The Importance of the Apostles’ Doctrine

The doctrines that the early apostles taught were Christ’s very own teachings. And Christ’s doctrines were the Father’s. Christ said, “My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent Me” (John 7: 16). That is why they are so important to God and should be important to us.

The apostles’ doctrine is the foundation. Period. When Christ admonishes us to dig deep and lay our house upon the rock, He means for us to have that solid foundation of His teachings of truth, for He is the truth.

We cannot go any farther in our preparation to fulfill God’s purpose of reproducing Himself in us without these principles established in our hearts. This is the major reason that millions of mute professing Christians sit in the same pew every week for decades. Some feel stagnant, ossified, and stunted.  These beautiful and wonderful people spiritually grow very little, for they were not taught the doctrine of Christ, which are the teachings that the apostles embraced. The people in the pews hear sermons about Christ, but not messages from Christ.

At best, Christ’s teachings are not presented as a purposeful curriculum. Preachers accidentally hint around at a biblical theme, but precious few know where Christ wants us to go and how to get there. And yet, it is right there in the scriptures. His teachings are right there, written down in the Bible, but one needs the key to gain “entrance…into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ (Yahshua the Messiah). His doctrine is plainly laid out for us (Heb. 6: 1-2).

Millions of Christians have read the apostles’ doctrine, but without the compass pointing to God’s purpose, the knowledge of God becomes just another nice story, another promise of going to heaven, escaping the woes of this earth. Escaping hell and going to heaven—is that all there is?

No. Christ has promised that “few there be to find this way of truth.” That means that few will be seeking the “high calling of God in Christ.” A few will learn the apostles’ doctrine like the early apostles did. And these few in our day will do the “greater works” that Christ promised some of us will do. They are the remnant; they are the first fruits.

For there is a stark distinction between those on the milk of the word and those on the strong meat of the word. Those desiring the milk are little children spiritually; those on meat will grow strong and brave and will do the same mighty works that Christ did. That is His promise. And by doing what He did, God fulfills His purpose of reproducing Himself. But the strong meat can only be digested by those who have the strong foundation in the apostles’ doctrine. Only those who have studied and shared the milk of the word with the young ones coming into the body will grow into fathers of the faith like the apostle Paul. The apostles’ doctrine is Christ’s pure teachings without the old leaven, which is the error-filled doctrines of the Pharisees and Sadducees and Herod.

So, yes, Christ’s teachings are important. They are the yellow brick road leading to us fulfilling our very purpose in being here on earth, which is to glorify God. But here is an example of just how humble and great our God is. He will glorify us by filling us up with Himself first, and in so doing, He is glorified. When He will have multiplied Himself in us, then He will be glorified. You talk about giving and thinking of others. What Love!

In God’s Mind It Is Already Done

The key to implementing every step in our spiritual growth is this: In God’s mind and heart, it is already done. His work and purpose is already finished in us. He sees us that way, as already having all of His holy attributes. For He “calls those things which be not as though they were” (Rom. 4: 17). That is a good description of His faith in Himself and in us. Through His apostles and prophets, He has spoken prophecy about us. And He believes His own word concerning us and sees it as accomplished. That is His faith, which now is our faith since He now lives within us.

Take repentance from sin. Nobody wants to talk about that concept. Most preachers equate it to feeling sorry for the bad things that they have done. But that is “godly sorrow which leads us to repentance.” Feeling sorry is good but it is not repentance. Repentance from sin happens when we surrender our old heart, our old nature, our old self and let it die with Christ on the cross. “And he that is dead is freed from sin. Feeling conviction and sorrow and walking the aisle and joining the church does not constitute repentance from sin. For past sins keep rearing their ugly heads in a person’s mind. There is a remembering of sins, and one’s conscience bothers them, and they feel guilty and defeated again. It is only the blood of Christ that can “purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” These dead works are produced by a sinful old nature.

But here is the astounding thing. Our old sinful self, in God’s eyes, is already dead. He is just waiting for His people to believe it. He has reckoned our old nature dead, and He considers us alive unto Him. What we must do is believe it in faith, confess it with our mouth that the Father has raised Christ from the dead, and we then may begin to “walk in a newness of life.” Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him…Rom. 6: 6.

This walk is a huge part of the first two of the apostles’ doctrine: repentance from dead works and faith toward God. The apostles’ doctrine is not only important, but also vital in us fulfilling our destiny here on earth.  Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Aging, Humility, and Immortality

The aging of our physical bodies humbles us and brings us low. The decades crumble us down, and the years of storms and winds weather us. We sense a melting back into the earth like the old adobe walls of a Santa Fe cabin, left open to the elements. It is only the joy and laughter and love that once abode inside those walls that make it all mean something.

It is a lot like God’s Spirit as He inhabits His people, bringing love and joy into our hearts during our brief sojourn here on earth.

We bear the burden of aging that we might walk more humbly before our Maker. Speaking of the Spirit, He said through His apostle Paul that “we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.” Our finite, mortal bodies at present actually serve to draw us closer to the immortal God. For He “resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

We gaze into the mirror and see the face of vulnerability, the face of one incredibly close to death, yet we now are not dismayed. For we are reminded by Him that it is no longer “I” that lives but the Spirit of Christ that lives in us. “We are dead and our lives are hid with Christ in God.” And He said that if we faithfully follow Him, He will give us a new spiritual body at the end of the age. Furthermore, if we are physically alive when He comes back, these old earthly bodies will be swallowed up by the new spiritual body He has prepared for us. It is all good (II Cor. 4^th and 5^th chapters).

Moreover, it is fascinating to see how God works out His plan. He has ordained the weakness of the human body as a tool to manufacture divine attributes, made to be displayed in the arena of human relationships. “All things [‘good’ or ‘bad’] work together for good for them that love God, who are the called according to His purpose.”

It is God’s will that we suffer with Him in these fragile earthen bodies, as we face the fact that man must go “to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets…Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Ecc. 12: 5-7). Facing our own mortality has a way of humbling us. He favors those who know they are weak and need Him.

Nevertheless, through God’s grace, you and I have hope of an everlasting future in an everlasting body composed of spirit. That’s the word of His promise to us. He loves us and has given us His best—Himself. It’s just that before all this can take place, He has us walking “through the valley of the shadow of death.” That painful and sometimes lonely trail is the only road to immortality.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

{I would love to read your comments and thoughts. Be sure to send for my latest book The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. It is free with free shipping. Just send your mailing address to my email: wayneman5@hotmail.com   And I will get it right out to you}

THE ROYAL DESTINY OF GOD’S ELECT—The New Book in a Nutshell

Many have asked me, “What is your new book about?”

1. It tells of God’s eternal purpose of reproducing Himself.
2. It speaks of God’s plan to accomplish this. He is Love, and Love shares itself and gives of itself.
3. So God planned it out and created mankind to reproduce Himself in. He will use human beings as the medium for the multiplying of Himself. God’s kingdom is wherever He rules.
4. His plan uses the Law of Harvest. Whatever is sown, that is what shall be reaped. Since God is Love, He will sow the seed of Love into the human being, His spiritual garden. Each seed bears its own kind.
5. And the seed of Love is God’s SEED/SON, the Word made flesh dwelling among us. No greater love exists on this earth than to give up your life for another. This the Son of God did. And this great display of love for you and me bought our ticket of deliverance from the sin we were in. For Christ, the Anointed One for this honor, said this: “Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone. But if it die, it brings forth much fruit.” He was that grain, and the much fruit is you and I.  After we receive the seed of Love into our hearts, He helps us grow spiritually to harvest.
6. In the present dispensation of time, some humans will bear 30 fold, some 60 fold and some 100 fold fruit (Matt. 13: 1-23). Some will remain children of God; some will grow to young adulthood spiritually, and then there are some who will grow to full maturity, becoming just like the original Seed/Son and His apostles.
7. Right now God is calling many. :Many are called, but few are chosen” by Him to come to full maturity during this age. These are called “the elect,” the remnant, and the first fruits. They will be the first ones to become like the early apostles.
8. Moreover, they will be the first to be granted immortality. These over comers of all things are the manifested sons of God and will do the “greater works” that Christ spoke about.  They will sit with Christ on His throne (Rev. 3: 20-21). In a word, God will have reproduced Himself in them.
9. This is the royal destiny of God’s elect. Hence, the title: The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. Who knows? You may be one of them. Perhaps we can walk together and help each other and love each other on this road to immortality. Kenneth Wayne Hancock

***This is the preview. If this book intrigues you, there is only one place on the earth to get it. Here’s how: For your free copy with free shipping, merely send your mailing address to my email: wayneman5@hotmail.com   And I will get it right out to  you. God bless you and yours***

Fig Tree Is the Sign of Christ’s Return–Rapture Debunked

Christ told His disciples that every stone on the temple mount in Jerusalem would be thrown down (this is still to be fulfilled, for the Wailing Wall still stands). Then they asked Him, When is this going to happen? And what shall be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the world? They asked for the sign that would tell them when it would all come down (Mt. 24: 1-3).

He then relates many prophecies as to the condition of world affairs before His return: Deceivers, wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, persecutions, betrayals, false prophets, the true gospel preached, rebuilding of the temple, the abomination of desolation, great tribulation, and false Christs all would come before His return. Then the appearance of the Son of man in heaven and  His angels gathering His elect out of the earth would take place (v. 4-31). There’s the scenario, but what is the sign that would tell His followers the right century and even the decade of His return?

The Fig Tree

Christ gave them the sign in the parable of the fig tree (v. 32). First, we must remember that parables speak of “things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world” (Mt. 13: 35). In them are hidden the mysteries of God. And there is no greater mystery than when He is coming back.

Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near even at the doors (Mt. 24: 32-33). The fig tree is the symbol of the nation of the Kingdom of Judah with its capital at Jerusalem (Jer. 24: 1-10). Remember that Christ had cursed the fig tree, a symbolic gesture as to the sordid spiritual condition of the Judah nation.

But in this parable, we see that the fig tree is revived; it has tender branches and is putting on leaves. Summer is very near. The fig tree of Judah became a nation again in 1948. When we see all of the aforementioned prophecies take place after 1948, then we will know that Christ’s return is soon and so is the end of the world.

How soon? Christ continues the parable. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Which generation won’t pass? The generation that is alive when the fig tree nation is revived in 1948! Somebody alive in 1948 will still be alive when all these prophecies are fulfilled. That includes Christ’s return!

He continues. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (v. 35). Which words? Keep it in context; He is speaking about the words He has just uttered about the fig tree generation, how that some people alive in 1948 will still be living when He returns!

Ironically, the next verse is totally misinterpreted. It is taken out of context, plucked out of thin air with no regard to the flow of Christ’s teaching here in Matthew 24. But of that day and hour knoweth no man…but my Father (v. 36). What day and hour? The day when heaven and earth will pass away. Only the Father knows that day. But rapture teachers holler about how no one will know when the rapture will happen. But this verse is talking about when heaven and earth shall pass away.

“But…” This conjunction signals a contrast and opposition to the sentence just before. It means “to the contrary.”  But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be (v. 37). Nobody knows when heaven and earth shall pass away, but Noah knew when the flood was coming. God had told him. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights…(Gen. 7 : 4). Noah knew the exact day seven days before it happened! The “coming of the Son of man” back to this earth will be like it was in Noah’s day; God’s righteous ones will know. The masses will not.

Rapture Totally Debunked

Christ’s second coming is like the coming of the flood in Noah’s day. The flood was disastrous back then, and Christ’s second coming at first will be a disaster for the world. In Noah’s day, two groups were assembled, the righteous and the unrighteous. One group was saved. The other group was taken by the flood.

Taken. Trust me on this. We don’t want to be “taken.” They were eating and drinking…and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be (Mt. 24: 38-39).

To be “taken” is a disaster. It means death in one verse: “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away” (Job 1: 21, Job speaking of his dead children).

In lieu of all this, incredibly, the rapture teachers will use the very next verse to support their theory. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left (v. 40). Being “taken” is always disastrous in the word of God. Just consult the concordance under “taken away.” Always negative. And yet they want to be taken on a rapturous journey through the clouds.

No! It is simply not true. The above is further proof that the rapture is a false doctrine that must be repented of, if they want to grow to be like Him. Christ is coming back to earth to establish His government and peace, and He wants us to remain here and help Him in His work.

However, there is a destination for those who are “taken away” in these last days. Christ said, “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 25: 14-30, from the Parable of the Talents). Oh, the heartache for some, who heard the word of truth, but did not receive it nor believe it. Nor did they grow it, but rather they held on to false doctrines that yielded no fruit. Brothers and sisters, please don’t reject this teaching without slowly and openheartedly studying this out to see if this agrees with the scriptures.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Faith Is Believing What God Believes

We have been sent into this world by Christ to bear witness to the truth (John 17: 18). A group of young Christians asks us to speak truth to them. What would we tell them? We should be speaking to them the exact same message that Christ spoke, not a message about Christ. Big difference. In fact, Christ’s very Spirit should be speaking through us to that group of young hungry seekers of God. But what would Christ say? Rather, what should He tell them through us?

1. Christ spoke of God’s eternal purpose, which is this: God is reproducing Himself. He is agape love, and He intends to multiply Himself throughout all eternity.
2. He spoke of His plan to accomplish this purpose. He created human beings to be the medium by which He would accomplish this magnificent purpose. God plants His Seed/Son in our hearts, and that seed of Love grows into His Kingdom of Love and Righteousness, till “God be all in all.”
3. His plan is laid out in the Christ’s teachings.
4. His teachings are His doctrine (Heb. 6: 1-2)
5. The early apostles made it their doctrine.
6. And the early church continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine
7. Repentance from dead works is the first teaching. Sin is the breaking of the 10 Com. law (I John 3: 4). To repent one reckons their old self dead on the cross with Christ, buried with Christ. Then belief in His resurrection in us raises us up in a newness of life (Rom. 6: 1-12).
8. The rest of the apostles’ doctrine is faith toward God, baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, eternal judgement, and perfection.
9. We receive the faith of the Son of God when we believe.

Faith, the Second Apostles’ Doctrine

The early church were of one mind and one accord. And one faith. God’s faith. Like Paul said, “The life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God…”

It is all about belief—“faith” and “belief” are translated from the same Greek word. They both mean believing having not seen. But when we think of “faith” we immediately think about our faith in God. What we need to see is that we are dead and our life now is His life; our faith now is His faith, His belief in Himself, and His belief that we are in a right state with Him.

For it is God’s faith in Himself that moves mountains. “With God all things are possible.” His faith in His own intelligence and power is the foundation of His divine nature that He has imparted to us. We are to add to this faith other facets of His nature that now resides in us. God believed in His own abilities and power before He saw the fruit produced in us according to His plan of Sonship.

It Is All About the Seed

Like every spring, we get the urge to plant a seed in the garden. We take a seed and place it in the broken earth. We do this by faith, by believing that it will spring to life and shoot up and grow and finally bear fruit. We believe that this tiny seed will bear fruit before we ever plant it.

This is like God’s faith. He believes in His Seed, His Son. He has faith that His plan will work; He knows that it will, for He has spoken it, and His word is that Seed, and it always comes up and grows comes to pass.

That’s the faith we now walk in! It is not our puny faith that we have to muster up out of our depleted reserves. It is His faith! It is all about believing what He believes! Hey, He believes in His Spirit that He has placed now in us. Now we can say, “It is no longer I that lives but Christ that lives in me.” It is the Son’s faith that we live by now! (Gal. 2: 20).

I believe that this is what those young Christians need to hear. Not some tired, old, worn out platitudes about Christ, used in the 19^th  and 20^th Centuries. Yesterday’s light was a needed candle back then. But now Christ has arisen in our hearts with a new powerful light that illuminates our path to the entrance “into the everlasting kingdom of our” God (II Pet. 1: 4-11). Remember that yesterday’s manna is of no use today. Christ is now giving “the hidden manna” to the over comers (Ex. 16: 14-21; Rev. 2: 17).

Kenneth Wayne Hancock