Before you begin your Bible study, as a believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ, be sure you have named your sins privately to God the
Father.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (Known, Unknown
and Forgotten sins) (1Jn 1:9)
You will then be in fellowship with God, Filled with the
Holy Spirit and ready to learn Truth from the Word of God.
God is spirit, and those who worship Him must
worship in Spirit and Truth. (Joh 4:24)
Mental
Attitude Dynamics
YOU ARE WHAT
YOU THINK
God,
who created the human mind, also holds the key to man’s mind; that key is
omniscience. (Heb
4:12-13) He reads our minds like an open
book! (Psa 139:2) God allows us freedom of thought, as well as freedom of
choice; however, He holds us responsible for
what we think or choose, so our thinking is all-important. (Rom 2:15-16)
For as he thinks within himself, so he
is... (Pro
23:7)
You may be judged
(By people) by your overt behavior, but YOU ARE WHAT
YOU THINK! You
are not what you do! Your mental attitude
determines, motivates, and influences your behavior and actions. The
Bible always relates the thought pattern to the right lobe of the mentality of
the soul. The right lobe is the dominant lobe of the soul, designated in the
Greek by the word KARDIA (Translated “heart”
in the English) and in the Hebrew by the word LEB, in contrast to the left or
perceptive lobe, NOUS, (Translated “mind”)
which is the staging area for knowledge. The right
lobe or human spirit has seven areas: A frame of reference, memory center — the final storage place
for all knowledge and the basis for learning new knowledge; vocabulary storage,
categorical storage, conscience — the norms and standards; momentum, Wisdom and Understanding.
And
I will give them one heart, (The Mind of Christ) and put a new spirit within them. (Tit 3:5) And I will take the
heart of stone out of their flesh (Old sin
nature) and give them a heart of flesh.
(2Pe 1:4) (Eze
11:19)
Our objective
will be to analyze certain passages of Scripture which teach that our approach
to life, the effectiveness of our soul function, and even our physical
attractiveness and health are dependent upon what we think.
Does
not Wisdom call, And Understanding lift up her voice?
On
top of the heights beside the way, Where the paths meet, She takes her stand; Beside the gates, at the
opening to the city, At the entrance of the doors, She
cries out: To you, O men, I call, And My voice is to the sons of
men. O naive ones, Understand Prudence; [Wise as a serpent]
And, O fools,
understand Wisdom. Listen, for I will speak noble
things; And the opening of My lips will reveal right things. For My mouth will
utter Truth; And wickedness is an abomination to
my lips. All the utterances of My mouth are in
righteousness; [In fellowship] There is nothing crooked
or perverted in them. They are all straightforward to him who Understands, [Has reached Spiritual
Maturity] And right to those who find Knowledge. Take my Instruction and not silver, And Knowledge rather than
choicest gold. For Wisdom is better than jewels; And all
desirable things cannot compare with her. I, Wisdom, dwell with Prudence, And
I find Knowledge and Discretion. The fear of
the LORD [Staying in fellowship]
is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And the perverted mouth, I hate. Counsel is
mine and sound Wisdom; I am Understanding, power is Mine. By Me
kings reign, And rulers decree justice. By Me princes rule, and nobles, All who judge rightly. I love those who
love Me; And those who diligently seek Me will find me. Riches and honor are with
Me, Enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold, And My yield better than choicest silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the
paths of justice, To endow those who love Me with wealth, That I may fill their
treasuries. [The
Temple of God the Holy Spirit in us, filled with the most valuable jewels,
God's very own Thoughts!] The LORD possessed Me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old.
From everlasting I was established, From
the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. When there were no depths I
was brought forth, When there were no springs abounding with water. Before
the mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth; While He had not yet made the
earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world. When He established the
heavens, I was there, When He inscribed a circle on the face of the
deep, When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became
fixed, When He set for the sea its boundary So that the water would not
transgress His Command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth; Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily
His delight, [God loves His Thoughts] Rejoicing always before Him, Rejoicing in the world, His
earth, And having My delight in the sons of men. Now
therefore, O sons, listen to Me, For blessed are they who keep My ways. [Thoughts] Heed Instruction and be
wise, And do not neglect it. Blessed is the man who listens to Me, Watching daily at My gates, Waiting at My doorposts. [Eagerly learning day and night] For
he who finds Me finds life And obtains favor from the LORD. But he who sins against Me injures himself; All those
who hate Me love
death. (Pro
8:1-36)
This is a description of God's Thinking! And His
Thinking is talking to us, and showing us: That He delights in His Thinking!
That His Thinking is perfect, infinite
and cannot be improved, does not need advice, or help
in any way! (Mar 8:33-38) In order for God to
delight in us: We just need to learn His Thoughts, on every subject, in fellowship with God the Holy Spirit, and Think
with Them! (Joh 4:23-24) God automatically receives the glory/credit, and we are
blessed, beyond all our imagination! (Eph 3:20)
THE
CORRELATION BETWEEN THE MIND AND THE BODY
There is a great
deal of truth in the common expression, “I’m worried
sick.” Medical science is becoming increasingly aware of the connection
between physical health and the thought pattern. Many illnesses are a direct
result of the psychoses of the mind. In order that we might understand the
correlation between what we think and how we feel, a few moments should be
spent on the subject of psychosomatics. The word itself is made up of two Greek
words: PSUCHE, meaning “soul,” with emphasis on mentality, and SOMA, meaning
“body.” The concept of psychosomatics is very simple. Any
mental attitude of fear, worry or anxiety — any continuous mental tension — will eventually overflow and affect the
body. This frequently results in unusual behavior. For example, it was
discovered during the Korean War that many of our American boys died in prison
camps from what we call “give-up-itis.” After this
mental attitude was perpetuated over a few days, an individual would simply
fold up, lie down on the ground and say, “Leave me alone.” If he were left
alone for two or three days, he would be dead! Our physicians in the
prison camps reported a substantial number of these cases and diagnosed the
cause of their deaths as due to a mental attitude of hopelessness
and despair. It is also becoming increasingly common for people to
suffer from such ailments as eczema, skin rashes, warts, allergies, asthma,
hyper- tension, goiter, ulcers and many other disorders, simply from the
overflow of the pressures from the mind into the body. Interestingly enough, a
change of mental attitude — a stabilizing of the mentality — results in the
removal of the symptoms. I am not trying to explain the cause of a sudden
appearance of some rash on the epidermis and its equally sudden disappearance
as being psychosomatic in YOUR case. I am saying that at last medical science
has discovered what has been known in Scripture for a long time — that our
thought processes are related to our physiological problems. This brings us to an issue we must face as believers in the
Lord Jesus Christ. When the right lobe of the
believer receives Divine Thinking through Truth, the result is inner peace, a relaxed mental attitude, stability and
inner happiness. But when the right lobe is
crammed full of human viewpoint, (Man's supposed reality) and when mental attitude sins, such as pride, worry, lust,
jealousy, bitterness, vindictiveness, implacability, guilt complex, hatred,
etc., dominate the mentality of the soul, the result is inevitably self-induced
misery. Mental attitude sins, plus the absence of
the Word of Truth in the soul, (God's Declared Reality) leads to human viewpoint
and can only produce disorientation and agony of soul!
THE TWO
VIEWPOINTS OF LIFE
Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him
return to the LORD, (1Jn 1:9) And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He
will abundantly pardon. (Isa 55:7)
For My Thoughts are not
your thoughts, Nor are your ways My
ways, declares the LORD. (Isa 55:8)
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways, and my Thoughts than your thoughts.
(Isa 55:9)
While there is
among people, many different realities, With God there is only ONE, His! And whether people believe it or not, everything God has
said, will happen just as He has Declared! (Mat
24:35) And there are only two basic types of thinking — God's Thinking, the Word of Truth and Satan's thinking, (Gen 3:5) evil, (Gen 6:5) that man uses, and is born with. (Gen 8:21) Not only are these viewpoints completely
antithetical, but God’s
Viewpoint is infinitely superior to that of Satan's. The unbeliever is capable only of evil human thinking,
“being alienated
from the life of God” (Eph 4:18) and the enemy of God in his MIND; (Col 1:21) but the
believer who consistently takes in Truth, and Thinks with it; constantly
struggles between the Divine, and the Satanic viewpoints;
until he reaches Spiritual maturity. (1Pe 1:22) While the believer is “not OF this world,”
(Mentally) he is IN the world, (Physically) (Joh 15:19) and the norms, principles and thoughts as well as his sin
nature, are of COSMOS DIABOLICUS, (Satan’s world
system) these
bombard him on the inside and from all sides. Through
Christian morality, (Gal 3:3; Col 2:20-23) and
Christian immorality, (Gal 5:19-21; Rev 2:22-23) the world expects the
believer to stay conformed to Satanic systems of thinking, and be like the rest
of humanity; God desires for him to “be transformed” to His way of Thinking! (Rom 12:2)
Therefore, it is of paramount importance that we as
believers learn God's Reality, which should rule, (1Pe
3:15) our Thought pattern. People often tell me they cannot read every day, (Psa 1:2-3) for one reason or
another, but you can always justify what you do.
Your decisions depend on what you think with. If the sin nature is predominate in your right lobe, it
will neutralize your Christian life. You cannot live God’s way, because you do not
think with God’s
Thoughts! That
is why so many Christians are trying to be Spiritual by means of “taboos,”
ecstatics, asceticism, and using the Word of God as a system of morality,
memorizing Bible verses, by the power of the old sin nature — flesh. (Mat 23:23-28; Rom
8:7-8; Php 3:4-6) The false viewpoint is represented by the fact that you
must work for what you get. But this axiom
cannot be transferred into the Spiritual life which God designed to be a life
of grace. (Gal 3:2-3) By grace we simply
appropriate all that God provides by the daily intake of Truth, and staying
filled with God the Holy Spirit! Until the cup is clean on the inside! (Luk 11:40-41; Joh
4:23-24)
THE SOURCE
OF DIVINE VIEWPOINT
For who hath
known the Mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the Mind of Christ. (1Co 2:16)
The Bible is the
only source of Divine Viewpoint. It is the very Mind of Christ, the living
Word, (Joh 1:1) expressed in written form. Therefore,
if you, as a believer, are to have the Divine Viewpoint of life, you must know
Truth. If you
do not know God’s Thoughts on any given subject,
how can you possibly think according to the
Divine Viewpoint? The Biblical Command is to
“Let this Mind
be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Php 2:5) What Mind? The Divine Viewpoint! Christ
set the pattern of Thinking; we are to Think with it. (Joh 3:34; Joh 8:28) How can we have the Mind of Christ? It comes only through daily study, and absorption of God's
Word through the function of Operation Z.
OPERATION Z
God has supplied
us with everything for learning His Word: the canon of Scripture, a
pastor-teacher, books, the MP3 player, the DVD player and now the computer, the
filling of God the Holy Spirit, rebound, (1Jn 1:9)
the human soul, the human spirit, physical life, the Spiritual life and
protection in the devil’s world. (Isa 41:13)
These grace provisions are part of the grace apparatus for perception, which is
“Operation Z” To summarize, the believer filled with
God the Holy Spirit, (1Co 4:20) concentrates
on the pastor’s message, resulting in gnosis,
“Knowledge,” in the mentality of the soul. The
mentality has two parts: the human spirit or right lobe, God's Knowledge. And the kardia, “heart” or left lobe, human
knowledge. (Jer
17:9) And
is the home of gnosis; the right lobe
is the repository of epignosis, “Full
Knowledge.” (Eph 3:19) Gnosis in the left lobe is receptive
comprehension: “academic knowledge” which is not usable
for application in the Spiritual life. A believer may be able to quote
many verses or talk at length about many Biblical subjects, but if his
knowledge is only gnosis, it is not
edifying. Academic arrogance can exist in Theology as easily as in any other
field of learning. (1Co 1:19-21; 1Co 2:14; 1Co
3:19-20; 1Co 8:1) If Truth is not
believed, or not understood or not used; it is removed! (Mat 13:19-23;
Luk 8:11-14) The
application of gnosis Doctrine is
misapplication, and the Word misapplied generates legalism, inflexibility,
insensitivity, intolerance, pride and arrogance. (Heb 3:12; Heb 4:2)
The believer clearly perceives a point of Doctrine
and now faces the issue of faith: does he, or does he not believe what he has learned? (Pro 3:5-6; Mat
7:7-11) If
he believes: that Truth is transferred to the right lobe and becomes Spiritual Thoughts and Spiritual Words! (1Co 2:13)
By means of faith, it becomes genuine understanding
of Divine Truth. (1Co 4:20) Only God's Thinking can be applied as
Spiritual Wisdom and Spiritual common sense. (2Co 10:5) Epignosis is also
the building material for the edification complex (Temple) of the soul. (1Co 3:10-14) The process of transferring the Truth from the heart to the
human spirit is faith-perception. Truth always has the merit; we who believe do not!
According to the grace of God which was
given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is
building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which
is laid, which is Jesus Christ. [Salvation]
Now if any man builds on the foundation [Growth to maturity] with
gold, silver, precious stones, [God's Thoughts]
wood, hay, straw, [Satanic
and human thoughts] each man's work will become evident; for the day
will show it because it is to be revealed with
fire, (Mar 9:49) and the fire itself will test the quality of
each man's work. If any man's work which he has built
on it remains, he will receive a reward.
(1Co 3:10-14)
REBOUND,
RECEPTION, RETENTION, RECALL, RESIST SIN and our will, and REPEAT!
THE SOURCE
OF HUMAN VIEWPOINT
Many factors influence our human thinking, such as
environment or background; training in the home, through both observation and
teaching; education; culture, history,
traditions, attainments, way of life to which we adhere and religion: Any system of faith and worship from cults to
Christianity. However, human viewpoint did not
originate in the human mind. It began with Satan at the time when he revolted
against God. (Isa 14:13-14) Since Satan cannot indwell believers, he attacks all people
through their minds. He uses his demons, as
well as the sin nature, believers and unbelievers, to expedite his schemes. We ALL are born with Satan's thinking, (Eph 2:3) when we become members
of the family of God; by faith in Christ, (Gal 2:16) we still think with
the same false thoughts! The Bible is written to believers, and we as believers are
Commanded to be renewed in our Spiritual Thinking. (Eph 4:22-24) Until this happens
we are still moral and or immoral degenerates. (Rom 3:10-12) Human viewpoint was
launched into the human race when Eve was seduced by the subtle suggestion that
she could be as smart as God, if she would eat from the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil. So convincing is the devil’s viewpoint of life that entire
nations are deceived by his philosophies. (Rev
12:9; Rev 13:14) For example, when the unbeliever tries to solve the world’s
problems, he automatically thinks in terms of internationalism or universal
brotherhood. He looks to such international organizations as the United Nations
and the World Council of Churches for help. Their panaceas sound so beautiful
and broadminded that most believers fall for them. What has happened? Satanic viewpoint is human viewpoint; and
this now pervades human thinking. From
the human viewpoint of the “brotherhood of man,” it is but a step to the “brotherhood
of nations.” Yet every attempt to unify all nations throughout history
has failed — from the Tower of Babel, (Gen 11:1-9)
to the present-day United Nations. Has the latter been successful in
maintaining world peace? No matter how sincere man’s
attempts may be to make this a better world, he will fail. (Mat 24:4-6) This is
Satan’s world, and no created being, not even the evil genius of Satan, has the
omniscience or the omnipotence to bring about a perfect world. Until Jesus Christ returns to reign over this world, there
can be no successful attempt at internationalism. God has divided the world
into nations, (Gen 10:30-31) for its own preservation and that there may be freedom to
evangelize. The
Satan-inspired view that man is basically good is another part of his strategy
to trap the mind of man. How does this measure
up to God’s estimate of man?
For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God. (Rom
3:23)
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me. (Psa 51:5)
The heart [The old
sin nature] is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who
can know it? (Jer
17:9)
For I know that nothing good dwells in me,
that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of
the good is not. (Rom 7:18)
God
declares that man is a sinner. His old sin nature makes him deceitful and
desperately wicked! If you
have always thought that if you were just good enough, you would eventually
make it to heaven, you are wrong! You have
borrowed human viewpoint straight from the mind of Satan! Jesus said, “I am
the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man comes to the Father, but Through Me.”
(Joh 14:6) We
are saved by faith in Christ, not by being
“good.”
For by grace you have
been saved through
faith;
and that not of yourselves, it is the gift
of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:8-9)
THE VICTORY
OF DIVINE VIEWPOINT
The
general view today seems to be that when people become Christians, they should
stop using their minds and, instead, operate on their feelings. They think they
are supposed to work themselves up into an ecstatic lather and speak in
gibberish. This is
commonly known as “speaking in tongues” and is mistaken for the Spiritual
life; such
gross misunderstanding, and misapplication of Scripture, comes from a lack of
Spiritual Thoughts. Instead of learning the Word of God, believers substitute
programs and mental sublimations, such as the “power of positive thinking,”
this is a system of self-hypnosis, in exchange for the Holy Spirit filled
Christian way of life! It is WHAT you Think
that counts, not HOW you think! We often
assume that someone who has physical strength and pushes his weight around is
tough. However, the toughest people are not the musclemen, but those who never give up mentally, even when facing defeat! Toughness is always a mental
attitude — it has little to do with the physical body. Many people
give up, as the old expression says, “When the first shot is fired.” They give
up simply because of what they think. The only answer
is found in the Bible. A nucleus of believers
with Divine Viewpoint can turn the tide. Just recently at a political
convention, some of the people in a certain party were ready to give up and
surrender Principles they knew were right; but the mental attitude of a few
turned the tide. You may be physically exhausted; you may be completely
defeated, as far as the odds are concerned; you may be deprived of your
liberty; but no one can stop you from THINKING those
Thoughts which eventually will overcome the pressures and adversity of your
situation. The Christian way of life is so designed that a believer can THINK
AT ALL TIMES! (Jer 1:12; 2Co 4:16) One of the
by-products of the Spiritual life is the ability to discern the real issues. To see life habitually from the Divine Viewpoint is one of
the greatest stabilizers for the believer in time. I have discovered that those who study every day learn to
concentrate; and they learn to Think categorically; and have Spiritual
discernment. Those who do not study
consistently, live by emotionalism and human viewpoint. An academic education is not the important factor, or
even a prerequisite to accurate Divine Thinking;
this comes from the use of the Biblical
Thoughts of the Word of God, by the one who is born again, and who is positive
toward the Word of Truth. (Col 3:9-10)
THE BIBLE; A
CRITIC OF THE THOUGHTS
For the Word of God is living and active
and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the
heart. (Heb
4:12)
The Bible is the
only accurate discerner of what you Think, and it is the only source for
straightening out your mental attitude. Let the Bible “umpire” your Thoughts;
it is your most constructive critic.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try
me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way [False Thinking] in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way. [True Divine
Thinking] (Psa
139:23-24)
Ask
yourself: Does what I Think line up with the Word of God? If so, you will have the impact,
the power, the peace, the strength, the stability and the inner happiness which
God has provided for every believer and which cannot be disturbed by adversity
or prosperity. In short, you will have
reached Spiritual maturity! However, should our
Thinking fail to line up with God's Thoughts, it needs to be honestly evaluated
and straightened out quickly. Confusion lies in
a misunderstanding of certain areas of God's Thinking.
AREAS OF
MENTAL ATTITUDE
Worldliness
And do not be conformed to this [Thinking
of the] world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom 12:2)
This verse
constitutes a Command: “Be not conformed to this world's way of thinking — be transformed by and with God's Thinking!” In
other words, do not be worldly! How? By cutting out the high living and the
honky-tonking? Is that what it says? No! By the
RENEWING OF YOUR MIND. Worldliness is not something you do; it is not an
overt act. Worldliness
is a mental attitude of human viewpoint!
In order not to be conformed to this world, you must have a new Spiritual
mental attitude. Contrary to the often-held view of Fundamental
Christianity, worldliness is not the wearing of makeup, although in some areas
of the United States you would be considered “worldly” for using cosmetics’ You
can paint yourself up until you look like an Apache on the warpath or you can
use no cosmetics and look as if you had stuck your head in a flour barrel;
whether you put on makeup or take it off is a matter of personal judgment and
taste. The Bible teaches “live and let live.” (1Th 4:11-12) Worldliness is a mental attitude! You can sit in a church with the most pious expression and
roll your eyes heavenward as though you were deep in prayer or meditation, or
you can give the impression you are intent upon the message and be thinking
something else. Many of you practice this. It
is an excellent way to plan ahead — to think about getting your wardrobe ready for spring or
to think about where you will go on your summer vacation. Of course, someone
would be sure to call you worldly if you stayed at home for the same reason. If you have learned to “play poker,” you can go to church,
fold your hands and think these things but maintain such a saintly facade that
no one would ever call you worldly. Yet God’s Word says that you are! (Mat 15:8) Now there may be a time when someone
will correctly accuse you of being worldly because he discerns human viewpoint
behind your actions. The tragedy is that there are
thousands of Christians who are very worldly, but they are totally unaware of
it because they have no understanding of the
Word of Truth (God's
Thinking on every subject) Consequently, they assume their overt activities are the key,
and they never realize they are worldly because of
what they think! “This world” refers to
every thought and action which is contrary to the absolute Standard of the Word
of God. Worldliness is the operation of the
human viewpoint of Satan's thinking in the right lobe. Worldliness includes slavery to circumstances, as well as
“Spirituality” through legalism.” The believer
must learn Spiritual Thoughts, (1Co 2:13-14) in order to distinguish between human sin nature “good” and Divine good. This is one of the great
conflicts in the issue of worldliness. “Be transformed” (Present passive imperative, a Command!) is a continuous process involving rebound, (1Jn 1:9) and Bible study. Truth must be in your right lobe as the basis for
“transforming” and “renewing” the Spiritual Thought processes. The mechanics of “renewing the mind” is the function of the
grace apparatus for perception. (Operation Z)
After rebound, (1Jn 1:9) Truth is understood in the left lobe through the filling
of God the Holy Spirit and then transferred automatically to the human spirit
BY FAITH. (Joh 14:26; Joh 16:12-15; 1Co
2:9-16) As Truth is cycled into the right
lobe — to the frame of reference,
memory center, categorical storage, vocabulary, conscience and momentum — now Divine Viewpoint is on
the “launching pad” ready for application to experience. Consequently, Divine
Viewpoint in the right lobe is the defense against the mental attitude of worldliness.
Therefore if you have been raised up with
Christ, keep seeking the things [Thoughts]
above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the
things that are on earth. (Col 3:1-2)
The “above things” (Or
literally, the “upward Thoughts”) constitute
the sum total of the Divine Viewpoint of life.
Things on the earth are the sum total of the
human viewpoint of life. “Set your affection on”
is literally, “keep Thinking with God's
Thoughts,” and indicates the continual struggle in the realm of
mental attitude between human and Divine Viewpoints. Don't
concentrate on people, circumstances, things, or self. Just remain in Spirit, (Fellowship; Zec 4:6) and
Concentrate on Christ and His Thinking! (1Co 2:16)
Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy
of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I
will hear of you that you are standing firm in ONE SPIRIT,
[In the Spiritual life] with
ONE MIND [The Mind of Christ]
striving together for the faith [Spiritual
life] of the gospel; [The
Truth concerning God's ONE Reality] in
no way alarmed by your opponents--which is a sign of destruction for them, but
of salvation [Deliverance] for you, and that too,
from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe
in Him, but also to suffer [Sin nature, Thought, people, System and
disaster testing] for His sake. [Glory] (Php 1:27-29)
I
permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted
Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, Here am I,
here am I, To a nation which did not call on My name. I
have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in the way which is not good, following their
own thoughts. (Isa 65:1-2) Quoted
in (Rom 10:20-21)
Inner Happiness
Make my joy complete [Sharing the happiness of God] by being of the same mind, [The Mind
of Christ] maintaining the same love, [Personal
love for God, Impersonal love for all mankind]
united in spirit, [In the Spiritual life] intent
on one purpose. [To reach full maturity] (Php 2:2)
“Joy” (CHARA) in the Greek refers to
inner happiness. With the addition of the possessive pronoun, it is actually
PLUS-H, or God’s happiness — the penthouse of the “Edification
Complex” (Temple) of the soul. (1Co 3:16) This Edification Complex is an
immaterial “structure” in the soul of a Spiritually mature believer, and is
composed of seven “floors” faith rest, grace orientation; a relaxed mental attitude;
mastery of the details of life; the capacity to love God Personally and others
as our-self, sharing God’s happiness and Occupation with Christ. The Edification Complex is the backbone of the soul and the
bridge to full Spiritual maturity. Even though the believer is
positionally perfect at the point of salvation, (Eph
2:6) his soul has a deficiency. (Rom 7:18) God’s Plan of Grace
calls for this deficiency to be filled through Truth. This is the
meaning of “fulfill.” (PLEROO) As Truth fully possesses and fully influences the
believer, God fills his soul with top quality happiness. However, this condition is potential, depending on whether
or not the believer functions under daily rebound, reception, retention,
recall, resisting of sin and own plans and repeating; this erects the Spiritual life in his soul! A completed Spiritual life in the soul produces the capacity
for Divine Thinking in life.
Peace and or Confidence
The steadfast of mind You will keep in
perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.
(Isa 26:3)
The mind fixed on Christ — Occupation
with Him and His Thoughts — is the basis for
perfect peace. You can neither know Christ
nor love Him apart from Truth in the right lobe. Only the constant, daily
intake of Truth can produce, the peace of
God, which surpasses all [Human] comprehension, will
guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Php 4:7) The word “peace” (EIRENE) has the connotation of
prosperity, benefit, welfare and tranquility. This peace reflects the Truth
stored in the soul of the Spiritually mature believer. The blessings God has
provided for Spiritual maturity, through Truth in the soul far surpass human
comprehension. (1Co 2:14)
Peace from God in Spiritual maturity acts as a
stabilizer for all kinds of circumstances encountered in the Christian life. This stabilizer makes it possible
for the believer to face both catastrophe and great prosperity with the same
grace functions: freedom from worry (1Pe 5:7) and
confidence for living as well as for dying. (2Co
5:1; 2Co 5:6-8) You must have peace of mind along with drive and energy in
order to have the by-products of confidence and stability. What happens
to you when the pressure is on? Do you break down and cry? Do you run around
and look for a crutch? If you do not have peace under
pressure, there is something wrong with your mental attitude. (Pro 24:10) The
Christian way of life is designed for believers to have peace in their right
lobes, not only in times of prosperity, but also when the going is rough.
Perhaps you do not realize it, but there are dangers in
prosperity as well as in adversity. The peace
resulting from Truth in the right lobe produces a confidence which will sustain
you through the prosperity without your becoming arrogant, and through
adversity, without your falling apart!
Stability
For God has not
given us a spirit [Spiritual life] of fear; but of power, and
of love, [Personal love for God, Impersonal
love for all mankind] and of a sound mind.
[The Mind of Christ] (2Ti 1:7)
The sound mind is a direct result of the Mind of Christ —
a mind free from worry or fear. “Fear” is human viewpoint caused by a lack of faith-rest. (Heb 3:18-19)
Therefore, let us fear if, while a Promise
remains of entering His rest, [Spiritual Maturity] any one of you may seem to have come short of it.
(Heb 4:1)
It is not what you DO that stabilizes circumstances — it is what you THINK! A person who can think under pressure is one who has a
stabilized mental attitude. (Joh 16:32-33)
Giving
The
greatest giver is God the Father,
(Rom 8:32) the
greatest gift is God the Son, (Heb 6:4)
the greatest presenter is God the Holy Spirit!
(Heb 9:14)
For you
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, [God] yet for
your sake He became poor, [Human] so that you through His poverty might become
rich. [Become God's children] (2Co 8:9)
True Biblical giving, first of all is modeled after God's
Own Thinking and Nature; and is His Mental attitude. (Luk 11:40-42)
But love your enemies, and do good, and
lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will
be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil
men. [All of us] (Luk 6:35)
Giving was always to the poor, believer or unbeliever, (Mat 6:2; 1Co 16:1-2) Paul the
apostle (Sent to Command) made it very clear;
He would not accept money for the teaching of the Word! (1Co 9:14-19;
2Co 12:14)
I know that after my departure savage
wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves
men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore
be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I
did not cease to admonish each one with tears. And
now I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build
you up [To
Spiritual maturity] and to give you the inheritance [Full reward] among all those who are
sanctified. I
have coveted no one's silver or gold or clothes. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to
the men who were with me. In everything I
showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself
said, It is more blessed to give than to
receive. (Act 20:29-35)
You are already filled, you have already
become rich, you have become kings without us; and
indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you. For, I think,
God has exhibited us apostles [Commanders] last of all, as
men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle [Theater] to the world, both to
angels and to men. [The Angelic conflict]
We are fools
for Christ's sake, but you are prudent in
Christ; we
are weak, but
you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are
without honor. To this present hour we are
both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and
are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we
bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to
conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now. I do
not write these things to shame you, but to admonish [Warn] you as my beloved
children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you
would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I
became your father through the gospel. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.
(1Co
4:8-16)
All production in the Spiritual life is a result
of growth, not the
cause! God gives us 24 hrs. a day for us to
redeem, (Eph 5:14-18) by staying in fellowship, by learning, and Thinking with
Truth! This offering to God is acceptable, and everything else in the Spiritual
life is a result of our giving back,
what He gives us. (Time, energy, effort,
sharing, money, thanksgiving, praise, hospitality; Virtue) You may not always have
money; but you can always have the basis for giving — a willing mind, which is
literally positive volition based on Truth. (2Co
8:12) This switches giving from what you
give, to what goes on in your right lobe. Old
Testament tithing was tantamount to an income tax for believers and unbelievers
alike; it had nothing to do with giving or “offerings.” (Neh 10:36-39) The New Testament Principle is to give “as God has
prospered.” (2Co 9:8) The next time you are guided by the Lord, to help someone,
remember, that
giving is what you are Thinking before you give and while you are giving. If it is giving for the praise of men and or under pressure,
it is an abomination to the Lord. (Psa 66:18) Until believers reach Spiritual maturity they cannot
understand when to and when not to give!
God has and UNLIMITED AMOUNT to give to
us; to give to others! (Psa 50:10-15)
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will
also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one
must do just as he has purposed in his heart, [Spiritual
Thinking in fellowship, and lead by God] not grudgingly or under
compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. [A
Spiritually mature believer with inner happiness] (2Co 9:6-7)
If you give with thanksgiving in fellowship,
and out of Virtue love for the Lord, it is acceptable to Him.
Love
And He said to him, YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND
WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. This is the great and
foremost Commandment. The second is like it, YOU
SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. On these two Commandments depend
the whole Law
and the Prophets. (Mat 22:37-40) cf. (Deut
10:12-22; Lev 19:18)
Love is patient, love is kind and is not
jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; [Not arrogant towards others] it does not seek its
own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, [Not arrogant about himself] does not rejoice in
unrighteousness, [Being out of fellowship] but rejoices with the Truth;
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all
things. (1Co
13:5)
Two Greek words
confirm the Principle that the true Concept of love in the Bible is a mental
attitude: AGAPE and PHILOS. AGAPE-type Impersonal love is found only in the
Spiritual life of the soul. It is the capacity to
love which comes from the filling of God the Holy Spirit and knowledge of the
Truth. It is the relaxed mental attitude of
Spiritual maturity, and reflects freedom from mental attitude sins toward God and toward people.
(1Ti 1:5-6) It is
impossible to sustain a relationship with the Lord or with any human being and
be filled with mental attitude sins. The Command to love other
believers is not an order to demonstrate your love in an overt manner, or even
to love everyone with the same intensity of love. It is strictly an order to
maintain a relaxed MENTAL ATTITUDE, although mental attitude love often prompts
overt manifestations or expressions toward the object loved. (Joh 3:16) Capacity for love begins with mental
attitude AGAPE. Through the function of Operation Z, it spreads throughout the
soul and becomes PHILOS, a total soul love. PHILOS-type
Personal love directed toward God, and Impersonal love toward man can fully
exist only through the Spiritual life at Spiritual maturity!
THE CRITICAL
MENTAL ATTITUDE OF THE CORINTHIANS
Second Corinthians 10 is one of the great mental attitude
passages in the Word of God and relates our Spiritual conflict to the Thought
pattern.
Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness
and gentleness of Christ--I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold
toward you when absent! (2Co 10:1)
The word “meekness”
means “gentleness
of mind” and is a word for a mental attitude of grace. “Gentleness”
is literally “graciousness”
or grace-application. At the very outset of this passage, the Apostle Paul cites the tremendous mental attitude of
our Lord Jesus Christ: Grace Orientation and
grace-application. Why? The critical mental attitude of the Corinthian believers
toward Paul was a satanic attempt to destroy Paul’s own mental attitude of
grace. Paul answers his critics in
this passage as a man with the authority to settle the account. It is not the
time to “turn the other cheek.” The last phrase of verse 1 is generally
misunderstood. Paul not only fights back, but he quotes his critics with
sarcasm. He caustically remarks that these legalists claim he is submissive and
timid in their presence but bold and courageous in his epistle. This is a reference to First Corinthians in which Paul
blistered the Corinthians with an exhortation concerning their carnality. (Being out fellowship)
But I beseech you, that I may not be bold
when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against
some, which think of us as if we walked according to
the flesh. [In Carnality] (2Co 10:2)
Paul is
requesting a change of mental attitude on the part of his critics, and he
appeals to their grace orientation. The nit-picking and bullying gave Paul no
freedom to communicate Truth. However, Paul was not afraid. He could handle the
legalists, if necessary. Through Truth, he had great
Spiritual courage, and whether present or absent from them, he would be
faithful to Truth. The greatest expression of
love by a pastor-teacher for his sheep is the communication of Truth! The carnal thoughts of
the legalists express emotional revolt of the soul and reversionism. In deeming Paul carnal, they are actually ascribing to him
their own condition of soul.
For though we walk in the flesh, [Human
body] we do not war [In the angelic conflict] after [According to] the flesh. [Old sin nature] (2Co 10:3)
With his
characteristic humor and sarcasm, Paul makes a play on words and uses the word “flesh” in both its literal and
Spiritual meanings. It is true that Paul’s soul is
walking IN the sphere of the flesh, (The human
body) but it is not true that he is living or
teaching ACCORDING TO the standards of the flesh. (The old sin nature) Just because Paul “braces” the
Corinthians does not mean he is out of fellowship. He possesses legitimate
authority; (1Co 4:19-21) thus, his hard-nosed teaching is not carnality. The
criticism of Paul by the Corinthians is not valid. It represents the
self-righteousness of human viewpoint and legalism. Our
warfare in the Christian life is neither physical nor carnal; it is Spiritual! Though
we live in this world, we do not engage in the Spiritual conflict according to
the standard of this world. We do not use our human
energy or talents, our human personalities or ingenuity. We use our
God-given Spiritual assets. The Lord has provided information whereby we can
begin at “home base” — our
Thinking — and advance victoriously toward
overt production compatible with Divine Viewpoint. This is a very
important Principle, for it will explain Paul’s mental attitude dissertation.
OUR
SPIRITUAL WEAPONS
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, [Human
thoughts] but Divinely powerful [God's Thoughts] for the
destruction of fortresses. [Areas of false
thinking] (2Co
10:4)
In our Spiritual
warfare, we do not pick up an M-1, load it and shoot down the devil, nor do we
toss a few grenades and blow up the world! Since we do not fight according to the flesh, we must have Spiritual armament for combat in the angelic
conflict. “Flesh” in this
verse refers to the system of earthly standards. Our weapons in the angelic
conflict do not belong to the physical realm. Rather, our weapons are powerful
through the instrumentality of God. The devil’s
fortification system can resist all attacks of human viewpoint, human ability
and human power; but God has provided in grace
Divine Thoughts, equipment, and weapons to demolish the cosmic thinking of
Satan. What are these weapons which enable us
to launch an attack against the world, the old sin nature and the devil? They are DIVINE THOUGHTS! The
greatest weapon we have in both Spiritual warfare and in life is what we Think.
No matter how you slice it, the factor that motivates, empowers and strengthens
a believer is his Thought pattern. If the believer is
thinking with human reality or viewpoint, he is under satanic infiltration.
Furthermore, he is useless, miserable, and indistinguishable from the
unbeliever. On the other hand, the
believer with Truth in the right lobe has God's declared Reality, and if he
Thinks with It, as if it were really True! He has the ability to assault the defense system of Satan
in this intensified stage of the angelic conflict. Such a believer has moved
into the mature Spiritual life, and therefore has the capacity to understand
that “God
causes all things to work together for the believers good” and he “casts all his
cares on the Lord” this believer cannot be
defeated! Like
a truly courageous person in the human realm, he cannot be conquered. You can
beat him up; you can tear him to shreds; but as long as he has the Divine
Viewpoint in the right lobe which says, “I
will fight and Think with God's with Thoughts to the end,” cannot be overcome! (Rom 8:28-37)
THE MENTAL
ATTITUDE IN THE CONFLICT
We are destroying speculations
[Satan's thoughts] and every lofty thing [Arrogance] raised up against
THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. [THE MIND OF CHRIST] (2Co 10:5)
The Concept of
bringing every Thought into captivity for Christ has been interpreted in many
ways. The “meditators,” the “agonizers,” the “positive thinkers,” all think
they are bringing their thoughts into captivity for Christ. Yet, when the interpretation is analyzed in the Greek, it
clearly reveals that every phrase in this verse relates to military function. “Destroying” (KATHAIREO)
indicates the power of a Divine Thought to attack and
demolish the cosmic thought of Satan! Not human
thoughts, Satan knows more than any human. And our thoughts are useless!
And again, THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS [Thoughts] of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS. (1Co 3:20) from (Psa 94:11)
Man in his pomp,
[Arrogance] yet without understanding, [God's
Thinking] Is like the beasts that perish. (Psa 49:20)
I
said to myself concerning the sons of men, God has surely tested them
in order for them to see that they are but beasts. (Ecc 3:18)
The
strategic victory of the Cross, followed by the resurrection, ascension and
session of Christ at the right hand of the Father; has now placed Satan in a defensive rather than an
offensive position. Before the Cross became an historic fact, Satan had
operated on the more advantageous principle of offense; but now that his doom
is sealed, he can only employ delaying tactics. Believers are the assault
troops designed by the Lord to demolish his defense system. When they fail, it is because of being negative toward Truth,
and or not Thinking with Truth under temptations to sin, resulting in the
malfunction of Operation Z and the opening up of the MATAIOTES, causing scar tissue of
the soul, and finally, reversionism. Under these
conditions, the mind is the prisoner of Satan. (2Ti 2:25-26) To attack
and smash the unseen satanic fortifications requires a heavy concentration of
Truth!
What are
Satan’s fortifications? “Speculations?” Not at all! Satan is far too
clever to function on the basis of speculations. The word, incorrectly
translated “speculations,” is
LOGISMOS — systems of thought or reasoning’s — and refers to the reasoning
powers of cosmic Truth. (The Thoughts of the Bible used out of context, and or not in the filling
of God the Holy Spirit)
Then the devil took Him into the holy city
and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, If You are
the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, HE WILL COMMAND
HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU; and ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT
YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE. Jesus said to him, On the other
hand, it is
written, YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR
GOD TO THE TEST. (Mat 4:5-7)
And also every other form of religion, and false
thinking. (1Ti
4:1)
For such
men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles
of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore
it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness,
whose end will be according to their deeds. (2Co
11:13-15)
God is allowing Satan to demonstrate any and
every way to live apart from the Will and Thoughts of God! So that God can bring many angels and men to
His family, to share His infinite Love and Truth with forever! And at the same time Satan is proving beyond any
doubt; he and every demon and every man who refuses God's Will of Salvation and
or Obedience, is justly sent to the lake of Fire! And every believer who has the same mental
attitude as these BELIEVERS will be judged:
And the Lord said, Who then is the faithful
and sensible steward, [Spiritually Mature believer]
whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations
[The Word of God on every subject] at the proper time? Blessed
is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.
Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his
possessions. But if that slave says in his heart,
[Believer, thinking in favor of the old sin nature]
My master will be a long time in coming, and begins to beat the
slaves, [Arrogance, pride of life]
both men and women, and to eat and drink [Wrong
priorities, lust of the eyes] and get drunk; [Lust
of the flesh] the master of that slave [Spiritually
mature Believer] will come on a day when he does not expect him
and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a
place with the unbelievers. (Jude 1:11-16)
And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready
or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes,
but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a
flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much
will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the
more. (Luk 12:42-48)
But false prophets also arose among the
people, just as there will also be false teachers among you,
who will secretly introduce destructive heresies,
[The Bible without the filling of God the Holy Spirit]
even denying the Master who bought them, [Carnal
believers] bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
Many will follow their sensuality, [Staying
out of fellowship] and because of them the way of the Truth will be maligned;
and in their greed
[Preaching for money] they will exploit you with false words;
their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2Pe 2:1-3)
These are springs without water and mists
driven by a storm, for
whom the black darkness has been reserved. For
speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, (Mat 15:18-19) by sensuality, those who barely escape [Became
believers] from the ones who live in error, [Unbelievers]
promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption;
[To the old sin nature]
for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. (Joh 8:35) For if, after they have escaped the defilements
of the world [Sin nature thinking] by the Knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, [The Mind of Christ; God's Thinking] they are again entangled
in them [Human old sin nature thoughts] and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the
first. For
it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than
having known it, to turn away from the holy Commandment
[Divine
Viewpoint] handed on to them.
It has happened to them
according to the true proverb, A DOG RETURNS
TO ITS OWN VOMIT, and, A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the
mire." (2Pe 2:17-22)
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the
Wisdom and Knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and
unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF
THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM
THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to
Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. (Rom 11:33-36)
We are destroying speculations
[Satan's thoughts] and every lofty thing
[Arrogance] raised up
against THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience
of Christ. [THE
MIND OF CHRIST] (2Co 10:5)
Satanic attacks are launched, if someone, anyone has never #1 believed in Christ, and
or #2 never
learned the Word of Truth or is not Thinking with it; they are a mental
prisoner of Satan, we are born in this
condition! (Gen 8:21) On the other hand, when believers are Thinking with Divine
Viewpoint, they have established a successful counterattack against cosmic viewpoint, and “bring into captivity” “or make a prisoner of every thought” — literally, “every system of
satanic and human thought.” We have held off the attack, and Satan has been repulsed! LOGISMOS [“Speculations” or systems of cosmic thought] is Satan’s successful attempt to capture our system of Divine Thinking;
NOEMA [Every system
of Thought] is the believer’s successful
attempt at assault. In other words, LOGISMOS
denotes human viewpoint; NOEMA, Divine
Viewpoint. Every system of thought sponsored
by Satan can be captured by the believer and defeated! Making a prisoner of every human viewpoint system
of thought must be accomplished under the Principle of “obedience to authority.” Assaulting and demolishing all cosmic systems of thinking,
and every obstacle of pride, temptation, distraction and memory that is
attacking against the objective Spiritual Thinking of God, and making a
prisoner and captive every human viewpoint system of thought; TO THE AUTHORITY
OF CHRIST'S THOUGHTS. (Literal translation of;
2Co 10:5) The obedience of Christ is Truth — the Mind of Christ. (1Co 2:16) Under this
Concept, if enough believers in a national entity consistently maintain Divine
Viewpoint, [Living and Thinking by the Will,
and Word of God] that nation will be a light (Mat 5:14) and recover the freedom, prosperity and impact designed by
God. Obviously, then, the answer is in the
function of Operation Z. Rebound, Reception, Retention, Recall, Resist sin and
our own will; and Repeat! (Mar 8:33-38; Php 2:21)
HUMAN
ADJUSTMENTS TO LIFE
What are some of these systems of thought used by Satan in
an attack or a counterattack?
1. RATIONALIZATION
This is a form of
self-justification, on the basis of scar tissue, a warped conscience, and or
lack of the Word of Truth in the human spirit, such a
state of mind justifies human traditions, religion, sentimentality, human
security, social life, family life, hobbies, sports, occupational life, the
lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and or the pride of life as more important than Thinking God's
Thoughts on EVERY SUBJECT! You cannot be involved in such a negative system of thought
and possess God’s happiness. The Divine Viewpoint is: But the goal of our instruction is
love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. [Pure Divine Thinking]
(1Ti 1:5)
But turning around and seeing His disciples,
He rebuked Peter and said, Get behind Me, Satan; for
you are not setting your mind on God's interests, [Thoughts] but man's. (Mar 8:33)
For they all seek after their own
interests, [Thoughts] not those of Christ Jesus.
(Php 2:21)
2. DIRECT ATTACK
In this system, a person adjusts to the problems and frustrations of life
through anger —
a fit of temper, a tantrum or physical aggression. This mental attitude
stems from one of the lust patterns: approbation lust; (To get attention) power
lust; (To control people and the environment around them) or from emotional
revolt of the soul and mental attitude sins, of vindictiveness and
implacability. (To be spiteful and seek revenge) The
Divine viewpoint is: Let all bitterness
and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all
malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as
God in Christ also has forgiven you. (Eph 4:31-32)
3. DEFENSE MECHANISM
When the soul is
confronted with pressures, the person protects himself
by reverting to human viewpoint in order to block out God's Reality.
This change of thought pattern leads to a change of
behavior pattern. For example, a believer may
become disillusioned with people, self, circumstances or things; and then uses
any excuse to “live by the old sin nature” and reverts to human realities. The Divine Viewpoint is: Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also
with the same Thinking, because he
who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of
the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the
desire of the Gentiles, [Unbelievers] having pursued a course of
sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable
idolatries. (1Pe 4:1-3)
4. DENIAL
This is a human
viewpoint adjustment that ignores or attempts to ignore
some difficulty, problem or danger. Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will
come with their mocking, following after
their own lusts, and saying, Where is the
Promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues
just as it was from the beginning of creation. (2Pe 3:3-4) The Divine Viewpoint is:
For if
we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge
of the Truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice
for sins. (Heb 10:26)
For we know Him who
said, VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY. And again, THE
LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of
the living God. (Heb 10:30-31)
5. SUBLIMATION / ESCAPISM
When a person becomes bored, lonely, discouraged or filled
with mental attitude sins, he seeks an outlet for his frustrations through a
frantic search for happiness in fornication, alcohol, drugs, sports, hobbies
entertainment, social life, etc. He becomes a slave to the details of
life (1Jn 2:16) and loses his
capacities for life, love, and happiness; he therefore sublimates. One of the
most common and subtle sublimations is the escape into dream world. You
visualize in your mind a place to retreat where you can compensate for the
frustrations, adversities and disappointments of life. These
believers avoid Divine Reality through some fanciful form of escapism.
There are many novel ways to compensate, but they all constitute dream world.
In this way, we can often escape the reality of disappointments and heartache. Yet there is a Divine Plan by which you can advance and
out-maneuver Satan all the way and gain victory in the devil’s world! This Plan
is Divine Viewpoint — God's Thoughts on EVERY
SUBJECT! Every battle in life
can be won if you follow the Divine
Instructions. Each time you face a bitter
situation in life, or fail at work, or make mistake, or sin, you will either
retreat into one of the human adjustments to life, or advance into Divine Viewpoint, by using God's Thoughts. (1Jn 1:9; Rom 8:28) If you retreat from God's Reality, to the human viewpoint of
escapism, or any other form of false thinking, and get out of fellowship and
then get back in fellowship, and out again, back and forth, you still possess your
bitterness and frustration. You are still upset! Instead, you must advance from your experience to the Word of God and
then apply the Divine Thinking to experience. By Thinking with these Divine Thoughts under pressure you
WILL advance in the Spiritual life; guaranteed!
OR YOUR WORRY, DOUBT, SINNING, FUSTRATION, ETC.
BACK, GUARANTEED!
But
we have this treasure [The Spiritual life]
(2Pe 1:4) in earthen vessels, [Human
bodies] so that the surpassing greatness of the power
will be of God and not from ourselves;
we are afflicted in every way, [People
and circumstances] but not crushed; perplexed,
[Thought testing] but
not despairing; persecuted, [Family and organizations]
but not forsaken; struck down, [Disaster
testing] but not destroyed; always carrying about in the
body the dying of Jesus,
(Rom 6:4 ) so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested
in our body. (Gal 2:20) For
we who live are constantly being delivered over to death (Rom 8:13) [Experiential
death] for Jesus' sake, so
that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (Col 3:10) So death works in us, (Col 3:9) [Experiential death to the production of the old
sin nature's will and desires] but life in you. [Spiritual
life] (2Co 4:7-12)
Now you are on the offensive; you have overcome
human reality! The more
Truth you know, the more you will find strength, comfort and power when facing
the realities of life, God's Reality, and the satanically inspired human false realities.
But He answered and said, It is written, MAN
SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH
OF GOD. (Mat 4:4)
MAN SHALL NOT LIVE IN HUMAN REALITIES ALONE, BUT IN GOD'S ONE REALITY! Jesus was forty days without food, and He was
hungry, [Human reality] the temptation is to
use His Deity as God to solve the problem. Instead He trusted in the power of
His Spiritual life, Truth, God the Holy Spirit and God the Father to feed Him
when it was time, [God's
Reality] and He Thought and said. (Mat 4:4) We are tempted to try to solve our problems by
using our old sin nature. Christ experientially
died to His will, and desire for food! We follow the same example with our
life! (Joh 12:24-26)
6. SUBJECTIVITY
The best illustration of subjective thinking is the
present-day emotional sensitivity programs conducted in every area of life
— in the military, business, academic, medical, family and social life.
However, subjectivity is not confined to organized activities. Many believers,
who wear their feelings on their sleeves and are constantly upset about
something or someone, constitute a large majority of subjective thinkers.
Another form of over-sensitivity is self-pity. You assume no one loves you; you
feel left out, and it depresses you. There is no excuse for any of this for
believers. Our lives were designed by God to have
peace, happiness and blessing: Objectivity When you
arrive at the place of maximum Divine Viewpoint, you become Occupied with the
Person of Jesus Christ, and at that point you have just moved into a place of
perfect happiness. As long as you remain stabilized in that Mental attitude,
nothing can move you. (Psa 16:8)
This is a part of the Concept of inner beauty, the
filling of God the Holy Spirit and the Spiritual life. You will become a
different person. (Gal 4:19) Your whole life reflects what you Think! (Psa 119:124-135)
THE GARRISON
IN THE SOUL
And having in a
readiness [The fortress of Divine Thinking]
to revenge and punish all disobedience,
[False thinking]
whenever your obedience (Rom 6:17-18) is fulfilled. [At
Spiritual maturity] (2Co 10:6)
Satan has many clever
systems for controlling the mind and soul of believers, but God has
provided a security system to protect the soul. “Having in a readiness” is a military term denoting security and could be
translated, “to garrison troops at a certain point to prevent revolution.” This verse is a warning against revolution in the
soul. How can the believer have revolution in his soul? When he goes negative toward God's way of Thinking; through emotional
revolt, reversionism, human viewpoint or apostasy, causing scar tissue in the
soul and or hardness of heart, his soul is in revolution. At no time in
your Christian experience are you invulnerable to emotional revolt in the soul.
It may be temporary carnality and last only as long as it takes to rebound, (1Jn 1:9) or it may be permanent and lead to
reversionism. Emotion is the basis for every
response and reaction in life. When the
emotion is dominated by the Spiritual life and responds to Divine Thinking,
there is capacity for life, love and happiness. On
the other hand, when the emotion takes over; it causes irrational behavior and
breeds unhappiness. Since people in emotional
revolt crack up easily, the soul must have a
garrison. If it does not, they become vulnerable
to all the emotional activities in Christianity today — the one-shot
rededications, “Spirituality” through old sin nature morality, “tongues” the
health and wealth movement or the “divine” healing counterfeits. “Having” is “to have and
to hold,” and indicates a certain way of life. Your
way of Thinking and life should maintain a continual guard mount in the soul. (2Pe 3:17) When any military organization
is on the move, it must be protected by a “point” — a small outfit placed in front of the main column. There
must also be flank and rear protection. (Isa 52:12) When the troops rest or bivouac, they must set up a
perimeter of sentinels with outposts for security. (Psa 62:6) It is
Satan’s objective in the angelic conflict to make your soul a battlefield. He already has an ally in the body — the old sin nature which,
under carnality or reversionism, (1Co 3:1-3)
controls the soul. However, the sin nature can produce
only carnality, human old sin nature good and or evil. It takes an outside attack force of Satanic false Biblical
thoughts and or the “doctrines of demons”
(1Ti 4:1) to completely destroy the effectiveness of the soul. In
the angelic conflict, there are two types of security provided by God: Eternal
security, (Joh 10:28) and temporal
security; the maintenance of a garrison in your soul. (2Co 10:6) This
protection against the takeover of the soul, by
what is false, is Spiritual Thinking in the
soul. (Joh 7:16-18) “All disobedience”
connotes “deviation from obedience or
authority.” You must mount a guard in your
soul to “revenge all disobedience to the
authority of Truth,” which is emotional
revolt in the soul. “Revenge” denotes
punishment and indicates that all these revolts must be punished or put down. As you learn categories of Truth, the “troops” move in,
and a fortified town is set up in your soul! When you know enough Truth through
the function of Operation Z, you can crush every revolt in your soul.
This is
the point at which “obedience is
fulfilled.” Truth in
the frame of reference of the Spiritual life, is primary sentry Post Number One — your greatest protection.
From there, you move to the outer perimeter — the memory center,
vocabulary, categories, the conscience, and the Thinking of Truth, resulting in
the Edification Complex, (A new Spiritual heart) (Eze 36:26) in the soul and the beginning of the Spiritually mature
Christian life! The fact that you are a
believer does not mean your soul is automatically garrisoned — this is potential. What does a new believer do until he develops a garrison in
the soul? He fights with a slingshot, bows and arrows or fists; in other words,
he uses the faith- rest technique, (Memorizing Verses and
Thinking with them) as a holding force until he builds a stronger and more
permanent defense. Faith-rest is designed
simply to Think Promises and Principles in the Word. The full-strength garrison
is the “Full Knowledge” of the
Doctrines of the Word of God, put on the launching pad in the Spiritual life. (Eph 4:13-14; Heb 5:14)
Take
pains Meditate [Keep Thinking and speaking to
yourself] with these Thoughts; be absorbed in them, give
yourself wholly to them; that your profiting
[Progress] will
appear and be evident to all. Pay close
attention to yourself, and to the Truth; continue in these Thoughts: for in
doing this you shall both save [Deliver]
yourself, [From old
sin nature thinking] and those that hear you.
[Those over whom you have influence] (1Ti 4:15-16)
Holding in
readiness [The fortress of Truth] to punish all deviation from obedience to Divine Thoughts,
whenever your obedience [Deficiency of Truth] has
been fulfilled, so as to fully influence our
Thoughts! (Literal translation of; 2Co
10:6)
THE DANGER
OF SUPERFICIAL EVALUATION
You are looking at things as they are
outwardly. If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ's, let him
consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ's, so also are
we. (2Co
10:7)
The first phrase
of this verse is the biography of the believer without a garrison. In the Greek
it is a statement, not a question. It says literally, “You are in the habit of looking at things according to the standard
of superficial appearance. Indicates a soulish revolt in the Corinthians. Although no demon can enter the body of a believer, (1Co 6:19) Satanic twisted Scripture
can infiltrate the soul when the garrison goes to sleep, through neglect of the
filling of God the Holy Spirit and Thinking with the Mind of Christ. One of the great dangers we face in the Christian life is
to assume that we know something when we know nothing! People in this category
inevitably reveal the nothingness in their souls by superficial evaluation.
Circumstances are viewed completely through human viewpoint — the outward appearance.
(1Sa 16:7) Such
people get their eyes on other people, circumstances, things or self and have
no discernment relative to Divine Reality. They
are souls without a garrison, overrun or neutralized by the devil. They “plead
the blood,” agonize in the closet, dedicate, rededicate, and call this “the
victorious Christian life.” Where does God look?
On the EMOTIONS? No! God evaluates what goes on in the heart — the Spiritual Thinking! That is where the garrison should be. “If
anyone — any of you Corinthians — has confidence [And you do] regarding himself
that he belongs to Christ...” The Corinthians have not gone so far into
reversionism that they think they have lost their Salvation, but that is about
all they remember at this point. How will they recover? Paul knows they cannot Think Truth while in emotional revolt and
reversionism; therefore,
he directs their Thoughts to his authority. First, he reminds them that
when they criticize him, they are criticizing a member of the Body of Christ.
Furthermore, he has authority over them by Divine appointment. As the
communicator of Truth, Paul, as well as all pastor-teachers, have special
authority. (Heb 13:7; Heb 13:17) Therefore, in (2Co 10:8) Paul defends his authority and his
right to judge on the basis of his Spiritual gift of communication. (Eph 4:11; 1Th 5:12)
THE ISSUE OF
AUTHORITY
For though I should boast somewhat more of
our authority, which the Lord hath given us for
edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed. (2Co 10:8)
Paul, including
all three communicators who had ministered to the Corinthians — Timothy, Titus
and himself — says literally, “For if I
(Maybe I will and maybe I won’t — third class condition) should boast a little
too much concerning our authority...” Paul’s critics were saying that he
was a great braggart and that authority had gone to his head. They insisted
that he was abusing his authority by keeping them under his thumb. Yet this is
exactly what the legalists were doing while attributing their own tactics to
Paul. But Paul, knowing that his authority was from God, and was neither
ashamed nor afraid to use it, In fact, he would have to become a “drill
sergeant” and “smash” them with his rank! The gift of
pastor-teacher has been sovereignly bestowed by God the Holy Spirit, for
believers to reach Spiritual maturity. The
PRIMARY objective of the communication of Truth, is the construction of the
Spiritual life in the soul. The ULTIMATE
objective in Phase Two, (In time after Salvation) is for believers to
reach Spiritual maturity. Even though the pastor-teacher may find it
necessary to severely admonish his flock, it is not for their “destruction” to the contrary, it is to
keep them from reversionism! No believer ever builds
the Spiritual life in the soul or moves into Spiritual maturity without
accepting his pastor-teacher’s authority, which has graciously been provided by
God the Holy Spirit and which is employed through the teaching of the Word of
God. (2Ti 3:16-17)
For I do not wish to seem as if I would
terrify you by my letters. (2Co 10:9)
Paul’s critics
also claimed he was trying to terrorize and intimidate the Corinthian believers
with his letters, so they rejected his Epistles as a source of Divine
Viewpoint. Therefore, it became necessary for Paul to defend the authority
issue through the Doctrine of inspiration. As in
communication, so in inspiration, the authority of the Message is provided by
God the Holy Spirit. God the Holy Spirit used the writers of Scripture to
record God’s complete and connected Thought toward man. (2Pe 1:20-21) Obviously, First Corinthians was an
epistle of reproof. But this hard-nosed rebuke was conducted in the ministry of
the Holy Spirit under the principle of Divine inspiration. Certain portions of
the Bible are designed to be harsh in order to warn believers against
reversionism. Whatever the subject, every portion of Scripture is vital and
necessary! (2Ti 3:16-17)
For they say, His letters are weighty and
strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and
his speech contemptible.
(2Co 10:10)
Again his critics
are quoted as saying that his letters are “severe
and vehement.” (Literally) These words imply that Paul is tyrannical and
lacks love and compassion. They resent his dogmatism and authority in teaching.
From the critical attitude toward his message, they move on to ridicule his
personal appearance and public speaking ability. When anyone rejects the Doctrinal
message, he will inevitably find something to reject in the person of the
communicator: “his personal presence is
unimpressive, and his speech contemptible.” Those of you who understand
Greek culture will be amused at this because there were two things which were
highly revered: a beautiful body and a skilful orator. Since most of the heroes of ancient Greece were
either strong, muscular men or people with eloquent tongues, the Greeks
worshipped these two attainments. The critics were pointing out that Paul did
not meet any of the heroic specifications for Greek culture. They were suggesting that he would have no influence in a
Greek city like Corinth because of his regular body and his short-comings as a
public speaker. A fourth-century manuscript, ascribed to Lucian,
portrayed Paul as the “bald-headed, hook-nosed Galilean.” The legalists made an
issue of his appearance. There is apparent reason to believe he did not make a
good first impression, and frankly, I am delighted that he did not. Paul is a good illustration of the secret power in the
Christian life. To serve the Lord, it is not
necessary to work out with barbells and develop muscles. Nor is the secret in
eloquent speech. Apparently, Paul had some type of speech impediment;
yet he never seemed to be disturbed or hampered by his human handicaps for
quite an obvious reason: he depended on the POWER OF
GOD! He knew that the power of God not only
provided a more than adequate substitute for any human deficiency, (2Co 12:10) but that it
was the only source for a successful ministry. Human
viewpoint said, “Paul, you will never make a preacher; you are an unrefined
public speaker; you have no presence, and your appearance detracts. You
simply will never be able to hold an audience; so don’t bother to come to our
seminary or apply to our pulpit committee. You do not fill the bill!” Human viewpoint demands a tall, attractive, eloquent
gentleman —
someone who will be a social lion, have the right kind of a personality and who
can raise money, if necessary. What is the
Divine Viewpoint? Does he teach the Word of God? Does he use Divine power? (Zec 4:6; Joh 4:23) Paul illustrates in this
passage the difference between Divine and human
viewpoints. He is declaring that from the human viewpoint he could not
serve anywhere as a pastor, but God has graciously given him the gift of
authority — apostleship. Further, God has given him the gift of teaching; and
regardless of his lack of eloquence, Paul is unsurpassed as a teacher, as well
as one of the greatest believers who ever lived. From
the human viewpoint, he was totally handicapped. From the Divine Viewpoint, he tapped grace to the maximum. (1Sa 16:7) In addition to his unattractive physical
appearance and lack of eloquence, Paul was constantly in pain. (2Co 12:7 — the “thorn in the flesh”) This is a
significant factor. Yet,
once again, we see that the important factor is God’s Word. When one uses
Truth, and God’s power — the filling of God the
Holy Spirit — all the handicaps of life cannot hinder anyone, from
fulfilling the responsibility for which the Lord has left them in this world!
It is not how you look — and don’t take this to mean that you should be sloppy
in your appearance. It is not how you speak; it is not your personality; IT IS WHAT YOU THINK! All the physical disorders and handicaps in the world are
inconsequential, if you have God's Thinking in the right lobe of your soul! Although the critics cannot permanently damage
Paul’s ministry, they are permitted by God to
continue their activities to test the discernment and volition of believers who
appear to be positive to Truth. Are we Occupied with Christ, or with people? Do we truly
love the Word, or something, someone or anything
else!
He
who is faithful in a very little thing [Divine
Thought] is faithful also in much;
and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is
unrighteous also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the
use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? [Spiritual
Maturity] And if you have not been faithful in the use of
that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?
[No reward] No servant can serve two masters;
for either he will hate the one [God
and His Divine Viewpoint] and love the other, [Human
viewpoint wealth] or else he will be devoted to one
[God and His Thoughts]
and despise the other. [Human old sin nature reality]
You cannot serve God and wealth. Now
the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all
these things and were scoffing at Him. And He said to them, You
are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but
GOD KNOWS YOUR HEARTS; [It all depends on WHAT WE THINK]
for that which is highly esteemed among men [The
lust of the eyes, flesh, pride, human reality, living by the old sin nature] is
detestable in the sight of God. (Rom 8:13; Luk 16:10-15)
We
are to: Work, eat, have money,
have a family, social life and entertainment, etc.; To live! — Not
live to: Have money, eat work,
have a family, social life and entertainment, etc.! The only way this is possible is living in Spirit
& Truth, as the number one
priority! (Mat 4:4; Joh 4:23-24)
Let such a person [The critic] Consider [Think] this,
that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in
deed when we are present. (2Co 10:11)
Paul comes back at his critics with a declaration of his
consistency. Let the critics and Judaizers consider the facts. Paul has been
consistent whether present or absent, he lived
in the Spiritual life Thinking with Truth! Paul preferred to present
God’s Word in a gracious manner; but when the occasion called for it, he could
lower the boom. (2Ti 4:2) “Who are these people who are criticizing me? And what is the
source of their viewpoint?” (The old sin nature)
THE
INCONSISTENCY OF HUMAN VIEWPOINT
For we are not bold to class or compare
ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure
themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are
without Understanding.
[Divine
Thinking] (2Co 10:12)
To “compare
ourselves” means “to judge ourselves
in the same place or rank.” “I do not have the boldness,” Paul says, oozing
sarcasm, “to judge ourselves worthy”
In other words, the legalists are so superior to him, (Sarcasm) Paul now adds
humor to sarcasm: “to compare ourselves”
is a paronomasia. However, the play on words is lost in the English. He says,
“We do not have the boldness to either EGKRINO — “to judge ourselves worthy” — or SUGKRINO — “to compare ourselves favorably with certain ones who constantly
recommend themselves favorably.” They have found in Paul and others a
common target for criticism, and they malign and judge them, while flattering
each other and stimulating their own approbation lust. Paul is completely
ostracized from their mutual admiration society; yet from the Divine Viewpoint,
to use another believer as your criterion is a very
subtle form of carnality. Do you know why? Because it involves a mental
attitude of pride, and pride is one of the most insidious of mental attitude
sins.
For you have died [Dead
people do not compare themselves!] and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When
Christ, who is our life, [Now] is revealed, then you also will be revealed with
Him in glory. Therefore consider the members of your earthly
body as dead [To the old sin natures' thoughts]
(Joh 12:25) to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire,
and greed, which amounts to idolatry. (Col 3:3-5)
And have put on the
new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image [Thinking
and Virtue] of the One who created him--[Jesus
Christ our Lord] (Col 3:10)
THE STANDARD
OF TRUTH
But we will not boast beyond our measure,
[Thinking of Truth] but within the measure of
the sphere which God apportioned to us as a measure, [The
Mind of Christ] to reach even as far as you. (2Co 10:13)
“But” is a conjunction which sets forth
a contrast between the human viewpoint of the mutual admiration society of
verse 12 and the Divine Viewpoint of believers with Truth in the right lobe.
The Greek says literally, “But we will
not boast with reference to a thing; not measured...” What are these
things? We must remember our context — human versus
Divine Viewpoints. Paul
is saying that the maligning and approbation lust of his critics does not line
up with Truth; therefore, he will not glory /
boast, or fear. (1Pe 3:14-15) God has not left us in the dark regarding the Divine
Thoughts for our life: they are found in the Canon of Scripture and nowhere
else! Most of these people were believers, but they were minus Truth in the soul. The next
conjunction of contrast describes that which Paul will glory in: “but according to
the Standard of the measure of the sphere; of the KANON” — KANON, a ruler or measuring stick, from which we derive the
word “Canon,” is often used for the Word of God. While in their state of
emotional revolt and reversionism Paul’s critics have rejected the Canon or
Rule, God has
not: “which
God [Through
the Holy Spirit] has distributed to us [In the Canon: The Mind of Christ]...” It is shared with us through the human writers of
Scripture. “A measure” is the Divine Viewpoint, the absolute
Criterion for the believer. But this time, in contrast to being distributed in
the Canon, it reaches us through the COMMUNICATION of Truth. “to reach even as far as you.” The reversionistic believers have received the Divine
Standard, but they have rejected it for the persuasiveness of the Judaizers. (False teachers)
RESULTS OF
DIVINE VIEWPOINT
For we are not overextending ourselves, as
if we did not reach to you, for we were the first to come even as far as you in
the Gospel of Christ. (2Co 10:14)
In order to
understand the Divine Viewpoint in this verse, we must pick up a little
background. When Paul first came to Corinth, (Act
18:1) he communicated pure grace from the
absolute Standard of Truth. The Corinthians responded positively to his
dogmatic presentation of the Gospel of grace and then to his continued grace
teaching of Truth. After Paul left them, they became
carnal; (Living outside of the Spiritual life)
and he was equally dogmatic about their carnality, as
expressed in the First Corinthian Epistle. This is the reason that First
Corinthians was so unpopular. The Corinthians reacted to his rebuke with
emotional revolt. Now, in (2Co 10:14)
Paul uses the illustration of their Salvation to explain the Divine Viewpoint.
He says, literally, “For not reaching
toward you, [With the Gospel] as we did not overextend ourselves; for as far as
you also we have advanced in the Gospel of Christ.” What is Paul saying?
When I first came to Corinth, none of you were believers. I came in and
dogmatically laid Spirit & Truth on
the line! (Joh
4:24) Did I overextend myself? You have been criticizing me for
being too dogmatic; you claim I am going too far! Because he stepped on their
toes. He is now a bully and a dictator! Yet Paul is actually consistent — they
are inconsistent and out of line. If Paul had gone
beyond the bounds of faith in Christ and taught Salvation by works, none of
them would have been saved. But Paul neither
went outside the boundaries of grace in Salvation, nor beyond the limits of Truth in reproving them to get back
in fellowship and learn Truth. (Gal 3:1-3)
Paul advanced in his ministry with them by rebuking
them in regard to their carnality. Their advance at this point is to take the
reprimand and to accept the discipline under the authority of the Word of God. We cannot advance Spiritually unless we accept the entire
realm of Scripture — by the teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit. We cannot reject what we do not like without retreating into
emotional revolt, scar tissue and or reversionism!
Not boasting beyond our measure, that is,
in other men's labors, but with the hope that as your faith grows, we will be,
within our sphere, enlarged even more by you. (2Co 10:15)
Boasting is dependent on human ability and human
accomplishment and is therefore related to human sin nature good and human
viewpoint. Paul refuses to boast in human
viewpoint or in anything which lacks orientation to the grace of God. Even
though he founded the Corinthian church, he does not boast about it. But he has
a right to have confidence regarding them as the fruits of his labor. He anticipates that they will recover from emotional
revolt or reversionism through a change of attitude toward Truth and that they
will grow up Spiritually as a result. His ministry will thus be extended in
their lives, and Truth will be enlarged or magnified. (Psa 138:2) It is possible for a child to do
certain things as an adult would do them, but we do not consider that child an
adult. He is still a child! Children have
changeable behavior patterns. One moment they may act like a child, and the
next, like an adult; but we hope that eventually their actions will be
consistently adult. What causes a child to mature? Not by occasionally doing something like an adult but by
growing up mentally. Maturity is primarily in the realm of Thinking, both from
the standpoint of human life and the Spiritual life. There are periods
in the life of a Christian when he will do something Spiritually right, but
that does not constitute Spiritual maturity. I am going to make a dogmatic
statement — and I hope you will never forget it: NO
CHRISTIAN CAN EVER BE SPIRITUALLY MATURE APART FROM A MAXIMUM KNOWLEDGE OF
GOD’S WORD! “So then faith [Salvation and or Spiritual maturity only] comes by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God!” (Rom 10:17)
Faith can be increased only by the absorption of the
Word through the function of Operation Z.
God has supplied
us with everything for learning His Word: the canon of Scripture, a
pastor-teacher, books, the MP3 player, the DVD player and now the computer, the
filling of God the Holy Spirit, rebound, (1Jn 1:9)
the human soul, the human spirit, physical life, Spiritual life and protection
in the devil’s world. (Isa 41:13) These
grace provisions are part of the grace apparatus for perception, which is
“Operation Z” To summarize, the believer filled with
God the Holy Spirit, (1Co 4:19-20) concentrates
on the pastor’s message, resulting in gnosis,
“Knowledge,” in the mentality of the soul. The
mentality has two parts: the human spirit or right lobe, God's Knowledge. And the kardia, “heart” or left lobe; human
knowledge. (Jer
17:9) And
is the home of gnosis; the right lobe is the repository of epignosis, “Full Knowledge.” (Eph 3:19) Gnosis in
the left lobe is receptive comprehension: “academic knowledge” which is not usable for application in the Spiritual life.
A believer may be able to quote many Verses or talk at length about many
Biblical subjects, but if his knowledge is only gnosis, it is not edifying. Academic arrogance can exist in
Theology as easily as in any other field of learning. (1Co 1:18-23; 1Co
2:14; 1Co 3:19-20; 1Co 8:1) If Truth is
not believed, or not understood or not used, it is removed! (Mat 13:19-23;
Luk 8:11-15) The
application of gnosis Doctrine is
misapplication, and the Word misapplied generates legalism, inflexibility,
insensitivity, and intolerance, pride and arrogance. (Heb 3:12; Heb 4:2) The believer clearly perceives a point of Doctrine and now
faces the issue of faith: does he, or does he
not believe what he has learned? (Pro 3:5-6;
Mat 7:7-11) If he believes: that Truth is transferred to the right lobe
and becomes Spiritual Thoughts and
Spiritual Words! (1Co 2:13) By means of
faith, it becomes genuine understanding of Divine Truth. (1Co 4:20) Only God's Thinking can
be applied as Spiritual Wisdom and Spiritual common sense. (2Co 10:5) Epignosis is also the
building material for the edification complex
(Temple) of the soul. (1Co 3:10-14) The process of transferring the Truth from the heart to the
spirit is faith-perception. Truth always has the merit; we who believe do not!
According to the grace of God which was
given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is
building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which
is laid, which is Jesus Christ. [Salvation]
Now if any man builds on the foundation [Growth to Spiritual maturity] with gold, silver, precious stones, [God's Thoughts] wood, hay,
straw, [Satanic and human thoughts] each
man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, (Mar 9:49)
and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive
a reward. (1Co 3:10-14)
REBOUND, RECEPTION, RETENTION, RECALL, RESIST
SIN and our will, and REPEAT!
The tragedy of many believers is that they resist
Truth. Though they are truly born again, their entire emphasis is on
experience. They are legalists, using the Bible as a system of moral behavior,
and they will never mature! When
we should know by now, it is what we Think! (Eph 4:23-24) Spiritual maturity is when you habitually Think
with God's Thoughts! Not what you do!
It matters not what we think is true, but what God Declares to
be Truth! (Joh 14:6) Nor what we want to do, but
what God commands us to do! (Luk 13:24-28) You often see
someone who, as a result of some mental retardation, develops physically, but
whose mind never catches up. Mentally, he will always be a child, even though
he has an adult body. Just as a person is not an adult on the basis of the
maturity of his human body, so the believer does not
become an adult on the basis of his actions. Spiritual
maturity is directly related to Truth in the right lobe of the soul; and time
in fellowship with God the Holy Spirit; in the Spiritual life.
DIVINE
VIEWPOINT IN WITNESSING
So as to preach the Gospel even to the
regions beyond you, and not to boast in what has been accomplished in the
sphere of another. (2Co
10:16)
When Truth is magnified in a body of believers through the
daily function of Operation Z, there is an increase in effective witnessing to
unbelievers, communication of Truth to believers
and a greater missionary outreach. The
“regions beyond” refer to any place
from next door to ten thousand miles away. Again Paul says he will not boast in, or cater to the false
teaching and standards of the Judaizers, who
have gone far afield with their legalism and human viewpoint. But he knows that when reversionism is cured, by a change of
mental attitude toward Truth, and the daily function of Operation Z, the
Corinthians will then move out with the Gospel and make the Salvation issue
clear. Both personal witnessing and evangelism must be Biblically accurate and
presented on a grace basis. Legalists (2Ti 3:5) never start their own work
but tear down another’s. Their thoughts are prepared through human viewpoint.
In other words, they have a public relations “Madison Avenue” approach which,
though appealing, is non-Spiritual life and therefore satanically inspired.
There is no place for witnessing by the flesh out of
fellowship with God; or gimmicks which become substitutes for the ministry of
God the Holy Spirit. (Joh 6:44-45) Gimmick-witnessing is a false standard prepared from human
viewpoint by those who are ignorant of, or are in revolt against, Truth. God does not need our
help! He wants us to grow-up, then we will see, the people we know are already
believers that have never learned how to grow to Spiritual maturity; so they have given-up or re-dedicate all the time, or try
morality and became self-righteous because of what they “do” for God! Those who criticized Paul were boasting of others who
evangelized via the satanically inspired human viewpoint method. (2Co 11:12-15) No believer in emotional
revolt or reversionism can effectively communicate Truth. He always has an ax
to grind, such as legalism and morality; he invariably adds something to the
Gospel and confuses the issue for believer and unbeliever alike. He
wants the unbeliever and believer to give up certain sins which he personally dislikes. Or he thinks you must believe
AND be baptized . . . believe AND confess your sins . . . believe AND join the
church. But the issue is faith plus NOTHING:
“BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, and you will be saved.” (Act 16:31) And for
the believer. (Mat 23:26; Rom 8:4-8; Eph
4:23-24)
DIVINE
COMMENDATION
But HE WHO
BOASTS IS TO BOAST IN THE LORD. (2Co 10:17)
This is a
quotation from, (Jer 9:23-24) which
warns believers of the danger of reversionism. The context of the Jeremiah
passage describes the national disintegration of Judah which had reached its
peak following an eleven-year period of rejecting Truth. These people had all
the categories of prosperity stated in context: human
wisdom, great bodies, great wealth, success in economic prosperity and some
Spiritual prosperity in which they had
functioned under Operation Z for a period of time and falsely assumed they had
completed the Spiritual life. (Rev 3:16-18)
Instead, through neglect of Truth, they were in
emotional revolt and reversionism and had become “wise in their own conceits” — they thought they knew it
all! In prosperity, the believer is more
vulnerable to reversionism than under adversity and pressure, for in prosperity there is a tendency to neglect Truth and to
seek happiness from another source. Through
pride of their success, the Jews started down the road toward reversionism.
They boasted of their achievements and wealth;
but without a completed Spiritual life and Spiritual maturity, these attainments are meaningless!
But
let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows
Me, that I am the LORD who exercises
lovingkindness, justice and righteousness [Integrity] on earth; for I delight in these
things, declares the LORD. (Jer
9:24)
Although God has a prosperity package for every
believer, the capacity for Spiritual blessings come from Spiritual maturity.
Behold, the days are coming, declares the
LORD, that I will punish all who are circumcised
[Believers] and yet uncircumcised.
[Still living by the old sin nature] (Jer 9:25)
Few people can pass
the prosperity test! Paul now makes the same application for the
Jews of his day. “If you feel you must boast,” he says, “change it to ‘glorying’ in the Lord.” (2Co 10:17) This does not mean that you run around saying
“Praise God, God bless you, Amen, hallelujah, isn’t Jesus wonderful?” That can
be as phony as a lead nickel. People use these phrases like an amulet worn around
the neck for good luck in the hopes of fending off failure. How do you keep on
glorying in the Lord? (1Co 1:26-31) To keep on doing something, and it must be done every day!
To glory in the Lord, Truth must be taken in daily,
transferred to the human spirit by faith, so that you keep on building the
Spiritual life; then, as it is transferred to the right lobe through the
filling of God the Holy Spirit, it goes into the frame of reference, memory
center, vocabulary, categories and finally to the launching pad for application
to experience. You cannot neglect
Truth even for a day. Glorying in the Lord is THINKING WITH GOD'S
THOUGHTS!
For it is not he who commends himself that
is approved, but he whom the Lord commends. (2Co 10:18)
The Corinthians
were commending or recommending themselves for favorable attention because they thought they had arrived at the epitome of
Spiritual and economic prosperity, (Rev 3:17)
in reality, they, like their earlier counterparts in Judea, were in emotional
revolt and reversionism. You will find “Corinthians”
wherever you go who are in the business of commending themselves. At every
opportunity they will tell you what a great battle they are fighting for the
Lord. They make it very clear that they are doing “great things for God” around
the church or in some Christian organization. What do they seek? Approval!
It is possible to do a right thing in a wrong way. What
trips people up? Mental attitude human viewpoint! (Joh 4:24) If you do your job as unto the Lord —
another phase of the faith-rest technique — you just leave the commendation in
His hands and to His discretion and Wisdom. Forget the “brag sheet,” the
“Monday morning” pastors’ conference, the attendance record, the number who
went through the baptismal “tank,” and all the other “one-upmanship”
activities. The believer cannot be blessed under these conditions. God does not
approve the believer who promotes himself or takes credit to himself. If the Lord does not promote you, you are not promoted. (Psa
75:6-7) Human gimmicks will never cut it.
All evaluation is in the Lord’s hands. Judging is a Divine prerogative only.
Criticizing, judging or slandering another believer is, in effect, an attempt
to promote yourself and is indicative of emotional revolt, negative volition
toward Truth and reversionism. (1Co 4:19-20)
Perhaps no one in the Bible so perfectly illustrates the Principle of (2Co 10:18) as David, and no treatise on mental
attitude would be complete without a mention of his rise to prominence.
THE
ASCENDANCY OF DAVID
David began his
career not only from an obscure position but as a nonentity. If you want to
know what a nonentity is — it is the eighth son in a family! The other seven
were being promoted, pushed along and educated. This took all of the father’s
resources, which when vested in sheep. Someone had to take care of the sheep to
keep the other seven boys in school and moving along in their careers. David,
being the eighth boy, was the logical one! He was on the bottom rung, the
forgotten son of the family. He lived more with the sheep than he did in his
father’s home in Bethlehem. From this anonymous place
as a shepherd, David went all the way to the highest position in the land. He
was truly a great man in history, from both the Divine and human Realities, and
was one of the greatest rulers of all time. You are familiar with his many
courageous acts: how he alone challenged and killed the giant; how he became
the highest general in the land; how he became the most popular man in the
court; how, in exile, he forged a band of fugitives into a crack military
outfit; and finally, how he became king. In fact, we often become so lost in
the action of the story; we forget that action is
based on mental attitude. All the time that
David was engaged in an overt act, he was not simply doing — he was Spiritually Thinking! The Principle which
made David great and gave such tremendous vitality and power to so many of his
actions was what was going on in his right lobe. This is extremely important.
It was the secret of his success.
THE CONTRAST
BETWEEN HUMAN AND DIVINE VIEWPOINTS
In contrast to
David, two other men, Samuel and Jesse, did some erroneous thinking. In, (1Sa 16:1-7) God instructed the great prophet,
Samuel, to go to Bethlehem to anoint the-next king of Israel. Saul was to be
superseded by a son of the family of Jesse. When the seven sons were paraded
before Samuel, we discover that the eldest appealed to Samuel. Tall and
handsome and wearing his new uniform as a second lieutenant in the infantry, he
was preparing to go to war against the Philistines, who had invaded Israel.
When they entered, he looked at Eliab and
thought, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before Him. (1Sa 16:6)
But the LORD said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his
stature, because I have rejected him; for God
sees not as man sees, for man looks at the
outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the
heart. [And sees His Own Thinking being used]
(1Sa
16:7)
Notice the
contrast stated: “man
looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord
looks on the heart.” From the human viewpoint, here was a tall,
handsome, personable individual which anyone might have selected to fill a job.
But God said, “No! You can go up and down that line as much as you want, but I
have rejected these seven boys — even though they are all fine looking!”
Immediately Samuel hit a stone wall. Where was the answer to this dilemma? The “answer” was out with the sheep! The answer was faithfully on the job: he stayed with the
sheep; he cared for the sheep. When one of the lambs was caught in the
cactus, he retrieved it. When a wild animal took a sheep from the flock, he
gave chase and killed the animal! Why? He had some
Truth; and as a result, he had the right mental attitude — the Divine Viewpoint of
life. He was Occupied with the Person of Christ.
(Psa 23:1-6) When he heard that
Samuel had come to town, he did not run into town for the great holiday; he
stayed with the sheep. He had a mental attitude of faithfulness. And Samuel said to Jesse, Are these all the
children? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is
tending the sheep... (1Sa 16:11) Jesse said this in derision, for he was implying that the
youngest was of no importance. Yet this was
the son whom God had chosen! Do you see the contrast? Human viewpoint:
pick one of the tall, good-looking boys — any one of them would make a fine-looking king! Divine
Viewpoint: there is a boy out with the sheep who is faithful and who has Truth
in his soul. How do we know? Look for a moment at, (1Sa 17:34-37) where David recounted two
incidents which illustrate the Spiritual Thinking he had been storing up.
But David said to Saul, Your servant was
tending his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the
flock. (1Sa
17:34)
He was out there
full time. What makes people keep on keeping on, even when they are tired, worn
out, discouraged, hurting or sick? God's Thinking
in the right lobe! If you have Truth in your
soul, you will be consistent as was David: in every situation!
What were the two incidents which occurred out there among the sheep, even
before Samuel came to anoint David? First of all, a lion, which can run the
hundred-yard dash in five seconds, came in among the sheep and picked out a
choice lamb from the flock. As far as human viewpoint is concerned, this crisis
was now over. The lion had come; the lion had departed, and David was still in
one piece. What else mattered? Do we read that David sat down, mopped his brow,
and let his nerves unwind? Not at all! The sheep
were HIS responsibility. David could have thought, “That is just one little
lamb, and I want to live a little longer.” It would have been easy for him to
throw in human viewpoint at this time. But Divine
Viewpoint told David, God is for us, who
is against us? There was a job to be
done, and he should be faithful. Undoubtedly, David learned the
Principle that:
All this assembly may
know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or
by spear; [Human
wisdom, might, or riches] for the battle is the LORD'S
and He will give you into our hands. (1Sa 17:47)
While he was still with the sheep: “the battle is the
Lord’s.” And
since David believed it, he knew the Lord could whip the lion, just as he knew he could not do it by himself. Without a second Thought,
he moved out, killed the lion and delivered the lamb back to the fold! Notice that the emphasis is not on the great feat
that he accomplished. God’s Word very clearly and carefully stresses what he Thought. Unlike the modern sportsman on
safari, David did not have a .357 H and H Magnum, nor did he have a gun-bearer
as a backup in case he missed! He went after that lion with anything but
lion-hunting equipment, but he bagged himself a lion! Yet he did not do it — the LORD DID IT! Now
David received another test — this time, a bear. A bear is a rough character
also. One whack with his paw, and he can disintegrate your backbone. The bear
picked out a choice lamb and took off for the feast. Before the bear could get
the lamb “on the table,” David was hot on his trail. Again, David could have rationalized and said, “I’m the only young boy who
has ever killed a lion, so I think I’ll just stand on my laurels and sit this
one out” Not David! He knew he had a responsibility
before the Lord, (Heb 10:38) and he did
his job as unto the Lord. David could not whip the bear, but he knew the
Lord could. He would go after the bear and let the Lord take care of the
details. The Lord did, and David rescued the lamb!
The Spiritually mature believer does not quit in the middle of the testing. (If we quit we lose) Having passed the test
of the lion, David did not shirk the test of the bear. Truth is as good for one type of combat as for another.
Later, Truth would deliver him in hand-to-hand combat with a giant. The
loud-mouthed giant was not as tough as either the lion or the bear!
And David said, The
LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He
will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and may the LORD be with you. (1Sa 17:37)
This is success, especially to one so young; but David did
not suggest that it was in any way due to his power, ingenuity or ability. He
did not take one ounce of the credit to himself,
nor did he become arrogant about his victory. He did not call out the
news media of his day to photograph the carcass and ballyhoo himself. In fact,
he did not tell anyone about it at the time. Why? Because
he persisted in habitually looking
at life from God's Reality and Divine Viewpoint says:
For it is not he who commends himself that
is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.
(2Co 10:18)
The lion and bear victories were dress rehearsals for the
Goliath crisis. Unseen by human beings and without human encouragement, David had
defeated both adversaries. If he had flunked the
lion and bear incidents, he would have failed in the Goliath test. GOD PREPARES HIS MAN IN SECRET FOR VICTORY IN PUBLIC! The public victory is won in the secret
places of the Most High. (Psa 91:1)
Wouldn’t Jesse sit up and take notice if he knew that this young lad who “keeps the sheep” had already killed a
lion and a bear, and that he had in his Spiritual
life that which would make him the greatest ruler of all time, apart from Jesus
Christ? If you want to know some of David’s Thoughts during those years
while he kept the sheep, read the Davidic Psalms. Note how many times the
Divine Viewpoint is expressed: “The LORD is my light and my Salvation; whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psa 27:1-4)
Humanly speaking, everyone has some area of fear; but David had conquered fear.
(Psa 56:3) Why? Because he looked at life from God's Reality. And where did he get God's Reality? From the daily intake of Truth, as provided at that time: Rebound,
I
acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, I will
confess my transgressions to the LORD; And You forgave the guilt of my sin.
Selah. (Psa 32:5 )
Reception, retention, recall, resisting sin and our will and
repeating. (Rom 8:4; Gal 5:16) In every Psalm David wrote, you will find that
beautiful picture of God’s deliverance and power. Do you get into “Panic
Palace” every time you read the newspaper or hear some rumor on the radio? Do
you come unglued at the slightest provocation? What
goes on in your mind? Why do you become upset every time you face some
difficulty in life? Why do you fall apart? I’ll tell you why: No Truth in the soul, or failure to Think with the Truth
that you have learned! (Mat 26:75)
THE
PROSPERITY TEST
Let us see one or
two other instances of Divine Viewpoint in David’s life. King Saul was
suffering from demonic depression, (1Sa 16:14) and the “psychiatrists”
recommended musical therapy. The problem was that everyone around the court
played the “guitar,” and they needed classical music played skillfully on the
psalter the old ten-string harp. One of Saul’s servants knew of a boy out in
the hills of Judea who was an accomplished harpist, and so it was that David
was brought into Saul’s court to begin the therapy. “God causes all things to work together for good, to those in
fellowship! ” He does not need our help,
just our obedience! and this is the reason Saul
is suffering, and ends up, killing himself! 90% obedience is disobedience! (1Sa 15:13-23)
Samuel said, Has the LORD as much
delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices [Ritual
and actions] As in obeying the Voice of the LORD? Behold, to
obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed
than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, [Demonism]
And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. [Sin
and demon worship] Because you have rejected the Word of the LORD, He
has also rejected you from being king." [Under
demon attack and no reward, at best!] (1Sa 15:22-23)
God deals with everyone
by the same Standard HIS!
Now
then let the fear of the LORD be upon you; [Stay
in fellowship] be very careful what you do, for
the LORD our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the
taking of a bribe. (2Ch 19:7)
David played day
after day, and Saul improved. In appreciation, Saul appointed David his
armorbearer. (1Sa 16:21) That may not
sound like much to you. You may picture him weighted down with heavy “boiler
plate” and assigned to a tough job. But this was an honorary position. David
had servants to carry the breastplate, helmet and other accouterments. A person
who was the armorbearer of the king would one day be a general or a prime
minister or would hold some other high office in the land. It was a guarantee
of future prominence. From the human viewpoint, David
had reached the heights as armorbearer of the king. “But David went and returned from Saul to feed, his
father’s sheep at Bethlehem.” (1Sa
17:15) Now most people would have told David that he was out of his
mind — he had just kicked over the greatest opportunity he would ever have. I
can just see Jesse when David showed up! He probably said, “David, what are you
doing home? You are the armorbearer of the king. I have told everyone what a
great job you were doing. Did the king send you back?” David would have
replied, “No, the king did not send me. I came back
to take care of the sheep; that is my job!” His father would have “blown
his top.” Why? Human viewpoint! But Divine Viewpoint
said, “God did not release me from those sheep;
God did not say for me to stay at the palace. Therefore, I will stay with the
sheep until God promotes me!” And that is
exactly what happened: God promoted him! David’s
head was not turned by prosperity! The
Spiritually mature believer passes the prosperity test. Most people would have been
too proud to go back to the humdrum of daily routine after success in the
king’s court; but David returned to the sheep
to wait for God’s time. Spiritually mature believers do not get ahead of the
Lord!
THE MAN FOR
THE CRISIS
We now come to the incident for which God had been
preparing David — a crisis designed by God to
introduce His candidate for king of Israel. Goliath, the
nine-foot-nine-inch giant of Gath, represented the military crisis which Israel
faced in reversionism. Daily, he had bellowed out his challenge for someone to
fight him, while the soldiers of Israel trembled in their tents for forty days.
On the fortieth day, who should come into camp but David! As the king’s
armorbearer? No! As a boy carrying ten cheeses for the battalion commander, (1Sa 17:17-18) plus a month’s rations for his
three brothers. David hears the challenge of old “loud-mouth.” Does David say,
“Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should dare stand in front of
Saul’s imperial guard and make such remarks?” No! David says, “ ...For who is this
uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies OF THE LIVING GOD?” (1Sa 17:26) David regarded the Philistine as an
unbeliever rather than as a powerful giant. He considered it disgraceful and
dishonorable that forty days had elapsed without anyone’s accepting the
challenge when they belonged to the LIVING GOD! This was the first expression
of Divine Viewpoint in Israel that day. Goliath was not defying Saul and his
army — he was
defying God.
THE ATTACK
OF HUMAN VIEWPOINT
As David went to
meet the challenge, he had to fight his own brother before he could fight the
giant. Eliab accused him of arrogance and branded him as a deserter of his “few sheep.” (1Sa 17:28) Ignoring the insults of
his brother, (Psa 82:5) David won his first battle against subjectivity, pettiness
and reversionism. David was a Spiritually mature believer known to God but
unknown by his family or anyone else in Israel. Eliab was under demon influence, and is thinking is evil:
The mental attitude sins of pride, jealousy, anger and
criticism. God allowed Satan to test David, to
win this battle, David was objective and retreated; (Pro 19:11 ) to defeat
the giant, David would advance. (Psa
138:1-3) Not all battles in the Spiritual
life are won in the same way. If David had lost his temper with his
brother, he would have lost this battle and not been qualified to fight
Goliath. Your victory over pettiness today, will
result in your killing the “giants” of tomorrow. Although Eliab’s
remarks were inaccurate, unfair and uncalled for, David
did not stop to defend himself. (1Pe 2:23) He recognized that this was a Doctrinal issue. Satan and Eliab put David down, but God built David up!
THE ATTACK
OF WORLDLINESS
King Saul had
once been a courageous soldier, but reversionism had turned him into a coward.
Now, during a crisis that he could not solve, a subtle plan took shape in his
mind, and Saul offered David his armor. (1Sa 17:38)
Here is yet another test before David can get to Goliath — an attack of
worldliness. The armor of Saul on David represents worldliness from two
standpoints: (1) If David were “lucky” and won, Saul could take credit for the
victory because David was wearing his armor. (2) The armor represents a
Principle that ignores the Spiritual connotation of the giant’s challenge: good
weapons and armor would not destroy Goliath, but the
power of the Spirit & Truth, of God could! No weapon or armor forged by the
world will ever replace the Thinking and power of God! Divine power excludes
human ability, human equipment and human help. Truth had taught David to be independent of COSMOS DIABOLICUS (Satan's
world system) in every thought, word and action. (Joh 3:34; 1Pe 4:11) David stayed in fellowship, and Thought with the Truth in
his soul, by refusing the armor of Saul; (Rom 8:12-13) therefore, he rejected
the worldly means of facing the crisis. After all, what good had the armor done Saul? It was not the armor but the attitude of soul. David would
face the crisis with Truth in his soul, not fancy armor on his body!
THE MENTAL
ATTITUDE OF A MATURE BELIEVER
As David walked
out on the battlefield, Goliath, armed with spear and shield, could scarcely
believe his eyes. Face to face with this measly offering from the Jewish camp,
he began to bully David, shouting, “...Am
I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” (1Sa
17:43) Goliath viewed the situation this way: they had sent out a
mere boy to do combat with the greatest gladiator of the Philistines! The Jews
must have had a low opinion of him indeed! What was David carrying? He held the
shepherd’s crook in one hand and a sling in the other. (1Sa 17:40) Goliath implied, “You might fight a
dog with a stick, but you will never defeat ME with such a flimsy defense! You
had better go back and get yourself a javelin, boy, because you are going to
need it!” Human REALITY! (Mat
19:26) Then we read that Goliath
cursed David by “his gods” — not by the Philistines’ gods but by David’s God —
ELOHIM. Goliath said to David,
Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto
the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. (1Sa 17:44)
Then David said to the Philistine, You
come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but
I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of
Israel, whom you have taunted.
(1Sa 17:45)
David, as a mature believer, is quick to express the true
issue, and to identify himself with the Victor
— Jesus Christ. DIVINE REALITY!
This day the LORD will deliver you up into
my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will
give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of
the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that
there is a God in Israel. (1Sa 17:46)
By this time,
Goliath was probably standing there with his mouth hanging open. No one had
ever spoken to him like that! He had never heard such words. Did David say them
to demonstrate his muscular prowess in that arena? Oh, no — but to make known “that there is a
God in Israel!” In the telling of the story
of David and Goliath, the emphasis is always on what David DID — how he
hit the giant with a stone, knocked him out and beheaded him. Where does God’s
Word focus our attention? If you understand, (1Sa
17:45-47) you
can see that God’s Word emphasizes what David was Thinking as he stood there, not on what he accomplished
a few minutes later.
And that all this assembly may know that
the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for
the battle is the LORD'S and He will give you into our hands. (1Sa 17:47)
In this
magnificent declaration is one of the greatest Principles in the Christian
life: THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S! Spoken under maximum
pressure, we see the total Concept of the mature believer! Having made his decision based on Truth in his soul, he
moved with cheerful willingness to carry it out. David ran toward the
army of the Philistines to meet Goliath. (1Sa
17:48) As he went forward, David “cranked up” his sling and released
the stone, which hit Goliath squarely in the middle of his forehead. Down went
the giant! David then stood on his chest, pulled out Goliath’s own sword and
decapitated him. The action of the story is well known. But before there was any action, there was a mental attitude based on
Truth. It was his Thought pattern, (The Mind
of Christ) that distinguished David from all the rest of the men in
Israel, not just his ability to fight. (Many men in Israel were successful
warriors) The mature believer has no hang-ups, no
subjectivity, (Human
reality) no
fear. David had no qualms about killing the
enemy; no guilt complex after the battle was over. He was a perfect combat
soldier, because his soul was prepared by Truth long before his body advanced
into battle. David was the only one there that day who had enough Truth in his
soul to meet that challenge! Now we see the same example: Of Christ defeating
Satan at the cross, and we as believers taking part in His victory, as Israel
did in David's! (1Sa 17:51-53) The action of the Spiritually mature believer is in harmony
with his Spiritual Thinking so that he is perfectly coordinated in body, soul
and spirit. David personified the Principle of: (2Co 10:5-6)
Assaulting and
demolishing all cosmic systems of thinking, and every obstacle of pride,
temptation, distraction, and memory that is attacking the objective knowledge of God,
and making a prisoner and a captive of every human system of thought to the
authority of Christ. And having in readiness to revenge and to punish all
disobedient thinking, now that your obedience has been fulfilled! Memorize this
and Think with it under any pressure, and it
will work every time!
END
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