True Freedom–The Redemption of Our Bodies

As I stare into the mirror, I see objectively—sans ego—a weathered face that has endured seventy-five summers and winters. I see a body that is betraying the Ghost that moves this pen. Each day, each hour, each minute, time seems to abrade my exterior with debilitating constancy.

The apostle warns us of this betrayal, this inevitable breakdown of the earthly body. Paul calls it a “bondage of corruption.” Not an ethical corruption of the spirit for us the elect, but an enslavement to a deteriorating earthen house. At present, it is as if we are existing in an adobe house that is melting down, back into the elemental clay.

Our bodies are betraying us. Not by accident, “but by reason of Him who has subjected the same [us, the creation] in hope.” God has ordained a certain amount of suffering for all of us to go through. Solomon wrote about it in Ecclesiastes. Living on earth is like chasing the wind. “All is vanity.” Every earthbound endeavor is unprofitable in the end because of one thing–death.

But God has subjected us to the sufferings of living on this planet in hope. Yes, hope. God’s great hope is that because of our sufferings of just being humans on earth, we will seek Him and find Him. And we will eventually “be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8: 21).

The key word is “glorious.” We are attaining that state of glory that overcomes the betrayal of our earthly bodies and brings us to the liberty and freedom from having to die—released from death! We are talking about the defeat of death. For “the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (I Cor. 15: 26).

Nevertheless, as I stare into this mirror I am literally groaning in pain, as is the whole creation. We are all suffering—if not physically, then emotionally and spiritually. What we all must realize, however, is that as we are groaning, we are “waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Rom. 8: 23).

Redemption—not just of our soul and spirit, but our body, soul and spirit. This is the redemption that translates us from mortality to immortality. Our great Creator, Savior, and King has bought us out of the slavery to sin and its inevitable fruit, death. He has prepared for us a spiritual body, impervious to the ravages of time and the elements. He has granted us a body that sustains life forever and ever—an everlasting life in a never dying spiritual body.

It is a new spiritual body that we cannot see with our eyes right now. If we only look at the surface of things here on earth, we will miss it. Ironically, we are not to look “at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” like our new body. Our father of the faith Abraham looked for an  invisible city “whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:10).

That is why we are admonished, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3: 2). Above—think on things above. The Father is above (Eph. 4: 6). And much is said of our heavenly Father. Our Father, according to His own purpose, has called and chosen us because He foreknew us long before we came into these deteriorating earthen vessels. He knew us in our spiritual bodies. “He also did predestinate us to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8: 28-30). He gave us a destiny in Him before we came to the earth.

The apostle Paul says that we have an immortal spiritual body reserved in heaven that will at the “last trump” replace the old earthly body (II Cor. 5: 1-4). We have a great spiritual Father, who has promised us so much, but a question still arises: Who is our spiritual mother? Every son and daughter of God has a mother, “the mother of us all.”

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

wayneman5@hotmail.com

It’s All About the Fruit

God’s greatest desire is for us to spiritually grow to be able to bear “much fruit.” Christ calls this “the perfecting of the saints.” This is the work of His five offices (Eph. 4:14). He calls this bearing 100 fold fruit, as in the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13. He calls the three states of growth other things: Children, young men, and fathers…fruit, more fruit, and much fruit… faith, hope and agape love…30, 60, and 100 fold fruit bearing (I John 2:13-14; John 15; I Cor. 13).

Christ has mapped out the way for us to get to these growths. You can find much more information on this in my books (free with free shipping…see end of this article).

The fruit God is talking about is not the number of souls you and I win to Christ. That is important, but at this stage, He is concerned with the spiritual fruit production that is happening in you and me, His elect. The fruit is about the growth of the Spirit of God within us.

The Timetable

God has a timetable for each of us, and He’s right on time. It is you and I that must seek His timetable for the events during “the time of the end.” And the nearest to God’s heart of all of the astounding happenings during this time is the nurture and growth of His sons and daughters. God is right on time to bring to pass His purpose.

And His purpose is to reproduce love, which is Himself. I will keep on sharing His purpose with you. It is the key revelation that opens up everything else in His “book of life.” It all starts there, and he’s using us. We must, at the beginning, receive His seed (the Word) and help it grow through our prayer and study. Because to Him, it’s all about the fruit. He loves us, yes, but He both coaxes and spurs us on to come to full fruit production—in other words, to be like Him.

Christ is sending disciples once again in our era to help make this happen. He uses and sets in his body apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. These are for the perfecting or the maturing of the saints. God’s offices are His gift to mankind. He gives gifts to men; the first one is the word of wisdom. The second one is the word of knowledge. Little spiritual children of God in Christ make the mistake of wanting to go out and heal all manner of sickness and work miracles without first learning the apostles’ doctrine. The early church continued in Christ’s teachings, and they became theirs. Reading the book of the Acts of the Apostles shows us the much fruit that they bore.

Many say that they want what they had. They walked in the knowledge of the apostles’ doctrine, and then they performed great works. They were right on time. Many well-meaning Christians do not realize that their timing is off. There is much to learn before our time to do wonders. It is like the best high school pitcher in the country believing that he can pitch at the Major League level right away. Not going to happen.

So, all of us must know His word. Really know it. And to do that one needs a teacher sent to explain His plan and purpose. Christ has already sent His offices out there to share the deeper things with His body. That’s His directive in His timeing for you and me (Eph. 4:11-15).

God puts special emphasis on the importance of learning the basics. It is the solid rock foundation. We cannot bask and sit still in the belief that we are a child of God and expect God to mystically help us grow. The child of God cannot keep circling the same old mountain of experiences used by God to call us out of the world many years ago. “Many are called, but few are chosen.

We are told to “make our calling and election sure.” The information in these articles and books will help us do that. Yesterday’s beautiful experiences will not give enough nourishment to us for the journey to the Promised Land that bears 100 fold “much fruit.” And it is all about the spiritual fruit. God has given us clues all the way through the scriptures concerning the growth cycle in nature as a type of the growth cycle of the Spirit within us.

What We Must Do to Bear Much Fruit

We must acquire the passion for his plan in order to grow to the 60 fold level, which is “more fruit.” There are many things to accomplish in preparation for that time when Christ will invite us to come up and sit with Him on his throne (the 100 fold fruit).

We need to “humble ourselves under his mighty hand,” for God “gives grace to the humble.” This grace, this unmerited favor, comes to us from Him in the form of new commandments. One is “Search the scriptures.” Another is “Study to show yourself approved unto God.” But if one does not obey them, the sap, the Spirit of truth, will cease to flow through that individual, and they will wither into a dry twig (John 15:6).

But those who do study God’s desires, his thoughts, his mind, his plan and purpose, will have obeyed his commandments. And those who obey his commandments prove to him several things. First, they will show that we love Christ. “If you love Me, keep my commandments” (John 14: 15). He is saying, If you love me, then you will study my words and My plan. Second, to him who keeps his commandments, Christ will love him. He does this by the Spirit of truth taking up residence in our hearts. He promises this: Christ’s Spirit will abide in him when he keeps the new commandments. “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” (John 14: 21). Finally, he promises us that if we use the measure of his Spirit within us to keep his new commandments, then he will abide in us (John 14: 23).

The abiding is when the Holy Spirit of truth remains and stays in us. He is anchored in our hearts in this growth. The Spirit shepherds us, guides us, and comforts us on the down days, and He laughs with us on the days of overcoming.

And when the Comforter, the Holy Spirit of truth, comes and makes his abode in us, then “He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you,” Christ said. (John 14: 26). Until that time, we must “occupy till He comes.” This takes patience and endurance.      Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Some Have a Royal Destiny in Christ’s Kingdom

God loves all of us His children. All of us are precious in His sight. The Spirit operates in some degree in all of us. But there are “differences of administrations.”
There are “diversities of operations” but the same Spirit “working through all of [us]” (I Cor. 12: 4-13). Responsibilities differ for each member of His body.

Some may pastor small congregations, and others may teach at church. And some write articles and letters of edification and instruction to many throughout the world. Such was Paul’s calling.

The point is that we are His one body, and we all have our place in His body. And we are all being “transformed by the renewing of [our] mind” as we serve him in the capacity that He has called us.

We all have our gift from Him to the other members of His body, the church. How and why are there differences? Each differs “according to the grace that is given to us” (Rom. 12: 6). “Grace” is God favoring us in some way.

God shines His grace, His favor, on individuals in His body in different amounts and at different times in their lives. Some will have a problem with this, so let me explain.

Two Parables Reveal Wonderful Secrets

Consider the parable of the talents: “For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey” (Matt. 25: 14-29).

Parables reveal secrets about God’s literal kingdom soon to come to this earth. Christ is in the “far country.” And He gave talents to His followers. The amounts differed according to their ability.” Some could handle more responsibility than others. The one with five gained five more. The one with a lesser amount of two did gain two more. And the Lord praised both of them and rewarded them with rulership over many things.  But the servant with only one talent was afraid and had no faith in his master, and he was banished and shamed for his error.

The one with two talents did not complain, but with a good heart did his best out of love for his Lord. As did the one with five. The fact remains here that grace/favor was given in different amounts according to the particular abilities of each servant.

We should tie this in with the different spiritual fruit production rates as seen in “The Parable of the Sower” (Matt. 13: 3-9). Christ reveals a secret when He tells us in this parable that some Christians will bring forth thirty fold fruit, some sixty fold, and some will bear one hundred fold fruit.

We see in these two parables that in His kingdom, He gives grace in different amounts, and this grace yields different amounts of spiritual fruit production.

Some Will Become Like Peter, James, John, and Paul in Our Day

Here it is. Some members of Christ’s body are predestined to be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8: 29-33). Some will be the first to be glorified and transformed into an immortal state. Some will bear this 100 fold fruit and be like the Son of God. In fact, Christ will be formed fully in them. This is God’s choosing. We cannot work to be awarded this honor. These are His chosen ones for this honor. These are His first fruits, and they will overcome all things and will sit with Him on His throne (Rev. 3: 21).

Not all Christians are chosen for this. Some will spiritually mature later. They have their part to play that is very important. It’s like this. At Boeing Corporation, engineers design a new jet airliner. Machinists actualize their blueprints into real parts, and workers put the parts together to make the plane.  And the executives procure the financing, personnel, and materials to make the big picture happen. Everyone is important and indispensable in the process. All are needed to fulfill the plan and purpose.

And we all in the body of Christ are needed to fulfill God’s plan and purpose. We have His Spirit operating in us according to His grace and direction.

A Greater Need We Share

Look, we all need each other. But there is a greater need that we all share. It is to know in detail God’s Master Plan as seen in the scriptures of truth. God’s plan is not born from the imaginations of TV evangelists or their clones on every corner.

If God reveals to us that He is bringing some in the body to sit with Him on His throne and to rule and reign with Him for 1,000 years–should we not all hunger and thirst for more knowledge about their rise in these last days before the King’s return?

Should we not all aspire to become one of those who will reign with Christ? Should we not at least help them fulfill their calling–at least be supportive by first studying and praying for their arrival on the world’s stage?

For the whole creation is waiting “for the manifestation of the sons of God” (Rom. 8: 19). Should not all of us then have that same “earnest expectation” of this glorious event?

God’s elect are the ones God has chosen to be the first to completely come to maturity in God’s spiritual life cycle. They are destined to come to full fruition in these latter days. Their arrival on the scene is a surprise event that the world will not be ready for.

The question is–will we be ready? Will we embrace this light and help and edify them in their calling and election. If we do, then we will have passed the “selflessness test.” We will have proven that it is all for God and His plan. For we should all seek first His kingdom, which includes the King and kings who will be the “rulers over many cities” that He speaks about in the parables. We should all seek His will concerning this. And we should embrace His plan and purpose–even if we are not to be one of those who will bear 100 fold fruit. We should want to help them get there. In this we will show our love for God.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

The Lord’s Supper: Empty Ritual or Metaphor for Christ’s Spiritual Body?

     Denominations have come up with a lot of hocus-pocus, mumbo jumbo, and smoke and mirrors in trying to “do the right thing” when it comes to the Lord’s Supper and Holy Communion.  The bread and wine/grape juice are consumed by church goers who cannot comprehend what is really going on in the ritual.  I say this not disparagingly of the flock or the pastors who care for them.  The problem stems from early church teachers who looked at this “after the flesh” and not “after the Spirit.”

     Christ instituted this breaking of bread and having a bit of wine or grape juice amongst His followers as a way to remember Him and what He did for us.  But the key to understanding this is to know that the “bread” and the “wine” are metaphors.  Metaphors compare one thing to something else without using “like” or “as.”

     When Christ takes the bread and says, “Take, eat; this is my body” (Matt. 26:26), He is saying that the bread they are sharing is like His body.  But not His physical fleshy body that would soon go to cross.  He’s talking about His spiritual body–us, the church!  All the members of His spiritual body, the true church, is likened to unleavened bread.  And His spiritual body, is “the fulness of Him that fills all in all” (Ephesians 1-23).

     There is no leaven in His true body of believers; it is humble and not puffed up.  It is the “unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”  Beware, Christ warned, “of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1).  His bread, His spiritual body, will not have any hypocrites or false doctrines in it because they will have the Spirit of God abiding within.  And just like the unleavened bread comes out of one lump or piece, we, being many, are one spiritual body.  “For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of the one bread” (I Cor. 10:17).  

     But as long as a person is looking after the flesh through a carnal mind and not looking at this memorial “after the Spirit,” confusion reigns.

     And Christ took a cup of wine and gave thanks and gave it to them and said, “Drink all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”  The wine is not His blood; it is like His shed blood.  He is saying, All of you in my spiritual body have been washed in my blood.  Your sins have been totally forgiven.  You are clean now and able to walk in “a  newness of life,”  where “all things are become new.”   You are changed and are now walking in accordance with My Spirit which dwells in you now.  And I am setting up this memorial supper that when you get together and break bread and have a bit of wine or grape juice, remember these things.  Remember that you all are my temple and body.  Remember that my blood cleansed all of you equally, so you are equal.  Remember Me.

     And then He looks to the future: “But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”  He’s saying, when I come back, we’ll all sit down and drink a cup and toast to the destruction of the evil world system and rejoice together that the My Government is now with men, right here on earth.  

     And the “bread” is us, His spiritual body, the sons and daughters of God.  And the “wine” represents His blood that cleansed us all and put us on His kingdom road.                          Kenneth Wayne Hancock