The “Deep Things of God”—Knowledge That Will Change Your Life

We are commanded, “Add to your faith.” The seven additions to the faith are “the deep things of God.” Knowledge is one of those deep things.

Man’s wisdom teaches us that knowledge comes as we get to know God better. But knowledge is not us knowing him or us knowing about him. It’s what he alone knows. It is proprietary knowledge—God being the Proprietor. For knowledge is an attribute of God. Knowledge emanates out of Him–not us. Knowledge is part of his “divine nature.”

And God has hidden His knowledge and wisdom from the eyes of natural man. The disciples inquired of Christ about the hidden knowledge. And He responded, “The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them” (Matt. 13:11 NIV).

Example of Hidden Knowledge

The irony is rich. We were drowning in sin, and we reached for the lifeline. But we found that God’s lifeline does not save our old way of living; it puts it to death. His lifeline is the cross. Being crucified with Christ is God’s way of putting to death our old selfish heart. Then we are buried with Him, and then we are resurrected with Him by believing in Christ’s resurrection (Rom. 6:6-12). This is part of the hidden wisdom. It is a secret that natural man’s wisdom does not comprehend.

By this belief, we receive the Spirit of God into our hearts. Our old sinful life is dead and gone, whether we feel it or not. As we seek Him and grow, the Spirit now within us seeks and searches and shares with us the “deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:6-16).

The knowledge to be added to our faith is an attribute of the Spirit of God. It can only be attained through a gift from God to us; only the Spirit can teach us His knowledge. It is in the heart of God. It is the kind of knowledge that only God has. It’s the knowledge that is of Him and by Him and for Him, to be channeled through us out into the world.

The Spiritual World Contains Secrets and Mysteries

His divine nature is painted in secrets and mysteries, to be meted out to those who seek Him with all their heart. Only God can give his own secrets and mysteries and knowledge to us. Therefore, we must ask Him for wisdom and knowledge. It is His to give. He is the Great Giver of His own secrets of hidden wisdom. And He “has freely given us all things” (Rom. 8:32).

To be in reverential awe of Yahweh is the first step in attaining knowledge. “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 1:7). Fearing Him, being in awe of Him—that is the start of knowledge and wisdom. When His omnipotence floods the heart and mind, then we begin to know Him and the power that He wields in His universe.

It Is All God’s Doing

Comprehending all this is having “the mind of Christ.” Paul speaks of “the wisdom of God in a mystery,” a “hidden wisdom.” God ordained it so. He ordered His plan to unfold in the very beginning. He planned it that there would be a wisdom and knowledge hidden from the eyes of the unregenerated ones. And God ordained the hidden wisdom, revealed along the way, as steps toward our glorification. “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory” (1 Cor. 2:7).

He planned everything—all the secrets and mysteries—to bring us into a glorified state. He ordered it; it was part of His plan. Our glorification is His way to reproduce Himself. He does it by sharing Himself. That is what agape Love does. It shares His glory with us. After all, He did say that man is the “glory of God” (I Cor. 11:7).

The Crucifixion—Hidden Knowledge

The crucifixion of Christ is an example of this “hidden wisdom,” which leads to our glory, culminating in us sitting with Him on His throne. The rulers of this world system did not know the “hidden wisdom.” Paul wrote, “We declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:7-8).

This is secret knowledge that is only attained by the Spirit revealing it to us. Natural man cannot give us secret wisdom; only God can give it. Millions of souls all over the earth are “destroyed for lack of  knowledge” (Hosea 4:6).

We are talking about knowing the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). This knowledge is indispensable, for we must know His thoughts before the Spirit will enable us to act according to that knowledge. Knowing comes before doing.

There is only one way for us to know the secret, hidden wisdom, and that is for the Spirit to reveal His knowledge to us (v. 10). Natural man’s eye, ear and heart cannot see, hear, nor feel the secret things and blessings that “God has prepared for them that love him (v. 9).

Once we receive the Spirit, then He will begin to “search all things, yea, the deep things God” in and through us! I repeat. The Spirit of God inside of us will search. The Spirit will be the driving force that leads us in our search for His truth. The hidden wisdom was this: God used hate and evil, that led to murder, to accomplish the crucifixion. It was the very thing that had to take place on the very day of Passover. The Pharisees and the Romans were serving God’s purposes, trying to wipe out the Savior through hateful murder. Their sin took the Savior’s human life but enabled the resurrection to become our lifegiving source of power. We will see that the “deep things of God” help us grow into powerhouses that bear much fruit for the King. Being in awe of Him will lead us into much more hidden knowledge and wisdom.

What Prevents Us from Going Deeper?

Later in chapter 3, Paul explains how he could not go further into the deep things of God with them. He could not teach them the “meat of the word” because they were “carnal” or worldly (3:2). And why were they worldly? Because of their “envying, strife, and divisions.” Think denominations and their thoughts of being the only true church. Christ is not divided. But that is for another time…

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.]

The Seed, Repentance, and the Cross

You are a page out of “the book of life.” God is the author of this book. He wrote it eons ago, long before your mom and dad brought you into the world. For God knew you before you were born. You were in His heart before the earth was ever formed and before the stars began to burn (Jer. 1:5).

This book of life is the record of the who, what, when, where, how and why of God’s plan and purpose. His purpose is to reproduce Himself. His plan to fulfill His purpose will be witnessed here on earth. When you walk by faith in Christ’s life, you are a part of the witness of the record in heaven. It bears repeating: The book of life is the record of what God has done/is doing/and will do to accomplish His purpose of reproducing Himself (Love).

It all begins with a seed. And “the seed is the word of God.” And the word of God is truth. When error is found in preachers’ mouths, the seed is blighted and will not reproduce.

But His seed is “the incorruptible seed.” It takes root in our hearts through the sacrifice of the Lamb, our Savior. Only it must be our own spiritual death with Christ. The seed must die before it springs to life in a heart. At the time of any harvest, the original seed brings forth and bears more seed just like the original.  

We members of Christ’s body today are living in the day of harvest, the time of the end. There is and will always be seed time and harvest. Seed time is seen in the book of Genesis, the book of beginnings. The “harvest is the end of the world,” as seen in the book of Revelation.

The word is made up from the words of the plan on how God will reproduce himself in us. In fact, the “book of life” is made up of the word, which gives us clues on how to proceed in God’s reproduction process.

The book of life mentioned in the scriptures is the plan on how he will use us to divinely love through us. This reproduces agape love, which is God. That is why you are a page out of the book of life.

The Cross Experience

Christ said, “Except a seed fall into the ground and die, it abides alone. But if it die, it brings forth much fruit.” Christ is that seed. “Christ is the seed, the word of God.” He is the Word made flesh.

God’s elect is the “good ground.” To get this growth process moving within us, His word, the seed, must germinate in our hearts. We surrender to him by submitting our old self to his spiritual growth process. Christ surrendered his body to death. God placed our sinful hearts on that sacrificial body, and when He died, our old sinful heart died with Him. When He was buried, our sinful self was buried. And when He was raised from the dead, we too were raised to walk in a newness of life.

This is the true cross experience. To lead someone to repentance is the first of the apostles’ doctrine. It is where you lead them to the mirror of their soul. And you tell them to look way past the simple facial skin tones and to peer into hearts. And ask them if they can see the dark place of their existence, the selfish and careless way they are. If they can and want to change, then you teach Romans 6 to them. It is the truth that will make them free. If they won’t look into that mirror, then they cannot receive the truth at that time. Maybe another day.

The Quiz

I gave you a one question quiz on August 5. It asks, “Can you explain in detail how one repents from sin?” It is about how to lead someone to true repentance, which is the first apostles’ doctrine. Christ’s death on the cross, His burial, and His resurrection is where we found our freedom from sin and sinning. It is here at the resurrection in our own hearts that the growth of the Seed in us will begin. And each seed bears its own kind.

When he perished, our old sinful selves died with him. When he was buried, our old selves were buried. And when he was resurrected—Hallelujah!—we “were raised to walk in a newness of life.” He that is dead is freed from sin. Free! But this freedom is only for those who know that they are in bondage to sin and know that they have a need to be freed. Those righteous in their own eyes will think that all of this is nonsense.

Repentance, Romans 6, and the Cross

Paul opens that chapter of his letter to the Romans with this thought: “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” In another translation we read, “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death?” Immersed into His death. Water baptism is only a symbol of the baptism into Christ’s death. Which preacher/pastor/priest/or prophet teaches these thoughts of the apostle Paul? They pontificate on most every passage except Romans 6.

This is where true repentance starts; it’s at and after the cross. Christ is not our substitute; he is our example. He laid it on the line through His death, and we need to die with him. And then through belief/faith in the operation of God, we also can walk in a newness of life (Col. 2:12).

This truth will make a huge difference in people’s lives. But you won’t find Romans 6 preached in many churches. Just go ask the pastors their take on it.  I wish they would teach this truth because it is the gateway to all truth. Unless we repent, we’ll “all likewise perish” and be forgotten in the dusty tombs of the earth. This is paramount in being saved from the sea of death, where nobody remembers your name.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Chapter 25 Virtue Is Moral Strength and Power—Where Does It Come From?

God has given you and me power and authority over Satan. I know. I know. You’ve heard this all before, heard it through powerless, well-meaning lips. Nevertheless, you and I are the recipients of power from God to change this world.

Because we have taken our old sinful self to the cross and have received a new heart from our Father, He has given us “the faith of the Son of God.” And now He commands us to add virtue to that faith. We have received His faith, which is Him believing in His own word. And virtue is that moral strength, vigor and power of God’s divine nature, now given to us to add to faith (II Peter 1: 1-10).

And through His virtue in us He has given us the power to share with others the goodness of our King. We now have power to liberate those who remain captives of carnality, to those still struggling with sin in their lives. Through His Spirit within, we have power to help the brokenhearted through their trials. He has given us now the strength and power to free those who are bound like prisoners in dungeons of despair. He has sent us “to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called the trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified” (Isa. 61: 1-3).

But before divine power will flow through us to achieve all these things, evil must first strike. Why? You cannot be a savior if there is no one that needs saving. You cannot be a healer if there is no one who needs to be healed. Before a resurrection miracle, there must be a death. The ultimate show of moral strength and power is resurrecting someone. That can only happen through the death of the one to be raised up.

Christ said it best. “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” I scratched my head for 45 years on those enigmatic words. Translated: Every day has its own ration of “evil” for us to overcome or deal with. Let’s not add to it.

Adding Virtue

That is why those chosen for this auspicious calling will add the seven additions to the “faith once delivered to the saints.” They have no choice really. “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”

But this power is not given to Tommy Thomson or Larry Lansing or any other human being. This power is given to Christ in Tommy, Larry, you, and me. For it is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” And it is glorious when the anointed Spirit in us flows through our bodies, surging through and into the soul in need, thus proving Yahweh’s love and mercy.

But how is this power exercised in us? How does God work miracles through us? First things first. It starts out by understanding and then walking in the early apostles’ teachings. They had the power and authority from God, and they left us a roadmap to intense spiritual growth.

That roadmap is the teachings of Christ passed on to the early apostles. Luke called them “the apostles’ doctrine,” the teachings of the apostles. Christ’s doctrine became the “apostles’ doctrine.” Some people today are averse to the word “doctrine,” but it only means “teachings.” The early apostles “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine.” The fruit of that brought “many wonders and signs…done by the apostles” (Acts 2: 42-43). Power was given to the apostles because they were faithful to the teachings of Christ. And His teachings became theirs. And His power became theirs, also.

If you are seeing what I am saying, then “blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.” If you have seen through the shallowness of churchianity and long and hunger for the true living waters, then perhaps He has chosen you to “bear much fruit” and to walk with the patriarchs, prophets and the apostles, along with the King Himself.

Realizing all this brings a moment of gravity and humility. “For to whom much is given, much is required.” Think about it.  Of all the billions living on this planet, the Creator has chosen us to reveal His secrets and mysteries to. And the secret and mystery is this: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The Spirit of Christ in you and me! This is where the virtue power comes from.

The following is very important. The amount of the Spirit in us depends on how much understanding and knowledge we have about the Father’s ways and means. We must know Him as the instigator of all things in this life—both good and bad—for our perfection. When we know Him as our “Prince of peace” and our “Prince of pain,” our Savior and the Supplier of our sufferings, then we will be closer in “knowing Him and the power of His resurrection.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[Order my book The Apostles’ Doctrine. It is free with free shipping. Just email me. Include your name, address, and the title of the book. To:  wayneman5@hotmail.com  ]

“Abide in Me and I in You”–What Does It Mean? How Does It Happen?

One of Christ’s New Commandments is, “Abide in Me, and I in you” (John 15: 4). This is not a polite request. It is a command. It is simply put in plain English, but what does it mean exactly? How does He abide in us, and how do we abide in Him? In order to obey this command, what exactly do we need to do?

First it helps to go to the Greek. “Abide” in the KJV is translated from the Greek word meno 61 times. It is also translated “remain” sixteen times, “dwell” fifteen times, “continue” eleven times, and “tarry” nine times. “Abide, remain, dwell, and continue” gives us a picture of how the word is used.

The Vine and the Branches

The verse “Abide in Me, and I in you” comes in the middle of a metaphor Christ was using to give us a picture of how the abiding of His Spirit takes place. Back in John 15: 1, He likens Himself to a grape vine, “the true vine.” He says that the Father is the husbandman or the vinedresser. Every vine has branches. But He says that if a branch does not bear fruit, the Father purges it or cuts it off and takes it away. He then prunes those branches that are bearing fruit so that they may bear more fruit (v. 2).

We need to pause here a moment. “Purges” the fruitless branch. “Cuts it off? Takes it away? Whoa. This is some serious sentiment here. The Father’s not fooling around. He’s all about bearing more and more fruit by pruning those of us who are supposed to bear fruit.

Then Christ the Great Teacher explains this new commandment. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in Me.” He is the Vine and we are the branches of that Vine. He is saying, Dwell in Me, and let Me dwell in you. Remain there free from false concepts. Continue in my plan and purpose. You can do this by believing Me that the Father, who is the Spirit, dwells first of all in Me. Since He is in Me, He can be in you.

Christ commands us to abide in the vine. How does a branch abide in the vine? It is an extension of the trunk of the vine. It is merely a conduit of the same sap (Spirit) that runs through the vine. Branches of the vine are where the fruit is borne. But they will only bear if they surrender to being a channel for the rising sap of the vine (v. 4).

Christ clears it up. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (verses 5-6).

How Do We Abide/Dwell/Remain/Continue in Christ and He in Us?

We abide in Christ when we remain (abide, dwell) in His plan to accomplish His purpose. When it is “no longer I that lives, but Christ that lives in me.” This will take place after our trek to the cross where we surrender to His way and spiritually die with Christ and resurrect with Christ. It is never preached, but it is the only way to the Father. Do this and then He will abide in us. But that won’t happen if we believe that there are two distinct Gods up there, for the Father is the invisible Spirit abiding in the Son of man, which He earnestly desires to be us, too.

It is by believing that the Father dwells in the Son. That’s what the Son said. “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works” (John 14: 10). Christ said that the Father Yahweh dwells in Him, and it is the Father/Spirit that is doing the miracles. You want to be a miracle worker like the early apostles? This is our ticket to enter that spiritual world that they walked in.

Then in the next verse comes another crucial New Commandment. “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves” (v. 11). This one is paramount to obey because if we cannot obey and believe that the Father/Spirit abides/dwells in the Son, then He won’t abide in us either. Not fully, so that we can bear “much fruit” like the early apostles and Christ.

But…If we do obey and believe Christ when He says that the Father abides in Himself, then look what happens. “He who believes in Me [believes His word that the Father dwells and abides in the Son], the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do…” (v. 12). The Father will dwell in us and do the same miracles that the Son of God did—if we believe Christ’s words about the Father/Son relationship.

The Abiding is when the Father, who is the Holy Spirit of Truth, comes into us and walks around in us and performs the works that He has always done.

To be continued…

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

Reviewing the Plans for Your Perfection

Our minds are finite, poorly attuned to the Infinite One’s thought. Our Father said as much. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways…” (Isa. 55: 8).

Even when a heart yearns for the truth, when new light dawns, often that heart refuses to believe. And even if the new truth is not rejected by us, it can fade in the darkness of trials and temptations. Such is the word about God’s purpose and His plan to fulfill it. We all need a review of what matters the most to our Father, according to His own thoughts.

His purpose for His creation is to reproduce Himself. You have heard it here before, but until it becomes the lyrics to the song our heart sings, we must hear it again. God is in the process of reproducing agape Love—in us. He will use the human being to do this—not an animal or vegetable or carved pillar of stone.

Because He does all things well, He has an exact plan to accomplish His purpose. He is sovereign and knows what He is doing. To fulfill His purpose, He will fill certain human beings with His Spirit, which is unselfish divine love.

They will be led by His Spirit to seek Him. First, He will place a desire in them to know the truth about our existence on this planet. They will seek for the meaning of life and will give up their old selfish life in exchange for a ticket to join this spiritual quest. Little by little, their new spiritual Father will answer their questions of Who? and What? and How? and When? and Where? and Why? He will eventually lead them into all truth and help them solve all the mysteries of God.

The Initiation

Their initiation into this new spiritual family will begin at the cross where they will willingly yield up their old sinful selfish life. And from there He may use direct revelation to unveil His plan. But most often He will reach them through His teachers of truth. For they, like the apostles and prophets, are offices of God. They are God’s gifts to His body of believers “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ”  (Eph. 4: 12). They not only teach true concepts, but also help those coming up to purge out false concepts about the Father and Son.

This relationship concerning the Father and the Son is the key ingredient of knowledge that we need to fulfill God’s purpose in the earth. He will fulfill His purpose of reproducing Himself when He fills you and me with His Spirit of agape Love.

Unlike what many Pentecostal and charismatic voices teach, this filling us up with His Spirit comes slowly and deliberately. First, His presence will only come into a clean temple. He will arrive after a proper foundation of sound teachings is laid. These teachings are called “the apostles’ doctrine.” They are the teachings that the early rain apostles had in their hearts. They were Christ’s teachings; His teachings were His doctrine. And His became theirs. [Send for my latest book The Apostles’ Doctrine. It is free with free shipping. Just send me an email requesting it by name with your mailing address in the USA. If you live overseas, I will send you a pdf. Send to wayneman5@hotmail.com ].

The Spirit Growing

Once we are fed the “milk of the word, which is Christ’s teachings, we begin to grow into inquisitive spiritually healthy children, growing day by day. “Growing” signifies that the Spirit is growing in us, whereby, if we continue through much study and prayer, we will grow up to become strong men and women of God, just like the apostles and prophets.

So, how does the Spirit grow within our hearts? Christ, the Master Teacher, gives us the answer. He has given us several commandments. The first one is the first word He spoke to the crowds. “Repent.” All must go to the cross and let our old self die with Him. And then we are raised up with Him by believing in His resurrection, now within us. Our belief in His resurrection brings our own resurrection in Him. [All of this is explained in The Apostles’ Doctrine.]

After we get this solid in our hearts, Christ gives us several “new commandments” to obey [See https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/?s=new+commandment+commandments ].  Many of these are found in the four gospels. These will trigger the growth of the Spirit in our hearts. Obeying these “new commandments” is like when you feed your garden rich compost. It jump starts the growth of the Spirit within us. And this Spirit is the Father, and is Love, and is the fulfillment of His purpose of us becoming like the early apostles and prophets and Christ Himself. He said that we would do “greater works” than the miracles that He had performed.

Finally, obeying Christ’s commandments insures His growth in us through His abiding presence in us. “For without [Him] we can do nothing.” [https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2019/10/]

{I would like to know what you think. Be sure to comment, subscribe and like.}

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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.]

“Believe Me that the Father is in Me”—Important New Commandment Leading to the Abiding

We have seen that the Father’s purpose is to multiply Himself (Love) in human beings. He is “bringing many sons unto glory.” He has a plan to accomplish this. His plan centers on His Son known as Jesus Christ to most English speakers (Hebrew name Yahshua).

Christ is the Seed/Son that through His sacrifice of the greatest love, many will receive immortality. In fact, the way to the Father is through the Son. If one rejects the Son of God, he rejects the Father because the Father is in the Son. It is how Christ did the great and mighty works; it was the Father inside of Him doing it (John 14: 9-10).

We have also seen that Christ has given His disciples, including us, New Commandments for us to keep. And it is here in John 14 that He instructs us, “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me” (v. 11). This is a commandment! A new commandment! A New Commandment with precious and powerful promises.

He says to believe Him that the Father is in Him. You won’t find this commandment in the Ten Commandments expressed like this. This commandment is new and is given to help us know the Father, the mysterious Yahweh.

The Promises after Obeying This New Commandment  

When we obey and keep this commandment to believe that the Father dwells in the Son, three great powers are promised. First, He has promised that we will do the same works and miracles that He did, and even greater works. Second, if we ask any thing in His name, He will do it.  And third, He has promised to give us the Spirit of truth who will “abide with you forever.” Christ even gives a prophecy concerning those who keep His New Commandments: The Spirit of truth “shall be in you” (John 14: 11-17).

After reading John 14, we realize that the Father Yahweh is none other than the Holy Spirit that dwelt in the Son. And Christ is simply teaching His disciples the next steps in receiving the Father’s Spirit into us. When Christ promises that He and the Father will “make our abode in” the believer, He is showing us how we are able to grow spiritually. When He abides and remains in us, much spiritual fruit will be produced in us. And that means that the Spirit of truth, the Father, will come into us literally and will remain and stay and grow in us.

All we have to do is believe and obey Christ’s New Commandments. He is the great Teacher; everybody says that He is. So now He is teaching us in John 14, 15, and 16, how to grow up to be like the Son of God. This is a key understanding of how God reproduces Himself. The key is us doing what Christ tells us to do: Believe that the Father was in the Son (among many other New Commandments).

Many of us have read these chapters in John so many times that we are coaxed into a complacency, built upon immature concepts. I am asking each of us to look into these passages with urgent and fresh eyes.

If we do this right, Christ has promised us a marvelous thing, a position with Him that every serious Christian has pondered: “He that believes on Me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14: 12). Some may think, Oh, that sounds easy enough. Just believe that the Father is in Christ, and boom, the power comes. The key point is this: Your belief in Christ is measured by your belief of His words about Himself.  And He said that the Father was in the Son.

But most have been taught that the Father and Son are two distinct personages. This is old leaven teaching. How does one get rid of it? Understanding the “Vine and Branches” metaphor shows us the way.

Christ likens our spiritual growth to the growth of a grape vine—what it goes through in order to bear much fruit. Christ likens Himself to the “true vine,” and the Father is the husbandman. We are the branches of the Vine. If we are not bearing any spiritual fruit, He will cut us off of the vine to wither without the life-giving sap, which is the Spirit. If we are bearing a little fruit, He will prune and purge us that we may bear more fruit (John 15: 1-2). This pruning and purging is when He delivers suffering into our lives. These are in the form of betrayals, heartbreaks, and hard times that prompt us to seek God in a more fervent way.

This pruning is a cleaning process. In John 15: 3, He says, “Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” Cleaned from the stain of sin first, yes. But then we must be cleansed from all old concepts about the invisible Father and the Son, who is the express image of the Father. It is Christ’s words that cleanses us “with the washing of the water by the word” (Eph. 5: 26).

His promises, when believed, are overwhelming. He commands us: “Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty [hidden] things which you know not” (Jer. 33: 3).

Believe. He commands us several times to believe. First, believe in His resurrection. Then believe that our old self is dead and that we are walking in a new life now with Him and Him in us. Next, we believe that the Father is in the Son and not sitting beside the Son. When we get this and do this, then we can be trusted to do the greater works that He promised we would do (Jn. 14: 12).

We show our love of the Savior by keeping His New Commandments. For He said, “He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves Me…If a man love Me, he will keep my words [His New Commandments], and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him” (Jn. 14: 23). This is the Abiding; this is when He grants that His Spirit remains in us!

This is so profound that it strains our credulity. This is a conditional promise made by Him who created us and loved us and saved us. He will abide in us if we believe Him—belief shown by us keeping His New Commandments. This is the abiding; this is the key to spectacular spiritual growth. Christ calls this “much fruit.” And this spiritual growth is the development of His divine nature of Agape Love within us. This fulfills His purpose of reproducing Himself in us.     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.

Steps of Knowledge to Get to Christ’s New Commandments

How can I pen mere words that will serve as a key that unlocks the vault where knowledge of the Creator’s holy things are stored? What audacity! To think that we can access the treasures of the Almighty.

And yet, our Creator has already moved on holy men of old with words—words that plainly map out directions to the vault, and instructions for the treasures of wisdom found there. They expound on God’s purpose and plan. It is already written in plain English (or your mother tongue) in the Holy Bible.

But the Bible is in riddles and much mystery. You can look right at the words, yet its true meaning eludes the reader. You can stand right over the vault and not be aware of His treasures hidden inside. For most, it remains a sealed book that collects dust on a lonely shelf. Isaiah put it beautifully: “The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed” (29: 11; Rev. 5: 1). The hubris of mankind brings spiritual blindness and confusion. Consequently, the book of truth remains sadly closed to most. But now is the time for those seals to come off the book.

So, help me, Father, to explain clearly how and why your Spirit of love grows within us to full fruit production.

First: God’s purpose in creating us is to reproduce Himself. It is not about us, per se. Life is about Him using us to reproduce Himself. That is why the earth and everything in and on it exists.

Second: “God is love” (I John 4: 8). Agape love. His purpose is to grow this divine Spirit of love to its fullest extent in human beings.

Third: He is sovereign. He is in complete control of the operation of the production of His nature of love in us. He chooses whomsoever He desires to use, to fulfill His purpose. It is all Him and for Him.

Fourth: Humans are the garden that He plants His seed of love in. It is planted in us through faith when we believe the testimony of the Father’s Seed/Son. Belief in His resurrection springs to life a new seed of love inside us. As we are touched by the love that Christ showed, we receive a new life of love that begins to grow within our hearts. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (I John 4: 10).

Fifth: This little light of love wants to grow. But it is fed nutrients that stunt its growth. Christ, His apostles, and His prophets warn us of false teachings fed by false teachers (Mt. 24: 11; Jude 1; II Peter 2: 1-22). We will know them by the fruit in their followers’ lives. If the flock is still floundering in sin, then that is bad fruit, stunted fruit.

Six: Young Christians begin bearing the fruit of love, and then the Father begins to purge or prune them so that they can bear “more fruit” (John 15: 1-2). These purging can be severe. Many are taken aback with the sufferings they go through, the worst of which are the betrayals endured. Many cannot understand why God would let “bad things” happen to them. This knowledge is crucial: God is the Giver of “good things’ in our lives; He is also the Instigator of the “bad things” that happen to us [Just think of Job]. Without this knowledge, many walk away and stop trying. Most do not know that all sufferings are a part of God’s plan for our perfection/maturity. Our perfection fulfills His purpose of reproducing full blown agape love within us.

Seven: Our perfection is the maturity of God’s divine nature with us. I.e., it is full grown agape love in us and manifested out to others. “Christ in you, the hope of glory” is His goal for those chosen for this honor: To fully house LOVE. To be just like the Son of God Himself. Nothing less. He calls this bearing “much fruit.”

Eight: To accomplish this high growth in human beings, God showed Peter that we need to add seven aspects of God’s divine nature to our faith. Hence, the title of this new book is The Additions to the Faith (II Peter 1). The first six additions lay a foundation for the seventh, which is agape love.

Nine: When we bear “much fruit,” agape love will be fully reproduced in us.

Ten: Abiding in Him, and Him in us, produces “much fruit” (John 15: 5).

Eleven: Obeying Christ’s New Commandments leads to the Abiding. Christ said, “If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love…This is my commandment, That you love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15: 10, 12).

Summary: God’s purpose is to fully manifest Himself (agape love) in us. He has a plan to accomplish this goal. To get there we must add seven aspects of His divine nature to the faith. The seventh is agape love, God’s divine nature. To add agape love, we must obey Christ’s New Commandments; this leads to the abiding. And the abiding produces much fruit. [Note: Nine through Eleven above sound so simple, yet they are so profound. It takes a quiet mind through much study to grasp their meaning.]

What are these New Commandments? Here’s two of them: “Love one another as I have loved you” and “Continue in my love” (John 15: 9, 12).     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

To be continued…

The Resurrection of the Dead–The Many Levels of the Fifth Doctrine of the Apostles

When someone first hears of the “resurrection of the dead,” they think of Christ’s resurrection. And rightfully so, for without His resurrection from the dead, our faith, our preaching, and our hope of eternal life are all vain and utterly of no profit. And like Paul said, if there is no resurrection, “…we are of all men most miserable.” However, Christ is alive; He is risen, and He is our only hope of immortality (I Cor. 15: 12-19).

And yet, Christ’s doctrine, The Resurrection of the Dead, which became the apostles’ doctrine, encompasses a vast array of miraculous pulsating life, from the smallest garden seed to the new heavens and a new earth that He has promised.

Belief in His resurrection opens the door to the light of His resurrection power. Belief in Him raising from the dead after three days and three nights in the tomb—that is the seed beginning of our yearning “to know Him and the power of His resurrection.” For His power commands light to spring out of darkness, creating a new heart in us where once the darkness of selfishness dwelt.

Back to 1971

I remember when I was twenty-four, I went through a life-changing experience, and Christ’s resurrection was at the center of it all. As a child I had heard many times the story of the Savior and how He rose from the dead. I had walked the aisle at ten, being swiftly baptized into that Baptist church. But later as a teen I left the church after my parents’ divorce. I surmised then that something was terribly amiss; there was no love and peace in Big D. In my tortured teenage angst, I figured that the message the church was teaching was not strong enough to hold my parents together, so I moved on.

Yet, everyone at the church had said that I was “born again,” but booze and cigarettes and Playboy magazines became my cheap little gods. I realized later that I had never risen with Him from the state of being dead in sin. By 1971 my old nature had grabbed the steering wheel of my life and was drunkenly crashing into everything. It was then that I first heard that my old sinful nature “is crucified with Christ.”  And that I am buried with Him, and by believing in His resurrection, I, too, am raised from the dead (in sin). I was raised to “walk in a newness of life.”

I had skin in the game this time. I was presenting my body as a “living sacrifice,” trusting in the power of His resurrection to sustain me in this new sinless walk of life. I had a great teacher who told me that “he that is dead is freed from sin…and in Him is no sin.”

Powerful truth is found in His word. But, first, someone’s got to stand on the wall and proclaim it in the face of the gainsayers. And then it must be believed. It is by faith in His resurrection that the surge of new life comes into our mortal bodies.

So, I went home and tried to think upon these things. But the first thought that came piercing into my mind like a sharp arrow was this: You don’t really believe that Christ was actually raised from the dead, do you?

This thought shattered me. My existence fell like shards of glass to the floor. I felt the terror of one who was hopelessly lost, rudderless, adrift in an empty sea of nihilism.

The next day I related all this to my mentor. He told me that the voice was Satan’s and that Satan knows that belief in the resurrection is the crux of the whole matter. If he gets you to doubt the resurrection, he wins, and you lose. I have not forgotten that day so many years ago. I was blessed; I had someone who loved me and helped me to overcome the first of Satan’s assaults.

From Personal to the Universal

The early apostles continued in the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. They had the ultimate mentor, the “Author and Finisher of our faith,” Christ. He taught them that the resurrection has many levels, from the personal level on up to the universal level. Christ’s resurrection power is shown when a humble little garden seed sacrifices its identity and yields to that invisible creative power that is God, and then life bursts from that seed. Such is the word of the Spirit; such is the Seed, the Word of God, when it springs forth in our hearts.

From the personal the “resurrection of the dead” grows into a national scope. Remember how Christ was always teaching about the “lost sheep of the House of Israel”? For forty days after His resurrection, Christ taught them “the things pertaining to the kingdom of God”?  And the foremost question on their minds was this: “Lord, will you at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” The national restoration of the lost tribes of Israel was on their minds, and they continued speaking on this theme because it was one of the main doctrines of Christ (Acts 1: 3-6). This restoration of the lost tribes of Israel is a resurrection of their nation spoken by the Spirit through the “mouth of all of His holy prophets since the world began.”

The next level of the apostles’ doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is worldwide. The earth will have gone through the Great Tribulation Period; the world system will be destroyed. The earth will have gone through a devastation that the world has never seen. The earth and its inhabitants are the walking dead by the end of this horrendous seven year period. This is when God will resurrect the whole earth through the establishment of His government and kingdom.

But there is another resurrection that takes place on a galactic scale. The Spirit speaks of a planting of the heavens. “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth…And of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end…We look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness” (Isa. 51: 16; 65: 17; Dan. 2: 44; II Pet. 3: 13). God will sow His seed, planting us with life giving power to resurrect cold dead planets, translating them into the gardens of God.

This resurrection of the universe is so grand and glorious, that my small mind struggles to taste it. It brings to mind Paul’s quote of Isaiah: “But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him. But God has revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God” (I Cor. 2: 9-10).            Kenneth Wayne Hancock