Spirituality

 

Upon the acceptance of God’s grace gift of salvation through the objective hearing of the Gospel, positive volition towards that information, through faith alone in Christ alone, the new believer is now spiritual.

 

Spiritual means a relationship between the believer and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit controls the thought, and the filling of the Holy Spirit is the only way that the believer can have fellowship with God.

 

There is a constant power struggle in the believer between the old sin nature and the Holy Spirit for control of the believer’s soul (Gal. 5:16). Salvation affords the believer many gifts, but it does not alleviate or silence the old sin nature. Not until the believer gets their resurrection body will they ever know a life without the sin nature present in their body structure.

 

The Koine Greek word for the sin nature is sarx, which literally translated, means flesh. The sin nature is present in the D.N.A. of every cell of the body. Adam’s genetic makeup was altered by sin (Rom. 5:12).

 

Spirituality and Carnality are absolute. You are either one or the other.

The believer is carnal when they have unconfessed sin in their lives, which can then be corrected by confession of sin to God alone. (1 John 1:9) Upon confession to God alone, the believer attains Spirituality, which exists up to the time the believer sins again.

 

Baptism of the Holy Spirit upon salvation through faith alone in Christ alone is a real baptism. Baptism means a first thing identified with a second thing changing the first thing. At first, you are an unbeliever who then accepts the Grace gift of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone, changing the unbeliever to a believer when the pre-salvation sins are “buried” by the work of Christ on the cross, therefore becoming ‘reborn” as a new spiritual species.

 

Imagine the cross. Imagine an arrow pointing up from the cross and an arrow pointing slightly down from the cross. Both arrows point to circles, the “top circle” and the “bottom circle” assets of the believer.

The believer has come to the cross (Acts 16:31). Through the baptism, or imputation of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13), the top circle assets of the believer are permanent. These top circle assets include being “in union with Light” (Eph. 5:8, “in union with Christ forever” (2 Cor. 5:17), an “eternal relationship with God” (Rom. 8:38-39), and eternal security (John 10:28). In the top circle, the believer shares Christ’s Righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21), Eternal Life (1 John 5:11-12), Sonship (John 1:12; Gal. 3:26), Heirship (Rom. 8:16-17; 1 Pet. 1:4), Royalty (Col. 1:13; 2 Tim. 2:11-12), priesthood (1 Pet. 2:5,9), Election (Eph. 1:4), Destiny (Eph. 1:5), and Sanctification (1 Cor. 1:2, 30; Eph. 1:4).

 

In the bottom circle, the believer’s assets are temporary, able to be lost through the volitional choice to sin (Gal. 5:19-21), wherein the believer “Walks in Darkness” (1 John 1:6) and resides in carnality (1 Cor. 3:1-3), but able also to be recovered by the confession of sin as per 1 John 1:9. These assets include the ability to “Walk in the Light” (1 John 1:7a), the filling of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18), Temporal fellowship with God (1 John 1:3), and spirituality (1 Cor. 3:1).

 

We have learned in previous studies that Eph. 5:18 mandates that we be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is, of course, the status of status quo spirituality. 1 Cor. 3:1-3 tells us that we enter into status quo carnality through sin. Status quo spirituality is restored by the confession of sins to God alone, as per 1 John 1:9.

 

The question then is, what constitutes sin? Sin is the violation of divine mandates and comes in many forms:

1) Mental attitude sins (jealousy, fear, hatred, revenge, envy, self pity, and prejudice, to name of few.)

2) Sins of the tongue (gossip, judging, slander, lying, ect.)

3) Overt sins (murder, adultery, fornication, robbery, ect.)

 

The believer must remember that confession after committing any of these sins, or any other violations of the mandates of God, will put the believer back into status quo spirituality. ALL of the sins of ALL mankind were imputed to Christ on the cross and judged. Therefore, sin is no longer an issue. The issue, for the unbeliever, is simply “What think ye of Christ?” The issue for the believer is: "Will you use the assets you have been given in grace to study the Word and make consistent application of the doctrine you learn to your life, thereby making the advance towards the high ground of spiritual maturity and thus glorifying God in time?"

 

 However, confession of sin to God alone does not always nullify the law of volitional responsibility. This means that, for instance, if you rob a bank, you can confess the sin to God if you are a believer and you will be restored to fellowship with God through the filling of the Holy Spirit. However, if the police catch up with you, even though you are filled with the Holy Spirit and in fellowship with God, you will still go to jail, be tried and, if found guilty, will be sent to prison. In fact, the believer who robs the bank and confesses the sin to God should, at the moment of the filling of the Holy Spirit, accept responsibility for their actions, march right down to the law enforcement officials and turn themselves in.

 

Basic Theology: A Brief Review Of Christian Suffering And Prayer:

It is interesting that the mature believer’s prayer life is very different from the new believer’s.

The new believer’s prayer life largely focuses on themselves, for things they need, exigencies they need help with, suffering they need ended, a job they want to get.

On the other hand, the mature believer’s prayer life largely consists of thanksgivings to God for all their blessings and testing, and prayer for others (intercessory prayer.) The mature believer understands through doctrinal orientation the blessings and sufferings they must endure, and they understand the concepts of discipline and suffering for blessing, and none of that phases them.

 

The law of volitional responsibility is the cause of most discipline for the Christian. Self-imposed misery is suffering caused by bad thinking and wrong motivation. Self-induced misery is suffering caused by bad decisions and wrong actions. Self-induced misery is suffering caused by gratification of the sin nature lust patterns and production of sin, human good, and human evil.

(Hosea 8:7; Prov. 22:8; Lev. 5:17)

 

A believer must realize that they are now members of the Royal Family of God. They are adopted sons of God, and therefore, like any good parent, the believer is bound to be disciplined by the Father when they are in a prolonged sinful state.

 

The law of volitional responsibility provides most of the discipline for the believer, but those in serious reversionism will bring on themselves direct Divine Discipline that exists to nudge the reversionistic believer back into fellowship with God through the simple technique of confession of sin as per 1 John 1:9.

 

First, the reversionist will experience warning discipline of some kind (Rev. 3:20), then will experience intensive discipline (Heb. 4:7; Heb. 10:31), finally, if there is no confession of sin in sight, the possibility of discipline unto death (1 John 5:16).

 

But, a believer who is in fellowship and moving down the road of the Christian way of life towards spiritual maturity will also be tested, and this is known as suffering for blessing. Suffering for blessing is designed to accelerate the believer’s growth in grace.

 

Providential preventive suffering is designed to humble the new believer so that they may be oriented to the plan and grace of God. (2 Cor. 12:17)

Momentum testing takes the form of four major areas of testing, People testing (1 Cor. 15:33; Prov. 13:20), Thought testing (2 Cor. 10:4-5), Systems testing (Col. 3:23-24), and Disaster testing (1 Pet. 1:7).

 

The mature believer, upon reaching the “Spiritual high ground” will face evidence testing. Evidence testing is where the mature believer is entered into evidence in the appeal trial of Satan and cross examined by Satan himself. The book of Job provides the best account of this kind of testing and its results.

 

In suffering for discipline, the issue is unconfessed sin, being out of fellowship, and the production of human good and evil. The believer’s status is best described as “walking in Darkness”. The category of suffering is unbearable. The believer’s viewpoint is one of arrogance and subjectivity (why me?) and the solution is the confession of sins to God alone.

 

In suffering for blessing, the issue is spiritual momentum and dependence on the grace of God. The status is “walking in the Light”. The suffering is bearable, his viewpoint is one of humility and objectivity, and the solutions are utilization of the Ten problem-solving devices and doctrinal orientation to the circumstances, giving the believer courage towards life and circumstances.

 

The mature believer knows not only how to pray, but also knows not to pray for and end to the suffering for blessing, nor for anything that he knows God has already provided him.

 

Prayer is the unique prerogative of The Royal Priesthood, as a member of the Royal Family of God. (Phil. chapt. 1&2) Only the Royal priest (anyone who has accepted the grace gift of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone) can communicate with God. Prayer is the Divine system of communication between members of the Royal Family and God the Father. It is a system invented by God, and is available to believers in Christ only.

 

There are two types of prayer requests: intersession (prayer for others) and petition (prayer for yourself).

 

The Correct Procedure For Prayer:

1) All prayer is directed to the Father. (Matt. 6:9; John 17:1)

2) Its content begins with the confession of sin. (1 John 1:9- the word for “confess” in the Greek is “Homologeo” meaning to “ confess, to site”. It is a legal term and its use connotates a statement of fact as one would give under examination in a court of law.

3) Thanksgivings (Eucharestias) Thanking God for all blessings and testing and all that is provided for the believer through grace for both physical and spiritual needs. This part of prayer cannot be skipped. (Eph. 5:20; Phil. 4:6)

4) Intercession (Enteuxis) Prayer for others, including loved ones, acquaintances, and enemies. Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God as our advocate and intercessor in prayer. The Holy Spirit also prays for all believers (Rom. 18:7) (Rev. 12:10; 1 John 2:1; Heb. 7:25). This part of prayer can be skipped if in dire need.

5) Petition (Deesis- means petition or entreaty). This part of prayer is designed for addressing the believers personal immediate needs. (Eph. 6:18; 1 Pet. 3:12; Phil. 4:6)

6) All prayer is to be submitted in the name of Jesus. (John 14:13-14; Eph. 5:20)

 

No prayer is processed without the filling of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 6:18; Jude 20).

We are commanded by God to pray (1 Thess. 5:17).

 

Prayer is an offensive weapon in the angelic conflict and is designed to be pre-emptive, a problem solving device to be used before an exigency.

 

Effective intercessory prayer requires doctrinal thinking, as it must be lined up with the will of God.

 

As noted previously, as a believer advances, there is less emphasis on petition and more on intercession.

 

Usually, personal petitional prayer involves failure to utilize self-examination and problem solving devices. When someone has a petition prayer, it is usually in response to a problem. Most problems can be handled by doctrine.

 

How To Find Out What’s Going On With Me-

1) Is this problem discipline?

2) Am I current on confession of sin?

3) Am I a victim of any poor decisions?

4) Is this testing? (People, Thought, Systems, Disaster)

5) Am I using biblical problem solving devices?

 

 

Different Types Of Prayer

1) Food: Thanksgivings and sanctification of the food

2) Authority: prayer for the President, the Vice President, the President’s cabinet, the Judiciary, the Congress, state, local, and military leaders, protection of the police and the firefighters, all so that God can preserve the environment of freedom for growth in grace.

3) Unbeliever: Prayer for God to exert the perfect amount of pressure on the person to get the best possible atmosphere for an objective hearing of the Gospel. A believer can pray that God will create an exigency in the life of an unbeliever that cannot be solved by human viewpoint solutions, thereby inspiring an objective hearing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We cannot pray that God will save the unbeliever, for God will always honor the volitional choice of anyone, and God or prayer cannot override human volition. (Rom. 10:1-3 Paul’s prayer for the Jews.)

4) The believer is to pray for the peace of Israel and the protection of the Jewish Diaspora.

5) Prayer for Enemies: If they are believers, pray that they will be inspired to study the Word of God that they may grow in grace, if an unbeliever, pray that God will inspire an objective hearing of the Gospel so that they may be saved. (Matt. 5:44 Unconditional love for your fellow human beings is the source of the prayer for enemies.) (Phil. 1:9; Col. 1:9)

6) Prayer For Communicators Of Truth (pastor/teachers, evangelists, missionaries)

(2 Thiess. 3:1; Heb. 13:18; Col. 4:2-3)

 

Eph. 6:19a (paraphrased) “Pray for me too, and ask God to give me the right words as I boldly tell others about the Lord…”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic Theology: The Mechanics Of The Christian Way Of Life:

In the previous study, we learned through an examination of Eph. 5:18 that we are mandated to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We then learned from 1 Cor. 3:1-3 that the filling of the Holy Spirit can be lost through carnality. Only when we confess our sins as per 1 John 1:9 can we regain the filling of the Holy Spirit. The question could then be asked: "Why do we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit?"

 

It is the Holy Spirit that is the power source for the Christian way of life. Without it, none of the assets that God has provided through His matchless Grace operates.

 

The Holy Spirit has many ministries to fulfill in the church age, all of them we will study in due time. This study will examine the role of the Holy Spirit in the areas of prayer and the Eight "Gates" of power in the Christian way of life afforded every believer through faith alone in Christ alone.

 

According to science, the speed of light travels 186,000 miles a second, although I have seen documents that show that light can both be speeded up past this "Light Barrier" and that light can be slowed to a stop. Nevertheless, at 186,000 miles a second, one light year represents about six trillion miles.

Using the speed of light and the distance between the Earth and the Sun (about ninety-three million miles), we know that light from the sun reaches us in eight minutes. Light from the next closest star, Proxima Centauri, takes more that four years to reach Earth. The next closest galaxy of stars visible to the naked eye is Andromeda Nebula, and the light we see from there left the area about two million light years ago making the distance from the Andromeda Nebula about twelve quadrillion miles.

 

How far is the throne room of God? Billions, perhaps trillions of light years away possibly, but however far it is, this is the distance our prayers travel to God instantly. Prayer is an interdimensional, instantaneous communication from the believer to God.

 

While God communicates with man through His Word, He has given believers in the Lord Jesus Christ a gracious means of communication with Himself-prayer. When the believer prays correctly, he has a direct connection to the throne room of God. He has the opportunity and privilege to speak to God expressing his gratitude, interceding for others in need, and petitioning for his own personal needs. Prayer is the most potent weapon of the spiritual life and the believer is mandated to take advantage of this unparalleled approach to God.

 

"With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the (power of the) Spirit. (Eph. 6:18a)

 

Regardless is a believer is reverent, fervent, moral, or sincere, if he is not filled with the Holy Spirit and fails to confess his sins to God alone to accomplish this filling of the Holy Spirit, the prayers will not be heard. In fact, the prayers won't get beyond the ceiling. This is why confession always must precede prayer, for it is the Holy Spirit whose power propels the prayers to the throne room of God.

 

From eternity past, the omniscience of God knew and had an answer for every prayer that every believer would offer during his lifetime. God's omnipotence gives Him the absolute ability to hear and answer prayer, but his sovereignty, omniscience, righteousness, justice, and love determine His answers.

"I love the Lord, because He hears My voice and my supplications.

Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live." (Ps. 116:1-2)

 

Two kinds of prayer are revealed in this Psalm: "hears My voice" refers to everyday, routine prayers, and "supplications" to special, more intense prayers for serious or adverse circumstances. "I shall call upon Him" implies a vocal request, but it is not necessary to pray by speaking aloud. You can think a prayer as well as speak one, but never assume that, since God is all knowing, a prayer need not be made. Many believers make the mistake of thinking: "If God knows my needs before I ask, then I don't need to ask." A prayer not prayed is not answered.

 

Jesus Christ "passed through the heavens" (Heb. 4:14; 2 Cor. 12:2) and is now seated in the presence of God the father making intercession for us and we can confidently approach the throne of grace in prayer. When we pray, our father hears the prayer immediately. When we pray, we are utilizing a divinely designed system that is faster than anything known to science. When we say "Father", we reach the throne room of grace instantly and with no interference. This provision is something we do not earn or deserve, but is graciously provided by God.

Although Jesus Christ is our advocate and intercessor in prayer, the believer can learn, through the study of doctrine, how to pray more effectively. God has ground rules for prayer, and these procedures must be followed at all times.

 

Prayer is for believers only.

 

"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (Gal. 3:26)

 

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. (John 1:12)Only members of the family of God through faith alone in Christ alone have the right to approach the throne of grace and say "Heavenly Father".

 

With the exception of the prayer for salvation, in which an unbeliever acknowledges Jesus Christ as Savior and is "born again", a personal relationship with God must exist before prayer becomes functional.

 

The believer must always remember that they have been "adopted" into the royal family of God through faith alone in Christ alone, and they have the privilege as a member of the royal family to petition the throne of grace for their needs. However, we do not just barge into the throne room and start ordering God around. There is a protocol for prayer.

 

First, we must confess our sins to God alone and receive the filling of the Holy Spirit, who's power will propel our prayers to God.

 

"If we confess (homologeo-name) our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us (cancel) our sins and to cleanse (purify) us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

The filling of the Holy Spirit is God's provision of divine power to execute the spiritual life and serve the Lord (Eph. 5:18). The filling of the Spirit is an absolute status; the believer is either spiritual where is soul is controlled by the Spirit, or carnal, controlled by the sin nature.

 

The Greek word homologeo, translated "confess", means "to name, cite, admit, acknowledge." The verb was used primarily in a judicial context as " confess a crime in court, to make a legal statement." First John 1:9 is no exception. The word means simply to acknowledge or name your sins to God the Father.

 

Now, filled with the Holy Spirit, we can continue with our prayer.

 

All prayer must be addressed to God the Father (Matt, 6:6,9; Eph. 5:20), in the name of the Son (John 14:13-14), and in the power or filling of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 6:18). Hebrews 7:25 tells us that Christ is praying for us at the right hand of the Father. Romans 8:26-27 informs us that the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us even when we do not know how to pray under certain circumstances or about a certain situation. Since Christ and the Holy Spirit both make intercession for us, we do not address our prayers to Jesus or the Holy Spirit.

 

Then, after addressing the Father, we enter into the body of the prayer with thanksgiving.

 

"Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving. (Col. 4:2)

 

Thanksgiving is the part of your private prayer that constitutes worship motivated from your personal love of God (Eph 5:20). Thanksgiving is appreciation and gratitude for all that God has done in grace for you. The more you love God and the more you appreciate Him, the greater is your attitude of thanksgiving.

 

"In everything, give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thess. 5:18)

 

"In everything" includes being thankful for bad as well as good circumstances, as well as being thankful for spiritual as well as material things.

 

Then, we move to intercessory prayer. This step can be skipped in extreme circumstances, but never the thanksgiving. Intercessory prayer is praying for others. This aspect of prayer is a ministry of Christian service in which you provide a barrage of support for those in need. (Eph. 6:18-19)

 

Prayer for others falls into two categories: believers and unbelievers. When you pray for for unbelievers, it is primarily for their salvation (Rom. 10:1). You cannot ask God to influence the volition of the unbeliever, but you can ask Him to bring about some circumstance in the unbeliever's life that cannot be solved by human viewpoint solutions and therefore that they might be inspired to an objective hearing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that they may be saved. You can pray for a personal opening to witness to someone with whom you are in contact. On the cross Jesus Christ provided the greatest example of intercession for unbelievers in all of human history.

 

"Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)

 

Regarding believers, there are several categories for which you can pray. You can pray for those who have certain spiritual gifts of communication- pastors, evangelists, missionaries (Act. 12:5). Few believers actually possess these communication gifts, but all believers are in full-time Christian service and can share in these ministries through prayer.

 

You can pray for those in positions of authority in the church. Pray for those who work in the church, for those who are ill, for missions, for loved ones and friends and those in the military, police, and fire department.

 

You also are mandated to pray for those who despitefully use you, for those who seek to do you harm and hurt, whether they be believers or unbelievers.

 

"Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (Luke 6:28; Matt. 5:44)

 

This prayer can be accomplished only from a mental attitude of impersonal love. Instead of retaliation and revenge, you place the matter the Lord's hands.

 

You are also mandated to pray for the nation and its leadership. Moses made some of the greatest intercessory prayer in history for the reversionistic nation of Israel (Ex. 32:11-13; Nub. 14:13-19). Such intercessory prayer is part of the deliverance of the client nation which has fallen into reversionism.

(A client nation is a national entity in which a certain number of mature believers have formed a pivot sufficient to sustain the nation and through which Jesus Christ controls history and God furthers His plan for mankind. (Ex. 19:6). God specifically protects this representative nation so believers can fulfill the divine mandates of evangelism, custodianship and communication of Bible doctrine, providing a haven for the Jewish diaspora, and sending missionaries to the heathen nations. Currently, the United States is a client nation.)

There is no hope for a client nation unless believers use the power of prevailing prayer.

 

After thanksgiving and intercessory prayer, the believer can then petition God for their own needs. This is listed last, though it is not necessarily the least important. We all have personal needs or problems of one kind or another. In such cases, " Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace" Heb. 4:16a).

 

Petitions address those particular circumstances for which there is no direct statement or solution from Scripture. If provision for your own needs or solutions to your problems are found in the Word, then do not petition for those things. For example, we are filled with the Holy Spirit when we confess our sins, therefore, we have no need to petition God to "Fill us with the Holy Spirit".

 

Considering all that God has done in grace for us for both our temporal and spiritual security, there are not many things that we would have to petition God for. Consistent Bible study reveals these things to us over time.

 

After you finish your petitions, you lift the prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, and declare that it is so with a simple "Amen."

There are a number of reasons why a prayer is not heard. Each of these reasons is a result of carnality and failure in the spiritual life.

 

1. Failure to have faith will prevent prayer from being heard. Mental attitude sins of fear and worry neutralize faith and the function of prayer. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Phil.4:6)

Once you commit a problem to God in prayer, you must trust that God will provide deliverance.

 

2. Wrong motives will stop the prayer in its tracks.

"You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures." (James 4:3)

When you seek for the "pleasures" and details of life contradictory to God's plan, you are falsely motivated.

 

3. Lack of compassion toward the desperate conditions of the human race will also hinder prayer.

 

"He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered." (Prov. 21:13)

 

4. Lack of domestic tranquility, or discord in a marriage, is one of the least known reasons for unheard prayer.

 

"You husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman, and grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered." (1 Pet. 3:7)

 

5. Pride, or arrogance, was Satan's original sin (Isa. 14:12-14; Exek. 28:14-17) and is the root mental attitude sin that creates a huge list of other sins in the soul of the believer. Arrogance is the main cause of failure not only in prayer, but in the spiritual life in general. (James 4:6)

 

"There they cry out, but He does not answer

Because of the pride of evil men.

Surely God will not listen to an empty cry,

Nor will the Almighty regard it. (Job 35:12-13)

 

6. The effectiveness of prayer is directly related to the believer's awareness of God's will and Plan.  “And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1 John 5:14)

 

7. Ineffective prayer is directly connected with failure to obey the mandates of God.

 

"And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight." (1 John 3:22)

When the believer fails to subject himself to the will of God, His prayers are not answered.

 

The only other reason for unanswered prayer is the lack of the filling of the Holy Spirit.

 

Prayer is the most effective when the believer learns Bible doctrine and advances to spiritual maturity. (John 15:7) The believer must have knowledge of the will of God, therefore the necessity of maximum knowledge of doctrine by study and application.

 

Prayer is a privilege and extension of grace; hence, it is impossible to approach God in prayer on the basis of human good or merit. The believer approaches God in prayer on the basis of our Savior and His merits. The Father is propitiated by the work of Christ through the incarnation and the cross, therefore we must approach from a position of fellowship. Lastly, God does not answer prayers because a person is fervent, moral, sincere, religious, of self-effacing, He answers prayer because of who and what He is.

 

As the filling of the Holy Spirit is the "power source" for Christian prayer, It is also the power behind the rest of the basics of the Christian way of life.

 

The filling of the Holy Spirit and faith are the two main ingredients that make the rest of the Christian way of life work. Because the issue of faith application to life is one of the major themes in the Holy Word of God, we will pause here to observe our first lesson on the subject of faith. Let’s go to the second message of the book of Joshua and let’s exegete 1 John 5:4-6.The fourth verse begins with the causal conjunction /hoti / plus

 

the perfect passive participle of the verb:

 

 /gennao/ - “Because anyone who has been born”

 

 The birth here is the spiritual birth which occurs at the moment of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

 

perfect: The perfect tense is the tense of completed action. It takes the progress of an act to a point of completion where it is maintained as a finished result. The various uses of this tense place emphasis either on the completed action or the finished result. In this context, /gennao/ is employed as the Intensive Perfect which emphasizes existing result: those who have been born from God exist in an eternal status as God’s children. This is a statement of eternal security. “Anyone who had been born from God in the past with the result that they remain born from God forever.”

 

passive: The believer receives the action of spiritual birth at the moment of faith alone in Christ alone.

 

participle: Circumstantial for having the means of being victorious

 

over the cosmic system, i.e., the divine power system. At the moment of salvation we experience victory over the cosmic system. That victory is stated next by the present active indicative of the verb:

 

 /nikao/ - To be a victor; to prevail; to defeat; to overcome; to be a winner.

 

 

present: Customary; denotes what habitually occurs. This does not indicate habitual action on the part of the believer but rather on the part of God. When we believe in Christ the existing result is eternal security and we thus become victorious over the cosmic system because that is what habitually occurs as a part of one’s eternal salvation.

 

active: The believer produces the action of the verb by his presence in the divine power system.

 

indicative: Declarative for the reality of this victory. Over what the believer is victorious is stated next by the accusative singular direct object from the noun:

 

 /kosmos/ - “world”; refers to the fallen world system of Satan: the Devil’s world, the cosmic system, or cosmos diabolicus. At this point John chooses to emphasize the initial victory won by the believer in the invisible war. This is introduced by a connective:

 

 /kai/ plus the pronoun /houtos/ translated “and this.”

 

Then comes the verb, the present active indicative of:

 

 /eimi/ - “is”; followed by the nominative singular subject:

 

 /nike/ - “victory”: “Everyone who has been born from God is victorious over the cosmic system and this is the initial victory …”

The verb  /eimi/ is a:

 

present: Static; a condition which perpetually exists. What perpetually exists is what occurs at the moment of salvation and that is the victory over the Cosmic System.

 

active: The action is produced by any who chooses to place his personal faith, and nothing else, in Jesus Christ, and no one else, for salvation and eternal life.

 

indicative: Declarative; a statement of biblical and historical fact.

 

CTL: “Everyone who has been born from God is victorious over the cosmic system and this is the initial victory …”

 

What the initial victory does is repeated. It has already been stated once by the present active indicative of the verb /nikao/ “victorious over the cosmic system.” Here /nikao/ is used again, this time in the aorist active participle:

 

 /nikao/ - “which has been victorious”

 

aorist: Constative; contemplates the action in its entirety and gathers it into a single whole. The action occurred in its entirety at the moment of salvation. The constative aorist considers the entirety of the issue of salvation and views it as a completed whole.

 

active: Victory over the cosmic system is produced by the believer’s positive volition at salvation.

 

participle: Circumstantial; expresses an attendant circumstance, namely, positive volition.

 

CTL: “Everyone who has been born from God is victorious over the cosmic system, and this is the initial victory which has been victorious over the cosmic system …”

 

And what is this thing which wins the initial victory? First of all we have the genitive of possession from the personal pronoun:

 

 /ego/ - “our”; followed by a noun which is apposite to the word “victory”:

 

 /pistis/ - “faith”; the thing that wins the victory over the cosmic system is our faith. And the initial victory is the faith we express in Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life.

 

Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary, 2d ed., s.v. “apposite” and “apposition”:

 

apposite: to put side by side; fitting, appropriate, pertinent, (relevant).

apposition: a grammatical construction which places a word or expression beside another so that the second explains the first.

 

NOTE: The two things which are apposite are the words “victory” and “faith.” “And this is the victory … our faith.”

 

1 John 5:4 - [CTL] Everyone who has been born from God is victorious over the cosmic system, and this is the initial victory which has been victorious over the cosmic system—our faith.

 

The initial victory over the cosmic system occurs at the point of salvation. At this moment, the believer enters into the Operational Divine Power System and thus wins the initial victory over the cosmic system. This new environment is energized by the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit and maintained by the believer’s faith in God’s plan as it is revealed through doctrine.

The Divine Power System is made up of eight categories of spiritual function that we refer to as “gates.” Since the brain works like a computer and the soul is its central processing unit empowered by the Holy Spirit, we use this technical computer term to describe the function of the system.

 

In a computer, gates are combined to form “combinational circuits” or “sequential circuits.” The soul is capable of utilizing stored doctrinal data either in combination or in sequence. This concept will become clearer after we define the eight gates of the Divine Power System.

 

(a) Gate 1: The Power Gate. We are commanded in Ephesians 5:18 to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The third Person of the Trinity provides the power source for the system. This forms the status quo of spirituality that is lost through sin producing status quo carnality.

This is taught in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3. Carnality is overcome and spirituality restored by the confession of sin or rebound adjustment as taught in 1 John 1:9.

 

(b) Gate 2: Basic Christian Modus Operandi. There are two problem-solving devices that can be used by the new believer until his doctrinal inventory enlarges for more advanced thought: (1) claiming promises and (2) unconditional love. Claiming promises eliminates fear, worry, and anxiety as you place confidence in the Word of God and His faithfulness. Unconditional love is utilized to deal with others but emphasizes personal integrity. You allow others the privacy of their priesthood through unconditional love while you maintain a relationship with God through your own priesthood by claiming and believing promises. There are over 7,000 promises in Scripture. Unconditional love for others is mandated for the believer by our Lord in John 13:34.

 

(c) Gate 3: Teachability through Humility. This is the freedom that develops from the absence of subjectivity. This is where the growing believer gets his eyes off self and on Christ. It is with humility that truth is understood and accepted. This leads to an orientation to grace, authority, establishment, and doctrine. The virtue of humility is the subject of Romans 12:3 and 1 Peter 5:5-6.

 

(d) Gate 4: Spiritual Momentum. This is where the perception and application of doctrine occurs. We classify this gate as the Grace Apparatus for Perception. As spiritual growth occurs momentum develops as a result of the first three gates. From them the believer has the power, the objectivity, and the teachability to make the advance. The spiritual advance which occurs as a result of spiritual momentum is the subject of Ephesians 4:14-15. From this advance are developed the motivational and functional virtues which accelerate one to the level of spiritual adulthood.

 

(e) Gate 5 & 6: Motivational and Functional Virtues. Motivational virtues are directed toward God while functional virtues are directed toward our fellow man. For example, (1) confidence in God is a motivational virtue which supports the functional virtue of courage toward man (Isaiah 41:10). (2) Worship of God is a motivational virtue which generates the functional virtue of morality toward man (Romans 12). (3) The motivational virtue of personal love for God sustains the functional virtue of unconditional love for man (1 John 4:20). We should note that the major virtues which the Lord commanded from Joshua were for him to “be strong and courageous,” another way of saying, “Have confidence in Me and it will result in courage toward life and circumstances (Joshua 1:6,7,9,18).”

 

(f) Gate 7: Momentum Testing: God either permits the believer to be tested or He directly sends testing. But either way it is an expression of His grace since testing is designed to offer the believer the opportunity to use doctrine under pressure in order to accelerate his spiritual advance. The timing behind God’s testing is perfect. God never tests a positive believer beyond his capacity but the only thing that can keep pace with God’s timing is doctrine in the soul. Prepared with doctrine, testing becomes an opportunity to win victories in the invisible war.

There are seven categories of momentum testing.

 

(1) The Old Sin Nature Test: The volition is tempted. What you decide to do is what you want to do. No excuse, no denial, no projection. Recovery is possible through rebound.

 

(2) People Testing: Because spiritual maturity is extremely rare, we must get used to encountering opposition from people. Life is not fair but God is. He has given us a system of thought which enables us to endure injustice without being enmeshed in mental attitude sins.

Unconditional love allows us to transfer the case to the Supreme Court of Heaven for prosecution and adjudication.

 

(3) Thought Testing: This is a challenge to the volition to accept or reject truth. If you are self-centered you can attend Bible class and agree with all that is taught—that is, until a doctrine challenges one of your preconceived opinions, personal prejudices, or points of hypersensitivity. A doctrinal frame of reference which increases to include doctrinal rationales will ultimately resolve these areas of disagreement as humility ultimately dissolves your self-centeredness. Proverbs 23:7 tells us that as we think within our soul, so are we.

What we decide to do with the doctrine that comes into our soul for consideration determines what we become.

 

(4) System Testing: Because we live in a fallen environment then it should not come as a shock that we will on occasion be treated unfairly. This unfairness will find its source in either people or systems.

This however is an outside adversity and does not qualify as an excuse for our being distracted from our mission, residence in the Divine Power System, or our participation in emotional and arrogant sinning. Instead it is should be seen as the opportunity to use doctrine and turn this apparent defeat into a victory. God allows unfairness to occur in the decrees. This is permitted so the positive believer might have the opportunity to accelerate his spiritual growth. Integrity of thought maintains soul tranquility while doctrine manages the problems in the system and unconditional love manages the people who might be involved.

 

(5) The Cosmic Systems: Satan is the ruler of this world and he constantly seeks to control the kingdom he rules. In order to do so he manipulates the souls of men through duplicity and deceit. The Scripture calls his kingdom the /kosmos /, translated, “the world.” The duplicity and deceit he utilizes are referred to as “doctrines of demons” in 1 Timothy 4:1. The system by which these doctrines are inculcated into the souls of men is the Cosmic System, or as it has been called, the Satanic Academy of Cosmic Didactics. There are two major fields of study in this Academy. (1) The Arrogance Complex. Submission to this curriculum results in man becoming preoccupied with himself. He passes the course when he gets to the point that he emphasizes himself over of God and his own thoughts, opinions, and rationales over biblical truth. (2) The Hatred Complex. This curriculum teaches a person to become antagonistic toward God, the Bible, Christianity, Jesus Christ, Bible doctrine, and the overall plan of God. He passes this course when the inventory of ideas which circulates in his stream of consciousness is human viewpoint instead of divine viewpoint.

 

Both of these cosmic complexes exploit our bad decisions by placing us under the mental slavery of satanic duplicity and deceit. Recovery from the Cosmic System occurs by consistently logging time in the Divine Power System, illustrated by:

Ephesians 6:11 - [CTL] Put on the full armor of God in order that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

 

The “full armor of God” is deployed in the Divine Power System and protect the believer from “the schemes of the devil” which are his cosmic systems of arrogance and hatred.

 

(6) Disaster Testing: Life contains for everyone an occasional disaster—loss of health, loved ones, employment, or personal or national safety. These are accompanied by the danger of also losing one’s spiritual life due to the temptation to become distracted by your personal loss. Mental attitude sins of self-pity, anger, bitterness, revenge motivation, or fear, worry, anxiety, and dread can cause prolonged residence in the Cosmic System. Such temptations to submit to a self-centered lifestyle of arrogance and hatred can be withstood by the application of the Faith-Rest Drill. Claiming promises from God stabilizes the soul, creates inner tranquility, and develops a relaxed mental attitude. Complexity has been converted into simplicity so that through the filling of the Holy Spirit you can concentrate on doctrinal rationales. Concentration focused on such doctrines as the essence of God, the plan of God, and the logistical grace of God leads to a doctrinal conclusion. The doctrinal analysis is complex and requires status quo spirituality. The doctrinal conclusion creates an objective simplicity. It leaves the situation entirely in the hands of the Lord. Such a solution is applicable to both personal and national disasters. Faith-rest produces confidence in God that can then be parlayed into courage toward life and circumstances.

 

(7) Prosperity Testing: Unfortunately it is all too common that when an advancing believer enters into a period of personal prosperity be looses track of the source of that prosperity. He experiences a loss of gratitude for the God who blessed him and the doctrine that provided the capacity. Maintenance of capacity is possible only through continued inculcation of truth under the mental attitude of genuine humility. Nevertheless, the prosperity becomes a test of character, self-discipline, and capacity. Failure to perform one’s due diligence of continued spiritual growth inevitably results in one’s prosperity being inverted into unhappiness, frustration, and misery.

 

(g) Gate 8: Spiritual Maturity: We can use the experiences of our forefathers’ tedious and uncertain journey down the Santa Fé Trail from Kansas City to Santa Fé as an example of the believer’s daily walk in cosmos diabolicus. They never knew what exigencies the next day would bring. On a good day they only advanced some 8 to fifteen miles. Their day could be boring and routine or filled with challenges such as marauding Indians, raging rivers, lack of water, too much water, dens of rattlesnakes, sick animals, broken axles, the relentless heat of the Jornada, and other crises. But as long as they stayed on the Trail they were assured of reaching Santa Fé. The believer’s trail to spiritual maturity is marked off by Jesus Christ in the prototype divine power system which He utilized, proved, and endorsed during the Incarnation. The Bible reveals to us the wheel-tracks of righteousness which carry us to the Promised Land of spiritual maturity, experiential sanctification, and escrow blessings in time. Arrival at the rarefied level of this sophisticated spiritual life is accompanied by the privilege of sharing the happiness of God and being declared a winner at the Judgment Seat of Christ where escrow blessings in time are parlayed into escrow blessings for all eternity. We have characterized the latter as the seven Nike Awards which will be presented in 13 paragraphs to winners by our Lord.

 

John 15:9 - [CTL] “Just as the Father [ Inventor of the system ] loves Me, so also I have loved you. Reside in My love.

 

v 10 - “If you execute My mandates, you will reside in the sphere of My love [ operational system ], just as I have fulfilled the mandates of My Father and I reside in the sphere of His love [ prototype system ].

 

v 11 - “I have taught you these things in order that My happiness [Gate 8 ] might be in you and that your happiness might be completed [winner’s gate ].”

 

It was Jesus Christ Who won the strategic victory over cosmos diabolicus through His residence in the prototype divine power system.

 

John 16:33 - [CTL] “These things I have communicated to you in order that you might have prosperity. In the /kosmos / you will have oppression, but take courage, I have overcome the /kosmos /.”

 

Just as the Lord has overcome the / kosmos / in the prototype so also believers overcome the / kosmos / through residence in the operational divine power system. It is faith alone in Christ alone that enables us to enter the system for the first time. Without consistent function within this system the believer can produce nothing but failure in his efforts to serve God.

 

The power gate is the filling of the Holy Spirit and efficiency within the system is dependent upon our faith in the revealed Word of God. Faith is nonmeritorious at salvation and it is nonmeritorious after salvation. We enter the system through nonmeritorious faith at salvation and we execute the Christian way of life after salvation through nonmeritorious function within the system. Some believers enter the system with the establishment virtue accumulated while in unbelief.

 

Others enter the system with little or no establishment virtue and must learn the principles of authority orientation to the laws of divine establishment among other things. Positive volition overcomes this handicap. No one is excluded. Eventually they develop establishment virtue and then add doctrinal virtue to it. Faith alone in Christ alone at salvation must be parlayed into faith alone in doctrine alone inside the Divine Power System. In other words, that which wins the initial victory must become the believer’s modus operandi in gaining spiritual victories in the invisible war, namely his faith. The basis for our victory over the / kosmos / is the subject of 1 John 5:5-6.

Verse 5 begins with the interrogative pronoun:

 

 / tis / - “Who”; introduces a rhetorical question and is followed by the present active indicative of the verb:

 / eimi / - “is”

 

present: Aoristic; punctiliar action in present time setting forth an event now occurring. The believer is the one who is currently being victorious over the / kosmos / as a result of his faith in Christ.

 

active: The believer produces the action of being victorious.

 

indicative: Assumes there is an actual fact that may be stated in answer to the rhetorical question.

 

CTL: “Who is the one who is …”

 

Next comes the action being produced by the believer, the present active participle of the verb:

 

 / nikao / - “to win; defeat the opposition, to be victorious”

 

present: Aoristic; this is current status quo.

 

active: The believer in Christ produces the action at salvation.

 

participle: Circumstantial for simultaneous action with the main verb.

 

 

CTL: “Who is the one who is victorious over …”

 

That which is being defeated is the direct object found in the accusative singular noun:

 

 / kosmos / - “the cosmic system?”

 

Next comes the answer to the rhetorical question indicated by the idiom:

 

 / ei + me / - Lit: “if not,” but when used following a rhetorical question it becomes an idiom which is best translated into English by the phrase, “None other than.” This person is identified by the present active participle of the verb:

 

 / pisteuo / - “he who comes to believe”

 

present: Perfective; notes that which has come to be in the past but is emphasized as a present reality. Victory started at salvation.

 

active: The believer produces the action at salvation.

 

participle: Circumstantial.

 

CTL: Who is the one who is victorious over the cosmic system? None other than he who comes to believe …”

The verb / pisteuo / is translated “to believe,” while its noun form / pistis / is translated by the English word “faith.” The root idea is transitive and demands an object. If you “believe” then it is apparent that there is some object in which you have placed your trust. The same is true for faith. If you claim you have faith then it is imperative that your faith have an object. So what is it that the believer in context has come to believe? That question is answered beginning with the conjunction:

 

 / hoti / - “that.” That which is believed is what follows beginning with the noun:

 

 / Iesous / - “Jesus” And that quality which He possesses which makes Him the worthy object of saving faith is found in the present active indicative of the verb:

 

 / eimi / - “is”

 

present: Static; denotes the status quo of the Hypostatic Union as perpetually existing.

 

active: Jesus Christ produces the action of existing in this perpetual status.

 

indicative: Declarative; a dogmatic assertion of the fact that Jesus Christ is undiminished deity and true humanity in one Person forever. And the title which confirms this assertion concludes the verse:

 

/ ho Huios tou Theou / - “the Son of God”

 

1 John 5:5 - [CTL] Who is the one who is victorious over the cosmic system? None other than he who comes to believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

 

 Principles from 1 John 5:5:

The initial victory over the cosmic system occurs at the moment of salvation through faith in Christ. Thus, we start the Christian way of life as winner’s who share in the strategic victory of Christ on the cross. But this is only the first inning. You have to play nine and tactical victories must occur until the end of the ninth in order to be a winner. The only way to exploit the initial victory is to maintain one’s residence in the divine power system.

There are two ways to maximize this residency, (1) consistent use of the Rebound technique and (2) the utilization of doctrine to overcome the various momentum tests from the cosmic system. Inside the divine power system the believer possesses divine operating assets, problem-solving devices, and spiritual skills that give him the tactical advantage in the Angelic Conflict. Neither the strategic victory enjoyed at salvation nor the tactical victories won on the believer's Walk with God are possible without precedent for victory established by our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

What does the Lord require of you? Do justice, love loyalty, and walk humbly with your God. The word “justice” is the noun mishpat, which refers to the administration of established ordinances, which through custom, are recognized as right standards. The justice of God is bound to execute and administer whatever righteousness demands.

Righteousness demands compliance with divine standards. Justice carries out the functions of either blessing and rewarding compliance or cursing and punishing noncompliance. The mandate to “do justice” implies one is capable of doing so because he has a knowledge of the righteousness standards circulating in his stream of consciousness. You cannot act justly unless you think righteously.

 

The word “kindness” in the NAS is [hesed], which refers to one’s loyalty to God’s standards. God wanted Israel to obey Him because they desired to, not because of any false motivation, fear, or attempts to impress Him. In order to love loyalty the believer must have an inner desire and motivation to adhere to righteous standards in his spiritual walk. The mental attitude that sustains such a motivation is humility and humility is based on respect.

 

Again we see the expression of the Aggressive and Responsive aspects of personal love for God. To “do justice” and “love loyalty” the believer must actively pursue the plan of God. This is aggressive love that is characterized by enduring loyalty to truth. To “walk humbly with God” is responsive love that is expressed by a total trust in His Word thus demonstrating consideration and partiality for His leadership. To “do justice” refers to submission to the imperative moods of Scripture. To “love loyalty” refers to enduring devotion to those principles under pressure. These two result in a humility that expresses itself in a responsive love characterized by respect, deference and admiration.

 

Psalm 119:41 - [CTL] May your lovingkindness also come to me, O Lord; Your deliverance according to your promise,

v 42 - so that I shall have an answer for him who reproaches me, for I have confidence in Your Word.

v 43 - Do not take the Word of truth out of my mouth, for I confidently wait with patience for Your justice.

v 44 - Through extraordinary diligence I will consistently observe the Torah.

v 45 - And I will walk [ execute the spiritual life of my dispensation ] at liberty …

 

The word “liberty” in verse 45 is used in both the NAS and KJV. The NIV translates it with “freedom.” The Hebrew word found here is:

rahab - An adjective describing something that is broad, wide, and large. The writer has demonstrated for four verses his devotion and loyalty to the truth and he intends through extraordinary diligence to continually observe its mandates. With this knowledge he proclaims that he will execute the spiritual life of his dispensation which is the execution of the three stages of the faith-rest drill plus submission to the principles of Leviticus 19:18.

This modus operandi has become for him a way of life which involve facilitated behavior patterns and character traits based on wheel-tracks of righteousness. His advanced knowledge of the Torah plus his facilitation of its content enable him to walk in a broad, wide, and large place. That broad place is the execution of the spiritual life of his dispensation. The more you know about the plan of God the more flexibility and versatility you have in resolving the exigencies of life.

The spiritual life of the Church Age believer consists of the Four Spiritual Mechanics:

 

1) Utilization of the Two Power Options:

( FHS + HIQ = SIQ ) + PV = PSD

FHS= Filling of the Holy Spirit

HIQ= Human IQ

SIQ= Spiritual IQ

PV= Positive Volition

PSD= Problem Solving Devices

 

2) Function of the Three Spiritual Skills:

FHS + PV = 10 PSDs

 

3) Deployment of the Ten Problem-Solving Devices:

1. Rebound

2. Filling of the Holy Spirit

3. Faith-Rest Drill

4. Grace Orientation

5. Doctrinal Orientation

6. Personal Sense of Destiny

7. Personal Love for God

8. Unconditional Love for All Mankind

9. Sharing the Happiness of God

10. Occupation with Christ

 

4) Execution of the Three Stages of the Adult Spiritual

Life:

Stage 1:

SSE + CSC + T/PSDs + PPS = SA

SSE= Spiritual Self Esteem

CSC= Cognitive Self Confidence

T/PSD= Ten Problem Solving Devices

PPS= Providential Preventive Suffering

SA= Spiritual Autonomy

 

Stage 2:

SA + CInd + PSD + MT4 = SM

SA= Spiritual Autonomy

Cind= Cognitive Independence

PSD= Problem Solving Devices

MT-4= Momentum Testing In Four Categories

SM= Spiritual Maturity

 

Stage 3:

SM + CInv + PSD-10 + ET2 = MGG

SM= Spiritual Maturity

Cinv= Cognitive Invinsibility

PSD-10= Ten Problem Solving Devices

ET-2= Evidence Testing in Two Categories (Relationship with God and/or life)

MGG= Maximum Glorification of God

 

 Advancement in this sophisticated spiritual life of the Church Age enables you to execute the Christian way of life with ever increasing flexibility, versatility, and dexterity under pressure. Such advancement provides great liberty of action and freedom of thought, decision, and action while focused on the ultimate objective of Maximum Glorification of God.

 

“Freedom” and “liberty” emphasize the part volition plays in execution of the spiritual life beginning with the decision to rebound all the way to the patient endurance needed for success under evidence testing. “Freedom” and “liberty” speak of the absence of restraint and obligation demanded by the old sin nature in status quo unbelief. The idea transfers over into the post-salvation spiritual life in that the Church Age believer is not restrained by or obligated to keep the Mosaic Law. In other words, the spiritual life of any dispensation is divorced from the constraints of legalism and endowed with the broad boundaries of grace. All of these concepts help us to reach the following corrected translation of:

 

Psalm 119:45 - [CTL] I will execute the spiritual life of my dispensation endowed with the broad boundaries of grace, for I seek your precepts.