Admonishment about the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit”

Delivering an admonishment is seldom joyous. Receiving one can be grievous. Yet we are told to admonish each other. And so, the time “to warn of a fault and reprove kindly, but seriously” is now.

First, allow me to set the scene. Yesterday I sat down and waited at my desk for inspiration from Yahweh. I had prayed for words for your edification. I thought of the Pentecostals and charismatics, whose defining characteristic is the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” experience. And I wondered why I never hear them share any of what the Spirit is showing this vessel from the scriptures of truth.

And then, as it were, a silent voice spoke to me. “Hey, Wayneman, why don’t you just tell your readers to get baptized in the Holy Spirit? All these things you are telling them—the additions to the faith, purge out the old leaven, continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine, the using the sacred names of Yahshua and Yahweh, obeying all of Christ’s commandments, and putting on the armor of God. Look. We just want Jesus. We don’t want doctrine.”

I replied with a question. “Are these teachings I share scriptural? Are they in the Holy Bible? The answer is ‘yes.’ But you are saying that basically all you need is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, that that is the ultimate prize. Boom! Just receive it! But the Holy Spirit is not an ‘it.’ The Spirit is the Father Himself, the eternal invisible One. That is also in the scriptures (1Tim. 1:17; John 4:24; II Cor. 3:17-18).

I continued. “You say, Just receive it, and then you will be right with God. That’s all there is to it. The irony is this: You say that you want the same experience that the early apostles received at Pentecost, and yet, these very apostles taught all the things that you think is unnecessary for a 21^st Century walk with God.

There are no shortcuts. There is a “strong delusion” happening in Christendom. Many have been deceived into thinking that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a be-all end-all. But it is not. To grow into the “manifestation of the sons of God,” it will take much more than a singular experience with God. The experience may be a wake-up call. But there is so much more knowledge needed to do His will “in earth as it is in heaven.”

Peter and the Additions (I Peter 1:1-10)

It is none other than the apostle Peter who tells us to “add to your faith” seven facets of God’s nature. This is the disciple who had seen it all. As one of the original twelve, he was an eyewitness of countless miracles done by Christ. He was there at the Mount of Transfiguration. He spoke with Christ after His resurrection. And most importantly for the Pentecostals and charismatics, he was definitely “baptized in the Holy Spirit.”

And Peter is the one who tells us to add to the faith. Through studying out the seven additions, we receive “exceeding great and precious promises that “by these [promises] you might be partakers of the divine nature” (v. 4).

There is something more profound than having an experience with God. God uses those experiences to help call us to His service. They get our attention. I never argue with a person’s experience. For they will say, But I know the baptism in the Holy Spirit is real!

I am not refuting that. But did God show you through that experience the meaning of Christ’s parables? Did the experience give you knowledge of how to grow into spiritual maturity? Did it prepare you to sit with Christ on his throne? Did it take you through the cross experience where your old nature has died? Did your experience give you all the knowledge of God–knowledge that the Spirit through Peter told us to have?

Peter was a major recipient of the baptism of the Spirit and fire. Fire. Since we today did not get to walk with Yahshua for three and a half years, we need to study out the teachings that they were privy to. After all, where did Peter get this knowledge about the seven additions? It was from Christ’s teachings during those three and a half years.

Peter says that if those seven additions “be in you, and abound, they make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (Yahshua)” (verses 3-10). The Spirit through Peter says that if you have added these seven divine attributes, then you will be fruitful in the knowledge of Christ. But if you don’t add them, you “are blind and cannot see afar off.” The same God who gave you your experience is the same God who’s now telling you that you must add more of his divine nature to the faith that he’s given you. And that takes study.  

I could go on and on. In fact, I have published six books on these subjects. They are a distillation of 50 years of study. It was the Spirit in the apostle Paul who admonished us to “study to show yourself approved unto God” so that you won’t be ashamed when you appear before Him (II Tim. 2:15). What to study? Start with the additions. They are in my latest book, The Additions to the Faith.

The admonishment comes to us from Peter and Paul: Don’t be deceived by the “strong delusion” of a spiritual shortcut via a “baptism in the Holy Spirit” experience where one gets a wonderful feeling that, alas, does not last. Like an electric car, the feeling must be recharged every Sunday. For the charismatic experience just does not cover what the Holy Spirit in the early apostles has told us to do.

There is so much more than what the churches teach. The banquet table is set. He has given us six books now. They contain much on these subjects and have your name on them. “Come. Buy without money” (Isa. 55:1). [The books are free to you with free shipping. Just ask through my email, wayneman5@hotmail.com Include the name of the book, your name, and your mailing address.

But most do not want these books. They must feel that they have no need for this knowledge.  This reality places an aching in my heart, for I know that the knowledge contained in those books will help you grow spiritually, which in turn will glorify the Father.

But first, one must believe that they need more truth. And then they must believe in the source of the truth. The source is the Spirit of truth who has come and is guiding us into all truth (John 16:13).

Christ’s Admonishment

Christ Himself, gives us this huge admonishment: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot… so, because you are lukewarm… I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth [spiritual riches] and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; And white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent” (Rev. 3:14-19 NIV). The Spirit is speaking to us in this last church age.

To those who overcome—to those who heed this warning from the lips of Christ—Christ has incomprehensible promises of power and glory awaiting them when He establishes His government here on earth.

Question: Has the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” experience shown you how to buy from Christ “gold tried in the fire”? or how to obtain the white raiment that covers spiritual nakedness? Or how to get the eye salve that will cure spiritual blindness? Remember Peter’s warning: “But he that lacks these things [the seven additions to the faith] is blind…” (II Peter 1:9). But adding them confirms your calling and election.

Christ is knocking on the door of our hearts. If we open the door, He will come in and break bread with us. To those of us who overcome, He will invite them to sit with Him on His throne. The caveat? We must have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to us (Rev. 3:20-22).

Delivering an admonishment is at times not joyous. Receiving one is sometimes grievous. He admonishes us because He loves us and is helping us take a deeper walk with Him.      Kenneth Wayne Hancock

God’s Will Is His Desire

“I just want to do His will…Only if the Lord wills…Seek His will…The will of God…” The use of “God’s will” is ubiquitous. Christians speak of His will all the time; they know that it is important. But it is used so much that the original meaning of “will” gets lost in the shuffle. The meaning of the word “will” has been shrunk down to a feeble, man-derived concept.  

God’s “will,” however, cannot be understood by squeezing it out of man’s wisdom. God’s will is vast; it is like going from a grain of sand to the cosmic energy of a billion suns. God’s will is galactic. Nevertheless, He has predestinated some of us “to be filled with the knowledge of His will.” How does He fill us? “Through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives” (Col. 1:9). That should be our prayer for each other: That you “be filled with the knowledge of His will.”

The Greek Word Translated “Will”

This “knowledge of His will” starts with this question: What does the word translated “will” mean in the Greek? The Greek word is thelema. It means “what one wishes” or desires. Simply put, His will is His desire. It is what God desires to do in heaven and earth (Blue Letter Bible – Lexicon (blbclassic.org).

What’s special about exactly doing His desires? Only those who do the will/desire of the Father will enter the kingdom of heaven. “Not everyone that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will [desire] of my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). Doing the Father’s will, then, is extremely important. Our standing with Christ—our growth, our service—is determined by how much of His desires we do. I am not referring to working for salvation; that is a gift from Him. But to grow spiritually, we must work because He has saved us.

But first, we must know His will/desire before we can do it.

On our search, of this we can be sure; whatever the Father desires, He will bring it to pass. So, we should ask ourselves, “What does God desire?” Most will say that it is something about salvation. Yes, salvation is the first step, and He desires to save us (Gal. 1:4). The Father’s desire/will is that Christ will lose none of His disciples, but will resurrect them in a new spiritual body (John 6:39-40).   

But the scriptures expound more deeply things concerning His “will.” First, His desire/will is a mystery. But God has revealed it to us. God has “made known to us the mystery of His will…  which he purposed in Christ.” God’s will/desire is to “gather together in one all things in Christ” in heaven and in earth (Eph. 1:9-10). That bears repeating. God desires to “gather together in one all things in Christ.” 2,200 different denominations is not bringing all things into one in Christ.

God’s desire/will is to have our hearts filled with His presence—that we grow to full maturity and bring our exiled King back to earth. We do this by preparing for His arrival. How? By feeding His lambs and sheep. By obeying His commands. By doing and teaching His doctrine. “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it is of God or not” (John 7:17). Do you know of His doctrine? His doctrine teaches us of His will, His desire. [Send for my book, The Apostles’ Doctrine. It is free with free shipping because Christ took “money” off the table. To order, go here: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/donate/ ] More on His will coming soon.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

…With Me from the Beginning

(from journal entry, 12-8-21)

It was early morning, and I was still in bed. I opened my eyes, and the first thought that crystalized out of the foggy dream mind was – “The Beginning.” The “beginning?” Why was I thinking that? Then another thought came that answered the question: “… with Me from the beginning.” With ME. I was with Christ. I knew that it was the Spirit speaking to me through thoughts. I began then to ponder these cryptic words. What did the Spirit mean?

So, I looked the word “beginning” up in the Greek. The “beginning” comes from the word arche, #G746 in Strong’s. It means “the origin, the active cause, used absolutely of the beginning of all things.”

Christ said, “I am the beginning and the end.” Christ is the “active cause.” He is our origin (Revelation 1:8-11,17-18). “In the beginning was the Word.” Christ is the beginning. Therefore, in Christ was the Word. Word = Logos [the purpose and plan of God]. Christ is the “active cause” in the creation of heaven and earth. “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3).

Our Savior, the “Word made flesh,” came to earth to bear witness to the truth, that He is the truth. And we, too, are to bear witness to the truth because we were with Him in the beginning. Christ said, “And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:27). This is not speaking of the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry. The Greek word arche is used for the beginning of all things. It is used as such in this verse: “In the beginning was the Word…” (John 1:1).

 We are a part of the record in heaven of the things that will occur on earth. We were with him in the beginning. He knew us before because He created us as a member of His body in heaven before the earth was formed. Then He dipped us into the earth as we slid out of the matrix of our mothers’ wombs, and then we were cast out into the sea of lost mankind.

We, who had once basked in the glorious light of our Father in heaven, were now left to grow up, barely afloat in the treacherous rip tides of sin. Sin was our task master, and we obeyed his desires. The bondage to sin weighed heavily to the point of us drowning, and then we cried out in anguish and disillusionment, and then a hand reached down, a strong hand of love, and He pulled us up out of the quagmire.

He cleaned us up at the cross. He allowed us to identify our sinful selves with the Lamb, the sin sacrifice, and we died with Him. With the death of our old man, we believe that we are now buried with Him and raised with Him, now to walk in a “newness of life.” We now know and believe that “he that is dead is freed from sin.” We now spiritually step out on the water and walk in the Spirit (Rom. 6:1-11).

And then our earthly past died, and we began to grow as a seedling, tasting its first rays of light. Through study and communication with the Spirit, we grew and grew until He showed us that we had a special calling to fulfill, a special job to do. We are to share the love that saved us, by telling others the story of deliverance through His great love.

As we grow, we become a part of the witness in the earth of the record in heaven. God already knew that we would respond to His voice. He knew us and knew what we were made of. He made us, before the things we can see with our earthly eyes were made. For we were with Him in the beginning. And He has chosen us and given us a destiny way back there at the “Beginning.”

“…God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…  And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified” (Rom. 8:28-30). Yahweh predestined us, not to just be saved, but to be “conformed to the image of his Son.” At Christ’s return to earth, He will change our weak, earthly body, “that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body” (Phil. 3:21).

We are talking about being like Christ and His apostles! Nothing less. But before this greatest of honors is bestowed upon us, we must “arm ourselves with the same mind.” We must know and do the apostles’ doctrine and add to our faith seven spiritual attributes of Christ.

We have so much knowledge to receive. Knowing His mind will finally drive out every thought that is contrary to His purpose and plan. The mind is the battlefield where we conquer the enemy’s errant desires for us. Amid the battle, it is easy to forget that we have already won, for “we are more than conquerors through Christ.” In Him lies our power, strength, and will.

O, let us shower Him with thanks for granting us the exit visa at the cross. Repentance from sin comes when we realize that we “are dead and our life is hid with Christ…” We are a part of His body now, unencumbered by that spiritually corrupt old life. We now believe that we are a part of Christ, and the Father’s heart of love dwells within us. All this happens because He mercifully allowed us to be with Him in the beginning.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Our Hope of Immortality–Chapter 1 of My Book, The Apostles’ Doctrine

To live on.  To not have to die.  It is the common thread tying almost all cultures, religions and philosophies together.  Is it not what every nation has clamored for?

The furtive longings of a billion souls from a thousand civilizations have whispered their desire for it.  The baked clay tablets of Mesopotamia speak of it.  Fragments of Egypt’s fragile papyrus pages still share the dream.   The Gilgamesh Epic of Babylonia around 2,200 B.C. chronicles the hero’s quest for immortality.  The ancient Greeks thought that immortality was attained through courageous effort on the battlefield.  Shakespeare imagined immortality coming through the longevity of the lines he wrote.  The Philosopher’s Stone, with its lead-into-gold alchemic dream, symbolized transcending our leaden mortal existence into a golden immortal elixir of life and rejuvenation.  Time would fail us to include the Egyptians’ mummies, the Indians’ nirvana, and on down to our present day where actors and directors try to immortalize themselves in celluloid.

Each of these attempts have flickered and failed.  But the thirst for immortality will not be quenched.  Is it not the most important possession one could ever attain in this life?  To live on and silence the tears shed at your passing.  To trump and triumph over Death.  To laugh at Death’s rude intrusion into all you hold dear.  To negate Death’s mayhem.  To expose him to be a liar when he says that your expiration date is a welcomed conclusion to the human condition, and his boast that he is a friend to the infirm and decrepit.

And Then a Man Came on the Scene

Though a universal longing, all these attempts have collapsed in the dusty halls of darkness.  And then a man came on the scene some 2,000 years ago–a man said to have “brought life and immortality to light.”  He brought good news, announcing the way to conquer death.  He would know, for He defeated Death.  For He was raised from the dead Himself after “three days and three nights” in the grave, seen by hundreds of witnesses.

“After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1: 3, NIV).  He taught them during that time how to become citizens of His immortal kingdom.  In a word, He taught them how to become immortal.  He, of course is the Savior of mankind, known to the English speaking world as Jesus Christ and known to those very early disciples as Yahshua, which means in the Hebrew, Yah is the Savior.

He shared His Hebrew name with the Hebrew patriarch Joshua, the Anglicized rendition of Yahshua.  Many biblical scholars admit that their names are interchangeable [http://www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G2424&t=KJV].

In fact, the angel of Yahweh told Joseph to name Him  “Yah is Savior” because “He shall save His people from their sins.”

The Words He Spoke…

Now many have a problem with Him, but all that know of Him will at least say that He is a wise man, a great teacher, and a prophet.  If He was such a great prophet and spiritual teacher, then why don’t those same people believe His words?

And it is the words He spoke about life and immortality that tests us in our search.

What did He teach?  He taught us that the Father Creator is an invisible Spirit, that He is Love, that the Father has a kingdom and a government, that there is a way to enter that kingdom of God and become the children of the Father God, and that He and only He is the way to eternal life, which is immortality.

He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No man comes to the Father but by Me” (John 14: 6).  Anybody who comes up another way is a “thief and a robber.”

He also taught a duality–that there was an enemy Satan, who has a kingdom here on earth, and that he and his evil spirits are warring against God and His children’s kingdom.

Christ taught that sin is the breaking of the Ten Commandments (I John 3: 4-6).  And we humans break the law early on in our lives because of the old nature we are born with.  And He taught that it is this sin nature in us that causes our death.  We are mortal because of the sin within our hearts.  Sin brings on death.  Plain and simple.  “But you know that He appeared so that He might take away our sins. And in Him is no sin” (v. 5).

“He shall save His people from their sins,” said the angel.  He “takes away our sins,” says the apostle John.  So if Christ takes our sins away, then we are free from sin, which opens up the way to immortality because it is sin that brings on our death.

Summing up, Christ “has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light” (II Tim. 1: 10).  He has “abolished death.”  He has abolished death by abolishing sin in our lives, and thus, He brings immortality to us.

He came to “save His people from their sins” by destroying sin in their lives.  But how does He do this?  It is through His death, burial and resurrection.  He took on our sins upon His sacrificial body, and He died.  He died, we died; our old sinful self died.  He was buried; we were buried.  He raised from the dead; we are raised from the dead–by faith in His resurrection [for much more on how He takes away our old sinful heart, see Romans 6: 1-12 and https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2010/08/21/life-out-of-death-the-ultimate-paradox/ ].

So the Savior destroyed the sin in our life, and thereby destroyed death, thus bringing “life and immortality to light.”  He destroyed sin and death, “for the wages of sin is death.”  Destroy sin and you destroy its after effects–death.

But He also said that most would not comprehend and do His teachings.  He said that broad is the way that leads to destruction and many will enter that wide gate.  But narrow is the way to eternal life, and few will find it.

And that last clause–“and few will find it”–should give us great pause.  He said, “Many are called, but few are chosen.”  Oh, to be one of His chosen, chosen to sit with Him on His throne, helping Him rule the nations during the greatest reign of peace this earth has ever seen–ruling alongside of Him for 1, 000 years, ruling as one of the immortal princes and princesses in His kingdom.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[My book is free, with free shipping to all who request it. Just send your name, mailing address, and the name of the book to my email: wayneman5@hotmail.com ]

Sowing the Seed, the Word of Our Testimony

Several of my readers have wondered, “How do I get this truth out into the public square? How do I find the sincere seekers of truth? The most effective and exhilarating is face to face. One on one is fine if you’re not fighting the cell phone and other interrupters. There is another way, a way that I have witnessed as an observer and a testifier.

This is something you can do. How do we personally reach those who are hungry for this light, famished for the deeper walk? We go to where they are. We go to the church houses who have an “open mike.”  They will ask for testimonies. This is where you stand up and tell them your testimony. That is what Yahshua and His apostles did. They went to the synagogues and spoke.

How does this work? Which churches do we visit? Usually in charismatic, “full gospel,” Assembly of God, Pentecostal, and “Bible” independent churches do you see this “calling for testimonies.” The goers have left the mainstream denominations, and a few are looking for a deeper walk with the Savior.

He has given us much knowledge. So, what do we share during our two minutes? Christ is our example. Christ’s opening message was always, “Repent.” Of course, to stand up and just say, “Repent,” will not do it. It is better to give a testimony of how repentance has worked in your own life, how your sins and sinful heart died with Christ on the cross, and how you were buried with Him and how by believing in His resurrection, you now have been raised to walk in a newness of life. You are telling them that you are a living example of repentance found in Romans 6:1-12.

“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been set free from sin…” (6:6-8 NIV). “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God…” (Col. 3:3).

You have seen “Romans 6” in many of my writings. It contains the cross message, which is what the world needs. The cross is where the old selfish heart dies; it is the end of the sinful road for mankind. The message of the cross is the first of the apostles’ doctrine. It is what our Savior wants us to share. He will convict the heart that is ready. Our job is to deliver the message. The cross message is the powerful contact point for those seeking more than a religious social club. The cross and the resurrection walk [the second doctrine, Faith toward God] is the message.

Just tell them your story, your trip to the cross. And watch the miracle of another’s conversion come to you. For after you speak and the after the service, they will come and shake your hand. That is where you give them links to the reading material, perhaps a copy of one of the Immortality Road articles on the cross. Perhaps you would want to order your own business cards with your contact info along with the website address, etc. All avenues are open to you when you are doing the Father’s business. Yahshua said, “I must be about my father’s business.” and so should we be about His business. This is what He is doing. He is calling out His people to enter through the narrow gate. He is doing it through us, thus fulfilling his purpose of multiplying Himself.

Note: Most in the church houses do not want to go to the cross and let their old heart die. It is not a popular message. That is why the preachers don’t touch it. But when that one or two respond, a true ecclesia is born, as in where “two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in the midst.”

The next step after gaining a portion of His knowledge is to share that knowledge. We do this by sowing the seed, the word, into the good ground, into the “good and honest hearts” of His people. And in so doing, we become an active part of His body, known as the Sower, who went forth to sow (Matthew 13).

This vessel is sowing right now. Through Yahweh’s grace, I have a song to sing that rushes down the corridors of light, illuminating the hearts of those He knew before the world began. “And they that impart wisdom shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever” (Dan. 12:3). That is our destiny and our calling, brothers and sisters. We just need to step out on the water.  Kenneth Wayne Hancock

We Gotta Know Before We Go and Do His Will

Now is the time that God is pouring forth deeper knowledge into thirsty ears and hungry hearts. We know that we are living in the time of the end. Signs of the end time are everywhere. The most glaring sign happened in 1948 when the fig tree nation of Israel was restored in the land of Palestine ( Fig Tree Is the Sign of Christ’s Return–Rapture Debunked | Immortality Road (wordpress.com). Gaining knowledge of His deeper truths always comes first, and then the doing comes.

We have to know before we go and do His will. We cannot properly do His bidding if we do not have knowledge of it. Simply put, we must know his will before being able to do it. A major theme of God’s will is for His followers to “purge out the old leaven.” Get rid of the old false concepts, doctrines, and teachings about God, and learn his deeper way. This cannot be done without His knowledge and ways.

How is any knowledge transferred from one to another? In grammar school we received knowledge from teachers. In Sunday school we received knowledge from teachers. Is it such a grand mystery that now as we earnestly desire to grow in the Spirit, that we should have teachers that share the “deep things of God”? Teachers led by the Spirit?

“But God has revealed them [His mysteries] unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God” (I Cor. 2: 7, 10).

The Gifts of the Spirit

The first two gifts of the Spirit are “the word of wisdom” and the “word of knowledge (I Cor. 12:8). The Spirit first gives wisdom and knowledge. Then He gives miracles done through us as He did through Paul, Peter and John. But man has it backwards. He accepts Christ and in a month or two sets out to perform full blown miracles of healing before ever receiving wisdom and knowledge.

God’s children receive grace and truth from Him. God will put them in contact with one of His offices who knows the way. The Spirit will supply through him what the seeker wants. Truth will flow out of him as the Spirit leads.  

This is a description of God’s office of teacher. The apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers are the fivefold ministry of the Spirit. These five offices are God’s gift to His called-out-ones, His body, His church, His ecclesia (Eph. 4:11).

They are called and chosen by the Master to accomplish these specific tasks: “the perfecting [the maturing] of the brothers and sisters; [they are] for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect [spiritually mature] man unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” They will serve Christ in this capacity “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ”(Eph. 4:12-13 KJV & NIV).

This knowledge about God’s purpose and plan, and His five-fold-ministry offices, given to His body for their edification and maturity, is part of the “word of knowledge.” You have to know about His will, His mind, and His thoughts. After receiving knowledge, you will be able to begin to do, and by doing you begin to be what you do.

Church houses are way stations on the road to the heavenly city. That’s okay. Or you may not have found a group of believers along the way and worship God alone as it were [but you are not]. That is okay, too. God is leading and guiding you on your journey back to Him. Only one thing though. Remember this. When  you begin to yearn for the deep things, when you are hungry for the meat of the word and not just the milk, then do not quench the Spirit. For it is the Spirit leading you. Be humble as you go with Him. Trust Him to lead you into the deep pastures where very few of His sheep are grazing. He welcomes us to enter that pasture, but there is a narrow gate at the entrance.

For more on all of this request a book.

[Ordering My Free Books in Paperback]

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Yah Is Savior: The Road to Immortality explores the deeper meaning of our Savior’s Hebrew name Yahshua, which means Yahweh is the Savior.

The Unveiling of the Sons of God explains how the whole creation is waiting and longing for the manifestation (the unveiling) of the sons of God for these latter days. Christ will be totally formed in His elect as they will have grown and matured spiritually into His likeness and power.

The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. It explores God’s vision for us, to be kings with Christ and how He will use us to reproduce His nature of Love.

My latest book is The Apostles’ Doctrine. Their doctrine was Christ’s teachings. And the early church walked in those teachings. This book reveals just what they are and how to walk in them.

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Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Be Established in the Present Truth by Faith–Walking in the Heavenly Dimension

The body of Christ, the church, is admonished to “be established in the present truth.”  We are to be in a stable walk with God that is called “the present truth.”

But what is this “present truth”?  To find the answer, we have to go back to Pilate’s question, “What is truth?”

Of course, the answer to that question was looking back at Pilate.  The Son of God said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  He is the “Word made flesh” dwelling among us.  Truth is expressed in words, and Jesus/Yahshua is the living Word, the living expression of God’s thought, “the expressed image of the invisible God.”  He is the embodiment of the expression of the will and Word/Logos of God.  He is the truth.  He is “full of grace and truth, and we are to be established in “the present truth.”  We are to be stable in Him, the Truth, and we are to be stable in Him in the present–right now.

Since Christ is the truth, then how are we to be established in Him presently–right now?  We arrive at spiritual stability right now by faith.  For it is all by faith, by belief.  But the word “faith” is one of those worn-out words that mean so many different things to people that its original meaning is lost.

“Now faith is…”  Can we believe right now what He said without first seeing the evidence of its ultimate fruition?  Can we believe His words when He said, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (Matt. 28: 20).  His Spirit is with us though we cannot see it, for it operates like the wind which leaves behind evidence of its presence.

You can feel your skin cool as the wind breathes across your face.  You can see the leaves murmur and quiver at its presence.  So it is at this very moment with the Spirit–Him.  He is breathing in and even through  us.  Yet we cannot see Him, for He is an invisible Spirit with great power to move things like the wind.  “I am with you always,” He said.  It takes faith to walk in this knowledge.

For He is in another dimension called the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Spirit. It is invisible, and therefore difficult to peer into. Although the Bible is a record of those who have seen. It is a dimension where “all things are possible.” Paul and John and, well, most all of the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles have seen and walked in this other heavenly dimension. Please share your favorite examples in the comments.

[This is an excerpt from Chap. 31 of my book, The Apostles’ Doctrine. It is totally free with free shipping to all who ask for it. Details here: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/donate/ ] Kenneth Wayne Hancock

I Have Chosen You

Chosen to Be Free from Sin

As Christians, God has chosen us “to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound” (Isa. 61:1). That is our goal.

“I have chosen you.” These are Christ’s very words. And we need to decide right now if we believe these words. If we do not believe them, then, like in The Matrix, we can go back to the inevitable, heart-sickening drone of our old lives, never to sniff the sweet air of freedom…

Somebody just squeaked up in back. “I am already free,” they say quite indignantly.

Really? Free? Everybody quotes John 8:32: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” But very few know what the “truth” is or how it frees you. Everybody seems to have their own “truth” and their own definition of “free.” So, I must ask: Free from what exactly? What was Christ talking about here?

He answers our questions two verses later. “Whosoever commits sin is the slave of sin” (8:34). [Sin is breaking the Ten Commandment law [1 John 3:4]. He who sins is the slave; he is the one who is not free. He is the one who obeys the old sinful nature’s commands.

The truth that makes us free from sin  

Christ is talking about being made free from sin and sinning. Sin is the slave master of him who sins. And, “No man can serve two masters…” (Matt. 6:24).  It is the truth that shall make them free.

So, what is the truth that frees someone from sinning? Christ said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). He is the Truth, the Deliverer and Savior, and He has provided the way to put an end to sin in a person’s life, thereby making them free. That is good information. But how does Christ make us free from sin?

Through either ignorant or uninformed preachers and pastors, the church has foolishly perverted the truth that will deliver the sinner.  Preachers proclaim that they “sin every day”! They say, “I am a sinner saved by grace.” And, sure enough, they continue sinning. Worse yet, they teach their congregations that they will always sin. According to Christ’s words, which they claim to go by every word, they are telling them that they will always be in bondage to sin, that they will always be a slave.

Pastors need to teach their flocks this truth

Here is the truth that “makes us free,” written down for us by our apostle Paul: “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin (Romans 6:6-7  NIV).

When Christ died, our old self died! When He was buried, our old self was buried. And when He was raised from the dead, so were we. And Christ gave us a new heart, a heart that is free. We are freed from sin and sinning, folks! It is already done; we just need to believe it! This truth will transform your life. It will slay the old dragon Sin and place Christ seated on the throne of your heart. This is the truth that Christ was talking about, the truth that makes us free! “Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him” (v. 8).

The Missing Ingredient

What is the missing ingredient that makes all this happen? It is faith. Belief. Believing without concrete visible evidence. It is believing His word when He says that our old sinful life is dead and gone. Our belief starts when we reckon it so. We must reckon our old spiritual nature dead. This is not a natural death of the earthly body. “Reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:11).

To complete our initial spiritual transformation, we count (reckon) ourselves to be “buried with him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who has raised Him from the dead” (Colossians 2:12). HalleluYah!

This is the truth! But they will not believe this truth that frees them from sin and sinning. They do not believe that anyone can do what Christ and his apostles say we can do! They don’t understand that it is the Spirit of Christ that lives within us now. We could not walk a righteous life before. Now it is Christ who lives within us. This is repentance from sin, the first of the seven doctrines of Christ and His apostles. [Order my book The Apostles’ Doctrine, free with free shipping. You need it. It gives much more information. Info here: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/donate ].

Oh, that the pastors and preachers all over the world could get this message! Then they could free the precious members of their congregations, who are slaves and don’t even know it.

But a few will respond. Would you help me get this message out to a preacher or pastor or someone hungering for the truth—truth that will make them free from sin? You can share this article with anyone and everyone on any platform. Let us become the “fishers of men” by casting the truth out into the sea of mankind, thus giving the people a chance at freedom.

I’m talking about freeing the slaves with the truth. The truth is Christ’s life now residing in our hearts. There’s no greater calling than to be used by Christ to free the captives.

“I have chosen you.” He has chosen you to share the truth that will make the people free from sin. And he has “ordained (appointed) you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain” (John 15:16).

What kind of fruit is He talking about? It is the good fruit that we bear after our cross and resurrection experience. (Matthew 7: 18).

“I have chosen you and appointed you to bear fruit”

Understanding His message in Romans 6 is believing Him when He declares, “I have chosen you.” His chosen ones are not slaves to sin. They have been made free by knowing the truth of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection in us.

One caveat: The people do not believe they are slaves to sin, and they will fight you all the way. But they are really fighting Christ. So, “do not be dismayed at their faces”.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[What do you believe Romans 6 to mean? What are your thoughts about the truth that Christ spoke of? Make a comment, share and hit that like button if you appreciate the content.]

Patience, Godliness, and Wisdom—Their Relationship

Our spiritual growth in God does not happen accidentally. We have a part to play. A seedling plant must strive to break free from the clutches of the clods of hardened earth to get to the light.

So it is with God’s offspring, you and I. To grow and to fulfill God’s purpose for each of us, we must first gain knowledge of his plan, and then execute it. He is “bringing many sons [and daughters] unto glory.”

How is he doing this? He has several spiritual programs to accomplish His will. They are laid out in black and white in the Holy Bible. The programs for our growth are hiding in plain sight. But you won’t hear about them in the church houses, even though the early apostles wrote glowingly about their secrets. Their pastors, priests and preachers have closed their eyes and ears to anything new. Yet God’s programs are full of “new creatures, new testament, new hearts, new lives, where all things are become new.”

Some of the Programs

We should not think that once we profess Christ, it is all done. The Apostles’ Doctrine, the title of my 2019 book, expounds on one of God’s programs that shows us how to become like the early church. The apostles walked in the seven teachings that Christ taught them. Their doctrine was Christ’s doctrine/teachings. To be like the early apostles, we need to do what they did; they “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine,” and then power was given to do mighty works in the land.

Another of Christ’s programs to help us grow spiritually is what I am writing now–The Additions to the Faith. We must add, through much study and prayer, certain facets of God’s divine nature to His faith that now resides in us. But we cannot add them if we have no knowledge about these attributes of God.

We have seen that in order to fulfill God’s purpose of fully walking in his divine nature, we need to add to our faith certain attributes of that very divine nature. We see that we are to add patience to temperance. The problem has always been understanding these English words. We are dealing with three words: patience, godliness, and wisdom.

They are all scriptural, taken from the King James Version. All three are difficult to comprehend because of man’s traditional definitions and connotations placed on them. To get a clearer picture of their meaning, we go to the Greek texts.  “Patience” means endurance. “Godliness” means to love and revere God. Wisdom is to fear Him, or to be in reverential awe of Him.

We can all agree that we need more wisdom. “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom…” (Proverbs 4:7). God has made it seemingly simple for us to get wisdom. Just ask Him for it, the apostle James tells us (1:5). But we cannot waver in unbelief (verse 6).

Why would we waver? Those that waver will not get wisdom (verse 7). I always thought that the wavering happened because of our weak faith in not believing at the outset that God would give us wisdom. But now I see that we waver when we don’t understand how overcoming trials produce wisdom. God tests our faith; going through these trials shows us just how awesome our great Creator is. We will see his great love for us in correcting us, getting us ready to sit with him on his throne. We have a lot of changing to do. Trials bring those changes about.

We still are talking about adding patience, and to patience godliness. Many early Christians had, no doubt, complained to James about the trials that they were going through. He gets straight to the point. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (1: 2 NIV). Joy? The heathen are hunting us Christians down like dogs. How do we see this as bringing happiness? At first glance, it is difficult to see, but a profound revelation hides in the shadows of our disbelief.

How Trials Bring Joy

How do trials bring joy? These trials test our faith. This testing of our faith “develops perseverance” (verse 2, NIV). It “works patience.” Trials of the faith develops endurance/patience/perseverance (verse 3). Overcoming trials develops spiritual muscle needed for us to endure all things thrown our way.

When our Father tests, chastens, and corrects us, we tend to not understand just how blessed we are. That is why we are admonished to “let patience have her perfect work.” In other words, we must allow endurance and perseverance do the job of bringing us to spiritual maturity. This is what the additions to the faith is all about: The spiritual maturity of becoming like Christ and his apostles. “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete” (verse 4 NIV).

It is here at verse five that we receive an astounding revelation. The previous four verses show us  how  God gives us wisdom. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God who gives liberally…”

But we must ask, “What does wisdom have to do with patience/endurance? What’s the tie-in?” First, we are admonished to ask for wisdom, not knowing how or from where it comes to us. God then gives us wisdom through orchestrating trials for us to overcome in our lives. These trials, as we have seen, produce endurance/patience. Then, on the other side of the testings and trials, we see that it produces in us a love and reverence for God in all His marvelous ways of creating us in His image. Love and reverence for Him is the very definition of wisdom. “The fear of the LORD, that is wisdom.” “Fear” in the Hebrew means “reverential awe.” Reverential awe of Yahweh, that is wisdom. Wisdom and patience/endurance combine to bring godliness to be added to patience. And the kicker is this: Godliness in the Greek means “a love and reverence for God.”

[See https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/donate/ to order one of my books}

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

The Importance of the Apostles’ Doctrine–Again

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? REPORT THIS AD

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 are already finished in us. He sees us that way, as us 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. We must remember that there is only “one faith.”

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.

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