Christ’s Spiritual Meat

(from Journal, 3-6-15)

Christ was eating something to keep His spiritual strength up. He was receiving power, but it was not from earthly bread.

The disciples tried to get Him to eat. “But He said unto them, I have meat to eat that you know not of” (John 4:32-34). The only meat they knew was the kind you put into your mouth, like loaves and fishes. But He was teaching them about the spiritual meat that was sustaining Him. It was hidden from them at that time. They were blind; they were only looking after the flesh and not the spirit. It was a mystery.

But now the Spirit of truth is come, and He is in the business of revealing secrets, showing us “things to come.” He will “guide us into all truth” (John 16:13-15).

Christ goes on and explains in one simple, yet profound, sentence just what His spiritual meat is. “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and finish his work” (John 4:34). [You will notice that I have put four of these words in bold. We will explore each one; this will begin to solve the mystery of how Christ derived power and spiritual strength. He is our “example, that we should follow His steps…” Consequently, when we eat the same spiritual meat, we will derive that same sustaining power.

The children of Israel did all eat the same spiritual meat… they ate and drank “of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ” (I Cor. 10:3-4). We now are eating that “same spiritual meat,” and that Meat is Christ. What is the “spiritual meat”?

Meat

“Meat” is from a Greek word meaning “food.” So, Christ is saying, “My food is to do the will of him that sent me and finish his work.” Christ had a spiritual food that sustained and nourished Him. We are members of His body; we need this same spiritual sustenance that He had. He said that we would do “greater works” than what He had done. Since this is true, then we need the same food that strengthened Him.

The Son of God gives us the food that “endures unto everlasting life.” (John 6: 27). Since we are sent to spiritually do the same works as Christ, which is what he promised that we would do, then we must spiritually eat the same food that Christ eats. If we want to receive spiritual power and strength, then we must eat the same spiritual food.

Christ is saying, Doing the will of the Father that sent Me is the spiritual food that gives Me strength and power to fulfill the tasks that the Father has for Me. Now, we, as members of Christ’s spiritual body, join our Head Christ in doing the same thing: Doing the Father’s will and finishing His work. This will be our spiritual food.

But questions arise: Just what exactly is the Father’s will that we are to do? And what is His work that we are to finish? More on this next time. kwh

[What do you think the Father’s will is? Leave your thoughts in a comment. Hit that “like” button if we have helped you. Subscribe and share. Thank you.]  

God’s Will Is His Desire for Unity

This is God’s will: His desire is that all of His sons and daughters come to the “unity of the faith” (Eph. 4:13). He does not want a church house filled with a “unity” drenched in error. He desires His sheep to have the same mind of Christ, to have His purpose. When we all come to that stage of spiritual growth, we will have the unity that is His will.

But right now, as the world burns, there is no unity of the faith in Christian circles. It is because there are many faiths, many concepts of who Christ is and what He wants us to do. Every denomination shares their faith, not His faith. The problem is that there are 2,200 faiths, one for each of them. Moreover, millions in the pews do not even agree with their church on doctrine. All this spreads even more disunity.

It is God’s will that Christ’s body, the church, be in unity. It is His desire. Man’s wisdom has the laity judging other churches and giving up on them for not believing like they do. They separate from those of different persuasions instead of trying to come to unity. The secret to this problem is that it takes the humbling presence of the true Spirit of Christ for us to come to the unity of His faith.

Unity in Christ

Unity in Christ is the goal for the offices of God. There are five, and their names sound very familiar—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. But the five offices that Paul speaks of are not found in almost all the church houses. The Father has given these five offices to the body of Christ for three specific tasks: “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith…unto a perfect man [spiritually mature Christian like Paul himself]…unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11). Or, until we become like Christ! The false offices will reject the Spirit’s words through the apostle Paul and try to refute His will, His desire!

The five offices are to help the church come to full maturity. That ministry is Christ gathering “together in one [unity] all things in Christ (Eph. 1:10). These five offices are also for the building up of the members of the body of Christ.

We are to endeavor “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3). This “unity of the Spirit” is shown in the seven unities that make up the unity of the Spirit. There is “one body.” And that is the spiritual body of Christ. This is not the many bodies of Christ found in man’s organizations. Also, there is “one Spirit.” “God is a Spirit.” Only one. One hope of our calling. “One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4:3-6).

The above is a description of one of the Father’s main desires. It is a great part of his will. God has made known the “mystery of his will according to His purpose” (Eph. 1:9-10). The eternal purpose of God is to bring all things into the unity of Christ. This Oneness is not something that our Father forces on people. He does not coerce anyone to first repent from sin, faults, and shortcomings.

The mystery is that we received from Him this destiny before our debut here on earth (Eph.1:5). This was “according to the good pleasure of his will.” This is all accomplished in the beginning, in the record, the testimony of “the book of life.” In God’s thinking, His desire, His will, has already taken place. He with great patience waits on us to walk in His will, which is His desire. We must make our desires His desires. This is walking in His will.       Kenneth Wayne Hancock

The Battle in the Mind–The Weapons of Our Warfare Are Not Carnal [Conversations With the Seer]

(Formerly in Israel, if a man went to inquire of God, he would say, “Come, let us go to the seer,” because the prophet of today used to be called a Seer.  I Samuel 9: 9)

I didn’t have to say anything.  I’m sure that my countenance said it all.   The Seer once told me that my face telegraphed quite clearly what was in my heart.  And yet he asked, “What is troubling you?”

I said, “I’m not sure.  I think some doubts are creeping in about God and things.”

“Doubtful thoughts are a formidable weapon that our enemy uses.  They are like mortars hurled at us during those long blackouts that we must endure.”

“It is worse at night.”

“Yes, under the cover of darkness, the doubtful thoughts charge onto the battlefield of our mind.  And the battle insufferably rages on.  Two opposing armies of thought are clashing.  Each is establishing a beachhead in our mind.  Both are digging in for the long haul.  Both are vying for the spoils of our souls.  They do it, first, by controlling our thoughts.  And then our thoughts grow wings and fly past our lips as utterances.  And finally, our words materialize into actions that either justify us or condemn us [1] .  You must know that there is a battle raging.  Make no mistake about it,” the Seer said.

“It’s good to know about the particulars of a war.  When I was in Vietnam, I asked many fellow soldiers and officers, ‘Why are we here?’  And, you know, not one of them could tell me why we were killing and being killed in that hot, muggy hellhole.  Not one.”

“Of course, that is a different kind of battle.  This battle in your mind that I speak of, however, is over our very existence, both present and future.  The outcome of our own personal battle will answer one of two questions.  Will we finally realize that we are created by God, who has a definite will and purpose guiding every human being, which culminates in our surrender to Him?  Or, will we remain adamant, ruled by a secular humanistic delusion, and persist in pretending that we are our own god, serving our own selves, and thereby forgetting the ‘Rock from whence we are hewn’?”

“No wonder I feel torn up inside.  Thoughts and doubts are whirling and churning inside of me.”  I heard a rooster crow and looked out the window at the golden red mist of light in the east.  I hadn’t slept all night and had waited until his lights had come on to come over and get some help.

The Seer continued.  “Yes.  A war is being fought inside of you.  It is the War of the Wills.  God’s will is fighting your own will.  And your own will for your life is being fed and reinforced by the enemy of God.  The “prince and power of the air” [2] supports your determination to hang on to your own purpose for your life.  And our old man’s purpose looks at everything through this prism–what’s in it for me?  You see, God’s thoughts for His creation is opposed to man’s thoughts about himself and his purpose on earth.”

“What are man’s thoughts about himself?”

“In general, the prevailing wind blowing in the politically correct arena is that we are just animals with higher intelligence, that there really is no personal Creator who has a will and purpose for us.  God’s thoughts toward us are that mankind is a special creation, formed and shaped in every way by the Creator for a highly specialized purpose: to be the dwelling place, the temple for God to reside in.  He grants to some eternal life, so that they can house the Eternal One.”

“How does this tie in with the battle?”

“This great destiny of eternal life will be given to those who win the battle staged in the theater of our minds.  For the Creator does not just go, Poof!, and we all are miraculously transposed into gentle, smiling, sweet little humanoid robots who go about saying, ‘Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!’  Oh, no.”

“How does He do it then?”

“First, God has given us everything needed for victory–weapons, armor, food.  Yet He has allowed a sly and cunning spiritual enemy to be able to speak to us anonymously by injecting thoughts right into our own brains. It is so deceptive that humans think that these thoughts are coming out of the ether of their own minds.  Because, after all, they reason, I don’t believe in a world of spirits, where a diabolical spirit would do that to me!  And, anyway, if a God of love existed, He would not put those He loved through all this mental anguish and suffering.”

The Seer stopped to emphasize the point.  “That right there.  That thought is an example of the ‘cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive’ [3].  And yet, there is a great paradox at work in this battle.  In the world of man’s wisdom, when you surrender, you lose.  But in this battle, when we surrender to God and His plan, we win!  And through our victory, we realize that when we surrender to Him and His will and purpose for us, then we enlist in His army and begin to march forward helping others in the battle they are fighting for their very souls.”

The truth is that, although of course we lead normal human lives, the battle we are fighting is on the spiritual level.  The very weapons we use are not those of human warfare but powerful in God’s warfare for the destruction of the enemy’s strongholds.  Our battle is to bring down every deceptive fantasy and every imposing defense that men erect against the true knowledge of God.  We even fight to capture every thought until it acknowledges the authority of Christ [4].           Kenneth Wayne Hancock

1. Matthew 12: 37
2. Ephesians 2: 2
3. Eph. 4: 14
4. II Corinthians 10: 4, Phillips

The Will of God–His Wish, His Desire

     God’s will is His wish, His desire.  And whatever the Creator wants done in His universe, that is exactly what will come to pass.  And we, His royal offspring, should make it our life’s goal to find out what the King’s will is and do it. 

     But it’s a great mystery finding out exactly what God’s will is.  The word, “will,” is an overused word that has as many meanings as there are denominations.  His wish, His desire, His will is like a mighty invisible river that flows from His heart throughout the earth.  He is the cause of all things; His desire causes His vision for His universe to come to pass.  Nothing can stop His will from being done.  Nothing can stop Him from accomplishing what He has set out to do.  The King will make his wishes reality.

     As his royal offspring, we need to study His immutable word to find out just what His will is.  For if we have a purpose or desire or wish in this life on earth that is not His desire or wish or will, then we will feel thwarted and blocked.  Nothing will work out.  Futility will haunt our endeavors.  All the pleasures of this world will seem “cold, stale and unprofitable.”  It will be “all is vanity and  vexation of spirit” if we are out of His will.  It will be as if we are paddling a canoe upstream.  We thrash about in life, working so hard at what we believe is the best direction to take, and yet we are working against the current.  And that current is His will/desire/wish.

     So, what exactly is God’s will–not just for our lives, but for this life here on earth?  God desires to reproduce Himself.  So much so that in the end, “Christ is all in all,” according to the apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians.  In fact, all his letters ring out this truth:

“It’s no longer I that lives, but Christ that lives in me…”

“Christ in you, the hope of glory…”

“Bringing many sons (and daughters) unto glory…”

“That you might be filled with all the fulness of God…”

“Perfecting of the saints…”  And many other passages too numerous to mention in this article.

     God’s will is to magnify Himself, to multiply Himself into a spiritual body of many sons and daughters.  Everyone and everything is either flowing with the stream of God’s wish and desire or they are struggling in vain against it.   (More later)                                           Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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