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Gone Fishin'

~ …“Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men!”

Gone Fishin'

Tag Archives: spiritual gifts

Signed, Sealed, and Delivered Saints

22 Sunday Jul 2018

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Spiritual

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apostasy, Christ followers, delivers, demonic forces, earnest, eternal life, eternal sonship, forces of darkness, guarantee, locks in, nonbelief, preserves, promises, protects, saints, Satan's imps, saves, Seal of God, sealed by the Holy Spirit, secures, spiritual gifts, spiritual objectives, stamp of approval, unbelief, visible impression

The Seal Of God

 

 

It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life. ~ Ephesians 1:13-14, MSG

 

The Holy Spirit is the One who seals believers in Christ. Father God allows the Holy Spirit to seal Christ’s followers so that they can feel safe and secure in God’s Love, Power, and Promises. Furthermore, it is the sealing of the Holy Spirit that accomplishes Father God’s signed, sealed, and delivered spiritual Objectives, which are as follows:

1. He seals with (stamps God’s Approval on us; validates us via) God’s Insignia so that we not only can receive the Holy Spirit inside us and on us but also can receive our eternal sonship, our eternal life, and our other promised eternal gifts.

2. He seals up (preserves, locks in) our faith that God has given to us so that unbelief, nonbelief, and apostasy) will be sealed out.

3. He seals to (protect, secure, and save) us by marking us with God’s Seal—a visible impression to the forces of darkness—so that demonic/evil forces will know they can’t enter us. In other words, God’s Seal will let Satan and his imps know that we Father God’s Children.

Shalom . . .

Every blessing . . . . .

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Spiritual Warfare Verses’ Supernatural Power Demonstrated Only in Christ’s Soldiers Who Work Them

01 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Spiritual

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battles, Christ's soldiers, Christlike, devil vs. God, evil schemes, fiery darts, fighting a losing battle, fleshly appetites, fleshly desires, fleshly lusts, forces of evil, fullness of Christ, fullness of the Godhead, God's Sons and Daughters, ignorant, invisible force, living souls, losers, mind of Christ, naked, powerless, Scriptures, spiritual armor, spiritual gifts, spiritual growth, spiritual maturity, spiritual war, spiritual warfare, spiritual weaponry, supernatural power, supernatural preparedness, unprepared, unseen war, victory, war, winners, Word of God

SpiritualWarfare

 

Many modern-day believers in Christ do not understand that they are fighting an unseen war. These believers fail to understand that an invisible and evil force started this unseen war—they do not comprehend that the mission of this enemy of God is to get as many human beings as he can to be thrown into the Lake of Fire with him. As a result, he will not stop until he reaches his primary goal. Put differently, the devil’s spiritual war against God will never be over in this world until either the devil achieves his main objective or God achieves His Main Purpose.

This above truth is why God’s enemy daily starts battles—those interludes in his war against God that help the devil accomplish small goals that move him forward to his final objective. That is why Christians’ inability to comprehend they are fighting an unseen war in this world is why they repeatedly are defeated—why they suffer so many losses and experience so many downfalls, failures, setbacks, retreats, surrenders, and so on and so forth. In other words, they daily are fighting a losing battle of one kind or another. The final outcome of these defeats is they also lose their war against the forces of evil.

Now, God neither intends for His Children to be ignorant of this unseen war nor intends for His Children to fight this unseen war naked, powerless, and unprepared. God realizes that the fight against His enemy is long—that His Children will be fighting countless battles before His War against the devil will be won in all of His Sons and Daughters’ lives. For sure, God makes it possible for all of His Children to pull off being winners of every battle the devil initiates. Every victory is His Sons and Daughters, because God clothes His Children with His Holy Spirit, whose ministry involves, but is not limited to, filling them with their own spiritual gift(s), giving them a portion of God’s Will, giving them a portion of God’s Faith, equipping them with God’s spiritual Armor, and empowering them with Christ’s supernatural Power and Authority—all of which mean God’s Children then will have His Ability to resist the devil’s fiery darts, as well as God’s Ability to thwart the devil’s evil schemes.

With all of God’s powerful spiritual weaponry and spiritual gifts, and with the desire He gives us to be prepared to do battle, we can face the forces of evil daily, but only if we also read His Word; know His Word; love our God with our whole body, soul, and spirit; exercise our measure of faith; surrender to Christ’s Lordship, cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and are God’s faithful and obedient Children. The bottom line is that God’s ultimate end for us is our spiritual maturity—becoming completely Christlike, having the Mind of Christ, and operating in the Fullness of Christ or the Fullness of the Godhead.

Without a doubt, our spiritual growth—becoming so spiritually mature that we are able to defeat the spiritual battles the devil instigates in our lives—begins with knowing more about what is real in this world as opposed to what is false in this world. In other words, our spiritual maturity begins with us growing in the knowledge of God’s Divine Truths. Knowing His Divine Truths means our spiritual maturity only is achieved when we read His Word daily, understand His Word daily, and work His Word daily.

Our knowledge of spiritual warfare and the proper mindset/attitude we need to have about our unseen war come from knowing God’s Divine Truths. That is why He provides us with at least 39 Bible verses/passages that either deal specifically with spiritual warfare or the godly attitude we need to have about the ways the devil is fighting us (God’s Children and Christ’s Soldiers) for our living souls—our minds, wills, desires, determinations, consciences, affections, emotions, personalities, five senses, common sense, and so on and so forth. In short, since we ARE living souls who HAVE living souls, we need to know and understand that the devil is after everything that pertains to our living souls (where the devil truly loves to operate; where he definitely loves to make his appeal to our emotions and affections—our fleshly lusts, desires, and appetites). Put differently, the supernatural power that is in the Word of God only can be demonstrated by those of us (we who are children of God and soldiers of Christ) who absolutely know, understand, and work God’s specific Scriptures that apply to our spiritual warfare and our godly attitude.  

Thirty-nine Bible verses/passages that either deal with our spiritual warfare or our proper mindset about the unseen war in this world where the devil is fighting us for our living souls are as follows:

 

  1. Joshua 1:9

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

  1. Joshua 10:25

Joshua then said to them, “Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for thus the LORD will do to all your enemies with whom you fight.”

  1. 2 Samuel 22:40

“For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

  1. Psalm 18:32-36

The God who girds me with strength And makes my way blameless?  He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, And sets me upon my high places. He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.  You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your right hand upholds me; And Your gentleness makes me great. You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.

  1. 2 Chronicles 32:6-8

He appointed military officers over the people and gathered them to him in the square at the city gate, and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, “Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him. With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

  1. Zechariah 4:6

Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’” says the LORD of hosts.

  1. Matthew 6:13

‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’

  1. Matthew 26:41

“Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

  1. Mark 14:38

“Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

  1. Luke 22:31-32

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

  1. John 16:33

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

  1. Acts 12:5

So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.

  1. Romans 7:23

but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

  1. Romans 13:12-14

The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

  1. 1 Corinthians 16:13

Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

  1. 2 Corinthians 10:3-4

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

  1. Galatians 5:17

For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

  1. Galatians 6:1

Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.

  1. Ephesians 3:16

that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,

  1. Ephesians 6:10

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

  1. Ephesians 6:11

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

  1. Ephesians 6:12

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

  1. Ephesians 6:13-17

Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

  1. Ephesians 6:18

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

  1. Philippians 1:27-30

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

  1. Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

  1. 2 Thessalonians 1:4

therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.

  1. 2 Thessalonians 3:2

and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith.

  1. 1 Timothy 6:12

Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

  1. 2 Timothy 2:3

Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

  1. 2 Timothy 3:12

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

  1. 2 Timothy 4:18

The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

  1. Hebrews 3:13

But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

  1. Hebrews 12:4

You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;

  1. 1 Peter 2:11

Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.

  1. 1 Peter 4:12-13

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

  1. 1 Peter 5:8

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

  1. 1 Peter 5:9-10

But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

  1. Revelation 12:10 

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.

 

Finally, let those of us who are followers of Christ study the above Bible verses/passages so that we will know them. Then, let us as soldiers of Christ daily work these Bible verses/passages by putting them into practice. Selah . . . . .

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Everyone Will Give an Account

23 Tuesday Jun 2015

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Devotional

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actions, Bema Seat, give an account, glorified God, Judgment Seat of Christ, ministered to others, natural talents, no excuses, no lies, personal lives, professional lives, social lives, spiritual gifts, spiritual lives, spoken words, thoughts, White Throne of Judgment

The Bema Seat

…For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. ~ Romans 14:10-12, ESV

 

Why is it that we do not think it is strange when ungodly people refuse to seek Jesus Christ’s Wisdom, Understanding and Direction before making personal, professional, social and spiritual decisions, yet we seldom question why believers behave in like manner? The hard-hitting truth is that both unbelievers and believers demean the authority of Jesus Christ, when they restrict His sovereignty to only those decisions that they could care less about—when all is said and done. 

It is sad that believers think Jesus Christ is capable of handling decisions about what color they should dye their hair or what shoes they should wear, but think He is incapable of handling decisions about—for example—their careers, families, friends, responses to pro-life or pro-choice issues, worship practices, or what to do with their money. Even so, believers always should consider what decisions Jesus Christ would want them to make that involve the difficult, average or easy situations or struggles in their personal, professional, social and spiritual lives. 

No human beings—believers included—will have any excuses to give or lies to tell the Lord, when they either are standing before His Judgment Seat or the White Throne of Judgment and giving an account of everything they thought, said and did in their mortal bodies. That’s why believers must consider—on this side of Heaven—what they will tell their Lord and Savior, when He asks them why they made decisions in their lives that did not involve seeking Him first for godly Wisdom, Understanding and Direction. There will be no way to lie or make an excuse then, since He already knows the answer to His question. In other words, He will ask believers why they neglected to consult Him about everything that had to do with their lives—not because He doesn’t already know why, but—so they fully will comprehend and be sorry about their often nonchalant and frequently unwise decisions.

Christians’ lives belong to Jesus Christ. This Divine Truth is why they never should forget it is to Him they will give an account of: their actions, spoken words, and thoughts; how they used His spiritual gifts, natural talents, and time; and whether they used His gifts of Grace, Salvation, Holy Spirit, and godly Characteristics to glorify Father God and minister to people in need. Shalom.   

 

Keep it real…Live it out…Watch it work!

~ from my manuscript – Keeping It Real: Daily Renewing the Mind 

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Let’s Get Our Bounce On!

09 Sunday Nov 2014

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Faith and Wisdom

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authoritative, battle God's enemy, confidence, conviction, defeated, engaged, exuberance, get bounce on, get-up-and-go, Holy Spirit baptism, indefatigable, joyful, measure of faith, might, pep in step, powerful, protection, resilient, spiritual gifts, spiritually fatigued, strength, Sword of the Spirit, tiger in tank, vigor, war clothes, weaponry

Get Our Bounce On

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ~ Ephesians 6:10, NLT

When we put our relationship with Christ Jesus (our spiritual Household of Faith childship) into practice, we soon realize that we will have to battle with His enemy. This battle is the reason why we daily must wear our spiritual armor, daily wield the Sword of the Spirit, and daily be filled with the Holy Spirit so that we will be able to maintain our peace, our cheerful spirit, our strength, and our power, all of which come from Creator God’s Holy Spirit.

Now, if we, for example, have been given the abovementioned kind of protection (spiritual armor), weaponry (Sword of the Spirit), and Power (Holy Spirit Baptism), and if we are using everything we have been given, why is it that so many of us still are walking around looking defeated? How is it that Satan keeps beating our butts? Why are we spiritually fatigued?

The above last question reminded me of this old saying: “Put some pep in your step,” which is similar to the expressions: “Get some get up and go” and “Put a tiger in your tank.” The problem with all of these clichés is that, when placed alongside the measure of faith godly truth, they beg the question: If we have THE measure of Faith that causes us to trust Father God with our future, then why hasn’t that measure of Faith, which actually is a portion of His Faith, manifested enough power and strength in us for us to endure our present days? Said clichés also beg the question: If we have THE measure of Faith that enables us to set our minds on Father God, instead of on our circumstances, or on our problems, or on our inadequacies, then why don’t we have enough Faith to invigorate us—to keep us from dragging ourselves from here to there?

The truth is that we ought to have a bounce in our step (fervor for the spiritual life we have been called to live)—a bounce that is just as powerful as EVERY ounce of faith that is within us. In fact, even a mustard-seed Faith is powerful enough to symbolically AND literally move mountains (cf. Matthew 17:20). With this God-kind of Faith, when our eyes are on Jesus Christ and His Glory, without even thinking to do it, we will walk with a lively step (bounce); raise our heads high, looking skyward; and engage God’s enemy with the highest degree of combat readiness: war clothes, weaponry, vigor, conviction, confidence, strength, power, and so forth.

For many of us, however, the moment despair clouds the sunshine of our love, which is our Faith in Jesus Christ, that is when we immediately lose the pep to our step—there’s NO bounce, NO get up and go, NO tiger in our tanks—our heads are bowed low, and exuberance is NOWHERE to be found. Nevertheless, the Divine Truth also is that the Faith that believes in a God who will make a way (Future Tense) is the same Faith that gives (Present Tense) us the power to be energized, resilient, joyful, authoritative, powerful, and operational in the Lord’s ministry, even in the midst of our trials and tribulations.

We have liberty in Christ Jesus (cf. Galatians 5:1), which means we are delivered from any and all of the trappings that come with every kind of religious ceremony and superstition. For this reason, we never should allow ourselves to become a slave to either our day-to-day cares or the storms of life. Indeed, there is nothing that should hinder the freedom we have to live and move and have our being in Christ Jesus.

We are awesomely and amazingly made, and on top of that we have been given every spiritual gift we would need to indefatigably battle Father God and Christ’s enemy. These Divine Truths are why we should get our bounce on, now. Bounce with me, all who are God’s sons and daughters! AMEN.

~ from Faith and Wisdom: A Rhema Word in a Dry and Thirsty Land (2006); edited

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Are Spiritual Gifts Still Misunderstood?

20 Monday Feb 2012

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Spiritual

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agnoeo, agnostic, agnosticism, anointings, Baptism of the Holy Spirit, charisma, culpable ignorance, didomi, fullness of the Holy Spirit, giftedness, Holy Spirit-driven, misunderstandings, natural talents, spiritual gifts

Spiritual Gifts ARE NOT Natural Talents!

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! ~ Luke 11:11-13, ESV

And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. ~ Luke 24:49, ESV

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. ~ 1 Peter 4:10-11, ESV 

 

In today’s institutional “church,” there has been much discussion about the difference between natural talents and spiritual gifts. Even so, there still are way too many believers who remain, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:1, “ignorant” (KJV) about spiritual gifts.

The Greek word that Paul actually uses in 1 Corinthians 12:1 is the verb agnoeo, which, according to Thayer’s Greek Definitions, means “to be ignorant, to not know, to err or sin through mistake, or to be wrong.” Thus, in context, this agnoeo refers to a person’s lack of understanding and/or his or her lack of certain facts that specifically are about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as about who the Holy Spirit is.

It is important to note here that it is from the Greek word agnoeo that we get the English noun and adjective, agnostic, and the English noun, agnosticism. For this reason, it also should be noted here that in 1 Corinthians 12:1 Paul is not saying that some Corinthian Christians are agnostics, or fence straddlers, because they don’t believe anyone can prove the existence of God. He actually is saying that some Corinthian agnostic believers are exhibiting an agnosticism that is about the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, or the fullness of the Holy Spirit, which includes believers’ spiritual giftings. It is their agnosticism that is causing them to be so confused about the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts that Paul has to correct these believers’ misunderstandings, by addressing their unbelief (culpable ignorance).

Thus, by giving a close examination to Paul’s explanations about spiritual gifts, which he gives in Romans 12, in 1 Corinthians 12 and 13, and in Ephesians 4, twenty-first century believers, who also might have been confused about spiritual gifts, should be spiritually able to discern that spiritual gifts are NOT natural talents. True, both natural talents and spiritual gifts come from God, for James writes:

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” ~ James 1:16-17, ESV

However, natural talents differ from spiritual gifts along these lines: Natural talents are those abilities that have been inherited from parents; moreover, natural talents are nurtured in the context of the family. Naturally gifted people also might have to develop their talents, and this development often is achieved with hard work and perseverance (through practicing and training), which eventually will lead to expected results.

On the other hand, independent of birthright or lineage, spiritual gifts come from God, either through Christ Jesus Himself or through the Holy Spirit who has indwelt AND then infilled believers. Additionally, only the Holy Spirit can prompt and direct the “proper” exercise of spiritual gifts, which means believers’ “correct” use of their spiritual gifts requires spiritual growth and maturity (cf. Ephesians 4:13-16). In other words, believers’ spiritual gifts increase in supernatural power and giftedness as believers become intimate with and mature in their supernatural relationship with God and Christ Jesus. For this reason, unlike the naturally talented individuals who expect the kinds of results they get from using their natural talents, Holy Spirit-driven believers usually are surprised by what they are able to do, spiritually, simply because what they are able to do is clearly more than what they ever could have done, naturally!

Put differently, humans are born with their natural talents, which manifest themselves in the lives of both saved and unsaved people, but spiritual gifts only will manifest themselves in the lives of saved (justified) believers, AFTER these Holy Spirit-indwelt believers have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit—the fullness of the Holy Spirit! That is to say, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside born again and saved (justified) believers, and with Him comes the potential for believers to be all God has created them to be. However, to be frank, the indwelt Holy Spirit ONLY can deposit inside of believers their potential spiritual gifts. It then takes the Baptism of the Holy Spirit to release those deposited gifts so that believers’ spiritual gifts then can manifest themselves in their lives!

Once believers allow the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit to infill them with the fullness of the Holy Spirit, then and only then will everything that the Holy Spirit comes bearing be ready to be released. Everything, meaning the fullness, God has given to believers by way of the Holy Spirit includes the spiritual gift(s); the anointings or supernatural abilities to develop and operate in those given spiritual gift(s) so that believers might know how and when to use their spiritual gift(s); and the supernatural power that enables spiritually gifted individuals to edify the Body of Christ (ekklesia), to meet the needs of others, and to help themselves in their own personal walk with the Lord.

The bottom line is that life itself makes it clear to us that, depending on how we are living, it is possible for us to lose our natural talent(s), either because we do not use our talent(s), or we have misused our talent(s), or we have abused our talent(s). In contrast, every one of God’s spiritual gifts is irrevocable (cf. Romans 11:29).

Furthermore, it is clear that God intended for both natural talents and spiritual gifts to be used primarily to benefit others. That’s why the natural talents and the spiritual gifts possessed by believers should be surrendered and consecrated to the Lord so that they can be used for His honor and glory.  Lastly, while natural talents also are used to benefit mankind, spiritual gifts first and foremost are used for the building up of the Body of Christ!

Most of all, where spiritual gifts are concerned, there are many New Testament verses that unmistakably state that “each one,” each Christian believer, has been given spiritual gifts for the purposes of building up the Body of Christ and for carrying out Christ Jesus’ work in the world (like in Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:11; 1 Peter 4:10).  For instance, in the following verse, Paul makes it clear that at least one “…spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other” (1 Corinthians 12:7, NLT). More important, what Paul is saying in this verse is that God, through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, gives at least one spiritual gift to every believer—a spiritual gift that is independent of that person’s birthright and lineage—so that his or her spiritual gift first and foremost would benefit other believers, rather than him or herself. This, however, is not the situation with a person’s natural talent. For sure, God also gives at least one natural talent to every person, but this natural talent comes through that person’s heritage and parentage so that his or her natural talent could benefit the whole world rather than merely him or herself.

Case in point, recently so many people have been saying that the entire world has benefited from the natural talent demonstrated by the late, great singer, Whitney Houston. Most of these people know that her extraordinary singing voice is because Whitney Houston, first and foremost, was born into a naturally talented musical family. Thus, there can be no doubt that her family provided her with the necessary nurturing it would take to develop her voice. Likewise, there can be no doubt that her remarkable singing voice also is the result of her own perseverance and the training she more than likely received from the arts-focused Franklin School (now called the Whitney E. Houston Academy of Creative and Performing Arts)! Using Whitney Houston as an example, it should be easy to see how, more often than not, naturally talented people in a naturally talented family will help each other develop one another’s natural talent, no matter whether that natural talent is that of a vocalist, musician, artist, teacher, athlete, dancer, scientist, mathematician, novelist, journalist, speaker, and so forth.

However, despite the fact that there often are many unsaved and saved individuals who counterfeit God’s spiritual gifts, it should be mentioned here that neither saved nor unsaved people have any power to cultivate or train the spiritual gifts believers use. As earlier mentioned, it is the Holy Spirit who prompts and directs the “proper” exercise of spiritual gifts, which means believers’ “correct” use of their spiritual gifts requires spiritual growth and maturity. For these reasons, in order for believers to increase in supernatural power and giftedness, they first must mature in their own intimate relationship with God and Christ Jesus, and even then ONLY the Holy Spirit can help believers achieve their mature, intimate relationship—their oneness or unity with God and Christ Jesus.

Now although God gives every believer his or her basic temperament (nature, character, personality), natural talent(s), and spiritual gift(s), not every believer will open his or her gift of the Holy Spirit (access the supernatural power and fullness of the Holy Spirit) so that he or she can receive everything God has given to him or her. Once again, everything God has given to every one of His children includes: the spiritual gift(s); the anointings or supernatural abilities to develop and operate in those given spiritual gift(s) so that every believer might know how and when to use his or her spiritual gift(s); and the supernatural power that enables the spiritually gifted individual to edify the Body of Christ (ekklesia), to meet the needs of others, and to help him or herself in his or her own personal walk with the Lord.

For these reasons, it is important to note once again that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (infilling Holy Spirit) is the prerequisite that must be met before there can be any manifestations of the spiritual gifts God has put inside believers. Moreover, it is these spiritual gifts that determine how a believer should operate in the Body of Christ (should function in the ekklesia or Christ Jesus’ “body” on Earth, but only according to how the Holy Spirit lives and moves in each believer who has received His Baptism or infilling).

There are many reasons why believers refuse to open their gift of the Holy Spirit so that they can receive His Baptism, which also anoints them with the abilities to develop and operate in their spiritual gifts. However, based on the fact that most of today’s believers are “ignorant” about who the Holy Spirit is and equally “ignorant” about His supernatural power and fullness, which includes the spiritual gifts Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit give believers, the most common reasons for refusing to open the gift of the Holy Spirit are: Believers have decided that they are not comfortable with, not faithful enough, or not available to use their spiritual gift(s). Believers have decided to trust in some renowned Christian celebrities and/or some reputable biblical scholars’ reasons for why they believe that the first century apostolic spiritual gifts have ceased. Believers have decided that they do not want their own spiritual gift(s), because they prefer to have the spiritual gift(s) another believer has.

The Divine Truth is that NONE of the supernatural power, spiritual gifts, graces, and enablements that the Holy Spirit poured out on the Day of Pentecost has ceased. For sure, everything Christ Jesus promised His disciples, then and now, in Mark 16:17-18, the Holy Spirit made available first to the 120 Upper Room disciples, to Paul, and eventually to every born again, saved (justified) and being sanctified believer (cf. The Acts Of The Apostles). Thus, the supernatural power, spiritual gifts, graces, and enablements are available today, and NOT just for “church” pastors, bishops, or Dr. so and so, but for EVERY believer!

Now, biblically speaking, there are four different listings of spiritual gifts, and they are: 1. Leadership Gifts—the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors/shepherds-teachers (cf. Ephesians 4:11-12); 2. Service Gifts—the Father’s mercy/grace, prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, and leadership (cf. Romans 12:4-8); 3. Supernatural Gifts—the Father’s wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, diverse tongues, and tongues interpretation (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 28-31); and 4. Miscellaneous Gifts—the gift of celibacy (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:7-8), gift of hospitality (cf. 1 Peter 4:9-10), gift of speaking in tongues—speaking in a heavenly language/tongues of angels (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:1a), gift of martyrdom (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:3b), gift of missionary (cf. Ephesians 3:6-8), and gift of voluntary poverty (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:3a).

Concerning Leadership spiritual gifts, Paul tells believers that they are to walk worthy in their calling and to use that grace that has been given to them, according to the measure of Christ Jesus’ gifts (cf. Ephesians 4:1). Additionally, Paul says that Christ Jesus has measured out to every believer one or more Leadership spiritual gift (cf. Ephesians 4:7).  

As mentioned earlier, both Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit give spiritual gifts to the Body of Christ; however, the gifts that Christ Jesus gives are not charismata gifts (spiritual gifts of service, or gifts of favor, or gifts of Grace given on behalf of the donor, who is God). The Lord’s gifts (or domata) are the spiritually gifted individuals who are to function as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and  pastors-teachers (shepherds-teachers). In other words, the Lord gives people as His supernatural gifts, and these spiritual people gifts are to function in His ekklesia as the persons God divinely created specifically for discipleship work (for equipping or training the saints for service), as well as for building up and encouraging the saints (cf. Ephesians 4:8, 11-12; Hebrews 10:24). Thus, the ministers listed in Ephesians 4:11 are THE literal spiritual “gifts” Christ Jesus gives to His Body of Believers, because in Ephesians 4:11, the Greek verb didomi, which is translated in English as “gave,” actually means Christ Jesus is presenting, giving, bestowing, and/or granting to the Body of Christ, the  “gift of the person.”

On the other hand, it is the Holy Spirit who specifically gives the service, supernatural, and miscellaneous charismata spiritual gifts, and these charismata gifts have four common characteristics: (1) they manifest because of the Holy Spirit’s baptism; (2) they are the direct result of the supernatural ministry workings of the Holy Spirit; (3) they specifically are given to benefit the Body of Christ or ekklesia, and (4) they are instantaneous in that they are Holy Spirit prompted and directed to be used at a given moment and to meet a special need. Then too, contrary to popular opinion, believers’ spiritual gifts are not given to them for them to use when and however they please; yet, that doesn’t stop many spiritually gifted believers from doing just that—they often use their spiritual gifts when they have not been Holy Spirit prompted and directed to do so. However, as earlier mentioned, Paul says that spiritual gifts are irrevocable (cf. Romans 11:29). This last point is why even backslidden believers are still able to use their spiritual gifts!

Finally, God is a Good God and the Giver of every good and perfect gift. As the benevolent donor that He is, God sovereignly has purposed that He would give each one of His children everything he or she needs to live the victorious Christian life (an overcomer life) that he and she is called to live. That’s why God showers His sons and daughters with many kinds of spiritual gifts, in the hope that they graciously will accept, as well as obediently and willingly use, His spiritual gifts as He intends for them to be used.

Lastly, since there is no scriptural proof that the domata and charismata spiritual gifts ceased with the apostles or with the accepted Old and New Testament lists of books that officially have become the Holy Bible, then the logical conclusion should be that these spiritual gifts are still in effect. Moreover, when some people use the argument that spiritual gifts are being misused, as the reason for why they are not operating in their spiritual gifts, it should be obvious that their argument is flawed because spiritual gifts can’t be misused if they are not still in existence!

The bottom line is this: The first-century believers needed to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit before the promised supernatural power of the Holy Spirit and the varied spiritual gifts could be released in their lives so that they could have the promised spiritual help, guidance, Truth teaching, revelation knowledge, strength, and joy they needed to be effective witnesses for Christ Jesus, as well as the victorious Christians (overcomers) they were called to be. Consequently, if the first-century believers needed the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (the fullness of the Holy Spirit, which includes supernatural power, spiritual gifts, and the spiritual anointings or the abilities to develop and operate in their given spiritual gifts), then it should be evident that twenty-first century believers cannot truly succeed in their walk with the Lord without the same fullness and same spiritual gifts!

Also, please read my posts: Is Begging for Money a God Anointed Spiritual Gift?, and  It Is Quite Possible For Us To Misuse Our Spiritual Gifts

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It Is Quite Possible For Us To Misuse Our Spiritual Gifts

16 Monday Nov 2009

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Study

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

character, demonic influences, dishonesty, honesty, integrity, misrepresentation, misuse, moral, religious, spiritual gifts, spiritual leaders

We are living in a time when it is obvious that many of the people who should be respected for their integrity and sincerity often are criticized for not having any integrity at all, and they are criticized too for not being serious enough! Perhaps these condemnations are why it is increasingly harder for us to place our total trust in our teachers or professors, lawyers, doctors, police officers, firefighters, military personnel, government officials, journalists, and our ministers and Christian friends.

Where today’s institutional “church” is concerned, too many of the Christians who function as the spiritual/religious leaders who also teach the Word of God are the people who frequently are criticized for their lack of integrity (character/honesty) and sincerity. It is apparent that the apostle Paul must have seen this lack of integrity and sincerity in the first-century “church,” because in Titus 2:7 he warns those who teach the Word of God this way: “And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching” (NLT).

In spite of this warning, there are 21st century Christian spiritual/religious leaders, functioning as Bible teachers, who speak ungodly thoughts and do ungodly acts, and many of these Christian spiritual/religious leaders often use this disclaimer: “The Lord knows my heart.” To them, this disclaimer is supposed to imply that they are not responsible for any bad outcomes, because they only had “good intentions” in mind, despite the fact that their words and/or actions resulted in something contrary to “good works.” The truth is that even though these Christian spiritual/religious leaders claim to be moral and/or religious people, their character and earnestness often prove them to be otherwise.

Furthermore, just like we know that there are Christian believers who speak ungodly thoughts and do ungodly acts, we also know that there are unbelievers who say these words: “Jesus is Lord.” Since there are many moral and/or religious unbelievers who sincerely say that they believe Jesus is Lord, then what makes them unbelievers is something other than their character and sincerity. For sure, Jesus the Christ declares that there will be MANY who call Him Lord, Lord who will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but He does not use their lack of character and sincerity as the reasons why. The Lord, however, does tactfully reference their obedience, desires, and determination, for it is their obedience to God’s Word and their godly desires (righteous motives) and determination to do the Will of the Father that cause our Lord to recognize those moral and spiritual individuals who get to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. Matthew 7:21-23).

Thus, whether or not a 1st or 21st-century person is a born-again believer or a devoted unbeliever, this much is true: A distorted point of view of what it means to be spiritual is not new.  Moreover, our trusted “spiritual/religious leaders” are guilty of teaching their distorted perspective to many people, and their skewed  point of view has done more to hinder these individuals’ spiritual growth than to facilitate it.

From the time of the Scribes and Pharisees, when our Lord preached and taught, until our time of televised spiritual/religious leaders, spirituality continues to be measured by external appearances rather than by the motives of the human heart. In His day, by teaching the Scribes and the Pharisees that spirituality goes beyond the letter of the Law (that spirituality reaches into the spirit of the matter; see Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42), our Lord turned the Jewish religious leaders’ definition of spirituality inside out and the Jewish religious system upside down.

Knowing that we would have spiritual/religious leaders who would not agree on what spirituality really means is probably why God not only has Jesus the Christ’s Sermon on the Mount preachings and teachings included in the Holy Bible but also why He inspired the apostle Paul to teach the Corinthians about spirituality, as spirituality pertains to having and using spiritual gifts (those spiritual ‘things’ that come from the spirit realm of the Holy Spirit).

In 1 Corinthians 12:1-3, the apostle writes:

Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. (NLT)

From these verses we understand that the apostle Paul believes there are two kinds of spirituality: (1) False Spirituality that comes into our spiritually dead, unclean spirits by way of Satan’s deceptive and demonic spirits, and these deceptive and demonic spirits are those that lead us astray—lead us away from worshipping a living, speaking God to worshipping speechless idols; and (2) True Spirituality that comes into our born again, saved, righteous spirits by way of God’s truthful and Divine Holy Spirit, and God’s truthful and Divine Holy Spirit is the One who leads us toward God and toward an intimate relationship with a living, speaking God, instead of away from Him.

For sure, the Scriptures make it clear that true spirituality involves using our Holy Spirit given spiritual gifts, power, and authority to glorify God by the love that we show to Him and to our fellow human beings, by the camaraderie, unity (harmony), and shared goals we have with one another, by the fulfillment of our evangelistic and discipleship responsibilities, and by the sacrificial, unselfish lives that we live that are pleasing to God and our Lord, Jesus the Christ. However, as mentioned earlier, spiritual/religious leaders distort this definition of spirituality. Indeed, when spiritual/religious leaders teach that a benchmark of superior spirituality is the spiritual gifts people not only have but also use, then they have distorted the definition of what God means by spirituality. For these church and ministry leaders, any believer who does not have, or does not use, any of the spiritual gifts, specifically those listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, this believer has an inferior spirituality. Moreover, any person who is thought to have an inferior spirituality cannot be a pastor, trustee, deacon, Sunday School teacher, choir member, and so forth, in these spiritual/religious leaders’ churches and/or ministries.

Without a doubt, their superior/inferior spirituality is nothing more than the Scribes and Pharisees’ old external appearance standard that Jesus the Christ teaches is wrong to use, especially when this standard is used to judge a person’s spirituality (cf. Matthew 23:25-26; Luke 11:38-40). The truth of the matter is that spiritual gifts are neither the standard for judging spirituality nor the yardstick for measuring the rank/function a believer will have in the institutional church.

Not using spiritual gifts as a way to judge someone’s spirituality is the reason why, for example, when the Corinthians begin to misuse their spiritual gifts, power, and authority in conjunction with creating divisions and cliques, and when they begin to abuse their liberties and begin to allow carnality to outweigh spirituality, the apostle Paul writes his two letters to them to warn them about their superior spirituality attitudes. The apostle makes it clear to these Corinthians that true spirituality DOES NOT motivate people to judge individuals’ functions or importance in the local church or the Body of Christ by the spiritual gifts, power, and authority these individuals have and use. He also makes it clear that true spirituality DOES NOT motivate people to use their spiritual gifts, power, and authority to cause divisions and cliques within the local church or the Body of Christ. Then too, the apostle makes it clear that true spirituality DOES NOT motivate people to pursue personal glory, to promote themselves, or to make themselves prosperous.

This same apostle also gives quite the opposite definition of spirituality than the one that spiritual/religious leaders often have distorted. For the apostle Paul, true spirituality ONLY motivates individuals to use their spiritual gifts, power, and authority sacrificially. He adds that true spirituality motivates people to make sure that “others” receive the help and edification they need, first! Lastly, where spirituality is concerned, the apostle makes it clear that the Corinthian church members who have chosen him as their spiritual leader must know that his actual preaching and teaching demonstrate the power of the Gospel only because he relies on the power of the Holy Spirit!

Therefore, when Apostle Paul says, “So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3, NLT), he is declaring that the Holy Spirit ONLY can influence people to speak the Divine Truth about Jesus the Christ. Thus, if believers say that Jesus is accursed (v. 3a), then it is evident that these believers have misused their spiritual gifts, especially those spiritual gifts that involve speaking a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, prophesying, speaking in many tongues, and  interpreting tongues (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:8-10)!

As mentioned earlier, just as some unbelievers can speak Gospel truths, like saying, “Jesus is Lord,” believers can speak ungodly thoughts or do ungodly acts. In the Corinthians’ case, the apostle Paul knows that many of the Corinthians he is addressing have done just that—spoken ungodly thoughts and/or done ungodly acts—while claiming to have spirituality. The spirituality that many Corinthians have, however, is representative of their present evil age. From this last statement, we can draw this conclusion: Just like the Corinthians’ Greek wisdom is not Almighty God’s wisdom (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:4-8), the spirituality  that Corinthian church members have claimed after they have said that Jesus is accursed (an anathema) is not from God either (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:3a)!

That is why apostle Paul warns the Corinthians, especially those Corinthians who have the God kind of spirituality, about their need to be careful not to allow themselves to be led astray, once again, by the same deceitful and demonic spirits who, while they were yet unbelievers, led them astray to worship speechless idols. If they let demonic spirits lead them astray this time, now that they have accepted Jesus the Christ as their Savior, they will end up speaking lies about the Lord (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:2-3a).

Since there are some Christian Corinthians who have called the Lord an anathema, the apostle Paul teaches them that only demonic spirits can influence these believers to speak lies about Jesus the Christ. Therefore, if only demonic spirits can influence believers to speak lies about Jesus the Christ, then it must be true that only demonic spirits can influence believers to do evil deeds.

On the other hand, God’s Holy Spirit influences believers to view their spirituality, spiritual gifts, power, and authority in light of the Cross so that they will come to understand the reasons why God has allowed His Holy Spirit to give believers these special abilities. Believers are given their spiritual gifts, power, and authority so that they might perform good deeds that glorify the Father, as well as meet the needs of others, and so that they might speak about and interpret the spiritual (deeper things) of God according to that which the Holy Spirit gives to them to say. In other words, the Holy Spirit is the One who influences believers to use their spiritual gifts, power, and authority with integrity and sincerity, according to the degree that the Holy Spirit works in them (cf. Ephesians 3:16-20).

Knowing, however, that believers often will display improper Christian ethical behaviors (that they might say ungodly things and do ungodly acts) is why the apostle John tells believers that they must try EVERY spirit so that they might know which spirit is from God and which spirit is from the Devil (cf. 1 John 4:1). Since this battle between good and evil involves whether or not believers are able to discern, spiritually speaking, which spirit is influencing their thoughts and actions, then this battle definitely is NOT just in their minds!

Contrary to what some of the most renowned televised apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers are preaching, teaching, or writing about that concerns the battle against good and evil being in the minds of believers, God and the Devil are not just battling for control of their minds but rather for control of their souls! Since the heart is the center of all spiritual activities in each human being, the heart consists of the soul, mind, will (determination), desires, intellect, conscience, feelings, and emotions; in essence, everything that contributes to each individual’s unique personality. For this reason, it shouldn’t be hard to comprehend why both God and the Devil are battling for the control of EVERYTHING that makes mankind a living soul!

For sure, because the Holy Spirit is the One who is the breath of life in us, then we need to know what are His other functions. One of the Holy Spirit’s functions in this world is to glorify Jesus the Christ by revealing His majesty and glory, which are written about in God’s Word. Other Holy Spirit functions are for Him to reveal all of God’s Divine Truths and “deeper things”; for Him to convict people of their sins; for Him to influence people to accept Jesus the Christ as Lord and Savior; for Him to fill believers with passion, power, and authority; for Him to endow believers with spiritual gifts; and for Him to produce in believers a Christ-centered life. While fulfilling His earthly assignments, the Holy Spirit ONLY can proclaim and bear witness to Jesus the Christ’s Lordship, and He does so because God sent the Holy Spirit to us: (1) to enable us to see Jesus the Christ’s glory, majesty, power, and authority so that we will decide to submit to God’s Will and to Jesus the Christ’s Lordship; and (2) to enable us to see Jesus the Christ’s purity and righteousness so that we will pattern our lives after our Lord and Savior’s life.

Therefore, God’s love and grace provide the Holy Spirit for us so that He will be the ONLY One who not only influences our dead spirits to receive by faith the preached Word pertaining to our need to be born again, but also so that He will be the ONLY One who influences our regenerated spirits to confess and repent ours sins, and the ONLY One who influences our regenerated spirits to accept Jesus the Christ as our Lord and Savior. Likewise, when Jesus the Christ returns to this Earth, the Holy Spirit will be the ONLY One who convicts EVERY tongue to confess that Jesus the Christ is Lord, even though many who confess this Divine Truth at that time will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. Matthew 7:21-23)!

The apostle John also says:

And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God (1 John 4:13-15, NLT).

This same apostle also says that if we say that we love God but hate some of our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, then we are liars, because we cannot say that we love God, whom we cannot see, and with the same mouth say that we hate some of our fellow Christians! This voiced hatred is a clear contradiction of God’s Word. God commands those of us who say that we love Him to love our Christian sisters and brothers (cf. 1 John 4:20-21).

In some other Scriptures, the apostle John declares:

So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:6-7, NLT).

Similarly, the apostle Paul tells the “spiritual” Corinthians that, when the Holy Spirit speaks through them, He ONLY can give them Divine Truths to speak. Therefore, if there are “spiritual” Corinthians using their spiritual gifts (their word of wisdom, word of knowledge, different languages, discernment of spirits, prophecy, interpretation of languages, and so forth) to curse Jesus the Christ (to say that our Lord is an anathema; to claim that He is cursed or damned, and, thus, cannot be redeemed), and then they support what they claim by declaring that the Holy Spirit gave them what to say, then these people are liars!

So when the apostle Paul makes it clear that the Holy Spirit could NEVER say that Jesus the Christ is an anathema, he is both calling these “spiritual” Christians a liar and correcting these liars. In essence, the apostle is declaring that God’s Holy Spirit could NEVER lie on or about Jesus the Christ by leading believers to say that Jesus the Christ is an anathema, because to do so would mean that the Holy Spirit is calling God the Father a liar. Certainly, there are Scriptures that tell us that God neither is like humans who tell lies, nor like humans who change their minds (for example, see Numbers 23:19).

Now, while there are some 21st-century Christians who believe that a person cannot be spiritual (have spirituality, spiritual gifts, power, and authority) and speak lies against Jesus the Christ, this belief is not biblically sound. The Corinthian believers in apostle Paul’s day are proof that believers can have true spirituality yet lack the proper discipline that keeps their sinful habits in check.

According to apostle Paul, these Corinthian believers are spiritual, for they have received the Holy Spirit who has revealed to them some spiritual truths that ONLY the God kind of spiritual people can understand (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:12-14), but because they were very immature, spiritually speaking, they were living in such a way that they demonstrated a depressing deficiency in their spiritual perspective.  As a consequence, since they had not grown to the level of spirituality that the apostle Paul believed they should have been, the apostle says that he only could talk to them like they were babies (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:1-3).

This child-like level of true spirituality is where many of us today live, move, and have our being. That is why spiritually mature Christians constantly must remind themselves that NOBODY becomes morally perfect at the moment he or she becomes saved. Moreover, spiritually mature believers must remind themselves that every believer will not take the same amount of time to reach a mature level of spirituality. Spiritually mature believers also must keep in mind that the Scriptures warn them that in the last days, even God’s very elect (His chosen; those who have received salvation) can be deceived and end up turning away from their faith (cf. Matthew 24:24). These truths are why the Christians who have true spirituality must be careful not to allow themselves to be influenced by demonic forces whose goal not only is to lead these believers to say and/or do things that are ungodly but also their goal is to get believers to think about their sin-guilt and then feel so guilty about their sins that they turn away from the Gospel’s Truth!

For sure, until we are glorified, we will continue to do and say things that neither glorify nor please God. However, when we know who we are in Jesus the Christ (know that our identity has changed and that we are justified, are declared righteous in the eyes of God), then we also will respond immediately to the Holy Spirit, who not only disciplines us but also teaches us how to correct our sinful and morally unethical behaviors.

In other words, we believers still sin; however,  we DO NOT practice sinning. This last statement means that although we still can sin, after we have been saved, we cannot make a habit of sinning, like the Devil does, and like we did when we were unregenerate and unsaved sinners, because Christ Jesus helps us in Heaven as our advocate, and because the Holy Spirit in us disciplines us and influences our immediate repentance of the sins we have committed (cf. 1 John 1:8-10;  2:1-2; 3:8-9; and 5:18). Furthermore, even though we still sin, we ARE spiritual and have the God kind of spirituality, simply because we have the Holy Spirit in us. This last statement also is true of the spiritual Corinthians. They too have true spirituality because they have the Holy Spirit in them.  The Holy Spirit, thus, not only is inside ALL of us who believe in Jesus the Christ so that He can convict us of our sins, but also He is inside us so that He can help us by teaching us how to grow up, spiritually speaking!

Then too, there are other modern-day Christians who believe that God’s Holy Spirit ONLY speaks through born again, saved Christians.  However, this belief is not biblically sound, either. The apostle Paul also uses the Corinthian church members to confirm to these Corinthians, and to today’s believers, that it is possible for God’s Spirit to give believers and unbelievers the ability to confess that Jesus as Lord (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:3b). Indeed, we who are now saved are nothing more than sinners ho have been saved by God’s grace through our faith in Jesus the Christ, which the mighty workings of the HOLY SPIRIT make possible, starting when He, while we are still habitual sinners, first convinces us that we need to be born again, and continuing His influence until we are reconciled and restored back to our right standing in God (cf. Romans 5:8-11). After we are justified, it is through the Holy Spirit’s progressive sanctification, the process of taking us from one level of glory to the next level of glory, we ultimately receive our glorified bodies (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:18)!

The point that we must not forget, however, is that demonic spirits can influence believers as well as unbelievers!  This truth is why the apostles Paul and John warn us to be careful about which spirit(s) we are allowing to influence us. If the Holy Spirit is not influencing and leading us, then it is Satan’s demonic spirits who are influencing and leading us. The battle is indeed not with flesh and blood beings, but rather with those spirits who exist in the spirit realm (cf.  Ephesians 6:12), which is why, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, we must pull down every wicked imagination that raises its ugly head up against the Divine knowledge about God and Jesus the Christ (cf. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

When all is said and done, we must use our spirituality, spiritual gifts, power, and authority ONLY to reflect the Divine Truth about God’s Divine Light, instead of using  our spiritual abilities to spread Satan’s lies about this world’s darkness! Therefore, just like the Corinthian church members are not being led by God’s Holy Spirit to use their spiritual gifts of discernment, prophecy, wise advice (word of wisdom), special knowledge (word of knowledge), and so forth, when they call our Lord an anathema, today’s believers also are NOT being led by the Holy Spirit when they use their spiritual gifts to speak this same lie! Both the 1st century and 21st-century believers, the ones who use their spiritual gifts to spread lies about Jesus the Christ, are misusing their spiritual gifts.

Thankfully, God allows the Holy Spirit to speak through today’s willing and obedient spiritual leaders who are eager to teach us about the kinds of spiritual abuses that were happening in the Corinthian church, and are still going on in today’s churches. Spiritual leaders like these are the believers  who, having the God kind of righteous motives, are doing the Will of Father God who wants them, and us, to live and walk in the Holy Spirit  24/7 (cf. Galatians 5:25-26).

Believers’ true spirituality, spiritual gifts, power, and authority are the works of the Holy Spirit, and these works are supernatural because they come from God who lives in the spirit realm. However, false spirituality also involves the spirit realm, but it is that realm where Satan lives!

At the end of each day, the difference between true and false spirituality, then, will be in knowing which spirit is leading us—the difference between true and false spirituality will be in knowing whether we are being led by the Holy Spirit of God, or whether we are being led by Satan’s demonic spirits! This knowledge also will help us to resolve our problems with dishonesty and hypocrisy, which we display every time we teach distorted views of God’s Truths, and every time we misuse the spiritual gifts God has given to us through His Holy Spirit.

Also, please read my post: Are Spiritual Gifts Still Misunderstood?

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Investing in the Kingdom of God: Revisiting the Good Samaritan Parable

17 Tuesday Mar 2009

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Study

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

allegory, compassion, despised, forgiveness, hated, heavenly rewards, investment portfolios, investments, love, mercy, metaphor, righteous "good" works, Samaritan, spiritual gifts, world travelers

“Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?” Jesus replied, ‘What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?’ The man answered, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ‘Right!’ Jesus told him. ‘Do this and you will live!’ The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’”(Luke 10:25-29, NLT)


In order to know whether or not the Body of Christ is benefiting from the CHURCH’s God-given spiritual resources, believers must know whether or not they have made a sound investment in the Kingdom of God—know whether or not they have accepted and followed the best investment plan that will earn them their sought after heavenly rewards. Christ teaches His believers that the best investment plan that will earn them their sought after heavenly rewards is the Kingdom of Heaven plan. Following the Kingdom of Heaven plan is the only way that believers can achieve God’s global perspectives, which are that His sons and daughters worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, evangelize and disciple the entire world, and minister to and fellowship with their brothers and sisters in Christ.

To this end, Christ also teaches His believers that they must have in their spiritual investment portfolios the kinds of treasurers that will be stored up in Heaven. Thus, their spiritual investment portfolios must have in them ONLY the loving, merciful, compassionate, and righteous “good” works that they have done for Christ. In other words, Christ’s believers must have invested their God given spiritual gifts in the Kingdom of Heaven by using their spiritual gifts to worship God in Spirit and in Truth, to lead spiritually lost individuals to Christ, and to admonish, encourage, and exhort (to come beside and support those called by God) believers in Christ.

Now, for believers to know whether or not they lovingly, mercifully, compassionately, and righteously are correcting (admonishing) and/or teaching others about the need to have their sinful and evil seeds uprooted, and for believers to know whether or not they concurrently are uplifting and encouraging spiritually immature and/or mature believers to invest their holy, righteous, and good seeds in the Kingdom of God, these believers need to revisit the Good Samaritan Parable. Although the Good Samaritan Parable makes multiple points of connection between the narrative and its meaning, Christ primarily is teaching about the kinds of godly characteristics (investments) Kingdom of Heaven individuals must sow/make. He teaches about Kingdom of Heaven investments by comparing the Good Samaritan’s godly characteristics to the behaviors of a certain priest and a certain Levite. This Good Samaritan Parable, therefore, not only answers the “certain” lawyer’s question about his neighbor but also answers the certain lawyer’s question about eternal life.

The setting for this Good Samaritan Parable is the time of Christ’s final journey to Jerusalem (cf. Luke 9:51-56). To prepare for His appearance in a Samaritan village, Christ sends His messengers ahead of Him into the Province of Samaria, which is located in the center of Israel. In Samaria, Christ’s disciples are to make sure that the Samaritan villagers are ready for Christ’s arrival.

When the Samaritan villagers refuse to receive Christ, because His travel plans included going to Jerusalem, His disciples, James and John (the sons of Zebedee, a.k.a., sons of thunder), respond to the Samaritan villagers’ refusal with righteous indignation. These two disciples seek Christ’s permission to punish the Samaritan villagers for the way they were disrespecting Christ. Instead of dignifying His two devotees’ cry for vengeance, Christ decides to enter another village.

While He continues His journey to Jerusalem, Christ teaches all of His disciples (the original 12 plus the additional 70) about His heavenly purpose to save men, rather than to destroy them (cf. Luke 9:51-62 and Luke 10:1-24). Christ’s final journey to Jerusalem, then, is about the Lord intentionally spending His last days before His crucifixion looking for people in need of His help, which is why He goes to where the “certain man” in the Good Samaritan Parable has fallen. For this reason, Christ’s life and ultimate death, burial, and resurrection are ALL about His heavenly mission to rescue and care for dying mankind—humans who are half-dead (born to experience the first death but who could avoid the second death of being permanently separated from God).

By Divine Design, in the context of Luke 10:25, as Christ’s Judean ministry ends and as His final journey to Jerusalem draws near to completion, it is at this time that a “certain lawyer”—a student and an interpreter of the Mosaic Law—engages Christ in a discussion about the Law. Christ uses this opportunity to highlight for this “certain lawyer” and his Pharisaical supporters (cf. Matthew 22:34) the unholy and unrighteous behaviors of a “certain Jewish priest” and a “certain Jewish Levite.” Christ also takes this time to enlighten His entire audience about the holy and righteous behaviors of a “certain despised Samaritan.” Thus, through Christ’s teaching, readers learn that He not only is educating His the first-century Jewish audience but also His twenty-first century Holy Bible readers.

The “expert in religious law” (Luke 10:25, NLT) or “certain lawyer” (in the KJV) is either a Scribe (one who is a teacher of the Mosaic Law) or a Pharisee (one who is a career devotee of the Mosaic Law who mainly emphasizes the conscientious fulfillment of that Law). At any rate, this “certain lawyer” asks Christ: “Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life” (Luke 10:25b)? Christ, who is filled with the Holy Spirit (cf. Luke 10:21, NLT), knows that this “certain lawyer’s” objective is to set a trap for Him. That is why Christ asks this “certain lawyer” to tell Him his interpretations of the Law that pertain to eternal life (cf. Luke 10:26). In doing so, Christ foils the certain lawyer’s objective by putting this religious law expert in the very hot seat he sought to put Christ.

To Christ’s Luke 10:26 question, this “certain lawyer” responds by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18b. These Scriptures are found in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Holy Bible, which are attributed to Moses; these five books also are called the Torah Law. Quoting the Torah Law, the religious law expert confidently answers Jesus with: “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Luke 10:27, NLT). Christ then tells him that he has given the correct answer; however, in an attempt to justify his own evil wishes to tempt Christ, the “certain lawyer” asks Christ this follow-up question: “And who is my neighbor” (Luke 10:29b, NLT)? In a response to the religious expert’s first and second question, Christ gives the illustration of the Good Samaritan—an illustration about an involved neighbor who invests wisely in the Kingdom of God and, thus, obtains eternal life!

By showing the obvious differences between the certain Samaritan’s actions and the two certain Jewish religious leaders’ actions, Christ proves that the Good Samaritan’s treatment of the physically and spiritually beaten, robbed, undressed (stripped of grace’s covering), and fallen (subject to sin and mortality) “certain man” is better than the treatment this “certain man” receives from the two Jewish religious leaders. Allegorically, Christ (the GOOD SAMARITAN) is comparing the godly characteristics that He displays during His final trip from the Promised Land’s sin city (Jericho) to the Promised Land’s city of peace (Jerusalem) with the Jewish priest and Levite’s displayed ungodly characteristics. In doing so, Christ proves that His characteristics far exceed the Jewish priest and Levite’s hypocritical righteousness, holiness, and goodness, because their response to the beaten, robbed, undressed, and fallen “certain man” was anything but godly behavior (cf. Luke 10:30-37). Indeed, in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Christ is saying that He is the ONLY One of these three men of God who is able to have “…compassion on…” (Luke 10:33b) the beaten, robbed, undressed, and fallen “certain man.” Ironically, Christ also is saying that His kind of compassion is what initiates the Passion of Christ.

At the beginning of the Good Samaritan Parable, Christ says: “…A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes and money, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road” (Luke 10:30, NLT). This Jewish “certain man” (KJV) symbolically represents the fallen Adam and the fallen Israel. This spiritual Truth is brought out through Christ’s allegory about this beaten, robbed, and fallen Jewish man.

Allegorically, the parable’s certain Jewish man symbolizes the seed of the first Adam—all men (and women) who have inherited Adam’s sin nature. For sure, the people in Christ’s day understood the word “man,” as used in the Good Samaritan parable, to mean “man,” “mankind,” or “men,” as well as “Adam.” Likewise, the people in Christ’s day also understood that the word “man” represents the rebellious and disobedient nation of Israel. Not only is this certain sinful Jewish man representative of a twice-fallen son of God, (the fallen first Adam and the fallen nation of Israel, as a whole), but also he is the prodigal son who has been seduced into leaving Jerusalem (God’s city of peace) for Jericho (a sin city). When the “Jewish man” (NLT) or “certain man” (KJV) allegory is extended to mean the “prodigal son,” then the word “man” also represents every human being who, while traveling through this world, is exposed to the risks and vicissitudes of daily life. Since humanity indisputably personifies the “prodigal sons and daughters” analogy, this parallelism is the reason why the Good Samaritan Parable’s meaning is relevant to 21st century individuals.

Now, where the first Adam is concerned, Christ’s “certain man” metaphor presupposes (takes as fact) that the Good Samaritan Parable’s Adam (Jewish man/certain man) is the same Adam (son of God) who is kicked out of God’s Garden of Eden—God’s place of tranquility and peace from which the first Adam was to rule the whole world. As a result of the first Adam’s sin, Satan is permitted to rob him of his earthly right to rule this world. Thus, when God evicts this first Adam from the Garden of Eden, this Adam’s offspring (mankind) ends up traveling from one sin city (Jericho) to another. Along the way, this first Adam falls prey to spiritual and physical beatings—his judgment that ultimately ends with him being left alone to die.

Similarly, Christ’s “Jewish man” or “certain man” metaphor also presupposes (takes as fact) that the rebellious and disobedient Israelites (sons of God) have been robbed of their right to live in and rule over their own Promised Land. Historians write about the many Gentile nations that have conquered Israel, and these historians also reference the inestimable number of Hebrews whom these Gentile conquerors have carried off as their own “property.” Moreover, Jesus’ “Jewish man” or “certain man” metaphor also predicts a future banning of Hebrews from Israel, which happens in 70 A.D. and again in 135 A.D., when the Jewish people not only are robbed of their rights to control Israel but also are cutoff (exiled) from their Promised Land (more specifically, cutoff from Jerusalem, the city of God’s peace). Therefore, as a nation, Jewish people have wandered the world, traveling from one sin city to another. They not only have been dispersed throughout the world, but also they have been left vulnerable—susceptible not only to falling prey to spiritual and physical beatings but also to being left to die alone.

What’s more, the spiritual Truth as illustrated through Christ’s ironic comparison of Himself to a certain despised and rejected Samaritan presupposes (takes as fact) that Jesus is the Jewish second Adam who has been sent from Heaven (the place of everlasting bliss and the home of God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, angels, and the redeemed) to sojourn in a sinful land located in the center of the world. This comparison also presupposes (takes as fact) that this second Adam—God’s only begotten Son who comes in this world through Jewish roots—is to die in Jerusalem (God’s city of peace) for the sins of God’s fallen sons. He then is to be resurrected, and thereby regain dominion over the Earth that God had intended for the first Adam.

Therefore, the Good Samaritan Parable, which is Christ’s answer to the “certain lawyer’s” eternal life and neighbor questions, also reinforces the lessons the Lord teaches to His disciples about His ministry being that which concentrates on saving men, instead of destroying them. The parable shows how ONLY the holy, righteous, and obedient Son of God can provide the WAY for fallen humanity to be receive, once again, God’s Grace covering. Furthermore, the analogy of a certain involved, neighborly Samaritan and a Jewish second Adam is quite significant, considering how the term “Samaritan” almost always is used in Christ’s day as a derogatory word—a name of contempt and reproach to the Hebrews (cf. John 8:48). This traditional animosity between the Hebrews and the Samaritans explains why Christ’s disciples, James and John, become so angry with the Samaritan villagers that they wanted to wipe these Samaritans off the face of the Earth. Ironically, Christ uses this known hatred for Samaritans to show how someone who is despised of men can end up being the very person who not only invests His spiritual gifts in the Kingdom of Heaven but also fulfills God’s global perspectives and in so doing receives eternal life.

Now, the Samaritans are the Jewish people’s hated neighbors and the rivals of Jewish theocracy, primarily because Samaritans are only part Jewish, from their mother’s side of their family. This part Jewish fact is why the majority of the Jewish individuals in Christ’s time never accepted Christ as God’s Son. The fact that Christ does not have a legitimate earthly father whose ancestry is Jewish is the reason why the Jewish religious leaders, and their followers, call Christ a “Samaritan” (cf. John 8:48). In other words, they use the term “Samaritan” in the same manner that contemporary believers use the offensive word that is equivalent to the phrase “illegitimate son.”

When Christ Himself ironically uses the term “Samaritan” in connection with someone who does “good” instead of evil, His intention is to show that the Good Samaritan’s actions toward the certain Jewish fallen man are in keeping with both the letter and the intent (spirit) of the Mosaic Law, concerning loving “…thy neighbour as thyself…” (Leviticus 19:18b). For sure, the Jewish “certain lawyer,” and his Pharisaical supporters, know that the parable’s Good Samaritan demonstrates loving, compassionate and righteous actions that honor God, who blesses persons who bless His chosen people (cf. Genesis 12:3). The religious law expert also knows that behaviors that violate God’s commandments and behaviors that dishonor God’s character are not only sinful but also subject to God’s wrath. For this reason, it is these ungodly behaviors and characteristics that should be despised, and NOT the people who commit them. That’s why Christ, through the Good Samaritan Parable, also is teaching that people neither should despise other humans nor think more highly of themselves.

Christ’s parabolic illustration speaks deeply to our human souls about how we all have needed, and that some of us today still need, to be supernaturally rescued. Since we all need to be made godly pure and righteous in our spirits, souls and bodies, this is the reason why we should despise the “behaviors” of the Jewish priest and Levite and judged their “behaviors” as being impure, unloving, unmerciful, and uncompassionate. Because the despised Samaritan actually stops to help a hated neighbor and rival (a certain Jewish man), Christ uses the Good Samaritan’s actions to teach us that these actions are godly characteristics (mercy, forgiveness, love, compassion, and neighborliness [friendliness, consideration, kindness, hospitality, and so on]) that we must pursue instead of following the culturally accepted ethics of “looking the other way.”

Indeed, in spite of the fact that the Good Samaritan is the last person Christ’s Jewish audience would have expected to help the parable’s fallen man, the Jewish lawyer confirms that of the three men in the parable it is the despised Samaritan who is more like God. Christ’s own words confirm the irony of a hated Samaritan showing more love, mercy, forgiveness, kindness, compassion, and hospitality than the full-blooded Jewish religious leaders, when the Lord says that by: “…chance a Jewish priest came along; but when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt deep pity” (Luke 10:31-33, NLT).

The Lord’s irony is so clear, because He shows us the big discrepancy in what the Jewish religious leaders teach as opposed to what they actually practice. The priest and Levite in this parable only come across the fallen, half-dead man by chance! Neither the priest nor the Levite is out looking for people who are in need of their help. For sure, they have not made a conscious decision to search for this man. Moreover, even after they come upon this “Jewish man” or “certain man” by chance, they make NO effort to put into practice the godly characteristics, which they have studied in the Law and taught in the Temple.

Now the priest in Christ’s Good Samaritan Parable is a descendant of Aaron, or a High Priest. Ironically, even though he is a High Priest, he does not have the power or authority to lead anyone to salvation. This priest, therefore, only has the Mosaic Law to offer this fallen certain Jewish man. This truth is why he meets the “Jewish man” or “certain man” by chance instead of on purpose. Because the Law could not meet the physical and spiritual needs of this fallen certain Jewish man (neither could show mercy to nor provide forgiveness for the fallen man’s sins), this High Priest has to pass by the fallen certain Jewish man, for CONDEMNATION is ALL that this priest could offer him.

Likewise, the Levite (or “temple assistant” in NLT) represents the three Levitical families, minus the High Priest descendants of Aaron. The Levites are priests who help the High Priest during Temple worship services. As such, the Levite’s expertise in the areas of Temple sacrifices, offerings, and incense burning also could not meet the physical and spiritual needs of the fallen certain Jewish man (could NOT provide any cleansing, atonement, or healing for this sin-filled man, and could NOT give eternal life to this disobedient and rebellious man). This truth is why the Levite comes upon the “Jewish man” or “certain man” by chance instead of on purpose. Ultimately, this Levite also has to pass by this certain Jewish man, for the BLOOD of SACRIFICED ANIMALS (doves, goats, bulls, heifers, and lambs) is ALL that this Levite could offer him.

Christ’s Good Samaritan illustration, therefore, teaches that the Jewish Law and the Jewish sacrifices, offerings, and/or incense burnings could NOT provide the original Grace (Glory) that once covered the first Adam who, rightly, had been stripped of his spiritual covering. The Jewish Law and the Jewish sacrifices, offerings, and/or incense burnings also could NOT provide the love, healing, mercy, forgiveness, regeneration, repentance, restoration, reconciliation, salvation, or sanctification that everyone who has fallen into sin needs in order to escape the death sentence—God’s appropriate judgment for sin. In short, the Jewish Law and the Jewish sacrifices, offerings, and incense burnings could NOT rescue (save) anyone or provide eternal life for anyone!

With this truth about the parable’s priest and Levite in mind, it should be easier to understand Christ’s detailed answer to the certain lawyer’s first question. Through Christ’s vivid descriptions of the Good Samaritan’s actions, Christ is telling the certain lawyer, his Pharisaical supporters, and all mankind that, unlike the priest and Levite, the Son of God is the ONLY One who is able to heal, save, and give eternal life. This fact is made evident through the healing process Christ (the Good Samaritan) uses on the parable’s certain Jewish man’s wounds—wounds that symbolize the pains of life, the travails of the soul, and the afflictions caused by diverse sins and vices.

Without doubt, it is ONLY Christ, the certain Samaritan, who can be both the final High Priest and the final sacrificial Lamb. He is the Head of the CHURCH and Lord over Her. That is why Christ is able to offer this certain Jewish man (and EVERY person) physical and spiritual healing, agape love, compassion, forgiveness, regeneration, restoration, sanctification, and eternal life. Christ makes this Truth clear, when He teaches that it is the Samaritan’s (Christ’s) own mercy, love, and compassion (bowels that are moved with deep, inner sympathy) for the fallen “Jewish man” or “certain man” that trigger the Samaritan’s (Christ’s) need to go “…to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine…” (Luke 10:34a, KJV).

After Christ (the Good Samaritan) kneels down beside the “Jewish man” or “certain man,” He pours healing “oil and wine” into the fallen man’s wounds. Then He dresses the fallen man’s wounds with His bandages of righteousness—with His love, faith, and hope bandages. In the New Living Translation, both “oil and wine” are referred to as “medicine.” The medicinal oil, then, is the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and the medicinal wine is the blood of Christ, which also is the New Testament Gospel of salvation. The Good Samaritan’s actions, thus, symbolize the initial regeneration of mankind’s spirit (being born again) and Christ’s atoning sacrifice. The anointing of the Holy Spirit’s oil—healing medicine—not only causes fallen mankind’s human spirits to be rejuvenated so that individuals will be receptive to receiving an eternal-life offer, but also the anointing of the Holy Spirit’s oil sanctifies (gradually hallows, makes holy) believers’ bodies and souls, after believers are obedient to the Will of the Father concerning surrendering their lives to Christ’s Lordship.

The healing that comes from the anointing of the Holy Spirit’s oil is the progressive transformation of believers’ bodies and souls, an ongoing conversion. He is changing (sanctifying) each old “man” into the new creation—changing each believer into the image of Christ and bringing each person to his or her final end of wholeness and perfection. This wholeness and perfection are better known as glorification, an instantaneous change from corruptible to incorruptible that will occur at the moment of the Rapture. Finally, the anointing of the Holy Spirit’s oil seals each true believer unto the day of redemption (until the moment he or she enters into the prophesied eternity with God).

What’s more, since Christ, as the Good Samaritan, is mankind’s final High Priest, and because He sacrifices Himself as the Passover Lamb, He becomes the final sacrificial Lamb. As such, His atoning blood or “wine” once and for all eternally cleanses condemned sinners of all of their sins and unrighteousness so that they can receive salvation and an eternal life with God. For these reasons, it is essential that humans come to know and understand that everyone’s eternal life with God comes from developing a loving and obedient relationship with Christ, through whom every sinner who accepts God’s saving grace is rescued from his or her spiritual dilemma—from fallen man’s sins and the wages thereof that every unregenerate, unrepentant unbeliever inherits because of the first Adam’s fall from grace. For sure, no one will ever be able to love God or any neighbor with any measure of pure, spiritual love, if that person has not been made a partaker of God’s saving grace.

For this last reason, the bottom-line answer that Christ (the Good Samaritan) gives the certain Jewish lawyer concerning who is his neighbor is also crucial to developing a loving and obedient relationship with Christ. Christ tells this interpreter of the Law, and today’s Christians, that a neighbor is any person who shows mercy, love, and compassion to every fallen individual with whom he or she comes in contact. Since Christ is the “certain” hated “Samaritan” (cf. John 8:48)—the rejected One who saves the parable’s fallen and beaten Jewish man’s life by being merciful, loving, and compassionate enough to take the time to meet the certain fallen man’s spiritual and physical needs—every believer has no other recourse but to do the same. When a person has accepted Christ as Savior and, therefore, is saved by Christ’s sacrificial work, that individual must be like Christ rather than like the religious leaders (priest and Levite) in the Good Samaritan Parable. Without a doubt, because the priest and Levite only have an outward religiosity, for inwardly they are spiritual naked, this spiritual nakedness is why they are totally unresponsive to the beaten, robbed, undressed, and fallen man’s spiritual and physical needs.

Jesus is our example. As Christ does, we, His believers, must do. Being an involved neighbor who lovingly shows mercy and compassion for every person (every neighbor) is what Christ maintains we should be doing. This Divine Truth is seen ever so clearly when Christ (the Good Samaritan) tells the “certain lawyer” to “…Go, and do thou likewise” (Luke 10:37b, KJV). Christ is instructing this interpreter of the Law who thought that he could tempt Christ with his questions on eternal life and neighbors that he must do the same as the Good Samaritan (as Christ). Christ also is telling His twenty-first century believers that they, too, must do like He has done—they must be Good Samaritans (neighbors) to every person, including their enemies or most-hated rivals.

Like Christ, we must take the time to attend to our neighbors’ physical and spiritual needs. We must take the time to seek out people who are in need and then deal with their needs/wounds. We must deal with every fallen, stripped, beaten and left to die sinner or backslider we meet by first and foremost offering each needy or wounded person our physical help. Next, we must minister to each person’s spiritual need to have the Holy Spirit’s oil and Jesus’ blood heal that person—to regenerate (to give that man or woman’s spirit new life from above), so that this person can receive salvation, deliverance, restoration, and sanctification.

We then must go the extra mile by lifting the needy/wounded person up from the ground and placing this individual’s burdens on our own shoulders. Like Christ, we must bear the infirmities of the weak, which Christ confirms when He describes what the Good Samaritan does after He pours oil and wine into the “Jewish man” or “certain man” and then bandages up his wounds. Our Lord says that the Good Samaritan (Christ) put the “Jewish man” or “certain man” on His donkey, a beast of burden that symbolizes Christ’s body, which bore our sins, took our places on the Cross, and endured the most horrendous physical abuse so that we ALL could be healed of our ailments and diseases.

We, thus, accomplish bearing the infirmities of the weak when we take on the responsibilities of getting beaten, robbed, undressed, and fallen individuals to a sanctuary where they can rest safely. When we see that people in need get to an “inn” located in a non-threatening environment like Jericho and its vicinities, then we will be just like the Good Samaritan who takes the fallen man to an “inn.”

The English word “inn” as used in Luke 10:34b is translated from the original Greek word, pandocei’on, which is transliterated as pandocheion. A pandocheion is any public house that is open to all people, like a wayside inn, a public shelter, or a hospital. “Inn,” however, also symbolizes Christ’s CHURCH—the spiritual haven where all ethnic groups (world travelers) can receive the necessary aid that will help them so that they will be able to continue their earthly journey that is taking them to their eternal home.

Therefore, unlike Jericho and its nearby communities, which represent some of the world’s deadliest locations, and unlike Jericho, which literally is the “lowest” city in the world, since it is both the place where some of the most miserable people in biblical times lived, as well as the city that is 800+ feet below sea level, the parable’s “inn” symbolizes any kind of place that offers safety and acceptance to everyone who wishes to enter its doors. Specifically, the Good Samaritan Parable’s “inn” symbolizes Christ’s CHURCH, the earthly refuge that offers EVERYONE relief from life’s distresses without having any regard for ethnicity; political, social or denominational predispositions; or any other distinctions. That’s why we should try to get the physically and spiritually needy/wounded persons we are helping into a local church where they can get the unadulterated Word of God. At the least, we should get the physically and spiritually needy/wounded persons to a safe haven like a Christian homeless shelter, or a halfway house, or a hospital, and so forth.

Then, we need to provide them with material, financial, emotional, and spiritual support until they have recovered fully from their needs or wounds, realizing that our giving will become the treasures we lay up in Heaven, where we will be compensated. At the judgment seat of Christ in Heaven is where we will receive our interest (our rewards) for the works we have done for Christ here on Earth, whether good or bad (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:10).

Christ makes our evangelistic and discipleship callings and our responsibilities to the needy very clear, when he says, in the Good Samaritan parable, that this Samaritan (Christ) put the fallen man: “…on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host; and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee” (Luke 10:34b-35; cf. Revelation 22:12, KJV). In essence, Christ is saying that we, like the Good Samaritan (Christ), must stay with our injured persons and personally take care of them during their first night spent at the “inn.” The implication here is that Christ, Himself, lovingly spent His last day with sinners and, after His death, burial, resurrection and ascension, left them in the care and keeping of the CHURCH until He returns. Christ’s (the Good Samaritan’s) actions, therefore, teach His disciples, and apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, and other spiritual leaders in Christ’s CHURCH, that they are responsible for providing the adequate nurturing and preserving of any delivered and redeemed soul, just like the parable’s “innkeeper” is responsible for the “Jewish man” or “certain man.”

Before the crucified, buried, and resurrected Christ ascended up into Heaven, He puts His believers in charge of the Great Commission and the daily development and revitalization of His CHURCH, duties that are represented in the Good Samaritan Parable. Moreover, when Christ gives the “host” or “innkeeper” in Luke 10:35 two pence, an amount that equals 2 denarii, and then tells the “host” or “innkeeper” that if what He has given is not enough to pay for the care and keeping of the “Jewish man” or “certain man,” He will repay the “host” or “innkeeper” when He returns to Earth, which is a reference to Christ’s Second Coming.

In Christ’s day, 1 denarius is the equivalent of a full day’s wages. Therefore, the 2 denarii not only symbolize the financial, material, emotional and spiritual support that we must give to needy individuals until they are completely restored, but also the 2 denarii symbolize the CHURCH Age. As Apostle Peter tells us, 1 day is as a 1,000 years with the Lord (cf. 2 Peter 3:8); thus, the 2 denarii represent the 2,000 years of the CHURCH Age, or Age of Grace.

Now, the Scriptures make it clear that Christ can return to Earth at any time within this current 2,000-year period of Grace. Believers, thus, know that Christ’s Second Coming also will be in stages: (1) the end of the CHURCH Age Rapture (when Christ meets His Bride in the air); (2) the end of the world wheat and sheep (Tribulation saints) and tares and goats’ (Tribulation unbelievers’) separation, which, like the Rapture, happens in the clouds, only this time, just prior to (3) Christ’s triumphant, powerful, and visible bodily return to Earth, specifically on the Mount of Olives (cf. Zechariah 14:4; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-42; Matthew 25:31-46; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

After the true CHURCH is raptured, believers immediately will stand before the judgment seat of the Lord where He will judge (evaluate) all of the works believers did for Christ. At that time, based upon the quality of their service to the Lord (their treasures laid up in Heaven, such as “…gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or stubble”), believers will receive Christ’s rewards (compensations) and/or suffer the loss of rewards when their works are consumed by fire (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:12-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 22:12).

Additionally, at every stage in Christ’s Second Coming, He comes ready to reward every person according to his or her completed works (cf. Revelation 22:12). To this end, the Word of God declares that our compensation (reward) will be great in Heaven, if we have consented to Christ’s Lordship, have been good stewards of our resources, and have allowed the Holy Spirit to train us in righteousness and holiness (teach us how to live a righteous and holy life) while we are yet in our unglorified bodies (cf. Matthew 5:12; Matthew 10:41-42; Matthew 25:20-23; Hebrews 11:24-26).

Therefore, if we ever hope to perfect our godly worship and our Body of Christ fellowship to the point that we genuinely are worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth and sincerely are loving, uplifting, and encouraging each other, and if we ever hope to be successful at winning the lost for Christ, we must follow Christ’s teachings and emulate His life. We must copy the biblical ensamples (exact duplicates) of Christ’s life that are found in God’s Word. Furthermore, when we gladly and freely invest our God-given resources in the Kingdom of Heaven, we will become the kind of believers who cherish every opportunity we are given to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ, and the needs of this world’s unsaved populace.

When our spiritual portfolios have in them the kinds of treasurers that will be stored up in Heaven (the kinds of works that we will have done for Christ that will not be those of wood, hay, and stubble [straw], which God’s Holy Fire consumes), our spiritual portfolios will have ONLY loving, merciful, compassionate, and righteous “good” works that the power (dunamis) and authority (exousia) of God cause us to do. For sure, consistently making sound investments in the Kingdom of Heaven by doing neighborly acts of love, mercy, and compassion will mean that we will have the appropriate righteous “good” works that our spiritual portfolios must have in them. Anything less than having our spiritual portfolios full of ensamples (exact duplicates) like those found in the Parable of the Good Samaritan will be unacceptable.

Heaven and heavenly rewards should be true believers’ goals. Thus, if there are faithful believers among us who are meeting God’s global perspectives’ goals by investing wisely in the Kingdom of Heaven, we will notice that these believers will be seeking after and doing what Christ is saying we ALL must seek and do.

These Holy Spirit-filled believers will be taking advantage of every daily opportunity they have been given to deposit some encouragement in believers while simultaneously admonishing those who need to be corrected. Furthermore, these believers will be taking advantage of every local and worldwide opportunity they have been given to bring their saved carnal brothers and sisters, and the unsaved unbelievers, into the full knowledge of who they are in Christ. Moreover, to achieve these goals, these believers will be managing their investments in four ways: (1) with their humility; (2) with their unity (harmony); (3) with their generosity, which they are sharing with true Body of Christ members, and with the spiritually lost and weak worldly individuals (respectively, natural unbelievers and carnal believers); and (4) with their love and compassion for all.

Finally, anyone who is not investing in the Kingdom of Heaven is someone who either hasn’t been steadfast in his or her commitment to Christ, or he or she has NOT consistently accepted and followed Christ’s best investment plan that will earn the sought after heavenly rewards—or both. These rebellious and disobedient believers, thus, should heed Christ’s words that He speaks at the end of the Parable of the Good Samaritan. To be sure, Christ (the Good Samaritan) is saying to people who have ears to hear and eyes to read the Gospel message that He is communicating through said parable that any person who is not doing righteous “good” works like those the Good Samaritan does should “…now go and do the same” (Luke 10:37b, NLT)!

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Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen

Sanctified Child

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