holy Spirit by the Holy Ghost providing the Gift of Grace so we could complete the provisions. Not only did He cause it to be written, He then gave us the ability to complete it. No wonder we love Him so much.
The “Living Water” is Mercy coupled with Life through the Spirit, thus the Living Water couldn’t come until the Spirit was given (Jn 7:38-39). This also shows the “Living Word” is the Logos with Life, not merely the Bible speaking of Life. When we have the Living Word in us, we will also have the capability to grant Living Water. Grace includes the Spirit as the Gift of God by the New Birth, meaning Christ in us the hope of glory, thus the Spirit is the ability to do Grace, making Grace the Gift (Eph 2:8. 3:7 & 4:7).
The Will of Jesus held two elements as well, one element unto Salvation, the other unto Judgment. Both Salvation and Judgment came with the Cross, we can’t have Salvation without Judgment being involved somehow, but wait, Grace is strictly unto salvation. Oh, the Day is for Salvation, we work while it is yet Day for the Night of Judgment comes when no man can work. The Book of Hebrews gives us the basic six rudiments to the Doctrine of Christ, one of those is the knowledge of Eternal Judgment. On the same note the same Book speaks of Eternal Salvation (Heb 6:1-2 & 5:9). There can be no eternal judgment until there is first an eternal salvation.
The description of Jesus in the Book of Revelation is much different from the one found on the Mount of Transfiguration. The Book of Revelation sees Jesus as the Son of man coming for judgment, but on the Mount it was Jesus as the Son of God holding Grace and Salvation. It’s not two Jesus’, but one Jesus with duties for two Seasons. We have conditions in the Will, the “little flock” have certain provisions relating to Judgment, yet they are divided from the Day, thus we are children of the Day, we are not children of the Night, nor of Darkness (I Thess 5:5).
A Testate has a legal valid Will established before death, but effective after death, the Executor of the Will makes sure all the provisions are performed so the heirs can gain the inheritance. The Holy Ghost is the Executor, the Father is the Probate Judge, but if one rejects, violates, challenges, or brings a different Will into the Court they must face the Judge. The enemies of Jesus attempt to change the Will by bringing their own personal agenda, then calling it the Will, as Judas did. The Seal on the Will is the legal mark identifying the property proclaimed by the owner. The seal (token) of the Holy Spirit protects us, enabling us to bring the Gospel with authenticity; however, the opened seals on the Will release the seven angels to bring the entire inheritance to God. The Remnant are sealed by the mark of God, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, there is a difference between a direct connection with the Spirit, and a mark of mercy provided by God. A Token or Seal is like a signature, the rainbow is God’s signature relating to the promise made to Noah, circumcision of the flesh is man’s signature relating to the Abrahamic Covenant, keeping the sabbath day is man’s signature to keeping the Law of Moses, our water baptism is our signature of agreement to the conditions regarding the Cross, yet the baptism with the Holy Ghost is the signature of Jesus relating to building us into the Church. The Will of Jesus was opened at the Cross, then made available by the Resurrection and Sacrifice, but it contains one main proviso, one element making it different from all the wills of man. In order to obtain from the Will of Jesus, one must be dead. This death is not a physical death as such, but a death based on imputing the flesh dead by the Cross of Jesus, in order to reach Resurrection Power to make us legal heirs with Christ. The Spirit is the proof of the New Covenant, thus the New Covenant is the Will of Jesus being granted to those who Believe.
There are stages of being an heir, each with provisions. If we are children of God, then we are heirs, then heirs of God, then joint-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17). This is a process of growth, but growth comes by having the Spirit (Rom 8:1 & 8:11-15). Each provision was presented with the proviso of our faith in the One who originally read the Will. Since this is a Covenant relationship it depended on mutual vows, God made His vows, we make ours. The provisions hold all the Could Be’s, with the Will Be’s. In each case the one who inherits must lay claim to the inheritance in order to receive. The Will is like the glass of water before the dying man, if we don’t reach for it, we can die of thirst while looking at our deliverance. Even our legal system holds the same premise as a type and shadow, one could inherit a million dollars, yet never claim it, if not claimed, they lose it.
Can we have certain attributes in us, even if we don’t believe we do? Yes, they are waiting for the Permission from the one who is the heir to the inheritance. The New Man is the Spirit, the very Token showing we are heirs, thus our Spirit (New Man) bears witness with the Spirit of God. Romans 12:6-20 tells us each person who has the Spirit has certain attributes as actions (Charisma) of Grace (Charis); all of which are in the Born Again believer to assist them in helping the members of the Body. I Corinthians 12:7-11 relates to the Manifestation of the Spirit, they are areas in the Born Again believer to assist anyone, whether in or out of the Body. There are many clauses in the Will, we have more benefits than one can imagine, yet they will not manifest until we accept them.
Some of us have to see things before we believe, whether it’s some dove sitting in a tree, or a bunch of butterflies, or a face in a cloud, or something else, but Jesus said, “blessed are they who have not seen, yet have believed” (Jn 20:29). If we want to be Blessed, we must believe, not walk around looking for signs so we can believe. Signs follow a believer, signs don’t make one a believer.
To make sure we have help in all this Jesus gave gifts unto men to fill the offices of the Lord, known as the five-fold ministry (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). The purpose of the five fold ministry is to build the saints, do the work of the ministry, and edify the Body, all of which helps the Body. Jesus said the work of the ministry was; “go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out devils, freely you have received, freely give”, these were requirements for having one’s sins forgiven on earth by the Mercy of God before Grace came by the Blood of Jesus (Matt 10:7-8). It’s interesting the “saving of the soul” wasn’t included in the “work of the ministry”. Ahh, a mystery, Grace is for the saving of the soul, the work of the ministry is for reconciliation.
We also have to notice Jesus said “at hand”, not “in hand”, thus the Kingdom was being presented, but there remained another effort by Jesus before it could be in hand, the Resurrection. The declaration by the Spirit of Holiness regarding Jesus as the Son of God by the Resurrection is the same Seal we obtain. The Holy Spirit declares us sons of God, while in the process of making us sons of God.
The Gospel isn’t preached until the latter part of the command is completed, we can’t begin without the foundation of Mercy, but we can’t win without the Spirit. The main legacy (Gift) of the Will is Grace, which includes the New Birth. The New Birth is the provision to enter the adoption process, the means to move us from one family order to another, with the ability to leave all the curses and darkness behind. If one is a servant, or in the process of adoption they are not considered an heir until they are Begotten by the Gift of the Holy Ghost; however, once they reach a secured family position, they are entitled to the same provisions as the Begotten, making them a “joint-heir” with Christ. Does it mean we get to rule the world, and make people do as we want? Hardly, it means we have the ability and nature to do as Jesus did.
Jesus said, our traditions make the Word of God of no effect (without power – Mark 7:13). He also said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word (Rhema) proceeding out of the mouth of God”, faith comes by hearing, and the hearing by the Rhema (Matt 4:4 & Rom 10:17). Since the Bible is the Inspired document, we tend to call it “the Word of God”, but the Bible defines Jesus as the Word (Logos), the Rhema relates to Life and Spirit (Jn 6:63): therefore, Faith comes when our ears are centered on the things of Life, it doesn’t mean we have Life, rather our ears are centered on Life. Once we accept the Cross with the baptism of the Holy Ghost, we gain the Seed, which becomes Word in us fully able to save our souls (James 1:21).
The Bible is the Rule Book, but it’s also the written Will of God given by the voice of the Holy Ghost. However, God gives us more words coupled with the Bible by the Spirit as a provision of being in the Family, thus we of the Faith Hear the Rhema. Paul Read the Scriptures, but faith came when he saw Life in the words. Ears who hear sounds are as common as the sand, but ears who hear what the Spirit says are rare indeed. Ears can hear written words, but they hear them as the Spirit guides them into Truth. When the written word appears to come alive, it’s the Spirit breathing the breath of life on the words, thus our Rhema ears heard, causing faith to be received. God spoke in various ways in days past, but in this Season He speaks to us through His Son (Heb 1:2), the New Man is the voice of the Lord.
The Spirit takes each one of us on an adventure through the Bible, where we find there is no confusion, but a series of Truths opening up to new Truths. Those Truths feed the New Man, causing us to grow. The Scriptures mean what they say, the interpretation tells us Why they were written, the Holy Ghost doesn’t change the context, or surface meaning of the Scripture. The Holy Ghost applies the Scripture to the event we are facing at the moment. The same Scripture could fit our event, the event of another, or perhaps another event yet to come. It doesn’t change the meaning, it means we are taught as the Holy Ghost teaches us by comparing spiritual to spiritual. Of course there are the doubters and pouters attempting to erode our foundation by questioning the Bible, completing the challenge, “has God really said?”. However, the Word in us is fully able to separate the intent from the thought giving us clarity in the event.
We have One Gospel written by four scribes with One Author. John’s account spins around Mark 16:16-18, pointing to the Doctrine Of Baptisms, which includes many baptisms within the One Baptism. It’s not one over another, rather the Body of Christ is the only element on the earth who have the God granted legal right to baptize people in water, but only Jesus can baptize us with the Holy Ghost and fire. We know the word One in reference to One Baptism, means components making the total; thus there is One Baptism, which is made up of components, matching the Doctrine of Baptisms.
We know about the phrase “Great Commission” found in the last verses of Matthew, also the term, “Commission” points to the last verses in Mark, but like the word One, they make up parts of what one could call the Commission of Christ. Some proclaim John’s account is the builder of faith, but the word “Faith” never appears in his account; he does use the word Believe more times than Paul used it in all his letters, including the Book of Hebrews. Mark’s account says if we are baptized and continue to believe, we shall be saved, John builds on the concept, showing we must be Born Again, in the Body, then we continue to believe (Jn 3:16-17). Luke writes to a teacher, linking phrase to phrase, expanding on the command, “deny the self”. Luke says both Matthew and Mark were known and believed (Luke 1:1), then he adds information to assist the teacher. Luke shows Jesus said, “For I tell you, many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them” (Luke 10:24). From Luke 10:24 until Luke 19:28 we read those things as a teacher would see them, not as an historian would (Luke 9:23-24, 14:26-27 & 18:27). Placing Luke 10:24 through 19:28 in a chronological or historical time frame removes the reward of the teacher. Luke uses phrases such as, In a certain place, or At a certain time, or A certain person, with the intent of linking the teachings together no matter when they were taught. From Luke 10:24 to 19:28, nearly every word is attributed to Jesus, then grouped into the three areas of Deny the Self, Pick Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus.
Mark is the only one who says, “the beginning of the Gospel”, yet he doesn’t limit his account as the only Gospel. Mark’s account is given second, yet it does his say “the beginning”, it was also written first, ahh a mystery. The Holy Ghost placed the accounts in a certain manner to accomplish many tasks. The Holy Ghost uses whom He will to place Order as He sees it to benefit the Saint. The Gospel is a type of historical record, but we can’t limit it to history alone, it holds mysteries in the Holy Ghost. One of the proofs of how the Holy Ghost is the Author is the placement of the accounts; logic and reasoning would have placed Mark first, then Matthew, then Luke, then John, but the Holy Ghost arranged the accounts assuring us He is the Author.
The four accounts all join together, they are not separate, neither are they “the Gospel according to the men”; it’s the Gospel according to the Holy Ghost, written by four scribes. It’s stupid to say, “we have only one Gospel”, then turn right around and say, “Matthew’s Gospel”, it’s not Matthew’s Gospel, it’s the Gospel of Christ, Matthew is one of the four scribes. We then find a mystery, since Matthew is the first, we also find his account is the only one talking about the kingdom of heaven, also showing the kingdom of heaven has both good and bad. Matthew is written to the seed and root; whereas, Mark is written to the Blade, thus when we become a Blade the Gospel begins to take effect (Mark 4:28). Luke is written to the teacher, John giving us a firm foundation for our belief, making John the encouraging account, as it tells us what Jesus did during the forty day wilderness experience, it also fills in gaps giving us Hope, thus John is the evidence we need to retain our Continual Belief.
Some of us have been told, “Anything backward is witchcraft”; however, it doesn’t matter if it’s backward, forward, side ways, or upside down, it’s the intent making it witchcraft. Using wicked means to reach what we assume is a Godly result is just as much witchcraft as putting pins in a doll. If we take the backward thought to it’s limit, none of us would go back to our first love, nor would we back our car out of the garage in the morning. We would build everything so we are always going forward, or have the “reverse” gear removed from our vehicle. The Spirit in us separates the intent and thought, exposing the intent. Some things are backward and witchcraft; one is going back to the world after coming to Christ. However, another type of witchcraft is reaching into the Night and attempting to pull it into the Day, thus backward or forward it’s the intent determining if it’s witchcraft.
There are other things backward void of witchcraft; Mark wrote his account first, thus his account clearly shows it’s the beginning of the Gospel, yet it’s placed second in order, or backward. None of the accounts are in alphabetical order, unless we know alphabetically the name, John comes before Luke, Luke before Mark, and Mark before Matthew. The Holy Ghost placed the first four books in the New Testament alphabetically backward, then took the fifth book which starts with an A (Acts), and placed it after the first four. Then He placed the first two backward according to the time they were written. If we assume everything backward is witchcraft, we’re stuck with the premise of the Holy Ghost involved in witchcraft, which means the Record of the Father, Word and Holy Ghost is witchcraft. Silly? Some of our reasoning tends to be. Rather than look for witchcraft, we should be looking for Jesus.
The Holy Ghost shows us the intent so we can discern, rather than having us running about in fear yelling, “New Age, New Age”, every time we see a car back out of a parking place. Fear makes us run from truth, but faith makes us use the truth, the only thing new about the New Age, is our fear of it.
Some run to manuscripts lacking verses, but the manuscript is only one leg of the test. One must search for other evidences, many of the things said and done by the disciples were not written down until years later to preserve them. In many Codex and Documents we find the people of the time were making mention of the events and sayings. A good translator takes into account the things said by those of the time, by using all the evidence we gain truth, but anyone can deny Scripture, then find an excuse to support their unbelief. Our goal is to live to the title Believer, by seeking reasons to believe.
The Gospel is written in such a way the natural minded man must make some excuse for his unbelief. The over zealous scribe is one excuse, but it places the Bible in the hands of man, the old “what he really meant to say was…”, is another. These men were moved by the Holy Ghost to bring us the actual events, the intent of the events, the purpose of the events, why the events took place, the clarity in reference to our stage of growth as it relates to the event. Matthew uses one experience calling it the kingdom of heaven, Mark uses the same event, but calls it the Kingdom of God, Luke uses the same, but goes deeper into the intent and purpose, by using different words, but they are all based on the same event. The accounts give us the Holy Ghost granting knowledge, understanding and wisdom viewed from different perspectives, depending on ones growth, thus two people see the same event, yet depending on their knowledge and experience, they will gain different perspectives, but it’s still the same event, or verse. It’s not one person debating the event with another, but scribes viewing the same event from different aspects of growth as the Holy Ghost moved them. Got it? Good, because it’s how we are going to study them.
Paul said, the Gospel doesn’t come in word only, but in power with much assurance of the Holy Ghost (I Thess 1:5). It takes the Holy Ghost to present the Gospel, only He can present it with effectiveness, because He is the Author. We are called to defend The Faith, but how can we defend The Faith, if we’re not in The Faith? How can we give a witness, if we lack the True witness? How can we claim to be a Believer, if our theology is laced with unbelief? Any court will tell us the best evidence is the eye witness, we have the unique opportunity to have the Eye Witness as our New Heart. One can talk about the Bible, or talk about Jesus, or talk about Jehovah, but in each area they are giving their opinion based on their limited natural thinking. In a court it would be giving hearsay evidence, which is never considered reliable, or acceptable, the basis of heresy is what someone thinks happened. The New Man is a direct product of Christ, thus the New Man has the experience to bring the Witness. We must make the decision to enter the Commission of Christ by accepting the methods God has for our salvation.
All four accounts give us the Commission (Assignment) Of Christ, showing why it’s important to keep our Vows as we follow Jesus in a lawful manner. Since God does all things with a purpose, there must be a purpose for the accounts being in their specific order. John’s account doesn’t show the Ascension of Jesus, and neither does Matthew really, but both Mark and Luke do. Luke says the disciples were taken as far as Bethany, where Jesus lifted His hands and blessed them (Luke 24:50). Mark shows after the Lord spoke to the disciples, He was received up into heaven (Mark 16:19). Without the blade (Mark) we won’t understand the Ascension, without the teacher (Luke) we can’t reach the power of the Resurrection. The Believer (John) gives us the power to believe in the name of Jesus, yet without the Seed (Matthew) we wouldn’t understand the Authority granted.
Paul used phrases, concepts and wording from all four accounts, as did Peter, James and Jude, as well as, many early church fathers. These men raised the dead, healed the sick, and preached with authority, none of them used the phrases, “over zealous scribe”, or “what Moses meant to say was….”, they believed in God’s integrity, with their faith in God. Jesus didn’t tell the devil, “well I think it is written”, or “as it is translated correctly it is written”, or “what Moses meant to say was”; the integrity of God is found in His Character, thus the Bible is a mark of God’s integrity. Are there those who would change the Scriptures? Yes, but they are tampering with God’s integrity, not real smart on their part.
Peter denied the Lord three times, but without all four accounts, we will fail to see Jesus warned Peter three times of the events yet to come. We will also fail to see Peter said Jesus was the Son of God, but later added Jesus was the Christ, then Peter heard the wrong voice, and came up with “pity Yourself Lord”. One minute hearing from the Father, the next from the natural mind, yet Peter was unable to discern the difference between the revelation from the Father and his own soulish desires. Until the Day of Pentecost when he received Power from on High, the Power changed him considerably.
The reasoning of Peter sounded so much like the revelation, he was unable to discern the difference. In truth he didn’t know he had a revelation until Jesus told him, just as he didn’t know the source of “be it far from Thee Lord” until Jesus told him. Yet Peter walked on water, cast out devils, healed the sick, and did many wonderful works. The New Birth is the connection to know the Lord, rather than talk about Him. All these events lead us to understand how the mind of man without the Spirit jumps from the revelation to “the things of man” in a heartbeat. Peter’s wilderness broke him, but it didn’t destroy him. Before Jesus gave the Bread at the Last Passover, He Took, He Blessed, then He Broke (Matt 26:26). Paul said we are the Bread (I Cor 10:17), thus all of us in the hand of the Lord will be blessed, broken, then we become useful for the work of the ministry.
John’s account shows the various feast days, including how Jesus cleaned out the temple during the first Passover feast of His earthly ministry (Jn 2:16), then He taught on the living Bread during the second Passover (Jn 6:4 & 6:32-40). Mark shows how Jesus cleaned out the temple a second time toward the end of the earthly ministry. Each event adds to the other; the first cleaning drove out the impulse to make gain from the things of God, especially the Dove (Spirit), the next Passover introduced the Bread of Life, then on the third Passover came the cleaning of the temple, because it became a den of thieves.
Some say John doesn’t even speak of the Wilderness experience, but we will find John speaks more on the Wilderness than the other accounts. John shows how there were two cleanings of the Temple; the first cleaning produced the saying, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up”, which was twisted and used against Jesus during the trials (Matt 27:40, 27:63, Mark 15:29 & Jn 2:19). Jesus made a truthful statement, then proved it true, but was mocked for it. Any of us can find ourselves in the same predicament, we have choices in how we respond. We can react by self-justification, or respond by allowing the Lord to prove the truth.
Peter trusted in his own arm when he told Jesus, “Although all shall be offended, yet will not I”, he meant it, he was willing to die in a good fight (Mark 14:29). Peter was the only one in the Garden who stood with Jesus, it was Peter who cut the ear off Malchus. Peter wasn’t taking aim at the man’s ear, rather he took dead aim at the man’s head (Jn 18:10). However, the Love of Jesus prevented two men from being on trial, Peter found the Truth of Mercy going beyond the mental limits of natural man. How could anyone love someone who is falsely accusing them, yet not only love them, but reach out to heal them? Peter had one concept of “Love not your life unto the death”, but Jesus was going to show Peter the manner one really denies the self.
When Peter saw the Mercy pouring out of Jesus during those horrid events, he knew no man could confess Jesus in the same manner as Jesus was confessing the Father. Peter wanted to do something for Jesus and failed, later he was converted and restored, but Judas set out to do something against Jesus for personal gain and found a piece of rope. Although both repented, the type of repentance, and the reasons for repentance were different, the results were very different.
When Jesus told Peter, “you will deny Me”, Peter told the Lord, “not so Lord” or “Lord, You don’t know me”. How many of us said, “Lord You don’t understand”? When Peter denied Jesus it was before small groups of no more than two or three people. We can deny Jesus before one or two, and be just as guilty as one who denies Him before fifty thousand. When Peter corrected the Lord, he didn’t understand the purpose of prophecy. Jesus gave Peter comfort in the phrase, “when you are converted, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:32). The word Converted means, Turned Around Again. Jesus didn’t say, “if you are”, it was “when your are”, meaning it would happen.
The last chapter in John’s account is for any of us who need to be converted so we can strengthen others. The conversion changed Peter’s confession from “not so Lord”, to “Lord You know all things” (Jn 21:17). Peter’s experience brought clarity to his limited ability, but like any of us, we can place our minds on our limits and miss what Jesus is telling us. Peter attempted to save the Lord by his own efforts, the conversion of Peter promised “another comforter”. Peter went from one extreme to the other, from the place where he put too much emphasis on his ability, to the place where he put none. In the last chapter of John we find Jesus converting Peter to the place where he can strengthen his brothers, but Peter was denying the call. As we will see, Peter knew his weakness, but he was also denying the ability of Jesus.
John shows Jesus at the sea shore, telling us this was the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after the Resurrection (Jn 21:14). The disciples were fishing, but not for a vacation, they really went fishing as an occupation. The location is the Sea of Tiberias, both Mark and Luke say the Ascension was just outside of Bethany (Luke 24:50), several miles south of Tiberias. This meeting on the sea shore is several days before the Ascension, Luke tells us Jesus was with the disciples forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3). Pentecost is 50 days after Passover, or 49 days past the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Jesus being in the grave for three days and with the disciples forty days, leaves seven days, which are accounted for in the Bible. During those seven days, Jesus went before the Father and gave the greatest Sacrifice of all time. Jesus did it for us, but at the same time proved none of us can equal the faith, ability, or efforts of Jesus; therefore, we have access by His Faith, since His Faith provided the Sacrifice. If we assume we have access by our measure of faith, we error, since our faith was designed to receive the Sacrifice, not give it. However, we do give sacrifices, after receiving the Sacrifice. We give ourselves as a living sacrifice, we also give the sacrifice of praise. However, none of our “sacrifices” are possible until we receive the Sacrifice of Jesus.
There was a specific reason why Mary wasn’t allowed to touch Jesus on the Resurrection day, and why Thomas was commanded to some eight days later (Jn 20:17, 20:26-27, & Luke 24:39). Something happened during those seven days which changed “touch Me not”, to “handle Me and see”, producing the saying, “Your throne, O God, is forever” (Heb 1:8). Hebrews 1:8 makes more sense when we read Psalm 45 and see, “all Your garments smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia” (Ps 45:6-8). The word for God in Psalm 45 is Elohiym, thus Elohiym called the Son Elohiym. Jesus saved us from the world as the Son of man, the Resurrection proved, or declared Him as the Son of God (Rom 1:3-4), then He opened the door so the Holy Ghost could bring the Gift of the Spirit. Jesus operated as the Son of man in Mercy, the Son of God by granting us Grace, as God the Son by maintaining the Kingdom.
It doesn’t mean Jesus was not the Son of God before the Resurrection, only the declaration by the Spirit came at the Resurrection, indicating we are only sons of God by the same Spirit of Holiness. The Word was God, the Word took on flesh to become the Son of Man, then went to the Cross as the Son of man, He will return to Judge as the Son of Man. Never giving up His position as the Word, or the Son of God, but putting them aside to accomplish for us, something none of us could. How could Jesus die on the Cross as the Son of God, if none of us were sons of God? It would take the Son of man, to stand for mankind. The Resurrection Declared Jesus the Son of God by the Spirit of Holiness, showing us the power of the Resurrection is the place where we gain the Spirit to make us sons of God (Rom 1:3-4, Jn 1:13, Heb 9:7-8, 9:14-24 & 9:28).
The Bible tells us a sacrifice, as well as the priest who offers the sacrifice are holy, and no one can touch a holy thing and live (Numb 4:15). The priest shall be consecrated, outside the temple for seven days (Ex 29:30 & 29:35). Therefore, Mary couldn’t touch Jesus, nor could anyone else for a period of seven days. However, in Matthew we see they “held Him by the feet”, but it’s metaphoric, then defined in John’s account. John uses a word meaning to Touch, but it’s not the same word Matthew uses. Rather we find the disciples at the time lacked the ability to worship in Spirit and Truth, thus they were holding the feet of Jesus by their unbelief, yet they worshipped Him from their natural minds. Mark clears it up by showing how Jesus upbraided the disciples with their unbelief, thus Matthew shows one can worship Jesus, yet hold unbelief. Thomas worshiped Jesus only after seeing, thus worship is admiration, but we can worship the Lord, yet hold unbelief. They didn’t want Jesus to leave, they feared the future, they wanted Jesus with them as their security. They didn’t understand how they had Authority, or how Jesus ascending would grant them Another Comforter from the Comforter. They had Authority, but unless Jesus went to the Father they would not receive Power from on High.
Mary was informed by Jesus to tell the disciples, “go into Galilee and there shall they see Me” (Matt 28:10). We know Jesus appeared in the house in Jerusalem, not in Galilee, thus the Command given and the performance of the disciples to the Command were different. Therefore, the command went forth, the disciples didn’t. Jesus had to appear to counter their unbelief before the Sacrifice could be given, thus they were binding Jesus to the earth by holding His feet, the Greek word means to Capture, or Hold by force. The Father was waiting for the Sacrifice, yet Jesus was bound to this earth by the unbelief of the disciples. Until belief entered the hearts of the disciples, the Sacrifice couldn’t take place; therefore, the disciples were binding their freedom to the earth, and bound heaven from them. They needed to loose their unbelief, by entering Belief, thus Jesus appeared to them to give them the foundation to Believe (Luke 24:25 & Jn 20:27-29).
Mark says, “afterward He appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat and upbraided them with their unbelief”; He didn’t upbraid them for their unbelief, rather He was bound to the earth because of their unbelief, thus the hardness of their own hearts was stopping the entire process. How could it? He died for them, not for Him. They believed not them which had seen Him raised (Mark 16:14). Not only didn’t they believe Jesus was raised, but they didn’t obey the command to go to Galilee. From this we see why it’s so important to believe Jesus was raised from the dead; we can’t enter the Sacrifice without belief.
Once the Sacrifice was given, the Father said, “let all the angels of God worship Him” (Heb 1:6) with, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom” (Heb 1:8). Taking this to “the hour comes, and now is, when the True Worshipers shall Worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth” (Jn 4:23), we find the Sacrifice in heaven opened the Door allowing us to be Born Again messengers (angels) who are able to worship in Spirit and Truth, by the Spirit of Truth (I Jn 4:1-4). Adding this to the premise we find we can worship Jesus, yet without the Spirit of Truth we can still bind Him by our unbelief.
We seek the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, Jesus holds both. When Jesus said Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His Righteousness, He was speaking as the Son of man, not the Son of God, or God the Son. The position dictated the tenses and personage in the phrase. The same is true when He said not even the Son knows the Hour or Day, because He returns as the Son of man, not the Son of God. We know everything Jesus as the Son of man knows, but we don’t know everything Jesus as the Son of God knows, surely we don’t know everything Jesus as God the Son knows. We are told all things relating to us, with some things relating to others in order to help them, but it doesn’t mean we have the “mind of the Lord”. It does mean we have the Mind of Christ, as we are instructed by the Mind of the Lord (I Cor 2:16). Wait, it’s the same thing isn’t it? No, the Mind of Christ is the Anointing, the Mind of the Lord is the Mind of Jesus.
When the Sacrifice was given, the Street was complete, the Door to the sheepfold was open. Paul said, Jesus first descended into the lower parts of the earth, yet Jesus was buried in a ground level tomb (Eph 4:9). Peter said, the Body of Jesus could see no corruption, nor could the soul of Jesus be kept in hell (Acts 2:27). Paul also said Jesus descended, ascended and then ascended far above all heavens (Eph 4:10). Jesus first descended to defeat the devil, taking the keys of death and hell, then He ascended to take captivity captive (Cloud of Witnesses) to the altar of God, where He gave the Sacrifice, then returned to be with the disciples forty days. Then He Ascended to His position far above the heavens, all this is the First Coming of Jesus. Then the Holy Ghost came with the Gift of the Spirit, He also gave the Apostles commandments. One of the functions of the office of Apostle is to give Commandments.
When Jesus begins His return He will stop in the Air to receive the Dead in Christ, then after the 1,000 years He returns as the Son of man for judgment, thus the First Coming gave us all the elements of salvation, opening the door to heaven, but the Second Coming brings judgment. The First Coming provided us the means to be Tabernacles of Salvation, but Judgment comes from the Temple, thus Paul said the Corinthians were the Temple of God, rather than the Tabernacle. He also told them to pray their works get them through the Fire.
By using all the accounts, we discover Mary and the other women went to the tomb where they found the stone rolled away. Mary ran to Peter and John and told them the tomb was empty. Peter and John ran to the tomb, where John saw the grave clothes and believed, but Peter went back to the house (Jn 20:9-10). Mary remained at the tomb where she saw the angels, one at the door of the tomb (Matt 28:1-2), and one inside (Mark 16:5), but Mary saw them as men rather than angels (Luke 24:4). Mary thought they moved the Body of Jesus after hearing, “why do you look for the living among the dead”, convincing her someone removed the Body of Jesus, until she saw Jesus. After seeing Jesus and hearing, “go tell them and Peter”, she ran and told Peter again, only this time she told them she saw the Lord. Mary was told to tell Peter specifically, thus he was given his second chance to believe. Peter still failed to receive the prophet in the name of the prophet, missing the prophet’s reward. Again Peter ran to the tomb, but found it empty, then he walked away “wondering in himself” or questioning the words of Mary (Luke 24:12). Then the two witnesses saw Jesus, after they reported to Peter how Jesus appeared and talked to them along the road (Luke 24:33-34). Peter now had three chances to believe the Lord was raised from the dead, he was told three times he would deny the Lord, he did so. Peter didn’t make one mistake, or three, he made several, yet his intent was not to fail, rather he really wanted to serve the Lord, but knew he lacked what it took to stand for Jesus in the same manner as Jesus stood for the Father, especially in those times of pressure.
The Greek has several words for the English word Love, there is a difference between Agape love, Agapao love, and Phileo love. Phileo is a brotherly love, yet the Father Phileoed the Son (Jn 5:20); Jesus said the Father Phileos us, because we Phileo Jesus (Jn 16:27). This same Phileo love, is the foundation for the Church of Philadelphia, their Phileo love will be the little strength they need. Jesus also Phileoed the Laodiceans, which was enough to rebuke them (Rev 3:19). Agape as an entity is God, thus God is Agape, but Agape love is a love always working to benefit another regardless of the cost to the one who is granting the love; Agape is always self-less, or completely void of self-desires, thus God is the only one who can Agape, yet the Seed of God is like unto God. Agapao is based in some joy of the one who is granting the love, God so Agapao the world, He gave, but man Agapao darkness rather than light (Jn 3:16 & 3:19).
The Greek Agape is only found in revealed religion, it’s often translated as Charity, the Old English word Charity means grating someone benevolence without asking a return, or granting beyond the call of normal duty to see others cared for. The differences in the meanings of Love give us some insight to the conversion of Peter. Peter felt he was very strong, but found he was weak in many areas he never considered. However, he allowed the weakness to overtake him. In John’s account we find Jesus standing on the shore, as the disciples return from fishing (Jn 21:1-3). Peter felt he was still one of the boys, but he wasn’t sure about being one of the Apostles, his feeling was he missed it, especially when Jesus separated him by saying “tell the disciples and Peter”. Peter was separated from the position, but did it mean Jesus would leave him out of the calling? No, this one chapter shows any of us can slip, but it doesn’t mean we’re shut out.
When Peter went fishing, it wasn’t a vacation, rather he returned to his old line of employment, adding another mistake. Perhaps some of us are still questioning our position based on some of the things we have done. This last chapter of John gives us the hope of knowing Jesus doesn’t give up on us. There is a purpose and a reason for many of the things we call bad, often the purpose is very good. Jesus knew Satan would sift (gut punch) Peter, He knew the many times Peter would slip; however, Jesus never moved to stop it, showing the event as horrid as it might seem to Peter at the moment was the means to bring Peter to a place to be useful.
At this point in time these men had the protection of Mercy through the forgiveness of sins, yet they were told to the prerequisite to receiving the Holy Ghost was to forgive, or remit sins done onto them (Acts 1:8, Jn 20:22 & Mark 11:22-27). John 20:22 is often called the Ingress Aires from Majesty on high, but we will only understand the Ingress Aires From the Latin Ingressus Aeris, we use the more accepted and simpler term “Ingress Aires” (Jn 20:22). Right after Jesus breathed on the disciples He said, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost”, but did they receive the Holy Ghost then? If so what about Pentecost? The answer is in the phrase, the English word Ingress comes from the Latin Ingressus, meaning Granting or Giving Permission to enter. The word used in the Greek is Emphusao meaning “to breathe upon”, which is a verb, yet either of the Greek nouns (Pnoe or Pneuma) were used, this verb is only used in John 20:22. If the verb Empneo was used, then we could say Jesus breathed Into the disciples, but the use of Emphusao is specific, meaning Upon. If the Greek Pneuma would have been used, then certainly this was the granting of the “Spirit” (Pneuma), but it was not, thus the Breathing was granting Permission for the disciples to receive the Holy Ghost, then the Power by the Gift of Grace on Pentecost, with the prerequisite condition to forgive sins done unto them, showing the Unity of prayer on the day of Pentecost. The breath of Jesus is on everyone who enters the Body, but it is not the Indwelling, since it was “on” the disciples. Yet it gave them an ability to remit sins done unto them. The purpose of the breath was defined in John 20:23; as they were told to remit sins, but this is not going about telling people “God forgives you, go in peace”, this is remitting sins done unto them, connecting to Mark 11:22-26. This is an act of Mercy to receive the baptism with the Holy Ghost. If we lack the ability to forgive, we need to ask Jesus for a fresh breath to cover us. This was so important many of the early water baptisms included a saint breathing on the candidate, then laying hands on them for presentation unto the Lord so they could be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Peter understood the premise, but here he is being asked to forgive himself in order to learn from the experience.
Of course the other side of the coin was the refusal to remit, to the Jew this was backward. Under the Law if we held unforgiveness the person we hold unforgiveness against had to make it right with us, of course the Law is for carnal minded people. Here Jesus says if we hold unforgiveness we have bound God’s Mercy in heaven, but if we loose the person then God will loose His Mercy on us.
If we attempt to make this the actual indwelling of the Holy Ghost we would be in error based on Scripture. Jesus just said “I send you”, but we find before they could Go, they had to Tarry for the Holy Ghost to “come upon” them (Acts 1:8). Since we find in John 20 they did not have the Spirit, giving them the Holy Ghost without also giving them the Power would be a violation of the procedure Jesus laid out in Acts 1:6-8. Next in Acts 2:4 we find when the Holy Ghost came the disciples spoke in other tongues, yet in John they didn’t speak. As Peter was preaching to Cornelius, the Holy Ghost fell on Cornelius, then Cornelius began to speak in tongues (Acts 10:46). Peter equated this to “baptized with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 11:15). Later when Paul laid hands on some disciples and the Holy Ghost came upon them they began to speak in other tongues and prophesy (Acts 19:6). Two signs related to the Spirit are tongues and prophecy (I Cor 14:1-22). Further, the Greek word used for “receive” in John 20:22 is Lambano, the meaning depends on the usage, in John 20 Jesus is teaching thus the Lambano is used in reference to receiving the teaching of the teacher (Jn 1:12, 5:43, 13:20, 14:17 et al). The Latin really helps, showing how the Breath of Jesus granted them ability, something all of us need, the ability to forgive the unforgivable in order to be prepared to receive the Holy Ghost in fullness.
This is a very important issue, demanding study time. These same disciples were not asked, they were commanded to forgive, but we all know there are those who fit “I can’t forgive them”. What then? Can we forgive them seven times? Nay, seventy times seven. How can we? In and of ourselves we can’t, but the Breath of Jesus is the power of the Mercy of God. It gives us the ability to Loose Mercy, so God’s Mercy can be Loosed on us. It becomes the prerequisite to having the fullness of the New Birth (Mark 11:25-26). If we lack Power in our Christian walk it’s because we have neglected to enter this area, thus if we lack the ability to forgive, we know the breath of Jesus is sufficient. From this point on when we speak of the “Ingress Aires”, you will know what we are referring to.
We must make the separation between forgiveness (Mercy), and the baptism for the remission of sins (Grace), as well as, between a living soul and a quickening spirit. They are joined in the concept of Salvation, but they are also separated as the Rock and Church are. God breathed into Adam, then Adam gained the “breath of life”, but his ability to remain in life was found in the external Tree of Life. When Adam was separated from the Tree of Life, death entered, yet he continued to exist. In John we find a much different situation, the disciples were still under the old nature, but Jesus granted them permission to receive the Holy Ghost by allowing them to move to a position higher than the one Adam held. They wouldn’t need to run around looking for the Tree of Life, their Life was in the New Birth, making them the spiritual Tree.
Whether we know it or not, the second we accepted the Cross of Jesus, the breath of Christ is upon us. Then the Commission to “receive ye the Holy Ghost” is also upon us. The Cross is not the finish of the race, but there is no race without it. Our Commission is written for us, it begins with John’s Account. John’s Account shows the disciples fished all night and caught nothing (Jn 21:3). As they approached the shore, Jesus called out, “Children, have you any meat?” (Jn 21:5). The time and location are different from Luke 24:41; here they are by the shore, but in Luke’s account they were in the house, thus Luke points to a different date (Luke 24:41-43).
The first time Jesus appeared to the disciples was the night of the Resurrection. Then eight days later was the second appearance, when Jesus told Thomas and the other disciples to touch Him. John gives us the third time or the morning of the ninth day, or the beginning of the forty days Jesus would be with them prior to the Accession. Their answer to Jesus’ question was a sound, NO, showing their frustration (Jn 21:5). Prior Jesus said, these men would be fishers of men, now they are looking back to the ways of the world to obtain their need.
There are 153 blessings in the Abrahamic Covenant, Peter had to make his choice between holding the Abrahamic Covenant, or serving Jesus. If one engages in the Abrahamic Covenant they must comply with the Law of Moses as well, since one was incorporated into the other by the token of circumcision of the flesh. All this is still after the Ingress Aires, thus the Ingress Aires provided them the ability to remit sins done unto them so they could seek the Holy Ghost. Here Jesus is confirming what shortly will happen, thus showing the breath of Jesus didn’t grant them the New Birth, it granted them permission to receive the New Birth (Jn 21:18).
Prior Peter heard, “deny himself”, then he heard, “you will deny Me”, thus like most of us when he heard “deny yourself” he said, “But Lord I have”, when he denied the Lord, he found he had not denied the self, rather he was in the process of attempting to save it. It’s not to belittle Peter, rather it shows he lacked the ability, his experience shows us we too lack the ability until we receive the Spirit. There are many religions who do all sorts of acts of self-righteousness presuming they are “denying the self”, yet they are enforcing the self nature, not denying it. To deny the self is an act of death, it takes the Cross of Jesus, not religious exercises.
Peter had the information prior to the Cross, proved it by saying, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words (Rhema) of life” (Jn 6:68). It was the revelation the Father gave to Peter and the others at the time to secure the incentive to remain with Jesus. Peter didn’t walk away then, why would he later? Peter hasn’t walked away, he was still there, but so was Jesus.
Jesus told them to cast their net to the right side of the boat (Jn 21:6). This lesson was both an old one, and a new one. The old lesson was to listen to Jesus, then do as He says, even if the circumstances appear hopeless. Jesus didn’t say, “I called you to be fishers of men, get rid of the net”, rather He provided them a choice. Within minutes Jesus gave them a net breaking catch of 153 fish. This catch is a prelude to a choice facing Peter within moments. The evidence before Peter would be clear, he was still unable, he was even failing at doing what he used to do best, thus the added incentive would be the 153 fish. He could continue where he was at, and Jesus would bless him, but he made the vow to continue on with Jesus, now his choice will determine his decision. The net was on one side of Peter, Jesus on the other. Many of our wilderness experiences are no different, the element on one side, Jesus on the other.
Before Jesus asked Peter any questions, Jesus already knew Peter’s answers, but Peter didn’t, this test and restoration was for Peter. The disciples sat down to eat, Jesus not only prepared the meal, He did it with His catch. Here Peter had a net with more than enough, but Jesus had the need filled. There are times when “abundance” is not the blessing, the Need is. Our efforts to provide for our need may work, but Jesus already has the provision waiting, if we only ask. Jesus not only wants to provide for us, but He also wants us to trust in His ability to provide. It’s not whether or not we are sitting and waiting for the ravens to bring our need, or whether or not the Lord has us working to meet our need, it’s whether or not we are obeying the Lord in the endeavor. Peter was breaking his back pulling in the net, but Jesus was cooking the need (Jn 21:9). Jesus didn’t use one of the 153 fish, He provided the Things from another source, it should be a clue to some of us who chase the blessing like a dog after a cat.
The restoration and calling of Peter begins as Jesus says, “Simon son of Jonas, lovest (Agape) you Me, more than these” (Jn 21:15). The word “these” refers to the fish, as the fish represent the promise of the Abrahamic Covenant. Peter could have said, “Lord you know I love you, but I also love the fish, and they are part of the Abrahamic Covenant, and Abraham was promised these things by God Himself, You know”, but Peter had to decide to reach further than receiving the blessing, he had to decide if he wanted to finish the race by being a blessing unto God. On one hand he could have the blessing, on the other he could be a blessing.
Peter desired the calling, but his past conduct was holding him back: for the first time, Peter admits his limitations. Admitting our limitations, and allowing them to hold us back are different. It didn’t take long for Peter to turn his eyes from the net to Jesus. Peter heard Agape but answered, “Yes, Lord, You know I love (Phileo) you” (Jn 21:15). Peter knows his heart for the first time, he also knows his Phileo love wasn’t enough to stand in the time of pressure. Peter saw the “old man”, he didn’t like what he saw, but what could he do about it? His Phileo love was enough to heal the sick, preach the Gospel, and sit at the table with Jesus, but it wasn’t enough to face the pressure of affliction or the persecution for the Word’s sake.
From the English it would appear easy enough for Peter to mix the two types of love, but Jesus wasn’t talking to Peter in English, Peter heard right, he answered based on what he knew to be a fact. Peter already experienced his love in action, he knew it failed him before, surely it would fail again. Here Jesus is talking directly to Peter, but Jesus didn’t respond this time with, “Get you behind Me Satan”, no this wasn’t some Satan thinking Peter had, it was Fact. Peter knew man’s Phileo love is good, but not good enough to deny the self, or follow Jesus. The Remnant have Phileo, they will keep the Commandments of God, but they will also be overcome.
Peter’s puny faith put him on the water, but the same puny faith failed in the face of adversity, it almost killed him. Peter made his choice when he said, “Lord I Phileo You”, thus the denial of the self was confessed. Peter loves the Lord, but his desire is to Agape the Lord, yet he knows the ability is missing. Many days prior Jesus told the disciples, “if any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life (Psuche), shall lose it, but whosoever will lose his life (Psuche) for My sake, the same shall save it” (Luke 9:23-24). When Peter reaches “Follow Me” the test will be complete, but the work just beginning.
Here we find the difference between Peter and Judas, Peter loved the Lord, based his decision of Phileo love. Judas loved Judas more than anyone, his decision was to benefit Judas above all else, thus Peter sought the Lord, Judas sought the power and blessing. Judas taking from the bag indicates he felt the Lord didn’t know all things, as part of his error it became the root of his failure.
Like Peter, far too many of us have made mistakes, then decided it was all over, or we allowed someone else to tell us it was all over, or we stopped somewhere along the path of Phileo failing to reach for Agape. Phileo love can still point to God, but Phileo only provides a little strength, it’s not enough to maintain Grace, but with Grace comes Agape.
When God tells us our vision, we must agree with Him to see it complete. When Peter hears the vision Jesus has for him, it will be difficult for him to believe. Nonetheless Peter will end in agreement, as he makes the choice to believe beyond his natural ability. Peter still made mistakes after Pentecost, but God didn’t remove him from the office of Apostle (Gal 2:7-16). When Paul confronted Peter, Paul didn’t ask for Peter’s papers, rather his intent was based in restoration.
Even after Peter answered with Phileo, Jesus says, “Feed My lambs” (Jn 21:15). Perhaps in Peter’s mind he is thinking, Oh great, now I have a calling and no ability. The Greek here indicates taking the lambs (little ones) to the pasture of God so they can learn how to eat. This is a warning to Peter as well as a call; we never hinder the little ones, we encourage them to enter the pasture. Paul said, Forbid not to speak in tongues (I Cor 14:39), we do not stand in the way of others with rites, rules and carnal regulations. If the Lord gives us policies, we live by them, but self-imposed rules to control people is different.
David said, “The Lord is my Shepherd, He makes me to lay down in green pastures” (Ps 23:2). The pasture is the Bible, the place where we find Jesus, nothing builds us faster than making the decision to Believe. Perhaps this inquiry is all over with, the Lord knows Peter Phileos Him. Just maybe, Peter can sit down and eat. Not so, Jesus asks Peter a second time, “Simon son of Jonas, lovest (Agape) you Me?” (Jn 21:16). In this second question we don’t see the wording “more than these”; the issue was settled when Peter answered the first question. In reference to this second question, Peter again says, “Yes Lord, You know I love (Phileo) You” (Jn 21:16). Jesus changed the question, but Peter used the same answer. Peter knew the promise, and assumed he had to wait until he was filled before he could believe. Jesus is telling him to believe, then he will receive. Peter believed he had Phileo, because he did. Jesus is asking him to reach beyond the premise, to believe he can also display and operate in the Agape Love of God. To Peter this would make little sense, after all he did have the past failure to show he couldn’t, yet Jesus is telling him to believe he can.
In reference to the second question, Jesus tells Peter, “Feed My sheep” (Jn 21:16). This is somewhat different from the first statement of “Feed My lambs”. This time Peter is told to feed the young men personally, rather than take them to a place to be fed. Although Peter’s answer didn’t change, his calling did. Peter was acting like a son of Jonah (Jonas), he kept attempting to hide in “the fish”, but he couldn’t get away from the calling, neither can we. Jesus keeps referring to Jonah (Jonas), telling Peter, “stop running son”. Jesus is telling many of us, “stop running” accept the calling. The use of “Simon Son of Jonah” was a clue to Peter, but he was so involved his weakness, he couldn’t see the hope. Jonah was sent to a city in a nation who were enemies of the Jews, in essence Jonah was sent to the Gentiles, just as Peter would be. In Acts when Peter has his vision of what he thinks are unclean he will doubt at first (Acts 10:17), but the vision didn’t come one time, or twice, it came three times, a clue? Perhaps (Acts 10:16). In Acts Peter thinks it’s a test, he goes right back to “not so Lord” (Acts 10:14), thus he was Born Again, but it’s a Process (or did we say that?). If we make a mistake, we must learn from it, we don’t beat ourselves stupid because of it. Repent, learn, discern, but don’t burn.
Peter knows both the lambs and the sheep grow in the pasture; it’s one thing to take them there, another to lead them through it. Here Peter is being told to train (disciple) the called, yet Peter knows he is not even a babe yet. This time Jesus uses the Greek Poimaino for the English word Feed, from Poimaino we get the word Pastor. Peter keeps saying, “I don’t have what it takes”, but Jesus keeps adding to the calling. This time Peter doesn’t say, “You don’t know Lord”, but he is nonetheless attempting to hide from the calling. On the surface, or in the natural, it would appear as if Peter was right and Jesus wrong, but we know better, Jesus is looking at what will be, Peter is looking at what is.
Jesus says a third time, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest (Phileo) you Me?” (Jn 21:17). Jesus has now changed from Agape to Phileo, Peter was grieved because Jesus asked him the third time, “Phileo you Me”. Peter wasn’t grieved by Jesus asking three questions, rather it was Jesus using the word Phileo the third time. We become grieved when Jesus upbraids us with our own unbelief. Peter does Phileo Jesus, it’s not the issue. Peter is holding unbelief in the area of Agape, which is the issue. This is not “Peter do you even Phileo Me”; rather Jesus is using Peter’s own words. When Jesus uses our own words of unbelief, the upbraiding is upon us. This connects to the last verses in Mark, rather than all the disciples, this is Peter in reference to his calling.
Peter was holding to the present state of affairs, but unless he believes into the vision Jesus has for him, it will not come to pass. Jesus is reaching into the belly of the whale as He pulls Peter out of the hell of unbelief. Jesus is still looking to the potential which Peter will obtain on Pentecost, it’s Peter who can’t see it (Jn 21:17). Peter realizes Jesus knows all things, yet only God knows all things. We must prepare our heart for the seed to grow, Peter is now turning the soil.
Many of us have said, “look at the things I have done, how can God use me?”, or “I have denied Jesus three times, how can He forgive me?”, or “I’m not smart enough to serve the Lord”, or “I’m such a fool, how can Jesus use me?”, or “I have really blown it this time, I don’t see how I can go back to church, much less have Jesus use me”, or the classic, “I have committed the unpardonable sin”. The unpardonable sin is unpardonable since the one doing it never asks for Pardon. If we fear committing the unpardonable sin, it’s a sign we haven’t. These comments all come from the belly of the whale, when we “cry by reason of our affliction”, the Lord will hear, then we will sacrifice with the voice of thanksgiving soon finding ourselves on dry land again (Jonah 2:2-10).
Jesus used people most of us wouldn’t talk to, but He took, cleaned, anointed and sent them forth. In each case Jesus began where the people were at, but He didn’t leave them there. None of us are worthy, but Jesus takes us as the empty cup, cleans, and fills us with Living Water and His Blood making us worthy. The latter house is much better than the former.
Jesus tells Peter the third time, “Feed My sheep”. This is a combination of the first and second statements. The word, Feed is the same Greek word Jesus used the first time, but now He couples it with the word Sheep, thus combining the first and second request into this third, clearly this is the Calling. Peter would later say, “feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint but willingly, not for filthy lucre but of a ready mind”; Peter learned his lessons well (I Pet 5:2). What would have been “filthy lucre” in this case? How about the 153 fish? Yes, the wording Filthy Lucre doesn’t mean money alone, it means we don’t care where we get it from, or the strings attached. One who takes filthy lucre will put their hand out to gain from the devil, just as fast as they do from God.
Jesus tells Peter, “Truly, truly, I say unto you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would..” (Jn 21:18a). This is a description of Peter’s self-run life style, ours as well. Like Peter, when we were self run we did as we wanted, allowing our unsaved souls to guide us. This is not when Peter was a physical baby, since we know no baby “girds” their self. The word Young is the Greek Neos meaning Into existence, thus it doesn’t restrict itself to being a baby, rather it shows Peter in the beginning of the ministry. Peter was not Born Again at this time, his thinking was still carnal, some of his actions and words prove it. Jesus isn’t condemning him, He is making a statement of fact. It was the best Peter could do, but times were changing and a New Season was coming. The word “would” could also read “desired”, it comes from the Greek Theatrizo meaning a Display of ones self. From Theatrizo we get Theatrical, which defines Peter’s life style before Pentecost.
Jesus continued with, “but when you shall be old, you shall stretch forth your hands and another shall gird you and carry you where you would not” (Jn 21:18b). The word “old” means mature, as an Elder, this is a promise to Peter. All this is again after Jesus gave them Permission to “receive ye the Holy Ghost”. The “another” or Another Comforter will change Peter completely, showing how the Spirit will guide Peter; he will no longer be guided by his self-nature (Jn 14:16). This confirms the “son of Jonah”, the place Peter would not go was the house of Cornelius proving it did come to pass.
Prior Peter felt he was incapable, but he failed to see Jesus is talking about being capable by a different source. Jesus is promising Peter Another Comforter will give him the ability to love others as Jesus loves him. Peter didn’t miss the boat, his hope was found in Jesus, not the net. Peter will put his arms forward not to the side, showing the guidance of the Spirit by Peter’s submission. This is still a choice, Peter can reject it, but Jesus knows the decision Peter has made. Peter’s choices reflect his decision, it didn’t take him long to turn his back on the 153 fish and face Jesus.
Peter will later tell us, “knowing shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as the Lord has showed me” (II Pet 1:14). Here in John the Lord is telling Peter something, not showing him something. This is the type of “death”, it has nothing to do with physical death, it has to do with “denying yourself”. This death is when Simon dies and Peter lives. The same type of death we must all have in order to truly be Born Again .
This confirms how Jesus taught on many things before the Cross, but the ability to do them would not come until after the Cross. Some of us “hear”, then think “we can”, but there is a training time for us before the “do” takes place.
The word Follow in the phrase, “Follow Me” is the Greek Akoloutheo which is a compound word meaning A union of accompany, it means to walk in the same manner. This explains our measure of faith is to keep our footsteps in the tracks made by the Faith of Jesus.
There is only one calling, the Scripture don’t say, “gifts and callings”, rather it says, “gifts and calling”, yet there are steps in the Calling (Rom 11:29). One would think Peter would enjoy the Good News, he did, so much so he became extremely excited. He sees John, his best friend approaching, now Peter wants to find out what Jesus has for John. We know this is John by the description and the events in John 13:23-24 (Jn 21:20-21). Peter wasn’t questioning Jesus, nor was he questioning or accusing John. Peter was taken back into the flock, ordained for a position, promised the Spirit, it would be no longer, “tell Peter and My disciples”, but “Peter is My disciple”. Peter would have a new courage beyond his old ability, instead of taking his sword, he will hold the Sword of the Spirit speaking words of Grace. Instead of cutting ears off, he will be speaking to ears eager to hear. Peter grabs his best friend, he again wants to enter the Two By Two ministry. However, the concept will change, Peter will walk with the Holy Ghost by the Spirit. Jesus says, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me” (Jn 21:22). This doesn’t say John will tarry, it says “what if”, much different. This shows us we can’t compare where we are with Jesus by looking at what Jesus is doing with others. Instead of hearing the voices of men, or the voice of the stranger (old man) Peter will be able to “Hear ye Him”.
Our first step to the Commission is found in John, the next is found in Luke. Luke 24:36-43, and Luke 24:44-52 are two different events. Luke 24:36-43 corresponds with John 20:26-29, this is found in the wording, location and references. Since the discovery of the Resurrection of Jesus was on a Sunday, and He appeared the second time a week later on a Sunday, the Church has used Sunday to show we have entered the Law of the Spirit, the Jew still holds Saturday as a sign of holding to the Law of Moses. The sabbath day was a token or sign used to associate them to the Law of Moses, but we are told to Follow Jesus, we do so to become members of His Resurrection. The Resurrection is the basis for the Church to worship on Sunday, not some New Age mystic attempting to change the Sabbath, rather the Sabbath changed from keeping a day to entering the Rest of God through belief. Yet if one wants to keep one day above another, let them do so, but let them keep it between them and the Lord. Which means they are not to condemn others for not keeping the day, neither are they to make it doctrine.
The first Sunday being the first day shows we can count ahead seven days bringing us to the next Sunday, it was on this Sunday when Thomas made his statement, “My Lord, and my God”. Thomas made a correct statement, since this would be after the Father called the Son God (Heb 1:8). The house where the disciples stayed was in Jerusalem, but the Ascension was near Bethany (Luke 24:44-49), thus the second appearance is Jesus speaking to the disciples in the house at Jerusalem, not at Bethany. The disciples left the house in Jerusalem, then went to Galilee, as Jesus commanded, then eight days later Jesus talked to them in the house in Galilee, then the third time at the sea shore. Here Luke picks up at the house in Jerusalem, where Jesus tells the disciples, “These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms concerning Me” (Luke 24:44). These are the words Jesus spoke, not the words Moses spoke, thus there is a change taking place, a move from one Law to another. Also, the Testimony of Jesus is found in the Old Testament; how can we testify without knowing the Testimony, or how can we be a witness without the Witness? A good scribe knows both the Old and New, a Believer believes in the New and the Old, but lives by the New. Knowing the testimony of Jesus while attempting to complete the Law of Moses are different. A Testimony is spoken of, a Witness is lived, they should not be confused one into the other.
Jesus then said, “Thus it is written and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day” (Luke 24:46). Wait, where is it written? Jesus is talking about those things written in the Old Testament, thus the mystery of the Old is finding Jesus therein. The Holy Ghost was behind the scenes, as the men of Old were speaking of the Spirit of Christ yet to come. One example is Jonah being three days and nights in the belly of the whale. Jesus used the experience to show how long He would be in the belly of the earth. Again this confirms the three days, it had to be three days, not one or two.
The word Behooved means, Necessary, it wasn’t some evil, or by the will of man, it was in the Plan from the beginning of the world. It’s also necessary for us to see wars, rumors of wars, pestilence and famine, as the world is being prepared for the Time of Comfort, yet it’s not The End, neither are we to be “terrified” (Luke 21:9).
Again Jesus shows the importance of the Bible, as He says, “it is written”, how can we know what is written if we never read what is written? How can we receive without the Rhema? How can we speak of the Word, without the Word in us? Jesus didn’t discount the Bible, rather He shows the importance of it, yet we find without the Word in us, we won’t understand what is written.
Jesus wasn’t talking about the New Testament to come, but the many references in the Prophets, Law and Psalms said regarding Him. This shows it was written, it came to pass, thus what is written for the future, will come to pass. Prophecy proves itself by coming to pass, thus the Old Testament said it was going to be, it happened, thus what we are told will happen, will happen.
Jesus continues in Luke by saying, “and the repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). There are two areas named here, repentance and remission, water baptism pertains to repentance, the baptism with the Holy Ghost to remission; covering Mercy (repentance), and Grace (remission). Jesus uses the third person authority issue (in His Name); therefore, the Holy Ghost is speaking through Jesus projecting the change in Seasons, telling us how no one can “Hear Ye Him” without the Spirit.
The Church will begin at Jerusalem after the Spirit is given, not before. The Body was being formed before the Cross, “upon this Rock”, but the Church is spiritual in nature, it was birthed on Pentecost (I will build – Matt 16:18).
If we love Jesus, we will do as He says, He told us to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost before we can be a Witness (Acts 1:6-8). Authority and Power are different, Jesus first gave Authority, then He told them to wait for the Power. Authority is the granted permission to do something, power the ability to carry out the authority.
In Luke we find how we are to teach two areas, the Father’s Mercy granted by the person’s repentance of sins, coupled with Grace for the remission of sin (Spirit, New Birth, Grace, Blood of Jesus, Power of His Christ), we can’t preach one without the other.
Jesus then said, “And you are witnesses of these things and behold, I send the promise of My Father unto you: but tarry you in the city of Jerusalem, until you be endued with power from on High” (Luke 24:48-49). Here is the key, they were to Tarry for the Power in order to be a Witness to carry out the Authority (Acts 1:8).
This area leads to Mark, some attempt to escape Mark by saying the last verses in Mark don’t appear in two early manuscripts, but they fail to see God has allowed to give us a choice, the choice just so happens to pertain to the spiritual calling of being a Christian. We can look for an excuse to deny the Lord, or seek to receive Him. What’s the difference between Mark saying we must believe, or Paul saying in Romans we must believe? It’s still an obligation for us to continue to believe after we are baptized into the Body. What appears to be conflicts or errors in the Bible are often tests placed in the context by the Holy Ghost. God provided evidence in the other accounts plus many of the letters to support Mark 16:16-18, including the context within Mark itself. Did Jesus lay hands on the sick? Yes. Did Jesus cast out devils? Yes. Is Jesus our example? Yes. Why then deny what He has called us to do? The division between Luke and Mark explains why some deny, or want to change Mark to fit their own carnal thinking. The last thing Jesus said in Luke was, “be endued with power from on high”, if one wants to complete their own religious agenda without the responsibility of the Spirit, they can stop short of the call to be endued with Power from on high, although they would be committing iniquity.
Looking at Mark 16:16-18 with the natural mind might make one wonder, but if we can see the metaphors with the “little words” we can gain much. To be water Baptized means we have entered the Body, thus these verses are only for those who have accepted the Mercy of the Father to become sons of men, so they can be sons of God. Jesus is upbraiding them with their unbelief, by showing what belief will accomplish. This is not a discourse on baptism, it’s about what we do after we enter the Body. After entry, if we continue to believe, then the words “shall be saved” apply, but if we enter and fail to continue to believe, then the words will not apply. This is how Jesus upbraids with the person’s unbelief, if they don’t believe, then the signs won’t follow. The disciples were there, they worshiped Him, yet they held unbelief, they were binding Jesus by the feet.
Prior they were told to go and heal the sick, even the 70 reported how the devils were subject to them by the Name of Jesus. The 70 were told by Jesus how they would tread on serpents and scorpions. In Mark He said “take up”, but before it was “tread”, so do we take up what we tread on? No, to tread means they have no power or authority over us, to take up means something different. The word Serpent doesn’t mean some snake, it means Malicious (intent to commit an illegal act), or Slanderous (intent to do harm) people. However, the key to this is the wording “shall take up”, which is the Greek Aheero meaning among other things “to take up a fish”, or to “lift high”; making no sense at all, except for Paul. When Paul was Saul he was a serpent, a malicious Pharisee who had papers allowing him to capture Christians, he was even behind the death of Stephen. Saul was so feared by the Christians, they were afraid to even meet him, yet he was caught in the Net, and Lifted. If we picked up some real snake, we missed the meaning of this Sign. This area has nothing to do with faith, Jesus did not upbraid them for their lack of faith, it was their unbelief. The signs follow those who believe, there is no way we will “lift the serpents” unless we truly believe in the power of the Gospel. This Sign merely shows those who Believe are able to preach the Truth in Love to those who are malicious in nature. To Tread shows the serpents have no authority over us, here it shows since it is the case, they are potential converts; Saul (Paul) being the best example.
The phrase Shall Recover comes from one Greek word Kalos meaning Well, denoting Doing Well, or Being Well. Jesus did all things Well (Kalos), He makes both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak (Mark 7:37). Mark 16:18 and 7:37 relate one to the other, if we lay hands on the sick we do well, just as Jesus did well. The test here is not whether we’re well or not, but whether we laid hands on the sick. This says nothing about being healed, it does speak about doing something for those who are ill. This connects to James and how the Elders lay hands on the sick one (anoint with oil), thus showing another area where the context is supported by Bible evidence. The Doctrine mentioned here connects to the laying on of hands, not hands laid on us (Heb 6:1-2).
Don’t confuse the deadly area with Elisha putting the meal in the pot to rid it of the poison in II Kings 4:40-41, although one could make a point how the Bread (meal) removed the poison. The key to the poison is found in the phrase; it doesn’t say “will not kill”, which one would think would be the case, rather it says “hurt”. The word Hurt is the Greek Bdeloosso meaning To render foul, or To cause to turn away, it doesn’t mean “death”, it means to be effected to the point of giving up. Changing the entire meaning of the verse, showing temptations come against the Believer to turn them away, but if the Belief, they will not be harmed. Confirmed in James; “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations” (James 1:2). Why? God is fully able to use the same temptation to make a way for us to escape, thereby giving us victory in the process (I Cor 10:13). Here in Mark it’s the same thing, only metaphoric, thus one can toss Mark 16:16-18 out, but they are still stuck with all the supportive verses and evidences.
What Bible defining evidence do we have? Immediately we can think of John 3:18 where we are told to believe to be saved, thus we could show many manuscripts containing those verses, as well as words from the church fathers using them, but we must also allow the Bible to define the Bible. We saw some connection, but continuing we find verse 16:16 is supported by Matthew 24:3, Acts 15:11 and Romans 10:9. One may avoid Mark, but there are other verses saying the same thing. Other areas are supported as well, Luke 11:20, Acts 16:18, and other places show us how we are to cast out devils. Speaking in New Tongues is supported by Mark 13:11, Acts 4:20, Roman 6:19, I Corinthians 1:10, and 2:6. Serpents in the true context by Matthew 10:16, 23:33 and Luke 10:19, deadly things by Job 6:4, Psalms 58:4, 140:3 and Romans 3:13, laying on of hands by Acts 8:18 and Hebrews 6:2, signs following by Acts 2:22, 4:30, Romans 15:19 plus more verses as well as documents supporting these words.
Since the verses are supported by verses, the Bible has defined itself, thus the context stands. Of course if one searches out a reason not to believe, they have in fact proved they fit “upbraided with their unbelief” position. On the other hand we can make the choice to Continue in Belief knowing Signs will follow.
In Luke it was, Go to Jerusalem and wait, now in Mark, it’s Go into all the world connecting the Acts to the commission, which again supports these verses. Jesus told them to be witnesses in “both” Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost part of the earth. It’s not “both”, it’s four, but what do we find? Jew (Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria), and Gentile (Uttermost part), giving us Both connecting to Mark.
In Matthew, we are told to teach by precept, we learn the precepts through the teachings obtained by experiences with the Spirit. We are also commanded to baptize others in water, but since it’s a token for them, it becomes an ordinance for them as well. No one is commanded to be baptized, but we do have a command to baptize in water. No one is commanded to give tithes under the new, but we are commanded as priests to receive tithes. The token of water baptism identifies the person with the death and resurrection of Jesus. The water didn’t save them, God did, the water didn’t forgive them, God did, thus the water is a Token, not the source. Once the person gives their token of water baptism they are inducted into the Body by being immersed with God’s Mercy.
We have traveled from the calling in John to see if we’re willing to Follow Jesus, to Luke to see if we are willing to submit to the Word and to our Pentecost to have Power from on High to be a Witness. Then into Mark to make the choice to Believe, now we can go to Matthew. Matthew is the only one who uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven”, thus we go ye into all the world to call the called into the kingdom of heaven, baptize them in Water based on their confession of belief, telling them about the Kingdom of God, present them to the Lord for the Baptism with the Holy Ghost to receive the Spirit. Matthew is the only account where the wording in the account ends with Jesus speaking; therefore, Matthew gives us the Amen (So be it, in the faithfulness of God).
In Matthew, Jesus says, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in the earth” (Matt 28:18). The word for Power is the Greek Exousia meaning Authority, thus the “Name” is not the common or popular identification a person is known by, it’s the Authority. Those in the Body have the Name, if they are carnal, spiritual, or carnal becoming spiritual they still have Authority in the Name of Jesus. Regardless of the names of God prior, there is only one Name on earth where man has connection to heaven (Heb 1:2). It doesn’t mean we can’t “talk” to the Father or the Holy Ghost, it means the Authority issue is One Name, found in the Body of Christ. Whether we say, “Name of Jesus”, or “the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost” it’s still One Name, based in One Authority, for those in the Body. The name will not work for those outside the Body (Acts 19:15-16). However, we know there are people who mind the flesh, and those who mind the Spirit in the same Body (Rom 8:1 & 8:5).
Jesus continues in Matthew with, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost” (Matt 28:19). It’s obvious among the Father and Holy Ghost is the “Son”, who is speaking. This merely shows the combined Authority of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost is given to the Body of Christ, with Jesus as the Head of the Body. This is the Authority, granted to any person who is in the Body (in the Name of Jesus), but the Power is still from on High. The word “Therefore” means To look back and connect this phrase with the prior phrases. We Tarry for the Power from on High, some of us hear “go”, and we’re gone, yet the rest of the sentence was, “after you receive Power from on High”.
Water Baptism is done “in the Name of Jesus”, it has nothing to do with what we say, but everything to do with the Authority we use. The authority for John’s Baptism ceased when John was placed in prison, becoming no longer effective, or to be used. Doing the Godly thing, in an ungodly time is still ungodly. The effectiveness of John’s baptism ended when Jesus said, “In My Name”. John’s Baptism said the people should believe, the Baptism in the Name of Jesus is based on their belief. John’s baptism identified the person with repentance, our baptism identifies us with the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. When John baptized the Cross was future tense, with us it’s past tense, with a present tense effect for us (Acts 19:2-6).
Jesus then says, “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…” (Matt 28:20). Here is the second stage of teaching, or discipling the person, thus we teach by word, but after they are baptized, they need to be discipled. The term “ruling Elder” doesn’t mean one who makes decisions, it means one who is an example of Mercy, Grace and Wisdom. At this point in time they let go of the “feet” of Jesus, He was about to ascend unto the Father. Once He ascended, then the Holy Ghost would come with the Gift.
Each Gospel account links to the other, we can’t jump around picking some here or some there, God has ordained a process, a method, a means, we follow His rules, or we don’t follow at all. Without John’s account we can’t make the decision to Follow Jesus, without Luke’s we won’t know the precepts regarding our decision, without Mark’s we won’t know the choices we have regarding our decision to belief, yet without Matthew we can’t discern why we made the decision.
Taking all these sayings of Jesus’ in order will give us One Commission giving us a foundation for our decision and a knowledge of knowing the Truth of “He Did It For Me, Because He Loves Me”, we insert our name in place of the disciple; as we read:
(Jn 21:15-23) Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of Jonas, do you love Me, more than these (things)? Feed My lambs. Simon son of Jonas do you love Me? Feed My sheep. Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me (as a brother)? Feed My sheep. Truly, truly, I say unto you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would: but when you shall be old, you will stretch forth your hands and another shall gird you and carry you where you wouldn’t (couldn’t) go. You Follow Me. If I will for anyone to tarry till I come, what is it to you, you Follow Me. (Luke 24:44-49) These are the words which I spoke to you, while I was yet with you, all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms, concerning Me. Thus it is written and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day: for repentance and remission of sins to be preached in My name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, and you are Witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but you tarry in the city of Jerusalem (city of peace) until you are endued with power from on High. (Mark 16:15-18) Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved but he who doesn’t believe shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them who believe, in My name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with New Tongues, they shall take up serpents and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them, they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. (Matt 28:18-20) All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.-
One letter, without break or confusion, placing us on the path of His Righteousness, giving us a foundation to believe. Jesus is for us, He has promised many things in His Will, all it takes is our Belief in Him. This letter is personal in nature, containing truths for the reader only the reader and God know. Our study of the Gospel will open this letter, although the study will be general, yet personal, the student will gain. However, with all the promises of God, with all the confessions we make, and all the decisions we make concerning God, we can expect a testing to prove our position and condition. God gives us the presentation of the promise, we apply our faith and belief, then comes the testing to determine if we are hypocrites, or if we mean what we say, then comes the manifestation. Our decision is very important, some give up in the middle of the testing never reaching the goal, because they are making faulty choices, not in line with their decision. Our concern is to endure and reach the goal, to hold the victory in hand, rather than go about with the victory at hand. We must have an understanding of the battle, the battle plan, and how we can Stand Firm: the next section approaches the area.
LESSON TEN – GOSPEL I – HAVE WE DONE ALL TO STAND?
Some confuse Standing with running, faith with fear, and defeat with victory, all of which happens when we are moved by the event, rather than understanding the purpose of the event. Before we can Stand for others, we must be able to Stand. Really, it seems easier to stand for others, than for ourselves, but the process demands for us to first stand for ourselves in order to be effective in standing for others (Eph 6:10-14).
Whenever we find a premise in the Bible, we must also find the example before we venture off with a self-imposed concept. We can use a God centered principle, but in an ungodly manner. Whenever we get an idea regarding Scripture, we make sure it’s what the Scripture says. Natural reasoning counterfeits revelation, or a desire to have some knowledge no one else has, produces rebellion, not revelation. We must be able to “check and balance” what we think are Godly premises, principles and sayings especially when we find ourselves stretching a verse to the breaking point to make it fit. Simply because we think something works, it’s no guaranty our method or intent are based in God. Witchcraft works, it’s why witches use it (Acts 16:16). The power of the world works, we all used it at one time.
Our choices must line up with our decision, or our choice will turn against us. If we made the decision not to use the power of the world, yet, we make a choice to use the power anyway, the same power will turn against us the second we begin to use it. Someone in the world will use the power of the world, yet it seems to work for them, but for us? Destruction. Why? They didn’t make the decision they did, their decision and choices line up, yet the end thereof is death. What we used in the world with proficiency, all of sudden seems to turn on us, yet it’s good news, the evidence shows the New Man is doing a house cleaning bringing us into the methods of Christ.
This does have to do with Standing, we can’t stand with God, if we use the ways of the world. Paul tells us to put on the whole Armor of God (Eph 6:11 & 6:13), but do we place the act with the premise? Or do we run off barking at the moon? He also tells us, “having done all to Stand, Stand therefore” (Eph 6:14). Have we done all to Stand? A times we want to jump over the first Stand then go into battle, but the premise is for us to stand correctly in the Lord. Are we trying to put the Armor of God on the self? Are we using the Armor of God to defend some self-based concept?
Paul listed four elements pertaining to the wiles of the devil, in each case the same letter defines what those elements are (Eph 6:12). Principalities are places, a prince is known by the principality he represents (Eph 6:12). There is the prince of the power (authority) of the air, the same spirit working in the children of disobedience (Eph 2:2-3). However, Jesus is the Prince of Peace, showing the a principality in the Kingdom is Peace; yet being a principality means it’s part of the Kingdom, not all the Kingdom. If we presume we war against all principalities, does it mean we war against Peace? No, James tells us the fruit of Righteousness is sown in peace (James 3:18). Have we done all to stand?
The Law of Moses is also a Principality, it’s not the nation, it’s not the city, but it does have authority, power as a place of operation. How then would we war against the Law of Moses? By doing the Law of the Spirit. The Greek word for Principality is Arche, it’s also translated as Beginning, as in the Beginning of the Gospel, do we war against the Gospel? Have we done all to stand?
Titus is a letter of instruction, within the letter we find Paul telling Titus to teach us to submit to Principalities (Titus 3:1). How do we fight a principality, yet submit? Paul told the Colossians the Principality of the Law of Moses and the power of the Ten Commandments were nailed to the Cross (Col 2:14-16 & Eph 2:14–15). We better find out what some of these things pertain to, and how to Stand: have we done all to stand?
It’s clear we need to understand the method of standing for and against in the Kingdom, as well as how it differs from the world’s concepts. In the world it’s always the biggest gun wins the battle against guns, not so in the Kingdom. In the Kingdom we find if we mind the Spirit, the battle is over, before it begins. Have we done all to stand?
Are we attempting to put the middle partition back up, after Jesus has removed it (Eph 2:14)? Do we keep things in proper Order? Do we allow the world to be the world? Or do we attempt to make the world the kingdom? Do we attempt to pick bits and pieces from the Law of Moses to gain some favor from God? Have we done all to Stand?
Powers are anything with power, has anger very controlled us? Yes, has greed? Without question. Emotions out of control will speak for us, cause us to act, guide us and use us, they are a Power. The rulers of the darkness of this world are things energized by disobedience ruling the soul of a person. The rulers are defined for us, they include corrupt communication (Eph 4:29), allowing anger to guide and instruct us (Eph 4:26), evil speaking (speaking against the brethren – Eph 4:31), bitterness, wrath, foolish talking and the such (Eph 4:31 & 5:4). Are we still using these? Or allowing them to use us? Have we done all to Stand?
Spiritual wickedness can only happen in high places, not the highest (Eph 6:12 & 3:10). The word Wickedness is the Greek Poneria meaning Iniquity, thus spiritual wickedness is not some spiritual being wicked, it’s when we fail to be spiritual (Eph 1:17-23). Have we done all to stand?
Have we taken some attribute of God, then made an idol out of it? Have we forgotten all things are under the feet of Jesus (Eph 1:22)? The anointing is required, but have we made a god of it? The glory is within, but have we made an idol of it? Have we elevated someone or something higher than God has? Have we done all to stand?
We can even make the mistake of elevating Adam to some supper god realm. Adam was made to remain in the Garden, it was Adam’s failure causing him to fall, he was a living soul, not a quickening spirit. Have we done all to Stand?
We know the day will come when we will get serious about all this, then we will make the decision to engage in Warfare. However, we have choices to make regarding the decision; the weapons we use, or where we fight the battle are just two. For instance some talk about a “holy war”, yet it’s flesh and blood against flesh and blood, to us that premise is sin, not holiness. Our attitude in warfare is who the real enemy is, Paul never said we war against the “devil”, he said we war against the “wiles” of the devil (Eph 6:11). Jesus destroyed (made ineffective) him who had (past tense) the power of death, who is the devil (Heb 2:14). If the devil is ineffective in the kingdom, then he is ineffective, it’s the wiles of the devil producing the problem. We can war against the devil 24 hours a day, yet use the wiles of the devil to do it. However, we also know we can give place to the devil (Eph 4:27), we do so by using the wiles of the devil, which in turn grieves the Holy Spirit of Promise we are sealed by (Eph 1:13, 4:30-32). Have we done all to stand?
The biggest battle we will face is perhaps the most important, “be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you” (Eph 4:32). We do it by “understanding the Will of the Lord, be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled (in excess) with the Spirit (Holy Spirit); speaking to yourselves in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart unto the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 5:17-20). Difficult? At times, some event appears anything but good, yet the will of the Lord is to give Thanks for All Things.
We must also define elements as they are defined in the Scriptures; what is the purpose of standing? So we can run off feeling superior? No, when we have done all to stand, we stand therefore for the rest of the Body. Since Paul wrote this, what was his prayer request? “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the Gospel” (Eph 6:19). Where else do we see this type of warfare? Peter and John were going to Temple when they came across a man by the gate beautiful (Acts 3:1-3). We know the story, the man was healed, then he ran through the temple, causing the religious leaders to have a fit. Instead of one Jesus, now they had a house full, all doing the same things Jesus did. Peter and John returned to the group after they did all to stand, the group prayed, “Lord Behold their threatenings…” (Acts 4:29). Some of us finish the prayer with, “make them humble Lord, make them pay”. Not these people, they continued with, “and grant unto Your servants with all boldness they may speak Your word” (Acts 4:29). The same thing Paul requested, so is speaking all they wanted? No, “by stretching forth Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done by the Name of Your holy child Jesus”. It would seem strange to pray to Jesus, then use the third person calling Him a “child”. Especially when they used the Greek Pais meaning a servant, usually meaning one who is servant to a king, rather than the King. Unless they were talking about themselves, since the context is the “Name” which is their Authority. Their prayer was in line with Paul’s concept of warfare, use the things of God by the Spirit, not the wiles of the enemy.
What about the Armor? “Oh yeah, get the sword and hack them up”. No, not at all, we begin with Truth, preach the Truth in love, yet there are those who lie in wait to deceive (Eph 4:14). We do not war as them, rather we speak words of Grace to the hearer. The wording “lie in wait ” is the same Greek word translated as Wiles, it’s the Greek Methodeia, it’s only used twice, both times in Ephesians. To lie in wait is to make plans before hand in order to trap someone by the use of deceit; usually involving slander, or using a question to lead someone into a place where the hidden trap waits. Much like the religious rulers did to Jesus, thus Jesus correctly said they would do the lusts of their father the devil. We’ve all had someone ask a question wherein we found they could careless about the answer, their question was a means to lead us into a place where they could trap us.
Are we blown about by every wind of doctrine (Eph 4:14)? The winds of doctrine pertain to the outward edges of the doctrine, or twisting the doctrine to mean something it does not. An example would be First Timothy 5:22, where the young pastor was told not to lay hands suddenly no man. The warning was to be careful who we ordain to helps, or make elders, it had nothing to do with people laying hands on us. A “wind of doctrine” would be using the “lay hands” aspect, but twisting the concept to “watch who lay hands on you”. Have we done all to stand?
There are questions the good soldier must ask their self: which Righteousness do we stand with? Righteousness is the ability to stand before the Lord, “for through Him (Jesus) we both have access by One Spirit unto the Father” (Eph 2:18). “In whom (Jesus) we have boldness and access with confidence by the Faith of Him” (Eph 3:12). Are we attempting to use self-righteousness as our scepter? Have we done all to stand?
Our feet are shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace, the word Preparation is the Greek Hetoimasia meaning readiness, “in whom you trusted, after you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation: in whom also after you Believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph 1:13); with, “And you put on the New Man (Spirit of promise) which after God is created in Righteousness and True Holiness” (Eph 4:24). Have we done all to stand?
The shield of faith, which is always able to quench (take the fire out) the fiery darts of “the Wicked” (Eph 6:16); with, “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, or carried about by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Eph 4:14). Paul continues with, “Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ” (Eph 4:19-20). Have we done all to stand?
The Helmet of Salvation, “you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your Salvation” (Eph 1:13); with, “In whom we have redemption through His Blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His Grace” (Eph 1:7); “Whereof I was made a minister, according to the Gift of the Grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of His Power” (Eph 3:7); “And what is the exceeding greatness of His Power to us-ward who believe according to the working of His Mighty Power” (Eph 1:19). Have we done all to stand?
The Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word (Rhema) of God (Eph 6:17); “let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, so it may minister Grace to the hearers” (Eph 4:29); “grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Eph 4:30); “but speaking the truth in love“ (Eph 4:15). Have we done all to stand? If so, then we can stand for others. All these show us the mystery, the Holy Spirit refers to the New Man, thus we find the title used seven times in the entire Bible showing us the New Man in us takes us on the path to completeness. The use of the title in the Old Testament pointed to the New, thus Peter and Paul make reference showing the prophets of Old spoke of the Spirit of Christ we are privy to (II Pet 1:20-21, Eph 4:30 & Isa 6310-11).
There are three areas of warfare relating to fighting the good fight of faith, we war to become spiritual, we war to maintain in the spiritual, lastly there are those who war against the spiritual. This last area of warfare is conducted by the Wicked, but it still involves us, especially when we’re the targets of their warfare. When someone prays against people, or makes people their enemies they are engaged in spiritual wickedness. If they project their will into the lives of others they are engaged in witchcraft. “Wow, do you mean we can’t pray for people”. It’s not what we said, we said if we pray “against”, or attempt to make them do as we desire to please our emotions; a far cry from praying For someone. It’s the Lord’s desire for all be saved, thus a prayer in line with the will of the Lord is not witchcraft; however, when we twist the concept attempting to get the Lord to make someone do something we want them to, it becomes witchcraft on our part. “Well I did, and it worked, so the Lord must have answered it”. No, it worked because witchcraft works on the natural minded, it’s why witches use it.
There are two problems arising when we pray out of order, first we bring about the wrong type of warfare (James 4:1-4). Second we give the devil place (Eph 4:27), not only in the lives of others, but in ours. Perhaps it’s why some have to bind everything in sight everyday, they keep loosing darkness everyday.
The first two areas of becoming spiritual, or remaining spiritual bring us into the decision process, establishing us in the position. We put on the New Man, yet we put on the Armor of God, thus they are one in the same, since the attributes of one are the same as the other. We made a decision to enter this, but we must know when to speak, and when not to. There are times when we simply submit, or allow things to run their course. There are times to speak, thus the Holy Spirit is fully able to guide us. We must be aware of the elements we use, not only do we desire to have the Holy Spirit of Promise in fullness, but we desire not to grieve the Holy Spirit.
The Corinthians had the Spirit, but failed to be spiritual (I Cor 3:1-3 & 3:16). Church history shows they never did accept the teachings of Paul, or those of the disciples of Paul. After a few years they were no more, not Raptured, but so ineffective they disappeared in the waves of the Sea.
God is not going to give us the Spirit so we can remain carnal, the Spirit won’t leave us, but if we remain carnal we place a barrier or partition between us and the Spirit, thereby grieving the Holy Spirit, causing Him to turn to be our enemy. Jesus said it was possible to choke the Word out of us, which means to push it aside. However, as long as we are reaching for the spiritual things of God, the spiritual things of God will find us.
Since we are priests we find this area of Standing is one of our priestly duties as we minister in prayer for the brethren. Our prayers are a type of sacrifice, we as priests offer up gifts, sacrifices and offerings. As strange as it seems this Warfare is within the Body, there those who lie in wait to deceive, those who bring the winds of doctrine. Ever been belittled by someone in church? Ever have someone vent their anger or manipulation on you? Is there a weapon we use? Yes, we hit them with a big log. No, it’s the same method they used. Oh, we write some real nasty books about them? No, it’s the same method they used. We make tapes and mock them. No, it’s the same method they used. We hold John 7 meetings to get even. No, it’s the same method they used. We speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15). Yes, the Sword of the Spirit, the Rhema words of Grace coming from us for edifying, rather than corrupt communication they used (Eph 4:30-32).
With this we must know what the word Stand means, what we Stand against, as well as how we Stand against elements. We must do so by using the Premises and Examples given in the Bible, rather than presumption. The power of the dragon works, but it doesn’t mean we use it. Witchcraft works, but it doesn’t mean we use it. Many things work, they are suppose to, even the Law of Moses works, but are we suppose to use it? Some love to show the devil they have Power, but in the process they are turning stones into bread, casting themselves down to prove the angels will hold them up. Using wicked means to arrive at what they think is a Godly result is out of order. Eve had “knowledge” after she took of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, so did it work? There was a result, but it doesn’t mean it was Godly.
The hardest thing to keep in mind in all this is knowing we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood (Eph 6:12). The moment we assume some person is our enemy, we are in war against flesh and blood; causing us to use carnal weapons, thereby giving place to the devil. The battlefield for those in darkness is flesh and blood, it’s not our battlefield. If we are praying from a position of war against flesh and blood, we will cause a war, James says we have entered the place of adultery since we are praying from a lust (James 4:1-4).
The word Wrestle means Hand to Hand combat, yet if we are in hand to hand combat with the devil we are standing far too close to him. If Paul’s context is a hand to hand combat, yet we are separated from the devil, he must be pointing to something connected, yet separated from the devil. This combat is something so close we can touch it, something within our grasp. Since his context is within the Body, we find there those who use the wiles of the enemy, are the tares in our field of Wheat.
Why would we put on the Armor to begin with? So we can strut down the street? So we can boast in ourselves? Some of this becomes clearer when we keep it in context, for example the natural weapon for those who lie in wait is the wile of corrupt communication, the same temptation to promote tares in others (Eph 4:17-18, 4:23, 4:25 & 4:29). What weapons would we use? Speak the Truth in Love, let your words be Grace unto the hearer, put off the old “conversation” by making the choice to put on the New, use the Sword of the Spirit which is the Rhema of God. Instead of walking in the “vanity of” the mind, we walk “in love” (Eph 4:17 & 5:2). The world counters the lie by saying it’s a lie, we counter the lie by bringing the Truth. The world accuses to make a point, we forgive to make a better one.
One thing standing out in the three attacks of the devil against Jesus is the question, “If you are…”. The old man will question our position, challenge it, or ignore it. Those who listen to darkness seek fault, but they always seem to begin their questions with “If”. If you believe, do this or that. Did Jesus ignore the devil? No. Did Jesus react? No, He responded. Jesus is always our example, we can either follow Him, or presume He should follow us.
Those who have yet to overcome the old man, will speak from the position of the old man, showing the old man is the wile carrier for the enemy. Their intent is still envy based, thus they send darts at us. However, we will find them coming against the devil, but they also use pride, ego, arrogance, yet we find they don’t come against the wiles of the enemy, they use them. One can say all sorts of things about the devil, yet be using the devils wiles to do it. They come up with all sorts of “If’s”; “If it’s so, what about”, or “If Jesus said it, what about”, these are not in the area of Wondering, but they are debating issues, but they are speaking of things they know nothing of. Some ask to know, others ask to bring us into the area where they want to control the debate. Cultist use the form of questioning to narrow the field down to their topic of conversation. Some seek information, some could care less what the Truth is, they want to bring the conversation into one area of debate. The method defines the source, when anyone uses questions to trap, they are of the wrong spirit. So, are those people our enemies? No, it’s the methods they use, we combat the method to save the person. Some of us think cult members are the enemy, then off we go in battle to tell them a thing or two. The result? They get bigger, because we use carnal weapons, which in turn empowers them. Everything produces after its own kind, carnal produces carnal.
If we are going to Stand we must determine upon what we stand. One can have right standing in a court of law, but it doesn’t give them a better place in line at the restaurant. We must look at our foundation, our feet can be shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace, or are they covered with fear, or hate? If our feet are shod with the preparation for the Gospel of Peace, where are we standing? Could we be on someone’s head, on the Sand, on fear, or on some destroying mountain? We have the right shoes, but what are we standing on? We can build on the Sand, or the Rock. If we build on traditions, we won’t be able to stand in the time of adversity. If we build on self-works, we are won’t be able to stand. If we build on the old nature we won’t be able to stand. If we build on imaginations or high things, we will refuse to stand. If we build on the Rock, we will stand in the face of adversity.
Paul listed three other areas of warfare in other letters, strongholds is an area not listed in Ephesians, but nonetheless a place of warfare. Strongholds are mental in nature usually fable based. They could fit into the category of Traditions, or heresy, or winds of doctrine. A wind of doctrine promotes excitement for the moment, but no meat, usually the excitement is short lived at best. It causes the person to run from meeting to meeting to get the feeling. “God was there”, great, but is He in you?
Strongholds come against the knowledge of God, they are self-based; seeking a way to avoid the call, or seeking to control the call. We battle these by casting down imaginations, which would equate to putting off the old man and his ways. We must bring them into captivity (bind, keep from expanding) to the Obedience of Christ, which would be putting on the New Man. Then we have in readiness to revenge all disobedience, when our obedience is fulfilled (II Cor 10:5-6). How do we revenge the disobedience? By our obedience being fulfilled.
We find the Bible defines itself, without interpreting itself. Paul used a Parenthetical Phrase in II Corinthians 10:4 regarding strongholds, but defined them in II Corinthians 10:5 showing a Stronghold is mental in nature. If it’s the case, then the wiles of the devil are also mental in nature. Strongholds are formed by Imaginations, High Things (proud) coming against the knowledge of God, or wild thoughts not based in obedience. A stronghold can be assuming a dress code is holiness, or having the revelation the Body isn’t ready for, or having some element making the person better than the entire Body of Christ. A stronghold is deceptive, it can hold a premise wherein we think it’s belief, when in truth it’s unbelief, or doubt. We form an imagination, or accept a doctrinal premise without examination. Anything in reference to the fable must match it, or we cast it off. We can be on solid ground regarding a principle, yet hold a stronghold regarding another. Strongholds are two way filters, they will filter everything coming at us, and everything coming from us. If the teaching doesn’t match the stronghold, we will reject it without considering if it’s Truth or not. How many times have we heard, “the gift of salvation”? or “the whore of Babylon”, yet we know those are fables.
Once a stronghold is in place, it’s enforced by the strongman, rather than put him off, he is granted a position. Strongholds are faulty in nature, they may have some factual information, but they lack truth. Exposed strongholds use the rulers of darkness to defend themselves. Anger, deception, or using verses out of context, or manipulation will raise up to defend the stronghold, but Truth defends itself.
Does Paul give us a powerful weapon which works each and every time? Yes, it’s one we tend to forget at times. “Wherefore be not unwise, but understanding what the Will of the Lord is” (Eph 5:17). The word Unwise is the Greek Aphron meaning mindless, or of the wrong mind. The word Understanding is the Greek Suniemi meaning To put together. Both of these words make sense when we read what this Weapon is. Paul continued with the Will of the Lord, “be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 5:18-20). Paul never said, “giving thanks for those things pleasing you”, or “giving thanks when the thought impresses others”, no, it was for All Things. We can add First Corinthians 15:57 supporting this issue showing our Victory comes when we give Thanks to the Lord for All things. Is it a battle? When someone is yelling at you, it most certainly is. When you know someone is playing a mind game, it most certainly is. When you have clarity, yet you are faced with someone who presumes their little games are going undetected, it most certainly is. Paul didn’t say, “speak into their face with songs”, rather this is in the heart, or better by the heart into the soul. The concept is to be in the Spirit, allowing the Spirit to master the soul, rather than allowing the soul to beat someone half to death with opinions.
Those who mind the flesh, war against flesh and blood, thus if they don’t like us, they will war against us, they will slander, make up things, but we can’t war against them in the same manner. Spitting gas on a fire is not wise, using Water (Mercy) is.
If we war against darkness, it stands we want to be Enlightened. It does little good to fight darkness with darkness. Paul also prayed “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the Knowledge of Him” (Eph 1:17). Again, this is not manipulation, since Paul said “may”, rather than “shall”. This shows us words mean a great deal, we can pray with a demanding attitude, or one of a servant.
Paul said we are against things, so do we come against them in a carnal fashion, as world does, or in a spiritual manner? It better be spiritual, or we will end warring against the Light, rather than with it. In the entire letter of Ephesians we never find Paul addressing the devil, he speaks of darkness, but he doesn’t address it. His prayers are to God, the devil has no place in the conversation. Speaking of the darkness, and inviting it home for dinner are two different things.
Regardless of the event, we can be assured God has provided a means where we can apply Great Mercy to obtain a Greater Mercy from Him. There is no temptation come on us it’s not uncommon to man, but God has always provided a way for us to escape, the escape is by the Spirit of Christ in us (I Cor 10:13).
With this we can look at the word Stand in context with the Righteousness of Jesus. There are many words where we find the word Stand, there is Stand By, Stand Down, Standoff, Stand Over, Standout, and others. We want to Stand, so we can Stand for ourselves by the Spirit, enabling us to Stand for others Righteously. The first element is to Stand in One Place Upright, which is called a Standard. The word Standard in the Hebrew is Nace, it was used in reference to Moses holding up the brass serpent. Jesus used the event to explain the purpose of the Cross, but it doesn’t mean Jesus is a serpent, rather it means Jesus made the serpents ineffective, just as the brass serpent made the serpents in the camp ineffective. The Cross established the Body as the Doorway of entry. We Discern the Body, we don’t misuse it, or abuse it. We Discern our position and condition in the Body, we don’t force ourselves to be the marrow if we are called to be the joint. We don’t fall into self-pity saying, “well I’m not the eye, I’m just an old foot”; nor do we fall into envy and say, “will you look at the hand, I can’t believe it”. What God does with a hand or foot is no business of the eye, what God does with the eye is His business, not the business of the hand or foot. Before we can Stand for others, we must Stand by discerning our position and condition, and stop saying, “It was the church you gave me”.
The word Stand includes a Position, our Position is based in Grace, as a secure heavenly place. We are the only people who can Stand, Walk by Faith, and Kneel all at the same time. Our Warfare is to Hold our Position by keeping our Condition and Attitude spiritual in nature, as we apply the Wisdom of God.
The real key to standing is knowing in Whom we are; Jesus is above all things, and all things are under His feet. Those things do not dictate what Jesus must do, should do, or has to do, they do not rule over Him, they do not cause Him to change course. The same is true with us, we don’t allow the wiles of the Wicked to deter us, to make us walk on the water to brag in our position, we don’t follow winds of doctrine, or allow them to pull us from our course. We don’t abuse the Body, we don’t use the Body, we don’t misuse the Body, we Stand as Jesus stands, in Peace, Love, Grace, Mercy and Fellowship with the Father.
When we have to pick up the pieces of Babes who have been trodden under foot by some Wicked person, it’s hard not to form anger, but we can be angry and sin not, which means we will not allow our anger to speak for us, nor will anger be our motivation or driving force. We will stand in Love, to let Love Stand. In order to Stand we must Stand with the Spirit, we can’t stand with the flesh expecting to win the battle. We must submit to the battle plan God has, we can’t form our own. How can we be One with Jesus, if we go about enforcing our self-nature? In order to Stand one must be guided by what they are Standing for. Before one can Stand with Jesus, they must make the Decision to Stand as Jesus would.
There are those whose understanding is Darkened through ignorance, but we have not so learned Christ (Eph 4:17-20). We Submit to one another, the word Submit doesn’t mean slavery, it means to cease from debate, arguing, and self-serving manipulation to get our own way. If we can’t submit to those we can see, how can we submit to Him we can’t see?
In order to Stand we must Stand For Something or Someone, yet we must Stand on something. Do we stand for our own self-interests, or do we Stand for God with His interests? Are we attempting to avoid the event, or discern it? Are we standing to please ourselves, or please God? The word Stand also means Unmovable, while being Movable. To Stand means to Occupy a Certain Position, to be Fixed, to Continue, to Remain Without Injury, to Hold The Course, to Endure, to Stop one action, while doing another.
We tend to look at the Book of Ephesians as a book on marriage, in one sense it is, but in Truth it’s a Book on Standing to enter the Marriage of the Lamb. Paul tells us the marriage is really a mystery regarding Christ and the Church, thus he uses the marriage as an allegory (Eph 5:32). His placement of the marriage responsibilities would seem completely out of place, if we didn’t know he was speaking of warfare. It’s not to say a marriage is warfare, although some seem to be, rather it shows the manner of victory is based in love and submission working to become one.
Paul begins the letter by telling the Ephesians how he prayed for them, then he ends by asking for prayer (Eph 1:16-20 & 6:19). Each element of the Armor is found in his prayer life, each element is explained in his letter to them. Not only does Stand mean to maintain an Upright Position, but it means to Assume a Standing Position, we can be upright, yet not standing. We Remain Stable, Valid, Intact, Unchanged, Unmovable (committed to the position), Remaining without flowing from side to side, Maintaining an Attitude of Mercy, not vengeance.
God will not believe for us, or make our choices, but He will give us a New character and incentive to make sound choices enhancing our position. God always gives us a valid reason to believe, but the choice to believe is still in our hands. We make the choice to use the armor of the self, or the Armor of God, we can ask for the Wisdom of God, or remain manipulative, hard, bitter and soulish. A firm decision to stand for God in the manner God desires is not easy, but it is worth it.
LESSON TEN – GOSPEL PART 1 – BAPTISM.
The Doctrine of Baptisms can be a convoluted subject at best, especially when one adds all the Traditions, Presumptions, or Fringe elements. There is the One Baptism, then John’s Baptism, Water Baptism in the Name of Jesus, Baptism of Service. with the Cup, Baptized in the Holy Ghost and Fire. Where do we begin? Water Baptism is an important issue, but it’s something we either do, or submit to, thus it can be twisted into an act of self-righteousness, rather than the Token it’s suppose to be. Carnal minded, or natural thinking people want to have a masterful hand in their salvation, or they want to be the special of the special, to have something none of the rest of us have, to be elevated above the rest of the Body, often they take something to make it appear as if they are the only ones doing it right. The right “Name”, the right “place”, the “right” water, the “right” method, making it more than it is, which is very dangerous. When we take anything God has given us, then elevate it’s importance, or it’s capability above what God has, we just turned the thing of God into an idol. Traditions begin as “good ideas” by someone who really didn’t place a great deal of importance on the Tradition, but the next generation does, as they make it doctrine. One element evident in water baptism is how it’s conducted by the members of the Body of Christ, yet the only requirement for the candidate is to believe (Acts 8:12, 18:8 et al). Unless the requirement is satisfied, it wasn’t a baptism. The water can be pure Jordan water, or salt water, or running water, or dish water, the method can be exactly as John used, the perfect pronunciation of the Name in the original language, yet if the candidate cannot profess a belief, it’s all for nothing.
The Body of Christ is the only organization on the earth given Godly authority to baptize anyone in water. Jesus commanded us to teach, baptize and teach the more; however, for the candidate who is not yet in the Body their water baptism is an ordinance, based on their belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Other organizations may do things they call “baptism”, but they are taking a bath, a swim, or getting wet. The function of Baptism began with John’s baptism, but his baptism ended with John was cast into prison. In Acts 18:24 we are introduced to Apollos, who was born in Alexandria, he was teaching the Baptism of John, because it was all he knew. However, the husband and wife team of Aquila and Priscilla expounded the Way of God. Later Paul comes to the area of Ephesus where he found some disciples, he asked them if they had received the Holy Ghost. They indicated they had not heard if there was a Holy Ghost. They were Gentiles, yet said they were baptized under John’s Baptism. John’s ministry was short lived at best, his baptism ceased when he was cast into prison, but the effectiveness of his baptism stopped at the Cross, when Jesus presented the evidence to believe. This shows there were those going about baptizing under John’s Baptism, thereby giving the us the phrase “in the Name of Jesus only”, indicating no other Baptism has any effect for the person to gain entry into the Body (Acts 18:24-19:4). This also shows there were two active water baptisms being conducted but only One of the them was the accepted Token based on the Authority (Name) of Jesus. We find we are only allowed to administer the One baptism in Water, the others are conducted by the Holy Ghost on behalf of Jesus. Water baptism did not gain us the Spirit (Acts 10:45, with 11:16 & Acts 19:5-6), only the baptism with the Holy Ghost can gain us the Spirit.
Understanding the various facets regarding the Doctrine of Baptisms is paramount in our understanding of how the Gospel works in our lives. The Rudiments of the Doctrine of Christ are the very basic points of knowledge, or the first things any convert should be taught. Among them is the “Doctrine of Baptisms”, yet Paul said there was only One Baptism (Heb 6:1-2 & Eph 4:5). Ephesians 4:4-5 give us a series of “one” elements, but we find different Greek words used for the word One, depending on which Interlinear one uses. When Paul speaks of One Faith or One Lord, he uses a word meaning only one, but in speaking of the One Baptism, or One Body he uses the Greek Heis (pronoun) which also means to agree, or parts coming into agreement, showing the One Baptism is made up of parts, or components, just as the Body is made up of people. In the TR it’s the Greek Ev meaning place, showing the Body of Christ is the only organization on earth with God granted authority to baptize anyone in water, it would also eliminate John’s baptism. If we don’t understand this premise we can’t get past “Doctrine (one doctrine) of Baptisms (more than one baptism), while seeing there is One Baptism. If we center on One Baptism without seeing it pertains to parts making the total we will end rejecting purposed baptisms, thereby missing the importance and reward.
Jesus looked at His Body and said, “Go in My Name and Baptize”, which was the granting of the Authority to a specific group. We are the only people in the world who are given the command, it’s based on the Name (Authority) of Jesus, by the combined Authority of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. It’s vital since we know Jesus will baptize us with the Holy Ghost and Fire, giving us at least two more baptisms.
There is a misnomer, one we tend to use, but it’s not in the Bible. The terms “Baptized with the Spirit”, “Baptism of the Spirit”, or “Spirit Baptism” are not Bible terms, either in the King James, or any manuscript, but we do find Baptized with the Holy Ghost is; however, it’s like Accountability, which doesn’t appear in the Bible either, but the concept is there. If we think we are baptized by the Holy Spirit to receive the Holy Ghost, we have it backward. If we say we are baptized by the Holy Ghost to receive the Spirit, we have it right. The Holy Ghost is the Sower, the purpose is to Sow the Seed of God. If we know the term “baptized in the Spirit”, means we are Baptized with the Holy Ghost to have the Spirit, then we have the concept. On the same note we know that born of the Spirit is Spirit, as we found this means our soul being united to the Spirit to be one.
The term “baptized with the Spirit” seems to have come from Paul’s teaching to the Corinthians (I Cor 12:12), but in the context it relates to the phrase, “the Spirit bears witness to our Spirit”, it refers to God as Spirit, or the total aspect of God being Spirit. Going back to I Corinthians chapter 10:1-4 we find the children were baptized Unto Moses, or Unto the Law as one people. The children saw the Water from the Rock, yet we are the Rock from which the Water flows; they were not the water, they saw it. The preview showed the Mercy of God flowing from the Rock, just as the water in our water baptism represents the Mercy of God.
In First Corinthians we find the Corinthians were divided, carnal, and not spiritual; however, the Purpose for God calling them into the Body was to be of One Spirit and One Mind. Viewing First Corinthians 12:12-14 we can see the Unity Paul is talking about refers to One Body. There is only One Christ, One Spirit for all, whether Jew or Gentile, thus we must Drink of the One Spirit, but what do we drink? Wine or grape juice, we don’t drink the bread. In First Corinthians 2:11-12 Paul tells us the spirit of man knows the things of man, but is completely ignorant of the things of the Spirit of God. Then he tells us the spirit of the world is opposed to the “Spirit which is of God”. The Spirit of God is all God, the Spirit which is of God is the New Man based on God’s holiness and righteousness; thereby giving us the Spirit of God baptizing (identifying) us into the Body so we can be Spiritual in nature by having the Spirit which is of God forming our souls to make us the sons of God.
We are Born Again because the Holy Ghost planted the Seed, the Seed is the Word, it grew until we were Born Again. The Seed didn’t need to be Born Again, it became the means allowing us to be Born Again.
The functions of the Holy Ghost are important, He reproves the world of sin, righteousness and judgment (Jn 14:26 & 16:7-11), He appoints to the offices for Jesus (Acts 13:1-3), He brings the Gift of Grace as the Seed of God (Acts 2:38 & 10:45), He teaches us all things by comparing spiritual with spiritual (Jn 14:26 & I Cor 2:13), He fills us to deal with the masses (Acts 4:31), no one can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost (I Cor 12:3). The Spirit in us is the Holy Spirit, or Spirit Holy, the very Gift given by the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit is also known as the Greater He, the New Man, Another Comforter, and Spirit. His function is to save our souls, by bringing our souls into a Spiritual nature, as well as manifest the witness of Jesus through us (I Jn 5:8, I Cor 12:4-11, James 1:21, Heb 4:12). He has gifts relating to the Gift (Rom 12:6-21), allowing us to fellowship with the Father (I Jn). All this God gave to one group of people, those in the Body of Christ.
John’s Baptism centered on the people should believe after their repentance, it was termed “John’s Baptism”, indicating the name or authority was based in John. As noted, John’s baptism ceased when John went to prison. In John the Apostle’s Account we are given the activities of Jesus during the forty day fast, at one time during the fast John and his disciples were baptizing in water, as were the disciples of Jesus (although Jesus Himself baptized no one then – Jn 3:22-4:2). This was prior to John being cast into prison (Jn 3:24), yet when Jesus came out of the wilderness John was in prison (Mark 1:14). John’s baptism was in his name, although we find two of his disciples joined the ministry of Jesus, it doesn’t mean John’s ministry was joined to the ministry of Jesus (Jn 1:35). The Holy Ghost did fill John, but the Holy Ghost will not take us beyond our calling, or purpose, thus John did not cast out devils, or heal the sick, but he did baptize and witness the identification of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. It also shows why John said he must decrease, his time and timing came once in all the time of mankind, but it had an end. If we knowingly baptize under John’s Baptism now, it would be illegal. The issue of John’s baptism being for a short time was so important the Holy Ghost made sure we understood it. The disciples Paul came across at Ephesus said they haven’t so much as heard of the Holy Ghost (Acts 19:2). Two points are seen, first it’s receiving the Holy Ghost, next the all important “believed”. Paul responded, “unto what then were you baptized” (Acts 19:3). Paul didn’t say, “into what”, or “by what”, or even “what name”, rather the baptism was unto something. John never baptized anyone into the Body of Christ; nor did he claim to. The disciples said they were baptized Unto John’s Baptism, but John’s, as important as it was, lacked many things. John was not a member of the Body, or among the disciples of Jesus, he was not privy to “Go ye” in the Name of Jesus. Jesus said John was great, but then He added the least in the Kingdom is greater (Matt 11:11). John’s baptism was unto repentance, based on the concept of the people should believe (Acts 19:4). John’s baptism was not Unto entering the Body, it was not designed for those matters. John’s baptism had a specific goal, to prepare the way, as he washed the Sacrificial Lamb of God since he was a son of a priest filled with the Holy Ghost.
Paul water baptized the disciples in Ephesus in water by the Authority (Name) of Jesus, then he laid hands on them so they could receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, they were then baptized with the Holy Ghost by receiving the Spirit (Acts 19:4-6). No one could baptize anyone in water under the Name of Jesus, until Jesus granted the Authority. We lay hands on people to present them to the Lord for the baptism with the Holy Ghost, but it doesn’t bring the Holy Ghost, it merely means we as members of the Body present the person for consideration, thus the only baptism we do is water.
If we are in the Body, we have a commandment to baptize those who believe (Acts 8:12-13 & 8:36-37). However, the person submitting to water baptism is not commanded to be water baptized. For them it’s an ordinance, or something Jesus would like them to do as their Token of acceptance. When we water baptize people we are accepting them by their confession of Belief into the Body, it doesn’t mean we gave them the Spirit, nor does it mean they are Saved by the baptism, it means it’s a Token on their part. Their part is the acceptance of the conditions and vows required, thus the act is a type of signature to the Covenant as a vow to continue to believe, seek the Baptism with the Holy Ghost and Fire, to reach for the goal of why they entered the Body to begin with: the salvation of their souls. How do we know they don’t receive the Spirit at their water baptism? Acts 10:44 shows Jesus baptized Cornelius with the Holy Ghost with signs following, then Peter wanted water in order to water baptize them (Acts 10:47-48). Peter later identified the act as the baptism with the Holy Ghost by saying, “John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 11:15-16). In Acts 19 regarding the disciples who were baptized under John’s baptism, Paul baptized them in water in the Name (authority) of Jesus, then laid hands on them to receive the baptism with the Holy Ghost (Acts 19:5-6). Simon of Samaria was water baptized (Acts 8:13), but was rejected when it came to receiving the Holy Ghost baptism (Acts 8:18-21). Water baptism does not grant us the Spirit, it does mean we have given our Token regarding the Mercy of the Father.
What if they say they believe, but really don’t? Do we take them backward through the water to erase the baptism? No, the answer is again in the Bible. Philip the Evangelist came to Samaria, the third leg in the command, “Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, then unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). We know the Both related to Jew first, then Gentile next (uttermost). Philip being an Evangelist was not beginning a new body, he was gathering for the Body in Jerusalem. Nonetheless he was extremely busy casting out unclean spirits, doing miracles, healing those with the palsy, those who were lame, and many other things. This was one man doing many works, but among the people was a man by the name of Simon, known in history as Simon Magus (Magician), or Simon of Samaria. This Simon used sorcery to bewitch the people of Samaria, saying he was some great one. Which might explain why Philip had to cast out so many “unclean spirits” (Acts 8:6-9). The word Unclean in Acts 8:7 is the Greek Akathartos meaning foul in a ceremonial sense, it was connected to the unclean things under the Levitical order, pointing more to an unclean religious spirit.
However, this same Simon saw and believed (Acts 8:13), thus Philip baptized him in water. Then came Peter and John to take the papers from Philip, no it’s not right. They came down to help Philip, their question was like Paul’s, had the people received the Holy Ghost? Philip said, “No, they had been baptized in the Name of Jesus” (Acts 8:15-16). This answers at least three questions, first the baptism in the Name of Jesus doesn’t grant us the Holy Ghost, next the baptism in the Name of Jesus is the one we do in water under the Authority (Name) of Jesus. The third shows there are Baptisms in the Doctrine, yet all connect to One Purpose in One Body unto One Lord.
Peter and John then laid hands on the people presenting them to the Lord, so the people could receive the Holy Spirit by the Holy Ghost (Acts 8:16). Does it mean only the Apostles could lay hands on the people? No, since in chapter 9 we find a disciple named Ananias, who was not a Deacon, Apostle, or Prophet, yet the Lord told him to go to a house where he would find a man by the name of Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:11). Ananias went to the house, “laid hands” on Saul, as Saul received the Holy Ghost (Acts 9:17), then Saul was baptized (Acts 9:18); showing the order is not of importance. We just saw how Peter saw Cornelius baptized with the Holy Ghost, then Peter sought water to baptize them in the Name of Jesus (Acts 10:45-48 & 11:15-16). In the case of Cornelius no one laid hands on him, but he heard and believed (Acts 10:43). This gives us three methods, one can lay hands on us, we can believe and receive, or we can believe we have received.
Back to Simon, with the lesson he will present. Philip had baptized Simon in water, then Simon saw Peter and John laying hands on the people as the Holy Ghost came upon the people with the evidence of being baptized with the Holy Ghost. Simon seeing this wanted to “buy” this power, not for himself, but so he could display the power by laying hands on others, again seeing himself as a “great one”; Peter told Simon, “your money perish with you, because you have thought the Gift of God may be purchased with money, you have neither part nor lot in this matter: for your heart is not right in the sight of God, repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of your heart many be forgiven you. For I perceive that you are in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity” (Acts 8:20-23). Several things are seen, the “Gift of God” is noted by Peter to be in association with the Baptism with the Holy Ghost. The word Gift is not Grace (Charis), it’s the Greek Dorea, often relating to Grace, Dorea means a free gift with the emphasis on its gratuitous character. Next, if water baptism saved Simon, he just lost it.
Nonetheless we find another lesson, Simon believed and was baptized in water, but was refused the baptism with the Holy Ghost, so what should Philip do? Is he not spiritual enough to see this nightmare named Simon? Should he take Simon backward through the water? Should Peter, or John take Philip’s papers, or send him back to the tables? No, the answer is found in Jude, “and on some have compassion, making a difference: and others save with fear pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh” (Jude 22-23). If they make the confession of belief, we baptize them in water, we do not make the determination if they are “suitable material”. The Commandment was to teach, baptize and teach, it was not: “judge to see if they are worthy” (Matt 28:19-20).
Simon was told to pray, but what did he say? “Pray you to the Lord for me” (Acts 8:24). It was not the remedy, he had to repent and pray. We find the man’s heart was still using deception; Simon later became known as the Father of All Heretics, he engaged in all sorts of witchcraft and heretical behavior.
The lesson is valuable, we don’t refuse to water baptize anyone if they make their confession of belief. Neither do we confuse the baptism we do in water with the baptism with the Holy Ghost. They are different, just as the “Name of Jesus” is not a matter of semantics, but a point of authority. Jesus said “in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost”, showing it was One Name, or better One Authority (Matt 28:19). Included in the saying was the Son. The Body of Christ is the Body of Jesus, the Authority was granted to the Body of Christ, no other religious order has the Authority of the Father, Son or Holy Ghost. This is evident in the Report and Witness, the Report is the Father, Word and Holy Ghost, the Witness is the Water, representing the Mercy of the Father, the Blood pointing to the Grace of the Word, then the Spirit as the Gift granted by the baptism with the Holy Ghost. Whether it was Jehovah, El, Spirit of the Lord, it’s still One Name, then the Authority was given to Jesus, as He commanded us to Go in His Name. Whether someone who baptized us in water said “In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost”, or “in Name of Jesus”, it’s still One Godly Name. The evidence of course is the result, do we know we’re in the Body? If so, it worked. The premise shows the person doing the water baptism is a member of the Body, they receive our Token by the Authority granted.
In support of this we find the “sons of Sceva” who were Exorcists, the word Exorcist doesn’t mean one casts out devils, it means they bind them to silence in the person. Sceva was a chief of the priests, a man of the clothe don’t you know, but it was the wrong clothe for the Name his sons attempted to use. These sons had done Exorcisms before, since they were called Exorcists; however, they wanted to broaden their abilities, but lacked the position to do so. They came across a demon possessed person and said, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches”. They said “Jesus”, but they were not in the Body, thus they were not authorized to use the Name. The demon said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” (Acts 19:15). They lacked authority, the demon tossed the sons of Sceva out of house naked (Acts 19:16). If we cast out a devil and it left, we’re in the Body. If we took authority over any element of darkness, and it yielded, we’re in the Body. Our baptism worked, but if someone baptized us in the Name of John, it didn’t work (Acts 19:1-7).
Philip was also taken by the Spirit to meet an Ethiopian eunuch of great authority who served Candace the queen of the Ethiopians (Acts 8:26-27). This is also interesting showing the hand of God in the moves of God. On the Day of Pentecost there were a 120 souls who received the Gift of the Holy Ghost, then 3,000 more were water baptized and then received the Gift. However, here with Philip we find something different, this eunuch is an Ethiopian, thus he was a Gentile, the door to the “uttermost’ was beginning to crack open. Would Philip be the one to open it? No, the Holy Ghost would use him in this one on one situation, then Peter in the house of Cornelius, adding Paul and Barnabas, thus no one person could say they brought the Revival. Whenever we focus on one person, we will make an idol out of them.
This meeting with Philip and the eunuch gives us the affirmation on the requirement of belief. It’s also obvious Philip was not sent back to the tables for baptizing Simon in water. The eunuch was reading Scripture, which generated a question, Philip would teach the eunuch by giving the answer (Acts 8:26-35). They came across some water, the eunuch said, “what does hinder me to be baptized?” (Acts 8:36). Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may” (Acts 8:37). Philip didn’t say, “No way, I just went through this, baptize yourself”, or “well I don’t know, cross your heart and promise to die if you are lying”. Rather the eunuch gave the one confession we look for, “I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God”; then he was baptized (Acts 8:37). If the person cannot make the confession, we have no authority to baptize them, rather we teach them the more.
During the Persecution many things started based on the circumstances of the time, but they were not considered Doctrine, nor supported by any Scripture. One such tradition was in reference to God-Parents; if someone had children, they wondered what would happen to the children if the parents were martyred? To assure the parents their children would not end in the hands of the heathen, believers would take an oath to raise the children in a Christian manner, then secure the oath with a token linking the child to the God-parent, thus they would be called the “God-Parents”, or Parents connected to God. The token had to be something the Body had the authority to do, thus the God-Parent would baptize the infant in water, the water representing Mercy, with the act linking the child to the God-Parent. It was based on the circumstances of the day, it was never intended to be a token for the infant, since it lacked the confession of belief. During the time, as today, there was also the dedication of babies and children, but based on Jesus laying hands on the children and blessing them, separating this act by placing it under the Doctrine of the laying on of hands (Heb 6:1-2). The water baptism issue would fall under the Doctrine of Baptisms, still based on the Doctrine of Christ, but separated from the Doctrine of the laying on of hands. Mixing the two Doctrines together would be a violation, since they are separated (Heb 6:1-2). From the token of the God-Parents accepting the children, to infant water baptism becoming a Tradition of men, then the Tradition becoming a Doctrine, which not only removes the Belief issue, but it comes against the Command to teach, then baptize. Unfortunately from the act of baptizing infants, the next step was the unfounded conclusion of water baptism saving us, rather than God saving us by the Cross of Jesus. This conclusion of course brought about self-righteous efforts regarding ones salvation, thus the person by their act assumes their act saved them. It also removed the purpose of the Token, as well as negating the Commandment. What commandment regarding water baptism? Teach, then baptize, if we can’t do the teaching, we can’t do the baptism (Matt 28:19).
In the 1500’s Martin Luther didn’t address the subject of infant baptism in his 99 Thesis, since he felt there were more pressing problems of corruption destroying the Body. However, there were others during the time who were opposed to infant baptism as a Doctrine. Much like keeping a day, if one felt better by doing it fine, but don’t consider the infant baptized in accordance with the Commandment. Among those opposed to infant baptism being a Doctrine were the “Anti-Baptist”, who were so named because they were Anti infant baptism as a Doctrine. They based their stand on the absence of Scripture to support the act, plus the two fold requirement, first we teach, next the person has to make the confession of belief. Water baptism is important, it is included in the Doctrine of Baptisms, but taking something beyond the Doctrine, or beyond the requirements makes it a tradition of men, then making the tradition a doctrine makes the matter more complicated and confusing for future generations, which robs them of the importance of the act.
The Scriptures give us the basic requirements regarding water baptism: the one doing the baptism must be of the Body (Authority), the candidate must believe by making some indication of their belief (Acts 8:37). The basic elements, plus the water, must be in place to fit the Doctrine. Like most Traditions of men, the thought became twisted into something it was not intended to be, then it became doctrine, causing many splits and controversies, as the gates of hell set up their divisions. A doctrine based on the traditions of men always lacks clear Scripture to make it doctrine, usually ending presenting religious Dogma as its support. There are other areas, wherein we may feel “good” about ourselves for doing an act, but the act itself is not supported by the rudiments of the Doctrine of Christ. Keeping the sabbath day is one, if we want to, fine, but keep it unto the Lord. If we don’t want to, fine, but do so unto the Lord. So, what does it mean? First don’t attempt to force it on others, as some point of holiness or doctrine. Next it means don’t expect any special favoritism from God because you do keep the day, or don’t. As long as one is doing it unto the Lord, let it remain so, between them and the Lord. If we want to baptize our infants, fine, but keep it between us and the Lord, don’t consider the infant a member of the Body, don’t think they are saved, but know they are sanctified by the believing parent, not the baptism (I Cor 7:14). Don’t make it doctrine, neither force it on others.
Doctrines of devils begin when someone wants to be the special among the special, the more superior among the superior, the holier than the holy, the more righteous, then the righteous. All cult systems begin by the lustful desire to be better than the entire Body of Christ, yet in the process they have to deny the Unity of the Faith and Spirit. They have to add their “special” things to separate them from the rest of the Body, thereby giving them a false feeling of superior holiness. However, it’s based on pride, not holiness, therein lays the error. One could say baptism must be conducted only in the day time, they would use verses where people believed and were baptized, then add “you see Luke wrote it, it was outside, thus it was daytime, showing any night baptism is heretical”. Sound goofy? You would be surprised how deceptive traditions can be. They put the emphasis on some element of the act to give the person the glory, ignoring the purpose for the act.
A fundamentalist is someone who takes the Bible strictly literal, if it says Rock, it means Rock, if is says Wife, it means Wife. However, a cultist is the complete opposite, they attempt to force concepts not suggested in Scripture into their doctrines. They also use the premise of, believe all things, in a deceptive manner. “Tell me are you a Christian?”, “Yes kind sir I am”, “Then you believe all things?”, “Yes friendly person I do”, “then you must believe this, in order to be truly baptized you must be facing the north, and the water has to come from the Jordan”, “Nay kind person who is weird”, “Then you are not a Christian, since you said Christians believe all things”. Ouch! What this person came up with was a “fable”, the baptism by Philip was not in the Jordan it was in Samaria, we are not Commanded to use the water of the Jordan; thus the premise becomes a moot subject without merit. Without clear verses to support the issue, it either becomes a wind of doctrine, or a fable. Peter would call it an attempt at private interpretation, really there is no private interpretation, rather we find the natural thinking attempting to interpret the Bible, ending in error, or heresy, which is a self-based opinion without a verse to clearly support it. The same Holy Ghost who caused the holy men of old to write the words is still fully able to interpret them. The same is found in defining a word, but forgetting what it stood for, or missing the tense. We could say baptism means Immersed, so it’s the only way it counts. It’s not immersed in the water, but immersed in the purpose (or did we say that? We did? Oh well worth repeating). Sound study discipline demands any inference in Scripture be related to the subject, if there is no related inference, then it’s a fable.
A connected inference is a conclusion based on clear premises, known and connected. For instance in John we find Jesus writing in the dirt, but in John we are not told what Jesus is writing (Jn 8:6). Back in John 7:37-39 Jesus taught on the Living Water, in Jeremiah 17:13 we find, “O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they who depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters”. There is the connected inference, whether Jesus wrote the verse, or their names, they knew what He was doing, causing them to leave convicted by their own conscience (Jn 8:9). However, if we said Jesus wrote “you are stupid” in the earth, where would the inference be? There would be none, so it is with water baptism. If we remove the requirement of “belief”, we have introduced the basis for heresy. The candidate must be able to believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus before they are baptized, it’s the only requirement for them. Therein lays the difference between John’s baptism, and the one we do. If we suggest they “should believe” at some future date, we did the wrong baptism.
Here is the paradox, the water surrounded us, even metaphorically it was not in us. The baptism with the Holy Ghost is in us, thus we find two basic differences, helping us keep the two separate. Generally the Greek word for Baptism is the noun Baptizo meaning To dip, or Immerse, or to saturate, but it’s the act becoming important. The act came from dying a clothe, the clothe was dipped into a solution to identify with the color of the liquid, thus the Verb means to identify with.
Peter used the flood saving Noah as a type of baptism. So was Noah immersed? No, he didn’t even get wet. However, Peter uses the act as a sign of our deliverance from the world. Noah didn’t go into heaven, he was raised above destruction on earth. Peter also said it was not the same as “putting away of the filth of the flesh”, separating it from water baptism, then added, it was related to having the answer of a good conscience toward God, which comes when we have the Power of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is associated with the baptism with the Holy Ghost (I Pet 3:20-21). For some reason when we see the word “baptize” we seem to attach the word “water” to it, but there are many baptisms we go through.
There are those who attempt to equate one baptism into another, missing the point. “When you were water baptized did you become water? Then if you are baptized in the Spirit, you didn’t become Spirit”. Two errors, the wording “baptized in the Spirit” is the first one, second we didn’t drink the water, yet the water stood for Mercy, we did accept the Mercy of the Father. The Holy Ghost baptized or identifies us with God by giving us the Spirit, since God is Spirit, making the Spirit the Gift the Holy Ghost brings (Acts 10:45 & 11:15-16). Jesus said That born of the Spirit is Spirit, in the Jewish thought process it means what is associated with the Spirit will become Spirit. The purpose for being Born Again is so our souls can become Spiritual in nature. When we were baptized in water it related to Mercy, not water, the water is a physical symbol. When we take Communion we use symbols to Remember. When we were baptized with the Holy Ghost we received the Spirit, the Seal of the Holy Spirit is the Token proving the Resurrection. We didn’t drink the water, but Jesus said Living Water would flow from our bellies, this spoke He of the Spirit (Jn 7:38-39). Couple the Water (Mercy) with the Spirit (Life), and it produces living water.
One day Peter was on a roof, at the time the Gospel was still limited to the Jews, as Jesus commanded them in Acts 1:8. We know the event, Peter saw a sheet, in it were all sorts of unclean animals. Peter was told, “Rise, Peter: kill, and eat” (Acts 10:13), Peter being a good Jew, said No, but then he heard, “What God has cleansed, don’t you call it common (worldly)” (Acts 10:15). Peter knew something was up, he would later discern it to mean God was about to clean a Gentile.
This vision happened three times, which had special meaning to Peter. He denied the Lord three times, in the last chapter of John we know he was asked three times regarding his love for the Lord. With his background we find the vision had a striking impression on Peter. Later Peter saw some men who came from the house of Cornelius, a centurion of the band of the Italian, who was not a Jew. Peter knew the vision was a command for him to receive Cornelius, thus he went his way to the house of Cornelius. While there he began to teach Cornelius, as well as the house of Cornelius about the Name of Jesus, then how those who Believe in Jesus shall receive the remission of sin by the Gift of the Holy Ghost. As Peter spoke the Holy Ghost fell on all; Cornelius and those of the house of Cornelius with the signs to prove it (Acts 10:43-44). Perhaps the most surprised was Peter, or the Jews with him. “Oh my Jesus missed, hit the wrong ones, you guys stop speaking in other tongues, it’s a mistake”. No, the Purpose was clear to Peter, the evidence was there, they spoke in unknown tongues and did prophesy, just as Peter and the others did on Pentecost. Peter immediately looked about, then commanded those of the house of Cornelius to be baptized in the Name of Jesus in Water (Acts 10:47-48).
Peter knew what he saw, Jesus had accepted these people, who was Peter not to? Peter perhaps made an error by sticking around too long, thus when he returned to Jerusalem he had to explain his actions. However, when the Apostles heard the “gift” was bestowed on Cornelius as they, based on the same premise of belief (Acts 10:17), they held their peace. Peter then equated the event to being baptized with the Holy Ghost (Acts 11:15-16). What does it tell us? The baptism with the Holy Ghost is the giving of the Gift of Grace as the Seed of God. Peter separated the baptism with the Holy Ghost from the water, the evidence shows they received the Spirit before Peter baptized them in water, dashing the concept of water baptism granting us the Spirit. Also these verses show there is no set order, we can be water baptized, then baptized with the Holy Ghost, or the other way around. Of course Peter knew his charge, he immediately knew water baptism was his duty.
These matters are basic, in Hebrews chapter 6 we find the rudiment, or the fundamental six basic principles of the Doctrine of Christ. Hebrews 6:1-2 doesn’t give us the entire Doctrine, rather it’s the six basic pillars, yet within the Doctrine we find “the doctrine of baptisms”. If this is basic and fundamental, don’t you think it would be nice to know what it’s all about? Yes, but how many of us were told we made a vow in our water baptism?
Paul tells us water baptism is into Jesus, or better into the Body, which identifies us with the death of Jesus (Rom 6:3). The Death of Jesus brought about the Mercy of God in the saying, “Father forgive them”. Paul affirms this to the Corinthians (I Cor 1:13 & 12:13), showing water baptism is the Token of induction into the Body. However, he also told the Corinthians they had the Spirit, but they were not spiritual (I Cor 3:1 & 3:16-17). Water Baptism is an identification with the Mercy of God, the Holy Ghost brings the Gift of Grace giving us the seal of the Holy Spirit of Promise. Both baptisms are important, if we class them in the proper order, we have the Mercy of the Father represented by the Water, and the Grace of the Son in the Blood, with the Spirit by the Holy Ghost. So why do we do the water baptism? The person is giving their Token of Mercy to the Body, they want to be the Bread. Taking this one step further, if we reject, or refuse water baptism, would it be denying the Father? Yes, if we reject, or refuse the baptism with the Holy Ghost, would it be denying the Son? Yes, but worse would be accepting baptism, yet rejecting the purpose.
Jesus said the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church, but it seems the controversy and traditions of baptism have divided the Body. The gates of hell are points of ungodly division, thus gates are put in place to stop people from entering in, or to keep people from moving forward. The word for Gates means a large gate, one like those used to separate the city from the outside world. Hell’s gates hold death in one form or another, ungodly division produces death. Paul told the Corinthians, “by the Name (Authority) of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, that there be no divisions among you” (I Cor 1:10). Whenever a “gate of hell” is established we find a division hindering people from reaching the fullness of Christ.
The Holy Ghost brings correction and teaches us by comparing spiritual with spiritual, but the spirit of man brings confusion, strife and envy (I Cor 1:11-12). Ungodly carnal Divisions bring contentions, contentions bring carnal restrictions usually producing traditions or heresy. Paul asked the Corinthians, “Is Christ divided?” ( I Cor 1:13). What was the Corinthian contention over? Baptism (I Cor 1:14); Paul then says, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel” (I Cor 1:17). How can it be? Jesus told us, “Go ye and baptize”. Wait, Jesus said, Teach, then baptize. The Corinthians put all the emphasis on who baptized them, missing the Teaching, Belief and Purpose for the act. Water baptism is vital, it’s something we can’t mess around with, but it’s also something to remain in order.
What did the carnal Corinthians place the importance on? The purpose of their baptism? No, it was “who baptized you, oh mine is greater because it was by Apollos, meaning it was based in John’s baptism, you know Jesus was baptized by John”. “Well, Paul baptized me in the Name of Jesus, so my baptism is better”. Carnal minds center on the mundane as important, yet miss the importance. A perfect example of a wind of doctrine is the Corinthian debate over who baptized them, they forgot the purpose of the Token, making it something God never intended it to be.
In reference to the Doctrine of Baptisms Jesus also asked John and James if they were willing to take of the baptism He was baptized with (Matt 20:23). Was He talking about water? No, the disciples were already baptized in water, they had been baptizing others in water (Jn 4:2). This was the identification of service, one wherein the person is immersed in service to the point they can say, “I have no place to lay my head”. Therefore, we find there is a Godly division between the various baptisms, yet the purpose for all of them is found in Unity to make us one with God.
The purpose for being baptized into the Body is so we can be accepted by Jesus as He builds us into the Church. Why did Jesus tell Peter the Church was yet future? The Spirit had not yet been given (Jn 7:38-39). This helps us make the Godly separation between the water baptism we do, and the baptism Jesus does. Water baptism did not bring us into the Body, it was a Token or sign of our acceptance of the conditions regarding the Mercy of the Father to enter the Body. The person who baptized us was a “piece of the Rock”, as such they had the Authority to baptize us, thus their act was their Token of accepting us. When Jesus speaks of “baptized” it refers to the person being in the Body, thus Mark 16:16 is not a discourse on baptism, it’s a command to believe after we enter the Body. Sometimes we allow our belief to slip by the wayside, yet we need to keep our belief strong.
We can also see how Communion and Water Baptism have something in common, they each have tokens. Jesus held the bread in His hand saying, “this is My Body”, if it was His Body, how did He hold His own Body? Then Paul says we are the Bread, thus the Bread represents something, it is not the something. Jesus then took the Cup and said His Blood was in the Cup, thus His Blood, not the Cup was the New Testament, yet we know at the time He had not shed His Blood. Was it really the actual “Blood of Christ”, no, it was a symbol of the Blood establishing the New Covenant. Taking the Cup, without consideration for the Covenant, misses the point completely. There are people who search to find the “cup”, but forget it was just a cup, it was the symbol of the Blood of Christ making it special. Really if we want to find the Cup, we just need to look in a mirror. Peter says we are sprinkled with the precious Blood of Jesus, thus taking the Cup is a token of us, the wine or grape juice will not turn into the Blood of Christ, since the act is one of Remembrance, not production.
When we entered the water did we die? No, but it represented our acceptance and belief in the death of Jesus, with our vow to identify with the death by imputing ourselves crucified with Christ. By the act we were proclaiming to all those around how we accepted the concept of being Immersed in the Mercy of God, we would then prove it by forgiving as we are Forgiven. Did the Red Sea save the children out of Egypt? No, it’s the same idea, the water from the Jordan isn’t going to make our baptism more holy. It’s a Token, or our signature on the Mercy Covenant. We were buried in the water, so what did it mean? Rather than “from dust thou came, and to dust thou returns”, we find we were buried in the Mercy of God, thus God’s Mercy immersed us, whether the water did or not.
When we came out to of the Water were we Resurrected? No, it was a sign of our continuing to seek and receive the Spirit through the Baptism with the Holy Ghost, so the same Spirit who raised Jesus will raise us; therefore we find the division. Water baptism relates to the death of Jesus, the Spirit to the Resurrection (Rom 1:3-4).
If we walk by faith, why do we need the water anyway? We find the Water represents something, as new coverts we used the water as a sign of the Mercy of God, giving our signature by submitting to water baptism. Jesus gave us His signature by the Seal of the Holy Spirit, two signatures a contract makes.
What about the Spirit? On the Day of Pentecost we find two baptisms happening, one of them twice. The disciples were baptized with the Holy Ghost as they received the Spirit by the Power from on High. Then the people who heard and believed had to be baptized in water, then baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). The Water part was conducted by the disciples, easy enough to determine. 120 baptized 120, making 240, who baptized 240, making 480, who baptized 480 making 960, who baptized 960 making 1,920 who baptized 1,920 making the total. If each baptism took a total of fifteen minutes, the entire matter would have taken about two hours. The baptism with the Holy Ghost would take about 30 seconds, all could receive at one time (Acts 2:38).
The key to water baptism as our token of entrance into the Body is seen in the first mass baptism, as all those who believed were “received” into the Body (Acts 2:39). Therefore, the disciples were baptized with the Holy Ghost to receive the Gift of Grace, the evidence was their speaking with other tongues. We know they received the Spirit, since the baptism of fire was also accomplished, with the signs following (Acts 2:3-4). One of the two groups outside heard the sign, knowing it was much more than people talking in their native language, rather they heard the noise, yet the noise became their native language in their minds. The Holy Ghost interpreted the language, as it pertained to the wonderful things of God (Acts 2:12). Another group heard the same sounds, but felt the disciples were drunk (Acts 2:13). Nonetheless the group who heard listened further to Peter preach, then they wanted to receive. They were then water baptized in the Name of Jesus, then they too received the Power from on High: two different baptisms, all in the same day, all found in the Doctrine of Baptisms.
Forgiveness by the Father is Mercy based, it’s our entrance ticket. It’s also the Unction (anointing of mercy) or covering over the Body. However, it’s clear we don’t “drink” the water, then presume we’re baptized, yet the pardon of sins is an inward act. Jesus taught on Mercy many times, if we accept the forgiveness of our sins, we must also use the “Keys” to the kingdom. Keys are not gates, they are not locks, they are not doors, they open things locked, or loose things locked up. The Water in our water baptism connects to “when you stand praying, forgive, if you have aught against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25 et al). The second we submit to water baptism our Token brings us into the prayer, granting us the power to forgive in order to be forgiven. Jesus called this the “keys” to the Kingdom, yet He gave us the “keys”. The keys to the Kingdom are not to lock things up, they are to loose the things kept from us.
The convert must know God isn’t going to forgive others for us, we must “remit the sins done unto us”. How? Let’s face it there are those who seem to fit the unforgivable category, just as there are those who seem to fit the unlovable, but we allowed the Mercy of God to cover us (Immerse). We then made a change of positions, from “I can’t forgive them” to “I have to”. Often it’s not we can’t, rather we want some vindication, or we want them to admit they were wrong, or we want some validation for the harm done to us. All God wanted from us was a request for Him to grant us His mercy, in return He asked us to forgive others in the same manner, only instead of them asking, we find God asking us to forgive as He for Christ’s sake has forgiven us. If His Mercy was able to forgive us, surely it’s powerful enough to grant us the ability to forgive others. Our Repentance must include the extension to forgive things done unto us.
Prior we found the prerequisite, or permission for gaining the Holy Ghost was in the Ingress Aires of Majesty on High (Jesus breathing on them – Jn 20:21-22). However, we also find the Ingress Aires could be misconstrued to mean the disciples were given the power to go about forgiving people’s sins. It would be akin to the same error as thinking water baptism saves us, rather than being a Token to show we are saved. The Ingress Aires demands for us to remit the sins done unto us as part of the Permission to receive ye the Holy Ghost in fullness. Therefore, it does connect to the baptism with the Holy Ghost. Our water baptism centers on mercy, or forgiveness, linking it to the Ingress Aires, but the breath also grants us permission to receive the baptism with the Holy Ghost. They are different baptisms, but associated with the intended result, even the salvation of our souls.
We also know this is a prayer issue, if we remit those wrongs done unto us, then the hurts, pains, with all the things connected to those wrongs will be remitted, then we will be free. Even the memory? No, the desires to gain revenge, getting even, or seeking validation will be seen as traits from the wrong spirit, we will be vacated of those elements as the Mercy begins to become part of our nature.
Water baptism is so important the requirements are narrowed down, so we don’t start putting carnal regulations on the act. The candidate must believe in Jesus, we must use water. Whether they say the right words in their statement of belief, or get the doctrinal points in order is not at issue. Whether we say, “In the Name of Jesus”, or “In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost” isn’t important, it’s being in the Name that’s important. Nonetheless, there are those who want to add elements, or take some away to give themselves some self-importance, but if they place a stumbling block before a new convert, well, we know the result of that folly.
So why did Jesus submit to water baptism? Did He have to repent? Of course not, but when Jesus came to John, it was John who would make an interesting statement about baptism. Again, we find the word “baptize”, but we can’t automatically attach the word “water” to it. John came preaching about one baptism, yet he did another. He did baptize in water unto repentance, but he preached how the baptism unto remission was to be done by Jesus (Mark 1:1-4). So, when John says to Jesus, “I have need to be baptized of you” (Matt 3:14); what baptism was he asking for? Water? Hardly, John preached how Jesus would baptize the people in the Holy Ghost and Fire, it was the baptism John wanted. Jesus rejected John’s request, not because John was like Simon, but because of the time and timing, thus we don’t restrict the word Baptism to water.
When Jesus was baptized the Father said, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased”. From the statement came the tradition of Jesus becoming the Son of God by the baptism, thus we become sons of God by our water baptism. Luke put the heresy to rest by showing when Jesus was 12 years old He knew His Father was God. The Baptism opened the ministry for the Son of man, Jesus was declared the Son of God by the Resurrection (Rom 1:3-4). The Spirit rested on Jesus indicating the purpose was the Cross and Resurrection, the Holy Ghost filled Him to deal with the masses (Jn 1:29).
Wow, what about our children? God made provision, a very good one. When Paul was teaching the Corinthians on this issue, he showed us how the protection of being in God’s family provides a covering from us to those in our family. The unsaved mate is set apart for a special work because of the saved mate, but more important to us as parents is, “else were your children unclean: but now they are holy” (I Cor 7:14). It had nothing to do with water baptism, it had to do with the believing parent.
We do find some interesting things regarding children, in Luke 18:15 we find infants being brought to Jesus, not to have them baptized, rather Jesus would “touch” them. This goes to the laying on of hands, not the Doctrine of baptisms. In Matthew 19:13 the people brought little children to Jesus, not be baptized, but for Him to lay hands on them. Again this is “laying on of hands”, a separate aspect in the Doctrine of Christ (Heb 6:1-2). In Mark 10:13 it’s the same thing, they brought children to Jesus, not be baptized, rather He might touch them. “Well, gee sure, Jesus didn’t baptize anyone, as it says in John 4:2”: how true, but it also says His disciples did; therefore, we also find when people brought the children, they didn’t ask Jesus to have His disciples baptize them. Because a child even under John’s baptism had to repent of sin, saying they would believe. Taking choice away from a candidate, is wrong, it removes the one requirement of Belief.
What about other baptisms? The Baptism with the Holy Ghost is when the Gift is induced into the person, producing the Kingdom of God within, from the Gift comes gifts. Paul said, “for by Grace are you saved through faith; not of yourselves: it is the Gift of God” (Eph 2:8). What happened to baptism? The foundation is to be inducted into the Body, then continue to believe, but it doesn’t end it. If it was not a one step endeavor, or there would be no grave, or Resurrection, just the Cross. If we believe we continue on to receive the other baptisms as well, bringing us into “by Grace (receiving the Spirit, New Man, Born Again) are you saved, through (Process) faith, reaching forward to the purpose of faith even the salvation of our souls.
It’s a Process, thus it’s By Grace, but Through Faith. The Gift part is the Greek Doron meaning to give, or a gift given as an expression of honor, but the word for Saved is not Soteria, but Sozo showing a Process. We could mistake this as “the gift of salvation”, but the context is Grace, which is found in Ephesians 3:7 where we read “according to the gift of the Grace of God”, thus the Gift is not Sozo, it’s Grace. Grace then becomes the gift of the Holy Ghost, reaching to the point of when our souls become spiritual in nature.
What about those gifts of the Gift then? Grace begins to establish a new nature in us by the New Man, as we become New in the New Man. In the New Nature we do things by Nature, but we also have “gifts” differing according to the Grace given to us (Rom 12:6). The Greek word for gifts in Romans 12:6 is Charisma meaning the action of Charis, the Greek word for Grace is Charis, thus we find there are Charisma of Charis. These areas are by nature, they are things we do, as we are moved by the New Man. Prophecy is the first one, not as the Office, but as the Spirit gives us words within based on the faith; (2) then ministry, but we wait to hear from the Spirit, we don’t minister through our pains, or soulish conclusions; (3) then teaching, or the ability to disciple others; (4) then exhorting in a Godly manner; (5) then giving, not as the Tithe of the Law, but as the tithes of a New Testament priest from a heart, not out of necessity (demanding a return) or grudgingly (from manipulation), but cheerful as the Spirit leads; (6) then ruling by example, not ruling by commands, or manipulation; (7) then mercy, the ability to forgive as we walk in God’s forgiveness: seven areas which are not pick and choose, they are elements or attributes of the new nature.
New Tongues and unknown are different, yet both are a result of being Born Again. The word New means not like before, referring to a language New based on a change in position and condition. Rather than seek validation, the New tongue forgives. Unknown tongues are by the Spirit within us speaking the great and wonderful things of God in a language not understood by human ears (Acts 2:11). On the Day of Pentecost the Church was born as Jesus began to build when the Holy Ghost bought the Gift, the result was 120 people (souls) all speaking in unknown tongues, something so New, it was never done before.
Paul tells us if we have speaking in unknown tongues in the assembly, we must also need the interpretation by the Spirit. His foundation for making the statement is found in the events on the Day of Pentecost, which was the first time anything like that happened. We don’t need someone to translate, or go around attempting to find some earthly language, we seek the Interpretation. The language could be most anything, but it’s not of earth, thus if we attempt to find an earthly language, we are in error to begin with. If the Spirit interprets, why would anyone run around the world with a tape recorder looking for a translation? They are those who do lack the Spirit, obviously.
The tongue issue is one thing, but the evidence shows us something New, so new it was never before, this was the Baptism promised by Jesus, the one of the Holy Ghost. The tongues were the Token, or sign it has happened. There is only one commandment regarding unknown tongues; we are never to forbid anyone from talking in unknown tongues (I Cor 14:37 & 14:39). There is no commandment telling us we should speak, but clearly there is one telling us never to forbid it. If we love Jesus we will keep His commandments.
On the Day of Pentecost we have three groups of people, not two. There were the speakers, the hearers, then the mockers, if Peter spoke Phrygia and a guy from Phrygia heard him, big deal it happens all the time; however, if Peter was speaking one language, yet a person from Pyrygia, one from Libya, another from Mesopotamia all heard the same language in their own tongue, then you have a miracle to the point of amazing the people (Acts 2:13-14). The third group seem to always be around somewhere, they were the mockers, they didn’t hear a thing but the actual noise, but it’s by this group we know what the unknown tongues sounded like to the physical ear. This third group thought the disciples were drunk, or the disciples were speaking mumbo-jumbo. Paul explains it as the voice of the Spirit, no man knows what is said, thus he who speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not to man, or in man’s language, but unto God (I Cor 14:1-2). Since no man understands, it means no man can. Paul added it was God doing the speaking, linking the speaking to the “Spirit which is of God” (I Cor 2:12 & 14:21).
Paul also says the Spirit speaks mysteries, so it takes the Spirit to interpret. Paul himself spoke in unknown tongues, he wished the Corinthians did as well, but he would rather they would prophesy. Knowing the Corinthians we can see why, better they speak words of unity and Grace, than the words of division and contention. Paul then points out tongues are a sign not for them who believe, but for them who do not believe. Why? The words he uses means a Negative sign, it’s usually evident. The unbeliever will attack what they don’t understand, the spiritually minded discern until they do understand.
Prophecy is for the unbeliever, we speak words they can understand to expose their heart. Although if one is a mocker, or an unbeliever they may not fall on their face, rather the exposure may cause them to attack, but in their heart they know the Truth has hit the stronghold like a great hammer.
Paul’s context is simple, first the conditions regarding speaking in unknown tongues in the gathering, this is not in respect to the person’s private prayer life. If the whole are speaking in unknown tongues, yet someone who doesn’t have the Spirit comes in, they will think like the third group on Pentecost, making up their minds the congregation is a bunch of nuts, or drunks. It serves no one any good, but if the same person hears God plowing the ground of their heart, bringing their hurts and pains to the surface where they can be healed, then we have something good for all concerned. Paul isn’t saying tongues are evil, rather his point is directed toward the person who walks in the door who is not yet a believer. Paul even says if we give thanks in unknown tongues we do well (I Cor 14:16-17). Do we have to speak in unknown tongues? Is it the only sign? No, prophecy is another, but the main sign is a change in the person. Now, if someone does prophesy do they speak? Yes, so tongues being spoken, have to be different. What is Prophesy? Words from God, thus we have two elements of God speaking. One is in the language of the New Man to ABBA Father, making intercession for us, as the New Man speaks the wonderful things of God. Then Prophecy which is God speaking in the language of the people present, but nonetheless speaking through a believer. “Well gee, what if I say something bad?”. No one speaking by the Spirit calls Jesus accursed (I Cor 12:3).
The Scripture tells us the yoke is destroyed because of the anointing; Jesus said the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him because He was anointed. Put it together and we find God breaks the Yoke so we can have the Anointing: because of the Anointing we gain the Spirit. If we have the Spirit we are Anointed, meaning the Yoke is broken. Is the Yoke removed? No, it’s broken, we have to take it off, then accept the Yoke of Jesus (Matt 11:29). What does the Yoke of Jesus relate to? The Rest of God, meaning we must believe in order to receive the yoke of Jesus, so we can find rest for your souls.
The Baptism with Fire removes those self-building elements, the things of darkness which ruled us. As long as the self nature governs our life, we will be in bondage. When anything of the old nature governs how we think, or react, or guides us in what we do, it rules us. If we make decisions based on anger, revenge, strife, then those things become our god. We war against those rulers of the darkness governing our thinking by having the fullness of the Spirit (Eph 5:18-20).
Okay, what about sprinkled, is there some Bible evidence there? The water is a symbol, like the cup and bread are symbols, it’s when we get locked into the definition and forget the purpose the side issues arise. However, in Acts 10 we find Peter going to Cornelius to speak of Jesus. As Peter was yet speaking the Holy Ghost fell on the Gentile Cornelius and those of his household (Acts 10:44). We know about the event, but then the wording, “can any man forbid water” (Acts 10:47). The area was very dry, water was important, yet no one said, “hey I have a river here”, or “yes my brother, I have a water truck here”, but the concern was Immediate, any water would do. Peter wasn’t looking for someone to have a river in their jacket pocket, he wanted water Now. On the same note the water from the Jordan isn’t going to make our baptism any holier than the water in the bathtub in the apartment next door, or the kids wading pool. The only requirement in the early church was not to use polluted water, for obvious reasons, just as today we wouldn’t use water in the alligator pond at the zoo.
Now we know the Doctrine of Baptisms has many great and wonderful experiences for us. We cannot discount one baptism for another, we must accept them all in the authority connected to them. Let us remember the Purpose, and enjoy our Baptisms.
By Rev. G. E. Newmyer – s.b.i. les10 Rev11/©2003
