Does the Church have authority in this world?  Does the Church want any authority in this world? How about this, as a Christian do you see yourself as one with authority? You should and let me tell you why;  2 Corinthians 5:17 and Galatians 6:15 states that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature or creation.

As a new creature in Christ there must be radical changes. This Scripture goes on to say, old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

When one reads Scripture one will come to verses or passages that are literal, metaphorical, and allegorical or spiritually literal. In our text, RE: new creatures is it to be taken literal, metaphorical, or allegorical? Methinks it is spiritually literal. If being a new creature is not to be taken spiritually literal then neither is being born again.

In the text the Holy Spirit uses two words that I would like to draw your attention to. The two words are all things.  With these two (2) little words the Christian can be unleashed. The Christian can speak with authority. With these two (2) little words the Christian can once again become bold as a lion. Did you ever notice that the prophets of God outranked kings?  Moses v Pharoah; Elijah v. Ahab; Ehud v. the Moabite king. In Genesis 47:7 Jacob blessed Pharoah and we know the greater blesses the lesser. In the case of Samuel and Saul; who was the greater and who was the lesser?

2 Peter 1:2-4a Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as [H]is divine power hath given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of [H]im that hath called us to glory and virtue (in this present life): Whereby are given us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature…

Authority, new creatures, and partakers of the divine nature?

God isn’t done!

Ephesians 1:3; Blessed be the God and Father or our Lord Jesus Christ, [W]ho hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ….

Galatians 5:22,23; But the fruit of The Spirit (divine nature, new creature) is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance…  Meekness is often thought of as weakness but this is not the case. Meekness is to the Christian what a suit and glasses are to Clark Kent. Meekness necessitates great strength; Meekness implies might. Meekness is our secret Identity!

A synonym for all is whole. In Ephesians 6:10-18 we learn that we are in a war and we are called to “put on” the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. God has given each Christian a divinely tailored suit of arms! This whole armour of God consists of loins girt about with truth; a breastplate of our Lord’s imputed righteousness; feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace (this means that we are able to face any and all things because the [G]ospel of our Lord Jesus has prepared us); a shield of faith; a helmet of salvation; the sword of the Spirit; an attitude of ceaseless prayer.

The Church, the Body of Christ has all it needs to overwhelm this present evil world; this crooked and perverse generation!

Take up the “all things” ; appropriate the divine nature; put on your armour from God and use these gifts from our God and use them to His Glory!

To sum it all up with a single verse….[P]ut ye on the Lord Jesus Christ… for He is our Armour; He is the Divine Nature; any fruit we bear is because of Him, He is our All Things; He is our Truth; He is our Righteousness; He is our Peace;  He is the One in Whom our faith rests; He is our Salvation; He is our Shield.

How does one apply all of this?

1. Believe what God has said about His Christian.                                                                                                                             2.Know that you are a completely different creature than those that are without Christ.                                                       3. Know that you have been infused with the divine nature, that is to say, the Holy Spirit. To make this truth as simple as possible I will use Spiderman.  What was it that made Peter Parker into Spiderman? He was infused with radioactive spider venom. We have been infused with The Holy Spirit of Sovereign God!                                                     4. Know that the world has power over you only as far as you allow it.                                                                                     5. No one can make you “feel” any certain way lest you allow it. That means you are giving the control of your emotions over to another and you do so willingly.                                                                                                                           6. The Christian is a complete person in Christ; the Christian is sealed by God; the Christian is safe and sound.

Summary: The Christian is an altogether different creature than those without Christ; the Christian has been infused with and has been given all that is needed to stand steadfast in this world and to await His return.

Rights, Wrongs, Misapplied Terms, and Misguided Thinking

 

It seems the government is on the broad way to legalizing the Sodomites overriding of Christian conscience.  Methinks it will become illegal for a Christian to exercise his conscience by not celebrating or condoning a blatantly sinful activity or habitually sinful lifestyle.

This will inevitably encroach upon the church and Christian businesses.  When (not if) a Sodomite applies for a job in the church and he/she is turned away, a charge of discrimination will be brought against the church, when, in fact, it is not discrimination.  Discrimination concerns race, gender, nationality, or age.  It is a race, gender, nationality, or age being persecuted based upon the attributes above that cannot be changed.

Religious affiliation is also included in the anti-discrimination laws, and it should not be, and very soon will not be.  We must be willing to remove ourselves from that protective law if we are to defend the purity of the Gospel and our conscience.  Humanly speaking, our life of faith is a choice and not an attribute or property that cannot be changed as are the protected classes listed above.  This is true of the homosexuals’ habitually sinful lifestyle.  One cannot discriminate against that which cannot be changed, however, choosing not to participate in the celebration of the Sodomites’ choice of debauchery is not discrimination because a Sodomite chooses to habitually and with pleasure engage in a choice which can be changed and denied.

I do not say that the inclination of a homophile (a person with inclinations toward the same sex) is chosen…not at all.  But to engage upon these inclinations is a choice.  One may have an inclination to act upon a violent thought, and if one acts upon it, it is a choice.  One may have an inclination to steal, commit adultery, participate in heterosexual intercourse before marriage, lie, slander, or gossip. If one acts upon that inclination it is a choice. It is

wrong to persecute one who simply is what one is.  It is not wrong to withdraw one’s self from participating in an act which contradicts one’s faith or conscience  based on another’s choice.  It is wrong for one to compel another to participate or celebrate a choice one makes that goes against another’s faith or conscience.

How will this affect the church?

1. The church, if it chooses to stand upon the Word of God, will be fined an amount of money that they may be unable to pay, and/or the minister will be imprisoned and the church closed.
2. When a man of God turns away from the Lord’s table, a Sodomite, he will be fined or imprisoned until he will go against his faith and conscience.
3. Christian-based companies such as bakeries, catering services, photographers, florists, interior designers, public servants, etc., will be targeted by the Sodomites and backed by government law.

Brother and sisters, I encourage thee to fight the good fight of faith; to be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the works and the will of God.  Behold, the Judge standeth at the door; as it was with Lot’s Sodomites, so it will be with ours.  The wave of persecution has started. But rejoice, the blessings of the Lord follow upon the puny humans’ persecution of the righteous.  “Blessed are they that are persecuted for My Name’s sake” so saith the Master.  Heaven and earth may pass away, but His words will endure.

A Word and Its Meaning

Glory: What is the often-used word phrase “glory of God” and what does it mean?  The Scriptures speak of the great, the majestic, and the all-excellent glory of the High and Holy One of creation and of Heaven; yes, the glory of the Lord, Master, and King of all that lives, ever lived, or ever shall live as well as those who shall forever live with Christ.

What is glory?  Is it a glow or a shine?  Is it the acknowledgement  of God’s Greatness?  Is it the people of God giving Him praise?  It seems that there are differing ways of not necessarily defining glory, but of understanding the Spirit’s usage of the word glory.  Methinks the glory of God can be used as a verb as in “glorify God” and “give glory”, etc.,  It can be used as an adjective as in “our God is Great and Glorious”.  It can be used as a noun as in “behold, the glory of God”.

• Verb: It would seem that praising God, worshipping God, acknowledging the person, the words, the works, and the ways of God is the active way of glorifying God; as well as submitting one’s will to His perfec t Will, not to mention if one would simply (by faith) look to God and say “I love you” is giving God glory.  Sacrificing is a means to glorifying God.  The sacrifice of praise is the praise given to God, even in the most difficult times of life.  But the true sacrifice comes in when we say that we’re not going to engage in emotions (“accepted” emotions such as anger, fear, worry, doubt), but to sacrifice these emotions and praise God… which is contrary to the flesh.
• Noun: The glory of God is used as a noun as in the effulgence of God; the infinite greatness that is God. The explosive, sovereign power of God to do as He wills, when He wills, with whom He wills, for as long as He wills, is the glory of God.  The incomprehensible holiness of God that no man can look upon and continue living is the glory of God.
• Adjective: Used as an adjective the glory of God can be understood thusly; the One and Only True and Living God is majestic, righteous, all-powerful, loving, and merciful. These attributes of God are equal to His gloriousness.

In conclusion, whether we can define or understand the idea of God’s glory, we know this… one that is indwelt by the Holy Holy Holy Spirit cannot help but give God all glory and then pray that one might be able to glorify Him even more.  Even though Heaven is eternal and everlasting, this will not afford us the time to give God the glory of which He is more than worthy.

Brian K. Loder

apreature