Fire On Your Head

“Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man….” -Is. 6.5a

There is a place of crisis to which every saint must come, for there is an inherent humanism in all men and women, and even after conversion to Christ there lingers a dualistic nature. We have tasted of the Divine nature, but we have yet to come into the fullness of Jesus Christ, and unless we see the Lord high and lifted up, and come into a conscious awareness of our own “dustness” in light of God’s own “Godness,” we will lack the ultimate kind of surrender that alone makes the Christian a voice in his generation.

Oswald Chambers reached a great crisis in his mid to late 20’s, after having followed the Lord since his childhood. It was the same brand as Isaiah’s experience, and as excruciating as it was, it pressed him into an encounter with God that refined and authenticated his life. It is the nature of prophetic refinement, and a man comes out transfigured on the other end. But without passing through like seasons with the Lord, there will be something plastic about our profession and living. Listen to Chambers’ experience, and ask yourself, “Have I passed through these kinds of seasons with my Lord?”

“After I was born again as a lad I enjoyed the presence of Jesus Christ wonderfully, but years passed before I gave myself up thoroughly to His work. I was in Dunoon College as tutor of Philosophy when Dr. F.B. Meyer came and spoke about the Holy Spirit. I determined to have all that was going, and went to my room and asked God simply and definitely for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, whatever that meant.

From that day on for four years, nothing but the overruling grace of God and the kindness of friends kept me out of an asylum. God used me during those years for the conversion of souls, but I had no conscious communion with Him. The Bible was the dullest, most uninteresting book in existence, and the sense of depravity, the vileness and bad-motiveness of my nature was terrific.”

…. He became aware of an abhorrent dualism in his personality. The sham and hypocrisy he detested in others had a foothold in his own heart. He could proclaim that God must be given glory for all his good works, but he enjoyed the praise of men. While many people in Dunoon thought he was a near-perfect saint, he knew the truth about himself. Within him lurked a frightening pride that was beyond his power to conquer.

…. He realized as he had never believed possible what the disposition of sin in him could do.

…. A poem written in September (1901) concluded with this stanza:

O Lord Jesus, hear my crying
For a consecrated life,
For I bite the dust in trying
For release from this dark strife.

Oswald was living dangerously close to the edge of a complete breakdown.

Here he was, a tutor and respected gentleman among students and professors. He was considered a remarkable young man of God, head and shoulders above his pupils in maturity and depth. Yet his heart was crying out for a union with God that transcended all the external good that he was being commended for. He had come to realize that there was a terrible duplicity in his nature, that his propensity for sin, though no one would have expected it of him, was as despicable as that of any man. His soul was crying out in a great and prolonged ache, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man….”

Have we been brought to this place?

All of a sudden, though he had not fallen in gross obvious sin, though virtually nothing had changed in terms of his own moral standing, he felt that though men were impressed with him, his overall life was a sham and a contradiction. He was not entirely surrendered to the Lord in all the nooks and crannies of thought and life, and he came to a place of despair in yearning for the reality of God. He was not convinced that he had been baptized in the Holy Spirit, and all the good deeds and Biblical thoughts had taken him as far as they could. His soul was aching for a greater union with God, one that would make his life true in public places and in secret places; a union that would mark him out as a man of love and joy and reverence and humility in all settings, not merely when the eyes of men were on him. His religious reputation was at stake, but the praises of men had turned to ashes in his mouth. He desperately needed the Spirit of God, and he wasn’t willing to play the game any longer. He goes on to tell the story, and what transpired is awesome to consider:

I see now that God was taking me by the light of the Holy Spirit and His Word through every ramification of my being. The last three months of those years things reached a climax, I was getting very desperate. I knew no one who had what I wanted; in fact I did not know what I did want. But I knew that if what I had was all the Christianity there was, the thing was a fraud.

…. those of you who know the experience, know very well how God brings one to the point of utter despair, and I got to the place where I did not care whether everyone knew how bad I was, I cared for nothing on earth, saving to get out of my present condition.

At a little meeting held during a League of Prayer mission in Dunoon, a well-known lady was asked to take the after meeting. She did not speak, but set us to prayer, and then sang, ‘Touch me again, Lord.’ I felt nothing, but I knew emphatically my time had come, and I rose to my feet.

I had no vision of God, only a sheer dogged determination to take God at His word and to prove this thing for myself, and I stood up and said so. That was bad enough but what followed was ten times worse. After I had sat down the lady worker, who knew me well, said: ‘That is very good of our brother, he has spoken like that as an example to the rest of you.’

I got up again and said: ‘I got up for no one’s sake, I got up for my own sake; either Christianity is a downright fraud, or I have not got hold of the right end of the stick.’ And then and there I claimed the gift of the Holy Spirit in dogged committal to Luke 11.13.

And what was Oswald’s testimony when he broke out of this season and was immersed in the Holy Spirit?

“Glory be to God, the last aching abyss of the human heart is filled to overflowing with the love of God. Love is the beginning, love is the middle and love is the end. After He comes in, all you see is ‘Jesus only, Jesus ever.’ When you know what God has done for you, the power and the tyranny of sin is gone and the radiant, unspeakable emancipation of the indwelling Christ has come.”

Finally (after 4 years of inward agony), the long night was over and peace had come. The citadel of his heart had fallen, not to a conquering Christ, but to the gentle knocking of a wounded hand. In a new and powerful way, at the age of twenty-seven, the story of Oswald Chambers’ life had just begun.

(Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God, David McCasland; OCPA, Grand Rapids; pp. 73-86)

All of this transpired many years after Chambers first came to the Lord, and just as Isaiah cried out and was cleansed with fire and commissioned, Oswald would spend the rest of his days living a newly charged life. At the time of his death, his life was called by friends “the greatest demonstration we had ever seen of the Sermon on the Mount fleshed out.” To this day, his devotional can be found in the homes of believers all over the world, and the prophetic nature of his words are reaping the fruits of Christ in thousands of hearts, day after day.

What if he had settled for a decent Christian reputation? What if he had been content with the secret mixture? What if he had ignored his duplicity, and failed to cry out for the Holy Spirit? Would any of us even know of Oswald Chambers? And what about you, dear saint? Have you seen the Lord high and lifted up? Have you cried out from that place of desperation? Are you keeping entire segments of your life away from the reach of consecration and faith? One of my mentors used to say, “Unless you’ve cried out about being a man, you’ve not cried out.” In other words, it’s one thing to know conviction in a moment of failure. It’s another thing to cry out, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man….”

It’s from that dark night of revelation that Oswald emerged as a true servant, immersed in the life and power of God. And the verse that initially provoked his soul applies to each of us as well:

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” -Lk. 11.13

No man can bring you to this place, friend. You must face the Lord in the secret place. What men have thought of your personality and spirituality matters not. God Himself is on the Throne, and He waits in kind seriousness for you to come. He will uncover and reveal your soul, purge and refine your motives, stretch and test your heart, and from that place of wrestling with God alone, He will fill you with His own Spirit, and cause you to arise, a son or daughter of the Mighty One. You will declare His great love and holiness, “Jesus only, Jesus ever,” and you will lead many sons to glory.

Finally brothers… (Paul is saying to sum up this whole book) whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Philippians 4:8

I used to be really introspective.

On the outside I was quite happy and fun but I often used to over analyze people’s reactions to anything I said or did. I thought a lot about anything that was wrong in me because I wanted to be pleasing to God.

I went to a bible school that came out of a revival and it was a place where holiness was so important. God definitely changed my life there, I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything. But in that culture of repentance and holiness a lot of us became often introspective. Always looking for new sins to repent of, and trying to look around our heart for anything bad to despair over. There were altar calls twice a week. Through all of this I never really felt good about my relationship with God, I felt there was always so much more sin to get over before I could really be close to God. Then one day I read a prayer.

I was reading a book by Bill Johnson, one of my biggest heroes in the world. He was so hungry for revival and always trying to repent and get closer to God. But he kept feeling so down by how far he felt from God. Then one day he prayed a prayer like this

“God you know I don’t do so well when I always focus on my sin. Would you please convict me when there’s something you want me to deal with? Let me just worship you and keep my eyes on you, that’s what I like the most.”

It blew me away, I felt so much freedom and excitement that such a lifestyle was possible. Here was one of the holiest men I knew of who walks in incredible miracles and the presence of God and he just trusted God to convict him whenever God wanted him to deal with an issue. It was so freeing.

On the race it’s really easy to compare, it’s easy to get frustrated because there are so many amazing people, with really strong giftings, or beautiful personalities and it’s easy to feel like we are missing out. I’ve caught myself a few times this year getting introspective and frustrated with how much I still need to grow. But I feel like God is calling us to be sons and daughters again. Children don’t care much for self-analysis, they just love being with their dad and playing with him. They want to help him at work and they don’t mind if they mess up much because they just love being with him and doing what he’s doing. And he loves that!!!

To sum it all up if you are thinking about your sin you are in fact sinning. Because sin isn’t pure, lovely, or admirable. If God convicts you then just repent immediately and quickly move on to abundant life with Him. I can testify that ever since I let God worry about convicting me and shifting my gaze to God and everything that’s good and pure and admirable in the world my life has changed dramatically. It’s amazing. I remember I used to watch movies with my eyes on the look-out for swears, or sex scenes to look away from then after my Christians friends and I could complain about how bad movies are nowadays and say things like “Why did they have to put that scene in there and ruin the whole movie?”. Never did I realize that the whole time we were focusing on what wasn’t pure. It’s often the people who are the hungriest for holiness that have their eyes most fixed on sin (in order to avoid it).

Now whenever I watch a movie I have my eyes fixed whatever is beautiful in the movie, where courage is displayed or genuine love. I ask God to highlight anything he wants to teach me from the movie. I am so focused on just absorbing everything beautiful and good from the movie that I hardly remember any bad parts. (as a disclaimer, I’m still not perfect and I’m growing in this, but it’s an exciting adventure). Paul would read greek and cretan poets and was trained under Gamaliel, one of the most culturally aware and relevant rabbis of his day. Still regarded today as one of the great rabbis of all time.

I think as Christians we need to start absolutely being committed to beauty, to purity, creativity and life. We can’t retreat any longer into our comfy sanctuaries and churchy lingo. The gates of hell can’t stand against a church on the offense. The armor of God has nothing for our backside, our only protection is continual advance and victory. Let’s not fear creativity and truth, no matter from where we find it. Every good and perfect gift is from above.

Editor’s note:

Currently David Hepting is traveling the world doing “The World Race”.  To learn more about it and to read up on regular updates, visit http://davidhepting.theworldrace.org.

“For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.” (1 John 5:7-8)

“We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4, ESV)

Before proceeding in the direction I’d like to take us in our considerations, let’s take a look at a few things about the Word of God: It is forever settled in heaven (Ps 119:89-92), therefore it is also forever settled on the earth (Matt 6:10) when it is acted on and enforced. According to the Psalms, it will never change. What God said thousands of years ago, will still be true thousands of years from now. Isaiah 55:11 states that God’s Word goes forth and doesn’t return void, but accomplishes what it is supposed to do.

Science has determined that the smallest known particle is that of light, but they have also determined that the particle is composed of two smaller components, which is believed to be what we would call sounds, or waves. Is it possible then, that these components are indeed sounds, and they are the words the Lord spoke in creation when he said “let there be light“? Genesis 1:3 states that the Lord spoke light into existence. The original Hebrew literally would translate as “light, be!” Hebrews 11:3 and 2 Peter 3:5 further state that with the [spoken] word of God the universe was created. We will look at the Spirit’s role in that in a moment.

Science also tells us that the universe is continuing to expand in every direction. It’s my opinion that if man were to go to the very edge of the universe–past where light has reached so far–there would come a time where you’d experience a wall of light passing around you as it traveled to that point, and in that moment you’d hear the Lord saying “light, be!” God’s word, though spoken once, and settled forever, is still going forth. God spoke only once, it’s settled, however God doesn’t get up every morning and ‘re-tell’ the light to come out upon the earth. He doesn’t tell the earth to go around the sun again. It’s happening just as He once spoke it to. As Christians, we enforce and establish His will and what He has spoken every time we preach it, cast a demon out on the authority of that Word, heal the sick, and so on.

The Light Shines In The Midst of Darkness

“The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said,”Let there be light,” and there was light.” (Gen 1:2-3, emphasis mine)

Notice how the Holy Spirit of God was hovering over the darkness, but didn’t do anything until the Lord spoke. We know from New Testament Scripture that by Christ, all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible (1 Col 1:16)–yet the Son is not mentioned in Genesis by name or role. But the opening verses of John elaborate more:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5, emphasis mine)

John later mentions in chapter 9:4 “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.” Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit would do the mighty works of the Lord, such as miracles, healing the sick, setting the captives free. Jesus would do the work that He saw the Father doing (John 5:19-20). He did the will of the Father, but it is the role of the Spirit to carry it out.

Jesus stated in Luke 22:53 when his captors came to arrest Him, that “this is your hour, when darkness reigns.” Until His crucifixion, darkness reigned.

That being said, we can see moments in the Gospels, where during the night–the Holy Spirit hovered over the darkness until God’s will was declared and spoke forth something the Spirit was to administer. He didn’t raise Jesus up a moment earlier than planned, but yet the Holy Spirit was still there hovering over the tomb.

The Spirit Follows the Word

^“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:13-15)

Jesus told his disciples in John 16:7 that it was a good thing that He ascend to heaven, because if He didn’t the Holy Spirit–the helper–would not come. This is because prior to his death and resurrection, the Spirit only showed up and moved where Jesus, the Word was, but now, He–the Spirit–is indwelling a whole people! From just a numerical and practical standard, a large group of people demonstrating the power of the Gospel, and doing the works Jesus did is exponentially greater than just one man doing them. Until the day of Pentecost, there was no Holy Spirit in the world except when and where the Word was preached by Jesus. Then in Acts chapter 2 after the upper room experience, Peter was the first man endued with the Spirit to preach the Gospel message to any hearer and a large number of people were saved and added to the collective Body of Christ.

But yet most of the Church gets the role of the Spirit backwards. We wait to do things until we have some special feeling or validation as to what God’s will is, and call that ‘being led by the Spirit.’ However, most Christians fail to realize calling it ‘being led by the Spirit’ is just spiritualizing their own laziness, because we’re not actually told to “be led by the Spirit”–this idea is taken from only one Scripture verse in the New Testament (Romans 8:14) that many are taking out of context when they quote it. It is encouraged that one listens to an old episode of our podcast for further discussion on what being led by the Spirit truly is. Instead, we find instructions in Scripture telling us to have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16), and to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly (Col 3:16)

The Holy Spirit accompanies the Word and bears witness with it; Mark 16:17-18 states that signs (miracles) would accompany (read, FOLLOW) them that believed, not the other way around like most of us think. Holy Spirit helps YOU, you don’t help Him. It would be cliche to say that many charismatics are chasing after signs and wonders, chasing after moves of God–when those rivers of living water should be springing out of us (John 7:37-39) and aiding us as we preach and proclaim the Gospel. The power of God is intended to be a proof that the Gospel is true.

The Spirit As Our Helper

One thing I like to do when teaching on divine healing, is have a volunteer or my interpreter play the role of my ‘helper’, and act out that I’m a painter or carpenter or some kind of profession like that. A helper in this context is not someone who does the work, but helps the one doing the job. A helper for our intents and purposes would be like an apprentice or a handy man. If this helper is a good worker, he’ll know to anticipate what tools I’ll need. If I’m standing on a ladder, he may be holding my tools for me, and seeing a few steps ahead of me, knowing and anticipating what tool I’m going to need next, and provide it for me before I even have to ask for it. He follows me, and gives me what I need to get the job done. Similarly, though He’s God Himself and not any less than the Father or the Son, the Spirit deserves our utmost respect and reverence all the same. He is this role of a helper to the Bride of Christ, the Church. The Holy Spirit knows exactly what is needed in a particular moment or situation, and pulls out of His tool belt either the healing, prophetic Word, knowledge of Scripture, or whatever you need to help you proclaim and advance God’s kingdom.

Remember when Ezekiel spoke to the dry bones; the Spirit acted and did the work. The Spirit didn’t move first, and then Ezekiel “followed” or was “led by the Spirit” and merely verbally repeated the obvious. Ezekiel spoke the words of God, and the Holy Spirit energized and activated them. He spoke, and the Spirit of God brought the life–created living organisms afresh as the bones connected, and flesh appeared on them and created a new living army! But alas, the Holy Spirit can only confirm HIS word, not our ideas, opinions and certainly not our bad theology. Take note of how Job’s friends waxed eloquent and told him all sorts of pious theological sounding words about why he was going through the trials he was going through. But when Elihu spoke the truth, God showed up in power and spoke! Likewise, the Holy Spirit can’t anoint something that’s not true–He can only agree with the Word. This is why there’s so many ‘dead churches’ preaching a basic Gospel message, and getting what they preach for. Since they don’t believe in, or preach and teach in the power of God or miracles, consequently they don’t see them either.

Check this quote from Reinhard Bonnke:

“Prayer is not enough to rouse a dead church. It needs the power of the Word imbued with the life of the Spirit. Life comes from the living Word. What we can do and what we should do is preach the Word. Praying for God to work is fine, but praying for Him to do what we should be doing is pointless. We cannot send his Spirit anywhere. He moves with us, and he is where we are. We cannot pray for God to save souls and bless people and then wait for something to happen. He sends us with the Word and the Spirit awaits us. It is our privilege to work for him, save souls for him. For anyone who thinks they do not have strength or power, the Word is their strength and their power. There are two important things to note: Holy Spirit meetings without the Word are human meetings, and prayer is not a substitute for the Word.” Reinhard Bonnke, Holy Spirit: Revelation & Revolution: Exploring Holy Spirit Dimensions p. 129

The Spirit answers prayer in the name of Jesus because He is the Word. As Bonnke goes on further to phrase it, “The will of the Father is written and is spoken by the Son, the Word, and performed by the Spirit.”

Truly, truly, I say to you,whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

(John 5:24, 6:63 emphasis mine)

In conclusion, allow me to encourage you to let the Word dwell richly in you (Col 3:16)

For more reflections and meditations on this subject, it is highly encouraged that you give some time to read articles in our series on the ‘seed of the Word of God’, especially the article “The Image Inside The Seed“

It seems that heavenly places essentially describes a position in the supernatural realm. This realm dictates all aspects of the natural. Heavenly Places is mentioned four times in the first three chapters of Ephesians. I believe that this supernatural aspect of the heavenly places and the Church’s position there is the overriding theme of all of Ephesians.

In Eph. 1:3, we see that our lives in Christ carry spiritual blessings. In vv 9-10, we see that those blessings involve revelation of mysteries in His will and how the fullness of time is all things summed up in Christ. We can see the role of the Church developing here as a supernatural entity that administers Christ in all things. In 1:11, we have a spiritual inheritance; in 1:13 we are sealed in the Spirit-supernatural. We are beginning to see that every aspect of our lives as followers of Jesus is and must be supernatural, and what sums us up is Christ. This is in Whom the eyes of our hearts (18) must be enlightened to understand who He really is and His power toward us to fulfill the administration or ministry.

In vv 20-23, we have  a great illustration of the powers in the heavenly places. Christ is at the right hand of God the Creator, the all powerful. This position is the highest rank, and authority; an attainable place that exists in both this age and the age to come. All other authorities and powers are not only below Him, but way below Him. He is the reason for everything. This position makes Him the Head of the Church-who is His body (23), the very extension of Him, and fullness of Him who fills all in all. So here we see the Church is called to the fullness of Christ.

Chapter 2 starts with Paul describing how Jesus takes us from our low position, lower than even the powers of the air, and He catapults us right through the heavens and raises us up with Him.  After declaring Jesus’ place in the heavenly places, and how far and above and superior that position is; Can you believe or even fathom the fact that we are right there next to Him, in His absolute dominion and supreme power? Words cannot describe how awesome His place is and we are seated with Him in those heavenly places.

We are absolute Holy Spirit filled power house revelations to the earth that JESUS IS LORD! We are the fullness of Him when we administer His power to the natural and supernatural realms according to His will. What does being seated with Christ mean? I think this is a glimpse. A Church that can grasp this ans understand this will walk in fullness and change their generation just as Jesus and the apostles did.

I believe the church in fullness is the mystery of Christ. Christ in us the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27), is the mystery to be revealed to the earth and the powers of the air (vv3:9-10), making His wisdom known and filling all in all with Him.

This is like the stone in Daniel chapter 2, which destroys the statue of the evil empires and becomes a mountain that fills the earth. This represents the fifth kingdom (v 44), the one which cannot be destroyed. This is the Kingdom of Heaven filling the earth. According to the Gospels this kingdom is at hand when we advance good news in His name. All of creation is waiting for this, so they to can be set free (Romans 8:19-21).

So we see the church’s position is with Christ in the highest place in the supernatural realm, enforcing His administration and will to the rest of the natural and supernatural realms. This is our goal, to understand our place in Him seated in heavenly places, living and walking in the fullness of Christ, a mature Church (Eph 4 :13).

I believe that the rest of Ephesians is devoted to teaching us how to attain to the fullness of Christ. In 4:11-13, we see the necessity of the five-fold ministry in acquiring this maturity through training and equipping, the building up of the body of Christ. Chapters 4-6 are every day areas we must consider so our lives will be in order to properly function in this position in the heavenly Places. Ephesians 6:12, the last time heavenly places are mentioned in this book is a reference to overcoming the unseen spiritual forces; to which we will be complete to make known the mystery of the Gospel (19), Christ all in all!

Ephesians Part 1: Introduction

Ephesians Part 2: Chapter 1

Ephesians Part 3:  Chapter 2

Ephesians Part 4: Chapter 3

Ephesians Part 5: Chapter 4a

Ephesians Part 6: Chapter 4b

Ephesians Part 7: Chapter 5a

Ephesians Part 8: Chapter 5b

Ephesians Part 9: Chapter 6a

Ephesians Part 10: Chapter 6b & Conclusion

Ephesians Part 11: Heavenly Places

“For God so loved the world (kosmos), that He gave His only begotten Son….” -Jn. 3.16

There is a high and glorious note in the Gospel that we don’t often hear sounded in modern preaching, and in many ways, it has lessened the majesty of our understanding of salvation. In the minds of many, Christianity is summed up in this way-

I prayed and prayer and got saved, now I’m going to heaven, and God is going to make my life more and more successful, while I do my best to follow His will.

There is a much grander picture in view when we see the Gospel for what it truly is, and it has everything to do with the glory of God, and virtually nothing to do with my personal success- at least not in the sense that is declared these days.

The Greek word for “world” in John 3.16 is kosmos, which refers to the entire created order, the heavens and the earth, the universe, and all that it contains. For years, when I heard “world” I thought only of humanity, for we often refer to the human race as “the world.” The Scriptures themselves refer to the human race as “the world” on many occasions, perhaps even in this text. Yet and still, the Biblical picture of restoration refers to the whole created order, and all of creation groans for its fulfillment.

Of course, His desire is for a nation of priests, and they will not be made up of trees and mountains, birds and fish, or even angels and apocalyptic creatures. The rest of John 3.16 shows us that the most crucial aspect of God’s salvific work is the redemption of human beings, the holy adoption of sons and daughters. But our lack of a vision of the glory of God, our meager understanding of the Scriptures, and our individualistic society all combine to reduce the Gospel to something that is all about us.

The Scriptures testify to something much more than “Your Best Life Now.” They tell of the glory of the eternal God, His activity in history, His dealings with Israel, the sending and glorification of His Son, and His remarkable intentions to renovate the entire created order by the word of His power.

The apostolic understanding of salvation is so much more profound than my personal justification, though that itself will be enough to strike wonder in our hearts for all eternity. The apostolic understanding of salvation is of the entire universe being wrenched loose from the grip of the “prince of this world,” relieved of the terrible weight of sin, the whole earth refined with fire and made new, and the triune God fully present, fully revealed, and fully reigning over all things. The issue is not first about our personal redemption, but about the glorification of God in and through the true knowledge of His Son. Paul uses language that we might consider less appealing than what is commonly preached these days, but in reality, it’s glory is greater than the humanistic mixtures we often hear.

He stated that we Gentiles, who were like wild olives, “were grafted in among them [Israel] and became partaker[s] with them of the rich root of the olive tree.” (Rom. 11.17) Personally, I’ve never heard a call to the lost which invited them to be “grafted in.” Grafted in? To the human ear it sounds inglorious, and if our Christianity is a humanistic mixture, we will have no part of this kind of Gospel. But if we hear the Gospel of God, which is a magnificent invitation into something so much bigger and so charged with largesse, we come humbly and thankfully in repentance and faith, and God works salvation in our innermost parts.

When a person is truly born from above by the power of God’s grace, there is this abiding sense that they have received mercy, and an overwhelming awareness that they have been brought into something so much more significant than their individual dreams and ambitions. If we haven’t got this Kingdom view, our Christianity becomes something self-focused, and fruitless cycles ensue. We end up performing religiously, living self-consciously, and falling into the most despicable kind of self-absorption, even while we employ spiritual terms and ideas.

We need this “world/kosmos” view to be ever held before our hearts, that we would not be as distracted with pursuing our “best life now,” but rather the glorification of Jesus Christ. Hear Chambers on this:

It is a travesty to say that Jesus Christ travailed in Redemption to make me a saint. Jesus Christ travailed in Redemption to redeem the whole world, and place it unimpaired and rehabilitated before the throne of God. The fact that Redemption can be experienced by us is an illustration of the power of the reality of Redemption, but that is not the end of Redemption. If God were human, how sick to the heart and weary He would be of the constant requests we make for our salvation, for our sanctification. We tax His energies from morning till night for things for ourselves….When we touch the bedrock of the reality of the Gospel of God, we shall never bother God any further with little personal plaints.

The one passion of Paul’s life was to proclaim the Gospel of God. He welcomed heartbreaks, disillusionments, tribulation, for one reason only, because these things kept him in unmoved devotion to the Gospel of God.

(Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest; Feb. 1 entry, The Call of God)

When we have an individualistic Gospel, we remove the foundation and bedrock of the faith. We actually take away the wonder of our own personal redemption when that personal redemption becomes our primary focus. If the Gospel is all about me, it must be a quite shallow thing. But if it has to do with the glory of the Ancient of Days, His eternal purposes for Israel and the Church, and His remarkable and sweeping vision for the whole created order, then I am being caught in the wind of the wonder of it all. Then it becomes so much more significant: This majestic God, who is so high and lifted up, has condescended so low into the earth, to “create in me a clean heart.”

Now then, being grafted in carries a whole new weight and beauty. Now my personal redemption evokes a remarkable kind of worshipful gratitude, and awe-full trembling. This is not about me finding success in religion, it is about me finding God Himself, and being wholly satisfied in Him, no matter what comes in blessing or suffering.

I have become a recipient of heavenly mercy, and the God who has created and sustained the entire universe, and who will one day renovate it all and abide in Jerusalem, is also the One who listens when I cry out to Him. He is also the One who cleanses and forgives me when I confess my sin. He is also the One who has promised to send His Spirit to me, to lead and guide me into all truth. He is also the One who gives all good gifts. Now John 3.16 becomes something more than a verse I memorized as a child. It is a staggering word that rocks my categories and catapults me into the worship of the only One who is worthy to open the heavenly scroll! May we never reduce it to something less or other.

“For God so loved the kosmos, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”

“Oh the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His was past finding out. For from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” (Rom. 11.33, 36)

Ephesians 6b & Conclusion

III. Strength in the Spirit Part 2

a) 13-17 Taking up the Full Armor: As previously stated, each part of the armor about to be mentioned must be present if we are going to be able to stand. Each armor piece represents a virtue (inner strength and moral excellence). We must have these virtues intact, because they are areas where the enemy will attack us. They are necessary to have a solid walk and to stand firm when the enemy comes.

I always hear that Paul was comparing battle in the spirit to a natural one, and that the armor was a reflection of the Roman armor of the day. This is true but not complete. There is a deeper spiritual meaning also. In Daniel 2, the statue, I believe, represents the evil empire, and this description of the armor is similar. Also, Goliath’s armor is similarly described in 1 Samuel 17. Now in contrast to the evil counterfeit, and in line with the entire context of Ephesians and the believer’s place in the spiritual realm, here is a picture of our battle gear, out armor. We have a direct and more powerful answer to the weapons the enemy possesses. Paul here gives light to something David understood centuries before, and shows us the secret to defeating theses powers.  When we have it on we will be able to stand against the aforementioned evils. This understanding prepares us for the following analysis of the pieces of armor.

Belt of Truth (14a): The belt holds all the pieces of the armor together. We must know the truth so we will not be deceived. Our weapon is the Sword of the Spirit–The Word of God. And we must know the truth of the Word if we are going to effectively use it.

Breastplate of Righteousness (14b):His blood makes us righteous and because of that there is forgiveness of sins. If we have the breastplate on we will stand when sinful temptations come our way. The breastplate covers the vital organs. In the spirit it covers and protects vital parts of our walk and relationship with Jesus, making us ineffective in spiritual battles.

Shoes of Preparation of the Gospel of Peace (15): If you are in a fight you must be ready to stand your ground; ready and well balanced to stand against the angle of attack the enemies of God bring against the Gospel. Peace destroys war, therefore if we are ready with the good news of Jesus, the peacemaker, it will erase their plans. We must be ready to preach the Gospel at all times.

This is why the armor is listed in this order. When we walk in truth protecting our hearts from unrighteousness, we are ready to go when the Lord commands.

Shield of Faith (16): Faith blocks doubt. If we have a ready defense, not only can we cover ourselves, we can cover others. Then we will have a ready offense. Any doubt can be blocked with faith with faith and allow us to counterstrike with the sword of the Spirit. In our battles our faith with shield us from any weapon the devil uses against us. Imagine an advancing army and all of their weapons and firepower and extinguished instantly through faith. Now they are completely vulnerable.

Helmet of Salvation (17a): This covers our most vulnerable area. If the devil can attack our salvation it will wear on us. One way is a mortal wound that will cause us to backslide or lose it. Another way is to make us think we have it when we took it off along time ago. We must be sure of our salvation and continue in it. This is why it is compared to a helmet. We must wear it at all times and not remove it. When we walk in assurance of salvation and are guarding it with truth, righteousness, and readiness of faith, this demonstrates that the Word of God is not just knowledge, but is alive in us making us warriors. When the Word is real in us we can speak it to destroy the enemy.

Sword of the Spirit (17b): This is our weapon. Every time the enemy came at Jesus, He used it to stop him. Once the Word goes forth, it continues on forever. Jesus is the Word (John 1:1). Everything He ever said pulled down darkness! We are seated next to Him and in one sense, our weapon is Him–He is the Word.

When we speak the name of Jesus, all of creation is called to attention.His Spirit dwells in us. The sword of the Spirit, the Word of God is all the fullness of the Trinity. When we speak in His will with His armor on us, God’s Word, we are in essence speaking Jesus, and God will accomplish His word. We reveal God by speaking God. In Jesus’ name, we can do anything! God is our weapon. His Word is all the fullness of His power and majesty coming forth from our lips to accomplish what He has called us to do. The dead will have to live, the sick will have to heal, demon will have to flee. His words do not fail. Here is the mystery–His words in us do not fail either.

Do we realize what this verse is really saying? Does in digest in our hearts or simply pass through our minds? The gravity of the situation is magnetic, awe-inspiring, utterly powerful, and if its magnitude were captured, it would shatter the expectancy of common faith. That is to say that if we can take hold of this and live it, our lives would change, those around us will change, and ultimately the earth will change. Imagine this taking hold and catching like fire, consuming both the new believer and the seasoned. And this is contained in these simple statements of the current revelation revealed. Now imagine it combusting with your revelation, expediting the elevation of our understanding of all that can actually happen in our lifetime for the Gospel! You’ll never know the stamp you leave on the world until you view it from eternity. Come on church, wake up! Brothers and sisters, every time we read, pray, and fellowship, it is a call to arms. We are as David, armed in the Spirit. David spoke the Word to Goliath (1 Sam 17:46-47), therefore the stone could not miss, for it had to carry out the Word of the Lord. See, the Word is our weapon, and our Sword of the Spirit.

b) 18-24 Power of Prayer

18 – Prayer is the “know how” of using the spiritual armor.We must communicate with God to know His will and for His Spirit to dwell in us. You are in constant contact with those you love the most (Mt 6:6), in the Spirit, praying as the Holy Spirit guides you at all times. This simply means we are constantly praying, directing our thoughts and intentions towards God. And it is out of this vein we are enabled to effectively pray for others.

19-20 – Paul wants us to pray that when he is called to earthly account we may be in the Spirit and testify boldly they mysteries; even which we have been studying.

21-24 – Closing remarks, exhortation always in love comfort, faith, and peace.

Conclusion: As you may have noticed this study became more in depth as I proceeded with its compilation. Much time was not spent on Chapter 1 in comparison, but is so rich much that more expositions could be written. This is the second version of the notes and the urge to expound more is present in me, so hopefully this will be the foundation for a future expanded version. Remember this was not a normal Bible study, but I tried to present this awesome book from the angle of study and revelation God has shared with me. Thank you for your time and I pray that those of you who have read this have been enriched in all the wisdom and knowledge and revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that the words of His Spirit that were contained in this study will endure.

[There will be an appendix to finish out the series called The Church in Heavenly Places. This was a study I posted on a forum when someone asked the question of what Paul meant by heavenly places as mentioned in Ephesians. The study was the foundation for this notebook on Ephesians so I wanted to share it with you as well. It has a specific order that sheds light in neat view when the verses on "heavenly places" are compared.]

Ephesians Part 1: Introduction

Ephesians Part 2: Chapter 1

Ephesians Part 3:  Chapter 2

Ephesians Part 4: Chapter 3

Ephesians Part 5: Chapter 4a

Ephesians Part 6: Chapter 4b

Ephesians Part 7: Chapter 5a

Ephesians Part 8: Chapter 5b

Ephesians Part 9: Chapter 6a

Ephesians Part 10: Chapter 6b & Conclusion

Ephesians Part 11: Heavenly Places

“And as they sat at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back. And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD and have not kept the command that the LORD your God commanded you, but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’” 1 Kings 13:20-22

This is a passage that confuses many of us, and in all honesty, for a long time I couldn’t honestly admit I understood its implications or what exactly was supposed to be conveyed here. We read in 1 Kings 13, the story of a prophet sent by the Lord to speak a harsh word of judgment against the backslidden kingdom of Judah. Oh how mightily this young man operated! He was clearly not a novice to the ministry!

The prophet went to Bethel, and he challenged King Jeroboam of Judah, delivered a word that came to pass generations after this concerning Josiah’s reforms to the nation, and proclaimed judgment on the current king. The moment Jeroboam tried to seize him, his hand was withered, and the prophet mercifully entreated the Lord, and healed him. When the king sought to reward him and offered him a meal, the man refused and resisted, while repeating what the Lord had commanded him to do. This prophet was unflinching in his focus to only do as the Lord commanded him, and refused to have any communion with wicked idolaters. No doubt this would cause him either persecution or at the very least, inconvenience.

Too bad the story doesn’t end here on a good note, as we continue reading.  The narrative changes focus and zeros in on this “old prophet” who lived in Bethel. It’s observable that the Lord did not use this old prophet to speak to the king. In fact, it’s clear he was unworthy of being used mightily of the Lord for the purpose of which the Lord had to send this other young prophet who still had character issues to be worked out.

This old prophet’s sons came and told him about what the other young prophet had done—such as the predictions he offered and the healing power he operated in. Why the sons of ‘the prophet’ were at the king’s sacrifices is pure speculation—it could have been as spectators, or maybe as participants. When the old man rode his donkey to the place the young prophet was found, it should be noted the young man was sitting under an oak tree—likely fatigued since he was fasting and had been on a long journey as well, and probably in his physical weakness he was more vulnerable, and impressionable. The old prophet not only invited him to his house like the king had done, but deceived the man and said the Lord told him it was alright:

And he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” And he said, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, for it was said to me by the word of the LORD, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’” And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him. So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.

At first, the man told the older prophet the same thing as he said to the king, only this time, a man who is supposed to be seasoned in the ministry of the prophetic—or at least wears the title–told him “no no, the Lord told me to tell you…” which is a common form of manipulation in the Body of Christ. The older prophet used the ‘God card” and coerced the young man into obedience.  Each and every one of us will at some point face people we should be able to trust, but will throw the ‘God card’ at us in order to manipulate us to do their desires. Not only that, but the old man said an angel of the Lord spoke to him. The young prophet probably didn’t think he could argue that! But verse 18 indicates the old man was lying. In fact, it might be possible that the man did hear from an angel—an angel of darkness seeking to discredit the young prophet’s ministry and destroy him early in his ministry, and the old man–for whatever reason–was open game to it.  Who knows conclusively, but false prophets have always been among the worst enemies of true prophets.

If you’re like most evangelical Christians who don’t believe in the gifts of the Spirit, you’ve probably rejected the possibility men in sin could prophesy accurately–if you’re one that believes we can at all. But this passage shows otherwise. In verse 20 the man who brought the young prophet back, at the dinner table stood up and told him: “Thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD and have not kept the command that the LORD your God commanded you, but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.‘”

Isn’t that interesting?! The deceiving prophet proclaimed a word from the Lord, and it came to pass!  And not only that, he had a word of knowledge about what the Lord told the young prophet.  If you’re a good charismatic, you’ve been told that you can’t prophesy anything accurately if you’re living in sin, so get the sin out. Which is true—clean up your life!   When reading this passage, notice the young prophet just gets up from the table and goes on his way. If someone just prophesied to me that I disobeyed God and would be killed for it, I’m sure I’d be more concerned than that!  Maybe the writer of this passage is simply omitting other details, and forgot to write “and he left trembling in fear uncontrollably” but the text doesn’t specify or go into more detail than we have here.

Obey Your Leaders Without Question?

Sometimes the hardest people we must refuse to be persuaded by are those who are ‘mature leaders’ or spiritual pioneers in our lives.  Though it is important to be submissive to our leaders, and trust those who’ve gone before us in the Lord, they’re capable of being wrong! Not only that, they’re capable of being in sin or deceived. Recent headline news of scandals and leaders falling from grace make that abundantly clear.  It is very easy to fall for what leaders and people we look up to in our lives tell us.  It’s easy to fear contradicting people we should trust, and just believe what we’re told and not ruffle any feathers or disappoint anyone we respect when we develop an understanding or convictions of our own.

I’ve been in situations before that will remain vague due to the fact I don’t know who may read this.  I’ve run with a few different Christian circles the following applies to, so people may read this and believe I’m talking about them.  I am, and I’m not.  I’ve been told more than once in my life  I was in rebellion to certain people or persons when I stepped out and obeyed and did what the Lord told me to do–or didn’t do someone else’s wishes because I could not in good conscience before the Lord. In situations like these it’s very easy to be persuaded by the people who have gone before us or who wear spiritual titles because we trust they know better and are out for our best interests.

It’s easy to stand tall in a wicked society that rejects God, but it’s even harder to do so in the midst of a compromised Church. It’s not so easy to resist people when they cast doubt on if we really heard the Lord or not, because they throw out the “God told me” card—implying WE haven’t heard the Lord for ourselves if we contradict what the Lord allegedly told them. While I don’t judge the hearts or intentions of any of those people I’ve mentioned, it bears noting that just because people older and mature in the Lord advise us to do or not do something does not guarantee they’re hearing from–or have heard from–the Lord.  They could be old useless prophets who’ve missed their calling and are encamped at Bethel, instead of having moved on, and are just jealous and envious that you are willing to step out and be used mightily in ways they are missing out on.

It’s a strong possibility.  I’ve been told a few times in my life–by people who sincerely believe this no doubt!–that “when you have authority over you and they tell you not to do something, even if it’s wrong, God will judge them and you’ll be protected so long as you stay under their authority”.  Supposedly, even if they’re wrong, YOU won’t be affected by the judgment or consequence that falls on them.  Is such a notion even Biblical, or true in history?  What of the Nazi soldiers who committed unspeakable atrocities to Jews, and used as their defense “I was just following orders.” They did not avoid consequence for their actions and faced the death penalty and life sentences for their crimes.

We see in passages like this that such “covering” and “protection” teachings are not true–even though someone listened to someone else more seasoned in the Lord tell them “God told me to tell you to do this“, that there was still grave consequences for not obeying the direct word from the Lord he was initially given.  I know many believers who sincerely believe God will judge you if you disobey the orders of a so-called apostle or prophet–especially the former–because in the way God has set up his ‘church government’ that you venture into unsafe territory if you leave your ‘covering’ of your pastor or apostolic ministry.

But the thing is, as we see in this passage, it’s even more unsafe if you disobey the Lord–even while listening to a so-called leader or more experienced minister.  Who are you going to listen to?