What are the Enemies of our Soul?

Satan, the World, and the Flesh-

“A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.”  (Prov. 1:5-6)

Many people believe that the Book of Proverbs is just a book of lessons on the practical principles of daily living.

But here we read at the beginning of the book that it says of itself there is an interpretation to these dark sayings.

The Hebrew word for dark sayings literally means puzzle or riddle. So we see that just as it is with the parables that Jesus told, so it is with the Book of Proverbs.

On the surface they seem like practical stories or instructions concerning the natural world around us, but underneath the surface there are deeper spiritual meanings.

Although there are many subjects touched upon in the Book of Proverbs, there are two main and prevalent themes written about and woven throughout the book.

These are the comparison of the wise and the foolish, and the warnings concerning the strange or adulteress woman.

By understanding the spiritual truths underlying these two themes, we can better comprehend how the flesh and the world operate to deceive us into yielding to temptation and hindering our walk in the Spirit.

“Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.”  (Prov. 7:27)

Although the Bible teaches that fornication and adultery are sins to abstain from and repent of, it places no greater emphasis on these than on any other.

However, in the Book of Proverbs the subject is dealt with so extensively that it becomes apparent that the adulteress, harlot, or strange woman represents more than it first appears.

In the Book of James in the New Testament we find that someone who is a friend of the world is called an adulterer or adulteress:

“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”  (James 4:4)

Thus we find out that the adulteress or strange woman represents the world. What the Book of Proverbs has to say about the immoral woman teaches us how the devil will use the world to draw us away from the path of righteousness and from walking in the Spirit.

“For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.”  (Prov. 6:26)

As with the parables of Jesus, the proverbs have a practical application and a spiritual meaning.

The practical application of this particular proverb is that sexual immorality will cause an individual to lose their family, lose their honor, lose their reputation, and even lose their business and prosperity; thus reducing him or her to “a piece of bread”.

The spiritual truth lies in the statement that “…the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.”

You need to understand that you are precious in the eyes of God. Jesus said:

“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”  (John 15:16)

You are special to God. Jesus has said that no man would come to Him unless the Father draw him. (John 6:44)

The Bible says that you were chosen in Him (Jesus Christ) before the foundation of the world. (Eph. 1:4) When you were conceived in your mother’s womb, God knew you and loved you and even called together the parts of your body in the way that He wanted them to be fashioned. (Psalm 139)

He chose you and called you, and you answered His call, and now you are precious in His sight:

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” (1Peter 2:9)

However, in the same way that the Lord wanted you, chose you, and called you, the world that at one time had you does not want to give you up. It will try to draw you and entice you with all that it has if you will only choose to follow its way.

Jesus understands:

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”  (Heb. 4:15)

The devil used the world to tempt Jesus and he will use it in the same way to tempt you:

“And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.”  (Luke 4:5-6)

Jesus said you cannot serve “two masters”. (Matt. 6:24)

You cannot walk towards the world and towards the Lord at the same time. You cannot concurrently walk in worldliness and walk in the Spirit.

Many a man and woman of God has lost the anointing because they chose profit margins, attendance records, social recognition, and building a ministry over walking in the Spirit.

“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”  (1Tim. 6:10)

 The message to learn from this proverb is that the world is stalking the Christian.

“If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”  (John 15:19)

We cannot ignore the world. We cannot separate ourselves and have nothing to do with the world.

But we can resist the world. We can be aware that the world and all of its ways are not designed by the devil for the sinner, but they are designed to draw away and entrap the believer from following the ways of the Lord.

And the world has targeted you to make sure that its ways are always presented as an option for you to choose.

We must always ask ourselves, “Is this the way the world would have me do it or is this the way the Lord would have me do it? Is this what the world does or is this what the Lord would do?”

If we choose the still small voice of our new nature, if we choose the voice of our born again spiritual man who is being guided by the indwelling Holy Spirit, even if that voice goes against the rationality of our mind, then we are walking in the Spirit.

Tomorrow- The Strange Woman

All twelve books in the “How to Walk Christian Series” by Raymond Candy are available now in one collection of two volumes for $6.99 each at bn.com for the NOOK, amazon.com for the KINDLE, on iTunes at the iBookstore for the iPad and iPhone, and at Lulu.com for the PC and all e-reading devices

What does it mean to “Walk in the Spirit”?

Walking in the Spirit-

The Bible teaches us that when we come to Christ and are born again, we become “…a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17)

God creates within us a new spirit, a new man, a new nature, born in His image, in the likeness of the Spirit of God.

He gives us new desires. He gives us a hunger for righteousness and holiness and a longing to please our Heavenly Father.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit who comes to dwell within us, the Comforter sent by God helps alongside and empowers our new man to walk after and seek after those things which are right.

However, we still dwell in the same old fleshly body with the same old sin nature. And therein lies the war.

“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.”  (Rom. 7:18-19)

“Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.”  (Rom. 7:20-21)

“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”  (Rom. 7:22-23)

“O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”  (Rom. 7:24-25)

The Apostle Paul says that it is God through Jesus Christ our Lord who shall deliver us in this war between the flesh and the spirit; however we seem to find ourselves many times taking two steps forward, yielding to temptation, and taking one step back.

The key to being an overcomer and winning the victory over the flesh is to walk in the Spirit.

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”  (Gal 5:16)

If walking in the Spirit is the key to victory, ignorance of knowing how to walk in the Spirit is the pathway to destruction.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee…”  (Hos. 4:6)

God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9), but has promised that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled (Matt. 5:6).

The Lord has provided the answers in His Word to those who are willing to search, but like the parables that Jesus told, they are hidden to those who are without.

“It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.”  (Prov. 25:2)

Since the Bible says that we shall reign as kings and priests with Christ, it is our honor to search out the hidden truths.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1Peter 5:8)

It has been said that a good general knows his enemy.

Our enemy is that old deceiver and liar, the devil. But he works with two associates to tempt us and keep us from the victory. These companions of the devil in his endeavors are the world and the flesh.

“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”  (James 4:4)

“Because the carnal mind (carnal: pertaining to the flesh or the body) is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”  (Rom. 8:7)

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”  (1John 2:16)

When we become a Christian, the Bible teaches us that God has “…delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.”  (Col. 1:13)

Satan no longer has any direct power over you. He can no longer force you in any way to do his will. As a matter of fact, the Bible says that as far as the born again child of God is concerned, the devil has been paralyzed.

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;”  (Heb. 2:14)

The word in the Greek that is translated destroy in the King James Version literally means paralyzed.

That is why the Bible tells us in 1 Peter that the devil goes about as a “roaring lion” seeking “whom he may devour”.

Naturalists and the Bible tell us that it is the young lion that is quiet and stealthy as he sneaks up on his prey (Psalm 17:12).

It is the old lion that is slow and weak and roars to frighten off the other predators so that he can eat the wounded prey that they have attacked.

Since the devil cannot physically attack you or stop you from serving the Lord, he works through the things and people of the world and through the flesh to tempt you to sin and wound yourself so that then he “may devour”.

“But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”  (James 1:14-15)

The Bible says to “…resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7), but it also says to “…neither give place to the devil.” (Eph. 4:27)

The word translated “place” here in the King James Version literally means scabbard in the Greek. A scabbard is a covering or a place for a sword. The sword is ineffective when in the scabbard. The Bible says the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit. (Eph. 6:17)

In order to be effectual in resisting the devil with the sword of the Spirit, we must first remove any “place” in our life that Satan may have gained through the world or the flesh, so that we may then be unencumbered to walk freely in the Spirit.

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”  (Heb. 12:1)

This is done by understanding the way that the devil uses the world and flesh together to deceive us and draw us into sin and iniquity.

The enemy’s goal is to wound us to the point of losing hope and faith, so that we give up and our sins become presumptuous to the point that we are unable to be used of God.

“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” (Psalm 66:18)

“Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.”  (Psalm 19:13)

“If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”  (2Ti 2:21)

Tomorrow- The Three Enemies Revealed in Proverbs

All twelve books in the “How to Walk Christian Series” by Raymond Candy are available now in one collection of two volumes for $6.99 each at bn.com for the NOOK, amazon.com for the KINDLE, on iTunes at the iBookstore for the iPad and iPhone, and at Lulu.com for the PC and all e-reading devices

The New Covenant

A Vessel Fit for the Master’s Use-

We see by the Word of God that Jesus rejected the blessings that He earned when He fulfilled the Law of Moses so that He might exchange them for our sins at Calvary.

How can we be sure that God accepted this offer to transfer His obedience for our disobedience? How can we be sure of the place with God wherein we stand?

Because the Old Covenant or Agreement has passed away and the New Covenant has been established.

“For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:”  (Heb. 8:8)

“And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.”  (Heb. 12:24)

We know the New Covenant has been established because God has sent the Holy Ghost to them that believe. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit was not part of the Old Covenant.

“And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.”  (Act 5:32)

Since the new covenant has been established, then the old covenant has passed away. And if the old covenant has passed away, then it had to have been fulfilled.

Part of that fulfillment was the issuing of the blessings. If the blessings that Jesus obtained have been issued, where are they now?

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:”  (Eph. 1:3)

They have been issued and placed into our account to be drawn upon by faith.

“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”  (Mark 11:24)

“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:”  (1John 5:14)

“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”  (James 1:6)

When we become a believer in Jesus Christ, receive Him into our heart, commit our life unto Him, and are born again, God bestows His grace (unmerited favor, acceptance) upon us and places us in the position of grace.

He then gives the power of His grace within us to begin to empower change in our life. As we yield to the power of this grace and allow our lives to be transformed by His power, we begin to become the vessels through which God can touch the lives of others.

“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”  (2Tim. 2:19)

“But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor.”  (2Tim. 2:20)

“If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”  (2Tim. 2:21)

God has already placed us in the position of His grace. He has already placed within us the power of His grace.

Now by believing that this has all been done because of what Jesus Christ purchased for us at Calvary, we can walk in the grace of God, sufficient in all things, dependent on His power, unto every good work.

Tomorrow- What does it mean to “Walk in the Spirit”?

All twelve books in the “How to Walk Christian Series” by Raymond Candy are available now in one collection of two volumes for $6.99 each at bn.com for the NOOK, amazon.com for the KINDLE, on iTunes at the iBookstore for the iPad and iPhone, and at Lulu.com for the PC and all e-reading devices

What is the “Atonement”? (Rom. 5:11)

The Exchange-

To those of us who have accepted Christ and been born again, God has bestowed upon us His unmerited favor and put us in the position of grace because of the blood of Jesus Christ.

And because we are in this position of grace, God wants to manifest the power of grace in us so that we can abound to every good work.

He wants to give “grace for grace”.

This is helped by our understanding and having faith in the “atonement”.

“And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”  (Rom. 5:11)

In the Greek, the word translated “atonement” in the King James Version actually means “the exchange”. This “atonement” or “exchange” happened at Calvary.

The Bible teaches us that before a new covenant can be established, the old covenant has to be fulfilled. Jesus said that He came to fulfill the old covenant which was the Law of Moses.

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.”  (Mat. 5:17)

The Bible says that sin is “the transgression of the law”, but that Jesus committed no sin (2 Cor. 5:21). Therefore, Jesus fulfilled the law in all points.

The Law of Moses promised that there would be certain blessings bestowed upon anyone who kept or fulfilled the law and did not transgress it.

“And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.”  (Deu. 28:2)

Among the blessings that would be given to those who fulfilled the law were long life, prosperity, health, and righteousness.

The law could not be fulfilled and blotted out of the way in order that a new covenant could take its place until these promises were bestowed. God says, “If you do this, then I will do this.” This is what constitutes a “covenant” or “contract”.

And yet we see Jesus, who rightfully earned these blessings by fulfilling the law, but not receiving them.

The law promised long life, yet Jesus gave His life at the young age of 33. The law promised prosperity, but Jesus said that “the son of man hath nowhere to lay his head.”

The law promised health and sickness removed from their midst, yet Jesus “took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses”.

Jesus earned these blessings but did not receive them. Why?

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”  (2Cor. 5:21)

Because all of mankind had transgressed the law, man deserved the curses of disobedience. By being the only man to fulfill the law, Jesus deserved the blessings.

Jesus willingly rejected the blessings contained in the law and accepted the curses, so that He could transfer the blessings of His fulfillment to those of us who have believed on Him through the cross.

“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.”  (Gal. 3:10)

“But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.”  (Gal. 3:11-12)

“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”  (Gal. 3:13)

This is the atonement, the “exchange”.

This is where faith for grace lies.

I am not blessed because I was faithful to pay my tithe or give an offering. I can expect to be blessed because Jesus fulfilled the law for blessings but rejected the reward for that fulfillment in order to pass it to those who believe.

I am not healed because I have been faithful to work for God and now He owes it to me. I can expect to be healed because Jesus earned it by fulfilling the law and rejected it so that I can receive it.

“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”  (1Peter 2:24)

I am not righteous because of my holy lifestyle, but I am righteous in the sight of God because Jesus became cursed so that I could have His righteousness.

What freedom from all self- dependency! This answers all of my questions:

Why does God love me?

Why would God hear me?

Why would God answer my prayers?

How could God use me?

The answer is because of the atonement, because of the exchange done at Calvary.

As the Apostle Paul said,

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”  (Gal. 2:20)

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”  (Php. 4:13)

Tomorrow- A Vessel Fit for the Master’s Use

All twelve books in the “How to Walk Christian Series” by Raymond Candy are available now in one collection of two volumes for $6.99 each at bn.com for the NOOK, amazon.com for the KINDLE, on iTunes at the iBookstore for the iPad and iPhone, and at Lulu.com for the PC and all e-reading devices

When God sees Us

Through the Cloud-

The faith to believe in God’s grace lies in understanding and believing in how God sees us.

We have previously mentioned the story of the Israelites’ forty year trek through the wilderness. The Bible says in First Corinthians that these things were examples to us:

“But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.”  (1Cor. 10:5-6)

The Bible teaches us that these things we read of in the Old Testament were not only examples for us to learn by, but they are also shadows of better things to come.

“Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.”  (Heb. 8:5)

The Bible tells us that as the Israelites travelled in the wilderness; they were led by a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud that covered them by day.

“And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:” (Exo. 13:21)

Often we read that when the Israelites would sin, God would see their transgressions and the punishment of the Lord would issue forth from the pillar of fire (Num 11:1).

And yet, when Balaam prophesied concerning Israel he stated:

“He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.”  (Num. 23:21)

The pre-incarnate Christ was the “king” that was among them. He was in the cloud and in the fire, beholding the sin of Israel and dealing with it on the earth.

Yet God in heaven was looking down upon Israel, and looking through the cloud (through Christ), He beheld no iniquity.

This was the type and shadow of our relationship with God today. The Bible teaches us that in this world, there is a result of sin:

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”  (Gal. 6:7-8)

If a Christian commits a crime, he could go to prison. If a Christian smokes, he might get cancer. If a Christian makes foolish financial judgments, he might go bankrupt.

In this life, there are results for the decisions we make, both good and bad. However, when we repent of our sins and are cleansed by the blood of Christ, God looking from heaven looks through the blood and:

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”  (Isa. 1:18)

I had often thought that if sin had a color, that it should be black. I could not understand why God referred to sin as red.

Then one day, as I was preparing to preach as a visiting evangelist, I had gone early into the Church Sanctuary to study before service. This particular Church had red stained glass windows.

As I sat next to the window and opened my Bible to the New Testament, I noticed that the words of Christ in red had disappeared and there was a white blank where they should be. The sunlight shining through the red glass had cancelled out the red words printed in my Bible. Red cancels out red.

In the Old Testament, God looking through the cloud beheld no iniquity in Israel. In the New Testament, God looking down through the red blood of Jesus that covers your red sin beholds no sin or iniquity in you.

This is the position of grace.

It is the unmerited favor of God, earned by Christ through the shedding of His blood. It has nothing to do with how many times you have succeeded or how many times you have failed.

This is the same grace for all who have accepted Christ and are walking after the Spirit and not after the flesh.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”  (Rom. 8:1)

But God will give “grace for grace”.

What is “grace for grace”?

Tomorrow- The Atonement

All twelve books in the “How to Walk Christian Series” by Raymond Candy are available now in one collection of two volumes for $6.99 each at bn.com for the NOOK, amazon.com for the KINDLE, on iTunes at the iBookstore for the iPad and iPhone, and at Lulu.com for the PC and all e-reading devices

What is the Grace of God?

God’s Grace is Sufficient-

This post and the next few will provide Biblical answers to many questions that begin with the words “Why” or “How”.

Why does God love me? Why would God love me, considering the things that I have done? Why should I believe that God hears and answers my prayers? Why would God want to bless me, as many times as I have failed Him? How could God ever use me?

The Bible tells us of the time when the children of Israel, after being under bondage for 400 years, were delivered out of Egypt by the mighty outstretched hand of God. He divided the Red Sea, the Israelites went through on dry ground, and then God caused the waters to return and drown the armies of Egypt.

When they hungered, God gave them manna from heaven to eat, and when they thirsted, He gave them water out of the rock to drink. He led them through the wilderness to a land flowing with milk and honey, but they would not go in and take it because of their unbelief.

Due to their sin and disobedience, God ordained that the nation of Israel would wander in the wilderness for forty years until those who had refused to go into the Promised Land had died.

For forty years the people of Israel continued to sin and rebel against God in the wilderness to the point that God wanted to destroy them all, but Moses intervened.

Yet when the forty years had expired and the Lord was ready to let them enter the land of promise, Balaam prophesied of Israel and said, “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.” (Num. 23:21)

How could God say this of Israel after all of their disobedience? The answer has everything to do with you, how God looks at you, and why God will bless you and use you in spite of your failings.

It is all because of God’s grace.

“GRACE”.

In the Old Testament Hebrew it means kindness, favor, or acceptance. In the New Testament Greek it means the divine influence upon the heart and it’s reflection in the life. Many have also translated it to mean unmerited favor.

The grace of God is what causes God to look upon us and not see our failures and shortcomings, but instead causes Him to smile and His “face to shine upon us.” It is what makes us “the apple of His eye.”

But it is more than just God’s attitude towards us, more than just unmerited or undeserved favor.

It is that divine flow from God that washes over our heart and changes our nature. The prophet Ezekiel prophesied:

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”  (Eze. 36:26)

Grace is that divine unction which comes into our heart and mind, changes our will to conform to God’s will, and then empowers us to enact God’s will.

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”  (Php. 2:13)

It causes our desires to change and become God’s desires, so that He can then enable us to perform His desire for our life.

“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”  (Psalm 37:4)

The degree of the provision and supply of our needs is in direct proportion to the degree of God’s grace.

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:” (2Cor. 9:8)

In writing to the church, the Apostle Paul says that “God is able”, making us to know that this particular degree of grace he is talking about is to be attained.

Also, the Apostle Paul talks about “all grace”, whereby we see that we can have a portion of grace or we can have all grace.

Lastly, we see that “all sufficiency” and “abounding” is dependent upon our having “all grace”, not just a portion of grace.

“And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.”  (John 1:16)

We read here in John that “his fullness” of grace is related to us having “grace for grace”.

What does the Bible mean by “grace for grace”?

We see then that there are actually two types of grace.

God gives the grace of unmerited favor. This is His attitude towards us.

Unmerited, because we did not earn His favor, but we obtain it because someone else has earned it for us. This unmerited favor then puts us in a position of grace.

Because of this position of grace, God then empowers us with His divine influence upon our heart and its reflection in our life.

It is a divine power that transforms our will to become His will and then empowers us to perform that will.

This is “grace for grace”.

If the degree of our provision and ability is contingent upon the degree of grace, how can we cause this grace to grow to be that abundant grace, so that we can have “all sufficiency in all things” in order to “abound unto every good work”?

The answer is in understanding what God’s grace is, thereby believing in it and causing it to grow according to faith.

Tomorrow- Through the Cloud

All twelve books in the “How to Walk Christian Series” by Raymond Candy are available now in one collection of two volumes for $6.99 each at bn.com for the NOOK, amazon.com for the KINDLE, on iTunes at the iBookstore for the iPad and iPhone, and at Lulu.com for the PC and all e-reading devices

What is the “Exceeding Greatness of His Power”? (Eph. 1:19)

This Same Jesus-

“The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,” (Eph. 1:18)

“And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,” (Eph. 1:19)

“Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,” (Eph. 1:20)

“Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:” (Eph. 1:21)

“And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,” (Eph. 1:22)

“Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.” (Eph. 1:23)

God wants us to know that the greatness of His power to us is proportionate to the same power He manifested when He raised Christ from the dead. That He wants to fill us with that same resurrection power. Not a different power, or any less power, but the SAME power.

We must understand that this resurrection power is manifested in our spirit, not in our flesh; nevertheless it is the same Spirit, the same power.

“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,” (1Co 15:50-51)

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1Cor. 15:52)

“Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” (Php. 3:21)

Job said, “All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.” there is coming a day when Jesus Christ will return, and we will “see Him as He is.”

“Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)

Our body shall be changed “like unto His glorious body.” When that happens, then even our physical body will no longer be dependent upon natural things to exist, but will be like His body by which He is able to subdue all things unto Himself.

Until then, it is “Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord.” (Zechariah 4:6)

There is no need to look for a super-hero any longer, for the only real super-hero lives in you by His Spirit. His name is Jesus Christ.

You only need to believe and to enter into the river of His Holy Spirit, further and further until all of your dependency for living is in Him. He will change you from the spirit, to the soul, to the flesh and you will be a vessel fit for the Master’s use.

Then all of His power will not only be in you, but through you, and miracles, signs, and wonders will be manifested as they are needed.

“Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” (Col. 1:26-27)

Tomorrow: What is the Grace of God?

All twelve books in the “How to Walk Christian Series” by Raymond Candy are available now in one collection of two volumes for $6.99 each at bn.com for the NOOK, amazon.com for the KINDLE, on iTunes at the iBookstore for the iPad and iPhone, and at Lulu.com for the PC and all e-reading devices

What is Resurrection Power?

The Power of the Resurrection-

“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;” (Php. 3:10)

 

What is the power of the resurrection? Before we can answer that question, we must first understand who God is.

“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” (Exo. 3:14)

 

“And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” (Exo. 3:15)

 

The LORD is the Hebrew word Yhovah (Jehovah) which means the “self-existent one.”

The Lord said that He is “I AM THAT I AM”. In other words “I exist because I cause myself to exist.”

Every person, every place, everything is dependent on someone or something else in order to exist. If you did not have air to breathe, water to drink, or food to eat you could not continue to live. If gravity did not hold you to the earth you would fly off into space and die.

Animals are dependent upon the same things we are. Plants are dependent upon water, soil, and sun. Sea creatures are dependent upon the oceans and seas. Even the earth itself is dependent upon the gravitational pull of the sun to keep it in orbit.

Everything is dependent upon something else in order to survive, EXCEPT FOR GOD. God is only dependent upon himself to survive. He is “the self-existent one.”

That is why the Bible says, “Power belongeth unto God.” (Psalm 62:11) God is the source of all power, even the power which He needs to exist.

Now let’s look to Jesus.

“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58)

 

The Jewish religious leaders were questioning Jesus, and Jesus made the statement that Abraham had rejoiced to see His day. When they contended with Him about the statement, Jesus said that before Abraham had even existed, I AM. He used the term for the self-existent one, and they wanted to stone Him.

We see the proof of Jesus statement in what happened at His crucifixion and resurrection.

After the crucifixion of Jesus, He knowing that all things were accomplished according to the Scriptures said, “It is finished” and gave up the ghost.

Wanting the executions to be finished because of the Sabbath, the officials gave the commandment to break their legs so they would be unable to push themselves up to take a breath, and thus would suffocate.

The soldiers broke the legs of the two thieves that were crucified on either side of Jesus, but when they came to Jesus they saw that he was already dead.

They thrust a spear up and into His side just to make sure that He was dead and unknowingly fulfilled two prophecies about Christ.

“For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.” (John 19:36-37)

 

Then something happened that became one of the foundation stones of the early Church, not only establishing their faith in who Jesus is but also in the power of His resurrection.

“But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.” (John 19:34-35)

 

The Apostle John emphasized twice that there came out blood and water. He wanted to make sure the reader realized that this occurred because this understanding is a basis for believing.

What did the blood and water mean?

There was something special about the believer understanding that there was water and blood.

There is a membrane filled with clear fluid that surrounds the heart called the pericardium. The blood and water that flowed from the wound made by the huge Roman spear is proof that the spear pierced the pericardium and the heart of Jesus.

With His arms outstretched on the cross and the nail holes in His wrists and feet, the piercing of His heart assured that all of the blood that was in His body flowed out upon the ground.

There was no blood left in His body.

This was the miracle of the resurrection!

There had been other people in Scripture that God had brought back from the dead. Jesus had raised the son of the widow of Nain and He had raised the daughter of Jairus. He had even raised Lazarus from the grave and Lazarus had begun to decompose. There had even been other prophets that had raised the dead back to life.

But there had never been anyone raised from the dead who had been drained completely of all their blood.

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” (Lev. 17:11)

 

When Jesus rose from the dead there was no blood flowing through His veins. This is why it was so hard for Thomas to believe that Jesus had risen from the grave. Thomas had seen the blood pour out of the body of Jesus. It had all been left at Calvary. As a matter of fact, there was a huge gaping hole in the heart of Jesus.

Even if God did bring Jesus back to life, how could Jesus live if there was no blood to flow through His veins? “The life of the flesh is in the blood.”

“The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25)

 

“And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.” (John 20:26)

 

“Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.” (John 20:27)

 

“And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.” (John 20:28)

 

The hole was still in His side. There was no blood flowing through His veins. Yet, He was alive. There could only be one explanation.

Thomas said, “My Lord and My God.”

He is the “I AM THAT I AM.”

He is “The self-existent One.”

Thomas knelt and worshiped Him. Jesus said, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

This is the power of the resurrection: a life totally dependent upon the Holy Spirit to live.

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20)

 

This is when we enter into the midst of the river that the Prophet Ezekiel talked about, waters to swim in; waters that cannot be crossed over, but waters that catch us up and sweep us along in His direction according to His will.

This is when we awake each day realizing that my life today is totally dependent upon the Holy Spirit. That every step I take, every decision I make is as dependent upon the Holy Spirit flowing in me as my body is dependent upon food to eat and air to breathe.

This is when our communion with the Holy Ghost is so close and constant that His faith and power for miracles is as natural as taking our next breath.

Is such an existence with God really possible?

Most definitely Yes!

How?

Tomorrow- This Same Jesus

All twelve books in the “How to Walk Christian Series” by Raymond Candy are available now in one collection of two volumes for $6.99 each at bn.com for the NOOK, amazon.com for the KINDLE, on iTunes at the iBookstore for the iPad and iPhone, and at Lulu.com for the PC and all e-reading devices

The Purpose for God’s River in You

To Be A Vessel Fit For the Master’s Use-

“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Gal. 5:25)

 

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Gal. 5:16)

 

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

 

As said at the beginning, man has always sought after that superhuman power. Often the desire for such power comes forth from pride or some other carnal desire.

There was a time when the disciples wanted to call fire down from heaven to destroy a town that would not receive them on their journey. Jesus said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.” (Luke 9:54)

The purpose of the power is so that we may be witnesses. Sometimes this may involve miracles, signs, and wonders. But more often than not it involves the demonstration of the power of a changed and holy life.

Jesus told Peter, “When thou art converted (changed), strengthen thy Brethren.” (Luke 22:32) 

Peter, so fearful for his own life that he denied the Lord three times, was changed by the power of the Holy Ghost to the extent that when he was arrested and sentenced to die, he slept so soundly the night before his execution that the angel had to slap him on the side to wake him up before he could be delivered. (Acts 12:7)

The Apostle Peter wrote to the gentile women that had become Christians after already being married to unbelievers, that with their Godly lifestyle they could win their husbands to Christ without preaching to them. (1 Peter 3:2)

The purpose of the power is to change. The purpose for going out into the deepest part of the river of God is so that you will surrender your control completely to the Holy Spirit.

Your feet no longer touch the bottom. You are swept along whithersoever the current of the Spirit of God desires to take you.

John the Baptist said of Jesus, “He must increase but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)

When we cast ourselves out into the deep, we are completely surrendering every part of ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit. We are holding nothing back.

No sin, no habit, no personal desire, no preconceived notion or idea, nothing. Only when we empty ourselves of ourselves do we become an empty vessel that He can fill for His glory.

“If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” (2Tim. 2:21)

 

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” (2Cor. 4:7)

 

When we surrender every recess of our being to the power of the Holy Spirit for change, then every act we do in His name will come from a pure heart with pure intentions. Miracles, signs, and wonders will occur when needed and God, not ourselves, will receive the glory; and others, not ourselves will be helped.

How can I receive this total surrender? The same way that the first disciples did, by faith in “the power of the resurrection.”

Next- The Power of the Resurrection

All twelve books in the “How to Walk Christian Series” by Raymond Candy are available now in one collection of two volumes for $6.99 each at bn.com for the NOOK, amazon.com for the KINDLE, on iTunes at the iBookstore for the iPad and iPhone, and at Lulu.com for the PC and all e-reading devices

Baptism in the River of God

The New Testament Fulfillment of Ezekiel’s River-

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.” (Acts 2:1-2)

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“And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:3-4)

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There are those theologians who will say that at the point of salvation we receive all of the Holy Spirit that there is. That may be true. But if we rightly divide the Word of God, we can see that there are two distinct encounters with the Holy Ghost. There is the point that we receive Him, and there is the point when we are filled with Him.

Those same theologians will say that no second experience with the Holy Spirit is necessary. However, Jesus knew that it was so necessary that he commanded His disciples not to begin their Great Commission until they had received it.

The early Church knew that this power from on high was so necessary that whenever they encountered believers who had not received it, they made sure that they were filled with the Holy Ghost also.

“Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:” (Acts 8:14-15)

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“(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 8:16-17)

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“He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.” (Acts 19:2)

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“When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.” (Acts 19:5-6)

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These theologians might also say that this experience of being filled with the Holy Ghost was only for the early Church in order that it might be established. They believe that we do not need such signs and wonders today. They base their belief on First Corinthians 13:8-10

“Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” (1Cor. 13:8)

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“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” (1Cor 13:9-10)

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They say that once the Bible was completed, then “that which is perfect” had come and the miraculous signs of the Holy Ghost were no longer needed or given by God. By not rightly dividing the Word of truth, they deny the power thereof.

One look at verse 12 and we realize that the perfection spoken of by the Apostle Paul is referring to the return of Christ when our bodies shall be changed like unto His glorious body, and as the Scripture says, “we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2)

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1Cor. 13:12)

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As we look at the prophecy of Ezekiel concerning the river, we see that each depth must be reached first before we can go further. We cannot just jump out into the middle and receive the fullness of the river, the fullness of the anointing and power of God.

We must first be drawn by the Spirit, the waters to the ankles. (John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”)

We must be born again, the waters to the knees. (Romans 10: 9-10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”)

We must be filled with the Holy Ghost, the waters to the loins or the waist. (Luke 11:13 “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”)

If you have not yet asked Him, simply ask the Heavenly Father to fill you with the Holy Ghost and He will do it.

Now we are out in the water to our waist. The current of the river has control of our legs and is pulling us in the right direction. We are being led by the Spirit of God, but we are still standing on our feet.

Before we can have the faith to take the next step and launch out into the waters to swim in, to leap out into the full force of the current and the depth of the power of God, we need to realize the purpose of the river. Why do we need to go out into the deep?

Next- A Vessel Fit for the Master’s Use

All twelve books in the “How to Walk Christian Series” by Raymond Candy are available now in one collection of two volumes for $6.99 each at bn.com for the NOOK, amazon.com for the KINDLE, on iTunes at the iBookstore for the iPad and iPhone, and at Lulu.com for the PC and all e-reading devices