FUNDAMENTALS
OF DISCIPLESHIP
1
Corinthians 2:12 Now we
have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of Elohim; that
we might know the things that are freely given to us of Elohim.
13 Which
things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which
the Holy Spirit teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of Elohim; for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned.
Last
week’s post ended with this comment:
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1. Many
Christians’ theology contains the belief, “Once saved, always saved.” Because this is a foundational building block
(despite the absence of any scripture that states this plainly), the four
separate passages of Scripture in the New Testament that state that the benefit
of our belief in Messiah is conditional, are either ignored or twisted into
irrelevance. It also ignores Paul’s
injunction for us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith; that we
can become shipwrecked in our faith; and that we can fall from the grace of
Elohim. Paul never taught that there is
a “magic prayer,” that when once prayed, the supplicant is eternally secured despite
all else that takes place in his heart and life.
2. Some
denominations’ theology states that we are saved by our faith alone; or as
Martin Luther coined it, “sole fide” (only faith).
Consequently, the passage in Mark 16 that says “he that believes and is
baptized shall be saved,” is either ignored, or treated as I have heard it
said. “He that believes and is baptized
shall be saved; and he that believes and chews gum shall be saved; because believing
is the important part of that equation.”
It also ignores the statement by Paul in Ephesians 2 that we are saved
by grace through faith. Paul does not say that we are saved by faith.
3. Another denomination's theology says that we receive the Holy Spirit when we are baptized
in water. In the book of Acts, there are
five separate illustrations of people receiving the Holy Spirit. Not one actually demonstrates people receiving
the Holy Spirit at the instance of their water baptism; after being water
baptized, yes, there are a couple of examples; but not as a consequence of
their baptism.
4. Catholics
believe that Mary, the mother of Yahushua, was forever a virgin. She is referred to as “the Blessed Virgin,”
and yet the Scripture clearly identifies several other children to whom she
gave birth, not the least notable of whom was James (Yaqob), the first
pastor of the church of Jerusalem, and the author of the book of James in the
New Testament.
5. In recent
years, there has been a push by some to get Christians to “keep Torah” (the Law
of Moses). Nearly 1/3 of all of Paul’s epistles deal with our death
to the Torah, and our deliverance and freedom from the Torah; and yet many have
fallen for this teaching, and have placed it within their framework of building
blocks…their theology. They can no
longer see the clear teaching of the New Testament; and especially of
Paul. In fact, some have fabricated a
reason not to read or trust in the reliability of the Pauline epistles; which
is a clever way of not having to subject one’s theology to contradicting
Scripture.
Learning doctrine is not an evil thing. Paul tells us that the Scripture is
profitable for learning doctrine (2 Tim 3:16); but doctrine, the individual
teachings of Scripture that we believe, can form building blocks that erect a
wall between the heart of man and the spirit of man. This wall frees us from our discipleship to
Messiah. By building this wall, we subconsciously
deceive ourselves that we have become sufficiently like the Master that we no
longer need to hear his voice or to follow/obey the will of His Father. When we believe we possess a foundational
truth, we do not revisit that truth. It
becomes a standard by which all future teachings are measured. If a new
teaching conflicts with that foundational belief, it is tossed out
unconsidered. It becomes our shield and
defense against error. It does not
matter if the voice speaking the new idea is coming from without, from another
person, or from within, from the Spirit of IAUE.
What we learn, today, must not become solidified
like concrete within us. We must be able to hear the Spirit tell us tomorrow,
or even two hours later, something that would appear to be conflicting with the
teaching we have just embraced.
1
Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Yahushua
Messiah.
Here is the problem with theology. It creates a false foundation. Our foundation is not supposed to be a
network of teachings we believe. It is
supposed to be the person of Yahushua Messiah.
No other foundation suffices for a disciple. Theology only makes gods of ourselves, giving
us the ability to control what we hear and obey; and to judge others who
believe differently from us. It gives us the personal power to reject the Truth
revealed to others when it is unpalatable or unsatisfactory to us. If Messiah
is our foundation, we are no longer in control of the building. We are no longer in control of our lives.
1
Corinthians 2:12 Now we
have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of Elohim; that
we might know the things that are freely given to us of Elohim.
IAUE is not stingy with the revelation of His
Truth. He reveals Truth freely to our
spirit; and he has equipped the disciple to be able to apprehend and comprehend
those things. He does not, however, guarantee that we will be able to
understand the revelations He desires to give to us. We must participate in the process.
1
Corinthians 2:14 But the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of Elohim; for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Spiritual truths and realities are not understood by
the "natural man." The natural man understands only that which
comes to him through his five physical senses. (Think of the age old battle
between science and faith. The natural
man believes only what he can prove with his senses. The spiritual man can believe anything that
is revealed to him by the Spirit.) The natural man is incapable of
comprehending the things that come to him from the sixth sense of the heart. (Do
not think that the natural man to which Paul refers is the unbeliever. He is referring to the person who is ruled by
his natural senses; who is not guarding his heart with all diligence because he
realizes that through the heart flow the issues of life.) The natural man is
capable only of an academic understanding of Scripture…the same kind of
understanding any man would have by reading and studying a subject. Whatever IAUE deposits into man’s spirit is deemed
unreliable and untrustworthy to the natural man because it cannot be documented
with or defined by the empirical data collected by his physical senses.
The natural man is satisfied with the academic understanding
of Truth, with the “marketing,” the commercial, if you will, of the Truth (for
more on this concept, see WBS03 – The Fear of IAUE). The natural man is incapable of actually
purchasing the product of the Truth. The
revelation of the Truth must go through a process to be understood by the mind;
and it requires a heart that has not been hardened by theology.
“they are spiritually discerned.”
By now in our study of a kingdom heart, we have
learned the basics of that process by which we become aware of the world of the
spirit. Within our own "born-again" spirit, the illumination
that IAUE invests into our spirit is "sensed" and received by our conscience. This is the function of the
conscience. It operates much like a motion detector. It lights up when it becomes aware of new
activity within the spirit of man. The conscience then takes what it has
received and translates it into a usable format then submits it through the
heart to the understanding.
There
is no guarantee that what the conscience communicates ever makes it to our
understanding. That depends largely on
what we have as a foundation to our discipleship. If we have theology as our foundation, then
our heart will judge and condemn anything the conscience attempts to
communicate from the spirit that is contradictory or not sympathetic to our
doctrinal building blocks.
This
interference robs us of the revelation of truth; because until it is received
and comprehended by the mind, it is useless to our lives. That revelation having been freely given to
us by the Father remains locked in our spirit.
If, however, Yahushua Messiah is our foundation, that revelation of
Truth will reach the understanding and will illuminate our mind; and will bring
a fresh understanding and appreciation of the person of Yahushua. All revelation ultimately enhances our knowledge,
understanding and fellowship with Messiah; and brings a greater understanding
of how we are to relate to each other as fellow disciples.
Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance
of the will of IAUE.
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