7-22-2017 The Humanity of Paul

         

                              The fight                                         The Victory

Romans 7:1-25

1          Don’t you know, brothers (I speak to you who know the law) how the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?

2          For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives, but if her husband is dead, she is freed from the law of her husband.

            Dead: apothnesko 599, dead, death, die – from 575 apo meaning separation, departure, cessation, & 2348 thenesko meaning die, be dead. All = literal, physical death.

3          For if she marries another man while her husband lives, she is an adulteress, but if her husband is dead, she is free from that law and even though she marries another man she is not an adulteress. 

4          Therefore brothers, you are also dead to the law by the body of Christ so that you are free to marry another, even He who is raised form the dead (to live for Jesus) that we should bring fruit forth unto God.

            Paul correlates being bound by the law but free under grace to a married woman whose husband dies.  After all, we are the bride of Christ, are we not?  But not if our salvation is based on the Mosaic Law.  Keep the law and live, break the law and die.  That’s works, not grace and under Jesus, we are under grace.  When a woman’s husband dies, literally, she is free to remarry.  But if she remarries while the first husband still lives, the woman becomes an adulteress because her husband lives, she is still bound by that first covenant.  When we are still ‘bound’ by the law we are still obligated to it.  But because Jesus fulfilled the law (Matt. 5:17) and we are now in Jesus (John 15:4) we are free from the letter of the law and live under grace.

5          For while we were yet in the flesh, all our sinful actions worked in our members to bring forth death as mandated by the law.

6          But now we are delivered from the law, dead to that which held us, that we should serve in the newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter (of the law).

            Here comes the spiritual part.  Paul says that before salvation, to break the law just compounded our death sentence (which is already upon us for refusing Jesus (2 Thess. 2:10 & 1 John5:12), but we are free from the law’s death sentence because we serve a new standard – Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.  Now this new covenant doesn’t eliminate the old law, but intensifies it to where it’s not just a matter of keeping the ‘doing’ of the law but even ‘considering’ going contrary is now transgression.  Now we find under the new covenant, even desiring to do wrong is the same as actually doing it (Matt. 5:28).

7          What shall we say then, is the law sin?  God forbid!  I would not have known about sin if it weren’t for the law.  I would not have known about lust except that the law said ‘don’t covet’.

8          But sin, taking advantage of the law, worked all manner of sin and lust in (note the word ‘in’) me, for without the law, there was no sin (penalty).

            How can someone be aware that they are doing wrong if they aren’t told?  However we see that those whose names are not entered into the Book of Life are cast into the lake of fire (Rev.20”15) AND there is no other name given among men whereby we may attain salvation, save Jesus (Acts 4:10-12).

9          For I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.

            Without the law, I didn’t know I was sinning, but because the law defines sin, now I know.  Now I have a choice to make – continue to live in sin and die to (not ‘for) Jesus or to die to self and live for Jesus.

10        And the commandment, which was intended for life, I found death (to self).

11        For sin, by taking advantage of the commandment, deceived me and through it (the commandment) slew me.

12        Therefore the law is holy and the commandment is holy, just and good.

13        So that which is good became death for me?  God forbid!  But sin, that it would appear as sin, became death to me by that which is good, that sin, by the commandment would become exceedingly sinful.  (all have sinned and come short of the glory of God therefore sin becomes dead in Jesus (Rom. 3:23))

            So is the law bad because it reveals sin?  Of course not.  When we don’t understand about sin, we live our lives however we feel, not realizing we’re doing good or bad.  But the law brings awareness of doing wrong, that is going against God’s standard, and once I am aware of that wrongdoing, I am bound to not to transgress God’s standard anymore.  However, becoming aware of the law I now realize that I have transgressed it but what has been done, is done.  I can’t undo it.  So, the law which was intended to prevent me from doing evil has now convicted me of the evil which I have done and I come to realize that I am under a death sentence, an eternal death sentence.  I am convicted and know that I must eventually pay the penalty.  Transgressing of any point of the law one becomes guilty of the whole law, (James 2:10), and being guilty of sin equals death (James 1:14-15)!

            However, what is the commandment Paul mentions here?  The great commandment! Which is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:29-30) and, of course, to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:31). 

            Living in God’s love helps us to abide in Jesus (John 15:8-10) so we can be one with the Father through Jesus (John 17:20-21).  And why do we want to live in Jesus and be one with Him?  Jesus came to fulfill the law (Matt. 5:17) so when we accept Jesus we are living, abiding, in His love, right?  Does not love cover a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8)?  So when we abide in His love we abide in Him (John 15:10) ergo, His love (John 15:13) which cleanses us from our sins, because we have confessed them (1 John 1:9) and that He did through the shedding of His blood (1 John 1:7), right?  So by accepting Jesus into our hearts, we also fulfill the law as we abide in Him.

So both the law and the commandment (love) are good.  The law reveals that I sin but the commandment redeems me from its (eternal) death penalty.  But should I sin (after salvation) I have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1) and as I confess and repent those sins I am forgiven and cleansed for my iniquity (1 John 1:9).  And when God forgives, He forgets (Isaiah 38:17).

14        For we know that the law is spiritual and that I am carnal, sold under sin.

15        For the things I do, I shouldn’t and the things I don’t do, I should, so I find myself  doing the things I hate, to do.

16        So if I do those things that I shouldn’t, I testify that the law is good (It reminds me of the error of my ways, my sin).

17        For it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. (where does it dwell?)

18        For I know that which is in me (that is my flesh) dwells no good thing for to do the right thing is always present with me, but I can’t seem to find a way to that which is good.

19        For the good which I should do, it don’t and the evil that I shouldn’t do, I do.

20        Now if I do that which I shouldn’t, it is no longer me that does it, but sin which dwells within me. (But, it is still my body)

21        Then I find a law that when I do good, evil is also present with me.

When we’re trying to do good, how can evil be present with us?  Strong’s gives us three Greek words which are closely related with our body: Psyche, which is our emotions, intellect and will, animal sense or feeling, soul (5590);  Pneuma (4151) which is breeze, blast of air, breath, spirit or rational, immortal soul, Holy Spirit (note caps), spirit, ghost; and Zoe (2222) life (animation).  All are evidences of ‘life’. 

Paraphrasing what Frank Hammond explains from “Pigs in the Parlor”, pneuma, spirit, is what enables us to grasp spiritual concepts.  Psyche is our natural or soulish self, how we think, our emotions, etc..  Here, I’ll add zoe which is that which gives our bodies breath, to live, animation.  It seems to me that whatever has life, breathes air, so it has zoe.  It also seems, by what I’m reading, psyche would animate us and give us purpose of direction and the ability to relate to that which is around us.  This is where we’re able to think, rationalize, feel and so forth.  Look at life.  Everything that breaths has some sense of rationality, the ability to think.  Observing my pets over the years, I have discovered even pets relate to us.  When I was a child, we had a cocker spaniel which my mother reprimanded one night and put her in the kitchen.   Sitting in a chair by the kitchen door way, I observed the dog sneak out of the kitchen and peek around the chair in which I was sitting.  She looked to see where my mother was, peed on the living room carpet and ran back into the kitchen.  Even animal can rationalize.  Now whether animals have pneuma, I don’t know, but from observation, they would seem to clearly have zoe and psyche. But, Dr. Hammond points out (Pigs in the Parlor) that Paul says we are a three part being, body, soul and spirit (1 Thess. 5:23).  Zoe relates to body (alive), psyche relates to soul (emotion & thought) and pneuma (ability to connect spiritually). 

Without Jesus (salvation) our pneuma is essentially dead at least to God, but we do have psyche and zoe to carry us on (just like animals), so we ‘live’.  We walk, we talk, we ‘do’.  But through pneuma, we are connected eternally with the Father.  Jesus is preparing a place for all who believe so we can be with Him (John 14:3).  With salvation, pneuma is quickened and brought to life with God’s indwelling Holy Spirit.  Reading this material implies that demonic spirits cannot enter pneuma, at least not at the same time the Holy Ghost occupies that area, but are confined to operating in the psyche, our soulish self, influencing our thoughts and emotions.  This might explain why Paul declared “Oh, wretched man am I?  Who shall deliver me from this body of death (psyche & zoe)?  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  With my mind (3563-intellect) I serve the law of God but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” (Rom. 7:24-25).  So ask yourself, ‘where are most spiritual battles waged?’  I can speak for myself, most are in my mind (psyche).  

Now, hold the fort.  Mind equals psyche and we said the Holy Ghost dwells in our pneuma.  Paul said he serves God with his ‘mind’.  Understand, our psyche follows something or someone.  We cannot serve God and mammon (Matt. 6:24), we love one and hate the other or hold on to one despise the other.  Realize what our spiritual growth means:  we come into alignment with something or someone, Satan or God.  Our choice. Through the Holy Ghost dwelling in our pneuma, we align ourselves with the Father, by transforming and renewing our minds (psyche) to that which is good, perfect and acceptable, the will of God (Rom. 12:2).  So our psyche is acting more and more like our Spirit filled pneuma.  The Holy Ghost will lead us into all truth (John 16:13) and reveal God’s mysteries to us (1 Corinth. 14:2).  We grow spiritually.  So when there is no Holy Ghost filled pneuma, what is left to fill that space?  It is dead to God, but does that mean it then doesn’t exist?  Without the Holy Ghost, it is clearly dead to eternal salvation.  What about our ‘self-will’, or a demonic spirit occupying that space?  Or does pneuma not exist until the Holy Ghost comes into our lives?  Paul AND Dr. Hammond suggest that we are a three part being so I don’t think pneuma just ‘doesn’t exist’ until the Holy Ghost takes up residence.  So, again, what is left?  Our own self-will or a demonic spirit.  Don’t be fooled, our self-will resides in our psyche and is influenced by something – God or Satan.  It is a spiritual battle for our soul which results on the final destination of our eternal spirit (pneuma), which brings our bodies along with it (1 Corinth. 15:47-54).  When we aren’t listening to God, we are automatically making the opposing choice – listening to Satan, by default, whether we admit it or not.  Yes, we may think we make the choice, but we are influenced by something.

So I would suggest that when any external source or power tries to influence our thoughts and emotions (the battle is for our psyche) that is oppression but who owns our eternal spirit (pneuma) possesses it.     

So in Romans, Paul wrestles with his own soul as he endeavors to hear the Holy Ghost and draw his psyche (soul) closer into God’s will.  What we also find, now, is the possibility of our being influenced, possibly even possessed in our psyche even though our pneuma draws us forward in the strength of the Holy Ghost, into complete alignment with Father as it contends with the rebellion of our psyche.  The things I should do, I don’t and the things I shouldn’t do, I do.  Technically, psyche and pneuma are not occupying the same space.  So to break any satanic influence, our psyche must become aligned with our Holy Ghost filled pneuma.  Zoe does whatever the pneuma and/or psyche does.  Ergo, Paul wrestles flesh against spirit.  Thereby bringing into alignment with God, through Jesus Christ via the indwelling Holy Spirit (God is one) our pneuma, psyche and zoe as one.  And because we’ve become aligned with God, we are now one with Father, Son and Holy Spirit (John 17:21). 

HOWEVER

22        For I delight in the law after the inward man.

23        But I see another law in my members (body) warring against the law of my mind bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is also present in my body (the war between pneuma and psyche).

24        Oh, wretched man am I!  who shall deliver me from this body of death?

25        I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  So then with my mind (because I have brought, or am bringing, my mind under subjection of the HG), I serve the Lord, but with the flesh, the law of sin (my intellect and instincts).

I am persuaded that this battle continues in some degree until we are literally with the Lord. But, we can choose whom we obey and who ends up with our eternal spirit and remember, body, soul and spirit come (or if you will – goes) as a complete package.  So Paul tells us he brings his body under subjection (1 Corinth. 9:27) while yielding his souls to the Holy Ghost (2 Corinth. 10:3-5)  

Jesus tells us the dead shall be raised first then whose who are alive on the earth shall be caught up in the air with them (1 Thess. 4:16-17).  In spirit?  After His resurrection, Jesus appeared before His disciples who become fearful for they thought they were seeing a ghost.  And Jesus says “… behold My hands and my feet, it is Me.  A spirit doesn’t have flesh and bone as you see Me having.”  (Luke 24:39).  So in our resurrection, we are not ghostly apparitions, we have physical bodies, just as Jesus after His resurrection.

Note that Jesus said flesh and ‘bone’, not flesh and ‘blood’.  Blood is the life source of all living things (Lev. 17:12-14).  On ‘that’ day, we all shall be changed because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven, as we are raised incorruptible (1 Corinth. 15:50-52).  We will have a new life source and Jesus says that He is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25).

And because of our faith and acceptance of Jesus as our Messiah and through our obedience by living in His love, our eternal spirit (and body) will exist with the Father, through Jesus Christ, our Lord (Rom. 10:9).  And the Holy Ghost is our assurance that this is true for He helps us to align our psyche with God’s will as He resides in our pneuma.

AMEN!?   

7/8/201   Little Child Lost - Revisited

  

We are spiritual beings living in a physical body and the nature of our spirit is determined by our relationship with our Heavenly Father through His Son, Jesus Christ. 

Every living creature has a spirit of ‘life’ (Gen. 2:7, 5397 Heb., neshamah – wind, vital breath, intellect), not eternal life but that which gives us breath and animation (being able to move about), but nonetheless what we call life. 

One of two things can happen to us as we age, I didn’t say mature, I said ‘age’, get older.  We can ask the Spirit of the living God to enter our hearts and become a viable part of our lives.  Or we can reject God’s Spirit and try to make it on our own where we live out our lives living in our own strength which, knowingly or unknowingly, allows a demonic entity to take up residence within or at least influence what we do.  In either case, the end will eventually lead to all sorts of havoc – promiscuity, violence, despair, or more.  All of which we have no control over because, just like Adam when he yielded the earth to Satan with his disobedience to God, we yield ourselves over the demonic forces by rejecting God.

One of two Spiritual realities will take control of our lives – a demonic entity sent from Satan or the Holy Ghost imparted to us from God, the Father through Jesus Christ.  Either way, we are not ‘our own’.  We may ‘think’ we are in control for ‘we’ make our own decisions, right?  But one spiritual source or the other will and does influence the decisions we make in our lives.  Just as the Holy Ghost suggests what we should do, demonic entities can also suggest to us what to do.  Who do we listen to?

Those who reject Jesus do become the devil’s playground.  When the devil dangles those temptations, we jump, to whatever enticement he has set before us – in our ‘own strength’.  We have no counter balance operating in our lives.  But when an evil entity enters into our hearts and takes up residence, our bodies, we, become controlled by that spirit (John 8:42-45).

However, once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, the Holy Ghost now has input into our lives and we need to start listening to Him and grow, filling our lives with God’s love.  If we don’t, we may become stagnant.  Stagnant means no Spiritual growth (1 Corinth 3:1-3, we need to get off the milk and stop walking as men, Acts 8:9-24 [v21-22]).  When we aren’t growing in the Holy Spirit, we leave room for the enemy to taunt and tempt us.  We have to fill that emptiness from lack of growth or we fall back into old habits (Luke 11:24-26).  In not growing, we quench the Spirit by not allowing Him to function in our lives as God intended (1 Thess. 5:19) and we grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30, 3076, lupeo, bring heaviness) when we refuse to follow God’s guidance.  And we ‘do our own thing ’because we’re ‘saved’ and we have it all together, right?  Yeah, right.  But we will find ourselves, once again, pursuing Satan’s darkness rather than God’s light (Jesus) (1 Corinth. 2:6-16, knowing God by His Spirit).   Even though we are saved by faith we keep God’s laws (to truly love) as we love Jesus (John 15:1-11 abiding in the vine), not because we ‘have to’ but because we ‘choose to’.  We don’t get ‘saved by keeping the law, we keep the law because we are saved.  We have the hope of salvation, but once ‘saved’, we need the meat, not just the milk of the Word (Heb. 5:12-14) or we become stagnant staying ‘spiritual babies’ until Christ’s return, or worse, we may become complacent like the five foolish virgins (Matt. 25:1-13) and fall away.  Read the passage!  The five foolish virgins don’t enter in to live with the bridegroom (the kingdom of God).  

When we don’t accept Jesus, we leave ourselves open to any outside influence, including uninvited entities coming into our hearts.   You ask what does that mean?  Look at the world around us.  It has gone totally bananas!  Aside from ‘terrorism’ people are killing people Irregardless of race, creed or religion.  There is theft, lawlessness, sexual promiscuity and so on.  

God does not force Himself upon us and when we reject Him, He leaves us to our own devices and that means being open to any influences the Evil One decides to inflict.  If we’re honest, the world’s a mess – a big mess.  And at the bottom of that mess are demonic entities under the guidance of Satan himself (Rom. 1:22-25) compounded by our refusal to follow God’s guidelines – of love (1 John 2:4).

Read the following scriptures, on your own, to get a little better understanding of what the bible says about spiritual warfare.  Now, there are more scriptures than these, but this should give you an idea and you can always research further.  Just remember to read the entire account.

Mark 5:1-13                “Legion”

Mark 1:39                   “Casting out devils in a region”

Luke 11:14                   “The ‘dumb’ devil”

Acts 16:16-18              “Spirit of divination and Paul”

Matt. 12:25-29            “Who casts out devils, Satan or God?”

Matt. 8:16                   “Cast out spirits by His Word”

Luke 4:33-36               “Authority over unclean spirits”

Mark 7:25-30              “The Gentile woman’s daughter (scraps)”

Acts 19:13-16              “Sons of Sceva”

Matt. 17:14-21            “Why couldn’t we cast him out?”

I want you to understand that there are opposing forces in this world.  Oriental philosophy and other religions may call it “ying and yang”, “light and dark”, “white and black” or some may even call It the ‘ever present’ battle of “good versus evil” (“may the force be with you”).  Oh, wretched men are we (Rom. 7:14-25) for we spend a lifetime, to some degree, in this battle.  But, as we draw closer to Jesus, Father makes these battles easier to deal with (Matt. 11:28-30) and more victorious (John 16:33, red letter – Jesus speaking).

Many religions deny the existence of God or Satan but that doesn’t make it so.  In fact, Satan thrives in the lives of those who refuse to believe he exists.  The battlefield field is open to him for men don’t know that which they fight against or even that they are fighting against something.  For we wrestle against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness (devils) and spiritual wickedness (Eph. 6:12).  But the battle goes on as Satan continues to try to undermine the things God does (Rev. 12:7-9).

Obviously we’re dealing with spiritual warfare and we need to understand four phases or areas which can impact Christians: possession, oppression, obsession and the orphan, which may become the door through which the other areas enter in.

Possession

Webster’s defines possession, or possessed as the act of having taken control or occupancy or ownership, entered into, influenced and/or controlled firmly.  Replacing one’s normal personality with something else.

Oppression

Webster’s defines oppression as cruel or unjust exercise of authority or power, obstruction in body or mind.   

Obsession

Webster’s defines obsession as a persistent, preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea, feeling or emotion.

The Orphan   

Webster’s defines orphan as a child deprived of one or both parents

By these definitions, note that each of these areas imply control and influence of one over another by choice or otherwise.  And this control or influence impacts the mind, usually with the body then putting that influence into practice.

We also have to consider one more area.

Familiar spirit

Webster’s defines a familiar spirit as a spirit that prompts or serves and individual or one that is summoned by a medium.

 Frank Hammond defines it as an indwelling spirit which has a relationship with a human (“Confronting Familiar Spirits”, Hammond).  Dr. Frank Hammond goes on to describe the scenario where the familiar spirit is a ‘companion’ and can be summoned by the one with whom it has the relationship.  We know that the Holy Ghost will teach us (John 14:26) and reveal things to us (1 Corinth. 2:10) and the familiar spirit can mimic this task to some degree.  Even Pharaoh’s magicians could duplicate the first three plagues that befell Pharaoh, but then they could duplicate them no more (Exodus chptrs 7-12, note Exod. 8:18-19). 

Wikkipedia’s description says a familiar spirit might indwell an animal and speak to the one with whom it has a relationship (medium).   Webster, Hammond and Wikki all seem to imply that this spirit may have an impact on a person’s life without actually, but not to exclude, indwelling (?) the individual. 

Now, as we consider these three descriptions of the ‘familiar, we see the implication that the familiar spirit may have external influence.  The orphan could qualify as a familiar spirit for it influences, but does not indwell. 

Nonetheless, the orphan is a “look at ‘me’” spirit.  Aren’t ‘I’ something?  Look at all that ‘I’ can do or have done!  It’s a show off, yet an insecure show off.  If he had confidence, he wouldn’t need to proclaim himself. 

Now, we’re not going to find ‘orphan spirit’ in either Webster’s or the bible, as such, but the bible does give us examples of the orphan in action, of which some are: King Herod (Acts12:21-23), Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8:9-21), King Ahab (1Kins 21:1-20).  These men all made themselves to be more than what they actually were.

The first time I even heard the term “orphan spirit” was in 2011 or 2012 at a conference in Philadelphia, in a class I attended titled “Orphan Spirit”. This was the beginning of Father giving me an understanding on the orphan.   

John 20:30 says “Truly, Jesus did many other signs and wonders in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book” (John’s gospel) and in John 21:25 “And there are many other things that Jesus did that if every one should be written down, the world could not contain all the books in which they would be written,”  So we see that Jesus said and did a lot more that we don’t have ‘immediate’ access to (John 20:31).  However, these passages from John do say we have enough information to gain access into eternity, but we also realize that Jesus told His disciples more than just what is recorded in the bible.  So not everything is clearly spelled out in scripture and we find, the Holy Ghost will reveal things to us (1 Corinth. 2:10).  But, take note when things come through revelation, it will always be consistent with God’s love and never contrary to His Word (not man’s interpretation).  And the only way we know God’s consistency is to read the scriptures and understand His Word for ourselves by allowing the Holy Ghost to teach us His Word.  We study to show ourselves approved (2 Tim. 2:15) so we can know and abide in His love (John 15:1-10).

The reason the orphan is even mentioned here is that it can be a prelude the other conditions mentioned: possession, oppression and obsession and even the familiar spirit, It can open the door for them.

The orphan spirit enters a person’s life via some sort of traumatic experience which challenges our love need.  Of course any demonic activity in a person’s life could be the result of, but not limited to, cult or occult involvement, as well.  It doesn’t matter how great or how small that experience may actually be but it is major to the individual.  It doesn’t matter how old or how young the individual is.  It is an event in one’s life that the individual cannot or will not cope with:  loss of a parent or dearly loved one, verbal or physical abuse, rape, witnessing extreme violence. , maybe even ‘simply’ just being left alone (abandoned) with no support system.

The orphan might actually seem to be a help initially (Confronting Familiar Spirits) because it appears to set up defense barriers to help us cope with the situation.  These defenses might seem good, but they are mechanisms totally devoid of God’s influence.  

There is a dual nature inside the individual – introvert and extrovert.  Truly an introvert because of insecurities, there has been no foundation for building self-confidence.  There is ‘no’ or a ‘weak’ support system to foster self-confidence so the orphan helps the introverted person to create ‘his own’ protective shield of donficence – “Nobody loves me but I’m really OK”, “It’s not my fault” etc.  Yet, the individual seeks and desires acceptance, attention and love and seeks to fill that void in his heart, any way he can.  Often filling that void by ‘acting out in various ways, to get attention.  The gloves come off as the as the orphan reveals the extrovert personality, not one of confidence, but rather brash, maybe even careless and overbearing in ways to attract attention.  We may see them acting out (class clown or the ‘bad boy’ always in trouble), the bully, becoming promiscuous thinking that ‘love’ (sex) is the answer.  Afraid to ask for and receive proper attention but doing almost anything to get some kind of attention, even to being destructive.  Getting attention?  Yes, but not communication, rather manipulation.  The orphan isn’t concerned with true relationships, just manipulating the situation to get the desired attention.

Yet this spirit is not an indwelling spirit, but oppressive, which could easily develop into obsessive.  The orphan works from the outside, whispering into our ear what it wants us to do and because these suggestions seem to ease the pain of the trauma, loneliness, no love, we listen and do.  This spirit can also produce obsessive activity in our lives as we try to gain recognition.  We may end up doing things compulsively and we just can’t get it out of our minds and actions and reactions may even become automatic in our lives.  We do without thinking.

As I said, the orphan is a “look at me” spirit.  Good or bad, he is always trying to be the center of attention.  He needs to be ‘built up” to prove that he’s really OK.  And when he doesn’t get it, he’ll manufacture it internally.  He has to be OK.  He has to be right.  He has to be on top.  It’s how he convinces himself that it’s never him, but the rest of the world.  But he’s all right!

The orphan may not be ‘the controlling spirit’ in a person’s life, but he most likely is the one who opens the door for the spirit which becomes the ‘controller’ to come in – and all his buddies.  The controller is usually the first spirit, demon, to actually indwell and becomes the general for all those who follow (Pigs in the Parlor).

Because the orphan is not an indwelling spirit, he can’t be cast out.  Rather he has to be loved out.  ‘No Room at the Inn’ (our spirits, hearts, souls and minds) as we fill our lives with God’s love by our willful choice to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and spirit (Mark:12:30) and we demonstrate our allegiance to God by abiding in Him (John 15:1-10, the vine).  The orphan no longer has space or permission, ergo no reason to operate in our lives because we are learning to live in God’s will and in God’s love, which builds us in strength and confidence through Jesus Christ (2 Corinth. 12:9, Phil. 4:13).  He has no room at the inn in which to stay.

As I said, the orphan opens the door for other spirits to come in and that leads into oppression, which could lead to or be joint with possession, either of which could team up with obsession.  But, unlike the orphan, those indwelling demons can be cast out (Pigs in the parlor).

 Having finished “Pigs in the Parlor” and rescanning “Confronting Familiar Spirits”, I’m still not completely clear on what is the fine line between indwelling and external influence.  In ‘Pigs in the Parlor’, Frank Hammond describes that deliverance is for Christians, to cleanse us from anything not of God.  Dr. Hammond explains that we understand this by distinguishing the difference between the spirit and soul.  

Strong’s gives us three Greek words which are closely related: Psyche, which is our emotions, intellect and will, animal sense or feeling, soul (5590);  Pneuma (4151) which is breeze, blast of air, breath, spirit or rational, immortal soul, Holy Spirit (note caps), spirit, ghost; and Zoe (2222) life (animation).   

Paraphrasing what Frank Hammond explains from “Pigs in the Parlor”, pneuma, spirit, is what enables us to grasp spiritual concepts.  Psyche is our natural or soulish self.  Here, I’ll add zoe which is that which gives our bodies breath, to live, animation.  Dr. Hammond points out that Paul says we are a three part being, body, soul and spirit (1 Thess. 5:23). 

Without Jesus (salvation) our pneuma is essentially dead or at best, subject to our psyche, but we do have psyche and zoe to carry us on, so we ‘live’.  With salvation, pneuma is quickened and brought to life with God’s indwelling Holy Spirit.  Reading this material implies that demonic spirits cannot enter pneuma but are confined to operating in the psyche, our soulish self, which might explain why Paul declared “Oh, wretched man am I?  Who shall deliver me from this body of death (psyche & zoe)?  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  With my mind (3563-intellect) I serve the law of God but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” (Rom. 7:24-25).  But ask yourself, ‘where are most spiritual battles waged?’  I can speak for myself, most are in my mind (psyche).  

Now, hold the fort.  Mind equals psyche and we said the Holy Ghost dwells in our pneuma.  Paul said he serves God with his ‘mind’.  Understand, our psyche follows something or someone.  We cannot serve God and mammon (Matt. 6:24), we love one and hate the other or hold on to one despise the other.  Realize what our spiritual growth means:  we come into alignment with something or someone, God or Satan.  Our choice, because through the Holy Ghost filled pneuma we align ourselves with the Father, by transforming and renewing our minds (psyche) to that which is good, perfect and acceptable, the will of God (Rom. 12:2).  So our psyche is acting more and more like our Spirit filled pneuma.  So when there is no Holy Ghost filled pneuma, what is there?

So in Romans, Paul wrestles with his own soul as he tries to draw it into God’s will.  What we also find, now, is the possibility of our being influenced, possibly even possessed in our psyche while our pneuma draws us forward in the strength of the Holy Ghost, into complete alignment with Father as it contends with the rebellion of our psyche.  Technically, psyche and pneuma are not occupying the same space so to break any satanic influence, our psyche must become aligned with our Holy Ghost filled pneuma.  Ergo, Paul wrestles flesh against spirit.

Frank Hammond tells us that unless a demon is cast out, he goes nowhere (Pigs in the Parlor) and sometimes, unless it is called by name, it can still stay put!   So, it is conceivably possible that a Christian could retain some demons even through the salvation experience – or even after by entertaining wrong thoughts (James 1:13-15).  That might explain Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8:1-20). 

Even though the orphan may have let his ‘buddies’ in to play and some may have been cast out, there may yet be some ‘hangin’ in there’ that need to get the ‘boot’.  Even after salvation, according to Dr. Hammond.

We’ve seen where the orphan can be loved out, no room at the inn, but the others will have to be dealt with, cast out.  Better get the book (Pigs in the Parlor) and find out how.  Not enough space here to explain.

Of course, everything starts with Jesus.  We confront the devils in His name, plead His blood against them and cover ourselves with it.  We also have to experience Christian growth because once the demons have been kicked out, they can come back so we fill that void with something (Matt. 12:43-45), like God’s Word, increasing our knowledge.  Not just learning it, but living it.  Put faith into action (James 2:17-20).  We also need to be walking in the power and authority of Jesus.  Something the sons of Sceva weren’t doing.  Even though they commanded in the name of Jesus, they didn’t have His authority seven of them got their proverbial butts kicked by one demon possessed man (Acts 19:13-16). If we deal with spiritual entities, we have to be spiritually clean.  Put on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:11-18), which works against demonic activity and in daily living.

We need to identify those areas of our life which the orphan or any demonic spirit influences.  Allowing God’s love fully into our hearts by yielding those areas to Him (in Jesus’ name) then ID’ing all needful areas and throwing out the garbage (casting out any demons) to assure all areas are clean.  We give those areas to God, through Jesus Christ and leave them with him and apply all that He shows us into our own lives.  And that means living in His true love.  Acknowledging, confessing, repenting our sins, when they occur, and setting them behind us (Isaiah 38:17).  When I confess and repent my sins God is faithful to forgive them (1 John 1:9) as He has through the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7).  So when the enemy reminds us of what ‘used to be’ we remind him that we have already given those areas to God, we have victory in Jesus (Deut. 20:4, 1 Corinth. 10:13) and stand firm because God has given us His armor to resist (Ephesians 6:13).

AMEN!(?)

6/24/2017                          What’s a Holy Ghost?

                 

Paul encountered twelve disciples on the road to Ephesus and as the talked, asked them if they had received the Holy Ghost since they believed (Acts 19:2) and paraphrasing their answer they said “What’s a Holy Ghost?”

What/Who is the Holy Ghost?

The Holy Ghost is the third person of the Godhead.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life proceeds from the Father and the Son. (Niocene Creed, 381 AD)

The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters during creation (Gen. 1:2).  Father spoke words and it was the Holy Ghost Who carried those words into action. 

He is the breath of God

The Hebrew word generally associated with God’s Spirit is ruwach (Strong’s 7307) and the Greek word is pneuma (Strong’s 4151).  The Hebrew word neshamah (Strong’s 5397) a puff of breath or wind which refers to our soul, intellect, the human spirit, that which gives us animation.  And the Hebrew gava (Strong’s 1478) translates ‘ghost’, with the connation of breathing out with the idea of last breath.

Now, ruwach (Gen. 1:2) and pneuma (John14:17 and Acts 2:4), both translated ‘ghost’ or ‘spirit’ mean ‘breath’ or ‘blast of air’ and, of course, these passages refer to God’s Spirit or the Holy Ghost. 

 The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2) thereby putting God’s words into action.  We also see God going before Israel as a cloud pillar by day and protecting their rear guard by night (Exod. 13:21) as a pillar of fire and, by the Red Sea, He says He’ll even fight for them (Exod. 14:14).

 Jesus tells His disciples that they shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon them (Acts 1:8).

 So the Holy Ghost is the power of God to put His Word into action, protect us and to indwell us,, giving us power to live this life for Him and to be witnesses to the world (Acts. 1:8)

John the Baptist prophecies the Holy Ghost

John said he indeed baptized with water for the remission of sins but one is coming after him who will baptize us with the Holy Ghost and fire (Matt. 3:11).  John’s statement referenced the prophecy of Joel “I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophecy … (Joel 2:28)”

Jesus Promises the Holy Ghost

I pray the Father that He will give you another comforter … even the Spirit of truth (John 14:16-17)

But it is expedient I go … Comforter will not come, but if I leave, I will send Him to you (John 16:7-8).  Jesus tells His disciples that the Holy Ghost is our comforter and that He is coming, expect Him.

Jesus Commands that we receive the Holy Ghost

Jesus not only tells us that the Holy Ghost is coming, but he puts a touch of importance on the event.  He tells His disciples “Receive the Holy Ghost” (John 20:22).  Now Jesus makes this comment later in the day, after His resurrection (the empty tomb).   Kenneth Hagin cites this as when the disciples actually received the indwelling of the HG.  Note the wording here ‘receive’, not ‘baptized with’ (Acts 1:4-5).  Note the distinction as we continue reading and comparing the baptism or infilling of the Holy Ghost.  Note Jesus also said ‘receive’.  He didn’t say ‘you might want to think about’, or ‘if you have time, consider it’.  This is a direct statement as to what the disciples should do – receive – a command, if you will.  Not an option.                  

How do we know the Holy Ghost has come?

So how do we know when the Holy Ghost comes.  He came over two thousand years ago.  On the day of Pentecost, the time celebrated for when the death angel passing over the children of Israel in Egypt just before Moses led them out, the disciples (120 of them) were all in one accord, in one place, in prayer when what sounded like a mighty rushing wind filled the room and cloven tongues of fire sat upon each one of them (Acts 2:15-18), that’s when they were filled with the Holy Ghost.  Since that time, it hasn’t been God giving us the Holy Ghost but us receiving Him (Acts 8:15, Acts 10:44, Acts 19:6).  Note that in Acts 10 & 19 ‘fell upon’ carries the idea of receiving.  If someone throw me a ball, I don’t have it unless I catch it or receive it.  The ball still exist and is coming at me, 

but if I want it, I have to catch it or receive it.

Distinction between indwelling and infilling

I’m saved so I have the Holy Ghost, right?  Yes, but not the fullness of what God has to offer.  Let’s take a look the indwelling, our salvation experience and the infilling, our experience with the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

Jesus Promises with Salvation, the indwelling

Ask in my name and I will do it, if you love me keep my commandments, I will pray Father will give you another Comforter who will abide with you forever, the Spirit of Truth … for He is with you but shall be in you (John 14:14-17).  Think ‘will be’.  So who is the original comforter?  Jesus!

He who drinks the water I give him shall never thirst, but it will be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:14).  A continuing source of life and that is what the Holy Ghost is for us which will transfer to Jesus when we are in eternity.  In the presence of God, we don’t need the infilling of the Holy Ghost anymore.  When Jesus walked with the disciples He gave them power (Luke 10:19).  So, until we’re living back in the literal presence of our Lord, the Holy Ghost give us the power to do what we need to.

We know that with salvation the Comforter, or the Holy Ghost, comes to live within us and as we live for the Father, through Jesus, The Holy Ghost confirms our salvation (1 John 5:13).

Peace be unto you, as My Father has sent Me, I send you, He breathed on them and said “Receive the Holy Ghost”, whosoever sins you remit, they are remitted, whose sins you retain, they are retained  (John 20:21-23).  Here Jesus has yet to promise the baptism or infilling as yet.     

We have the Holy Ghost, but we discover that there more to ‘just having’ the assurance of salvation.

Jesus Promises with Baptism of Holy Ghost, the infilling

Just before He ascends into heaven, Jesus promises that they shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost (Acts 1:4-5) and when the Holy Ghost is come upon them, then they shall receive power and to be witnesses (Acts 1:8). 

Power are those rivers of living waters flowing in us and through us.  Jesus says that if a man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes on Me, as the scripture says, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living waters (John 7:37-39).  Our ‘thirst’ is our desire to draw closer to Jesus, to receive ALL that He has for us.  We receive, then those rivers of living waters flow back out to those around us, our witness, our testimony.         

Again this is the Holy Ghost abiding within us and there are certain benefits, but there is more to come.

How do I know I have the indwelling?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance (Gal. 5:22-23).  The indwelling truly immediately produces fruit with salvation, most notable joy and peace.  Think about your own salvation experience.  When I gave my heart to the Lord, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off from my shoulders.  I felt good.  No, like Tony the Tiger, I felt GRREEAAT!

The fruit of the Spirit is evident from salvation.  It may not happen all at once, but it should be growing in our hearts eventually expressing itself outward.  Joy seems to be there, right up front (John 20:20, Acts 13:52) with love becoming a growing part of the our lives – love me, keep My commandments (John 14:15), keep My commandments shows your love (John 15:10).  It’s a circle, we love Him, we desire to please Him.  As we please Him, He blesses us and our desire to love Him grows even more.

How do I know I have the infilling, Baptism?

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:4)

AS Peter spoke … the Holy Ghost fell on all who heard the Word … for those of the circumcision saw that Gentiles also received the gift of the Holy Ghost … for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God (Acts 10:44-46)

Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?  We haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Ghost (v4) … they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (v5), Paul laid hands upon them and the Holy Ghost came on them for they spoke with tongues and prophesied (v6) (Acts 19:1-6).

The scriptures tell us that out of the mouths of two or three witnesses every word is established (2 Corinth. 13:1).  In these passages, we have our witnesses that the initial, the first things observed with the baptism of the Holy Ghost is the speaking with ‘tongues’, our spiritual, heavenly language give to us from the Father (Romans 8:26).

Our salvation brought us joy and now that joy continues on to a greater level because now we have our spiritual language representing a new level of power God has put in us.  it is our direct communication with God.  Kind of like the old ‘hotline’ between Washington DC and Moscow, years ago, a direct line between our president and the USSR’s premier.  When we pray in the Spirit, we have a direct connect with our Father.  Read on.

Why do I want the baptism of the Holy Ghost?    

Part of Gospel of Jesus Christ (Matt. 3:11 John, Acts 1:4-5 Jesus, Acts 1:8 power)

Jesus tells us to expect the Holy Ghost for He shall give us power and we have seen that He is our comforter (John 14:16).

Fruit of the Spirit                     love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Gal. 5:22-23)

These qualities do exactly what they say and make it much more durable to live this life for God so we have favor with God and with man (Psalms 5:12)

Gifts of the Spirit                     Wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues  (1 Corinth. 12:1-31)

Also Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teacher (Eph. 4:11)

We know that gifts are given without repentance (Romans 11:29) and Satan can mimic some of what God does (he duplicated some of the plagues of God but the Egyptian magicians were stopped with the lice (Exod. 8:18-19).  That left seven plagues they couldn’t duplicate  But living in The Holy Spirit and being obedient to god’s will brings God’s blessings (John 15:7) to us.  Yes, we have to live for Christ, but a small price to pay for God’s power dwelling in us.

            

             Power to live this life

                        A Closer Walk            

Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord … Noah was a just and perfect man in his time, Noah walked with God (Gen. 6:8-9).

I am the light of the world.  He who follows me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life (John 8:12).

Jesus promises to be with us.  In fact, He promises to never leave nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5).  What more could we ask?

                        

                        Better Communication 

The Spirit helps infirmities, for we don’t know how we should pray but the Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings (Strong’s 4726 or sighs) that 

can’t be uttered (Romans 8:26-27).

Speaking in an unknown tongue is not speaking to men, but unto God for no man understands him but in the Spirit, he speaks mysteries (1 Corinth. 14:2)

Eye has not seen nor ear heard, or has it entered into men’s hearts, the things God has prepared for them, for God reveals them to us through His Spirit for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God … which God gives freely (1 Corinth. 2:9-12)

We don’t always know what to say when we pray, so the Spirit prays for us (tongues).  He speaks mysteries that the world doesn’t understand, nor can because He speaks the deep things of God AND shares the with us through ‘revelation’.  Through prayer, through the word, even through the things around us.

            Guidance

The Spirit of truth … will guide you into all truth for He doesn’t speak of Himself, but He speaks what He hears and He will show you things to come (John 16:13).

Jesus tells us that the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My name, shall teach you all things & bring them back to memory, those things I’ve said to you (John 14:26).

Don’t worry how to answer your adversaries for the Holy Ghost will teach you what to say (Luke 12:11-12).  Don’t be fearful, especially when confronted concerning our faith.  Why?

I will give you a mouth and wisdom and your enemies will not be able to argue nor resist (Luke 21:15)

How do I receive the Holy Ghost

Be Saved

If we confess Jesus with our mouth and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we shall be saved (Rom. 10:9)

If we repent and are baptized in the name of Jesus for remission of sins (be saved), we shall receive the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38)

Paul encountered twelve men on the road to Ephesus and talking with them he realized that had only received John’s baptism for repentance. Paul baptized these men in the name of Jesus, laid hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost (Acts 19:1-7)

Peter preached Jesus to Cornelius and his house and the Holy Ghost fell upon them as he preached and then they were baptized with water for repentance.  (Acts 10:44-48)

Cornelius’ family repented (unto salvation) and received the Holy Ghost while Peter preached, leaving  water baptism was just a ‘formality’

Right Heart with God (no ‘open’ sin)

            Repent (Acts 2:38)

We need to ask God to create a clean heart in us and renew (turn from our old ways) our spirit (Psalms 51:10)  (no ‘outstanding’ sins)

            Ask

Often we ask God for something, but for the wrong reason (James 4:2-3).

We need to ask God, seek it with all our heart and take action to receive, then it shall be opened (given) to us (Matt. 7:7).  The unjust judge gave the old woman her request because she didn’t give up after the first try (Luke 18:1-8)

Receive

When we pray for something, we need to believe that we will receive it and then we shall have it (Mark 11:24).

There are times we don’t have because we haven’t asked in Jesus’ name, ask in His name (John 14:13) and receive, He wants our joy may be full (John 16:24).

Demonstrate faith

We need to take action on what we believe we’ve received (James 2:17-18).  With the baptism of the Holy Ghost, we open our mouths and begin to speak letting the Holy Ghost give us utterance (Acts 2:4)

The initial evidence (first thing noted) of the Baptism or infilling of the Holy Ghost is speaking with the God-given tongue or language.  It is ‘tongues’ (glossa, Strong’s 1100), a language.  It is NOT ‘thoughts’.  It is spoken.  Just as God spoke and created everything (Gen. 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24 & 26 – ‘God said’).  We have to open our mouths and speak it out. When we were children and became hungry we didn’t go to mom, look intently at her and think ‘I’m hungry, please fix me a sandwich’.  For those who may have tried, it didn’t work very well, did it?  No, we opened our mouths and asked mom for the sandwich.

We see in Acts 2:4, Acts 10:44-46 and Acts 19:6 the initial evidence demonstrated is the speaking in tongues.  We seek the baptism of the Holy Ghost, this should be the first thing evidenced.

So just what or should I say WHO is the Holy Ghost?  The power of the eternal, living God living in us which gives us power to testify of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ AND to live this life to its fullest.  All we have to do is receive what Father has for us and then put our belief into action.