Healing and Deliverance: Part II

, as we have discussed, has the characteristic of 'deliverance' which we have continued discussion. The layers of meaning and understanding of healing, though are not mutually exclusive: it is much more like the 'blind men and the elephant', in that as we examine from different vantage points, we see different aspects and colors of healing in the Word.

I am parenthetically stepping aside from building this 'descriptive apologetic' to remark on what I have seen recently in covering the various aspects of healing in the Word of God. I have tried to be very careful and discerning, since the practice of healing, while one of the fundamentals of the Christian life, has fallen prey in this day and time to perversions and even 'showmanship', but really is now as always, a gift of God to set back his Creation in right order on every level from the body, mind and spirit, to marriages and nations. While I will cover the topic later, we need to understand that while we bandy the word "salvation" about freely, telling all they need it, we must come to see Salvation in its fullness. When Jesus,[Yshua] died on Golgotha, laying his life down freely in the ultimate surrender to God's Will that the 'second Isaac [Ihtzak]' only could perform, He became the stick thrown in the waters of Mara, which healed the stream. He first and foremost healed man to God: it had not been possible before that Moriah. With His blood bought and anointed salvation, that High Priest carried the covering all the way into the depths of Heaven, and Life, Chaim, was opened and available to all. From there, afterwards, all healing was possible, in fullness, not in portion.

DELIVERANCE FROM PAIN, SUFFERING AND DISEASE

Turning again though to our continued discussion, we have talked about the need for 'deliverance' from the pain and suffering of DISEASE and malfunction, which healing encompasses and results in. While we have covered at least lightly deliverance from disease and malfunction, we can see this aspect of healing in the healing of Peter's Mother-in-Law who was near death from an illness. When Jesus[Yshua] healed her, she did not just say 'that's better' but got up and in gratitude began to serve the guests.

And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. Matthew 8:14-15.

Healing was not just 'feeling better', but a real release, a sense of a return to a right state, and rest and peace, and the gratitude wrought service. This is also seen in deliverance in healing from

2)Malfunction:

Withered hands are made whole, the blind are made to see, the deaf/mute to hear and speak, a definitive sign of Messiah! (John 9) The result most often is either gratitude or joy, as in the following passage:

And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked:
The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked. Acts 14:9-10

or again:

Act 3:7-9 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted [him] up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God:

It is the sense of deliverance in the physical healing of disease and malfunction which makes the healed person rejoice and even dance [leap] or shout or praise. Partly it must be the miracle, the experiencing of the real truth of God's power over the 'natural order' of things: persons of faith often persevere through terrible wildernesses of faith, trusting God but not "seeing" evidence, and when the fruit of faith shows itself through an abundant healing, deliverance begets joy. Deliverance also brings a sense of newfound freedom and a return to a peaceful stress free state: in healing there is a deliverance from pain, stress and anxiety, and constant cumbersome circumstances which the diseased or malformed encounter: the lame cannot run or climb or walk until healed and must compensate with crutches, arm strength and so on such that every task is an arduous one: once healed, a literal freedom also ensues.

SPIRITUAL 'DIS-EASE' AND MALFUNCTION

A form of malfunction is also spiritual or what the world calls 'psychological' i.e. mental, cognitive and emotional trauma. Examples are replete: for example the Boy delivered of evil spirits in Mark 9:24-26.

And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, [Thou] dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
And [the spirit] cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.

HEALING OF SOUL AND SPIRIT

Other examples abound, and we will look at psychological and spiritual healing in Scripture in a further lesson, but even more than with physical healing, the healing of the soul and spirit, involves deliverance which is most often described in both old and new testaments as deliverance from evil spirits. Even one psychologist , Dr. Rollo May acknowledged the idea of the 'demonic' although he of course does not describe it Biblically. He described a psychological phenomena of the 'demonic' as something that 'overpowers' a person. This is not unlike the biblical view, except it falls short of a complete descriptions and remedy. The demonic or 'devils' overpower a person incapacitating them in some form including limiting reasoning, sanity, or usual behavior. This will be discussed later, but the deliverance aspect of healing is even more prevalent in possession of similar afflictions than the other, for the others involve a deliverance from hardship and physical bounds, but the healing from 'devils' involves a virtual setting free in which the person returns to an unbound condition.

II. DELIVERANCE FROM OTHER: HEALING CONFLICT AND CONTENTION

We have already mentioned that we must be healed to others: friendships, marriages, children an dparents, families, and more: we need healing in fragmented relationships, especially ones in covenant and purpose which are ordained of God. But sometimes, to be healed we need deliverance FROM others: constantly in the Wars of Israel, Israel prayed and obeyed and were delivered from the enemy, healing the land and the nation in victory.

An example of a prayer for this kind of deliverance is

Gn 32:11

Deliver me I pray thee from the hands of my enemies"

Israel after deliverance was healed back to the land in peace and rest, the reward and outcome of a God bought victory. Acts 7:25 mentions

God would deliver them..

In the trials of daily life, we find ourselves both in microcosm and macrocosm having to be deliver 'from' other people in order to be healed in our spirits and minds to peaceful and restful living. A person who has a boss who is constantly critical, listing faults non-stop, and constantly calling insufficiencies into question, creates a state of feeling unsafe and unworthy: this makes the person feel unwhole, uneasy, anxiety ridden and fearful, and generally without rest. For some it becomes so great that a job change is required. Home situations can present the same problem: until they are brought into the pattern and order the LORD has given, there may be in extreme cases, even for the Christian a need to be 'delivered' from another person in order to be healed. I am not advocating divorce, in fact far from it, for even in cases of extreme dissension and occasional violence, the underlying causes are often healed by bringing the marriage back into its right purpose and order.

Healing, Deliverance and Marriage

Many marriages, for example, in which division and even hatred take hold, are often marriages out of order: women tend to want control over men, to the point that they overthrow their headship, which in turn makes husbands either wish to escape the relationship, or over-exert headship to the point that it becomes domination. When that happens, all sorts of havoc and chaos occur, turning terribly uncomfortable for all parties concerned including children. Violence can ensue, affairs, hatred, division, substance abuse and ultimately the end of the marriage. The marriage state, and order, has been disrupted and lost its equilibrium. Most Christians are aware of God's commands and order in marriage: loving surrender and submission of both parties, with the husband as head, and the wife as not a lesser human being, but surrendered to the role of support and upbuilding. When this order is correct: neither minds it: one position is not less than the other, but both work together for the benefit of both and family, in loving surrender to God's order, as a type and kind of the Church and her Redeemer, where love is the central value for both. While the wife is not the 'head' her position is not less, but necessary and critical to the excellent working of the family. Problems arise today in view of secular views of marriage in which if a woman surrenders to the headship of a man, many have redefined the nature of that surrender to being 'unliberated' but the truth is, that when it is correct, it is actually freeing to both husband and wife, and instead of a competition, the marriage becomes a loving cooperation for the benefit of both. Some women have no trouble in accepting the Christian command of 'dying to self' or 'counting one another better than oneself', but they seem to add a codicil of 'except for my husband'. Husbands on the other hand, if they loved their wives 'as Christ loved the Church' would not find a constantly rebellious, arrogant and cutting spirit, or cruel competitiveness which often ruins a marriage. A marriage is often healed by bringing correct views and order back to the relationship.

On the other hand, carrying through with the idea of healing as deliverance from others, some marriages, as with jobs, and other relations reach a point of no return, and in order to be healed a person has to be out of the relationship. Even Jesus spoke of a few exceptions while teaching that "God hates divorce". He mentioned fornication as one---he does not require a wife or husband to be subject continuously to extreme abuses. Remarriage may be debated in the House of God, but by in large, unless life is threatened or spiritual health and obedience, God's principle is first the healing of the household by delivering the partners into right relationship, and failing that, to deliver a person from for example a cruel or even violent person. Descriptions of the holy order of marriage are described in the book of Ephesians. But real, self-sacrificing love, on the part of two people surrendered to each other and the LORD, is not only the greatest principle, but the mainstay of healing.

Deliverance as a means of healing, from others, can be as mentioned as small as issues between friends in mundane issues, or range to nations and wars against enemies. In the case of the Concubine which was beaten and raped to death by men from the tribe of Benjamin caused such consternation in Israel, that a civil war started, so bloody it claimed thousands before the other 11 tribes subdued Benjamin.
The healing of Israel in that case came only at the hands of intense prayer and supplication. We will later look at God's plan and teaching regarding the "Healing of the Nations" and how patterns and healing which apply on minor levels work also even internationally.

Healing of Deliverance

IN the last study we talked about one of the first definitional 'mainstays' of Healing: being made 'whole', and the idea of wholeness and perfection in a state of 'equilibrium' which is 'as God created it to be'. The fragmenting or dissolution of that 'right' state necessitates healing, and the dunamos power of God, brings back the compromised person or thing to its 'right state'. While that sounds a little 'jargon-laden', the previous study shows it to be Biblically correct.

The second 'mainstay' of healing is Healing as deliverance, or deliverance as healing.
When we are delivered from something we are

1) Made safe
2) Turned from distress to peace
3) returned from instability to stability
4) Turned from fear to a lack of fear
5) Turned from a captive state to a free state

Safety we understand, most of us covet it: we seek to be free from danger and trouble and save for a few we like to be apart from feelings of insecurity and distress. Distress characterizes a need for deliverance, we do not like to feel apart from a sense of well-being. When we enter in to states of "dis-ease", whether they are physical or emotional, we immediately look for ways to return to an equilibrium. Likewise, when we are in need of 'deliverance' we are in a state which is 'unstable'-
our course is not certain, our path not clear. Our condition is unsettled and could go more than one way. Fearfulness characterizes the undelivered: we feel in danger---in real life circumstances there are often real objects of fear, in cognitive and emotional states wanting deliverance, the anxiety which is often experienced is an undefined fear as well. When we are delivered of these states, virtual or what the world calls 'psychological', or even spiritual, we cease from fear. Further, when we are need of deliverance, we are not free, whether it be a 'real-world' experience or an internal one. A great hallmark of deliverance is the sensation and state of being free, for when we are bound by a lack of it, we feel anything but free: we also, simultaneously feel unable to make decisions and plans so beset by whatever is before us causing the harm.

Healing and Deliverance

As we talked about a return to wholeness characterizing the Healing of the LORD, we turn not to a totally separate aspect of healing, but a concomitant one. Deliverance as healing can take the form of:

1. Deliverance from disease and malfunction, spiritual, mental or physical
2. Deliverance from Others and danger
3. Deliverance from sin, death and Hell

DELIVERANCE [HEALING] from DISEASE AND MALFUNCTION

When we get sick, we want to get well, when we face a life-threatening illness, we want to go back to the way things were before: we wish to be safe, content, and the same as we have always been.

Our most familiar repeated prayer, the "Our Father" contains a reference to the deliverance from a spiritual adversary: 'temptation' or trial, :

Deliver us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil

That famous passage points to a setting free, and hence, making whole and right the person from the danger which confronts them. In this case, it is the danger of righteousness falling to 'sedition'--of coming undone and being shattered with wrong choices. Deliver us from trials and temptations we pray, that we might continue in a whole state. Most of the time it is good to seek back the state at rest, but occasionally, God confronts us with trials and temptations, even evil, for many reasons, e.g. to try our faith, or to lead us to a higher state of being and relationship with Him. This is at the heart of modern discussions of 'why bad things happen to good people' or why bad things happen at all---one of the reasons is the re-forming of the person into something better by what scriptures call the 'furnace of affliction'. It is like a physical breaking a bone to reset it, so that it can heal properly, for if he allowed the natural growth in the condition it was in, it could cause the limb not to work properly later.

to be continued....

Mind of Christ: Healing: IV- types of Healing

Three Shades of Healing

I have noticed in my readings of the Word four 'categories' or broad aspects of healing:

1. Being Made Whole [to God, others and self]
2. Deliverance [from disease, and malfunction, and spiritual infirmity, from others, from darkness and the demonic, and from death, and
3. Rescue and
4. Freedom

Healing is much bigger than the mere idea of 'getting well': we have mentioned that before. Healing, divine healing entails not only a 'feeling better', but many aspects of something that is askew, corrupted or wrongful being made right, perfect and complete. In the Garden of Eden, when man walked perfectly with God, all was right, perfect and complete. There was perfect health, no shame or sin, no disease, hatred, and the communion with God and rest was excellent. When sin came, and man fell from Grace, we often acknowledge the hardships, pain in childbirth, toil and work and so forth that the Word mentions, as a result, but in truth, what one author called a 'crack in creation' took place, and everything which was formerly perfect in God's way, time, and place began to unravel and come apart. Instead of communion, there was separation from God and unbelief, or difficult belief. Instead of peace and rest, and tending the Garden there was work and briars and suffering. Instead of health and well-being there was disease, discomfort and illness. All of healing, including and foremost, the healing Salvation brings, is a 'making right' and healing back to God, in the way things are supposed to be and work.

An example of this, in disease, is that when disease occurs, the normal function of the body is in disequilibrium: it is apart from its normal work and health. When the body heals, it goes back to its natural, unaltered state: cells performing their normal function, a lack of discomfort, inflammation disappears, etc. Even in nature we see this: when trees become diseased they do not bear fruit, or their leaves become mottled, etc. When the are watered cared for, and tended, they return to their natural state, and the 'goodness' of the tree comes to bear. Divine healing must be seen in these terms, because it is a setting right, a return to the right ways of God, and a 'putting back together' the thing that was right and fully functioning. This applies to all kinds of healing whether it be the healing of emotions, souls, diseases, dysfunction, bodies, relationships, or even nations.

Being Made Whole

The idea of 'being made whole' is found clearly in Scriptures. Being made whole may be seen in

1. The Healing to God [Salvation]
2. Healing to Others [Reconciliation] and
3. Healing of the Soul/Self

Healing to God [Salvation]

The whole Word of God is replete with references about our need for salvation, or healing back to God in the way God had always intended, to be safe from grave danger and from wrath, and imputed righteousness, where our perfection is not ours but his.
It had to be God imputing righteousness to us, because the progress of the Fall from the first had caused a condition which made it impossible for man to ever attain the 'goal' of getting back right with God. So in Old and New Testament [e.g.Psalms, Romans] we see God performing the act which would bring back the righteousness needed to be in communion with Him. The most famous passage regarding healing and salvation we have already mentions:

"with his stripes we are healed", or

"Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Being Made Whole: To Others

When we are made 'whole' and 'right' with others, it is Reconciliation, and there ar e many mentions of it in the Scriptures: it is right to be made one with those we are separated from, both in the house of God and out, with friends, spouses, relatives, acquaintances and others. When there is a rift between ourselves and others, it causes the whole church to suffer, as well as us in our personal lives. Forgiveness is such a central concern for the believer that it hardly bears mentioning: it was among the last pronouncements of Yshua on the cross "Forgive them, Father, they know not what they do." When we 'fall out' with others, for example in a church, it is never in a vacuum: it is like a small tear at first in a seam, but before the rift is ended, the entire garment can be torn to bits. When we reconcile with others, we solidify the body of Christ as a whole and healthy thing; when we reconcile with a spouse, or child, or parent, we cause healing in all lives involved and blessings which would not otherwise have risen. Examples of reconciliation are seen in 2 Cornithians 5:20, and Romans 5:10 ( reconciled to God):

Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech [you] by us: we pray [you] in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

The Bible also talks about reconciliation and the house of God:

And so thou shalt do the seventh [day] of the month for every one that erreth, and for [him that is] simple: so shall ye reconcile the house.Eze 45:20

and in Matthew 5:24, we see a call to be reconciled to one another:

Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

The healing of relationships one to another in right order is a critical part of Church unity and daily healing in life in general. Many marriages have partners who love each other, but are unwilling to accept God's order in the relationship: husbands confuse headship with domination, or wives subvert headship, and many do not understand the difference between order and an equality in Christ. When a marriage is healed in proper order, both partners are free and at peace, an oft indicator of
the 'right' or healed state. When Church members at war with one another make peace with one another and find reasonableness and love, the work of the Lord goes forward.
See I Cor 1:7. Again, the knitting together of those previously at discord, involves a 'making whole' and re-establishing order and 'rightness'.

Healing, Being Made Whole and The 'Self'

The whole realm of human experience we study under the rubric 'psychology' could rightly be assigned here more than to any disease process: what is today called the Self, but was traditionally called 'soul' [although theologians will argue endlessly about that] is the 'glue' that holds our self-experience together. Ask 100 psychologists what 'self' is, you will get 100 different answers. What we do know is that when 'self' begins to fragment and come apart, we see troubling behavior and thinking, and usually a great deal of pain. Freeman and Melges in the 70s looked at aspects of self-disintegration in relationship to drug use and other states of altered consciousness, and found that as a sense of time disintegrates, so does a sense of body boundaries and 'self', and vice versa. How God has put us together in time and space, though, which we probably can never understand, is less important than the very important lesson that as the natural right order of a person's sense of his self, of who and what he defines himself as, comes apart or disintegrates, a state of disequilibrium occurs and we define this as 'mental illness' . Hence when we see troubling patterns, such as 'clinical depression', psychosis, gender confusion etc, there is some portion of the person which is 'coming apart' and deviating from the the right order when the person like other healed things is in a state of peace and rest and 'integrated'. This does not mean that there is one 'normal' for all healthy people- people differ as often as the number of them---it does not define a set of behaviors or beliefs as 'normal'---what it does is show that unrest in the person however mild or severe, is the self turning on the self or coming apart: deviating from a right order. So psychological [as we call it] healing, should involve returning to the order in which God made it. [and in proper relation to Him].
Examples in scripture are not all directly stated but implied. For example: in Mark 2:17, it speaks of "they that are whole". In Mark 3:5 a hand restored to wholeness is mentioned. Mark 5:28 states

If I may touch but his clothes I SHALL BE MADE WHOLE.

Much of this is related to bodily healing, but several other passages devote themselves to this concept of wholeness:

Mark 5:34 Go thy way daughter, thy faith has made thee whole
or
be whole of thy plague.

to be continued....

The Mind of Christ: Healing III

Having established the idea of the act of healing and the power behind it, which is no less than the 'dunamous' power of the HOly Spirit, we also see that healing is part and parcel of Salvation, and that the Laying on of Hands is a foundational doctrine which must not be ignored, even in the modern Church. In the last section, we considered that the Laying on of Hands, in both the Old and New Testament conferred:

1. Authority & Sanctification [setting apart]
2. Blessing and Comfort
3. Anointing Purpose or Gifting and
4. Healing

Before we move into the Types of Healing, though, it must first and foremost be noted that the First and Greatest, and utterly pre-eminent Healing, is that of Salvation, of the healing of man to God. Since the Fall of Adam, there has been what one author called a 'crack in Creation', a wounding, a separation so great from God that man began to die. (Gn 3) We have since that time, been insufficient in our sin condition to heal that breach or stop that separation or the curses which have attended it since: instead of a Garden Paradise, we have made of the world a sorrow and heartache of every suffering, of fruitless labor, of tearing, enslavement and death. In our need, God saw since before the Fall a need we would have which we could never repair or heal, and since the beginning, when a Son of Adam was promised who would come to bruise the serpent, sin and death, putting the curse we brought on ourselves, forever under His divine foot.

Man in his separated condition, usually never gets close enough to God to obey Him even in the smaller things---and in our lost state, it was impossible even if we could to obey Him to a point of repairing our broken Covenant with Him. More than that though, the painful truth was that even if we could have obeyed, even if we could have listened and heard, it was not within our nature, purpose or ability to heal that sad abyss between man and God. Those of us who know Messiah, understand immediately, that the obedience required, and the Blood Atonement, required a divine son, not just 'of' God, but God himself, 'with God', of God, God". [Isaiah 9:6; John 1]

The greatest Healing then, took place in Salvation, the Salvation of the Jews, when our Messiah took upon himself the task, or indeed the War against the destroyer, to bring about our Salvation and healing to God, to heal the breach between Man and God, to destroy the curse of Sin which before redemption is a hard and impossible taskmaster, and to restore God's plan and Paradise, the Heaven of God and the New Jerusalem, to those who would believe.

Jesus, or Y'shua was about healing and Deliverance: He came to buy back the Bride of Israel, in an act of divine obedience only He and no one else could accomplish. His very Name carried the connotation of healing and salvation:

"and she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His Name JESUS for He shall
SAVE his people from their sins"

The word 'save' in Greek is 'Soza' and means to save, rescue, deliver and heal. This name chosen not by man but by God, showed the Savior's healing purpose, and He became the unsung King of Israel that day, Israel's Deliverer, the Meschiach, the rescuer of the Bride of Israel and all who would believe and be grafted on to her vine, and the great Healer of Israel, restoring His Bride to what her God-Given Glory demanded, to who she was, who she would be and to the purpose chosen before time at the foundation of the World, to bear His glory. So the first lesson regarding Divine healing, must always begin with Israel's healer, 'Jehovah Rapha', in the person of Yshua, or Jesus.
Indeed, most of His ministry before the Cross, was one of healing disease, pain, deformity, spiritual problems, and ultimately souls: He turned Israel back to their God, and away from the disease of mistrust and hardheartedness that the corruption of big business religion had caused, which even back then, had sold Israel to her enemies.

The Healing of His Stripes

The Word teaches in both the Old and New Testament:

"by His Stripes we are healed" Isaiah 53:5 and
"By whose stripes we are healed "I Peter 21:24

I used to wonder at this passage and one other:

"It pleased the LORD to bruise him",

The words for 'stripe' and bruising are similar: in the Old Testament, 'habbura' means a bruise welt, wound , injury, stripe or hurt, as used in Isaiah 53% and the greek word in I Peter 21:24 is 'molops' which means the same: wound, welt, bruise.
The ways of God though are not the ways of man: we think in far too limited a fashion regarding how far Love can go, especially the Love of God. Our momentary sufferings, even the cruel and bitter and unbearable, in God's hands often accomplish a major HEALING. The ultimate healing, our salvation was brought about not in a King's Palace or cool comfort, but on a brutal darkening day with the horror of crucifixion, nails, spears, beating, stripping and humiliation. The purposes of man though were forcefully overturned by God that day, and our healing became real.

The Old Testament word used in the Isaiah passage is 'rapa' or 'rapha', which carries the connotation not only of physical healing but of 'making whole', curing and recovering. This idea of restoration and making something perfect and complete, restoring 'wholeness' carries throughout scripture: we are told of the healing of nations, the healing of bodies, the healing of spirits, and lives. The New Testament word used in I Peter, is iaoma, which means healing and making whole, and 'freeing'. With healing comes freedom in some form or another, whether it be freedom from oppression, pain, the tyranny of another, a binding circumstance, or emotional pain and suffering. We become free to do God's will and purpose. We feel upon healing, a renewed vigor, outlook, strength and meaning in our lives.

The Wounding of the Cross

His woundings on the Cross led to our healing:

1. Within ourselves- psychological [whatever that is], spiritual and physical
2. Without: between us and others
3. Made whole and healed to God.

These great divine accomplishments were why it 'pleased the LORD' to bruise Messiah for our sake, and though the treatment He received in this diseased world was unbearable to even consider, the healing he wrought was everlasting. Our healing with God is the starting place of all healing: it is our 'soterion' our Salvation.
The King of Israel's accomplished purpose was noted even before his coming, when it was noted that He was risen with healing in His Wings.

Salvation, or soteria carries also the same purposes and connotations as that of its author: deliverance, safety, rescue and healing. Blueletterbible.com defines it thusly:

1) deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation

a) deliverance from the molestation of enemies

b) in an ethical sense, that which concludes to the souls safety or salvation

1) of Messianic salvation

2) salvation as the present possession of all true Christians

3) future salvation, the sum of benefits and blessings which the Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God.

Strong's describes it as "the State of believers being safe from Righteous Wrath in proper relationship with God, and deliverance, a state of 'not being in grave danger'. This first and great healing, makes the other 'wonders' of healing seem small and comparitively incidental.

Three Shades of Healing

I have noticed in my readings of the Word four 'categories' or broad aspects of healing:

1. Being Made Whole [to God, others and self]
2. Deliverance [from disease, and mafunction, and spiritual infrimity, from others, from darkness and the demonic, and from death, and
3. Rescue and
4. Freedom

These will be discussed in the next segment.

The Mind of Christ: Healing and the Laying on of Hands: II

We have already laid the foundation for the observation that Healing and the Laying on of Hands is a fundamental tenet of belief for both Christians and Jews, so in this study, we will begin to systematically outline types of healing and the ways prophets, Jesus and the apostles approached them. One must remember that healing both in the Old and New Testament are a gift of God and a manifestation of His power, but in the New Testament, the gift of healing was among the gifts of the Holy Spirit given in fullness and in power, which would endure in the believer to whom it was given for the benefit of others.

One of the first distinctions is between the healing itself and the 'power' behind the healing. The act of healing, is readily seen most of the time in this century in healing ministries as well as in others, where an act of healing takes place in a physical way. Acts of healing can also be spiritual or mental, but the process takes place in a transformation between a former state and a new state.

The power behind the healing is implicitly God's, and in Scripture is associated with the breath of God, or the Holy Spirit of God, acting usually through one believer for the benefit of another. We find the word 'morday' for healing which encompasses the process of something being made whole, or restored to a right state, and even in Salvation, we find that one of the Greek words for salvation--- soterion, carries the meaning of health or healing about a third of the time in Scriptures. The power of God which heals, is both used directly as Holy spirit power, or dunamous
and is included in such passages as when the woman with an infirmity touches the hem of Jesus's garment, and is healed. Jesus notes that virture is gone out of Him but the word for virtue is also 'dunamous' in the Greek.

Mar 5:30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?

MIND OF CHRIST-Healing and the Laying on of Hands

When I was a younger person, I liked the idea of healing: especially of the healing of painful emotions- I suppose I was somewhat more sensitive to such things, and over time wanting to see people healed of suffering led me to study Psychology rather than Philosophy. As an unbeliever, I shared alot of the ideas that many unbelieving professionals share, that healing emotionally can come about merely by 'understanding' whatever confronts us, or by learning about it---but the 150 or so years of psychological or quasi-psychological approaches have not faired well: rather than having developed a healing profession called "Psychology" we instead have hundreds of small to moderate theories and models of people and how they act and think and feel, often contradicting one another? Are people made whole? Largely, no, unless they are really motivated, young, self-directed and other characteristics which would have made them change anyway. So for our years and years and billions of dollars and countless treatments, people fare about as well now as they did before Psychology, save for the fact that many are more self-obsessed.

But Growing in Christ after 22 years, I have come to understand, that mere introspection and understanding, much to the field's dismay, does not lead to emotional or physical healing. I would not argue that there are not emotional components to even physical healing, but to divorce the person from his or her creator, who made and heals both body and spirit, is to seriously miss where healing comes from.

Salvation and Healing

Our first and foremost healing, without which all other healings are fruitless and meaningless, is that of Salvation. Today, too often, people hear words like "salvation" and they picture staid older church women telling them they are just no darn good. [forgive the darn] and they need to 'git saved'. Well the truth is, we all do, but it is a good and wonderful gift, the 'good news' the Angels announced to the poor shepherds in the field, the announcement that God still loves us, is still with us, and paid a price so great that we could have His righteousness, and live in love in His presence forever! But we had to be healed to Him and His Way, to be made whole again, infected as we are with the Edenic sin which cursed the world and separated us from God because we, as Adam and Eve, just didn't want it God's way, just wanted to be in charge with His power instead of our own, the creation rebelling against the creator. The root of the word is the same as salve, a healing balm, and Jesus, who bought our Salvation and healing [by His Stripes we are healed] with His blood, and He is called the 'Balm of Gilead'. That healing though, is not just a 'getting right with God' or 'getting religion' [who wants that?]---but a new birth, being born once again from above, and becoming a new creation one day to live forever in His presence. New mind, new heart, new world view, new Father, new citizenship and Kingdom, and the wondrous peace and rest in His accomplished salvation. That is the foundation of healing.

THE LAYING ON OF HANDS

Hebrews, though, when urging Christians to grow deeper in the things of the LORD, lists some foundations of life in Christ which are so basic, that Paul simply expects the Christian of some time to already know these things. They are:

1.Repentance from dead works
2. Faith towards God
3. Doctrine of Baptism
4. the Laying on of Hands
5. the Resurrection of the Dead
and
6.Eternal Judgment.

Of all of these, the basic teachings accompany Salvation and receiving and trusting Jesus' atonement as full payment for our sin: but the one of this list that is not simply introducing the new Christian to the beginning of belief, is the one which involves the gift of healing and authority: the Laying on of Hands.

Some churches today relegate the laying on of hands for another time, or assign it to gifts which they declare are no longer operative, but the gifts, like the gift giver has continued. The 'laying on' of hands though, is not only a New Testament concepts: it is a very Jewish one, mentioned since early times in the Old Testament. Thompson's Chain Reference Bible notes that the laying on of hands is used in Old and New Testament in

1. The Consecration of an Offering: Lev 1:4; 3:2; 4:15; and 16:21 in which a burnt and/or sin offering was consecrated by placing hands on the beast's head, to appoint it for a purpose before God. This included the Priest laying hands on the Azazel, or scapegoat of Israel and sending it out into the desert, imbued with the sins of the nation. A corollary practice is in
2) Ordination Ordination by the laying on of hands is seen in both the old and New Testament. The first Covenant saw the laying on of hands for the conveying of purpose, authority and anointing in Numbers 8:10 , in the anointing/appointment of the Levitical Priesthood:

the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:

or when Joshua is anointed for leadership in Israel:

And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom [is] the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight.And thou shalt put [some] of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. Num 27:18-21

(also in Dt 34:9)

This type of 'laying on of hands' commands purpose, authority to do a work or hold a position, and anointing or power to do it. In the New Testament it is commanded for the appointment of Church offices and gifts and the sending forth of disciples in the Great Commission. [Acts 6:6; 1 Tim 4:14; 5:22; 2 Tim 1:6]. This kind of laying on of hands, is still done in most Churches, from fundamentalists to pentecostals, and often in 'high' churches or liberal Churches which practice only a 'social' gospel or Christian philosophy. In fact in 1 Timothy 5:27, Christians are warned to take this transmittal and consecration seriously warning them to "lay hands suddenly on no man". It is interesting that the hands are usually laid on the brow and on the top of the head, which is both a comforting posture, and one indicating authority: the head is often mentioned as a symbol of authority of the body of Christ, the Church, a marriage, etc, and the brow is the place in the end time, when we choose either to bear Christ's mark or Satan's and the world's. It is also reminiscent of our role as children: when our children are young we often without thinking in affection and protection lay our hands on their heads: it speaks authority and love, not oppressively, but rather like the presence of a loving fortress. God's love, protection and anointing is not less.

3. Blessings
Even in the Old Testament we see the laying on of hands of a blessing: the great story of Jacob and Esau involves an aging father laying hands on whom he thinks is his firstborn to convey the power and authority and inheritance of a firstborn. It is also essentially the consecration of a will, a bequeathing. Joseph also blesses his children, and Jacob blesses his: the blessings of the tribes in scripture convey purpose and descriptions: their place in God's plan and history is coupled with their unique 'style' both in their perfections and decided imperfection.
[Gn 48:14] Matthew 19:15 denotes the famous passage of Jesus blessing the children, the disregarded little ones cherished by Christ, their God and Father, whom all others neglect and degrade:

But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.And he laid [his] hands on them, and departed thence.
Matthew 19:15

So blessings, like the appointment of authority and anointing have to do with power, purpose, mercy and good will in the order of God, but the great gift of healing and the laying on of hands remains.

4. Healing and the Laying on of Hands
What we usually think of when we speak of the 'laying on of hands, is exactly this: healing. Jesus, many times in scripture, laid hands on people and they got well.
The Greek for 'laying on ' in this matter is 'episthesis', which is a literal 'laying on' and can cannote touching, although when Jesus lays hands on dying or just dead children or adults, or the sick or possessed, it is according to the age old Hebrew tradition coupled with the power and authority and love of God. In fact the hallmark of Jesus' Messiahship comes when in John 9 he heals a man blind since birth- a sign of Messiah as is the healing of a deaf man. A noteworthy point, is that He does not have to touch the ill, infirm, possessed, because as with Jairus' daughter, merely faith and His Word will do, but His Jewishness and His 'fatherly love' often are characterized in this ancient Hebrew comfort.

This blog on healing and the laying on of hands, will continue with the next entry.ekbest

MIND OF CHRIST: Prophecy vs Divination

This is a short interlude into an important topic. One of the aspects of the Mind of Christ which we have not explored in this blog, is that of 'walking in the Spirit' although, in a sense, everything we have spoken of is related directly or indirectly to walking in the Holy Spirit because to have the Mind of Christ formed in you requires it. The Gifts of the Spirit are fairly well known to most believers:

For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another [divers] kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. 1Cr 12:8-12

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit and the Church Over the Past 50 years.
In the past 50 years [technically 100], perhaps more than any other time in Western Culture, there has been a revival of 'Full' or Complete Gospel Worship: while Churches for centuries kept precepts and general moral commandments and even basic doctrine, sometimes even admirably, the teaching of 'walking in the Holy Spirit' and the outward manifestations of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit was largely neglected [and still is] in mainstream or 'visible' Christianity. With the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, sometimes within and sometimes outside traditional denominations, a focus on the gifts was brought back.

The 'movement' [which should not be a movement at all but a general practice] has been fraught with difficulty and division for several reasons. One is that several heresies were allowed to fester with Churches that practiced the gifts in which some went far from Scripture and some more aberrant Churches even claim that with the gifts the scripture is unnecessary, or limited, which is not only heresy but blasphemy. Churches even practicing the gifts, but apart from the firm anchor of the Word of God, got into 'holy laughter' phases, think and grow rich gospels, and a variety of other aberrations.

On the other hand, Churches without any practice of the gifts, or which teach the gifts are dead or for another time or dispensation, are often found to be legalistic, without love and without the power and Grace of God. Some even teach that the outward working of the gifts are demonic, a dangerous and blasphemous position which comes to close to one of the only ways Salvation can be lost which is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which includes attributing the works of God through the Holy Spirit to the demonic.

There is also though, emulations of the things of the Spirit, which can be very deceiving and so that straight and narrow road is vividly required to have a discerning Spirit. A few principles I have found have helped:

1. Never point a finger at what even looks like the works of the Holy Spirit and cry demonic without knowledge or testing the spirits: this is too great a risk. One can pray and ask God for discernment, pray and ask Him to prosper the true gifts and thwart the ones which are not true, etc. Too many preachers however in the flesh, not wanting to break with age old ways of doing things in the church of man, cry foul without discernment.

2. Go the Word. Always the Word. The Holy Spirit who wrote the Word of God over 5000 years through many voices, will not disagree nor depart from the Word in Gifts. Sometimes, the thing one is given in a word of knowledge, or prophetic utterance may seem a little askance , but recall that prophets and disciples are often asked to do unusual things: stand in the middle of the Gaza desert, for example, or shave off half their beard and scatter it to the wind.

3. Pray, stay in the Word, stand on the Word, and do things decently and in order: God created the universe decently and in order, and His Church is to work that way. If Scripture says that tongues are only "as the Spirit giveth utterance" then it is not self-initiated. If it says that an interpreter is to be present, then massive chaotic prayers do not line up, and though they may edify the individual they do not add to faith or build up the Church. Not only are the gifts given and described in scripture, the prescription for their use is given.

Carefulness and caution with prayerful Bible Study are like the guard rails on a steep highway to a mountain top: its good to get to the 'mountain tops' where we meet with God in fullness, but its good also to have a safe journey upwards! All of this brings us though to the central topic in this section, which is How to discern the veracity of prophetic utterance, or a Word of Knowledge or wisdom from that which is not of the LORD. I have found a few things that will help.

Divination vs Real Prophecy

Perhaps the premiere example in Scripture of the difference between 'Divination' and true gifts, is found in the book of Acts in the case of the young woman who is known for a spirit of divination, off of whom her masters make a lot of money, who when the true apostles appear, begins for 3 days to follow them around saying

"These men are the servants of the Most High God that shew unto us the way of salvation." Acts 16:17.

The apostles call the wrongful spirit out of the woman which causes her merchandisers much dismay as they lose their free income. As a younger Christian , I wondered at this passage because it seemed that she was saying the truth, these truly were the servants of the Most High God [El Elyon], and they really were lifting up Jesus Christ our Messiah and showing the way of Salvation, so I was earlier unsure why the spirit was 'unclean'. There are few other instances in scripture which mention false prophecy as well, for example, in Jeremiah, around the time Jeremiah prophesies to Zedekiah and Gedaliah, a few local prophets of the time, unhappy with his "doom and destruction" message and call for repentance, take the core of his message and turn it into 'all is well', peace and happiness for Israel. They and others then condemn Jeremiah, and even the princes discuss what to do with the recalcitrant prophet who will not water down or restate the prophecy. Rather than kill him, which they note was done in the past (Jer 44), he is thrown into the dungeon, which is a curious event because even though they are punishing him, the King still sends to hear if he has a Word from the Lord as Babylonian armies march in to destroy Jerusalem! They knew the true from the false but did not like the truth.

To get back for a moment to the first example though, the Spirit of Divination mocked and emulated the true workings of the Holy Spirit and the Scripture rather tightly: but there are a number of differences which are alluded to in scripture which help discern the true from the false.

1. Definitions: Divination, is called literally in the Greek in this passage the "Spirit of Python". By definitions derived from the roots and meaning of the word Python, it bears several characteristics, which the woman who followed after Paul and Silas. It was:
A. Repetitive: over and over (ha) without control -it went on for 3 days.
B. Numerous
C. Pressured. [it is curious that some mental 'illnesses' are characterized by pressured speech, but this is often confused with dialectical concerns]

2. Divination is equated with witchcraft, readings, reading animal 'entrails' casting lots and other things: Joseph in the Old Testament has a 'divining cup'. While some servants of God before the Cross used certain of these practices, it appears not to be the best way, can be harmful and destructive and displeases God. Even the apostles remaining after Judas in choosing a new apostle, use the casting of lots, and get Matthias, but many feel it was God Himself who really appointed Paul to the last position, because Matthias is not mentioned again after the lot selection. An example of serious divining or witchcraft is when Saul visits the witch of Endor and she reluctantly calls up the 'spirit' or at least the image of Samuel. This is against the law, and the dead do not return to earth outside of a few which God revives, so the sin was serious and resulted in the fall of the house of Saul.

3. Soothsaying, is a form of divination, qwasam in hebrew, and manteuomai in the Greek, refers to a form of 'oraclism' which is staccato, given in short and repetitive bursts. It is used definitively in the passages about the young woman in Acts who followed the apostles, who can be seen to bear the repetitive and choppy sayings, but it also involves communicating with the dead [BLB] Saul was to stay away from the Witch of Endor, after he himself outlawed such practices, but desperately went to an occultist after the death of Samuel, because God's wisdom had departed from him. People throughout history have gone to 'soothsayers' or oracles of a false nature to hear what they want to hear: soothsaying seldom involves the truth when it hurts. Soothsaying can also refer to prophets of strange nations. True prophecy again, flows more like a babbling and refreshing brook, is always the truth, always in line with the word, never involves communication with the deceased, is given by the utterance of the Holy Spirit (not man's inquiry or self-produced) and will not lie even to the prophets own hurt.

True Prophetic Utterance and Prophecy
True prophetic utterance often bears a number of characteristics also: it is from the LORD, it is through the Holy Spirit in the way chosen. Several words in scripture are used in connection:

1. Propheteuo: (Greek) which according to Strong's refers to "encouraging obedience", foreseeing the future or warning of the future, warning to prepare for the future or admonishing continuing obedience. There are 28 mentions in this form.

2. Episkiadzo-this is not directly prophecy and yet it is, it is like an announcement, as when the heralding angels confront the Shepherds in the field, or when the Angel Gabriel overshadows Mary. The key word in English is "overshadowing" or to cloud over: this describes at least the experience of the prophet who usually describes his experience as been overwhelmed, overtaken or the like in a number of words. Daniel talks about this overshadowing of control (although not the same word) when he confronts an Angel of God who shows him the things of Israel to come.

3. Naba describes the same indicating encouraging, restoration of the Covenant, faithfulness, the telling of future events, or encouraging obedience or the warning against disobedience, only in Hebrew.

4.and Natap- (Hebrew) which is used in conjunction, and interestingly coincides with what the voice of God is described as by prophets: to pour down, gently fall, drip, drip words, preach, prophecy, drop, dropped, dropped down or prophesy.

So true Prophecy or utterance, has many characteristics which divination and imitations do not, even when the same words are said. To begin with it is TRUE, but often not popular, as with Jeremiah. The prophetic encounter, is often followed by exhaustion: spiritual and physical---Daniel is so exhausted that he cannot even stand but is picked up and set upright. On a lesser note, many pastors will tell you that after preaching the Gospel, they are not merely tired from a morning's 'work' but often fall asleep, not just napping but in a spiritual exhaustion. Our encounters with the living God are not mundane! Our limited existence and physical nature, though made by Him, are so minute next to His Glory that even small tastes of that wondrous fruit depletes our being. Great Prophecies are often preceded by intense prayer, often with fastings and length, including Repentance, both individual and corporate: Daniel prays for weeks regarding the sins of Israel, repenting of the very sins which the Prophet Jeremiah and Isaiah and others declared as the reason for captivity 70 years before. Lastly although not exhaustively (we will return later to this topic), as with tongues, prophecies and words of knowledge are under the sovereign direction of God: as the Holy Spirit gives utterance. Forced tongues or prophecies, forced words of wisdom, are often incorrect and quench the Holy Spirit and defy God's sovereignty. I have noted that even in the harshest rebukes God gives us in the Spirit, even for persons gone far into sin, it is most often countered with comfort as one would a straying child.

God is our Parent, our Father, nuturer, and the love of our life. God is Life and Love and Jesus is described as the Way the Truth and the Life, and no man comes to the Father but by Him! (Jn 14:6). His prophecies and words to us are for our benefit and upbuilding---for our learning and it is one of His ways of fitting us for Heaven.
A true prophecy will be in love, even the solid rebuke, because it is so a part of God's nature that it is felt: and His love is so far above ours! We do not treat each other in love that great not even the best of us. His pleadings with Israel in the Babylonian exile to turn back, to repent is like a father who though angry and heartbroken at seeing children walking towards a cliff, begs them, warns them, berates them not to go any farther near the cliff of their destruction. The discernment between true and false prophecy is often not that difficult: though real prophecies may be lengthy, and a few major points repeated, they are not vain repetitions without substance or belief, but the dear and precious calling of Children to walk with a loving God into Eternal Life.
May the Love of the LORD Jesus Christ be with all.

The Mind of Christ: The Precious King of a Precious Kingdom

I cannot settle on one favorite passage in Scripture, it would be impossible.
A life verse, some are able to choose, but as soon as I choose one I think of another
it would have to be. A couple of my favorites though are the following:

Hbr 13:14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
and

Phl 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

This morning, I was reading also about the Preciousness of Jesus Christ, described
as our "Precious cornerstone" in I Peter:

1Pe

2:4 To whom coming, [as unto] a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, [and] precious,
1Pe 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a Chief Corner Stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

His blood is described as precious [1 pet 1:19] and our faith is described so [2 Pet 1:1] and in a number of other instances, Jesus, the Word, our faith and belief are described such.


Now, it may seem that these two trains of thought may be racing in different directions, but as I read and considered this morning, the two are critically related:
The first two deal with the fact that when we are "born again", born from above,
from Heaven, when the Holy Spirit comes to abide in us through BELIEF in Jesus'
atoning act on Golgotha, when by the blood of Jesus Christ we enter in to eternal
Life, and also into the Mind of Christ and the Life of Christ, as His Children,
we enter then [and also] into a new Citizenship, a new "Nation" a new "Conversation".
I have often felt rather uncomfortable in the world since receiving Jesus Christ and
believing in Him. Even in the beginning, I knew that most of the world did not understand a new life in Christ. I was hungry for the Word of God, and have remained so most of my life since then which is now 22 years. I left a life and lifestyle which while with great burdens, such as a daughter with a life threatening illness, single parenthood, and raising a son as well while fighting off the vultures of academia, still was easy to understand and negotiate, and we had what we needed readily. I did not have to sit and think about whether what I was teaching or doing was right, or face constant decisions whether to stand for anything, much less a faith in God, but rather I dressed, acted lived and negotiated life in the ways everyone else does. Well at least most.

As time proceeded however, and I grew in my faith and the Word, my comfort level with the world was altered: in time, I would leave a number of 'conventions': I left my
career and world view, I home-schooled my children after I had spent my own life in many arenas of public education, I found myself often even in Church at odds with the
worldly views and practices which have crept into today's Church because they just didn't line up with God's Word, and God was constantly calling all of us to "come ye out and be ye separate" and that "friendship with the world is enmity with God."

I have seen that worked out in a number of ways over the years: for some it means not going to movies, for others not going to certain movies. For some it means wearing dresses of a set length, a certain kind of head covering, avoiding defined activities,
not watching tv, homeschooling vs public and the list becomes endless. When I was younger and raising my children, and still younger in the LORD, I was fairly strict myself about what we did, watched, ate or saw. Over the years however (I will eventually get to the point), I learned the difference between liberty and legalism.Most have it wrong leaning too far between the poles and either ignoring Biblical commands or making them a burden no one can bear. All this most have heard before.

Real Separation though, to the point we are in the world but not OF the world, means
that we begin to come into our "Citizenship" or "Conversation" becomes apparent as we receive the King of that new heavenly realm, the reign of God, and agree willingly and in love to become subject to Him and His ways, commands, and 'legislation'.
When the words Peter used are understood, we comprehend that our 'conversation' is no
longer here- it is in eternity. Many of us understood this perfunctorily or metaphorically in the beginning, but if we grow in Christ, we must begin to understand it from the heart and 'put it on'. That new conversation or citizenship means we belong in another place, a better place, where no one can rationalize away our justice, where Love really has won and sits on a Throne in the countenance of Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life [Jn 14:6] and where all is made whole, well, and the promise of perfect rest, perfect Shabbat rest is accomplished for all time.

I prayed not long ago for the LORD to help me be eternally minded. This is the true
putting on of the Mind of Christ, not just 'changing opinions'. It has nothing to do with being more moral [there are Buddhists and Islamics more moral than some Christians], or only voting Republican, or watching Christian programming, it has to do with becoming apart of a Kingdom with a King, which has been since before time and
lasts eternally, in which the way we see things must change.

We do not belong in this world when we willingly encounter Jesus in the great exchange: His life for ours, ours for His. Even from the beginning, we understand things very differently, although not at once. When Christ first welcomes us into His
Kingdom, we over overwhelmed with joy and relief. Our sins have been paid for, we do
not have to strive to be beautiful, perfect, excellent or anything else. The work was His and not ours. Over the years, we allow Him, if we are walking right to change us through surrender, through obeying His Word, and learning to walk in the Holy Spirit. If our doctrine is in error, we need only to pray and He becomes the teacher and corrects, always gently never with the condemnation which men love so much. If we choose froward ways, and we all do, too often disobeying in our weakness, He gives us strength, does through us what we cannot [I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me], and when the sorrows and despair of life overwhelm, we have somewhere and someone who will bear it with us and for us. We cannot trade that Love for what this fading tearing world has to offer.

A Citizen of No Mean Country

What does it mean though, to be a 'citizen' of the Kingdom of Heaven? Heaven is not
as tangible as we would like it to be on earth, in fact Hell seems to preoccupy earth far more often. The Apostle Paul in defending himself as a 'freeborn' Roman once
remarked that he was a 'citizen of no mean city' or no 'base' or reviled city.
Act 21

:39 But Paul said, I am a man [which am] a Jew of Tarsus, [a city] in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.

What did he mean? He was only referring to his Roman citizenship to which he had been born, invoking the law to stop his mistreatment. If Paul considered Cilicia "no mean City", though, how much more magnificent and less base is our freeborn status into the Kingdom of God, the City of God?

The tenets of the city I live in are not always pleasant. People are not always treated fairly. There are murders, violence, unfair elections, prejudices, troubles and trials just like in every other city on earth. But there, never to dissolve or
die, is the presence of utter Joy and peace-bliss beyond comprehension, reunion and victory. We are given a little glimpse in Scripture as to how wondrous it will be as
all things are made new. We will not hurt or ache or cry. No love will end. And all the sufferings we experienced here, some of which are overwhelming us in despair,
will not even be remembered-they will have been things Jesus used to bring about His will and our rest, no matter how horrible they seem now. There is nothing He will not turn to the good of the believer: nothing.

To wear that Citizenship and conversation like a garment, though will lift us above the constant concern we have about 'fitting in' or quandaries about whether we should obey Christ or men. Whether we swear an oath or not is not about being legalistic
and old fashion: it is about who our allegiance is too. If our allegiance is to Christ we must understand that the 'principalities and powers' in the world are not going to be pleased at our obeying the Final Authority, the Alpha and Omega over theirs. It is not about rebellion or an unwillingness to obey man's law: we are in truth expected to obey earthly laws more than other people, to do things decently and in order, and to 'obey the higher powers' because they are ordained of God. Far from rebellion, when we do reach a discrepancy between obeying Christ and the commands of His Kingdom over those of nations, it should be with trembling, for while we will have no peace or rest unless we obey Christ, failure to obey men still has an effect, and sometimes an unpleasant one. All the Martyred saints who died at stake, stoned to death, murdered for their faith found this to be the case. John Bunyan did nothing more than refuse to be bound by Anglican ordination in the preaching of the Gospel, Ana Jans would not recant her testimony and lost her life and child to a burning pyre, and thousands through history have died at the hands of earthly religion or governments, kissing the stake they were burned on as merely the door to their Continuing City.

We have all nodded in acquiescence to this 'citizenship' under Christ's Reign.
But to really wear it in all adornment and holiness, helps us to rise above the mire
this world is. I reached a point a few years ago, when so much bad had happened in my life, things unspeakable, that I was at the point of losing my faith. What I could not understand was why God would allow others to hurt us in such deep ways, whenHe promised to protect us. I could not really choose unbelief, because I had seentoo many unadulterated miracles and mysteries and even felt God's presence often during my life. I came to understand though, that the rain does fall on the good and bad alike, that too often even awesomely horrifying things happen to God's children, but this does not indicate that we are not His: it indicates that the world which perpetrates the crime upon us is NOT HIS. They are the ones without healing, Salvation and citizenship in the eternal. We also have to take account of our own obedience: we can get hurt if we do not obey, or if we are out of the way. And sometimes, seemingly unfairly, when other people do not obey, we can be the unjust victim. If we fall into the hands of thieves or worse, though, even this turns to the good of Heaven's citizen, turning to their benefit and His Plan.

The Precious Cornerstone

This new Kingdom, though, the country of our greatest allegiance, is desireable not
merely because we find peace and rest when we walk fully in it, but because the King
of it is a Precious King. As I read the above passages this morning: this is what filled me with joy and love in an aching and aging body: my Precious King, His precious blood which bought my eternal citizenship, the precious faith he has given meas a gift. Precious in scripture describes the Word of God, our souls, jewels, first fruits, and us in the sight of those who love us. The dictionary defines the word as :

pre·cious (prĕsh'əs) pronunciation
adj.

1. Of high cost or worth; valuable.
2. Highly esteemed; cherished.
3. Dear; beloved.
4. Affectedly dainty or overrefined: precious mannerisms.
5. Informal. Thoroughgoing; unmitigated: a precious mess.

n.

One who is dear or beloved; a darling.

The word comes from Middle English, French and Latin meaning 'price': and we were bought with one. The Hebrew is Meged, meaning excellent, and the Greek timios
meaning of a great price, honored, esteemed and dear. [blueletterbible.com]
The reason we can put on that new Kingdom and citizenship, where death and sin cannot reign, and where we are promised victory against the Anakim of despair and death in this world, is that we have a King who is Precious: consider the great Price. If we
lose sight of how costly our conversation in Heaven is to Him, how precious, excellent, esteemed and dear His blood, then we slip back into the allegiances and alliances of the nations on earth, a poor substitute with no promise.

If the mind of Christ is framed by any first thing, it is our love and allegiance to the One who bought for us our eternal place in His House forever, who bought our very souls, who purchased us in His excellence and not ours. Mocked, ridiculed, beaten, broken, humiliated, mistreated starved or killed, we stand in a new birthright, as
subjects of a blood bought and excellent Kingdom. As the next choice confronts you in this world regarding what is right or wrong: recall the Continuing City and nation
you are called to, and already walk in if you will, and the Mind of Christ will being to form in you.

THE MIND OF CHRIST: The Other: Neither Male Nor Female

Exploring Christian Concepts, Teaching, Doctrines, News, Commands, and lessons.

The Other: Neither Male nor Female

January 7th, 2006

The reason the first premise, at the very least in the Church must be the breaking down of walls between Jew and Greek, is because it set the foundation for a Church where belief and love mattered more than all other differences. It was not an abandonment of the Law of God: quite the contrary, for in Christ, in the Messiah, belief,faith and Love were put in their proper order, and rather than abandoning the laws of separation between the Jews and others, the new command established them. In the Old Testament [the Torah, Tenach] the commands of separation were to

1)Keep the Line of Messiah Pure, and
2)Protect Israel from falling into Sin and unbelief.

Both of these reasons were meant to set apart a Holy, Sanctified, dedicated and anointed people, of God's Choosing, who would bear his Glory, do His Will and be loved by Him. As Gentiles came to the faith through belief in the Jewish Messiah, they were adopted into the vine and made heirs of the promises and convenants, adopted as children into God's Chosen people. They did not REPLACE God's chosen people. So essentially, in belief we become a part, albeit grafted in, of the vine of Israel, the Chosen, for the same purposes : to bear God's Glory, love and be loved by Him, and carry His purposes and plans into the world.

Neither Male nor Female

If we begin to understand why there is no Jew and Gentile in Christ, no point of racial or ethnic division, then we begin to understand what it means when the vail was torn at his death, and why the carnal things that matter so much to us on earth matter far less in Christ.

The Vail was Rent

And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;Matthew 27:51
And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.Mark 15:38
And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.Luke 23:45

The passages above get some mention in sermons, but not enough attention is paid towards the miracle and significance of what happened the day Jesus died and the vail in the temple was torn in two. The vail in front of the Temple when it moved in the desert with Israel was of scarlet, gold, blue and white: one entered into the Holy Place through it, confronting first sacrifice and then the basin, and through a vail into the Holy of Holies[kodesh kodeshim], inside the Holy Place. It is the separation before the coming of Messiah, between Man and God, and only until that time, a High Priest could enter in to offer up the sacrifice. A vail is mentioned another time in scripture when Moses came down from the Mountain, having been in the presence of God and even his face shone with a remnant of the Glory, but it was so great, that a vail covered his face because sinful man could not look on even a small fragrance of the Glory of God. This is all mentioned because when we talk about the separations and "walls of partition", we have to realize the degree of what was done, not only to take down the vail between man and God, but between all who share in belief and the the Blood of Christ.

The first separation between Jew and Gentile is erased in the 'ikklesia' in the assembly of believers. And the second division, is also held of significantly less importance than belief: the difference between male and female.

This point may seem paradoxical at first, because in the Old and New Testament, both before salvation and after, before Pentecost and after, men and women are admonished greatly about the proper role and order of the sexes. There is a difference between agreeing to the order Christ places in the church and His creation, abiding by His order and sense, and yet still understanding that while we are given different roles and vocations, we are equal before Him: we are equal in His Love, in His Plan, and in His gifts! His order does not contradict His Love and equity.

Men and Women are given the task together to 'show' or manifest the Church and God's love in this world. In a marriage, we are admonished to allow male headship, and female submission, but in a joint effort, with two equals agreeing to the roles, both of which are excellent and critical in God's way. The husband is commanded to show Christ's love for the Church, loving his wife as Christ loves the Church [Ephesians 5:25]. The wife is commanded to show the 'Bride' of Christ in surrender to her husband's headship, in loving him and building him up as the Church is to love Christ as head. We tend to devalue what we see as a 'lesser' role of the woman but it is not lesser: it is different, and properly balanced, the two, husband and wife, made into one flesh, show Christ and His Church, and His Love to the World. It is a joint venture, a joint mission, and a dynamic, living pleasing relationship when it is in careful balance. Unfortunately, most do not keep it in balance and that is when i becomes burdensome. Headship of a church of family too often disintegrates into domination, and submission is often overthrown in its wake, or becomes a form of emotional slavery. In proper order and holiness, though, it is a mutual obedience filled with joy and peace, meeting the needs of each.

This principle carries to males and females in the Church: while there have been female ministers and some even very good, and some out of utter necessity or the Gospel would not have been preached, but it is not God's perfect order for a woman to 'head' a church: on the other hand, too many men do not realize, that God's perfect order is Christ as the head, and the 'bishop' as a servant-leader. Our concern with whether men should have certain jobs in the House of God or whether women can take those roles, is partly doctrinal and partly carnal. It is clearly 'doctrine' [His] that men should take leadership under Christ in the Church. On the other hand, there are multiple tasks and roles which women are mentioned having in God's will in the Old and New Covenants: Huldah was a prophetess and 'college' professor, Esther headed half of Persia, and saved her nation, Deborah took a man [Barak]'s place in battle winning victory and rising as a mother in Israel to become a Judge of Israel, and in the New Testament, Prisca AND Aquila headed a church and taught, and Phoebe is mentioned also in the highest esteem: Anna, a prophetess announces in addition to Simeon the premiere nature of Christ's ministry at the time of His dedication and circumcision. So the distorted repeating of 'women are to keep silence in the Church' will not totally do but must be fit into the whole of scripture, while at the same time not defacing or defaming the very Holy Order of male and female roles in the Church. If God calls a woman to do a job which is normally a man's, it is often because no man would respond to the call, or it is in judgment to shame men to take their rightful roles. When Israel sinned, God noted that women and children would become their judges. If they are anointed and appointed, even women CAN do what God has called them to do and indeed they must: they would be disobedient not to. However, it will often not work nearly as smoothly as when the Church is in proper order. When women and children take over most of the roles in a church it is a sign of God's judgment: in a nation it is the same. Deborah arose after raising a family in Israel to do God's will and say what was right. Why? Because no man was doing the right thing and Israel was failing because of it. Her phrase is astounding:

...they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel. Judges 5:7.

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Mind of Christ:: The Divine & Natural

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].Ephesians 6:12

To the Natural Mind, the above scripture about wrestling with principalities, powers and "rulers of darkness of this world", must seem a little spooky, perhaps metaphorical but not 'down to earth'. The natural mind, without Christ sees only the 'battles' and events of earth, with earthly consequences and judges that what is not seen does not exist, and certainly the things that are evident on earth do not appear to have a divine aetiology, but a natural one. As we acquire and learn the 'Mind of Christ' after salvation, we come to understand that what happens in the natural is actually less real than what happens in the super-natural or divine. In other words, while the natural mind sees only the discrete happenings of the world, those with the mind of Christ understand that physical occurrences and struggles are really only a reflection of the divine struggle or battle, which has existed since the beginning.

The concept of divine 'struggle' or warfare is a significant Biblical principle but it also in addition to Christianity shows itself in German and Jewish theology- the
wars of Israel are replete with battles which when fought in the flesh were lost, but when fought in the Spirit under the direction of God were won handily. It is more though than the simple principle of obedience to God, it is the realization that there is a divine battle which has gone on since the beginning, since Eden, which manifests itself in the natural but which can only be won in the Spirit.

Old and New Testaments give examples of the Divine struggle and of natural man falling when he trusts in himself and in only what can be seen without faith.
But this struggle, this battle in the heavenlies which mainfests itself in the flesh, must be critically and carefully understood, and balanced with the attributes of God and His tenderloving kindness which in AGAPE love must be understood as just as important as His power or Omnipotence. When the balance in viewing this struggle relegates God and His Messiah, the Holy One of Israel, to mere warriors in a Universal War, what we have done is create God in OUR IMAGE, not discover Him through His breathed WORD. The struggle and battle are real and divine and essential to walk with God and understand His world. The critical threshold of understanding though, is to not divorce His Character and constant work of Mercy, Love, and Tenderlovingkindness and Life: the Deutsche Christen, [DC] or German Christian [Church} in WWII did exactly that to the extreme and has promoted in this century one of the most dangerous heresies of Church History: that God is like we are, that we can attain to those 'battle ' principles and be 'as god' and that the wars of men are similar or in like kind to the Meta-Wars of Christ and Anti-Christ. Our battle fought in the flesh take on new meaning and power when we fight them in the Holy Spirit and Prayer, and I believe even the natural wars of men are peripheral manifestations of the divine war, but in order to maintain true doctrine, and walk in the true faith, balance and a constant anchor of the WORD are required.

The principles of Divine Battle coupled with the necessary attributes of God's ways based in love and truth will serve as the discussion point for the blogs to follow.

Better People: A Summary of Respect of Persons

This may be rather repetitive after several blogs on the Mind of Christ and respect of persons but it is one which both sums up what we have discussed and is also a common and harmful idea in the church today, the notion that some people are 'better' than others. I recently came across a number of persons who were all trying to take over an author's original Christian work. Hardly a godly thing to do, and to most in the Church, it would seem reprehensible, but for not months but years, this group of folks connived, lied, slandered, stole, interfered witht the person's workplace and housing and anything they could do to 'take over' the author's work. They used computer hacking and other means including a few illegal entries [what's that among friends]. Several were from well-known ministries, big money ministries, which preach Christ at least weekly, and how important it is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and obey the Word of God. A few even went so far as to turn in false police reports and pretend to be social workers or attorneys [Real Crimes]. Most of them believed that if they could get a hold of the person's work and copyright register it first, then they would own it, and be able to breeze around Christian circles impressing people with how spiritual they were. The author ended up having difficulty finding work, or keeping it, experienced dreadful rumors and slanders, and isolated had very little voice when issues of their work came up. When asked why these fine church-goers and their non-believing friends did this, they freely admitted they were not the author of the material, but claimed to be "Better People". What did "better people" mean to them? It meant they wore cologne and dressed well, were not overweight, and in their own estimation, 'acted' much better. Water that shallow you can't even wade in.

They never thought they were doing wrong, and found a myriad of ways to convince themselves and others that it was 1) what God wanted [the God of burglars, I suppose], 2)that they really were better, 3) that the work needed to look 'professional' which only they could afford, not the author, and that they were essentially doing God a favor by stealing and representing the work and ruining the original author. They had in their own eyes, a little more of that 'panache' a little more of that 'extra something', than the person the Lord had worked through in developing the writings and materials. This fallacy of 'better people' is contrary to all scriptural principles. Standing before the Cross at Golgotha, there are no 'better' or 'worse' people. We often make implicit assumptions, even as believers, based upon outward appearances that those in leadership positions are 'better' those who are wealthy are 'better', or that those who have a network of friends or a ready audience are 'better'. Many of our judgments about 'better' resorts to physical appearance, we rather consider that God cannot use someone who is not dressed in tailored clothing or labels, a notion which cannot benefit the Church. These ideas are entirely of the world, and we have promoted them so much in the church, that most readily accept the idea of 'better' people rather than the Word of God which states:

• Pro 24:23 These [things] also [belong] to the wise. [It is] not good to have respect of persons injudgment.
  
• Rom 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
• Eph 6:9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
• Col 3:25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
• Jam 2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, [the Lord] of glory, with respect of persons.
• 1Pe 1:17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning [here] in fear:

What God Sees vs What Man Sees
If you can picture the expanse of God, of the greatness of God, who made the universe and all in it and set it in motion in an infinite symbiotic tapestry, if you can picture that even in microcosm, you begin to get an idea of why our notion that any of us are 'better' than one another is ludicrous. I once heard a widely known southern pastor of a dynamic and beautiful church tell a story of a homeless man he passed during the day. The man had received the Lord recently and in his own uncouth way was telling the world. He yelled to the finely dressed, proud young Pastor, letting him know he was a member of his congregation. Rather than warmly delighted, the Pastor used him in a sermon the next week, as an example of an embarrassing moment. He did not wish to acknowledge the man for fear it might hurt his reputation. Both I am sure were sincere, but the less likely one, the homeless man, was not an embarrassment to Heaven.

When judging the spirituality or 'rightness' of Christians, we today are always using peripherals: we judge with the same eyes as the Church, and our lack of discernment has greatly cost the Church in the depth of teaching and walking in Christ. We choose deacons, pastors and Sunday School teachers often more on their standing in the community rather than on their spiritual knowledge or depth. We never think to ask the little older grandmother who has stayed in the Word her whole life to lead the ladies' retreat, instead we get young, peppy, bubbly women with the right look and background not as much in the Word as in popular Christian literature. We suffer for it.

When I think of the people God chose, if we applied contemporary standards, we would be at a loss today to even invite them to membership. Charles Spurgeon and D.L. Moody were heavy set mustached men. Wesley and Finney must have smelled a little musty and dusty riding horses on a circuit to preach. One of the founders of the Baptist colony which became Rhode Island, Roger Williams, once spent the night not in a Holiday Inn, but in a hollow tree stump.
Fanny Crosby was blind and sat all day writing hymns instead of 'working'. What a hard time we would have had with Augustine, the former libertine, or Isaiah walking naked in the desert, or Jeremiah burying his underwear in the dirt, [look it up]; or John the Baptist dressed in a coarse garment eating honey and locusts out in the desert and telling everyone they were sinners in need of repentance. Those whom God chooses are often put through trying circumstances which to the world's eyes look bizarre and irrational, but whom have truly learned the narrow path marked by the direction "Follow Me".

There are countless stories not only in the Church but in fables and tales of the stranger or child who turns out to have been Christ in disguise. Kings often miss Him, but the lowly know immediately that He was something very special. Perhaps that is why His early Church grew on the shoulders of the poor, the weak, the fatherless, the widow and the ones He declared from the first He had come to deliver. They were the unexpected, the unsought, the worthless in society's eyes. Those were the ones who understood where to bury treasure.

The Natural End of Seeing some as 'Better'

One May think, that the natural end of seeing some as 'better' would have little effect, but it has in fact undermined the church in this country with a few other issues. The result of choosing those who look good to the world's eyes, or even the ones who preach with eloquence but not with heart and belief, is a lukewarm church which Christ claims he will spew out of His mouth in the end. With our nationwide ministries, TV and radio ministries, Christian Music industries, and now even film 'ministries' we have created what Keith Green once predicted at the beginning of the contemporary Christian music era: Christian 'Celebrities'. Some have depth but many more do not, caught up in industries which have Christ's name and Christians in them, but emulate the world completely: they ARE the world. The merchandise their products in the same way, often via the same people. They take people captive, and though while offering them a great life in some ways, turn music, preaching, and literature into products for sale instead of real worship. All fall prey, and in the end, our 'celebrities' pass along the teaching that since all are doing it , it is o.k. with God, when the truth is thousands are being led astray.

As a young person, I belonged to a Church which taught that one could not get into Heaven without membership and a lifelong committment to that Church. Today, one is led to believe that one may not be a 'Christian' if one does not adhere to certain lifestyle issues, dress, music,
or so forth. Should one critique something James Dobson says, look out: for some it is an issue of the person's salvation. If one suggests a big ministry should not hack into private computers or enter a house illegally one is being critical of the church and is called a rebel. No one in Christ has the liberty to defame another Christian , harm another or so on: or even more astounding, under grace we really do have even that liberty but in love, who would ever exercise it and say they loved the Christ of Heaven?

Just as a note as to where the disregard of human dignity and worth can lead based upon respect of 'better' so-called people? The incident I mentioned in the beginning of the theft of an author's work: songs, writings, bible studies, websites, poems and more went on for 20 years.
It resulted in homelessness for the author and their children at a couple of points, while a well known ministry adapted their work to their standards. As the years went by, the individuals committing the crimes against the lesser person in their view, involved members of organized crime, unbelievers, occultists and truly unsavory unsaved characters who ended up harming not only the author but the thieves and even disrupting the church, pulling friendships and marriages and families apart, creating divisiveness, spoiling pastors and the author's reputation and making many who would have been saved think 'why bother'. If the author had been left alone, how many could have been brought to eternal life? Children involved, some, gave up on their faith when they saw the shenagins, and several large ministries earned the reputation of the biggest hypocrites in the world. There was even physical harm. And in the end, the author started to cuss. a little.

There is no respect of person to Christ, and here is why: regardless of the outer vessel, it is He who indwells the believers. When we charge another with being unsuitable for the ministry God has chosen them for on any basis other that outright vile sin, we are saying that God is not as wise as we are and did not choose the right pen or brush. He is doing something to your heart when he chooses a 'lesser' person in your eyes. He is teaching us all that wars start with respect of persons, that tragedy and travail prevail and that there was a reason He set an angel with a flaming sword at the gate of Eden so that failing man could not get back in the Garden and wrongfully eat of the tree of Life. In His hands, wisdom and eternity are life. In ours, with our limited reason and faulty faith, it can be wrath and death. Think before deciding who is worthy in God's eyes.

Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: