Angelic Conflict part 247: The Carrier of the kingdom of God – Joh 14:12; Heb 10:19-22; 1Pe 2:18-25; Psa 23; Mat 28:16-20.Title: Angelic Conflict part 247: The Carrier of the kingdom of God – Joh 14:12; Heb 10:19-22; 1Pe 2:18-25; Psa 23; Mat 28:16-20.
Joh 14:12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.
This is certainly a verse that has great controversy. The gift of healing was a short lived, temporary gift in the early Church.
The gift of healing was exercised in the early church, which we see in the book of acts, but not again.
Never once in the NT are we told to heal anyone. There is a healing however, and it is not of the physical body, but of the soul in regeneration at salvation and priority adjustment through divine discipline after salvation.
Priority adjustment through discipline (warning, intensive, and dying) is the healing of the seared conscience.
Heb 10:19 Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
Heb 10:20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,
Heb 10:21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
Heb 10:22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Sometimes we need a good push to draw near to the new and living way after we have chosen to leave it. Sometimes it's just a gentle push through warning discipline.
Heb 12:11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
Heb 12:12 Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble,
Heb 12:13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
The ultimate healing came at salvation. It is a healing over death resulting in resurrection life.
1Pe 2:18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.
1Pe 2:19 For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a man bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.
1Pe 2:20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.
1Pe 2:21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,
1Pe 2:22 who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth;
1Pe 2:23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;
1Pe 2:24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
Being eternally and spiritually healed, what suffering or harsh treatment can make us sick again? There is none.
1Pe 2:25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
Under His shepherding and guard (under His pinions) what can harm us? There is nothing [Psa 91].\
This is the true healing of the Church and no longer the casting out of demons or miracle healings done by men. The power is in the Gospel!
Psa 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Psa 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
Psa 23:3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.
Psa 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff [guidance and discipline], they comfort me.
Psa 23:5 Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.
Psa 23:6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
We are never commanded to cast out demons but to hold our ground against them. Again, this is spiritual and not physical. We might assume that the physical war has been abolished and only a spiritual one remains, but we cannot tell that for certain. What we can say for certain is that the greater works that the Church would do over Christ's would definitely be greater in quantity, but not more healings or more exorcisms, but in something that He could not give yet.
Joh 14:12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.
Christ could not give the Spirit, all truth, and divine virtue until He departed and sat in victory at the right hand of the Father.
He could not give divine virtue love to the disciples until He was secure at the right hand of God.
Joh 16:7 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
At Pentecost, the beginning of the Church, Christ would give the Spirit, the word, the love, and the plan that He possessed on earth to thousands upon thousands of believers. The great work that they would do, would continue to deliver the body from infirmity by the power of miracles, but only for a time as the gospel was preached. This was to display the power of the kingdom of God over the kingdom of darkness, but as with our Lord, not every sick or demon possessed person in the world was healed. That wasn't the point. The point was to display power. Yet if a person is healed or freed from the bondage of a demon and they still go to the Lake of Fire, then what's the point?
The great work to be done after the cross was to deliver the soul from the domain of darkness. To continue the Lord's work to set the captives free through the gospel.
Mat 28:16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.
Mat 28:17 And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.
Mat 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Mat 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples [students] of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Mat 28:20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
The power is in the gospel, the good news, and the Spirit and gifts never seen before were given to men. This is the army, the royal family, that Christ would use to finish up the war that He had won.
Christ embodied the kingdom of God. He would be both King of the Jews and the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Therefore, when Christ came He brought the kingdom of God to the earth with the expressed goal of dethroning satan's kingdom.
Luk 11:14 And He was casting out a demon, and it was dumb; and it came about that when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke; and the multitudes marveled.
Luk 11:15 But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons."
Luk 11:16 And others, to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven.
Luk 11:17 But He knew their thoughts, and said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls.
Luk 11:18 "And if Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.
Luk 11:19 "And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Consequently they shall be your judges.
Luk 11:20 "But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Something more powerful than the kingdom of darkness is upon them - the kingdom of God.
They could not cast out demons so the demons were more powerful than the Sanhedrin, but something more powerful than the demons is here. They, out of ambitious pride, did not want to admit that, so they could only say that he cast them out by the power of satan, a power which their religiosity could not only not overcome but was subject to.
Now, if the power of the kingdom of God has been poured into the CA believer then he also possesses the power to overcome the KOD and their world system.
Phi 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me [who keeps on pouring His power into me].
1Jo 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith.
Rev 2:26-29 'And he who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star.
Would you rather this gift from God or from satan?
Luk 4:5-6 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
Luk 11:21 "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own homestead, his possessions are undisturbed;
Luk 11:22 but when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied [schemes, deceptions, lies, fear], and distributes his plunder.
Luk 11:23 "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me [the plunder], scatters.
This is a unique proverb that doesn't find a parallel in Jewish, Greek, or Roman literature. It is clear that the gathering applies to those who are with Christ and the scattering applies to those who are against Him. What He is gathering is the plunder of the strong man which is the earth and mankind. We cannot gather lands spiritually nor men by force. Christ has redeemed all men and all the earth is now His as the Kok and Lol. Therefore, if we gather with Him we gather authority over the nations in resurrection body as a part of our inheritance and so the gathering is the heirship of Christ that we share. We are also commanded to gather men through the gospel as communicators or ambassadors for the gospel. |