Romans (47) Have You Activated God's Spirit?

[Rebbe]

PAUL'S LETTER TO THE ROMAN CHRISTIANS (47)
Analytical Commentary on Romans

 THE FIRSTFRUIT LIFE OF TRANSFORMATION (5)

HAVE YOU ACTIVATED THE SPIRIT?

Paul's letter to the Roman Christians: Lecture 47
http://www.bripodcasts.com/Romans/Lecture47.MP3

Copyright © BRI/IMCF 2018 All Rights Reserved Worldwide by Les Aron Gosling,
Messianic Lecturer (BRI/IMCF)

CAUTION: BRI Yeshiva notes are not available to the general public. They are not for distribution. They are not for reproduction. The notes may also bear little or no resemblance to the actual audio or video recorded BRI Yeshiva lecture.

Wait without thought, for you are not yet ready for
thought:
So the darkness shall be light, and the stillness the
dancing
                                (Alan Watts)

"The one secret, the greatest of all, is the doctrine of the Incarnation, regarded not as an historical event which occurred two thousand years ago, but as an event which is renewed in the body of every one who is in the way to the fulfillment of his original destiny" (Coventry Patmore, The Rod, the Root and the Flower, 1895)

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever" (Mahatma Gandhi)

"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much" (Oscar Wilde)

WE the Firstfruits are PERSONALLY inhabited by an indwelling Christ (the Messiah), by Almighty God HimHer Self. We who are weak are actually STRONG. We who are carnal are actually SPIRITUAL. We who think ourselves intellectually inferior to others, are actually metaphysically SUPERIOR. But we are unwise, in Paul's opinion (and in my own also), when we seek to compare ourselves to those of the world system (let alone comparing ourselves with each other in the ekklesia)!
 
In our last lecture we all beheld a sweeping vision of the Presence, Power and Provision of the Ruach HaKodesh -- the Spirit of Holiness. Each of the undeserving Firstfruits of our God, the FatherMother Anochi, possesses this GREAT gift of the Spirit of God. But what are we doing about it? What are we accomplishing with it? Are we being used by the Spirit and perhaps even more importantly are we using and appropriating that same awesome Presence in our daily life? The world is entirely blind to the Presence of God's Spirit.

Paul noted, "But even if our Gospel [good news] is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them" (2 Cor 4.3,4).

What is this that Paul has written?

It is God's plan to keep BILLIONS of humankind in gross ignorance as to the real PURPOSE in LIFE. They are, and they remain, IN THE DARK.

If we possess the holy Spirit, and It possesses us, then the POWER that wrought great attainments in Christ is also working in us unless we are ignorantly stifling it as our source of daily provision (1 Thes 5.19).

Our Lord Yeshua encouraged his disciples with the assurance: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Her unto you... When the Spirit of truth [right knowledge] comes, She will guide you into all the truth; for She will not speak on Her own, but will speak whatever She hears, and She will declare to you the things that are to come" (Jn 16.7,13).

The contents of the last lecture surprised some people, and I am about to surprise students again in this present lecture. Listen! Listen carefully! "The word "comforter" as originally used never had the meaning it carries in today's world. In fact, as late as the 17th century a schoolmaster or principal who comforted his boys did so with a cane, and when as a young lad in school I received (on a variety of rare occasions) six of the best I can assure everyone following along in this expository work that such comfort was damn hard to bear without retaliation of some kind. And so the holy Spirit, as the Paraclete or Comforter is a rousing force, the one who puts fire in the soul" (Alan Watts, Behold the Spirit, 1947, 1971, 60).

The holy Spirit as FIRE in the soul? Yes, absolutely! Our God is a consuming fire (Deut 4.24; Heb 12.29). God makes his ministers flames of fire (Ps 104.4; Heb 1.7).  Without being on fire within our spirit (or, soul) we can never attract people through evangelism to the Gospel the wonderful Gospel of Grace. How awesome is THIS Gospel of God? Have we ever felt that fire ignite within us? Have we never experienced the POWER of the Divine Deity that has intruded into our awareness, our experience of the darkness as LIGHT, and the immense stillness as dancing... in our inner quickening? If not then we are barren of the Spirit of God. We need to get on our knees and indulge in self-emptying until God responds to our agonised beseeching to fill us to the FULL with all the intensity of this powerful FEMININE WONDER.

A CHRISTIAN MYTH
There is a current Christian myth that is in actual fact, once adopted, GUARANTEED TO DESTROY YOU spiritually. The myth attempts to explain that we walk in the Spirit by never using or asserting the holy Spirit but rather the holy Spirit will exercise its will automatically within us. But, students, this is true only to a point or to a degree. Paul has written, "PUT ON the whole armour of God, so that when the day of evil battle comes and you have done everything you can do, you will STAND FIRM" (Eph 6.13).

There is a definite emphasis in Ephesians 6 on what WE must DO. Notice Paul's emphasis.

YOU have to wear the armour.

YOU have to use the armour.

YOU have to fight.

YOU have to be strong.

YOU have to stand.

It is a warfare YOU must wage.

YOU have been conscripted to service.

YOU have no choice in the matter.

There is no surrender of our will in this text our will must already BE ONE with God's will. The holy Spirit will not put the armour of God onto you for that is something YOU must do in your overcoming walk with the Lord. Surrendering your pure intention and simply hanging loose waiting for the Spirit to do it all (in our pursuit of the development of righteous, holy character which necessarily involves the exercise of our will and volition) will finally lead to only one result -- the termination of your spiritual walk. You will have made your life an entire waste of time and effort. [In your spare time please access as much as you are able, the early Discipleship lectures on the IMCF Forum. They are most imperative to encourage us in our walk of sanctification.]

Well over a century ago Satan insidiously introduced a diabolic teaching expressing to us that it is not necessary to now carry about with us all of that armour of God mentioned in Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. In fact, this doctrine is very similar to another one which he first introduced in Gan Eden and which toppled our first parents. And this doctrine is today taught with some enthusiasm in certain circles as absolute dogma. Further, it is a highly popular teaching and many volumes have been written about it endorsing it thoroughly. And it has subverted many sincere people in God's Community of Saints.

You have all heard of it, I'm sure. And, at first it seems harmless enough. Indeed, of and by itself, it is harmless. And, like Satan's initial subterfuge in Eden with Eve, the teaching itself is not an outright lie. Rather, it is a heresy. What is a heresy? A heresy is a truth taken out of proportion from other truths of equal value. It is a teaching that has become unbalanced in emphasis. What is this heresy that has now become orthodox teaching?

Nothing less than the popular "Let go and let God."

Of course, as I have taken pains to elucidate in my early lectures on Discipleship in its place there is nothing necessarily odious with it as a sentiment. In fact this lecturer has often used it as a means of gaining a deeper sense of his dependence upon Infinite Intelligence. In its place it is a beautiful piece of spiritual philosophy. But NOT when it comes to spiritual warfare!

Whispers the Evil One: "You who believe in Yeshua as your Messiah! You have been making a grave mistake. You have been attempting to fight this battle. You must stop doing so. Why not do the right thing and hand it over to the Lord? Do this and all will be well. Let go and let God. Let go, you have been trying. Let go and let God. It's alright! You will have the victory. You already have the victory! It is quite simple. No effort is required. Look, haven't things being going well lately? Then why keep that shield of faith up so high? Why lug that breastplate of righteousness around? You really don't need it! The Messiah is your sufficiency. Neither will you need that sword of the Spirit. That's right. Take off those shoes of readiness in the Gospel. That's right, now sit back and relax! Make yourself comfortable. You've earned the rest. God will take care of you. Hasn't he promised this? Take it easy. That's right, go ahead! Sure, do it! It must be terribly hot under that helmet of salvation. Let go and let God!"

Brethren, thank God that we have not been deserted by the sovereign Lord in our military-style engagements with the forces of the Dark Lord. He has given us strength, and power, and the arms with which to resist the enemy. We are given everything we need and we are given the power to use it. And we STAND ready for COMBAT with all the credentials of the Messiah Himself. We have the AUTHORITY and POWER of the risen Lord Yeshua behind us. BUT WE HAVE TO DO IT! WE have to fight against the demonic realm!

He makes me, and you, more than a conqueror. But it is MY battle. It is YOUR battle. WE must wage it.

These are fundamental principles in connection with the doctrine of sanctification of growing into the character-image of Messiah. But today it is largely being denied!

With our armour off, we would no longer hear the gentle and smooth voice of an apparent friend. Far from it. All we would hear would be the terrifying hunger-roar of a lion (1 Pet 5.8).

But why is it so important to Anochi I-Source for us to be more than conquerors? Why is it OUR battle? Why must we wage it? Why does it seem as though God is putting us through sheer mental turmoil and sometimes physical exhaustion as we wage this war? Simply put it is to TRAIN US AS FIRSTFRUITS to be adequately equipped to bring Yeshua's SALVATION TO THE ENDS OF THE UNIVERSE! God the FatherMother of us all is creating out of US an entirely NEW Cosmic CREATURE -- a GALACTIC ANTHROPOS.

WE ARE CO-CREATORS WITH GOD
We learned previously that we are Co-Creators with God. We are not only made in the DIRECT IMAGE of God but God expects His Firstfruits to keep their eyes on the GOAL that God has already shared with us. We also recalled the great, but oftentimes hidden truth, that he who is united to the Lord IS one SPIRIT. Such a revelation staggers the imagination. This is way beyond what any heretic is today preaching! Yet it is GOSPEL TRUTH!

But just how far can we be equated with God's Son, Yeshua? Yeshua as we all realise, is the Light of the World (Jn 8.12). Be this as it may, Yeshua speaks of his disciples as Lights of the world too (Mt 5.14). He adds, So let your light shine... (Mt 5.16). To the ancients the planet Venus was the first bright star next to our sun to be seen shining in the heavens, and the last one to disappear as morning began to break. It was adored for its brilliance in shining appearance. So much so was this a unique glorious phenomena that Christ actually offered the brilliance of Venus -- the bright morning star -- to the overcomer (Rev 2.28).

Why a star (really, a planet)? Because stars are revelations of Truth that we can see well enough but as yet remain remote. In other words the human mind cannot conceive the wonders and immensity of the universe of stars in the heavens. Metaphysically, the star symbolises our deepest inner conviction of our divine Firstfruit sonship. One early 20th century author noted that this sense of divine sonship "is developed in some people so strongly that they actually see it reflected in the atmosphere and, like Napoleon, believe that a destiny is theirs that cannot be defeated so long as this star is in its ascendancy. This inner conviction of our ability to accomplish whatever we undertake calls forth the very best in us, and helps us to succeed where others of equal ability fail."

This thought totally resonates with me.

We catch glimpses of this view in the consciousness of Christian mystics down through the ages. We might even cover some of their thoughts in a future lecture on just this subject of mysticism. But allow me a few minutes to reflect on my journey to this Present Truth.

AN EARLY JOURNEY
Many years ago (when I was still in my teens, as a matter of fact), I desired greatly to know what God was going to do with all the multiple billions of human beings who had ever lived, but who had died without acknowledging His existence or accepting God as part and parcel of salvation-faith. It seemed to my mind that there must have been scores of people who had lived since the dawn of Creation who had never ever had any natural desire or inclination to seek out the existence of God or to believe in Him. I wondered what would happen to all the multiple millions of atheistic communists who were reared to accept that all belief in God was just superstitious nonsense. I also wondered about Buddhists, Hindus, Jains and animists who did not worship the God of Israel. And then there were the Christians...

So in the passage of time I set about writing to over 250 different religious organisations and churches all over the world as to their opinion on this matter.

You know, I received maybe 5 replies. That's all. And they came from Christian denominations. ALL of them condemned these countless billions to an everlasting hell... except for one reply which was written in a way so as not to offend my sensibilities as a young person. But this one reply, written by a Seventh Day Adventist pastor, while admitting that he had absolutely no idea what would occur to such people, added with a delicate touch of understanding a quotation from the book of Genesis: I still have his letter all these years later. He wrote, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen 18.25b). He then followed with, "I'm sure He will!" And you know he was correct in his assessment! The Lord of all creation will do right! Of that we can all be assured.  

When at last I became converted as a student of Our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, having had my own personal Damascus Road experience, I was given an opportunity to be deputised into a ministry with the world's largest international missionary radio organisation, the Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC). I was given the task and the responsibility of visiting with ministers, pastors and representatives of various Christian churches and denominations throughout Australasia to offer my services in their pulpits to raise money for missionary endeavours and to also raise the consciousness of the laity to the need to pray and support missionaries on the field (especially if not exclusively FEBC missionaries). Of course, there were some ministers who resented my presence as they envisaged (and quite rightly so) money being siphoned out of their own coffers into yet another area of need outside their own organisation.

Some of the conversations that I had with ministers and theologians from a wide spectrum of biblical appraisal surprised even me. A large proportion of those with whom I had contact knew that God was not about to jettison the ignorant masses into an ever-burning bonfire. Some confided that they were not game to preach the truth about God's plan of ultimate salvation for the masses for fear of losing financial support from their congregations! Now these were not sectarians. They were respected men of the cloth -- Anglicans, Anglo-Catholics, Baptists, Presbyterians, Uniting Church and others.

What a deplorable situation!

Christians today really resent the teaching that all humankind will eventually be saved, but we who support this unique teaching Work of God through the BRI/IMCF internationally are eager for God's LIBERATING TRUTH no matter what that truth happens to be to get published and to be heard by those who want answers to their questions! That's our job! That's what we are about! We are engaged in our Father's business! That in itself, makes BRI/IMCF unique!

It may surprise some but our message of an ultimate universal salvation through the shed blood of Yeshua the Messiah was believed and taught for at least 400 years before Rome got the primary ascendancy in doctrine. All of us associated with the BRI/IMCF may now be in the minority of opinion but we are in very good company!

A PLETHORA OF TESTIMONY FROM ANCIENT CHURCH FATHERS
I want to share with all our students some of the quotations from our earliest church Fathers in this context of the teaching of a universal salvation and the ultimate destiny of humankind made in the IMAGE of God.

Listen to the words of some of the earliest Fathers of the Christian Church. And remember, those who publicly advocated a doctrine of everlasting burning hell for sinners were not only in the minority, they were considered heretics and liars!

Clement of Alexandria (c.190): "How is Christ a Saviour except he is Lord and Saviour of all? He is certainly Saviour of those who have believed, and of those who have believed not he is Lord, until being brought to confess him, they shall receive the blessings, suited and adapted to them. He is not Saviour of some and not of others. His will must take effect. Nor can he who is Lord of all ever be hindered by another. He will never neglect his own work. Being then the Father's power, he easily prevails in whatever he wishes; so that his design to save cannot fail. By the will of the Father he directs the salvation of all. God is the one Almighty Good God, from eternity to eternity, saving by his Son. All things are arranged with a view to the salvation of the universe by the Lord of the universe (Stom. Lib., vii). He adds, That Christ pervades equally all humanity, having bestowed on mankind the inalienable inheritance of the Father, that all shall know God, from small to great (Cohort. ad.gent., cxi). And this is not all. Who could argue against Clement's view that Christ's only work is the salvation of mankind" (ibid., ix).

Origen (c.210): "When the Son is said to be subject to the Father, the perfect restoration of the whole creation is signified" (De princ., iii, 5). "Those personalities who have been removed from their primal state of innocence have not been removed irrecoverably, but being remoulded by salutary discipline and principles, they may recover themselves, and be restored to their condition of happiness" (ibid., i, 6).

Victorinus (c.360): "Christ will regenerate all things, as he created all things. By the life that is in him, all things will be cleansed and return into age-lasting life. Christ is to subject all things to himself. When this shall have been accomplished, God will be all things, because all things will be full of God" (Adv.Arium Lib., i & iii).

Hilary, known as the leading theologian of his day (X. le Bachelet, St Hilarie DTC.6.2413-60). "This seemed good to God to manifest in Christ the mystery of his will, namely, that he should be merciful to all who had strayed, whether in heaven [sinning angels] or in earth [sinning mankind]. Every being, then, is being restored to the place in which he was created, by learning the knowledge of Christ" (In Eph., iii, 9, 10).

Titus Bishop of Bostra (c.364): "The very pit itself is a place of torments and of torments and of punishments, but is not eternal. It was made that it might be a medicine and yield help to those who sin. Sacred are the stripes which are remedies and helps to those who have strayed" (Lib., i, ch. xxxii). This Bishop was well known and regarded by his contemporaries who well knew (and many of them shared) his views on a universal salvation. Not only was this the case but Titus believed that hell was purely remedial. He based much of his understanding of this fact on Mt 25.46 where the word for "punishment" is kolasis which in Greek literature simply means "correction."

Gregory of Nyssa (c.380): "In this passage [Phil 2.10] is signified, that when evil has been obliterated in the long circuits of the ages, nothing shall be left outside the limits of good; but even from them [all of God's creation] shall be unanimously uttered the confession of the Lordship of Christ" (De an.et.resurrect.). Again, "For it is evident that God will, in truth, be 'in all' then when there shall be no evil seen in anything." "When every created being is at harmony with itself and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord: when every creature shall have been made one body, then shall the Body of Christ be subject to the Father." "Now the Body of Christ, as I have said often before, is the whole of humanity." "When it says that God's enemies shall be subjected to God, this is meant that the power of evil shall be taken away, and they who, on account of their disobedience were called God's enemies, shall by subjection be made God's friends. When, then, all who were once God's enemies shall have been made his footstool (because they will then receive in themselves the divine imprint), when death shall have been destroyed: in the subjection of all, which is not servile humility, but immortality and Christ is said by the apostle Paul to be made subject to God" (Orat. in 1 Cor xv.28).

Diodorus of Tarsus (c.350): "For the wicked there are punishments, not perpetual, but they are to be tormented for a certain brief period according to the amount of malice in their works. They shall therefore suffer punishment for a short space, but immortal blessedness without end awaits them. The resurrection, therefore, is to be regarded as a blessing not only to the good but also to the evil" (De aecon.).

Theodore of Mopsuestia (who was a contemporary of Diodorus) was the head of the Christian university at Antioch and was known by his colleagues as "the Master of the East because of his theological eminence." This is what he believed about a universal salvation in Christ. "That in the world to come, those who have done evil all their life long, will be made worthy of the sweetness of the Divine bounty. For never would Christ have said 'Until thou hast paid the uttermost farthing' unless it were possible for us to be cleansed when we have paid our debts." And again: "Who is so great a fool as to think that so great a blessing [eternal life in Christ] can be to those who let arise [in their hearts] the occasion of endless torment" (Frag. iv). Clearly everlasting torment was incompatible with Christ's teachings and the Gospel.

Jerome (c.400) translated the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures into the ordinary Latin of his day and age. His testimony is not merely pertinent but vital as we shall soon see! "Christ will, in the ages to come, show not to one, but to the whole number of rational creatures his glory, and the riches of his grace, by means of us [Christians]. The saints are to reign over the fallen angels, and the prince of this world, even to them will be brought blessing" (In Eph., ii, 7). "In the restitution of all things, when the true physician, Jesus Christ, shall have come to heal the body of the Church, every one shall receive his proper place. What I mean is, the fallen angel will begin to be that which he was created [i.e., return to his original state] and man (who was expelled from Paradise) will be once more restored to the tilling of Paradise. These things then will take place universally" (In Eph. iv. 16). "With God no rational creature perishes eternally" (In Gal. v. 20). "For God pities his creatures, and will not suffer those whom he himself has formed to perish eternally, who are sustained by his breath and spirit" (In Isa. lvii, 6).

Jerome was very much aware that his choice of the Latin "eternal" in his translation of the Scriptures in his view never meant what modern translators and scholars claim it to mean: endless and everlasting. Rather, Jerome taught the salvation and redemption of all.  

These are just some of the quotations of early Church Fathers whose testimonies have been suppressed and withheld (Rom 1.18 Gk) by ministers and theologians who know better. And why did these early Fathers -- and a veritable host of brilliant theologians over the 2000 year history of the Christian Faith -- believe in an ultimate universal salvation? Because the doctrine is plainly taught in the Word of God!

When Christ shed his blood on the bloodied tree of crucifixion he died not only for you and for me as his disciples but he died for the entirety of the world for every single person who has ever lived! Calvinism notwithstanding, this is the plain teaching of God's Word. For...

"He is the mercy seat for our sins: and NOT FOR OURS ONLY, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 Jn 2.2).

John the Baptiser "came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light [Yeshua the Messiah], that all men through him might believe" (Jn 1.7).

"The bread that I will give," said Our Lord, "is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (Jn 6.51).

"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world: but that the world through him might be saved" (Jn 3.17).

"If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me" (Jn 12.32).

"God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself NOT IMPUTING [not reckoning, not making a record, not noting] their trespasses unto them, and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation" (2 Cor 5.19).

"Messiah Yeshua who is the Saviour of all men, SPECIALLY of those that [now] believe [Christians]" (1 Tim 4.10).

"That he [Christ] should taste death for every man" (Heb 2.9).

"For the love of Christ constrains us; because we thus judge that if one died for all, then were all [considered] dead" (2 Cor 5.14).

"For as in Adam all die, even so IN Christ shall all be made alive... The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he has put all things under his [Christ's] feet... that God may be all things and in all things" (1 Cor 15.22-28).

"(Yeshua the Messiah) will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth... who gave himself a ransom for all, the testimony of which is to be given in strategic seasons having a unique character of their own" (1 Tim 2.4-6 Greek).

"Behold the [Passover] Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (Jn 1.29).

"That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ both which are in the heavens, and which are on earth; even in him" (Eph 1.10).
 
"(Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creation: for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and for him; and he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the ekklesia: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead: that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; and having made peace through the blood of his cross; by him to reconcile ALL THINGS unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in the heavens" (Col 1.15-20).

Do we believe these Scriptures? Does God's holy Spirit convict our heart with these God-breathed inspirational impulses? Or are we so immature that we have to run off to our Spiritual Minders (our sectarian Thought Police) to get their lofty opinion as to whether we should accept them as holy Scripture? Some people cannot think for themselves any longer! We have had people attend our meetings and they have followed along in their Bible to that which is being expressed in the pages of holy Writ, yet they cannot read, cannot understand, grasp, comprehend WHAT THE SACRED TEXT IS ACTUALLY TELLING THEM. God is speaking and they can't hear, and then they accuse us of demonism!

OURS IS A BETTER RESURRECTION
The Bible speaks of a series of spiritual resurrections. Christ was raised from the dead in a spiritual resurrection to glory (1 Cor 15.23). Because we are IN Christ, at his second Advent to this earth Christians will be raised from their graves in spirit(ual) glory. This is called the first resurrection (Rev 20.5,6 cf 1 Cor 15.23). The rest of the dead -- those who are not truly converted Christians or are pagans and unbelievers -- are raised to a physical resurrection at the conclusion of the Messianic Kingdom period at the end of the Millennium (or 1000 year reign of Messiah Yeshua over this earth Rev 20.5; Rev 5.10). This period of judgment is referred to by John the apostle as the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev 20.11-15). But after this period of time a third spiritual resurrection occurs which will terminate God's plan for physical human beings (1 Cor 15.24 Greek).

But the first spiritual resurrection at Christ's coming is called "a better resurrection" (Heb 11.35). This is because we today are Christ's FIRSTfruits (Rom 8.23; James 1.18). In God's festival system given to ancient Israel the firstfruits of a crop was presented to the Lord before the general harvest. That harvest (the rest of disbelieving humanity and all who have ever lived and who have not, for whatever reason, yet become Christians) is yet to come. This is a message that should bring sheer joy to all! Man was made in the direct image of God. He is yet to share in that image in a spiritual way. We at BRI/IMCF proclaim that Christ will be a Satisfied Saviour. Man will be ultimately deified -- ALL of humankind, saved by God's awesome GRACE! Humankind will be bearing God's SPIRITUAL LIKENESS, nothing less than DEIFICATION!  

DEIFICATION: THE GOAL AND DESTINATION OF THE UNIVERSE
Deification is the goal and destination of the universe. It is nothing less than the destiny of humankind made in the Image of God. The Bible says so, and the early Christians believed this to a man! Yet this knowledge has all but disappeared from Christian doctrine. In fact, many of Satan's ministers are presently preaching from their pulpits and writing books against God's Word on this subject. Sadly, some of God's own anointed ministers are joining them in a final act of rebellion and cowardice. The Dark Lord is alive and has done his work well mainly through a corrupt, woefully ignorant and pathetically effeminate ministry made in the image of the long-haired Egyptian, Serapis. The god worshiped and adored by multiple millions of Christians today doesn't even look Jewish! But God makes sure that his Word will stand!  

Professor Harnack, perhaps the greatest Church historian of all time, has written:

"After Theophilus, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, and Origen, the idea of DEIFICATION is found in ALL the Fathers of the ancient Church, and that in a primary position. We have it in Athanasius, the Cappadocians, Apollinaris, Ephraem Syrus, Epiphanius, and others, as also in Cyril, Sophronius, and late Greek and Russian theologians. In proof of it, Psalm 82.6 ('I said, Ye are gods') is very often quoted" (Adolf Harnack in W.R. Inge, The Doctrine of Deification, 1899, 358).

In a word SALVATION equals DEIFICATION.

That's right! Man collectively through the means of a universal salvation, a universal deification, is to become ONE with GOD! This is the program, design, plan, purpose and intention of the ANOCHI I-Source the LORD YEHOVAH ELOHIM! This is why the entire world was justified at Christ's death (Rom 5.18). It was nothing less than the laying of the necessary groundwork of Christ for the outworking of God's Salvific will. The doctrine of ultimate UNITY is found in the teaching of Yeshua, and the apostles believed it, the primitive MESSIANIC COMMUNITY OF FAITH believed it, the early Church Fathers believed it and today it is considered a diabolical Satanic lie. Unbelievable! Inconceivable!

Theophilus wrote "that a man, by keeping the directions of God, may receive from him immortality as a reward, AND BECOME GOD" (ad.Autol., ii, 27).

Clement of Alexandria wrote, "To be imperishable is to share in DIVINITY (to be GOD)" (Strom. v.10:63).

Hippolytus wrote, "Thy body shall be immortal and incorruptible as well as thy soul. FOR THOU HAST BECOME GOD. All the things that follow upon the divine nature God has promised to supply to thee, FOR THOU WAST DEIFIED in being born to immortality" (Philos x. 34).

Athanasius (who really must be credited with giving us the Nicene Creed) wrote that "Christ was not made man, and then became God, but he was God and became man AND THAT TO DEIFY US" (Dictionary of Religion & Ethics, 11, 703). He added, "By [Christ's] death an immortality has reached us all... for he was made man THAT WE MIGHT BE MADE GOD" (ibid.,p.705).

Even Eusebius who served under the Emperor Constantine declared, "The Word of God [Christ] is now God as he had been man, in order TO DEIFY MANKIND TOGETHER WITH HIMSELF" (Demonst. iv. 14).

These are now historical statements made by some of the most highly respected theologians of all time -- men whom no person today in the Christian world would dare claim was anything but legitimately and authentically Orthodox as far as being a Christian is concerned. And yet if we in the International Messianic Community of Faith (IMCF) dare to even hint of our glorious future (and the future of our world) we are looked upon as "new age" or even worse, as those who deny Christ.  

But I insist that the Bible states clearly enough that "we shall bear the image of the heavenly" (1 Cor 15.49). "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [predetermine] to be conformed to the IMAGE of his Son" (Rom 8.29). If this is so, and it is, it means that as Christ was the direct and express image (ikon) of the Father so we shall be the exact reproduction of God's own personal GLORIOUS image. "Christ is the image of the invisible God" (Col 1.15) and "the express image of his Person" (Heb 1.3). We are to inherit, in other words, God's very own GLORY. As it is written:

"He called you by our gospel TO THE OBTAINING OF THE GLORY of Our Lord Yeshua the Messiah" (2 Thes 2.14). "That Christ might make known the riches of his GLORY on the vessels of mercy [the redeemed] which he had afore prepared UNTO GLORY" (Rom 9.23). "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the GLORY of this mystery: which is CHRIST IN YOU the hope of GLORY" (Col 1.27).

That is primarily why Paul stated that our current "trials are not worthy to be compared WITH THE GLORY which shall be revealed IN US" (Rom 8.18).

We are the "lights of the world," you see.

We are qualifying NOW to RULE THE UNIVERSE by learning to inculcate the very character likeness of Our Lord Yeshua the Messiah who was and IS the IKON (IMAGE) of His Father Anochi. The Ruach HaKodesh is available to us and more so "AS WE STIR UP" -- ACTIVATE -- "the gift of God which is in [us]" (2 Tim 1.6). It was the prophet Isaiah who complained, "There is none that STIRS UP himself to lay hold of you" (Isa 64.7).

But we can, and we must, and we will stir up the holy Spirit so that we will be better able to apply the character attributes Paul included in his text of what we now refer to as Romans 12. For, the Firstfruits are presently qualifying to be sent out, as pioneers and heralds of the Kingdom of God, not only to reeducate the populations of this planet but most certainly out to the final frontier: space. As a stellar TV and movie series popularly advertises it, our continuing mission is to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Are we all up for it? Are we busy qualifying NOW, not for salvation which has already been won for us by Messiah, but for the position and WORK which God has ordained for each of us?

We ought to be so eager to learn how to fly, not just as to please the LORD in fulfilling His will, but to so please ourselves out of our own totally changed and converted heart.

This is what Romans 12 is all about.

THIS CONCLUDES LECTURE 47