Subduing the World

Whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:4-5)

In the beginning, when God created man and woman, He blessed them and gave them this mandate: “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28).

How do we subdue the earth? The apostle John gives us the answer: “This is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith.” The same Greek word, niké, is behind both “victory” and “overcome.” You might recognize the word niké as the name of a popular brand of sports shoes. Literally, it means to subdue. It is about forcefully bringing something into subjection.

When God created man, there was still much on earth that needed to be brought into line with His plan. So He gave man, who was created in His image, the authority to do just that. By the time Adam was done, the whole world was to look just like the Garden of Eden. Of course, we know that Adam and Eve disconnected from God and hooked up with satan, and God’s plan for the earth was dealt a severe blow. But we also know that God sent His Son into the world to destroy the works of the devil and reconcile us back to the Father. The works of the devil were destroyed at the Cross, and we have been made more than conquerors (hypernikeo) through the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:37). It is by faith that we receive this victory.

God raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at the right hand of the Father, far above all principality, power, might and dominion. That is, He put all things under the feet of Jesus, subjecting them to Him! (Ephesians 1:19-22). Not only that, but God has also raised us up together and made us sit together in Christ at the right hand of the Father. All things have been subdued and placed under the dominion of Christ — and of us, too, since we are seated in Christ on the throne of heaven. All of this we receive through faith in Jesus Christ. No wonder John calls our faith the victory that overcomes the world!

Now, notice that John speaks about this victory, this overcoming, in two tenses. There is the past tense, the act by which the world has been overcome. This is what happened at the Cross on our behalf — the mighty act of redemption that not only set us free and reconciled us to God, but also destroyed the works of the devil. We stand in this great victory by faith. It is this act and this faith that John refers to when he says, “This is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith.”

But there is also a second tense that John uses to talk about this victory. It is a present and continuing sense: “Whatever is born of God overcomes the world … Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” The victory has been won, the enemy has been subdued and put under the feet of Jesus, and the works of the devil have been destroyed. Our work now is simply a “cleanup” operation, enforcing the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ over all His enemies.

As we continue in our faith in Jesus Christ, we will keep overcoming the world again and again, subduing it and bringing it under the lordship of Christ and the dominion of God’s kingdom. Kingdom of God, come! Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Dynamic Prayer

Someone suggested that prayer is either about us trying to change God’s mind, or else it is about letting God change our minds about what He is doing. Of course, prayer is not at all about us trying to change God’s mind about anything, and the person who offered this choice understood that, which is why he went with the second option: Prayer is about letting God change our minds.

But this is a false dichotomy, on two counts: First, there are more ways to think about prayer than just these two. Second, neither of the options he suggested is correct. Prayer is not about us trying to change God’s mind, nor is it about God trying to change our minds. The latter might seem to be very pious and loaded with humility, but it is just as erroneous as the former. For God already has a way to change our mind: He does it by the Word of God, illuminated to us by the Holy Spirit (Romans 10:17; 1 Corinthians 29-16).

This same person went on to suggest that we should not be surprised to receive a No answer to our prayers. He then offered the example of Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, where He prayed, “Not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). But that is a very specific form of prayer — a prayer of consecration. However, there are other types of prayers offered for other types of reasons. The apostle Paul talked about praying with all kinds of prayers and supplication in the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 6:18).

There are, for instance, prayers that lay hold of God's promises. When God has promised, I do not expect to receive No for an answer, or else God would be a liar, which is an impossibility. When God has promised and I have pray in agreement with it, I expect to hear Yes.

We don’t come to prayer in order to change God’s mind. Someone has said, and quite correctly, that prayer is not about overcoming God’s reluctance but about laying hold of His willingness. Nor do we come to prayer in order to have our mind changed. Rather, we come to prayer believing what God has said in His Word and expecting to receive whatever He has promised. Jesus had a number of things to say about this in regard to prayer:

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. (Mark 11:24)

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. (John 14:12-14)

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:7)

And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16:23-24)

Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. (Matthew 18:18-19)

Jesus also taught us to pray, “Kingdom of God, come! Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven” (see Matthew 6:10). It is in the imperative mood. It is not merely a request we make; Jesus authorized us to speak it forth. We do not beg for it, then sit and wait for a Yes or No. Jesus has already authorized it. And in Him, all the promises of God are Yes and Amen (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Prayer is not passively waiting around for God to change our minds about something, never being certain whether God is going to say yes or no to our request. There is no power, no authority, no faith to that kind of praying. It is wimpy, even lazy.

If you want God to change your mind, get into His Word and let the Holy Spirit show you what it is about, then you will be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to go to prayer with faith, not wishy-washiness, and your prayers will be powerful.

Prayer is active, forceful, dynamic. It is not trying to change God's mind about anything, nor is it about having your mind changed. It is about taking the authority we have been given by Jesus Christ and bringing forth the kingdom of God, bringing forth the will of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Wealth and Moderation

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you always have all sufficiency in all things, may have abundance for every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8 )

It’s fine to live in moderation. There is only so much that a person needs to live well. But notice that God’s plan is not only for all sufficiency, which is quite enough for every need we have, but also for abundance, which is more than enough, so that we can give to every good work.

Many Christians settle for sufficiency for meeting their needs — but then they have nothing left for giving to all the good works God wants to do through His people. To me, that is selfishness.

Now, this sufficiency and abundance generally do not come by outright miracles — although these can and do happen. But God has many ways to get His provision to us, ways in which we can partner with Him in the process. For example:

• God gives strength for labor. Work is not a dirty word. God had work for Adam and Eve in the Garden, to tend and keep it. Work is part of the blessing; toil is part of the curse.
• God gives wisdom for conducting business, for craft, for trade, and even for investment.
• God also gives favor and opportunity to His people.
• To the one who is ready to sow, God gives seed.

God is never at a loss for the means to supply for His people.

God’s plan is for abundance — excess! Yet, it is always very much a matter of the heart. That’s why the apostle John said, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 2). Do our hearts know what to do with the abundance, the more than enough that God desires to bless us with? If not, then a little heart surgery is in order.

Lord, if I’m only going to blow the abundance on myself, and forget about You, then please don’t let me have that abundance. Instead, teach me what to do with it, so that I may have the abundance to give to every good work. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The abundance of God has always been about being blessed and blessing others. Those who have not learned how to bless others have not yet learned what it truly means to be blessed.

On the Prophetic Gift

Under the New Covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ has given His Church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. This is so, even though we now have the Holy Spirit resident within us. The gifts and the Spirit are not in conflict with each other, nor does the possession of one mean that we have no need for the other. They work together. Indeed, it is the Holy Spirit who gives power and anointing to the gifts.

These ministry gifts were given “for the equipping of the saint for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13). That He gave these gifts to the Church “till we come to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” is evidence that they have not passed away from the Church, for we have not yet reached that fullness.

The prophetic office and the prophetic gift are very often thought of as being primarily predictive in nature, that is, of foretelling the future. But that is a minor part. Though it may often be predictive, prophecy is much more about revealing the heart of God to His people.

The prophetic role is often also thought of as being primarily individual in nature. Many Christians want a prophet they can run to each week for a personal word. But the prophetic office is more for the Church than for the individual. As individuals, we already have the Holy Spirit in us. We already have an anointing so that we can know whatever we need to know (1 John 2:20). If we hear from the prophet something we have not already heard from the Holy Spirit, we should be very careful about it. Rather, the prophetic role is to confirm what we are already hearing from the Holy Spirit in our own spirit.

At the congregational level, not everybody is on the same page about what the Spirit is saying, so the prophetic role is more about recognizing and announcing, for the edification of the body, what the Spirit is saying and doing in the body.

Is the prophetic ministry a ministry of guidance? Yes. But let us be careful not to equate “guidance” with “prediction.” Though they may overlap, they are not the same; prediction is at the service of guidance. The guidance the prophetic offers us, generally, is in helping us understand the trajectory of what God wants to do in us and through us. It is generally not seeing into the future, but understanding the present moment. When we understand how God is working and what He wants to do in us, it helps us understand, in practical terms, how we should proceed. In that sense, it gives us guidance.

Paul talked about the gifts of the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom (1 Corinthians 12:8). Your mileage may vary, but I understand them in this way: The word of knowledge is about what has happened or is happening right now; the word of wisdom is about how we should proceed — what we should do about what has happened or is happening right now.

Prophecy is not about condemnation. God is not in the condemning business. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:17-18 ). Those who do not believe are already condemned by their unbelief. It is not something God has done to them, but something they have done, or rather, failed to do. “For without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Paul describes the nature of the prophetic gift as being for edification, exhortation and comfort (1 Corinthians 14:3). It may even be a convicting word, but it will not be a condemning word. A convicting word leaves room for repentance, while a condemning word leaves no hope. The prophetic word will be a word that builds up both the individual and the body.

Prophetic ministry has a specificity to it. For example, out of the many words and promises God has for us in Scripture, how should one believer know which is the particular word needed for another believer in a specific situation? We should all be studying and meditating on the Book, of course, but it’s a pretty big Book, with a lot of things to say. Should we simply rely on our study habits and memory skills, we would soon come up short.

Here is where the prophetic ministry can help. Out of the many logos words of Scripture (the entire body of the Word of God), prophetic ministry can bring forth a rhema word. A rhema word is one that acutely and accurately applies the Word of God to the present need, whether that need is hidden or out in the open. In this way, the prophetic word often reveals what is going on the spiritual realm as well as in the natural. Because of its ability to address the present need with precision, the prophetic word is often called a now word.

Often when I minister to a group or an individual, and a situation comes up where I don’t know how to proceed, I ask the Lord, “What should I do here? What should I say?” The Holy Spirit starts bringing things to mind, especially various Scriptures. He often then shows me, not only what to present, but how to present it and what to emphasize about it.

As a Bible teacher and worship leader, I look for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as I make my preparations. As I present, I look for Him to take what I have prepared and direct it however He desires. Sometimes He will direct it in a way I had never even contemplated. Sometimes He ignores my preparations altogether and brings forth something that is as much a surprise to me as it is to everyone else — bless His name!. I consider that to be a prophetic element. The end result is that people get ministered to in a deeper, more on-target way than if it were just up to me.

Every believer can manifest the gift of prophecy at one time or another — to receive from God the right word to say to the right people at the right time. It will never contradict Scripture, and in fact, it may often be no more than a Scripture we present to another. In other instances, the Scripture that comes forth may open a flood of words that minister and heal. Or there may be a picture, an image, a vision that comes to mind and addresses the situation in some way, with the result that a congregation or an individual is encouraged, exhorted or comforted in some way.

Wherever He Is, There We Are

Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. (1 Corinthians 12:27)

And He gave some to be to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-12)

Christ is the head of the church; and He is the savior of the body. (Ephesians 4:23)

The Lord Jesus Christ is the head of the Church; we are His body. The body always goes with the head; the head always goes with the body. Though we may sometimes joke that somebody left home without his head, nobody every actually does. Head and body always go together. The head without the body is lifeless, and so is the body without the head.

Head and body always operate together. That is why it is very important to understand that the relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ and all those who receive Him is this: His is our head; we are His body. Wherever we are, there He is also. Wherever His is, there we are also.

• Wherever we are, there He is also. At the Great Commission, the Lord Jesus promised, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). The apostle John said, “As He is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17).
• Wherever He is, there we are also. The apostle Paul said, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which he loved us, even when were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-6).

The Lord Jesus Christ is not a disembodied head, nor are we a headless body. We are part of each other. He dwells with us on earth, guiding, empowering and working through us. We dwell with Him in the heavenlies, in the place of ruling and reigning.

Generational Curse ~ and Blessing!

Someone asked if there were such a thing as generational curse.

Let me put it this way: If a person comes from an ungodly line, has ungodly behavior modeled before him, is trained up in an ungodly worldview, walks in ungodly ways, and receives the consequences of all that ungodliness in his life — is that not a curse? And it that not generational? And is that not an inheritance.

On the other hand, if a person comes from a godly line, receives a godly faith, learns to walk in godly behavior and wisdom, and receives positive results — is that not a blessing? And is that not generational? And is that not an inheritance?

Some inheritance is genetic. Some inheritance is learned behavior. Some inheritance is spiritual—like the sin nature we all received from Papa Adam.

In the Old Testament, God spoke of curse that extended to the third and fourth generation. But He also spoke of blessing that goes to a thousand generations. That, too, is spiritual inheritance.

A study was done on the descendants of Jonathan Edwards and those of an ungodly contemporary. The differences in how those two lines played out was quite drastic.

I find it very significant that when the Philippian jailer ask Paul and Silas, “What must I do to be saved,” Paul answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, and your household” (Acts 16:31).

Of course, this does not mean that his household would be saved apart from each one having faith. But it does show that when the jailer came to faith, it opened up a magnificent opportunity for his household to come to faith as well. His decision to receive Christ changed the course of his family line and household. That is a blessing.

As I climb my family tree, I find many of my ancestors had a very vibrant faith, which passed down from generation to generation. That was a great blessing which brought me very close to the gospel, and I received the Lord Jesus Christ at a very young age.

I don't necessarily accept every teaching that goes under the rubric of “generational curse,” but I do believe there is such a thing as generational curse — and generational blessing.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

The Hebrew word for “satisfy” is saba, to fill, make full, have plenty, be fulfilled. Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones declared to their generation, “I can’t get no satisfaction.” But the psalm writers declared to their generation an abundance of satisfaction. They were looking for it in a different place, or rather, a different Person.

As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.

(Psalm 17:15)

The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the LORD.

(Psalm 22:16)

The LORD knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

(Psalm 37:18-19)

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

(Psalm 63:3-5)

Blessed is the man You choose,
And cause to approach You,
That he may dwell in Your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Of Your holy temple.

(Psalm 65:4)

Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!

(Psalm 90:14)

Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.

(Psalm 91:14-16)

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits …
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

(Psalm 103:2, 5)

He waters the hills from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.

(Psalm 104:13)

What You give them they gather in;
You open Your hand, they are filled [saba] with good.

(Psalm 104:28)

For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.

(Psalm 107:9)

I will abundantly bless her provision;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.

(Psalm 132:15)

The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And You give them their food in due season.
You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

(Psalm 145:16)

For He has strengthened the bars of your gates;
He has blessed your children within you.
He makes peace in your borders,
And fills [saba] you with the finest wheat.

(Psalm 147:13-14)

When we look to God for everything, He will satisfy us in every way.

The Big Picture of Redemption

The Gospel, God’s plan of redemption, is more than about just providing us with a fire escape from hell. We have not fully completed our Christian duty by telling our neighbor or co-worker about Christ, as important and wonderful as that is. Paul said,

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4)

We are in a warfare, and God’s plan is to, through us, pull down strongholds, cast down arguments and everything that exalts itself against Him. Everything would include the governments, industries and culture systems of the world. All of these are to be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

God desires the nations, not to judge them, but to bring them into obedience of Christ. That is what Psalm 2:8 portrays, where God says to the Son:

Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance,
and the ends of the earth for Your possession.

That is not the intent to destroy but to save, for the Father is not giving the Son an inheritance that is going to be destroyed, but one that is going to glorify Him.

All those who have been born again through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are joint-heirs with Christ. That is, we have just as much a share in this inheritance as He does. God is going after the nations and all their systems to redeem them. For the rule and reign of the Lord Jesus Christ entails more than the people — it covers everything.

What is more, God is doing it through His people. The manifold wisdom of God is to be made known by the Church (Ephesians 3:10). This rule and reign belongs to us, too, because we are seated in Christ Jesus at the right hand of the Father (the place of ruling and reigning).

Jesus reigns on the throne, not only over heaven but over all. He is Lord of all. He is not waiting to begin His reign anywhere; He is already sovereign everywhere. Further, His Body is present on earth in tangible form; He just needs for His Body to begin exercising His authority on earth.

The kingdom of God is not all present and not all future. It has already been breaking into this present age, though it has not fully manifested yet. Ever since John the Baptist, the kingdom of God has been forcefully advancing and forceful men lay hold of it. Jesus taught us to pray, “Kingdom of God, keep coming!” (that is the sense of the Greek text). It has already begun to come, but we pray for it to keep coming more and more until it is here in all its fullness.

The enemies of Jesus are already under His feet in the spiritual realm. But He is waiting for God to bring that spiritual reality forth into the natural realm (for all natural reality is based on spiritual reality). When God wants to do something on earth, He does it through His people, to whom He has given authority to have dominion.

When the disciples asked, “Lord will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” Jesus gave a two-part reply. First, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” Notice that He did not say, “Not now.” The timing of it is for God to know.

But what else did Jesus say in answer to that question? “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses, etc.” This is how Luke writes about the Great Commission, given just before Jesus ascended to His eternal throne to rule and reign over His kingdom. The kingdom advances by the authority Jesus has given us and by the power the Holy Spirit to bring evidence about who Jesus is and what He has come to do.

The death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ changes everything.

Created and Upheld by the Power of Words

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)

God … has in these last days spoken to us by His Son … who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the Word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 1:1-3)

Notice that not only are the worlds created and upheld by the Word of His power, but our sins have been purged by the very one who spoke everything into existence. Our Creator has also become our Redeemer.

Truly, as the Scriptures say, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4; see also Deuteronomy 8:3)

The Kingdom, Power and Glory

Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6:13)

This is, of course, the closing doxology of what we have come to know as the Lord’s Prayer. The two main features of a doxology are the ascription of glory (the Greek word is doxa) and the declaration of eternality. Not only does all glory and praise rightly and fully belong to God, but it belongs to Him forever and ever.

This part of the Lord’s Prayer tunes us up to the fact that the kingdom, the power and the glory all belong to God. It is all about Him. And yet …

… and yet, He has graciously chosen to make them about us, too.

The kingdom. Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then all other things will be added to us. God’s righteousness is His rightness, or as the Amplified Bible puts is, His way of doing and being right (Matthew 6:33). In the kingdom of God, all things are set right—that’s why we pray for it to come, so that the perfect will of God will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).

Paul said, “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

• The righteousness of God comes and sets things right on our behalf.
• The peace of God (no doubt, Paul, being Jewish, would have had the Hebrew shalom in mind) is wholeness, completeness, oneness. As others have said, it means that nothing is missing, nothing is broken. God’s peace comes to make us completely whole in the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Joy is the delight we have in Him and in His presence, for in His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11).

The power. The kingdom belongs to God, and so does the power. This is the same dunamis power of God by which Jesus performed all His miracles, healings and deliverance. For as Peter preached to Cornelius, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power [dunamis], who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38). These works of power were a demonstration of the kingdom of God in their midst.

This kingdom power comes not only to bring healing to us, but God’s plan is for us to bring salvation and healing to others by this same power. Jesus said, “But you shall receive power [dunamis] when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). We are to do with this power the same thing Jesus did with it: preach the Gospel, heal sickness and disease, and expel demons. For this power is a demonstration that the kingdom of God is in our midst. It is this same power that Paul spoke of in one of his doxologies:

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power [dunamis] that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

The glory. Not only the kingdom and the power, but the glory belongs to God as well. But God invites us to enjoy this glory with Him.

For the LORD God is a sun and a shield;
The LORD will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.

(Psalm 84:11)

The upright are those who walk by faith. For Abraham “believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to Him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Paul said, “For [God] made [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

God gives His people grace and glory, or as the NIV puts it, “favor and honor.” Glory is the manifestation of God’s greatness and goodness, and He does not withhold any good thing from those who have been made righteous in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The glory God has for us is the exact same glory He has given to the Lord Jesus Christ. For on the night before He was crucified, Jesus prayed this prayer at Gethsemane:

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that thy also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me; and have loved them as You have loved Me. (John 17:20-23)

The kingdom, the power and the glory all belong to God, but out of His great favor and honor, He has blessed us to enjoy the benefits of them with Him.

The Renewal of All Things

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:28-29 NIV)

“Renewal of all things.” Other versions have “regeneration” (KJV, NKJV, NASB, Young’s Literal Translation). The Bible in Basic English says, “in the time when all things are made new.” Weymouth has “New Creation.” The Greek word speaks of rebirth and restoration.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.(2 Corinthians 5:17)

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the Sons of God. For the creation was subject to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. (Romans 8:19-21)

Where is the Son of Man now seated? According to Paul in Ephesians, He is seated at the right hand of the Father in the heavenlies. That’s where He has been ever since 40 days after the resurrection. He is seated on His glorious throne. Paul also said that God has seated us there with Him (Ephesians 2:6). It doesn’t get more glorious than that!

Since the Lord Jesus Christ now sits on His glorious throne, it follows that the renewal of all things has already begun. The old age is passing away, and the age of God’s kingdom is now breaking in and advancing. Everyone who is in Christ is now a new creation; old things have passed away. Paul adds, “Behold” That is very important in Scripture; it alerts us to give full attention and credence to what He is going to say next: “Behold, all things have become new.”

Jesus promised that all things would be renewed when He sat down on His glorious throne. Though it was still a future even to them at that moment, it is no longer a future event to us. It has already begun, and has been going on ever since He ascended to heaven. We are now in the time between the inauguration of His rule and reign and the time when His kingdom is fully and completely manifested on earth as it is in heaven. The old age of darkness is already passing away, and the true light of Jesus Christ is already shining (1 John 2:8).

The time of His reign is now; so also the time of hundredfold return. In a somewhat parallel passage in Mark, we read:

Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s who shall not received a hundredfold now in this time — houses and brothers and sisters ad mothers and children and lands, with persecutions — and in the age to come, eternal life. (Mark 10:29-20)

For it is our privilege as those who are in Christ, not only to become new creations ourselves, but also to participate in the renewal of all things. Just as Jesus taught us to pray, “Kingdom of God, come!”, so also He calls us to involve ourselves for His sake and the sake of the Gospel. We get to sow our lives and possessions into His kingdom work on earth. Not only that, we get to participate in the harvest of what we sow. But it is not merely about our own enlargement, although that happens as part of the process — it is about the enlargement of the kingdom of God and the rule and reign of the Lord Jesus Christ over all.

The renewal of all things has already begun, for the Lord Jesus Christ now rules and reigns on His glorious throne. Have you become a new creation through faith in Jesus Christ? Are you giving yourself for the Gospel and Kingdom of Christ? The ROI is magnificent!

The Apostle Junia

Greet Andronicus and Junia, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. (Romans 16:7)

First, let me get an obvious joke out of the way: A female apostle is not an epistle. (ha ha)

Can a woman be an apostle? Many Christians might be surprised to find that Paul recognized a woman as an apostle in his letter to the believers at Rome. Junia is a woman’s name, and she is named, along with Andronicus (who might have been her husband), as of note among the apostles.

Some theologians and Bible commentators, finding the conclusion that Junia was a female apostle hard to accept, try to avoid it in two ways. First, they say that Junia was a textual corruption of the name Junias, which is supposed to be a contracted form of the male name Junianus. But early records from those days do not show any such name as Junias, and only very scant reference to the name Junianus — but there are plenty of instances of the female form Junia.

The second way they try to avoid the conclusion that Junia was a female apostle is to say that Adronicus and Junia were not actually of note among the apostles (that is, as being themselves apostles), but were merely well known to or highly regarded by the apostles. But the Greek construction more naturally means “among.”

Consider also this comment from John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople in the 4th century. He understood the Greek language very well, seeing that it was his native language. Concerning Junia, he says:

Oh! how great is the devotion of this woman, that she should be even counted worthy of the appellation of apostle! (from his homilies on Romans).

For Chrysostom, there was neither ambiguity nor embarrassment. He celebrated Junia as an apostle and lauded her devotion.

Reminding God

I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall never hold their peace day or night.
You who make mention of the LORD,
do not keep silent,
And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

(Isaiah 62:6-7)

In addition to being all-powerful, all-wise and everywhere present, He is also all-knowing. But does He have a faulty memory the He needs to be reminded? Then why does He set watchmen on the wall and tell those who make mention of Him to give Him no rest?

The Hebrew word behind “make mention” is zakar and means to remember, to remind, to cause to remember. “You who make mention of the LORD” are literally the Lord’s remembrancers. Their job is to remind Him relentlessly until He has established what He has promised.

God has a wonderful memory, but there are some things He chooses to forget:

I, even I, am He who blots your transgressions
for My own sake;
And I will not remember [zakar] your sins.

(Isaiah 43:25)

God has a wonderful memory, but He is not one bit offended by His people reminding Him of those things He has spoken. Consider this prayer of Jacob, and how he reminded God of the promises He made to Abraham and Isaac:

Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you … For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’” (Genesis 32:9, 12 )

In the Psalms, the book of praises, we find this:

LORD, remember [zakar] David
  And all his afflictions;
How he swore to the LORD,
  And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
“Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, or go up to the comfort of my bed;
  I will not give sleep to my eyes
  Or slumber to my eyelids,
Until I find a place for the LORD,
  A dwelling place for the Mighty one of Jacob.”

(Psalm 132:1-5)

The psalm writer shrewdly reminds the Lord of the vow David made to Him. I say “shrewdly,” because his real aim is to remind God of the promise He made right back to David concerning his line:

The LORD has sworn in truth to David;
  He will not turn from it;
“I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body.
  If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I shall teach them,
  Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore.”

(Psalm 132:11-12)

In this roundabout way, the psalm writer brings to God’s remembrance the promise He made (this promise is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David who now rules and reigns forever).

We also find remembrances in the New Testament. Jesus said of the Table of the Lord, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” This, of course, is something we do for the sake of our own remembrance. But it can also be an occasion to remind the Lord of the promises He has made to us in the covenant of Jesus’ shed blood. It is the new and better covenant God foretold in the Old Testament. It is based, not only upon better promises, but also upon a better sacrifice (which is the lesson in the book of Hebrews). As we, in faith, take the bread and the cup of communion, we not only remind ourselves of God’s promises, we are putting Him in mind of them.

How long are we to remind God of His promises? He tells His watchmen to give Him no rest until He establishes what He has promised. This calls for faith, which includes patience and persistence. Do not give ever give up reminding God of His Word until you see all the things He has promised established in your life.

Now, if you will excuse me, it is time for me to go to the Table of the Lord.

(See also Warring With the Bread and the Cup)

Warring with the Bread and the Cup

Do this in remembrance of Me. (Luke 22:19)

Yesterday I took the Table of the Lord, and I took it in the mode of warfare. Jesus said of this Table, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” To remember is to recall something to mind, to relive the experience of something. The remembrance of which Jesus speaks is not a passive remembering, but a very intentional one.

So I took of the Table to put myself in mind of the Lord Jesus Christ, His body given for me, He blood shed for me. I took it to recall to my heart the covenant promises He has secured for me. For He said, “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20).

I also took the Table to put God in mind of His covenant promises to me, for I was drawing on them to see them come forth in my life. Just as one places a demand on a check by presenting it to the bank and cashing it in, I was placing a demand on the provisions of the covenant God made with me in the blood of Jesus Christ. I’m done with making my own provision for anything anymore; I’m depending upon the provision God has made for me. If I can’t have it through the covenant of God — believe me — I don’t need it and I don’t want it! For His provision is all the blessing and abundance of heaven itself.

Finally — and here is where it became spiritual warfare — I took the Table of the Lord to put satan in mind of the body of the Lord Jesus given for me and the blood of the Lord Jesus shed for me. I wanted the devil to know that I know who I am in Christ, what I have in Christ, and what I can do in Christ. I wanted to put him in mind of the fact that I belong to Jesus Christ and He belongs to me, and that I am in covenant with Almighty God. This means that to mess with me is to mess with God. I wanted the devil to know that I would not be accepting his lies and accusations, his fears, his poverty, his sicknesses, his bondages, or anything else he wants to deliver to my doorstep — I’m refusing delivery! I wanted him to recall how and where and why his head was crushed. I wanted to serve notice that I am in receipt of God’s promises and that I am enforcing the provisions of the covenant I have in the blood of Jesus, and that satan and his devils will have to clear off all that is mine.

There is, of course, much more to the Table of the Lord than spiritual warfare. There is intimate and profound fellowship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. There is spiritual nourishment, refreshment and strengthening. There is the intense joy of His manifest presence. But there is also a time for warring with the bread and the cup.

Battle With Your Baptism

Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the Living God? (1 Samuel 17:26)

When David asked this concerning Goliath, he was not engaging in idle name-calling or WWF-style trash-talk. No, he was getting to the very heart of the matter — his covenant with God.

Circumcision, the cutting away of the male foreskin, was the covenant sign God established with the children of Israel. All men of God, young and old, bore this sign in their body and were constantly reminded by it that they were in covenant with the Living God. The essence of covenant is in exchange: All that we have belongs to Him; all that He has belongs to us. Our enemies are His enemies; His enemies are our enemies.

Goliath was uncircumcised; he had no such covenant with God. Goliath was a Philistine, an enemy of covenant Israel, and therefore an enemy of God Himself. So David understood that when Goliath defied the armies of Israel, he was actually defying the armies of the Living God — and this would not stand.

But why did Saul and his armies allow Goliath to carry on in this manner? Surely Almighty God knows how to vanquish His enemies. But the problem was that Saul and his men had forgotten how to trust in God and walk in the authority of His covenant provisions.

David, however, understood his covenant position with God very well and was thus undeterred by the size of the Philistine armies or even the size of Goliath himself. He was ready to take them all on, fully relying on the Living God with whom he and all Israel were in covenant. He knew it would be more than enough to prevail in any battle. So David defeated Goliath, cut off his head and sent the Philistines fleeing.

But what does this have to do with baptism? Just this: As circumcision was the sign of covenant with God under the Old Testament, so baptism is the sign of covenant with God under the New. It belongs to all those who receive the Lord Jesus Christ, and identifies us with the people of God.

Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we all shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believer that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. (Romans 6:3-9)

John said, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). The Son of God took on flesh, becoming fully human as well as fully divine, and identifying Himself so thoroughly with us, took on all our enemies and defeated them at the Cross. For all those who receive the Lord Jesus Christ, the devil and his works no longer have any authority over us.

Baptism is an ordinance, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ has ordained it for us. But it is also a sacrament, that is, an outward and physical sign of an inward and spiritual reality. All who have received Christian baptism have received a precious sign from God that we belong to His people and have covenant relationship with Him.

David said, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the Living God?” Today, we can face any enemy or adversity and say, “What is this unbaptized circumstance that it should defy the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.” This is battling with our baptism.

Martin Luther understood this very well. He hung a plaque on the wall of his study which read, “I have been baptized.” This was his battle cry whenever the devil came after him with lies and accusations. He said, “The only way to drive away the devil is through faith in Christ, by saying: ‘I have been baptized, I am a Christian.’”
Whenever the devil comes railing after you like Goliath, with deception, condemnation, sickness, depression, poverty, fear — whatever — remember that he is an “uncircumcised Philistine.” He has no covenant with God. But you do — and your baptism is the outward, physical sign that you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, who has destroyed all the works of the devil. God has given you this sign so that you may remember who you are — and whose you are — and walk in the covenant promise of God and the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … Yet in all these things were are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (Romans 8:31-37)

Through faith in Jesus Christ, we enter into covenant relationship with God. Baptism is not the cause of that relationship, but it is the outward sign God has given to show that we have covenant with Him. Remember your baptism — the sign of who you are in Christ — and go do battle against the things that do not line up with the authority of heaven.

Painting the Target

Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

Many modern weapons use laser-guidance technology. A laser is used to “paint” the target, and the laser-guided weapon locks on to this signal with pinpoint accuracy. It’s quite effective.

Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Notice that this is in the imperative mood. It is not a polite request, but a powerful command: Kingdom of God, come! Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven!

This is a most potent weapon in our spiritual arsenal as we do battle against the evil one, enforcing the victory of Jesus over all his works. Think of it as painting the target.

Wherever we see the works of poverty, sickness, demonic bondage — anything that does not line up with the kingdom of God and His rightness — we can shine this laser beam on it and give the order, “Kingdom of God, come right here!” Wherever we see things that are out of order with the will of God, we can paint the target and call for the will of God to be done there on earth exactly as it is being done in heaven.

As long as we are in this life, until Jesus comes, we are in spiritual warfare. But Paul gives us this wonderful assurance:

Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every though into captivity to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

In the Lord’s Prayer, the Lord Jesus has given us a very powerful weapon for this warfare.

Know your weapon. Lock and load. Paint your target with the laser light of prayer.

Only One Word

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

There has always been only one word from God, and it is summed up perfectly in the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything else is commentary.

But there is a progressive unpacking, a progressive illumination, a progressive unveiling, a progressive revealing of what that Word means. Whatever one chooses to call it, let there be agreement that no true understanding of that Word can be at odds with what has already been revealed.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect expression of everything God has always wanted to say.

No Strangers in This House

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)

There are no second-class citizens with God; if you’re in, you’re in all the way, with full benefits. Paul addressed this particularly to non-Jewish believers in Christ. Once they were strangers and foreigners, now they were fellow citizens with full membership in God’s household. Non-Jews do not have to become Jews, as some erroneously taught (Paul addressed this error in his letter to the Galatians). Nor do Jews have to become non-Jews, as some of the traditions of men within the Church have held, and as some non-believing Jews have insisted. No, in Christ, the “middle wall of separation” (v. 14) between Jews and non-Jews has been abolished. For God is doing a new thing, making one household.

The concept of household runs very strong in this passage, particularly as revealed in the Greek text. The Greek word for “house” is oikos, and we see some form of this word six times this short passage:

• Once non-Jews were foreigners. The Greek is paroikoi — those who dwelt alongside the house, but not in it. They were resident aliens, not citizens. But now in Christ, we are fellow citizens with the saints, God’s “set-apart” ones.
• Now we are part of the household of God. The word is oikeoi — of the house and part of the family.
• The household of which are now a part is built on the foundation of apostles and prophets, with Christ as the chief cornerstone. The word for “built” is epoikodomeo — to build a house upon its foundation.
• This building is perfectly fitted together. The word is oikodome — the architecture or structure of the house.
• All who believe in Christ, whether they are Jews or non-Jews, are being built together. The Greek is sunoikodomeo — building, not two, but one unified structure.
• We are being built together into dwelling place of God. The word is katoiketerion — a habitation, an abiding place, a residence.

The foundation of this house is all about the Lord Jesus Christ, for that is who the apostles and prophets proclaim. Indeed, Christ Himself is the chief cornerstone, the one by whom the whole structure is brought into perfect alignment. All who believe in Him, whether Jew or non-Jew, are brought together, just as two walls are brought together at the corner and perfectly joined.

This house is a spiritual house, that is, it is a work of the Holy Spirit. Once we were outside of the house, separated from God. But now, we are not merely inside the house with God, but we are the house of God — He dwells within us!

Once we were far away. But now through faith in Jesus Christ we are brought into such intimate relationship with God — and each other — that He has made Himself at home in us.

What Does It Mean to Pray?

Then He [Jesus] came to His disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:40-41)

Jesus said, “Watch and pray.” But what does it mean to pray? And how does one pray for an hour? The Greek word for “watch” means to keep alert, stay awake, be vigilant. Often, we do not know how to pray because we do not know how to watch with the Lord. If we watch, He will show us; if we listen, He will tell us. Then it is hard not to pray.

The flesh may be weak — but the spirit is willing. As believers in Jesus Christ, we not only have our human spirit born from above, but we also have the Holy Spirit. If the human spirit is willing, how much more is the Spirit of God in us willing.

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pry for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. (Romans 8:26)

As I wrote in God’s Word in Your Mouth,

The Holy Spirit “helps” us. This is the Greek word sunantilambanomai, which speaks of two parties laying hold together, each one doing his part, to obtain a goal. The Holy Spirit does this by interceding for us with groanings which cannot be uttered, but which perfectly express the will of God for us. The whole creation groans, we groan within ourselves, the Holy Spirit groans within us — all working together to bring forth good. (p.22)

Paul talked about “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18). “All prayer” means all kinds of prayer. “In the Spirit,” means that we are to let the Holy Spirit direct our prayers.

When you begin praying, don’t be in a hurry. Take your time and pray slowly. As you do, you may find that you feel an inward desire to expand upon some particular point. That is the Holy Spirit prompting you, and if you listen carefully, He will give you words to pray back to the Father. Go with this as far as the Spirit leads you.

When you come to the end, sit quietly and contemplate what the Spirit has given you. If you wish, you can pick up the prayer where you left off, and continue until the Spirit gives you more. When you come to the end of your prayer time, simply give thanks and praise to God and welcome His healing power at work in your life. (Healing Scriptures and Prayers, pp. 6-7)

Soren Kierkegaard said "A man prayed, and at first he thought that prayer was talking. But he became more and more quiet until in the end he realized that prayer is listening."

Smith Wigglesworth said that he rarely prayed for more than ten minutes at a time — but that he also rarely went more than ten minutes without praying.

Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection learned how to practice the presence of God, and speak to Him everywhere, so that his time in the kitchen was just as precious as his time in the chapel.

My own prayer time often includes singing hymns and praises to the Lord, reading the Scriptures and letting them springboard me into prayer, praying in tongues, quietness and listening.

Prayer is not about an hour, but about a life. The flesh may be weak, but the spirit — and the Holy Spirit — are more than willing. So do not attempt to pray by the flesh, by your own strength and ability, but pray by the Spirit.

Calling Those Things Which Do Not Exist

God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did. (Romans 4:17)

In this verse, we see how God operates: He calls those things that do not exist as though the did. It is His action that is in view in this passage. Abram's job was simply to believe.

Oops! Did I say Abram? I mean Abraham, for that is what God changed Abram's name to. God called him “Abraham,” which means “Father of Many Nations.” In renaming him “Abraham,” God was calling something that did not yet exist as though it already were.

Now what do you suppose Abram and Sarai began to call him when God renamed him “Father of Many Nations.” They, of course, began to call him Abraham, “Father of Many Nations.” That took an act of faith on their part, and it was also an act of calling. They saw that Abraham was old, and as good as dead, in the child-fathering department, and yet they called, in agreement with the Word of God, for the “Father of Many Nations” to manifest.

God's way is to call things that do not exist as though they already were. We see this reinforced in Hebrews 11:3. “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”

All that is seen was not made of that which is visible, but that which is invisible — the Word of God. The natural world which we experience by our senses actually has its origin in and is dependent upon the spiritual realm. For God, Who created the heavens and the earth, is Spirit.

Now, in the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, He did it by His words. “Let there be light ...,” etc. God called for things that did not yet exist as though the already did.

That is how God operates. But how are God's people intended to operate.

Look again at Genesis 1. In verses 26-27 we see that God created man, male and female, in His image. That was a sign of God's authority being delegated to them. That was important because of the mandate God placed on them in the very next verses:

“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing tat moves on the earth.” (v. 28).

In Psalm 8:6, we see that they were given dominion over the works of God's hand and all things were put under his feet (this was restored to fallen humanity in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the God who is Man who perfectly fulfills this dominion).

What was Adam to multiply upon the earth? That which he was and possessed: the image of God.

What was Adam to do with the earth as he multiplied: Subdue it and have dominion over it.

How was Adam to subdue the earth and exercise dominion over it?

Look in Genesis 2, a close-up account of how God made Adam:

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (v. 7)

Notice that God breathed into Adam’s nostrils — from God’s mouth into Adam’s body. The breathe of a person is that by which one actually utters words. We breathe them out. In 2 Timothy 2:17, Paul says that all Scripture is given “by inspiration of God.” The Greek word for “inspiration” is theoneustos, and literally means “God-breathed.” God breathes out His Word.

So God breathed, with His word-speaking capacity, into man’s nostrils, and man became a “living being.”

There are ancient versions of the Hebrew Scriptures known as the Targums. These were translations from Hebrew into its cousin language Aramaic, for there were many Jews who lost the mother tongue in Babylonian captivity. Many Jews in the time of Christ, including Jesus Himself, spoke in Aramaic, and parts of the Hebrew Scriptures were actually written in Aramaic.

There is one such translation, known as the Targum Onkelos, which deals with the events of Genesis 2. And it renders “man became a living being” this way: “And man became a speaking spirit.”

God, who is Spirit and who speaks things into being, breathed His speaking faculty into the nostrils of man, and man became a speaking spirit.

Now, notice a few verse down in Genesis 2, where God gives Adam his first assignment:

“Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.” (v. 19)

God, who breathed into Adam’s nostrils, brought them to Adam, who was created in the image of God, given the mandate to subdue and have dominion over the earth, and then watched to see what Adam would call them.

Notice that God did not tell Adam what to call them. He simply let Adam work within the divine mandate and merely observed what Adam called them. Whatever Adam called them, that was its name.

What was Adam doing? He was subduing the earth and having dominion. How was he exercising that dominion? By the words of his mouth. He called the animals something, and whatever he called them, that is what they were. That is, he called things that did not exist (the nature and character of the animals) as though they did. And so they were.

In the Bible, names are significant. They are powerful words that have meaning. They call forth destiny. They establish things in the one being named. God called Abram Abraham, “Father of Many Nations,” and that was Abraham’s destiny. Adam called the animals by certain names, and that is what they were.

Adam and Eve, of course, plunged mankind into sin. But the Lord Jesus Christ came to deliver us from that fallen condition. We can see from how He taught His disciples what some of the ramifications of that redemption are. For example, in Mark 11, when Peter noticed that the fig tree Jesus cursed the day before had now withered, Jesus said,

“Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:22-23)

What was Jesus teaching them? How to exercise dominion with their words.

Now, it is very important to understand that this authority and dominion are only properly exercised within the will and purpose of God, as established by His Word. We are to pray, act and think in Jesus’ name, that is, according to how Jesus Himself would pray, act and think.

We are to call things that are in accordance with the plan and will of God, believing what God has said in His Word and confessing it (that is, agreeing with it).

Having the image of God, the Spirit of God, the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the parameters of the will of God as expressed in the Word of God, we can call things that are not as though they were and expect to see them come to pass.

No Wall of Separation

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. (Ephesians 2:14-18)

Paul is addressing the relationship between believers among the Jews, who were of the Circumcision, and believers among the Gentiles, who were of the Uncircumcision (these were those who were not of Israel, but who believed in the God of Israel).

In the Temple complex, there was a place known as the Court of the Gentiles. It was for the God-fearing ones, but it was only the outermost court. A partition kept them from entering into the full worship and fellowship of covenant with the Jews. It was actually a physical enclosure that surrounded the Temple proper, and it was death for a Gentile to pass beyond its gate.

These were issues of enmity and division that could not simply be ignored. They had to be addressed properly and judicially, so that the stipulations of the covenant would be satisfied. That is what Jesus did through the shedding of His blood. He fulfilled all the requirements of the old covenant, and established a new and better covenant (Jeremiah 31:31; Hebrews 8:6).

He has became our peace, our oneness, our wholeness. There is no longer any division between Jews who come to Yahweh and non-Jews who come to Yahweh. We all have the same access to the Father by the Holy Spirit, through faith in Jesus Messiah, the Anointed One.

The moral law remains, but the ordinances of separation no longer apply. We are one in the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s purpose, to bring salvation to the world through His covenant with Israel, is fulfilled in Him.

It does not matter if you have been far away (Gentile) or one who was near (Jew), the gospel of Jesus the Messiah is the dynamic power of God for salvation (forgiveness, reconciliation, restoration, deliverance, healing) to all who believe, “for the Jew first, and also for the Greek [Gentile]” (Romans 1:16).

The Covenants of Promise

Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh — who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands — that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:11-13)

Paul is speaking to believers who had once been Gentiles — that is, they were not of the Hebrews, but of the nations that surrounded the Hebrews, and considered pagans. They were called “uncircumcised.” Circumcision was the sign of the covenant God made with the descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Old Testament.

Remember when David asked, concerning Goliath, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine?” He was not engaging in pre-battle trash-talk. He was properly assessing the situation: Goliath was uncircumcised; he had no covenant relationship with God, no right to expect any help from the Almighty.

Israel, on the other hand, did have such a covenant relationship. They knew God as Yahweh (a name expressed in our English Bibles by the name LORD in all or small caps). Elohim is the name by which God expressed Himself in creation; Yahweh is the name by which He revealed Himself in covenant. Israel have every right to look to God to rescue and provide for them in every way — though they often failed to exercise that right by putting their trust in Him.

But David remembered and asked his countrymen, “Who is the uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the Living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26). Then he proceeded to take Goliath’s head off — literally! He knew, because of the covenant and because he bore the covenant sign of circumcision — that God was on his side.

Now back to the uncircumcised Gentiles, which Paul’s readers once were. They were without Christ. The word “Christ” is a title, not a name. It is the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament Messiah. In English we would say “Anointed One.” Jesus is the One who was anointed by the God of Israel to deliver His people. In Isaiah 10:27, we discover that the function of the anointing is to completely remove burdens and obliterate yokes and bondages. That is what Jesus the Anointed One came to do.

But the Ephesian Christians were once Gentiles and were without Christ. The Greek word generally translated “without” is a bit more intensive: they were apart from Christ, outside of Messiah, separated from the Anointed One and the anointings that could set them free from every burden and yoke.

Not only that, they were alienated, excluded from the commonwealth God had established with Israel. They had no rights of citizenship with Yahweh. They were strangers to the covenants of promise. They had no reason to hope in God and expect anything from Him. God was not on their side.

However, Paul goes on to write that little three-letter word that reverses all that has gone before, the word but.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Gentiles were outsiders to the covenant Israel enjoyed under the Old Testament. But now in Jesus the Anointed One there is a New Covenant, just as God promised his people in the Old Testament:

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah — not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers I the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Jeremiah 31:31-33)

This is a new and better covenant and it is mediated to us by the Anointed One: “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6).

The old covenant was established by the blood of bulls and goats. But the New Covenant was established by the blood of Jesus, Lord and Messiah. On the Passover night before He was crucified, Jesus took the ceremonial bread and cup, saying,

This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me … This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. (Luke 22:19-20)

It is by this blood, shed for us, that we who were once far off from God and strangers to the covenants of promise have been brought near. That is, we now have a place and a promise and a citizenship with God, and it is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him we have received a circumcision of the heart, by which God now says of all those who receive Jesus the Anointed One, “This is My people.”

But God … Before & After

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-6)

My wife will tell you that I am a sucker for “before and after” pictures. Before and after the diet; before and after the makeover; before and after the plastic surgery; before and after the home improvements. This is why I like to watch This Old House on PBS, to see how a decrepit old structure is renovated.

Paul gives us a before and after snapshot in Ephesians 2:1-10. The before is seen in verses 1-3, about how we were dead (not merely sick, but dead) in trespasses and sins; how we walked according to this present age and the prince of the power of the air; how we conducted ourselves in the lusts of the flesh; and how we were by nature under the wrath of God.

Then he shifts gears in verse 4 and gives us those beautiful words, “But God …” The before shot was pretty grim; the after shot is absolutely glorious. And it all turns on “But God …” There are volumes in that little word “but.” Whatever our condition was before, it makes no difference, for God is much greater than all of that and it cannot stand up to the pleasure and power of His will.

Satan may come and say, “See, God, I have all these under my power and influence — they are spiritually dead to You.” Then God utters one Word, “But …,” and reveals something that strips the devil’s claims of all force:

• The richness of His mercy
• The greatness of His love
  

So rich and so great are these, see how far they lift us up and set us free. For even though we were dead in trespasses — willful rebellion against God — He has:

• Made us alive together in Christ
• Raised us up together with Christ
• Seated us together in the heavenlies in Christ
  

One we were spiritually dead, but now we have been given new birth by the Spirit of God, through faith in Jesus Christ. We have also been raised up together with Christ. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is now at work in us, so that we now truly live and move and have our being in Him. God has also seated us together with Christ on the throne of heaven, the place of ruling and reigning.

How far we had fallen; how greatly we have been redeemed; how highly we have been lifted up in Christ Jesus, to the glory of God. “That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7). Once we lived according to the corruption of this present age, but now we are part of the age that is breaking into this world, an age that powerfully demonstrates God’s grace and favor.

Now, it is not about us, but all about Him.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

It is not about our works, but about His grace. This grace brings salvation, which we receive through faith, but even that faith does not come from us — it is a gift that comes to us from God. Once we walked in the works of the world, but now we can walk in the works of God. There is no room for bragging here, except in God, who has created us anew in Christ Jesus.

Do you find yourself in the “before” shot of Ephesians 2:1-3? God has a wonderful “after” for you, and it can begin now, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Prince of the Power of the Air

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. (Ephesians 2:1-3).

The power of the air refers to the realm of demonic spirits. They have no more place in heaven, having fallen when they rebelled, along with satan, against Almighty God. As disembodied spirits, they have no place on earth, unless they can find a body to inhabit. (The Greek word sometimes translated as “demon possessed,” is daimonizomai, and is better understood as demonized, that is, having a demon.)

All that is left for them is the region between heaven and earth. So Paul refers to it as the power of the air, the atmosphere that surrounds. The Greek word for “air” is aer. A. T. Robertson notes that, “Aer was used by the ancients for the lower and denser atmosphere and aither [ether] for the higher and rarer.”

The Greek word for “power” here is exousia, the same word used in Ephesians 1:21, where God seated Christ in the heavenlies, “far above all principality, power, might and dominon, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.” The word for “prince” here is closely related to the word for “principality,” and they both refer to a ruler.

Who is this evil prince? It is the one of whom Jesus said,

Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. (John 12:31)

I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. (John 14:30)

The ruler of this world is judged. (John 16:11)

In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul refers to him as “the god of this age,” and he is none other than satan. He has been judged and cast down, for though he tried to destroy the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus has defeated him instead. For Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) and heal all who are oppressed by him (Acts 10:38).

The Lord Jesus Christ also sent out His disciples with divine authority to do the same:

Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I saw satan fall like lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:18).

Soon this fallen prince and his demons will not even have the lower atmosphere for their habitation.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

Then it will be that “the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).

The prince of the power of the air may have once held powerful influence in your life when you were dead in trespasses and sins, but if you know the Lord Jesus Christ, God has made you alive with Christ. The works of the devil have been destroyed, and that destruction is now in the process of being enforced upon him. Soon he will not even have a platform from which to propagate his lies and accusations, but will be cast into the depths of hell.

The Fullness of Him Who Fills

And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:22-23)

This is an expansion of Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians, beginning in verse 15, in which he asks the Father to reveal the exceeding greatness of His power toward all believers. This is the same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenlies — far above all principality, power, might and dominion, and everything that can be named in this age and in the one to come. All has been placed under His feet. All these — principality, power, might and dominion — refer to angelic beings and demonic powers. Christ is above them — not merely above, but far above.

But what of the church? What is our role, our place?

God has given the Lord Jesus Christ to be head over the church. We are explicitly identified as His body. Christ in not a disembodied head, nor are we a headless body. Rather, we go together with Him. We are intimately related to Him, as close as your own head is to your own body. We are not merely in close proximity to Him, but integrally related with Him.

Now consider this: If Jesus is seated far above all principality, power, might and dominion, and all these are placed under His feet — then we, as His body, are also seated far above all principality, power, might and dominion, and all these are placed under our feet, as well. Indeed, in the next chapter, Paul notes that God has already raised us up (exalted us) together with Christ and seated us together in Him in the heavenlies (Ephesians 2:6). Christ is in the place of ruling and reigning; and as His body, exalted and seated with Him in the heavenlies, we are in the place of ruling and reigning also.

What is the fullness of Christ? According to Paul, we are — all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. We are the fullness of Christ, for we are His body. Just as your body is the fullness of you, so we, as the body of Christ, are the fullness of Him. Your body is all about you; His body is all about Him. We represent Christ in every way, for He has filled His body all in all, that is, fully and completely in everything.

• We bear all the authority of Christ on earth. Before He ascended to heaven, Jesus declared, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). Then He commissioned His disciples, authorizing them with all His earthly authority.
• We have the authority to ask “in His name” (John 14:13-14). Whatever we ask in His name, the Father will do (John 15:16; John 16:23-27). We don’t have to ask Jesus to ask the Father; we can ask the Father directly in Jesus’ name. That is, we have the same authority to ask that Jesus has.
• We have the authority to bind or loose on earth what has been bound or loosed in heaven (Matthew 18:18). As we agree together concerning anything, it will be granted by our Father in Heaven (Matthew 18:19).
• We have the authority to command the Kingdom of God to come and the will of God to be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). Jesus specifically gave us this authority in the Lord’s Prayer. He taught us to pray in the imperative mood: Kingdom of God, come! Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven!
• We have the authority of His perfected love. “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God; and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:16-17).

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are the fullness of Him who fills all in all. It is all about Him, His authority, His power, His goodness, His righteousness, His love. Through faith in Him, we abide in Him and He in us. As He is, so are we in this world, for we have received His fullness.

The Dispensation of the Fullness of the Times

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth — in Him. (Ephesians 1:7-10)

Redemption, forgiveness, grace — this is the revelation of the Father’s will. It is His good pleasure and freely determined purpose. Because it pleases Him, it must have everything to do with faith, for without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6).

The overarching purpose of God which has now been revealed is to gather all things together in unity in the Lord Jesus Christ, to bring heaven and earth together in Him. For He is the God-Man who now rules and reigns over all forever and ever — and we rule and reign with Him (Ephesians 2:6).

We are now in the dispensation of the fullness of times. A dispensation is an economy, an administration, a stewardship. In the dispensation of the fullness of times, the stewardship is to bring all things in heaven and earth together. We have not yet reached the completion of the fullness of times — that is still to come — but the administration of it has already begun.

• It is an administration of the New Covenant, which is established in the blood of the Lord Jesus, and of which God has made us able ministers: “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as minister of the new covenant” (2 Corinthians 3:5-6).
• It is an administration of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ: “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship [dispensation]” (1 Corinthians 9:16-17).
• It is an administration of the grace of God: “For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles — if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you” (Ephesians 3:1-2).
• It is an administration of the Word of God: “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship [dispensation] from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the Word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations but now has been revealed to His saints” (Colossians 1:24-26).
• It is an administration of the Lord’s Prayer. For the Lord Jesus Himself taught us to pray, “Kingdom of God, come! Will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven!” and all things in heaven and earth to being gathered together under His lordship.

The dispensation of the fullness of times has begun, and all those who have received the Lord Jesus Christ have been made able ministers of it. How will you exercise your stewardship today?

The Inheritance of Grace and Peace

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:2)

Grace and peace are a gift from our heavenly Father. It is a matter of inheritance, for fatherhood always brings inheritance. We do not work for it, or try to show ourselves worthy of it — we simply receive it. It comes to us because we have been reconciled to the Father by His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus removed the barrier of sin by taking it on Himself and nailing it to the cross. He has destroyed all the works of the devil that separate us from God (1 John 3:8).

Grace is the favor of God. It means that we are backed up by all the power and authority of heaven. That is why God said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). It is more than enough to deal with every obstacle and hindrance we may encounter.

Peace is not just the absence of conflict, or even mere calmness. Paul use the Greek word to write to a Greek-speaking audience. But being a Jew, he had the Hebrew idea of shalom in mind. It is a word of wholeness and means that there is nothing lacking and nothing out of joint. This can only come from God, who alone is able to restore things to wholeness.

If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, grace and peace belong to you in abundance. They are a gift from the Father. Are you walking in your inheritance?

A Blessing for Everything

There is a line in The Fiddler on the Roof, where Motel the tailor asks the Rabbi, “Rabbi, is there a blessing for a sewing machine?” The Rabbi answered, “There is a blessing for everything.”

Years ago, I came across a Jewish blessing for after using the privy. Going though some old notes the other day, I came across it again:

Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who has formed people in wisdom, and created within them numerous orifices and cavities. It is revealed and known before the Throne of your Glory that if but one of them were to be blocked, or one of them were to be opened, it would be impossible to exist even for a short time. Blessed are you Lord, who heals all flesh and performs wonders. My G-d, the soul which you have given within me is pure. You have created it, You have breathed it into me, and You preserve it within me. You will eventually take it from me, and restore it within me, in Time to Come. So long as the soul is within me, I offer thanks to You, Lord my G-d and G-d of my fathers, Master of all works, Lord of all souls. Blessed are You Lord, who restores souls to dead bodies. (Mangel, N., 2001. Siddur Tehillas Hashem Nusach Ha-Ari Zal, Otsar Sifrei Lubavitch, Brooklyn. p. 6)

Yes, there is a blessing for everything.

Living Out of Righteousness

Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). If you will focus on loving Him, you will end up keeping His commandments. If you will seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (God's way of doing and being right), everything else will be take care of (Matthew 6:33).

Now, righteousness is not something you achieve or attain. For if you know the Lord Jesus Christ, you have already been made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). Righteousness is now your starting point, and your discipleship is learning to yield to Him, letting His life come forth in you.

Legalism is about conditioning God’s love and acceptance upon keeping a particular rule or discipline. That is foreign to God’s righteousness, for we are accepted by God on the basis of the Lord Jesus Christ, through faith in Him — nothing more, nothing less.

Don’t come to God based on your own righteousness — you’ll never make it. But come and receive the righteousness He has already provided for you through the Lord Jesus Christ. You will be “accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6), and He will bring forth His righteousness into every area of your life.