1. THE SPIRITUAL MAN

• The Spiritual Man lives from his spirit, not from his mind life, the soul.
• We need to learn how to come into an “Assembly of Believers” and not just be individuals in a Meeting.
• Be a congregation of one spirit, mind and heart.
• When we meet in true spiritual unity there is a sense of the quality of the Holy Spirit’s presence
• There are “laws of unity” which have nothing to do with agreement of doctrines but are “spiritual laws”. Our growth in the Spirit depends on how much spiritual substance or character we have.
• We need the “discerning of spirits”. But he who is spiritual judges (=discerns) all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. (1 Cor 2:15)
• Such a spiritual man is beyond human and soulish judging because he is a “mystery” to people. He lives in and from a different realm, the spiritual!
• Our minds might think like Jesus but without the Holy Spirit it still cannot produce “life” or fully comprehend the things of God.

2. THE MIND OF CHRIST

• We have the mind of Christ: For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor 2:16).
• This mind is not in our soul but in our spiritual life. It is gained both by being Born Again and by habitually abiding in the presence of the Lord.
• The unregenerate or carnal mind of man cannot receive the things of God (1 Cor 2:14), if they do try to hold these, it can only be done so by memorizing them in our minds, not our spirits.
• By abiding in the presence of the Lord we can begin to receive all He has for us. The fruit of this will show in the divine effect our words and actions leave behind us as a deposit.
• Jesus always left a supernatural effect and deposit.
• If we don’t have such an effect it means our soul is displacing Jesus. The mind sets itself up as “God” in the Temple of God. But if we walk in the Spirit we’ll never have failures.

3. BECOME A FATHER PLEASER 2 Cor. 5:9

• Jesus was a Father Pleaser (John 5:19 and 8:29).
• Since the Father is a spirit we cannot know Him except by the spirit and we cannot “see” Him except by spiritual eyes.
• Pleasing the Father is doing the things He shows us and saying the things He speaks to us (Jhn 5:19 compare Lk 2:49).
• Enoch’s testimony was that he pleased God: “for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” (Heb. 11:5)
• Faith pleases God: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him “ (Heb 11:6)
• The flesh cannot please God: ”So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. “ (Rom 8:8).
• Jesus lost nothing even though He gave the Father all the glory! When we please the Father rather than ourselves we will in fact benefit much more than we can ever hope for.
• This is a spiritual secret that the spiritual man has learnt, to please the Father even to the hating of his own needs.

4. MIND OR SPIRIT?

• All our Knowledge and Learning cannot produce spiritual results. We can learn about truths but they won’t work.
• If we don’t learn how to distinguish (=divide) our soul and spirit, then our minds will play “God” and attempt to direct and control us.
• The mind / soul might even “talk like God” and sound “spiritual” but it won’t be Him. Many Christians fall into deception about hearing the voice of God thinking He has spoken to them when in fact it’s been their own soul “playing God”.

5. EXPERIENCE BY THE SPIRIT

• It’s with our spirit that we experience God. Growing up in Christ isn’t simply about “learning” Biblical truths, but also experiencing them as a reality.
• During a message or sermon “lean forward in your spirit into” the teaching. Never become passive in your spirit-man.
• The Holy Spirit has much to say when listening to a preacher, teacher, etc. We should be able to draw 10 times more from the preacher than he’s in fact saying, by the Holy Spirit.
• Learn to mix the Word with true Faith. This is not just an ability of the mind but of the spirit also: “but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. (Heb 4:2).
• The consequences of not doing this is that the Israelites died! There are drastic consequences when we don’t live from the spirit.
• We grow through intimacy, both in the natural and spiritual realms. Intimate acts are done in a private, secret place. So too in the spiritual realm – intimacy with God is found in the secret place in the prayer closet (Matt 6:6).
• It’s been said that “Living in the Spirit and living from our spirit-man is living and walking, saying and hearing, thinking and speaking, and working by faculties and senses that are non-existent in the natural man.”  Let’s learn to exercise these spiritual senses (Heb 5:14).

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…Peter McArthur

…www.issachar.org.au

The problem of Philippians 2:7 and many of today’s preachers

Article by R.C. Sproul.

How can a person have a divine nature and a human nature at the same time in the way that we believe Jesus Christ did?

One of the great crises in evangelical Christianity today is a lack of understanding about the person of Christ. Almost every time I watch Christian television I hear one of the classical creeds of the Christian faith being denied blatantly, unknowingly, unwittingly. And of course, part of the reason is that it is so difficult for us to understand how one person can have two natures. You are asking me the question, “How?”  I don’t know how; I know that Jesus is one person with two natures. How can that be?

Long before there was a human nature there was a second person of the Trinity. Here the second person of the Trinity, very God of very God, God himself, was able to take upon himself a human nature. No human being could reverse the process and take upon himself a divine nature. I cannot add deity to my humanity. It’s not as if Christ changed from deity into humanity.

That’s what I hear all the time. I hear that there was this great eternal God who suddenly stopped being God and became a man. That’s not what the Bible teaches. The divine person took upon himself a human nature. We really can’t understand the mystery of how this happened. But it is conceivable, certainly, that God, with his power, can add to himself a human nature and do it in such a way as to unite two natures in one person.

The most important council about this in the history of the church, whose decision has stood for centuries as the model of Christian orthodoxy and is embraced by Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Roman Catholics, Baptists – virtually every branch of Christendom – is the Council of Chalcedon. It was held in the year 451 AD, in which the church confessed its belief about Jesus in this way: They said that we believe that Jesus is verus homus, verus Deus – truly man, truly God.

Then they went on to set boundaries for how we’re to think about the way in which these two natures relate to each other. They said that these two natures are in perfect unity, without mixture, division, confusion, or separation. When we think about the Incarnation, we don’t want to get the two natures mixed up and think that Jesus had a deified human nature or a humanized divine nature. We can distinguish them, but we can’t tear them apart because they exist in perfect unity.

When Paul wrote that Jesus emptied himself and became a servant and yet he was God, in what ways did he retain or not retain his powers of being God?

The concept of ‘emptying’ was a raging controversy in the nineteenth century, and elements of it remain today. The Greek word used by Paul in the second chapter of Philippians, kenosis, is translated as ‘emptying’ in most Bible versions. The question is, Of what did Jesus, in his human (incarnate) state, empty himself?

The popular view in certain circles in the nineteenth century was that at the time of the Incarnation, the eternal God, the second person of the Trinity, laid aside — emptied himself of — his divine attributes so that he could become a man. And in becoming a man in the very real sense, he stopped being God. And so there is the transformation from deity to humanity because he set aside his omniscience, his omnipotence, his self-existence, and all of those other attributes that are proper to the nature of God.

There was on orthodox theologian during the middle of that controversy who said somewhat caustically that the only emptying that theory proved was the emptying of the minds of theologians who would teach such a thing as God stopping for one second to be God. If God laid aside one of his attributes, the immutable undergoes a mutation, the infinite suddenly stops being infinite; it would be the end of the universe. God cannot stop being God and still be God. So we can’t talk properly of God laying aside his deity to take humanity upon himself.

That is why orthodox Christianity has always declared that Jesus was verus homus, verus Deus – truly man, truly God; fully man and fully God. His human nature was fully human, and his divine nature always and everywhere was fully divine.

Nevertheless, Paul does speak of Christ emptying himself of something. I think the context of Philippians chapter 2 makes it very clear that what he emptied himself of was not his deity, not his divine attributes, but his prerogatives – his glory and his privileges. He willingly cloaked his glory under the veil of this human nature that he took upon himself. It’s not that the divine nature stops being divine in order to become human. In the Transfiguration for example (Matthew 17:1-13), we see the invisible divine nature break through and become visible, and Jesus is transfigured before the eyes of his disciples. But for the most part, Jesus concealed that glory.

I think Paul is saying in Philippians chapter 2 that we’re to imitate a willingness to relinquish our own glory and our own privileges and prerogatives.

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Please note that there are many things that Christians can and do disagree on. However, fundamental to Biblical Christianity is the overriding understanding (and teaching) of right Christology, the very nature of Jesus Christ.  He was both man and God – at all times. That is not negotiable. The power and doctrine of the Gospel of Christ is the Divine Nature. Satan will try to weaken that truth as much as possible, in ever age – KNOW your Bible!     Peter McArthur www.issachar.org.au

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But there were false prophets also among the people,

even as there shall be false teachers among you,

who privily shall bring in damnable heresies (2 Peter  2:1)

There have been a great number of unbiblical teachings masquerading as “new revelation” flooding the internet over the past few years. Many believers seem to think that by Googling they are actually “discerning”. How far from the truth this is! I have had my fair share of being led down stray paths over the years, but have always been thankful to the Holy Spirit for keeping me, and getting me, back on track with Scriptural truths and sound doctrine. I have found the following short article by Tozer to simply and directly settle the matter. May it be a blessing to you also.

Peter McArthur

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“Whatever it may be in our Christian experience that originates outside of Scriptures should, for that very reason, be suspect until it can be shown to be in accord with them.

If it should be found to be contrary to the Word of revealed truth no true Christian will accept it as being from God. However high the emotional content, no experience can be proved to be genuine unless we can find chapter and verse authority for it in Scriptures. “To the word and to the testimony” must always be the last and final proof.

Whatever is new or singular should also be viewed with caution until it can furnish scriptural proof of its validity. Throughout the twentieth century quite a number of unscriptural notions have gained acceptance among Christians by claiming that they were among truths that were to be revealed in the last days.

The truth is that the Bible does not teach that there will be new light and advanced spiritual experiences in the latter days; it teaches the exact opposite! Nothing in Daniel or the New Testament epistles can be tortured into advocating the idea that we of the end of the Christian era shall enjoy light that was not known at its beginning.

Beware of any man who claims to be wiser than the apostles or holier than the martyrs of the Early Church. The best way to deal with him is to rise and leave his presence!”

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...www.issachar.org.au

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I have included this article by Bob DeWaay because it succinctly puts the teachings of Bill Johnson and his “theological views” into perspective. There are plenty of other sites that are wary of his teachings, but this I think, is a very helpful one.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil

walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

1 Peter 5:8

After being in ministry for over 30 years now, and having been involved in the earlier stages of this kind of movement, I now find it necessary to disassociate myself from much of the hype, false theology, and soul manipulation that has overwhelmed the charismatic movement. The use of sound exegesis and proper hermeneutics comes from time spent in careful Bible study – of which it seems there is an amazing lack in the wider Body of Christ.

We have the promised Holy Spirit who is able to guide us in truth and revelation. Allied to this is our great safety factor: the written word of God which confirms truth. Biblical and spiritual discernment is more than a needful thing – it is vital in these days. Some who read this article may be offended but I hope that it will not be seen as simply a negative knee-jerk reaction, but rather a righteous response to the very serious issue of rampart false doctrines invading the Body of Christ today.

Peter McArthur, The Issachar Ministry

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An Invasion of Error

A review of the teachings of Bill Johnson of Bethel Church

by Bob DeWaay

Bill Johnson of Redding, California has become a popular teacher in one of the latest iterations of the Signs and Wonders movement. His book, When Heaven Invades Earth, reveals his underlying theology.

Johnson believes that there will be a great end-time revival that will be initiated by an “Elijah generation”[1] (a concept from the heretical Latter Rain movement) that shall transcend all other generations of Christians in regard to their ability to do great works of power.

• Johnson claims the following about himself and associates: “We will carry the Elijah anointing in preparing for the return of the Lord in the same way that John the Baptist carried the Elijah anointing and prepared the people for the coming of the Lord” (Johnson: 184)[2].

Supposedly these elitists will set off a great revival of signs and wonders greater than those of Jesus. This miracle explosion, they expect, will cause a great revival before the return of Christ.

• Johnson states, “I live for the revival that is unfolding and believe it will surpass all previous moves combined, bringing more than one billion souls into the Kingdom” (Johnson: 23).

The basic premise is that God always wants to do abundant and remarkable miracles but is kept from doing so by the fear and unbelief of the church. God awaits the arrival of specially anointed and enlightened Christians who will make it possible for Him to bring at long last an invasion of heaven to earth before the return of Christ. That is the point of Johnson’s title. His subtitle is A Practical Guide to a Life of Miracles. Accordingly, with the right information, zeal, desire, piety, faith and anointing, any Christian can “make the supernatural natural” (Johnson: 133).

In this article I will show from Johnson’s book that he has departed from orthodox Christian teaching in many serious ways. He teaches the heretical kenosis doctrine about Christ. He denies the Reformation principle of sola scriptura. He embraces pietism, elitism, subjectivism, fideism, dominion theology, and many other errors. I will claim that his supposed end-time revival is actually end-time apostasy.

How to Introduce Heresy

As I read Johnson’s book, I noted the various errors in it by category. At the end of the process the largest number of entries was under “anti-scholastic bias.” Johnson is firmly against careful scholarship based on sound exegesis of Scripture. To him, such study is likely to bring one into bondage and spiritual death. Sadly, this bias is widespread in current evangelicalism, but Johnson is quite blatant in his rejection of scholarship.

• Johnson claims, “For decades the Church has been guilty of creating doctrine to justify their lack of power. . .” (Johnson: 116).

It is hard to imagine what “problem” he is reacting to when most of our evangelical educational institutions are committed to postmodern mysticism, with their heroes being mystics like Dallas Willard and Richard Foster. It is hard to find a Bible college or seminary that does not promote “spiritual formation,” which is merely a fancy term for Roman Catholic mysticism. Yet Johnson decries the presence of doctrine. We will see later just how willing he is to depart from orthodox doctrine.

He resorts to an often misused passage that promotes his anti-scholastic bias:

• “A powerless Word is the letter not the Spirit. And we all know, ‘The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life’” (Johnson: 116).

This twisting of Paul’s meaning in 2 Corinthians 3:6 has a long history of use to promote subjectivism and mysticism. The false implication is that studying the Bible will kill you spiritually. The context shows that Paul was speaking of the letters written on stone (verse 3), meaning the Decalogue. Paul explains how the law “kills” in Romans 7:5-6. It kills because of our sinful passions that it exposes, not because it is studied for what it means.[3]

For example, does “you shall not steal” have some secret, mystical meaning that can only be assessed by certain elite persons with subjective spiritual impressions, or does it mean what it says? It means what it says. But to truly live as a person who is free from the sin of stealing we need the grace of God that comes through the gospel. In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul is speaking of those who have the Law but reject Christ. Bill Johnson is warning Christians that studying the Bible will kill them. In so doing he abuses the passage and lowers the value of Scripture in the minds of his readers.

Johnson warns against “a powerless Word.” The only way God’s Word lacks power is if we refuse to believe and obey it. The suggestion is false and abusive to the Lord’s flock that people like Johnson, who refuse to be taught the truth but relish signs and wonders, have “power” while those who love and believe God’s Word are powerless. It is easy to see where Johnson is taking his attack against Christian scholarship:

• “Those who feel safe because of their intellectual grasp of Scriptures enjoy a false sense of security. None of us has a full grasp of Scripture, but we all have the Holy Spirit. He is our common denominator who will always lead us into truth. But to follow Him, we must be willing to follow off the map — to go beyond what we know.” (Johnson: 76)

We will see in the next section just exactly where Johnson has gone “off the map” and where he wants to take us. The claim that we cannot know the Scripture but can know what the Holy Spirit is saying by other means is absurd. The Bible claims that Scripture is the Holy Spirit speaking to the church. The Holy Spirit inspired the Scriptures. We understand the Bible using our intellect.

Johnson’s approach is to use the person of the Holy Spirit as an excuse to reject scholarly Bible study in favour of undefined, subjective religious experiences. He further denigrates the Bible:

• “But in reality, the Bible is a closed book. Anything I get from the Word without God will not change my life. It is closed to insure that I remain dependent on the Holy Spirit.” (Johnson: 93)

His categories are false. The Bible is the Holy Spirit speaking to us and its power is not dependant on us using religious experience to escape its boundaries. Any lack of life-changing power is due to unbelief, not the meaning of Scripture as correctly understood. But Johnson claims that the Holy Spirit leads us off the map. Thus he denigrates sola scriptura.

The absurdity of Johnson’s claim is such that it amazes me how many are deceived by it. For example, the claim that the Holy Spirit leads us into truth (which He does through Scripture) by some subjective means that go “off the map” and beyond an “intellectual approach” is disingenuous. Those who go off the map are going somewhere. If they have gotten information directly from the Spirit about where they think they should go and then follow it, they are using their intellect as well. The subjective information from the spirit realm must register in someone’s mind in order for them to act on it.

So if the intellect is as bad thing when contemplating the Scriptures, why is it a good thing when determining which subjective impressions to follow?

• But Johnson warns, “The Church has all too often lived according to an intellectual approach to the Scriptures, void of the Holy Spirit’s influence.” This false dilemma (i.e., either intellect or Spirit) fools his readers into thinking that if they attend hyped up meetings such as Johnson promotes, the Spirit is at work; whereas if they were to carefully study God’s once-for-all revealed Word they would be stuck in a “powerless” situation (Johnson: 76).

By discounting careful Bible study, scholarship, and using one’s mind Johnson disarms his readers to the point that they are susceptible to heresies such as those he teaches. For example, “Reaction to error usually produces error” (Johnson: 51). If this is true, why did Paul write Galatians, Colossians, and other of his epistles to correct error? Johnson brags that he doesn’t read any books of people who disagree with his version of revivalism. He consistently downplays or rejects the value of scholarly study. He says: “It’s in the environment of worship that we learn things that go way beyond what our intellect can grasp” (Johnson: 44). That statement reminds me of one I read from a New Ager who suggested we contemplate “the sound of one hand clapping.” How do we learn things but they never register on our minds? Probably by subjective, religious feelings that remain undefined. By such feelings people like the Dalai Lama feel close to God. But are they?

Johnson Goes “Off the Map” by Teaching a False Christology

Bill Johnson embraces a doctrine that teaches that during His earthly ministry Jesus operated only as a man and not God. Johnson claims that Christ laid aside His divinity.

• Johnson says, “He performed miracles, wonders, and signs, as a man in right relationship to God . . . . not as God. If He performed miracles because He was God, then they would be unattainable for us” (Johnson: 29; emphasis and ellipses in original).

Johnson’s theology requires that Christians do greater miracles than Jesus. If Jesus’ divinity had any influence on His mighty works, then we might think we could not do the same (and rightly so). So Johnson embraces what is often called the kenosis heresy—that Jesus laid aside His divine nature.

• He writes elsewhere: “He laid his divinity aside as He sought to fulfill the assignment given to Him by the Father . . .” (Johnson: 79).

Johnson’s priority that believers must be able to do signs and wonders causes him to make many statements that blur the distinction between us and Christ and thereby diminish the uniqueness of Christ:

• “For us to become all that God intended, we must remember that Jesus’ life was a model of what mankind could become if it were in right relationship with the Father.” (Johnson: 138).

On the contrary, the Biblical writers claimed that Christ was the Creator (see John 1:3; Hebrews 1:2). Jesus was affirmed to be the unique divine son (Mark 9:7) by a voice from heaven. Jesus’ deity was affirmed many places in the gospels.

The gospel writers used Jesus’ mighty works to prove His deity. If Johnson is right and Jesus had laid aside His deity, then the mighty works prove only that Jesus learned what anyone could learn if he had the right faith and relationship to God. The claims of the gospels thereby become moot. Jesus is no longer unique, but only a special enlightened one who could lead the way to many such enlightened ones in the future. Thus we have a New Age Christ rather than the Biblical one.

If Johnson is correct and we can do greater works than Jesus (based on his misinterpretation of John 14:12; Johnson: 136), then whoever did greater works would have even greater reason to make himself the object of someone’s faith and worship.[4] The apologetic that points to Jesus’ life and miracles as proof of His deity would become worthless because others could do the same.

The kenosis doctrine is based on a misuse of Philippians 2:7 where Paul says that Jesus emptied Himself. False teachers claim that Jesus “emptied” Himself of deity and became only a man during the Incarnation. This claim is tantamount to the outright denial of Christ’s deity. This important issue is missed on people like Johnson, who attack the validity of Christian scholarship. Johnson’s denial of Christ’s deity during His earthly ministry is the same as the Word of Faith heresy’s denial of Jesus’ deity when He died on the cross. They claim he lost His divinity and suffered in hell as a man. Both denials are blatant heresy. Let me explain why.

A truly theistic understanding of deity has certain necessary definitions. The most basic definition is “eternal, non-contingent existence.” The reason such a definition is essential to Christian theology is to distinguish God as He has revealed Himself in Scripture from other deities. The God of the Bible is unique: “To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord, He is God; there is no other besides Him” (Deuteronomy 4:35). The true God is eternal, and He created the world out of nothing. All false gods are created (if they have any status of existence), and thus are not eternal. The prophet wrote: “Thus you shall say to them, ‘The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens’” (Jeremiah 10:11). The New Testament claimed that Jesus was the Creator to establish His true deity.

Non-contingence is a corollary to God’s eternal existence. If God existed from all eternity before anything else existed, there is nothing outside of God that could have caused His existence. This means that God as God is not contingent on anything outside of Himself. This is important because in Bill Johnson’s Christology, Christ’s deity is contingent. It goes away during the Incarnation only to return later. That which comes and goes is not eternal and non-contingent. This is the same fatal error of the Word of Faith heresy and similar to other such errors that were condemned in church history. The heretic Arius was famous for saying about Christ, “There was a time when He was not.” Various Christological heresies were rejected by early church councils and the definition of Chalcedon (451) stands as a valid definition based on the true teaching of Scripture.[5]

What does this have to do with Bill Johnson and kenosis? If Jesus’ divinity can be laid aside then it was never true divinity. Deity is not an attribute that comes and goes. It is or it is not. If lost and then regained it is contingent, and if contingent, then not true divinity. Anything less leads to every form of heresy, cult, and New Age teaching. If divinity can be gained, then created man can possibly attain it. The Bible denies this. Furthermore, if divinity can be laid aside it is not divinity. R C Sproul explains:

• “If God laid aside one of his attributes, the immutable undergoes a mutation, the infinite suddenly stops being infinite; it would be the end of the universe. God cannot stop being God and still be God. So we can’t talk properly of God laying aside his deity to take humanity upon himself.”[6]

If Jesus laid aside divinity, that would be proof that He never had true divinity. Thus Johnson’s doctrine is a de facto denial of the deity of Christ. Christological heresy is heresy. Period. So what does Philippians 2:7 imply that Jesus did empty Himself of? The answer is not divinity, which is eternal and cannot be compromised, but divine prerogatives. Paul’s point was about Christ’s humility that we should emulate, not His ontological status as God. Sproul explains:

• “I think the context of Philippians 2 makes it very clear that what he emptied himself of was not his deity, not his divine attributes, but his prerogatives — his glory and his privileges. He willingly cloaked his glory under the veil of this human nature that he took upon himself. It’s not that the divine nature stops being divine in order to become human. In the Transfiguration, for example (Matthew 17:1-13), we see the invisible divine nature break through and become visible, and Jesus is transfigured before the eyes of his disciples.”[7]

The true doctrine of Christ is that in the Incarnation He took upon Himself humanity, not that he laid aside deity. The Incarnate Christ is fully human and fully God. In theology this is called the hypostatic union. Johnson claims that the Holy Spirit has led him “off the map.” I agree that Johnson is indeed “off the map.” The “map” for Christians is Holy Spirit-inspired Scripture. Our doctrine is to come from the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16). The “map” draws out boundaries and when we cross those boundaries we are not merely lost, we are in ungodly error. The Holy Spirit does not lead God’s people off the map that He has given us, once for all.

So Johnson gives us a double whammy. First, he warns against scholarship and scholarly Bible study under pains of becoming spiritually dead. Then he introduces heresy that his followers have no means to discern because they have been scared away from the necessary tools for discernment. This is how entire movements depart from Christian orthodoxy and are plunged into theological ruin. The kenosis heresy is a damnable heresy and is as egregious as the Arian heresy, which still has life in modern times through the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Christological heresy is not an aid to the working of the Holy Spirit as Johnson claims, but it grieves the Holy Spirit.

Likely Johnson’s thousands of followers have no idea they are being led into rank heresy. They come for the signs and wonders in the hope that they will do greater miracles than Jesus. They are mesmerized by the claims that they shall be part of an Elijah generation that will defeat evil on the earth before the return of Christ. Very few will ever realize that the doctrine of Christ they are taught departs from the teaching of the church that has been embraced by nearly every Christian group for centuries.

It could be argued that the definition of Chalcedon is unbiblical (which it is not). But the burden of proof lies with those who would deny it. One cannot lightly reject the doctrine of Christ that has held sway for centuries. To do so would require extensive theological work and Biblical argument designed to persuade conservative Christian scholars. One cannot go into such an undertaking lightly. But Johnson does, glibly denying the deity of Christ for no better reason than he thinks that doing so will likely make it easier for Christians to think they can do greater miracles than Jesus. He doesn’t offer any scholarly proof that his kenosis doctrine is Biblical. Why should anyone take him seriously? Sadly, thousands do.

Signs and Wonders Theory

More important than anything else, for Johnson and followers, is the presence of signs and wonders — the more the better. The reason for this is that they are a necessary prerequisite for the hoped for end-time revival that will be initiated by an “Elijah generation” of elite Christians.

• Says Johnson, “Our mandate is simple: raise up a generation that can openly display the raw power of God” (Johnson 27, 28). Having such power is what he calls an “authentic gospel” because “powerlessness is inexcusable” (Johnson: 27).

We are the problem, he claims, because God wants to do miracles but He cannot because of our bad thinking. Miracles await the coming of a generation of enlightened ones who will know the secret. Thus we have a New Age definition of miracles.[8]

To show that in Johnson’s theology the supernatural is something that can be learned and mastered by man (thus robbing it of valid supernatural status), we see that he has a school of the supernatural. It is called the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry.[9] Once the supernatural can be mastered by learnable and reproducible processes, it is no longer supernatural, but natural. Thus in the New Age we have “A Course in Miracles.” In such thinking, there is nothing truly supernatural because all of nature is infused with God (panentheism). Given his distaste for scholarship, Johnson likely does not see the implications of his “school of the supernatural.”

If there is a process to be learned or a religious state to be achieved whereby miracles can be produced by humans at will, such miracles become natural events.

• Johnson claims, “The purpose of the anointing is to make the supernatural natural” (Johnson 133).

This sounds like the opening of a whole new world, but it involves bringing the concept of “supernatural” into a pan-entheistic world view rather than a Biblical one. The Biblical concept of supernatural requires a theistic view of the universe in which the transcendent God of the Bible created the world out of nothing, but stays involved in His creation providentially. God can and does intervene in human affairs. The work of Christ is truly supernatural. Christ was not some enlightened One who learned and shared secrets that would work for anyone else with the same level of enlightenment. That view of Christ is that of the New Age. Christ’s works were truly supernatural because the Creator of the universe was on the scene of history and proved His true identity.

If the supernatural becomes “natural,” as Johnson claims, through those who have a superior anointing, then the uniqueness of Christ is compromised. The supernatural was always there to be accessed by those with special experiences and insights, thus it is not truly supernatural, but part of nature. Miracles, in such a worldview, are not miracles from a Biblical perspective.

When Paul spoke of power in relationship to the gospel, he spoke of the power of God to save Jew and gentile through the cross: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). Paul uses the term “power” the same way in 1Corinthians: “For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). God’s power through the cross saves us from God’s wrath against sin. False teachers can perform signs and wonders but they have no true power as Paul speaks of it. The arrogant teachers who came to Corinth had words of knowledge (gnosis) and wisdom (sophia) but lacked the power of God that saves lost sinners (1 Corinthians 4:19-20).

What is truly lost on Johnson and his followers is that the Bible predicts false signs and wonders at the end of the age. There is no prediction in Scripture that an invasion of true miracles from God will happen at the very end. For example Jesus warns: “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24). “Christs” are literal “anointed ones.” There will be those who claim to be anointed in some special way that will do great signs and wonders. They are false. Antichrist (whose name and role is based on the concept of “anointed”) will do great signs and wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:9). Paul also predicts end time deception in 2 Timothy chapter 3.

Johnson brushes the possibility of such deception aside by calling these signs “counterfeits” (Johnson 110). False signs and wonders as warned against in the Bible are not sleight-of-hand magic tricks, but real signs that point to a false message. Thus the discerning of spirits concerns objectively evaluating teaching (1 John 4:1-5) not subjectively evaluating apparent miracles. A psychic healing might be a real healing, but it is not from God. It is known to be false by the false teaching of the healer. If such a false teacher produced a real, verified healing, the teaching and teacher would still be false.

By combining signs and wonders with a false Christology that denies the deity of Christ, Johnson has placed his followers in the centre of end time deception. Now rather than the one “Anointed One” (Jesus Christ who is unique), there are many “anointed ones” who supposedly can do greater miracles than Jesus. This situation is described in the Bible: “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18). “Antichrists” as understood from the Greek, are substitute “anointed ones.” In the Bible, all Christians are equally “anointed” by God, and only Jesus specially anointed, i.e., the Messiah.[10] An elite group of specially anointed ones who comprise the “Elijah generation” as taught in Bill Johnson’s Latter Rain theology would qualify as antichrists.

A related question is whether or not Johnson and company are actually doing greater miracles than Jesus. In Luke 8, Jesus is shown to have calmed the sea, delivered the most demonized man imaginable, healed the sick, and raised the dead. Luke’s point is that Jesus has power over nature, Satan, sickness and even death. Thus Jesus is Lord of the universe, and His claims are true.

Do any of Johnson’s Elijah generation elite display greater power and authority than Jesus did in Luke 8? He lists a number of typical manifestations in a section he entitles, “When God Colours Outside the Lines.” They include laughter, gold dust appearing from nowhere, oil appearing from nowhere, wind in a closed room, a cloud appearing, fragrance smelled, gems appearing, and feathers falling in meetings (Johnson: 141). Most of these have no precedence in Scripture, and none of them is as profound as the Messianic signs of Luke 8.

There is a certain naiveté that accompanies those who follow signs and wonders theory. We once had a regular pastors meeting. At one of these a pastor attended who had just come from witnessing the so-called “Toronto Blessing” (the laughing revival as it was called). He recounted how he was standing in a food line and one of the attendees began gobbling like a turkey, strutting around, and using his elbows as turkey wings. The pastor concluded that God was at work. There is nothing bizarre enough to the point that true signs and wonders believers will question it. Signs and wonders that accompany a false Christology such as that of Bill Johnson do not thereby prove the existence of a great end-time revival. Rather, they prove the existence of end-time deception as predicted in the Bible.

Dominion Theology

Johnson’s theology contains a blend of many problematic movements of our day. One of them is the dominion teaching, popular in the Word of Faith movement. The idea is that Satan was able to wrest the earth, and authority over it, from Adam and Eve, leaving God on the outside having to figure out a way to get it back. His plan was for Jesus to come and take it back from Satan (which is what Word of Faith teachers say happened in hell during Jesus’ supposed stay there — to wrestle with Satan as a man, and not God). Jesus then, according to theory, delegated to the church the job of taking control of the earth back from Satan and putting it under the church.

• Johnson teaches “All that Adam owned, including the title deed to the planet with its corresponding position of rule, became part of the devil’s spoil” (Johnson: 31).

Like others of his ilk, Johnson uses Satan’s offer of the kingdoms during Jesus’ temptation as proof that Satan, not God, had the “keys of authority” to the earth (Johnson: 32). Jesus got them back and gave them to the church (Johnson 32). Proof that we have regained the dominion that Adam supposedly lost is to be found in achieving the attributes promoted by Word of Faith teachers:

• “In Adam and Eve’s commission to subdue the earth, they were without sickness, poverty, and sin. Now that we are restored to His original purpose, should we expect anything less?” (Johnson: 33).

• Johnson interprets the Lord’s Prayer, which is primarily a prayer for the return on Christ, in terms of his “kingdom now” theology: “This is the primary purpose for all prayer — if it exists in heaven, it is to be loosed on earth” (Johnson: 59).

This means that if we do not have problem free lives, we are lacking faith, praying wrongly, or failing to understand our role as having dominion.

• Johnson explains: “Such an invasion causes the circumstances here to line up with heaven” (Johnson: 59). This invasion is in the title of his book.

Johnson’s over-realized eschatology sees the sensibilities of many Christians, informed as they are from the Bible, to be a problem that will stop revival: “The second greatest reason for revival’s end [behind quenching the spirit interpreted as any questioning of bizarre manifestations] is when the Church begins to look for the return of the Lord instead of pursuing a greater breakthrough in the Great Commission (Johnson: 161).

Earlier Johnson had interpreted the Great Commission in terms of his dominion theology (Johnson: 32). Those who correctly understand the Lord’s Prayer become the problem people who stop revival. Longing for the Lord’s return is discouraged. Eschatology of the soon return of Christ is replaced with eschatology of dominion, kingdom-now theology that sees the concept “maranatha” as a threat to revival.

A Deluge of Error

The rejection of scholarship and careful exegesis, in Johnson’s case, leads where it always does: to diverse theological errors. There are many that would take too long to cover in detail but need to be addressed. I shall do so briefly in this section.

Gnosticism

Gnosticism was an ancient heresy that claimed that the material realm was evil and the spiritual realm good.

• Johnson states, “Faith is the key to discovering the superior nature of the invisible realm” (Johnson: 43).

The truth is that both realms, visible and invisible contain both good and evil. Both are created by God, and neither is innately superior. When the Bible speaks of things not seen, it includes things like the fulfilment of future promises and is not limited to ontological “realms,” such as material and spiritual.

• Johnson claims that there is an unlocked potential for seeing into the supposedly superior spirit realm: “Many of us have thought that the ability to see into the spiritual realm is more the result of a special gift than an unused potential of everyone” (Johnson 43).

He misuses Hebrews 11:1 to teach his Gnostic understanding of realms: “The invisible is superior to the natural . . .

Because the invisible is superior to the natural, faith is anchored in the unseen” (Johnson 45). But in Hebrews 11, what was unseen to the patriarchs was the future fulfillment of the promises of God, not just the heavenly realities (though those are included). There is much evil in the unseen world, so Johnson’s Gnostic categories are not what the Biblical authors had in mind.

Elitism

The Bible promotes the necessity that every member of the body of Christ is seen as important and essential, whatever their gifts may be (1 Corinthians 12:14-25). But Johnson repeatedly speaks of an elite group of Christians that shall be greater than all other groups in church history. Of course those will be the ones associated with his movement and others who embrace the Latter Rain heresy. (IHOP; International House Of Prayer in Kansas City is another example).

• For example: “Much of the opposition to revival comes from soul-driven Christians. The apostle Paul calls them carnal” (Johnson: 47).

He goes on to claim that the spirit (not capitalized in translation, signifying the human spirit) influencing the mind produces true learning.

His categories are reminiscent of Watchman Nee, whose false teachings harmed me early in my Christian life. Paul does not teach that the soul is problematic and the human spirit good. The revivalists that have true enlightenment by following their spirits rather than souls, are of course those who listen to Johnson and other such teachers. They are the elite ones, and the rest of us are left trying to understand the Bible.

• It is the few who have the real glory: “He lives in all believers, but the glory of His presence comes to rest on only a few” (Johnson: 149).

The enlightened ones are part of the “Elijah generation” (New Order of the Latter Rain terminology)

• “But there will be no contest when such counterfeits go up against this Elijah generation that becomes clothed with heaven’s power on the Mount Carmel of human reasoning” (Johnson: 150).

His attack on reason is unabated.

Fideism

Many of these errors are closely related. Fideism is the belief that faith operates independent of reason and needs no rational proof for its validity. Fideism is shown in this statement:

• “When we learn to learn that way [by faith], we open ourselves up to grow in true faith because faith does not require understanding to function” (Johnson: 47).

Again, he is misusing concepts from Hebrews 11. For example, Abraham had to understand Gods promises to have faith in them. Faith is not disconnected from rational content in the Scripture as it is in Johnson’s fideistic theology.

Pietism

Johnson shows the same pietistic tendencies as many in today’s evangelical world of mysticism. He warns about the lack of “power encounters” and fear of experiences that might lead us away from scripture.

• He then states: “But it is illegitimate to allow fear to keep us from pursuing a deeper experience with God!” (Johnson: 92). He warns: “God is bigger than His book” (Johnson: 92).

The obvious implication is that we must have extra-biblical experiences unless we live as lesser Christians ruled by fear. Pietists always look to higher order experiences to validate their Christian experience.[11]

Conclusion

The invasion of heaven promoted by When Heaven Invades Earth is in reality an invasion of theological error. Johnson says there is no sickness or poverty in heaven, which is true. However, there is also no falsehood or error in heaven. Johnson’s potpourri of error is astounding in is breadth. His is a classic case of zeal for a cause divorced from theological truth. In his thinking, zeal for signs and wonders (and the resultant end-time revival) baptize any theological errors, including his heretical Christology.

My conclusion is not overly harsh: that this movement is not really from heaven, as it is claimed to be. Many young people are targeted and deceived by it. Powerful experiences in a Christian context form a potent elixir that dulls ones theological senses. I know because when I was young, I was drawn into a similar movement based on experiences that I allowed to trump sound Biblical exegesis. Thankfully God saved me out of that and led me, through Scripture, to the true gospel. May many who are in the clutches of this false revivalism be spared as I was.

The original was published in The Plumbline Newsletter of Dr. Orrel Steinkamp.

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End Notes:

[1] Bill Johnson, When Heaven Invades Earth – A Practical Guide to a Life of Miracles, (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 2003) 150. All subsequent citations from this book will be bracketed within my text.

[2] See Critical Issues Commentary issue 103 for a discussion of latter day apostles, the Latter Rain movement and their false understanding of an “Elijah Company” that will appear to defeat God’s enemies.

{3] See Critical Issues Commentary issue 16 for a full discussion of 2 Corinthians 3:6 and its common misuse in the church.

[4] See Critical Issues Commentary issue 65 for contextual and exegetical analysis that disproves this misinterpretation of John 14:12.

[5] This definition can be read here: http://www.twincityfellowship.com/special/definition_of_chalcedon.pdf

[6] R C Sproul: How Could Jesus be Both Divine and Human.

[7] Ibid.

[8] See Critical Issues Commentary issue 23, “New Age Miracles.”

[9] See http://www.ibethel.org/site/school-of-ministry .

[10] See Critical Issues Commentary issue 63, “Antichrists and The Antichrist.”

[11] See Critical Issues Commentary Issue 101, “How Pietism Deceives Christians.”

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 …Peter McArthur

An old woman of 90 from Valdres in Norway had a vision from God in 1968. The evangelist Emanuel Minos had meetings where she lived. He had the opportunity to meet her, and she told him what she had seen. He wrote it down but thought it to be so unbelievable that he put it in a drawer. After 30 years he understood he had to share the vision with others.

The woman from Valdres was a very alert, reliable, awake and credible Christian, with a good reputation among all who knew her. This is what she saw:

“I saw the time just before the coming of Jesus and the outbreak of the Third World War. I saw the events with my natural eyes. I saw the world like a kind of a globe and saw Europe, land by land.  I saw Scandinavia. I saw Norway. I saw certain things that would take place just before the return of Jesus, and just before the last calamity happens, a calamity the likes of which we have never before experienced.”

She mentioned four waves:

1. “First before Jesus comes and before the Third World War breaks out there will be a ‘détente’ like we have never had before.  There will be peace between the super powers in the east and the west, and there will be a long peace. [Remember, that this was in 1968 when the cold war was at its highest. -E. Minos]. In this period of peace there will be disarmament in many countries, also in Norway and we are not prepared when it (the war) comes. The Third World War will begin in a way no one would have anticipated – and from an unexpected place.

2. “A lukewarmness without parallel will take hold of the Christians, a falling away from true, living Christianity. Christians will not be open for penetrating preaching. They will not, like in earlier times, want to hear of sin and grace, law and gospel, repentance and restoration. There will come a substitute instead: prosperity (happiness) Christianity.

“The important thing will be to have success, to be something; to have material things, things that God never promised us in this way.  Churches and prayer houses will be emptier and emptier. Instead of the preaching we have been used to for generations – like, to take your cross up and follow Jesus – entertainment, art and culture will invade the churches where there should have been gatherings for repentance and revival. This will increase markedly just before the return of Jesus.

3. “There will be a moral disintegration that old Norway has never experienced the likes of. People will live together like married without being married. [I do not believe the concept ‘co-habitor’ existed in 1968 - E. Minos.] Much uncleanness before marriage, and much infidelity in marriage will become the natural (the common), and it will be justified from every angle. It will even enter Christian circles and we pet it – even sin against nature. Just before Jesus returns there will be TV- programmes like we have never experienced. [TV had just arrived in Norway in 1968. -E. Minos]

“TV will be filled with such horrible violence that it teaches people to murder and destroy each other, and it will be unsafe in our streets. People will copy what they see. There will not be only one ‘station’ on TV, it will be filled with ‘stations.’ [She did not know the word ‘channel’ which we use today. Therefore she called them stations. - E. Minos.] TV will be just like the radio where we have many ‘stations,’ and it will be filled with violence. People will use it for entertainment. We will see terrible scenes of murder and destruction one of the other, and this will spread in society. Sex scenes will also be shown on the screen, the most intimate things that take place in a marriage.” [I protested and said, we have a paragraph in our laws that forbids this kind of thing. - E. Minos.] Then the old woman said: “It will happen, and you will see it. All we have had before will be broken down, and the most indecent things will pass before our eyes.”

4. “People from poor countries will stream to Europe. [In 1968 there was no such thing as immigration. - E. Minos.] They will also come to Scandinavia and Norway. There will be so many of them that people will begin to dislike them and become hard with them.  They will be treated like the Jews before the Second World War.  Then the full measure of our sins will have been reached [I protested at the issue of immigration. I did not understand it at the time. - E. Minos.]

The tears streamed from the old woman’s eyes down her cheeks.  ”I will not see it, but you will. Then suddenly, Jesus will come and the Third World War breaks out. It will be a short war.” (She saw it in the vision.)

“All that I have seen of war before is only child’s play compared to this one, and it will be ended with a nuclear atom bomb. The air will be so polluted that one cannot draw one’s breath. It will cover several continents, America, Japan, Australia and the wealthy nations. The water will be ruined (contaminated?). We can no longer till the soil. The result will be that only a remnant will remain.  The remnant in the wealthy countries will try to flee to the poor countries, but they will be as hard on us as we were on them.

“I am so glad that I will not see it, but when the time draws near, you must take courage and tell this. I have received it from God, and nothing of it goes against what the Bible tells. “The one who has his sin forgiven and has Jesus as Savior and Lord, is safe.”

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WHEN THE OIL FLOWS : Prophecy

An elder in the Pentecostal Church at Moss, Norway, Martin Andersen, heard the following prophecy in 1937, in Moss:

‘When oil comes out of the North Sea and along the Norwegian coast, things will begin to happen, and the return of Jesus is approaching.’

When these words had been proclaimed, people stood up in the congregation and asked the man to sit down and not speak such nonsense. In 1937 it was indeed nonsense to talk about oil being pumped along the Norwegian coast. Today all the world’s big oil companies are pumping oil along the coast of Norway. Norway is the world’s third greatest exporter of oil – after Saudi Arabia.

Original source editor’s note:

Because of my fear of transmitting false prophecy, I have diligently inquired concerning the information in this letter. Publication has been delayed until permission could be secured from Ragna [Von Porat] in Israel. In my contact with her, she has assured me that these accounts are true and reliable. In fact, she relates that the first account has already been published in one of Norway’s Christian newspapers.

I have found in my own research that the first account was also published by the Christian Information Service in Germany. The website of Dr. Emanuel Minos is active today and can be accessed for verification. Although the language on this site is Norwegian, the very similar story of the woman and her vision is posted there in English. The above accounts are transmitted just as they were received.

Ragna took it upon herself to verify as much of the above information as she could. Ragna states, “I certainly have no objection to your going ahead [with publishing]. It must be now-if ever.”

May we discern well and heed it better!

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…Peter McArthur

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Theme to consider here : Revelation is a form of spiritual light !

For with You is the fountain of life;

in Your light we see light.

Psalm 36:9

But all things being exposed by the light are

clearly revealed, for everything having

been revealed is light.

Ephesians 5:13

There’s a saying: “The prayer that won’t move your heart, is unlikely to move the heart of God either.”

The meaning behind this is to get us to be engaged in prayer and not just speak out without paying attention to what we’re actually saying. In other words: pray specifically and with fervency. Note what James 5:16 says.

“Confess your sins one to another, and pray one for another,

that you may be healed. The effectual fervent

prayer of the righteous man avails much.”

The emphasis in the Greek apparently is on the word “fervent” not on “righteous”. It’s not simply our righteousness in Christ that gets our prayer heard (even though it’s vitally important of course), but our fervency in asking.

If we initiate something in the Spirit, the Father will respond. The Holy Spirit always responds to spiritual activity – as long as it’s righteous spiritual activity and not deception, pride or manipulation born from the soul of man.

Recently as I was pondering this, these questions came to mind.

• “What revelations did I have this week?
• “What have I experienced this week in the Lord?”

It was as though the Father was asking me, “Are My revelations becoming your experience?” It was quite sobering. I began to see more clearly how the Father desires to present Himself to the Body of His Son. He loves to reveal Himself.

Partly because of this I began to understand how the Father wants us to receive an increase in spiritual ability. This would require us to learn to walk and live in His Spirit. Being sensitive in the Holy Spirit allows the Father to deal with us in many ways.

For example, if we are truly open to the ways of heaven, there may well be occasions when we shouldn’t ask the Lord to stay His hand, but do with us as He chooses. That’s a very serious attitude to have. Remember what Job said: “Even though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” (Job 13:15). Now that’s maturity in the Spirit.

Why does the Father desire us be spiritual active? Answer: So we can adjust our lives and align with His purpose. It’s got nothing to do with becoming “more spiritual” and “holy” and honoured by others. So many times people think that by being “more spiritual” they will be seen as more holy. In fact it’s the other way around. Becoming increasingly spiritual is the result of living a holy life, not vice versa.

Many of us have fallen for this trap at various times I’m sure. We think that if we can prophesy well (and hopefully accurately), heal the sick, and have insightful dreams and visions, then we’ll be looked upon as spiritually mature, close to God, anointed, etc.

But it doesn’t work that way. Miracles come out of holiness of life. You don’t become holy because you can do miracles. This is the false reasoning the Catholic church has when it wants to “make a saint”. It goes looking for “holy people” and then sees if they’ve done a miracle – and whamo, you get made a saint! Quite unbiblical.

So it is that revelation, which is a form of spiritual light, enables us to see what God sees. Look at this text about Elisha.

“And Elisha prayed and said, I beg You, O Lord, open his eyes so

that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man.

And he looked, and behold, the mountain was full of horses

and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

2 Kings 6:17

Dreams and visions are part of this too. Likewise also prophesies.

Now most of us would thoroughly love to “see” into the heavenlies I’m sure. We would be thrilled to see into the spiritual realm and know what’s going on. But seeing what God sees isn’t a one way street. The other side of the coin is: Would you like to see how God sees you? Probably not.

This is the other side of spiritual advancement. To know God AND to be known by God.

The more spiritual you become in Christ, the more aware of sin you will become. The point is, to grow spiritually will open us up to God’s scrutiny. This is a point not usually recognised by many Christians.

The more revelations, dreams, prophesies and spiritual revelation you receive, the more you will personally come under the microscope of the Lord’s gaze. It will be unsettling to say the least.

When God’s light shines, everything is seen in its true colour.

“And there is no creature hidden from His sight,

but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes

of Him to whom we have to give an account.”

Hebrews 4:13

Spiritual advancement (or revival, if you like to call it that), whether it be individual or corporate, only seems to come when God’s light focuses upon us. Therefore we need to see (1) our own state, and (2) God’s abundant grace to meet the state we’re in.

While most of us would think it would be a good thing to “see” just where we’re at, it’s quite amazing that we also have the ability NOT to recognise the pride and self-centredness within.

They said to him, “Let us sit in your glory, one at your right and one at your left.”

But Jesus told them, “You don’t realize what you’re asking. Can you drink from

the cup that I’m going to drink from or be baptized with the baptism with

which I’m going to be baptized?” They told him, “We can.” Jesus said to

them, “You will drink from the cup that I’m going to drink and be

baptized with the baptism with which I’m going to be baptized.

Mark 10:37-39.

The most effective Christians seem to have been those who judge their own lives, not according to their own measure, but solely according to the Word.

But if we judged ourselves correctly, we would not be judged.

Now while we are being judged by the Lord, we are being

disciplined lest we be condemned along with the world.

1 Corinthians 11: 31-32

If we desire spiritual insight into God’s purpose for our lives, our churches, even our towns and cities, then first we need to let God’s light work in us personally. It is a spiritual truth that our spirit is released from bondage and darkness according to the very degree of our brokenness.

Or to put it another way; revival begins furthest from the eyes of man and closest to the eyes of God.

The effects of this are powerful, and indeed, vital. When we know our own weak spiritual state, we gradually learn to hate it. This makes us distrust our own thoughts, and seek only for God’s. As we learn this reality, we actually grow quieter in the Lord. Wisdom brings a settling of the spirit man. This can often be misunderstood by others who think “we’ve lost it” or have given up in spiritual things because we don’t argue the point anymore, or think we have to defend every doctrine that’s being debated.

Indeed the most common characteristic of a truly mature believer is their humility. They have been broken by the Lord many times, and learned to bend to His will. Spiritual insight and revelatory light is born out of the fear of the Lord.

The very shedding of the Father’s light on us is not for condemnation, but for rewarding!

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

And see if there be any hurtful way in me,

And lead me in the everlasting way.

Psalm 139: 23-24

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Teach me to do Thy good pleasure,

For Thou art my God –Thy Spirit is good,

Lead me into a land of uprightness.

Psalm 143:10

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My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land,

so that they may dwell with me;

he who walks in a perfect way shall serve me.

Psalm 101:6

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It is a great joy to arrive at this place spiritually. It’s an exhaustive journey because the soul will have to die many times, willing to be crucified and learn the ways of heaven. But the rewards are eternal, and bring great pleasure to our heavenly Father.

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….Peter McArthur

….www.issachar.org.au

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It was just a simple invitation to pray that led a small group of people in 1898 to meet on Saturday evenings from 9 to 10 for prayer. They met at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago to cry out for an awakening. Within a short time, the group grew to 300 passionate intercessors. A few members remained to pray and intercede into the early hours one Sabbath morning. R. A. Torrey joined this small group to pray for a world – wide revival. During that intense intercession, Torrey asked God to send him around the world. Within a weeks of the close of the prayer meeting, two strangers approached Torrey and asked him to come to Melbourne, Australia to preach. These two men had left Australia months before in search of a man that they believed God would use to bring revival to their nation. Upon meeting Torrey, they felt they had found God’s man. The result of that Chicago prayer meeting was an invitation for Torrey to come to Australia.

Torrey arrived in Australia in 1902. 15,000 tried to pack themselves into a building that could only seat 8,000. 8,000 conversions took place in that one meeting. For six months, Torrey and Charles M. Alexander traveled from town to town preaching. Revival swept the nation. Torrey believed that the key to the awakening was prayer. A woman in Melbourne read his book on prayer. She was so deeply touched by his teaching on the subject, that she organized her friends into prayer circles. The groups grew to 1,700 bands meeting regularly to pray for revival. This move of God spread into Britain, Ireland and into other countries. By 1904 30,000 of God’s people were enrolled in daily prayer groups. Their prayer was “Revive thy work, Oh Lord.” These prayers resulted in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in 1905 in Wales, Britain, America, in India and China! Wales was rocked by a mighty awakening. London experienced a five month long revival. A mighty choir of 4,000 made Londoners wonder what music must be like in Heaven!

It is estimated that Torrey and his partner Alexander led over 100,000 souls into the Kingdom of God. All this had its beginning in Chicago with a small group of people praying, “Revive thy work, Oh Lord!”

May God raise up such prayer warriors in our day who will daily cry out, “REND THE HEAVENS AND COME DOWN. REVIVE THY WORK, OH LORD!”

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And this one:

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Wicked sailors, who were upon the top deck, heard the jubilant singing and decided to investigate.  Upon discovering that it was coming from a secret prayer meeting, the vile bunch decided to mock and jeer.  Descending the iron stairs to the place of prayer, the mob fell under the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit.  Their jeers turned to bitter tears.  Conviction overcame them and they began to cry out to God for mercy and forgiveness.  For several days, the prayer meeting continued.  Hundreds of the crew were converted.  The captain of the ship sent a message ashore requesting the help of pastors and ministers to come and pray with the sailors.

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The USS North Carolina became a bastion of revival.  Converted sailors, upon completing their training, were assigned to other ships in the fleet.  Wherever they went, revival broke out.  Revival swept the US fleet.  Prayer is a powerful force!

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May these days and His ways come again to us – quickly!

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…Peter McArthur

…www.issachar.org.au

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….Peter McArthur

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VISION: “JUST ONE ROAR OF THE LION”

He saw this vision on the 22nd of August 2006

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I saw a Lion. I walked with Him to a very high rock. The Lion then climbed the rock and stood on the very top of this high rock. I stood below looking up at Him.

He let out a LOUD ROAR.

And EVERYTHING in the atmosphere / universe changed.

In a flash I had a 360 degree vision, and what I am about to relate happened in a flash, but I spent the whole of the 22nd of August  just waiting on God to see in ‘slow motion’ what I had seen in a speedy flash, and understand what I had seen.

I was told that my mind could not grasp the vastness of the changes I saw in the vision. So I stayed at home and did not take up any duties but spent the whole day, off and on, every few hours just re-visiting this vision and seeing it unfurl in more detail, now at a speed that I could cope with. I don’t think I have ever seen such a lengthy vision, condensed into a 360-degree vision flash before.

Frame by frame this is what I saw

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I saw Empires fall, and wars begin.

I saw that where previously, formulas and general understanding were proven, it did not work any more, where there were people and places overflowing with money one moment, the next morning the moneyed had nothing.

I saw many ‘proven’ thoughts, and ways now nullified.

I saw that the balance was tipped in favour of the East.

I saw angels who had been working in the North and Northwest, recalled and sent East.

I saw children snatched out of the hands of some of the parents.

Fresh food stopped in the western area and was diverted to the East. The fertile became barren and the barren became fertile.

All this from Just One Roar of the Lion.

I saw three long lines of writing in the sky. It read:

Lost, Lost, Lost.

But below it I saw the words:

Gain , gain, gain……..where this line ended I could not see, as it just continued on, endlessly.

I saw that the East gained money, food, etc.

The losses were loss of power, prestige, money, position.

I saw:

Where a soldier stood to load his gun, to shoot, even the last single bullet he had was taken away.

Where a soldier stood ready for packing his gun, where truce had been declared, divine bullets loaded his gun, and led him to shoot.

In the universe, expected cosmic events were diverted and unexpected ones were brought forth.

Deserts bloomed, greenery was made barren. Light that had focused on the West, now moved East.

This was so sudden that it was like saying…”One morning I woke up, and all was changed”.

(Scripture: Amos 3: 8: )

The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?

The Lion has Roared.

Dark clouds disintegrated from one place and gathered in another.

Whilst there was a West to East exchange on a large level, on individual levels there were changes too. Everything, everything, everything, was changing.

All this from, Just One Roar of the Lion.

Just that One Roar, and things from here, were flying there and vice versa. People/ Nations, who had got used to a way of life/of thinking, were in for either a shock or a surprise.

CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE.

The hungry were fed, and the fed, went hungry. All opposites were happening.

Many homeless were housed, and many of those with homes became homeless. Light became dark and dark became light.

Whatever the present situation, the opposite was happening.

Many rich became poor and many of the poor became rich.

All this from Just One Roar of the Lion.

Clouds that were meaning to rain, suddenly disintegrated and it rained elsewhere, where least expected.

People were in puzzlement. They said to themselves, “but I thought….”  No, nothing would be as “I thought.”

Many were saying, “But it always worked this way”. Now no more.

For those who said, “It’s never worked for me” they were surprised to know that it will, now.

Heralds blew trumpets, proclaiming: “ End of empire, end of empire”.

Anyone who had been a specialist, monopolist, the kingpin in any area of his life/business, now that would begin to end. Nations that had empires or aspirations building towards it, would now see the beginning of the end of those empires.

Nothing was the same. Everything, everything had changed.

Just One Roar Of The Lion.

And He Has Roared.

Empty pockets were filled, the filled emptied.

Strategic changes were taking place. Whatever had worked like clockwork would not work now. People of peace were making war, and warring nations calmed down.

For the warring nations it was like the wind was taken out of their sails.

Just as Egypt, Persia, Babylon, Rome, Britain etc were all once super powers/empires, but their reign and era ended, so now any ‘super power’ or aspirations thereof, was being diffused. Nations that were looked up to were now beginning to be looked down upon and vice versa.

Balance of power and favour had shifted East.

Angels in the West, held Gold Books. One book was titled “Most Wanted”, the other “Most Favoured”.

‘The Most Wanted’ Book had living photographs of the most evil people, the traitors etc. Each one was dealt with and disposed.

The Most Favoured, in the other gold book with living photographs, were some of those, who had lived through most desolate conditions, such were lifted up.

(All that is related here, remember, was happening all at once.)

In the midst of all this, I heard the Angels sing: Glory, Glory, Glory.

Time was sped up in some places, in others, it was slowed down.

Wild beasts were all crouching in fear, afraid. I saw the milk inside of cows curdle.

Just One Roar Of the Lion.

I saw eagles, fitted with miniature bells. The bells were so minute, it was hard to believe that if they rang any could hear. Eagles did not speak, they just carried the bells that were fitted to their beaks.

People were to ‘read’ the sounds.

Wheresoever the eagles flew, to some the ringing of the bells was as a very high, deafening pitch. I was not allowed to hear this high pitch sound, but it was revealed to me, that it was an unbearable/ deafening high pitch sound.

But there were others who heard the same bells, which the Eagles had attached to their beaks, and to these the sound transmitted was different. It was sheer music. I heard this. Such people, had their hands lifted high and they were happily sighing and exclaiming, “Finally!”

I saw Angels collect gold crowns from those in the North, and they dipped the crowns in a smoky place (the kind of smoke one sees with dry ice), and when the crowns emerged from the smoke, they looked exactly the same, but now they were silver.

No matter in which direction I looked all had changed.

It seemed that the very nature of nature changed.

Volcanoes that were dormant, the ashes were removed, and a new fire was lit in them. It seemed that certain species, suddenly became extinct.

Reams of paper fell from the sky; paper and pens were sent down, for chroniclers and historians, for it was going to be a busy time for them.

Nothing of all creation was left untouched, at Just One Roar of The Lion.

Outside the earth looked still, but within were rapid-fire changes.

Quick, sudden, some were devastating, others surprisingly favorable, but this favor was mostly for the East.

I saw what looked like a flight-path that normally airlines describe on their brochures, as routes of flights/destinations.

For prophets, their flight -paths were moved from here to there, as if randomly, but it was not random, it was the Plan of God for prophets. Prophets will be suddenly moved, and see things from a new vantage point.

I saw some people become tar, whilst others became fountains of water.

Just One Roar Of The Lion.

Many changes took place in the Universe.

On earth, snows of old melted, and water in unlikely places froze.

It is no ordinary thing, when the Lion Roars.

Those dressed warm in the winter, had their clothes taken away, they were left naked. But the naked street-dweller was clothed.

There was a divine transfer of wealth, knowledge, and understanding.

People who’d talked and talked for years, had their mouths taped.

But as in Ezekiel 24: 2 those that had been mute for a season now spoke.

As the vision progressed I heard the Lord Say:

“My People have no roof over their head. I Am their Roof.”

I was flown speedily, over building after building, and as we flew, I heard the Lord Say: “ Not Mine, not Mine, not Mine, not Mine, not Mine, not Mine, not Mine.”

Now I was despairing. What then was God’s?

Then I was shown, people in the fields, with instruments. They had no roof over their heads. These were God’s own.

The buildings we flew over, were demolished by an elephant’s trunk and many TV studios had a fire underneath them.

Apparently these buildings had been re-built on the same grounds where prior buildings had been condemned and burnt. These new buildings had been built on the foundations of charred remains and ashes.

I saw oil poured out from the sky, in two separate ways. One fell over people who gladly received it over them and laughed in the ‘oil rain’. On the other hand, for others, the oil rain caused to be set aflame all that was below.

All that was up to the present became obsolete, and new technology, the secrets of which were hidden in nature, appeared.

Science made simple but profound discoveries. I saw Scientists have a ‘Eureka’ moment. For many who were researching, studying, looking for, the ‘thing’, it was right there before their very noses. Once they saw it they slapped their foreheads, lamenting “Silly me!”

Follies of science were exposed. The simplicity of the discoveries to come were mind-boggling.

Just One Roar Of The Lion.

The very nature of nature seemed to be changing. It was as unbelievable as Isaiah 11: 6-8, ‘the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;……

In some places, I saw an overabundance of wheat, which flowed into the sea, as it was so plentiful. But in other places, I saw land, which was once green, and was now parched land where nothing grew.

I saw beautiful blooms on cactus/desert plants.

He who understands these changes, will prepare.

The earth was in a global eclipse. One half had light, the other half was in darkness. It seemed that plates were shifted/removed from the earth. There were people who raged against God. “We’ll do what we have to, let Him do what He wants to” they were saying.

Trees trembled. They knew that their time to be cut had come. To many, prophets and counselors were restored, but from others, the prophets and counselors departed. Sadly those from whom they departed noticed it not.

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All this, by Just One Roar Of The Lion.

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www.issachar.org.au

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One of the greatest lessons of Scripture is that God is “going on”. In other words; Revelation is progressive. Now this doesn’t mean EXTRA revelation beyond Scripture. No. It simply means that God increases our spiritual understand and insight progressively throughout Scripture.

We shouldn’t expect to find in earlier texts something that is revealed more fully later on. For example we don’t find Noah circumcising his sons. And we don’t find Abraham keeping the Sabbath day.

We naturally expect that more revelation (Truth) can be found in the New Testament that in the Old. But do we take this to its logical conclusion?

Even in the New Testament there are some revelations that are more urgent and important than others.

There is a greater emphasis on revelation in the Epistles than in the Gospels, and there are greater things in Paul’s later epistles than in some of his earlier ones. Progression.

Hence our studying of Ephesians, Colossians and Philippians is very helpful.

The great lesson of Ephesians is that “the Father is concerned with us IN His son”. The phrase “in Christ” or “with Christ” appears 14 times in Ephesians.

We are identified with Christ. See Colossians 1:27b “Christ in you, the hope of glory”.

Note these parallels of Christ and us.

“Father I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”Eph 1:4-5

“…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will…”

“…you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” Eph 5:27

“…that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”

“…behold, a voice out of the heavens said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”Eph 1:6

“…to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”

“For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.”Rms. 6:5-6

“For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.”

“…knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.” Eph. 2:6a

“…and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

“…which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places…”Eph. 2:6b

“…and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

“But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”Col. 3:4

“When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

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Note how often the word “together” appears with the phrase “in Christ”.

• Crucified together with Christ
• Died together with Christ
• Buried together with Christ
• Raised together with Christ
• Seated together with Christ
• Manifest together with Christ

But there’s ONE right in the middle that’s vitally important tp grasp. “Made alive together”. (Eph. 2:5 and Col. 2:13)

“…when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”

“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions…”

Why is this so important?

Abraham believed, but he believed in “ the One who gives life to the dead.” (Rom. 4:17)

Paul said “I am crucified with Christ” … “but I am alive in Christ who lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20)

Crucified, Dead, Buried, Raised, and Seated, all point to one final great event:

Our revealed glory (Col. 3:4)

“When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

Eph 2:7 tells us that this event is beyond our understanding.

“…so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

Note the word “surpassing”. It means “exceeding, to transcend”. What a thought!

Our day-to-day “resurrection living” is to give us a glimpse of that great transformation that awaits us.

We (the mature perfected Body of Christ) will “show forth” (=exhibit) what GRACE really is!

Amen. Come Lord Jesus.

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Peter McArthur

www.issachar.org.au

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.The Disaster Resulting from Confusing Divine Truth


“The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet” (Acts 2:34-35).

“Jesus standing on the right hand of God…” “The Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55-56).

“If Christ is in you”; “…his Spirit that dwells in you” (Romans 8:10-11).


It is a matter that should be clearly understood by all Christians that to confuse the truths of God is very often to nullify their value in the life of a believer, and worse than that, to bring about a condition which is a positive contradiction of what is fundamental to true Christianity. With great seriousness then we seek to discriminate between the different essential aspects of the truth, and the above passages represent one of the instances of immense importance. Although there are three quotations given, there are only two really separate matters signified. The first two are but two sides of one thing, but while those two and the third constitute a full Christian life, and are essential to such spiritual fullness, they are two distinctly different things which must on no account be allowed to overlap.

In the first two Christ is represented as in heaven at God’s right hand, but in two postures ‘sitting’ and ‘standing’. There is no contradiction here. We must remember that we are in the presence of language which is figurative. In His “sitting” – “made to sit” (Ephesians 1:20): “Sit thou” (Acts 2:34) – there is the Divine attestation that His work was complete and perfect, and that as Son of Man He had won and inherited the place of absolute honour and glory. “We see Jesus…crowned with glory and honour” (Hebrews 2:9). The right hand is first the place of honour. It is of great significance that the new dispensation commencing with Pentecost begins with Christ sitting at God’s right hand. All begins with a work completed! The seventh day the day of rest – becomes the first day. The colours of the rainbow end where they began. It is the law of the octave, the eighth is as the first and marks a new beginning. Our Christian life begins at the point where the work is already completed in our Representative Son of Man. There is nothing to add to it, either in need or possibility. Immediately we try to contribute something to it we in effect, for ourselves, nullify it all, and God stands back. We shall come back to that again presently.

With regard to the second posture of Christ as in heaven – “standing on the right hand of God” – this is seen when the Church is in the conflict, or when things are needing to be done for her, not in the sense of her justification, but for her defence and support in adversity. Thank God, there is One in the glory standing up for us, and He will see to it that the enemy overreaches himself, as in Stephen’s case. Much could be said about that, but it is not our subject just now.

We pass straight to the third position of Christ:

Any mental difficulty as to two so widely separated locations of Christ at the same time is got over by the further words “By his Spirit that dwells in you”. Christ and the Holy Spirit are one.

Here we cross over to another phase of things entirely, and the only link between the two is that the second is the outworking of the first.

“Christ in you” is unto our being “conformed to the image of his (God’s) Son” (Romans 8:29). It is to work in us that which has been perfected by Him. It is the whole realm of our being made Christ-like; having all the faculties and features of Christ, which are resident in the new life received at new birth, brought to maturity. Every spiritual and Christly virtue has to be brought to full growth; love, meekness, goodness, gentleness, intelligence, etc.; so that we are not just theoretical and doctrinaire Christians, but real ones, spiritually responsible and accountable, with the root of the matter within. This, however, necessitates much discipline; what is called ‘chastening’. This discipline, which employs many forms of adversity and trial, has the effect of bringing to light what we really are in ourselves, and it is an ugly picture. Our own features do not improve as we go on. We know ever more what poor, wretched, and deplorable men we are, and – but for the grace of God – hopeless. But something is being done deep down which will show itself in due time to the glory of God.

But here is the point of our peril. Let no child of God whose heart is toward the Lord, who has not deliberately and willfully and knowingly resisted the Holy Ghost, ever for a single moment confuse ‘chastening’ and its accompaniments of self-discovery with judgment. You do this at the peril of the joy of your salvation. If a child of God who loves the Lord and wants nothing more than to be well-pleasing unto Him should think that he is under the judgment and condemnation of God because he is finding out how evil his own heart is, that thought carries with it the suggestion that Christ did not die for our sins; that the wrath of God was not exhausted on Him and by Him when He was made sin for us. It goes back behind a completed work and Christ’s sitting at God’s right hand, and contradicts and denies the very bed-rock of our salvation – justification by faith. Satan is again given the place of power so far as such an one is concerned by such a thought. No, a thousand times No!

Although I may discover unimagined depths of iniquity in my own heart, if I have put faith in Jesus Christ as the bearer away of my sin and myself, His perfections are placed to my account and God sees me in Him. This will never, never become to me an occasion for living complacently on the ground of what I am in myself. Without working through all the reasons for and the nature of Christian growth, with all the values in service which issue from it, let me keep on this emphasis. There are so many dear children of God who have so confused the two things mentioned as to be in an altogether negative condition.

They are paralyzed by their sense of sinfulness. They have seen the need for a subjective application of the Cross of Christ, and have recognized that when Christ died, they died in Him; but the realization that the work is not yet completed in them has resulted in their living in a world of death, and knowing little or nothing of the fact which cannot really be separated from union in death with Christ, that is, union in resurrection and exaltation.

If such an one should read this, may I say to you that if you are unhappy, worried, depressed, or negative, uncertain, lacking in absolute assurance, and therefore limited in your usefulness to the Lord, you have entirely misunderstood and misapprehended the truth of union with Christ. You are really a contradiction to what you claim to believe. It would be better that you put back your subjective truth until you have got fully and firmly established in the glorious facts of what Christ sitting at God’s right hand really means for you. Nevertheless, it is possible to be moving triumphantly and strongly in the path of a deep inward work of the Spirit, while knowing utter dependence and weakness.

Let me appeal to you again that you do not let these two things become confused. If you come upon fresh realizations of your own worthlessness, say, Yes, that belongs to the realm of God’s work in me, and He will deal with that, but it makes no difference whatever to my acceptance in the Beloved so long as I do not condone my wrong, excuse it, and accept it. Remember, dear friend, that God demands the first ground, the ground of our settled faith in the finished and perfected work of Christ, in order to make any beginning inside of us. It would be fatal for Him to touch the inside had He not got that objective faith. We must be careful that we do not upset God’s order and bring ourselves on to false ground. This can only result in destroyed testimony and much gratification to Satan at the Lord’s expense in us.


…..T. Austin-Sparks

…..First published in “A Witness and A Testimony” magazine,

…..Jul-Aug 1965, Vol 43-4

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