Sword Of The Spirit

many students and teachers of the bible are making a careless mistake. james said, “let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment”(james 3:1 nasb). if anyone is willing to come before the people of god and teach, the teaching must be scrutinized by those who are mature-“who by reason of use have their senses exercised to know the difference between good and evil”(hebrews 5:14 kjv). no one is above this scrutiny (acts 20:28-31; 1 corinthians 14:29,30). first off we know by the scriptures that, “all scripture is god-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of god may be perfected, thoroughly furnished to every good work” (2 timothy 3:16,17 mkjv). therefore we know that the integrity of the scripture is complete- and it is written “the scriptures cannot be broken”(john 10:35). we must incorporate all the scriptures concerning any subject at hand. also, we see that the scriptures are prophetic in nature, being god-breathed. this is further confirmed by peter, “ we have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of god spoke as they were moved by the holy ghost” (2peter 1:19-21 kjv). the scriptures came forth through men as the breath of god, and it is the spirit of truth that reveals the mind of christ through the scriptures (1 corinthians 2:5-16; 1john 2:27; john16: 13). that the word of god is "prophetic" means this-the truth of god is not primarily historical, it is primarily eternal....which means it is always in the now. "today, if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts...."(hebrews2). yet, this now, today, word comes out from the scripture-"it is written". it is made prophetic by the illumination of the holy spirit. god has been faithful in the accumulation and preservation of the cannon of scripture to give us at least two or three statements concerning any issue of any substance. when we have witnesses in the scripture that appear to contradict each other the answer is to probe deeper with prayerful consideration and study. the answer will eventually appear as a treasure hidden in a field, which a man, when he finds it will sell all that he has to secure the field. the field is the entire word of god. the treasure is the revelation of jesus christ. “for god, who said, ‘light shall shine out of darkness’, is the one who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of christ” (2 cor. 4:6). “for i want you to know how great a struggle i have on your behalf and for those who are at laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of god's mystery, that is, christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (colossians 2:1-3). this “manifold (manifaceted) wisdom of god”(eph. 3:10) is so great that paul wrote, “if any man thinks he knows anything he knows not yet as he ought to know”(1 cor. 8:2). comparative knowledge means nothing, “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” (2 cor. 10:12). only the scriptures matter and the holy spirit teaches and illuminates them. “ now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from god, so that we may know the things freely given to us by god, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual

words”(1 cor. 2 13). there is no opposition between the word and the spirit because “my words are spirit and my words are life”.

in the deadness of the letter (words without spirit) the scriptures deal death as law, being unattainable, unfathomable and petrified into the traditions of men. your generation of tradition may exceed another based on comparative knowledge, but without the breath of the spirit you are simply a “stronger, better pharisee, saducee or zealot”. rejecting the unfolding revelation of the mystery of god that is today’s word “today, if you hear my voice” - all the while bowing down to yesterdays serpent of brass (see numbers 21:5-9, then read 2 kings 18:4). no prophecy of scripture is given to any man's private interpretation because the testimony of jesus christ is the spirit of prophecy. “let him who has ears to hearhear what the spirit is saying to the churches”. jesus is head over all things to the church….he walks among the lampstands(churches) and holds the 7 stars(elders, teachers, servant shepherd ministers) in his hand. he will testify through the spirit. his testimony will arise from and return to the scripture. the oracles of god are forever rooted in the person of jesus christ because he is “the radiance of the fathers glory and the exact representation of his power and all things hold together by the word(rhema-utterance) of his power”. knowledge and law based approaches to the things of the kingdom of god become caricaturesmisrepresenting the “true knowledge of god”(col. 2:2, 3:10; 2 peter 2:3-8). scripture should not be taken out of the context of who he is, now, today (he is who he is and always has been and always will be- the i am). the holy spirit is “christ in you the hope of glory”(col.) taking that which is the fathers and giving it to us (john). the holy spirit wields the sword of spirit (the word of god)illuminating the scriptures, which are the oracles of god, to bring us inexorably under submission to the beautiful, glorious mind of christ. the spirit is the breath that breathed the word through the prophets and apostles. there is no opposition between the spirit and the word. an old saying puts it simply….”all spirit blow up…all word dry up… spirit and word grow up. we need the operation of the spirit in this fight of faith. we have supernatural enemy and we have been given many tools and weapons with which to fight him. we need them all. the scriptures themselves bear witness to this. (eph 6:11-13) put on the whole armour of god, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high place. wherefore take unto you the whole armour of god, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (2co 10:4,5)(for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through god to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of god, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of christ; the holy spirit is working through the whole body of christ to bring us into one mind and one accord and into the unity of the faith measured by only one

standard (rom 12:5,6) so we, being many, are one body in christ, and every one members one of another. having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; (see eph 4:7-13) till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the son of god, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of christ: the holy spirit confirms the word of god through the members of the body, (1co 14:31-33) for ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. and the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. for god is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. (rom 12:5,6) so we, being many, are one body in christ, and every one members one of another. having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; (1co 12:7) but the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withal. the holy spirit encourages us in the scripture to be exercised in the spirit for the purpose of edification (1co 14:12) even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. (1co 14:26) how is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. let all things be done unto edifying. teaching is the inspired illumination of the scriptures pertaining to all the wisdom and knowledge of god in doctrine and wisdom and understanding. prophecy is inspired speech for the purpose of edification, exhortation, and consolation. highlighting the scriptures, so to speak, for the purpose of revealing the mind of christ in a specific way; for a specific purpose; at a specific time; to a specific group of people or person. the holy spirit requires that we judge the word that is shared whether by doctrine or exhortation or prophecy. let the prophets speak two or three and let the others judge. “let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment”(james 3:1 nasb the scriptures themselves preserve purity in doctrine because they are, the sword of the spirit (rev. 1:16, eph(6:17). god reveals doctrinal purity by the holy spirit . he has set his own priorities in the kingdom of god. in other words- “let him who has ears to hear what the spirit says to the churches”. hear the voice of the one who walks among the lampstands and holds the seven stars in his hands (rev. 2:1). some group may be strong in knowledge but weak in love. the holy spirit will begin to motivate members of the body to speak by way of prophecy or revelation

concerning the need to walk in love as god’s present priority for the body. the speaking will arise out of and return to the scriptures, but the "highlighter" of the holy spirit is the prophetic emphasis. the one who tries the reigns and the hearts knows what the will of god is. all things are open to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. he will speak through the word. “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. and there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (see hebrews 4:12,13). jesus told the pharisees they were hypocrites who put heavy loads on the backs of men that they themselves would not touch with their little finger. they failed to recognize that the priorities of god were justice, mercy and peace. they strained at the gnat while swallowing the camel because they did not hear the voice of the lord. they were gnostics (saducees), legalists (pharisees) and patriots (zealots) who had their own agendas confused with god’s kingdom. “today, if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” the gifts of the spirit are intended for the purpose of edifying the body. in other words the grace of god manifests through the body for the body so that we are a priesthood of believers. we are truly members of one another through the spirit, under the headship of jesus. we all participate in the service of the tabernacle of the lord. all of this must be subject to the scriptures(“see to it that you build it according to the pattern you received on the mountain”). yet the spirit leads us in the specific application and empowers the affect. in the teachings of jesus and the apostles and the record of acts, the foundation of plurality is absolutely clear. the operation of diverse spiritual gifts reinforces plurality. plurality safeguards freedom and grace. it is not necessary to trade away the gifts of the spirit or deny the priesthood of believers or eliminate the plurality of elders(presbytery, plural government) or ministering gifts to the body(apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists) to maintain order and doctrinal purity. in fact, the opposite is true. diversity preserves purity as iron sharpening iron. what is required is the berean tenacity to search out the scriptures. the search will yield the repentence and accompanying humilty that will give rise to a mature yet holy spirit breathed manifestation of the body of christ. the whole goal of the plurality and diverse anointings of ephesians 4 is that we might no longer be as children, tossed about by winds, but that we might all attain the unity of the faith, to a mature man, unto the measure of the stature of the son of god. those who dispensationalize all these things into extinction may be simply misled, or unexcusably ignorant, or worse, devoid of the spirit themselves and evil workers masquerading as ministers of christ. the solution to the unscriptural use of gifts of the spirit is not to quench the holy spirit. we grieve the spirit when we deal with these issues superficially. the answer is to seek god and let iron sharpen iron. gather for prayer and committed berean consideration through the sciptures and the multitude of counselors. this is the same thing we require in the discussion of controversial doctrinal issues. the reason some refuse to apply this method to the subject of the ministries and manifestations of the spirit may be that they are more comfortable in a knowledge based realm - where god’s sovereign participation is less threatening to their sacred cows and hidden agendas. yet, paul urged us to engage one another in love with tenacity. jude urged us to contend for the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints.

once, and for all. this faith came in the power of the spirit, and the spirit drove the message home. that their faith might not rest upon the wisdom of men’s words but upon the power of god. the lord worked with them confirming the word. he will work with us as well when we are seeking him aright and ready to lay down our lives for the gospel. after the glory of the lord departed from the temple i am sure there were those who tried to pretend that everything was alright, it was just a new dispensation. ezekiel disagreed. the arm of the lord is not shortened that it cannot save, rather our sins have seperated us from our god. we ought instead to sound the alarm, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the people, consecrate a fast and cry out to god that he would spare his people. the departure of the spirit is god's judgement upon an apostate nation. if you are willing to stand before the assembly as one who is a teacher of the word, you have to be willing to withstand a stricter judgment. no prophecy of scripture is given to any man’s private interpretation. the father knew what he was saying when he said it. the meaning is available today through the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of god. "for the promise is to you, and your children and all who are afar off- even as many as the lord our god shall call to himself." the holy spirit will grant balance and blessing through the multitude of counselors. there is one foundation - let every man be careful how he builds upon it. we ought to let the material with which we build withstand the fiery light of day. (luk 4:18,19) "the spirit of the lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. he has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the lord." (act 1:7),8 he said to them, "it is not for you to know times or epochs which the father has fixed by his own authority; but you will receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses both in jerusalem, and in all judea and samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (act 2:37-39) now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to peter and the rest of the apostles, "brethren, what shall we do?" peter said to them, "repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of jesus christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy spirit. "for the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the lord our god will call to himself." (luk 24:49) "and behold, i am sending forth the promise of my father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." (mar 16:20) and they went forth, and preached everywhere, the lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. amen. (heb 2:3,4) how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? after it was at the first spoken through the lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard. god also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the holy spirit according to his own will.

(rom 12:3-7) for through the grace given to me i say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as god has allotted to each a measure of faith. for just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in christ, and individually members one of another. since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; (1co 12:4-31) now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit. and there are varieties of ministries, and the same lord. there are varieties of effects, but the same god who works all things in all persons. but to each one is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good. for to one is given the word of wisdom through the spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same spirit; to another faith by the same spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues but one and the same spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as he wills. for even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is christ. (1co 12:15) if the foot says, "because i am not a hand, i am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. and if the ear says, "because i am not an eye, i am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. if the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? if the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? but now god has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as he desired. if they were all one member, where would the body be? but now there are many members, but one body. and the eye cannot say to the hand, "i have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "i have no need of you." on the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. but god has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. and if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.now you are christ's body, and individually members of it. and god has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. all are not apostles, are they? all are not prophets, are they? all are not teachers, are they? all are not workers of miracles, are they? all do not have gifts of healings, do they? all do not speak with tongues, do they? all do not interpret, do they? but earnestly desire the greater gifts. and i show you a still more excellent way. (1co 14:26) what is the outcome then, brethren? when you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. let all things be done for edification. (eph 4:7-16) but to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of christ's

gift. therefore it says, "when he ascended on high, he led captive a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." (now this expression, "he ascended," what does it mean except that he also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? he who descended is himself also he who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) and he gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the son of god, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of christ. as a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head, even christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

chapter 2 the real reason that our enemy fights so hard against what the word of god teaches about the work of the holy spirit in the saints is that the baptism(fulness, overflow, immersion in) of the holy spirit is the key to the manifestation of the body of christ. we(corporately) are the "temple" of the holy spirit. we are, as living stones, being fitly joined together so that we may grow up into a "tabernacle"(dwelling place, habitation) of god in the spirit. we are all baptized into one body by one spirit. there are diversities of gifts of the spirit but one spirit works them all. let all things be done for the edification of the body. (rom 12:3-5) for through the grace given to me i say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as god has allotted to each a measure of faith. for just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in christ, and individually members one of another. notice that paul stands only upon the grace that is working in him in charging the believers to make room for one another in humility and awareness. "an apostle by the will of god." each member of the body is allotted a measure of faith. a distinctive manifestation of the grace of god is given to evry believer for the purpose of benefitting the whole body, building the whole tabernacle. the work of the kingdom is done by the body of christ and it is only because we are seated with christ in the heavenly realms above "all rule, power and authority" that we are able to overcome principalities and powers. in other words we must be connected in proper order to the head over all things to the body. this occurs as the spirit works thru all the various members of the body to express the will of god. john expressed something that is pre-eminent among god s purposes among when he said, (1jo 3:8) the son of god appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. the devil works overtime to bind the saints, keeping them in their own strength, in the letter, under the law and out of the spirit. (gal 3:2-13) this is the only thing i want to find out from you: did you receive the spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing with faith? are you so foolish? having begun by the spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? did you suffer so many things in vain--if

indeed it was in vain? so then, does he who provides you with the spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the law, or by hearing with faith? even so abraham believed god, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of abraham. the scripture, foreseeing that god would justify the gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to abraham, saying, "all the nations will be blessed in you." so then those who are of faith are blessed with abraham, the believer. for as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them." now that no one is justified by the law before god is evident; for, "the righteous man shall live by faith." however, the law is not of faith; on the contrary, "he who practices them shall live by them." christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, "cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"-- in order that in christ jesus the blessing of abraham might come to the gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the spirit through faith. it is difficult for many to hear...but these verses(along with 2 cor., the entire third chapter) clearly teach that the blessing of abraham is that we would receive the promise of the spirit. they also teach that this spirit works miracles among us, and is received by"hearing with faith"....remember, "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god". the old testament saints were looking forward to this. we all, as the body of christ, the tabernacle of god, are supposed to be the fufillment of the promise. (act 2:17,18) 'and it shall be in the last days,' god says, 'that i will pour forth of my spirit on all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my bondslaves, both men and women, i will in those days pour forth of my spirit and they shall prophesy.......... (act 2:33) "therefore having been exalted to the right hand of god, and having received from the father the promise of the holy spirit, he has poured forth this which you both see and hear. (eze 11:19,20) "and i will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them(see acts chapter2 and chapter4). and i will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my ordinances and do them. then they will be my people, and i shall be their god. (eze 36:25-28) "then i will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; i will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. "moreover, i will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and i will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. "i will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will be careful to observe my ordinances. "you will live in the land that i gave to your forefathers; so you will be my people, and i will be your god. (jer 31:31-34) "behold, days are coming," declares the lord, "when i will make a new covenant with the house of israel and with the house of judah, not like the covenant which i made with their fathers in the day i took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of egypt, my covenant which they broke, although i was a husband to them," declares the lord. "but this is the covenant which i will make with the house of israel

after those days," declares the lord, "i will put my law within them and on their heart i will write it; and i will be their god, and they shall be my people. "they will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'know the lord,' for they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the lord, "for i will forgive their iniquity, and their sin i will remember no more." (1jo 2:27) but the anointing which you received from him abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. but as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true and no lie, and as he has taught you, abide in him.