Knowing Him As He Really Is—The Definition of Immortality

[Chapter 11 of the book Yah-Is-Savior: The Road to Immortality]

We are well down the road to immortality now. We have learned that wisdom is being in awe of God.  It is the first step; it is the main thing, for it is the first key that begins to unlock the treasure house of God’s knowledge. Without this awe of Him we won’t get anywhere. Then we took step two, knowing His name. Moses got some wisdom, some awe of God, at the burning bush, and then he had to know His name. It was a crucial step, to know God’s true name Yahweh.

And now we have come to our third step: Knowledge of Who He Really Is. The farther we go down this road that leads to immortality, the more is at stake. We cannot turn back now; our own hopes of transcending a certain death hangs on our steadfastness and perseverance at this time. Immortality, the elixir that our mortal mouths must drink, is the knowledge of who God really is. This knowledge is the key to unlock the secrets of eternal life. We have arrived at nothing less than the information that will catapult us over this valley of the shadow of death. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Yahshua the Messiah, whom you have sent. John 17:3. NIV.

Our hopes for arriving at immortality hinge on how well we really know Him—how well we really know His nature, His essence, His Deity, His Godhead. For us, eternal life depends on whether we really know Him as He really is. We must straighten out misconceptions of who He is and how He is. 

Those of us on this road to immortality must realize that only He can grant us true knowledge of Himself.  It will not come through man’s conception of who and how He is. We must believe upon Him in true knowledge “as the scripture has said,” the way the scriptures really portray Him.

But that, of course, is the problem.We all have our own conception of Him.  We think that we have just “come up with it,” but we have received our personal conception of God through what we have been taught by other human beings that we have come in contact with. It really gets tricky when people have studied out minutely different denominational doctrines, and even though they have “come out” of that organization, they cling tenaciously to its teachings—teachings about who He is. 

     The Savior, 2000 years ago, standing before them in a human flesh body, told them that they were searching the scriptures. They thought that eternal life was contained in those scriptures of truth. But, as the  Master  was , the very writings that they thought would yield immortality for them were the very writings that spoke of Him—the One that they were rejecting!  You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life.  These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. John 5:39-40, NIV…You study the scriptures diligently, supposing that in having them you have eternal life: yet, although their testimony points to me, you refuse to come to me for that life. NEB.

They were studying the scriptures diligently, thinking that immortality would be derived through them.  What writings were they studying that spoke about the Messiah, the Savior? What scriptures existed then?  They were the books commonly referred to as the Old Testament. Now  Yahshua, the Savior, said that those old books written by the prophets of ancient Israel, those old books spoke about HIM!     

The prophets spoke and wrote about the Savior by His very Spirit within them

Let’s go, then, to the prophets where they speak about the Messiah, specifically using the word “Savior.”  He just said in John 5 that the scriptures do testify of Him, so let us go there and see for ourselves what they are saying. Now Peter tells us that the spirit that was in those prophets was the Spirit of the Savior, Yahshua the Anointed One.  And they spoke and wrote down with the Spirit of Yahshua about this immortality, this salvation from a certain death. This salvation was the theme which the prophets pondered and explored, those who prophesied about the grace of God awaiting you.  They tried to find out what was the time, and what the circumstances, to which the spirit of Christ in them pointed. I Peter 1:10-11, NEB.

The Spirit of Messiah, which was in Isaiah the prophet said this: But now thus saith Yahweh (the LORD) that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel…For I am Yahweh thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. Isa. 43:1,3.

Several important points emerge from this passage that are vital for our understanding of His essence, which in turn is vital for our obtaining immortality. First, the Spirit of Christ that was in Isaiah said that He was Yahweh! Thus saith Yahweh…I am Yahweh. When the prophets wrote down the words, “Thus saith Yahweh,” they were saying that Yahweh is speaking through me the following words.  Yahweh is speaking thusly.  Yahweh, the Father, the Creator, the Supreme Being is using me by speaking through me! Oh, to be used that way, the way He used the prophets!

Second, the Spirit of Christ is saying that He created and formed Jacob/ Israel.  John confirms this. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. John 1:3. Paul confirms this as well. For by him were all things created, that are in the heaven, and that are in the earth, visible or invisible…Col. 1:16.

Third, I am Yahweh thy God, the Holy One of Israel…The  Spirit  of the Messiah speaking through Isaiah now says that He is Yahweh, that He is one God and that He is Israel’s Holy One (the whole House of Israel or the 12 tribes of Jacob/Israel).

Fourth, the Spirit of the Messiah, God’s Spirit, Yahweh, breathing and speaking through Isaiah says, I am thy Savior…I, even I, am Yahweh; and beside me there is no saviour. Isa.43: 3, 11. Here Yahweh, which is the Spirit that was in the Messiah, says clearly that He is the Savior and that there is no other savior!  Yahweh, then, was inside the man Yahshua who was called the Savior, for Yahweh says that there is no other savior except Him. We trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those who believe. I Tim. 4:10. God was in Christ (the Anointed One) reconciling the world unto Himself. II Cor. 5:19. It was Yahweh in the man who was the Savior. Or, in other words, Yahweh-in-human-form is the Savior.            

Bottom line: the same Spirit that spoke through the prophets, that created Jacob/Israel and everything else, this Great Spirit God dwelt bodily in the man Yahshua the Messiah. His name Yahshua means “Yah-Is-Savior.” It was Yahweh of old, the Yahweh of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel, the Yahweh of Moses, David, and all the prophets— that same Yahweh came down, leaving His spirit-body dimension.  And He came to earth in a flesh and blood human body, walked in our midst doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil.  And in due time, He laid down that human body, yielded it up to a sacrificial death, and raised that body in three days to life again, so that we could be restored to His original plan of reproducing Himself. “To tell the old, old story about our Savior and His love…”

[My book is free with free shipping. It weaves understanding of the sacred names and oneness together. Order your copy by sending your name, address, and the name “Yah Is Savior,” to my email address: wayneman5@hotmailcom ]

God Chooses Our Destiny in Becoming the Manifestation of the Sons of God

Human beings in the 21^st Century really do think that they are in control, that they call the shots, that they are the captain of their own destiny. And no wonder—we have been taught that since childhood.

And it admittedly does seem so. A thought enters our mind, and we act on it, and—voila!—we have made a choice in life. We are in control. We commandeer our own successes or failures. We, we, we…

Today mankind is swimming in a pool of existentialism and humanism. And they will drown in that pool unless their Maker and Savior chooses to throw them a life line and reel them back to shore.

Mankind is so humanistic that they think that they make the choices that govern their existence. Christians the world over are some of the staunchest purveyors of the doctrine of man’s free will, professing their belief on the Bible.

But upon deeper reflection, the scriptures reveal a God who has pre-written the script of life and has already assigned parts for us to enact. He has made His choices, according to the script that was sealed with seven seals. He chose us before we ever grew in our mother’s womb, before we awoke from that watery tomb, before we began to breathe the good air provided to us.

Yahweh said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (1: 5). This proves that God provides a personal destiny to man.

Isaiah concurs. “Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name…Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified” (Isa. 49: 1-3). God’s servant is no longer in prophecy one lone prophet, like a Jeremiah or Isaiah, but a people, a nation that God calls Israel. And with this expansion of destiny, God reveals His plan for His glorification. It will be in a body of people.

He calls it “the manifestation of the sons of God.” The whole creation is waiting for this. It is that glorious time when death will be defeated for all of us. The doors of immortality will blow open, and we shall enter that dimension where physical suffering and decrepitude will no longer exist (Rom. 8: 18-23).

He Chose Us

The point is that He chose us; He is in control. Christ said, “You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit…” (John 15: 16). Think back to when you were converted to Christianity. Before that day of deliverance, He had already chosen you for that honor—to be His son or daughter. He chose you for His purpose, to fulfill His plan. And this “much fruit” that we are to bear is the glorification He spoke of in Jeremiah above.

It is with this choosing that He exercises His sovereignty. We see a glimpse of it in Proverbs 16: 1. “The preparations [disposings] of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD (Yahweh).” “Preparations” is translated from a root word in Hebrew meaning “to arrange in order, or in a row, to put in order.” Consequently, we see an arrangement of the things of the heart, which God answers—through our mouth. Remember when Christ told His disciples to not worry about what they should say when they are delivered up before powerful world rulers, for “it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you” (Matt. 10: 19-20). We have been ordained by Him to be His mouthpieces.

God is in charge of preparing our hearts. Yes, He has given us a mind that thinks of things to do or say. He puts us into situations, predicaments, and struggles to help us grow spiritually. “The answer of the tongue is from Yahweh.” He prepares us to answer and to respond to the very stimuli that He brings.

His loving hand leads and guides our hearts and mouths. “The way of man is not in himself. It is not in man that walks to direct his [own] steps” (Jer. 10: 23). God is orchestrating our walk here on earth. We sometimes pray that He will lead and guide us; He is already doing just that. He is behind our thoughts, reactions and movements. He is the “wise master builder who is constructing stone by stone His holy temple, the body of Christ.

How our inner heart and spirit is arranged—its development spiritually, its trials and triumphs, the heart’s pain and joy—all of the things that our hearts go through, is arranged and ordered by the LORD.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[Ordering My Free Books in Paperback

I am now able to send you a copy of my books absolutely free with free shipping.  Please specify which one.

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.

Send your request, specifying which one of my books you desire, to my email address:  wayneman5@hotmail.com Include your name and mailing address. For those outside the United States, or who may prefer a pdf copy of the last two books mentioned, please specify.  Also, you may read the first two books online at my website Immortality Road found here:   https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com

God bless you and your family, and thank you for taking a stroll with me on Immortality Road.]

Answering the Biggie: “What’s the Purpose in Life”

As God’s sons and daughters, we search, and we receive from Him insights as to what He has done, is doing, and shall do.

Man’s most often asked question is “What’s the purpose in life?” To understand what the Father is doing, we must begin with His purpose. What is He up to? He has written the answer in the pulsing vibrancy of nature. We can look at the natural created world and see what is going on in the spiritual invisible world. “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Rom. 1: 20 NIV).

Nature is not God; it is not to be worshipped. But we can gain understanding about what nature’s Creator is doing by observing nature. The living things in both animal and vegetable kingdoms are reproducing themselves. It is in their drive, their DNA, their instincts to reproduce; it is their purpose. Look outside and you’ll see squirrels in trees with insects crawling and flying by. And their actions are derived from one purpose: to reproduce themselves.

God’s purpose? He is reproducing Himself. And that is where you and I come in. He is using you and me. That is what distinguishes humans from nature. God created us as a medium to be used to reproduce Love, for “God is love.” Agape love. That is our purpose.

It Starts with a Seed

In the natural world, it all starts with a seed. You bury a seed in the earth; it dies, and then it springs to life. It is the same with God and how He is reproducing Himself. The man Christ was the Seed. He was chosen by the invisible Father to be the Seed that through the Son, we humans could be used by God to reproduce Himself. The Seed, the Son of God, had to be sacrificed and buried in the earth, and be resurrected after three days and three nights.

He gave up His life so that those who followed His example might be resurrected with Him. To be used by God to reproduce Himself in us, we, like Christ, must choose to give up our old selfish life by letting it die on the cross in revelation with Christ. Then we are “buried with Him in baptism, and “by faith in the operation of God” who raised Him from the dead, we, too, have been “quickened together with Him” (Col. 2: 12; Rom. 6: 1-12).

We rise with Him and become new creatures that can mature like that little blade of corn in springtime’s field. He gives us of His Spirit, and He leads us into paths of growth all the way to His throneroom.

But God is sovereign and will use both “good things” and “bad things” to achieve our spiritual growth. It is like a gentle rain upon an early crop of corn. A good thing. And then a storm smashes down those tender blades with strong winds and hail. And yet the next morning the sun comes out, and its rays caress the stalks and blades of corn, and the crop raises up and dances with the joy of summer’s warmth. So it is spiritually with us.

Those whom He has called and chosen to reproduce Himself will embrace this message. They will be guided by the Spirit of truth, as He leads us into all truth—the truth as to why we are here and where we are to go and what we are to be.

The Son of God is the Great Teacher and has outlined in John 14-17 how the Father will hasten our growth. Christ has given us a series of New Commandments, that when followed, will pave the way to the door of His difficult to see Kingdom. Obeying them produces agape love growing inside our hearts. This is the Abiding. And His Spirit within will enable us to bear “much fruit.”

We are on the ultimate treasure hunt. “Its price is far above rubies.” Gold and silver cannot touch this treasure. For this treasure is what all of the civilizations that have ever populated this planet have wanted. This treasure is nothing less than Everlasting Life, nothing less than being complete Love Incarnate, with joy radiating out from the pure heart of God within us. It is nothing less than fulfilling what all of us humans have longed for—to be loved and appreciated. And those who answer this “high calling” will be in God’s family, and He will move over and let us sit with Him on His throne.

Sound farfetched? As a competent teacher, I am merely relating now what is in the text concerning sitting on God’s throne. I am not extrapolating. I am getting this knowledge from Christ’s own lips, written down by the apostle John on the isle of Patmos. “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne…” (Rev. 3: 19-21 NIV).

Several articles on the New Commandments, the Abiding, and the Spirit of truth have been published here over the past several months. It is my wish that this overview will increase understanding as to God’s purpose and how He will use us to fulfill it.

{Links to Articles: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/?s=new+commandment+commandments

https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/?s=abiding }

[Ordering My Free Books in Paperback

I am now able to send you a copy of my books absolutely free with free shipping.  Please specify which one.

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.

Send your request, specifying which one of my books you desire, to my email address:  wayneman5@hotmail.com Include your name and mailing address. For those outside the United States, or who may prefer a pdf copy of the last two books mentioned, please specify.  Also, you may read the first two books online at my website Immortality Road found here:   https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com

God bless you and your family, and thank you for taking a stroll with me on Immortality Road.]

A Closer Walk Through the Abiding

All of us desire a closer walk with God. We desire a proper prayer life with a doubtless trust that He hears us and will answer. God has promised us this closer walk with Him—but under certain conditions. He explains in His word how it will happen.

We notice that the abiding comes with two conditions. They both hinge on an understanding of the Son of God. Christ says, “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, then you can ask what you will and it will be done unto you” (John 15: 7). That is an astounding conditional promise of unlimited answered prayers. That is a closer walk with Him.

The First Condition

The first condition is “If you abide in Me.” The Greek word translated “abide” is also translated “remain” and “stay.” So, He is saying, If you remain in Me, if you stay in Me, and my words stay and remain in you—then I can trust you to receive My power to teach, heal and show forth Me to the world.

I have accented the “Me” here for a reason. His elect will remain in the real “Me,” the real Christ, the real truth as to who He really is. It is about staying in the real Christ. We cannot abide, remain and stay in Christ if we have an incorrect concept of who He really is.

It is like this: A new football coach has arrived. He wants to run a completely different offense than last years. The team only knows what they were taught last year. The team cannot continue, stay, and remain in the new coach’s system if they don’t know it. The team can only abide and stay in the new offense after they learn and practice it. To be successful, they must let go of the old system and embrace the new.

Likewise, to abide (continue, remain, stay) in the Son of God, we must know who He really is and walk in it. We must let go of the old leaven concepts as to who He is and cleave unto the “new.” He did not say, If you abide in one of man’s many concepts of who Christ is, then you will have a closer walk with God. No, Christ said to remain or abide in Me, or remain in the truth of who He really is. Those whom He has chosen to reveal Himself to will find the real Christ.

Many False Concepts about Who Christ Is

There are many false concepts of Christ out there that are confusing the masses. The word “many” keeps cropping up in unhappy scenarios. “Many false prophets are gone out into the world” (I John 4: 1). False teachers will be among us in the last days, “and many shall follow their pernicious ways…” (II Pet. 2: 1-2).

Christ warns us to enter into His kingdom by the narrow gate where “few there be that find it.” Many will enter through the wide gate into the broad and easy way that leads to destruction. And “there are many who go in by it” (Matt. 7: 13-14). In the very next verse, Christ shows us clearly who ushers the masses through the wide gate that leads to destruction. “Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing…” They will attire themselves to appear to be Christian preachers, pastors, priests, and evangelists.  They are difficult to spot because they talk about Christ, “but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (v. 15). These are Christ’s words of warning.

We have all read these passages, but have you ever wondered why pastors do not warn us about the false prophets and false teachers? Much is written on the subject. The Spirit in Paul even warns us that they transform themselves into the apostles of Christ. “For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” And Satan’s ministers are transformed into “ministers of righteousness” (II Cor. 11: 13-15).

There. Three apostles—John, Peter, and Paul–and the Chief Apostle warn us about the many false teachers, preachers, and prophets in this world. This must be extremely important for us, since so much of the word of God is devoted to warnings about false teachings. They are pervasive. It is everywhere. These false teachings present a false picture of who Christ is and what His purpose is. As long as Christians are remaining in a false concept of who Christ is, they are not obeying His New Commandment: “Abide in Me…” The real Me.

So, who is the Son of God?  “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.” Yahweh, the Father, dwelt in Christ, the Son, who is the “expressed image of the invisible God.” There is only one God. “Hear, O Israel, the LORD (Yahweh) our God is one” (Deut. 6: 4; Mark 12: 29). The Father is an invisible Spirit, and He dwells in the Son. He that has really seen the Son has seen the Father. For the Son of God houses the Father, who is invisible.

This is why Christ commanded us, “Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me” (John 14: 11). He also gave us another New Commandment: “Abide in Me, and I in you” (John 15: 4). Very few ever hear about the abiding. He also said for us to “seek first the kingdom of God.” Not many speak of a kingdom headed by Christ. He said that He would return at the end of the age. Very few speak of this government that will “fill the whole earth.” His apostles speak of “the manifestation of the sons of God” in our era (Rom. 8:19).

In all of Romans 8, the apostle Paul speaks of a sublime time for mankind. Nothing less than a conquering of death for us humans, a time at the end of this age that God will wipe away all tears from mankind’s death swept eyes. God has chosen out a few thousand human beings to be the first fruits of His immortal harvest. The astounding thing is that it will happen right here on this planet. For He is coming back to earth to reign in righteousness for a thousand years! A new era of immortality will supplant the old ways of death for humans. Through His abiding in us, He will sustain His life in us in a new spiritual body, a body impervious to disease and death. This is all conceived of and delivered to us by our King.

Very few have ever heard of such a thing happening. Yet these things comprise Christ’s words to us. The reason it’s very few is because they are not taught this truth. They are taught false doctrines that give a false picture of the Savior. The Savior is coming back here to reign for a thousand years. We may rise up to meet Him, but we are coming right back down here to earth with Him. Until the old leaven (false teachings) is purged out of Christ’s followers, they will never be able to abide, remain, and stay in Him. The elect will purge out the false teachings about Christ and will repent of them.

The Second Condition

The first condition consists of us abiding, staying, and remaining in the true concept of Christ. The second condition is for His words to abide or remain in us. It boils down to the interpretation of His words. There are interpretations many, and they are dictated by our concepts of just who He is.

Christ said “and if my words abide in you…” His word is truth. When the Spirit of truth is come, “he will guide you into all truth…and will show you things to come” (John 16: 13).

Let’s see what His written word says about His words. “The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life” (John 6: 63). “Thy word is truth” (John 17: 17; I Kings 17: 24). So when Christ speaks of His words abiding in you,” He is saying that it is the truth that abides in you. If people are deceived by false teachings about Christ, then how can the truth ever abide, remain, and stay in a person?

Therefore, it is paramount that we understand that His words are His New Commandments and the Apostles’ Doctrine. And if we hope to receive this wonderful promise of full answers to all of our prayers, then we need to know His New Commandments and the Apostles’ Doctrine, which are Christ’s teachings. If we do not know them nor do them, then the Spirit will not abide in us, no matter how much we scream and holler.  [Order your free copy of my latest book The Apostles’ Doctrine. Ordering info at the end of this article.]

Our personal understanding of His words are colored by the words that we have heard about Him since childhood. Sunday school and church services and picnics paints a picture of Christ for protestant churches. And the Catholic mass with its rituals, confessions, and bazaars and bingo nights paints another. Both are woefully short of the words of the Spirit of truth.

Yet Christ said, “If my words abide in you…” His words are found in His New Commandments and His doctrine. It is only through cleaving to them that we may abide in Christ. Let John tell you: “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son” (II John 1: 9).  Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[Ordering My Free Books in Paperback

I am now able to send you a copy of my books absolutely free with free shipping.  Please specify which one.

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.

Send your request, specifying which one of my books you desire, to my email address:  wayneman5@hotmail.com  Include your name and mailing address. For those outside the United States, or who may prefer a pdf copy of the last two books mentioned, please specify.  Also, you may read the first two books online at my website Immortality Road found here:   https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com

God bless you and your family, and thank you for taking a stroll with me on Immortality Road.]

Christ’s New Commandments and the New Promised Land

The following is for those who, like Joshua and Caleb, are saying, “The giants are not too big. We can take the land, the land of promise.” In their Old Testament story, God promised to give them their own literal land, land occupied by the Canaanites. In that land, in Jerusalem, they built a temple for Him to dwell in. In our day He has promised to dwell–not in temples made with man’s hands–but in us, the temple that He created for Himself to dwell in. One of Christ’s greatest teachings is how we become His temple in a reality, just like the apostles and prophets.

In this last generation before Christ’s return to earth, after winning a spiritual war, those called and chosen will receive God’s promise for these latter days. What exactly has our Father promised us? He has promised that if we walk in His teachings, we shall spiritually grow up to become—just like Christ when He walked this earth. The Promised Land for our day is the vision God has for us, His sons and daughters.

If we will get rid of the false teachings and walk in His true ways, He will grow in us—Christ the Vine and us the branches. If we stay in Him and He and His teachings remain in us, then we will abide in Him and He in us. And if we abide in Him and He in us, then He has promised that we will bear “much fruit.”

“Much fruit” is 100 fold fruit; it is the fruit that the manifested sons of God will bear at the end of this age. These offspring of the Almighty shine forth in the pages of the New Testament. “Much fruit” is seen in the actions of Christ and His apostles. They are coming. That is His promise to His elect. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1: 12). Receiving Him and His power is the first step in bearing “much fruit.” That is a promise.

The Promised Land

In a word—we are the modern day “Promised Land.” Yes, of course, there is an extremely important geographical fulfillment of this. But the spiritual fulfillment is just as important.

Our bodies are made of earth and are divinely supported with breath and water and nutrients. When these earthly bodies expire, they go back to dust. They become part of the land where they are buried. When His Spirit fills us, God fulfills His promise to “dwell in us,” His temple. He has promised us (I Cor. 3: 16; II Cor. 6: 16).

God has chosen by His grace and mercy a few to manifest Himself in. They will be the first fruits, the first humans to bear ultimate spiritual fruit. They will walk in a high growth of the Spirit within them. Christ calls this “much fruit.”

Little children of God who never grow up spiritually will bear “fruit.” He will prune these Christians to purge out impurities so that they can bear “more fruit.” This is 60 fold fruit. In this growth we learn to “abide in Him and He in us” to the point that we bear “much fruit” (John 15: 1-8).

When we abide in Him, and He in us, then we may ask what we will, and He will do it. Why? Because we will have had all the old leaven false doctrines purged out of us. Then He can trust us and will fulfill His promise to fill us with His agape love. It will be “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Through this process of spiritual growth, we become the New Promised Land.

So What Do We Do Now?

Since bearing “much fruit” is God’s promise to us, how do we grow to that point? How is it done? One of Christ’s new commandments to us is this: “Abide in Me, and I in you…He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit” (v. 5). We see here again “much fruit,” the ultimate growth level.

It is here that Christ makes this promise: If we abide, stay, remain, and continue in His teachings, unfettered by false doctrines and claims—if we continue in His teachings, He has promised us that we will bear “much fruit” (vs. 4-7).

Bearing “much fruit” is the only way to glorify our Father. “Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit” (John 15: 8). In the next verse Christ gives us the key. He gives us this command: “As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love” (v. 9). We are to continue loving the way Christ loves.

The word “continue” is translated from the Greek word meno. It is also translated “abide, remain, and dwell” [1]. So, abiding, remaining, dwelling, and continuing in His love will lead us to bearing “much fruit.” But how do we abide and continue in His love? Christ answers us in verse 10: “If ye keep my commandments, you shall abide in My love…” Keeping Christ’s commandments. Someone is thinking, “I thought it was just the Ten Commandments we are to be concerned with.” Keeping them is just our duty. He wants us to bear much fruit, which is going beyond the call of duty.

Christ’s New Commandments

Christ magnified the law and gave many new commandments for those answering the “high calling.” We have seen already a couple of Christ’s new commandments: “Abide in Me” and “Continue in My love” (John 15: 4, 9).

In fact, His promise to us is wrapped in the understanding and keeping of His New Commandments. Christ promises: “He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves Me, and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him.” One of the disciples asked him how He will make Himself known unto us and not unto the world. He answered, “If a man love Me, he will keep My words [commandments], and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14: 21-23). This is the abiding. This is where Yahweh, our Father and Creator, will truly live in us, and He will abide and remain in us. This is the promise; this is the spiritual “promised land.” So, what are Christ’s “New Commandments”?     [To be continued…]

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[1] https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G3306&t=KJV

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***

Repentance and the Spiritual Growth Cycle

The early apostles continued steadfastly in the doctrines that their Savior had laid out for them in the three and one half years that He taught them. We will do the same thing if we sincerely desire to walk in that same power that they did. The first teaching was “repentance from dead works” (Heb. 5: 12-14; 6: 1-2).

Our whole walk in God is all about the first of His doctrines, and then by extension all of them. All things have become new because we have turned from our old ways for self, and we have by God’s grace and mercy turned on to the path of Light.

Our new life in Christ is a life of growth. Our old physical life was one of growth to adulthood. Then sadly it is marred by decay and eventual death of the earthly body. The good news is that Christ has overcome death and has brought immortality to light. “Repentance from dead works” is a process in our spiritual life cycle that gets rid of the old thinking that brought forth death; it then takes on His thoughts that brings life.

Our new walk is a continuing development, much like a garden seed that goes through its growth cycle. We, too, are growing. Upon germination, we spring forth as a seedling through simply believing His word on all of this. Christ said that the kingdom growth cycle is like a man sowing seed in a field and the seed came up—first the little blade spearing its way to the sunlight, then it heads out, and then the grain fills out in the head and matures and dries, and then you have seed to be made into bread or replanted for a future harvest. “The seed is the word of God (Luke 8: 11).

Our life in Christ grows into new and stronger stages. Repentance must be accomplished at each level, in order to grow into the next stage. In other words, we must repent from being a seedling in order to eventually grow into a full grown plant with the strength to hold the fruit that the Spirit of Truth is bringing. For a seedling cannot bear–physically nor spiritually–the fruit that’s borne by a mature plant. It is just not strong enough. Besides, He said that He would not put on us more than we could bear.

Consequently, we as the seedling/children of God must repent of whatever is hindering us from growing into a mature Christian. “That we be no more children, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine…” We must rather “purge out the old leaven” concepts that we brought into Christ. Errors about Him in our thinking taint the bread of life. Yes, Christ in us is the bread of life that spiritually raises those that are dead in their sins. We have the awesome responsibility to get it right. When we do this, the same spiritual fruit–the same love, joy, and peace that Christ Himself bore—will come, along with its power to touch lives around us.

A Continuing Process

This is not a “one and done” process. As in all of the apostles’ doctrines, many layers are to be unfolded. We enter into Christ by repenting of our sins through the cross experience in our own hearts. We die with Christ by believing that our old sinful nature dies with Him on the cross. And “he that is dead is freed from sin” (Rom. 6: 5-7). In God’s eyes our old life is already dead and gone, for He calls things that are not as though they already were (Rom. 4: 17). That’s an example of “the faith of the Son of God.” When we think like He does about the sin question, then we are free from sin and sinning. We then are ready to walk on by repenting of faults in our life. Sin is defined as “the transgression of the law,” the Ten Commandments (I John 3: 4). We cannot keep them on our own strength. Consequently, we rely on Christ’s Spirit that we receive by faith in His resurrection to keep the law. He is Love, and “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13: 10).

This is a continuing process. However, we are not talking about fighting the dragon of sin in our personal lives every day. There is nothing more pathetic than to see a long-faced pastor stand up and tell his congregation, “I am a sinner saved by grace and I always will be a sinner.” That’s his testimony. Are you serious? I am glad he is speaking for himself. We have all sinned—yes, in the past. But all are not sinning in the present. Has he never read what the Spirit wrote through the apostle John? “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him sins not: whoever sins hath not seen him, nor known him” (I John 3: 5-6). Wow! That is not harsh; that’s love speaking. Tough love. And it is time we wake up and smell the righteousness that comes by believing His word.

For we have died on the cross with Christ, and our sin nature died with Him. Therefore, sin has no more dominion over us (Rom. 6: 12-14). Settle it. Believe it. Once and for all. Furthermore, once sin has been repented of by believing in Christ’s resurrection in us, we are free to work on our faults. Our faults consist of erroneous thoughts about God and the bad habits they encourage.

I’ll close this my letter to you here. There is much to absorb. May Yahweh bless you with spiritual understanding. If you are comprehending what the Spirit is saying to us all here, then blessed are your eyes for they see. We simply must do what is necessary to grow into “the fullness of God in Christ.” That is the vision that He has for us—to become exactly like Christ. There—I have said it again. Next time we shall explore how to get rid of our faults. Once this happens, the sky is the limit!           Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[Be sure to order your free copy of my latest book, The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. It explores our rich destiny as the princes and princesses of God. It is free with free shipping. Just send me your mailing address to my email:  wayneman5@hotmail.com   I will get it right out to you. You need this book if you are serious about growing up to be like Peter, John, James, and Paul and the rest of the apostles.]

Love Makes Known the Plan of God

Chapter Six   The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect

We know that God is love, and God is light. Therefore, Love is Light. Since light makes things known, then Love makes manifest as well. Love sheds light on what and who God is. Where agape love is present, the Spirit of Love makes God known. We see God when we see love–true selfless love from above, as we see in Christ’s laying down His life for His friend [1].

Christ said, “I am the light of the world.” In this He was saying, Through My life, death, and life-after-death, I make known the Father’s purpose and plan of reproducing Love. If you believe in Me and the love that I showed when I laid my life down for you, then that same Spirit of Love will engender in you a new life that will, in turn, enlighten others who now sit in darkness.

He will give us His own Spirit of love. Consequently, we will be-come the light of the world because He will be living His life in and through us, His body [2].

In a word, in a seed thought, God is Love. He is the greatest thing in the universe. Everyone will agree. All the poets and writers of song down through the ages confirm that Love–selfless love–is a divine thing and that it should be emulated by mankind.

Man knows this, even down into his DNA. He knows that he should love his fellow man. The truth is that God created him to be the “glory of God.” Man is designed to contain the Spirit of Love, which is God. Man was created as a temple for the Spirit of Love (God) to dwell in. Man knows that this kind of love is what we should strive for [3].

We are moved by the soldier who falls on a grenade to save the lives of his buddies, or the stranger who dies in a house fire saving a little child. And millions are touched by the selfless love shown by our Savior on the cross.

God is Love and is the greatest and most powerful thing in the universe. And because Love by its very nature shares with others and gives, God could not but create a plan to share Himself with His creation.

He purposed it and being all-powerful was able to implement His purpose and plan of duplicating and reproducing Himself. He planned this all out in His mind. He thought it into existence. Thoughts are comprised of words that occupy first His mind. And He has given us the power to think His very same thoughts! First, we must have the knowledge of the thoughts about His purpose and plan. Then we must choose to surrender our restless minds to His thoughts. When we start thinking His thoughts, then “the peace that passes all understanding” will come upon us.

His purpose is to reproduce Himself, to reproduce Love throughout His entire creation. He is the Seed of Love that will reproduce itself. He became the Seed, which is the Word, which is the Logos, which is comprised of the thoughts of His Mind. And this “Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” His plan was to pour this reproductive energy into a human vessel that could “fall into the ground and die” and through the resurrection, would “bring forth much fruit” at the harvest.  The much fruit is the thousands of manifested sons that will sit as kings with Him on His throne upon His return to this earth.

Those that overcome all things in this era have a royal destiny. They are chosen; they are elected by God for this honor. They do respond; they do study and pray that they be counted worthy for this honor, but it is all through His grace. For it is God that gives these overcomers the strength and power to continue against the gainsayers, the unbelievers, the worldly, and the ones with precious little faith. God gives His elect the determination to get up and face the spiritual enemy who lurks in the halls of the human mind. God helps their unbelief and sees them through to the finish line.

For they serve their great invisible Father Yahweh, who resides in His Son, who is the Head of the body of an organism called the church. And when this vision becomes clear and doubt free in their hearts and minds, they will realize that all scriptures that pertain unto Christ pertain unto them, for they are His body. When we abide in Him, the scriptures speak of us.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

1.   I John 1: 5; I John 4: 8; Eph. 5: 13
2.  John 8: 12; John 15: 13; Matt. 5: 14; Col. 1: 18
3. I Cor. 11: 7; I Cor. 3: 16, 6: 19

[ ****[BE SURE TO ORDER YOUR FREE COPY OF MY NEW BOOK THE ROYAL DESTINY OF GOD’S ELECT. JUST SEND YOUR MAILING ADDRESS TO MY EMAIL wayneman5@hotmail.com for your free promotional copy with free shipping in the USA. If outside the USA, email me and we will see that you get a pdf copy. Put “New Book” on the subject line. It discusses God’s purpose of reproducing Himself in us! He is Love and He has a plan to be Love Incarnate in us. And all this has royal implications for us, the over comers! Don’t miss this book. It is my love gift to God and to you.]*****

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

*****[BE SURE TO ORDER YOUR FREE COPY OF MY NEW BOOK THE ROYAL DESTINY OF GOD’S ELECT. JUST SEND YOUR MAILING ADDRESS TO MY EMAIL wayneman5@hotmail.com for your free promotional copy with free shipping in the USA. If outside the USA, email me and we will see that you get a copy. Put “New Book” on the subject line. It discusses God’s purpose of reproducing Himself in us! He is Love and He has a plan to be Love Incarnate in us. And all this has royal implications for us, the over comers! Don’t miss this book. It is my love gift to God and to you.]*****

God has not promised to fill us with His Spirit to make us feel good. He loves us, yes, but He created us for His pleasure. If He fills us with His Spirit, it will be for His own purpose. And that purpose is to fulfill His promise to Abraham and to his seed.

He promised Abraham that he would become the “heir of the world.” To inherit the world, one must have eternal life in order to be around for the inheritance. Abraham, the father of our faith, the believer of God’s promises, walked that faithful walk, never doubting God’s reasons for doing what He did. He knew of New Jerusalem and God’s plan to bring it to earth. He understood that it would be home to a “peculiar people, a royal priesthood, a chosen generation,” a people immortal, thanks to God’s granting them everlasting life.

Abraham realized this and searched for this great spiritual city, “whose builder and maker was God.” For he knew the King of this Kingdom and spoke with Him on several occasions. And so Abraham did not doubt the promises made to him by Yahweh-in-His-human-form.

We now, with the same faith of Abraham through Christ, must realize that nothing has changed. The promises are still valid, immutable. Though ancient, heroic edifices crumble under the sand-swept assault of time, and though very few humans are remembered forty years after their demise, God’s promise of filling His children with His Spirit remains a clean, shiny hope in the hearts of his people. For this hope is our silent prayer that we would be spared the indignity of a dark, black future where no one remembers our smile, our tears, our name.

Those who love Him will be spared, for He has promised them that He would shower them with Love and immerse them in His light. His promise to fill us is not to help us escape our lonely trials of these fleshly bodies, but rather to fulfill His purpose. This purpose is to reproduce Himself in us, thus multiplying Love, Joy, and Peace throughout eternity. He will grant the faithful like Abraham a new spiritual body and fill it with His Spirit of Love. That’s us, brethren. We are the children of Abraham.

And Yahweh will, with His residence within our new body, grant us everlasting life, a life that will endure forever, an immortal existence with Him in His kingdom. It is an eternal life, a life that is in His Son.

There we go, getting into the meat of the word again. Unfortunately, as a body of believers, we are not ready for all this just yet. God gives grace to the humble. He favors those with humility. We exercise a desire for humility when we without reservation humble ourselves by deliberately purging out the false teachings that we cling to. That is the humbling that we must endure for His sake. That’s part of the fellowship of His sufferings. We allow (or suffer) sometimes the wrenching pain of parting with doctrines that have been our “buddies” for a long time. It is a trial of our faith. It is in His plan. Only the pure of heart will see God’s way in this. Only those who are contenders and not pretenders will stay the course. It’s the parable of the sower in all three levels of growth.

But the attention span of many in the body of Christ is short. Most are lukewarm when it comes to their studies in His word. When you dig deep, you get blisters on  your hands and aches and pains in your shoulders. For this age of Laodicea, the seventh church age, this lukewarmness will not be welcomed by our King. He said that He would spue them out of His mouth.

And these are lukewarm for they are full of themselves, either because of physical riches or spiritual riches. God has blessed them materially. And, the many spiritual experiences that they have had over the years assure them that God is on their side and that they “have need of nothing.” And they do not know that they are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked.” And so Christ counsels these Christians to buy from Him “gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich,” and white raiment that you be not naked, and eye salve to cure the spiritual blindness. Then in verse 19 tells them, “Repent” (Rev. 3: 14-19). We can’t escape the first apostles’ doctrine: Repentance.

Question: Who reading this will get the concordances out and Strong’s and dig these things out? Those who do will show the King that they are for real and not just pretenders…

Nevertheless, some will continue on their weary way, the grains of time slipping through their fingers. And with death’s smirk lurking just around the corner of their fears, the treachery of the mirror betrays their trust in these fragile, fleshly bodies.

God has promised us His Spirit, which will fulfill His purpose of having righteous inhabitants in His Heavenly City. We are those citizens with everlasting life, His life, and we will once again walk those halls of New Jerusalem. But there I go getting into the meat of the word again.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock