Reform Church Audio Articles

Length: 8 Minutes

When God speaks to you about who you are in Christ, those realities will become so normal in your mind that when they manifest, it won’t even surprise you. You’ve been seeing that reality for a long time! So much so, by the time your eyes see it on the outside, your mind has already become accustomed to it on the inside.

When we use the truth of the gospel frequently it is said to “train or exercise our senses.” That means the gospel trains your mind to recognize what is true and what is not.

Hebrews 5:13-14 (NKJV) For everyone who partakes only of milk [simple truths] is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age [mature], that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Let’s hone in on those four words, “by reason of use.” The way your mind is exercised to know what is of God and what is not, what is true and what is not, is “by reason of use.” That’s just a term for meditating day and night (Psalms 1:2). Your senses, your mind will become intelligent to what Jesus has provided you. You will be keenly aware of your new realities when you use these truths all the time. That is what we mean when we speak of “normalizing” these things in our mind. It’s training our senses to see ourselves in a new light, in Christ (James 1:23 and 2 Corinthians 3:18).

This is also how we manifest the things inside of us. We acknowledge the good things in us and then they become effectual in our lives (Philemon 1:6). We get to know what Jesus has done and then those things are multiplied (manifested) on the outside (1 Peter 1:2). First, you see it in your mind (believe) and then you’ll see the glory of God on the outside (John 11:40). So, by the time you manifest something, you’ve already been seeing it for a long time in your mind! 

It becomes normal to you before you ever see it. Despite all opposition, you walk around like a person who really has this, and then it will manifest in your life. 

God wants to normalize your new power and privileges in your mind. That is why shock and awe when a miracle happens is not evidence of faith, but rather evidence of unbelief. It shows that these things don’t seem normal to us yet. We may all have room to grow in this, but that’s still the case. 

If you have a temporary condition, but you were really seeing that Jesus gave you the way out, if you were really seeing that medicinal life of God in you (Ezekiel 47:12), if you were already assured that through Jesus you could see this manifested, by the time it actually manifests, why would you be shocked? You were already seeing it.

 Maybe you didn’t know the exact time the condition was going to be healed. Perhaps the timing was unexpected, but you wouldn’t be surprised at the healing. You’ve been seeing this for a long time! You’ve already been staring at that very life of God — praising Him for it, thanking Him for it — for quite a time now. By the time it’s manifested, this is not the first time you’re seeing it. Faith is the recognition of a spiritual reality before it ever becomes visible. So when it’s manifested, it’s like meeting up with an Old Friend that you’ve been meeting with for years. You love Him, you thank Him, but it certainly isn’t shocking. 

Unfortunately, when Christian’s see a miracle, it’s not like meeting up with an Old Friend, but more akin to how the world meets a celebrity. We’re baffled, we’re wondering how this happened, and we even call it a “miracle” because to most people the word miracle means, “some abnormal, uncommon phenomenon by the mysterious hand of God.” That’s exactly what many people believe about miracles. And that shows we’re not use to it. 

Shock and awe are a sign of unbelief, not of faith, because shock and awe shows that these things have not been normalized in our minds yet.

When Jesus walked on the water, His disciples were amazed. They were shocked that Jesus manifested this ability. The Bible says that their shock and awe was because their hearts were hardened, not understanding the power of God that could be multiplied to them.

Mark 6:49-52 (NKJV) And when they saw Him [Jesus] walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out… Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.

You may say, “Well, the disciples had never seen a man walk on water, so how can you blame them for being shocked?” But that’s just the thing… they could have! God wants us to see this power in our minds before it’s ever manifested. We can behold and become accustomed to the power of God inside of us, before it’s ever seen on the outside. But the disciples were shocked because they had not understood these things in their mind. Therefore, when they saw it in the flesh, they were amazed.

Particularly, it says that they had not understood about the loaves. This is referring to how Jesus fed a group of 5,000 people, who sat down in the green grass, listening to Jesus. Psalms 23 style (Mark 6:34–44). 

Stay with me on this: The feeding of the 5,000 was not just a miracle. This was what’s called “a sign.” A sign is some work of the Lord that points to something, like a symbol. In John 6:26, Jesus was speaking to people who saw the miracle of the loaves and fishes, but said that they didn’t see the sign. That means they weren’t seeing what it was pointing to, even though they saw the miracle right in front of them.

All of that said, the feeding of the 5,000 was a sign, symbolic of how the grace and peace of God can be multiplied to us (manifested) as we get to know Jesus. Just like 1 Peter 1:2 says. The feeding of the 5,000 was demonstrating that we can actually see the life of God (the bread) and the peace of God (probably the fish) manifested, if we will just learn from Jesus. It doesn’t have to stay inside. It can be multiplied to us if we learn! That’s what Jesus was showing everyone with the feeding of the 5,000.

And so, when the disciples were shocked at a manifestation of the life of God, in Jesus walking on water, the Bible says that their hearts were hardened, they were not perceptive, they did not understand the sign about the loaves being multiplied. If they had understood the truth that the life of God is multiplied to us as we learn, they would not have been surprised when they saw the life of God being multiplied to Jesus. It’s a simple as that.

You can’t say you’re accustomed to a truth, and then when you see it manifested on the outside, you are amazed. 

It is not only possible, but it is our right as believers to receive revelation from God, so that we can be accustomed to who we are, even before we see it manifested. It is our right to understand every good thing that God has put inside of us. And if we will meditate on these things, if we will have our senses trained in the good news, using it all the time, you will see the glory of God demonstrated in your life! That’s a promise. The loaves will be multiplied to you while you restfully learn from Jesus! And because you will be so accustomed to seeing your new, born again characteristics by that time, you won’t need to be surprised at the manifestation. 

This is not miraculous, as they say. This is normal. This is our heritage. These are our rights in Christ, and we’ve been seeing this for a long time coming. 

You’re eternally destined for everything you see in Jesus. Now, get used to it.

If this blessed you, share this with someone else!

Length: 6 Minutes

You are no longer like the world. You have a “new normal” through Jesus. Now God wants to normalize those things in your mind. Things like raising the dead, being young and healthy, being pure and guilt free, having complete rest from your work, knowing the future, and having an excess of physical resources – whether you believe it or not, these things are already normal for you.

I’m not saying these things are normal because you see them frequently in your life (although that’s God’s plan). I’m saying they are normal for you because that is the power that’s living inside of you every day. When you wake up in the morning and go to bed at night, those things (and more) are sitting right there inside of you. But if you want to see these things manifested in your life, they first need to become normal in your mind.

John 11:40 (NKJV) Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”

Ultimately, what Jesus is saying here is that if you see these things in your mind first, then you will see them outwardly in your circumstance. Belief or faith is a kind of mental perception (2 Corinthians 4:1, 5:7). The belief that Jesus is talking about is just seeing and understanding your inheritance in your mind. If we see it in our mind, it will manifest, and we will see it physically in our lives.

That’s why God wants to normalize the new things that we have. As we become convinced that we are actually young through Jesus, then it will begin manifesting through us! When raising the dead starts sounding like a normal afternoon activity, then that power will begin manifesting through you! When being healed and whole seems like a condition that you are already in, then that will manifest in your body.

Jesus said that if we mentally see what’s ours, when it is normal in our mind, then we will see that glory in our circumstance also. But it all starts with God teaching you so that you can get accustomed to your new self. By the time you see healing in your body, you had already normalized it in your mind a long time ago. By the time you see finances in abundance added, it already seemed normal in your mind a long time ago.

Now remember this: Things do not become normalized in your mind because you see them manifested frequently. As if you could just watch enough miracles done by ministers on TV for it to become normal for you. That’s not how it happens. God normalizes your inheritance to you by His word. Faith, perception, comes by hearing the word of God. Particularly, as you meditate and use the truth frequently in your mind, it will all start seeming very natural, as it should (Hebrews 5:14). 

God’s word can normalize health to you, even when your body still doesn’t feel well. God’s word can normalize power to wealth, even when you can’t make ends meet. God can normalize righteousness and purity, even before your actions change. God can make His gifts so normal in your mind, before it ever manifests, that you might forget whether it’s even manifested or not.

So what are we saying? Are we saying that we need to believe something before it becomes a reality? Believe it in your mind and then it will come to pass? Not at all. Many people call that faith, but that’s actually just lying. We only believe things that are true. We only believe things that are real. God wants you to believe you have all these things because you truly do! It may be inside of you, not having come out into the physical realm yet, but you really have it. Let me be very clear, this is not “faking it” until it comes to pass. This is about believing what you already have.

If you want to have another child, this is not about setting up a nursery and acting like you have a baby until it comes to pass. That’s not the normalization we’re talking about. We’re talking about normalizing the truth of what’s inside of you. You have the power of God to give life to your body, so that you can have a baby. That’s already yours. So why shouldn’t it seem normal to you?

This is not an act. This is not make believe. It’s sitting inside of you. God just wants you to recognize what’s true. Everything God wants to do with you on the outside is already there on the inside. Recognizing it is just acknowledging the truth. We have youth. That’s not a daydream. We are healed. That’s not just a “faith confession.” You don’t have money in you, but you have the power toward wealth for every need to be satisfied and then some. That’s not an expectation for the future. That’s a reality.

Here’s the truth: You’ve become a brand-new person, with brand new privileges, who does not fully understand themselves yet.

Like an animal in an open cage, Christians are so used to living in captivity, that they continue to pace around within those same confines, not realizing that the Lord has opened up an entire New World to them. We’ve lived in those confines so long, we’re not used to anything else. It’s become normal in our mind to live like the world, even though it’s not who we are anymore. But all it takes is for you to look up and realize what’s already true. Get used to living without those old limits anymore, because once that happens, you’ll effortlessly begin experiencing things you never have before — things that have been yours this whole time, nonetheless.

The New World is at our fingertips. It’s time to lift up our eyes and normalize in our mind, what’s already normal for us, as believers. It will all manifest from you, but before that ever happens, these things are not going to seem extraordinary, they’re not going to seem “miraculous,” they’re just going to seem normal, because that’s what Jesus gave us.

If this blessed you, share this with someone else!

Length: 15 Minutes

These are amongst the most fundamental things to understand about receiving from God. To most people, what God does or doesn’t do in their life is mysterious and unpredictable at best. People will use God’s sovereignty as an excuse to say that He will essentially do anything, at any time, and we don’t know what He’s going to do next.

I’m here to tell you that the work of God in our life is understandable, predictable, and organized. The God that made the universe does not operate in an unorganized fashion. I will prove that to you. 

With none of this am I saying that God is not sovereign. Sovereign just means that He’s the boss. But God being the boss of everything does not exclude the fact that He is just. And if God is just, that limits His options severely as to what He can do in our life. Not everyone will accept that, but that is the truth. To be just is to not be unjust. Therefore, God’s options are limited if He’s going to be just. And He is.

Here’s how receiving from God works the right way, in His justice.

We know that we could never do enough to deserve anything from God on our own merit. Every Christian knows that. Because of this, Jesus had to come and pay a price so that we could receive from God. I’m not just talking about what Christians would call their “initial salvation.” I’m talking about everything.

If God’s power moves in undeserving Moses’ life to part the Red Sea, someone had to pay for that. If God takes undeserving Elijah up to heaven so that he’ll never see death, someone had to pay for that. If God’s wisdom moves in undeserving Daniel to see the future, someone had to pay for that. None of these men deserved the power and wisdom of God any more than we do, of our works. That’s why Jesus had to come and pay a price for us.

Romans 5 says that Jesus is our access into all the grace of God.

Romans 5:2 (NKJV) through whom [Jesus] also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand…

All power, wisdom, and any good thing that we receive had to be paid for by Jesus. God doesn’t just bless people with wages they don’t deserve. That is, unless Jesus takes the wages of sin that we deserved, so that we can receive the wages that He deserves! 

A price needed to be paid for everything we receive from God. In fact, there is nothing that you have ever received from God – no intervention, no protection, and nothing else – that Jesus did not pay for. Most Christians feel that God flippantly hands out blessings. Not so. He is just. He did it the right way. Jesus’ payment is the only way to receive grace from God. There is no other. So if you have ever received from God, you received through His payment. That’s for sure. 

Because our works didn’t deserve it, Jesus came and paid the price at the cross so that we could receive. That is the first thing to know. 

Ephesians 1:18 (NKJV) …that you may know… the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints…

This verse says that we have an inheritance inside of us. There’s a treasure in us. Why do we have this inheritance? We know, because Jesus paid for it. Now the question to ask is, what is this inheritance that Jesus paid for? What does it consist of? What does it include?

Let me first tell you something that sounds simple, but is revelatory: This inheritance that we have through Jesus is not just anything. There are defined parameters to what we have in Christ. There are defined parameters to what Jesus paid for. Jesus paid for us to have specific things. Not just anything. Only particular things. 

So what is this inheritance Jesus paid for? The quick answer is, “everything that God has.” That’s why we are called heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus (Romans 8:17). But let’s get more specific. What are the defined parameters of the inheritance that Jesus paid for? Here they are:

2 Peter 1:3 (NKJV) as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him…

This could not be more specific. We have only been given the things that pertain to life and godliness.These two things are the opposite of what you see in the world. Adam brought sin and death into the world. Sin has to do with wrong actions, feelings, thoughts, etc. Death has to do with all suffering, sickness, aging, handicap, and of course, breathing your last. For some substantiation on this, see below.

Evidence for hurt, suffering, disability, aging, etc. being classified as “death” in the Bible:

Paul called his sufferings “death working in him” (2 Corinthians 4:12). Paul referred to the disabled womb of Sarah as “the deadness of Sarah’s womb” (Romans 4:19). Paul refers to a corruptible body as being dead, even while a person still lives (Romans 8:10). And Abrahams aged body, is said to have needed “life from the dead” — clearly classifying His agedness as “deadness” (Romans 4:17, 19). 

So, God has not given us anything that has to do with sin or death. He has only given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Godliness has to do with correct actions, feelings, thoughts, etc. Life has to do with (you guessed it) strength, healing, youth, resurrection, and of course, not dying.

The important take away here is that our inheritance, which is inside of us, that Jesus paid for, has very specific parameters. It is not just anything. This takes out all the guess work as to what we can expect the Lord to produce in our lives, as believers. Only life. Only godliness. Never death. Never sin. That’s so simple, you’d have to close your heart to not understand it.

The Inheritance Can Be Accessed At Any Time, By Faith 

Jesus paid for an inheritance. That inheritance has very specific parameters – life and godliness. What Jesus provided is not mysterious, but neither should it be mysterious how we access it in our lives. 

God being sovereign does not mean that He’s disorderly. He is not the author of disorder but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33 Darby). It should not feel like a guessing game as to whether we’re going to see something manifested in our life or not. It should not feel unpredictable as to when God produces things in our life.

You may have never heard this before, but we can access the inheritance that Jesus paid for… whenever we want. It’s already paid for after all. And the Bible explains very clearly how we access these things. It’s not a mystery. We don’t receive by merely asking (James 1:6). We access the inheritance by faith.

Romans 5:2 (NKJV) through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand…

It’s true that Jesus paid for our inheritance, but there’s one more ingredient to access. Faith. We need to believe in what Jesus provided. Faith is like saying “knowledge of the unseen” (2 Corinthians 4:18, 5:7). 

We can use the things that Jesus provided at any time, if we are willing to learn and believe those things. Faith doesn’t cause us to receive just anything from God. Faith only accesses the specific things that Jesus provided. And we know, those things are limited to life and godliness. So, when you believe, it’s specifically that inheritance that you’re drawing from.

Receiving from God happens in a very just and procedural way. It’s not unpredictable. Why would we expect anything less from our righteous God who created the universe? It’s not a guessing game. Jesus provided it, and when we believe it, we access. Simple as that. If we haven’t received something externally yet, then we continue to learn what Jesus did, until that seed of His word has grown enough in our hearts to produce it (Mark 4:8). 

How many times did people get healed, even in Jesus’ earthly ministry? And how many times did He say, “Your faith has made you well” or the like? Their receiving was not random. Their receiving was not a mystery. We know exactly why they received. Their faith made them well. It wasn’t merely Jesus’ will to heal them that healed them. It was their response to the finished work of Jesus, in faith. Very predictable. 

(For reference, in just the book of Matthew: Matthew 8:13, 9:2, 9:22, 9:29, 14:31, 15:28, 17:19–20.)

It even says that Jesus could not do any mighty work amongst those who did not believe correctly about Him (Mark 6:5). Remember, Jesus is the image of God, so if you see Jesus operating this way that means you’re seeing how the Father operates as well (John 14:9).

Scripture has made it very clear. Jesus paid for a specific inheritance – life and godliness. And we can access those specific things, at any time, through faith (learning it). While some Christians may agree with this, this procedure usually only gets applied to our initial salvation. Then, in our day-to-day lives, it’s just a matter of “what God wants to do that day.” Healing is not treated as part of a lump inheritance that Jesus paid for, which we can access by faith. It becomes a matter of what God’s will is that day. We treat most intervention from God this way. Most Christians are just praying and waiting to find out what their unpredictable God is going to do next. Maybe if we ask hard enough, He will answer. This is not how you receive from God. The price is paid. There is a specific, lump inheritance provided. You can access it by faith. That’s how you got saved. That’s how you receive everything from God (Colossians 2:6).

Yet, the reply from many will be, “But He is God. Surely there must be many different ways that God can intervene in our lives. Surely, it’s not just through Jesus, through faith in Him. Surely, God intervenes in whatever circumstance, for whatever reason, at whatever time. He is God.” Well let’s test that hypothesis.

Romans 3:25-26 (NKJV) whom [Jesus] God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith… that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

This verse is specifically talking about how we receive righteousness. Did you notice those two ingredients again? 1) Jesus paid for it by his blood and 2) We need to put faith in it. This is exactly how Romans 5:2 says we receive all the grace of God. But this verse tells us why we need to receive this way. It’s because of five important words, “That He might be just.” God needed to institute this method of receiving (where Jesus pays for it and we believe it) because that’s the only way that we could receive, and He still maintain His justice. In short, it was the only just way. Receiving through faith in Jesus is the only just way for undeserving people to receive blessing from God. And because God is always just, that’s the only way He can legally do it (Acts 3:16).

How can I say that God needed to do it this way? He can cause people to receive anyway at all, right? After all, he’s God! After all, He’s all powerful! I would agree that He’s all powerful, but you missed something. He’s also all just. That’s why there’s only one way to receive from God. That’s why Jesus said He’s the only way. That’s why God does not just flippantly intervene in the affairs of mankind, for good. Because there’s only one just way for us to receive from God. Romans 3 just told us: It’s through the blood of Jesus, through faith in that blood. Jesus paid for it. People need to believe it. Just like you got saved.

I never thought I’d have to say this, but contrary to popular opinion in the church, Jesus payment, through faith, is the only way to receive any good thing from the Father. Anything at all. If those two ingredients are not present, no one receives any good intervention from God.

If we believe that God is intervening in the affairs of humankind, without regard to whether Jesus paid for it or someone believing it, then Jesus is clearly not the only way to receive grace from a holy God. In that case, there are alternatives. As for me, I don’t want to be caught saying there are alternatives to Jesus.

Receiving from God is not random, according to some plan that God has, which we don’t know about. All the contrary, receiving from God is much more like a restaurant menu. A free restaurant, that is.

Everything on the menu has already been paid for previously, by Jesus. So it’s all free. 

HOW you’re going to afford these things is not a mystery. 

There are also very limited things on the menu. It’s not just anything. There are only things that pertain to life and godliness. You only get to choose from those things. If you want something that pertains to sin or death, you’ll have to go to another restaurant. 

WHAT you’re going to get is not a guessing game.

You can order whatever you want on the menu, anytime you want. It’s already paid for after all. You order the specific things that you want by believing and acknowledging these things (1 Peter 1:2, Philemon 1:6). 

WHEN you’re going to get it is not unpredictable. 

The Bible makes it very clear who paid for this inheritance, what the inheritance entails, and how you access it. If God’s children are just throwing out a thought and a prayer to God, hoping to receive if it happens to be His will, we are going to seriously hurt our receiving. And truthfully, we have.

His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. So we need to be armed with knowledge on how to receive from God. Jesus already provided some very specific, wonderful things to us. I’m just trying to show you the menu.

If this blessed you, share this with someone else!

Length: 28 Minutes

In order to truly understand the things we are about to discuss, you need to be very firm on a few foundational concepts from the Bible. 

1) We have every good, pleasing, and perfect thing inside of us already, in our born-again spirits (Hebrews 12:23, Philemon 1:6, 2 Corinthians 4:7). 

2) These things can manifest tangibly through us as we believe. The knowledge of Jesus is what draws it all out (John 7:38, 2 Peter 1:2).

The rest of what we are going to say is wholly dependent on the truths above. Let’s begin.

This is a “Basic Training Article” which means that it takes many hours of teaching from Reform Church and summarizes it in just minutes.

So we have every good thing living inside of us. Check. We can also manifest these things into our life as we believe. Check. But there’s another principal at work when we manifest the good things inside of us. It also spreads to creation! 

Let’s consider this present creation for a moment. 

Romans 8:20-21 (NKJV) For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption…

Romans 8 says that all of creation was subjected to “futility.” That is referring to corruption and decay, which is why, in the following verse, he calls this “subjection to futility” a “bondage of corruption” (if you visit our glossary and look up the word “dead,” you’ll know that futility or uselessness is referring to death and decay). All of this to say, that creation around us was clearly subjected to corruption. The bodies of animals corrupt and decay, even trees and flowers fade (although there are some different principles at work with plant life). Everything in this present creation, corrupts and decays. 

Now why is that? Why does animal life, for instance, decay and die? Think about it. Death was the curse for Adam’s transgression. There was no animal that ever ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. No animal ever transgressed the commandment of God, so why did it receive Adam’s curse of corruption? That’s because Adam had authority over all this earth (Genesis 1:28).

There’s a principal in the Bible that, whatever you manifest also goes to what is in your authority. We see this very plainly in Adam’s case. One man sinned in the garden, but his curse spread to all creation. Creation was perfect before Adam sinned, and after Adam himself was cursed, all creation went into a state of decay also. 

You can also see this with the account of Joseph. Joseph was a prosperous man by the Lord, and he was put in authority over Potiphar’s house. The Bible says that Potiphar’s house began to prosper from the time that it was put in Joseph’s authority (Genesis 39:5). 

Whether good or bad, whatever you’re manifesting, spreads to what you have authority over. With Adams curse, it spread to the earth that he was commanded to subdue. With Joseph, his prosperity spread to the house that was put in his authority. When the Holy Spirit manifests from us, it spreads to what we have authority over. This could be an entire teaching in and of itself, but while Adam had authority over the earth, we have authority over this entire universe, the same way that Jesus does (Ephesians 1:21, 2:6). 

If the earth became corruptible when Adam came into corruption, what do you think happens to the universe, when we reveal the life of God from within us? All creation receives that life as well. 

Sidenote: At the present time, there are some limitations to sharing our glory with creation. Not limitations for us, but for unbelievers. What you have, does spread to creation, but this is limited in the lives of people that don’t believe. Unbelievers can definitely receive benefits from us even without faith of their own (1 Corinthians 7:14), but there is a level of unbelief in Jesus and refusal to receive from us that can hinder their secondhand receiving from us (Mark 6:5-6). There’s much more to say about this but all in all, we are not limited in what we can see in our own lives, but there are limits to how the glory of God can affect the lives of unbelievers. In things that are directly pertaining to us there are no limits, except what you’re not willing to believe.

You’ve heard about the new heavens and the new earth before, right?. The Bible says that everything will be made right in the new heaven and new earth (2 Peter 3:13). It says that there will be no hurt or destruction anymore (Isaiah 11: 9). It says that there will no longer be any sorrow, pain, death, or tears. Sounds like that will be pretty amazing, huh? Or rather, I should say in the present tense, “Isn’t it pretty amazing?” Because these are all things you already have.

Knowing the principles, we just laid out, should it surprise us to hear that the new heaven and earth will only be new and perfect because what’s inside of us will manifest and re-create it? Most Christians don’t realize that all of creation, this entire universe, will be made new simply by a manifestation of what’s inside of us already. You already have the makings of the new heaven and the new earth inside of you. All that’s necessary is that it manifest from you. 

Just like all of creation became corruptible when Adam manifested death, so creation will live again, and then some, when this life manifests from us. The Bible says this very clearly:

Romans 8:19-21 (NKJV) For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility [corruption]… because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

These verses say that although creation was subjected to futility (corruption) it is waiting for the “revealing (or manifestation) of the sons of God.” Now why would creation be waiting for us to manifest? Because when we manifest the glorious liberty inside of us, creation also gets to partake of it as well. 

Notice, the liberty (or freedom) from corruption that creation will experience is not its own liberty, but the glorious liberty “of the children of God.” That means that all creation gets to use OUR freedom from corruption, which we already have, whenever we manifest it. Creation is currently using Adam’s curse (not its own), but when we manifest the life of God, creation will enter into our freedom from that corruption.

When the heavens and the earth are re-created fully, it will simply be due to a manifestation from what’s inside of us. Christians think that Jesus will come back to wave His hand over creation and make it new. Not so. When Jesus comes back, every Christian will simply manifest what’s in them in full. And it is that manifestation (or revealing) from inside of us that will free all creation from its bondage, into our glorious liberty from corruption. 

That perfect creation in the next age, where there is no more sorrow, hurt, death, or sin, is merely a manifestation of what every believer has inside of them, even as you’re reading this.

If you don’t already know, the Holy Spirit is called a fountain or a river, particularly when He is manifesting forth from us. In John 4:14, Jesus told the Samaritan woman that if she received the Spirit (drank Him in) He would then become in her a fountain “springing up.” That is referring to the Holy Spirit manifesting forth from us (springing up) after coming to live in us. Jesus used similar terminology In John 7:37–39, calling the Holy Spirit a river coming out of our belly.

Read those scriptures, if need be, because that needs to be firm in your mind to understand this next passage. Let’s read about how the whole universe and our bodies will get re-created:

Revelation 21:1-6 (NKJV) Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. 
Verse 4) And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” 

Let’s pause for a moment. All of this stuff sounds pretty good, right? Everyone on earth, Christian or not, wants to see these things in the world. The Bible says that the new universe will be re-created in this very image. Here’s the part that most Christians don’t know. Let’s keep reading.

Verse 6) …And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.

The Lord describes a lot of great things, (namely sorrow, pain, and death disappearing), but notice how does he describe this re-creation? He says that He will “give us of the fountain of the water of life freely.” This is revelatory! The Holy Spirit is called a fountain when He manifests. And God describes the day when there’s no more sorrow, pain, or death as Him giving us of the fountain! This doesn’t mean anything to most people who don’t understand the word fountain. But when you do, you realize that he is saying that these wonderful qualities of that day are just a manifestation of the Spirit of life from inside of you.

And what do you know? This is just further establishing what Romans 8 was already saying. Creation will only be made new on that day because it’s waiting for a “revealing” of our freedom from inside of us. So it’s no surprise that Revelation 21 describes the new creation as stemming from the fountain (or manifestation) from within us.

Furthermore, notice that Revelation 21 says, “The former things had passed away.” The former things are sorrow, pain, death etc. Then He says, “I make all things new.” Does that terminology sound familiar? It should, because that’s the way the Lord describes us right now, in the present.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

You see, you’re already a new creation in your born-again spirit. The former things (which Revelation defined as sorrow, pain, death etc.) have already passed away for you. There’s nothing in you that would cause any of these things. Inside of you, all things have become new. Everything is of God now. And, if the former things have passed away inside of you, if all things have become new inside of you, what do you think happens when it manifests like a fountain? Well, Revelation 21 happens. All these things pass away for creation as well when the fountain comes out from us. 

So we already have all the things of the new heaven and the new earth. They’re stored inside of us now. They will be shared with the heavens and the earth, making them new, but we already have them. In fact, the same thing goes for our glorified bodies.

Most Christians think of their glorified bodies similarly to how they think about the new earth. They think Jesus will come down, wave His hand over it and re-create our bodies. Not so. Even the makings of our glorified bodies are already inside of us. 

2 Corinthians 5:4-5 (LSV) for we also who are in the tent [our present body] groan, being burdened, seeing we do not wish to unclothe ourselves [to take off our body, or die], but to clothe ourselves [change our body], that the mortal may be swallowed up of life [a new living body]. 

To summarize, our bodies are called clothing in the Bible. So Paul is saying that he groans, being burdened in his present body, but he does not wish for his body to die, but rather to be swallowed up with life and made immortal. He’s speaking about our glorified bodies. But it’s the next part of the verse that’s the clincher!

Verse 5) And He who worked us to this very thing [is] God, who also gave to us the deposit of the Spirit;

What’s the context of this passage? Our glorified bodies. And what does Paul say? God has worked us to this very thing! What does that mean? That literally means that God has already done all the work in us necessary to have a glorified body. God placing His Spirit in us is all the work needed for this glorified body.

I’m not saying that your body is glorified right now (though it can be). I am saying that you already have all the glory for your glorified body right now (Romans 8:30). You have the “glorified body” kit, right inside of you. His Spirit inside of you is the makings of your glorified body. And as with creation, all that’s needed is for it to manifest!

People often teach that the Holy Spirit being a “deposit or guarantee” means that He is only part of the inheritance now, but a guarantee that we will get the rest of it later (namely, our glorified body). This couldn’t be further from the truth. You don’t have only part of your inheritance right now. You are as complete and full as Jesus is (Colossians 2:9–10). Why would we only have half of an inheritance if Jesus has already paid the fullness of the price (Hebrews 10:10–14)?

This is the simple explanation: “We have the full inheritance already (even for our bodies), but that full inheritance has not yet manifested into all locations.” What do I mean by that? I’m saying that you have enough glory in you for your spirit, your soul, your body, and the whole universe. I assure you, you already have the full inheritance! That inheritance is simply stored in your spirit, and has not yet fully traveled into your soul, body, and this universe. It’s still manifesting. It’s the full inheritance, but it’s still in the process of getting to the locations it needs to go, as you grow in your knowledge.

The Holy Spirit as “a deposit or guarantee” is not a guarantee that you’ll get the rest of the inheritance soon. It’s a guarantee that your already–full–inheritance will also glorify your flesh and this world soon. 

Here’s a quick analogy: Imagine that you need eight apples. You want to put four apples in two different bowls. The apples are the inheritance. The two bowls represent your flesh and your spirit.

The way the church thinks is that we only have four apples in one bowl (part of the inheritance, in our spirit) but we’re waiting for the other four apples to be delivered for the other bowl (the rest of the glory for our bodies).

The truth is, we already have all eight apples (full inheritance). The problem is, they’re all in one bowl (full inheritance in our spirit). So all we need to do is take four apples out of that bowl (spirit) and put them in the other bowl (flesh). That’s just a transfer, not that you got any extra apples. 

We already have the full number of apples (inheritance) our full number of apples just needs to be shared with another location. Our full inheritance in our spirit just needs to be manifested into our flesh. We already have it all. It just needs to spread to different locations. 

So, if all this “new-creation-ness” can manifest in us and change our body and this universe, then how do we get all of this out? Well, you received the Spirit Initially by belief, and the Spirit is manifested through you by belief as well (John 7:38, Galatians 3:2-5). Specifically, 2 Corinthians 3:18 says that when we see Jesus (or know Jesus), we are transformed on the outside, to look like Him. So, if you want all that Christ-likeness in you to come out, you just need a revelation of Jesus and what He’s done! That’s it.

Knowing this to be true, it shouldn’t surprise you to find out that the only reason why every believer will have a glorified body, and all of creation will be made new when Jesus comes back, is because we will receive simply full knowledge of Jesus on that day. 

When Jesus comes back, He will use His authority to download every believer with the full knowledge of Himself and what He has done, in an instant. That will trigger a manifestation from all believers, causing their bodies to be fully glorified, and eventually, for creation to be made new. 

1 John 3:2 (NKJV) Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

John says that we know we will be like Him (referring to our glorified bodies). How does John know that our bodies will be completely like Jesus by that day? He simply says, “For we shall see Him as He is.” The reason John gives for our bodies being fully conformed to the image of Jesus on that day, is simply because “we shall see him.” That’s not referring to our eyesight, but to revelation in our minds. 

We know that when we see Jesus, we are transformed (2 Corinthians 3:18). When we get a revelation of Jesus, we manifest His Spirit in accordance with that revelation. So, it’s no surprise that the only reason why a Christian’s body would be fully glorified is because we see Jesus fully. 

See Jesus dimly, get dim results. See Jesus fully, get full results (1 Corinthians 13:9-12).

Isaiah says the same thing:

Isaiah 11:9 (NKJV) They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.

Again, what’s the reason it gives for all of creation being without hurt or destruction on that day? Is it because Jesus will wave His hand over it? Is it because there’s something special about that day? No. It’s simply because the knowledge of the Lord will be across the earth. Whether then or now, we receive by the knowledge of Jesus.

Colossians 3:4 (NASB) When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

Yet again, this states that when Jesus is revealed (referring to our revelation and knowledge of Him), the glory that we share will also be revealed. Essentially, he’s saying that when we see Jesus revealed in our mind, the glory we have will be revealed from within us as well.

Some translations say, “When Christ… appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” This is not a bad translation, but when most people read about, “Christ appearing” they think this is merely speaking of Him “arriving.” The word means “to make clear, visible.” This is referring to Christ being revealed in our minds and the glory in us being manifested. 

When Jesus comes back, He will use His authority to subject our minds to Himself, and every Christian will see Jesus perfectly in an instant (Philippians 3:20). We can’t go into the specifics as to why Jesus does not use His authority to do this now, but suffice it to say that it would destroy the whole planet and some of His elect with it. So that’s a pretty good reason.

On that day, every Christian, regardless of where their understanding is at the time, will get a full revelation of Jesus in their mind (1 Corinthians 13:12). The important thing to know is: It is not merely through the power of God that all these things will occur. It is through the knowledge of Jesus (as always) that the life of God will be manifested to us and to creation. This is not only scripturally proven, but it falls directly into line with the principles of the gospel and how we receive from God.

The only difference between then and now is that Jesus will sort of “force download” our minds with that truth by the authority that He has, but now we receive the knowledge of Jesus from His Spirit, apart from Jesus using this authority. But regardless of when we are receiving this knowledge (now or then) we can receive it in full, without limit.

As we close, knowing that we already have this life inside of us, knowing that it manifests through simple knowledge of Jesus, and knowing that even all of creation will be made new through this simple knowledge, this begs the question, “What are we waiting for?”

Because the Bible speaks about how every believer will be given full knowledge and all of creation will be made new when Jesus comes back, Christians mistake this glorious manifestation for something that is reserved for that day. 

It is true that every Christian will be instilled with the full knowledge of Jesus by the time He comes again, but we do not have to wait for that day to know Jesus, even in full. We have been given God’s Spirit so that we can be led into all truth, not some truth(John 16:13). We have the mind of Christ inside of us (1 Corinthians 2:16). We have an anointing from God that teaches us all things (1 John 2:20, 27). In other words, we already have the life of God, we have the knowledge to manifest it, and we have the blood of Jesus which paid our way to be able to access it (Romans 5:2). There’s no need to wait anymore.

Regarding the glory that will be revealed for every believer, throughout all the earth on that day, Peter said he was already partaking of it!

1 Peter 5:1 (NKJV) …I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:

Even for people that are not saved yet, but are just tasting of the word of God, are said to also taste of the “powers of the age to come.” That means that they start receiving the things of the new earth the moment they begin receiving the gospel

Hebrews 6:5 (NKJV) and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

Many people think that we must wait to receive the good things of the age to come. When faced with the death of her brother, Martha also thought that she had to wait for the last day when Jesus comes back to receive of this resurrection and life. Jesus corrected her and assured her that He was already the resurrection and the life to her. She didn’t have to wait for His second coming for something that He was already providing in His first coming. 

John 11:24-26 (NKJV) Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Jesus already finished everything on the cross for you. The best argument for why we can receive everything now, is because Jesus already came to be our access into our inheritance (all of heaven) 2,000 years ago. The veil will not be torn in His second coming. The door will not be made then either. The access into all of heaven was already made when He breathed out at the cross (Hebrews 9:2, Hebrews 10:19). With a door having already been made, why are we waiting for His second coming to walk through? We have boldness to enter this now, not later.

Jesus is not coming back the second time to provide anything further. That’s why Martha didn’t have to wait to receive anything from God. That’s why you don’t have to wait either. 

At the cross, in John 19:30, Jesus said, “It is finished.” That word “finished” is the word “teleō.” It literally means “to end, to complete.” That’s what Jesus was doing at the cross. He was completing all the work necessary for you to receive. He will never do that again. 

In Revelation 21:6, in the new earth, most translations quote Jesus as saying, “It is done.”

Revelation 21:6 (NKJV) And He said to me, “It is done! 

The problem is that word “done” is not the same word that Jesus said at the cross. That word “done” is the word “ginomai”, which means “to come to be, or come into being.” It’s a word that is even used for Jesus’ birth, which we cannot get into now. 

This should make sense with everything we’ve been saying. It would be strange if God said, “It is finished” when Jesus came back again. We know that He finished the work and paid the price at the cross. They’re not the same word at all. On the cross, Jesus finished all the work necessary for us to receive. In Jesus’s second coming, no work is going to be finished, no price is going to be paid, no good thing is going to be provided. At best, the only thing that will happen through every believer on that day is that, the things that Jesus already finished and put inside of us, will merely come into being tangibly. It will come to fruition. It will be born. It will come into tangible substance. It will all be manifest by that time and there will be nothing that won’t be manifested. 

Everything’s already finished, and it’s been finished for a long time. God just wants to teach you about it so that you can manifest these things and cause them to “come into being” now.

If this blessed you, share this with someone else!

Length: 4 Minutes

We live in a world full of “you touch the stove, you burn your hand,” “you fall down, you skin your knee,” “everybody has problems,” “nobody knows everything,” “nobody’s perfect,” “everybody dies.” These things are held as more than just normal in this world. These things are held as common sense. But if these things are also normal to the church, then in this life, what’s the point of being a new creation? Are we just a version of the world with better morals?

The truth is, even if you are currently experiencing anything I mentioned above, all of those things are already foreign to you. You are already different. You don’t need to be made a new creation. You already are. It’s all inside of you now. And if you are a new creation, that means you are no longer like the former creation around you. 

The things of heaven and of the new earth are normal to you now, not the things of the present earth. All of this power and these brand-new abilities and privileges are living inside of you as you read this, if you are a believer.

Ephesians 1:18-20 (NKJV) the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know… the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead…

The problem is not that we need to become different from the world. Here’s a wonderful statement: You are as different from the world as Jesus is Himself! The things of this earth are no more a part of you than they are of Jesus, sitting in heaven right now. That’s how much glory you have living in you.

John 17:16 (NKJV) They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

So the problem is not that we need to become different from the world, despite the fact that preachers may have told you this. The problem is that most Christians don’t realize what their “new normal” is. They don’t know how much like Jesus they are inside. They don’t know how different they are from the world. They are so used to living in the world and hearing the opinions of people around them, that they still feel those old things are normal for them.

All the while, it’s normal for us to walk through furnaces and not even smell like fire (Daniel 3:27). It’s normal for us to see the future (Joel 2:28). It’s normal for us to prosper in famine (Genesis 26:3). It’s normal for us to flourish in youth, for deadly things to not harm us, to wake people up from their naps (or death, as it’s called). But why should any of this surprise us? What’s the point in having the Spirit of Life, of the Almighty God, living inside of you, if you’re destined to live like a better behaved version of the world (Psalms 103:5, Mark 16:18 and Matthew 10:8)?

These things are not just normal for you. They are part of the culture of the country you are from. They are your heritage. These things belong to you through the sacrifice of Jesus, through the payment He made (Isaiah 54:17). 

You see, you’re already incredibly different than the world around you. God simply wants to normalize these things in your mind, so that you think like it. That’s what is known as “the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2). 

It’s not good enough to walk through this world, collect all the information you hear from people around you, and think that you are living worthy of your calling. God wants to counteract everything that people around you are saying. God wants to make how your peers handle circumstances seem strange. God wants to establish a new normal in your mind, because you already have a new normal living inside of you. 

If this blessed you, share this with someone else!

Length: 15 Minutes

If you’ve been a Christian for a number of years, I’m sure you’ve noticed that there’s a lot of “mystery” and ambiguity when people explain the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Certain questions can be answered, but when you probe a little too much, many will just chalk it up to, “That’s the mystery of God and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.”

We believe that the mystery has been revealed in the New Testament, so nothing needs to be mysterious to a believer (Colossians 1:26, Ephesians 3:5). 

We believe that we can know even the deep things of God because we have His Spirit to reveal it (1 Corinthians 2:10). 

And when the Bible speaks about “my thoughts are higher than your thoughts” He’s actually speaking to an unrighteous man, not to a believer (Isaiah 55:7-9).

We never need to be kept in the dark. After all, we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). So let’s see what the Bible says about the Father, Son, and Spirit.

This is a “Basic Training Article” which means that it takes many hours of teaching from Reform Church and summarizes it in just minutes.

We believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Bible speaks about all three. No problem there (Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14). But there was something that popped up in scripture way too often to ignore, and it was this: Most of the time, the Holy Spirit is not even mentioned when the Father and Son are listed together. Most of the time, only the Father and Son are mentioned, while the Holy Spirit is omitted. 

Of course, the Holy Spirit exists and lives inside of us. So, we wondered, “If there is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then why is the Spirit not mentioned alongside them the vast majority of the time? If there are three people, wouldn’t it be vitally important to name all three of them, instead of just two? 

We’ve heard many people say, “Well, the Holy Spirit doesn’t want to draw attention to Himself.” But if that’s the case, it doesn’t say much for the Spirit leading us into all truth, if He’s leaving important details out due to modesty.

Read these verses carefully and notice how only the Father and Son are mentioned together:

Ephesians 6:23. Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 John 2:22 (NKJV) Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.

1 John 2:24 (NKJV)  If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.

Revelation 7:10 (NKJV)  “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

John 1:1 (NKJV)  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Revelation 21:22 (NKJV)  But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

2 John 1:9 (NKJV)  He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

And there are many, many more verses just like this.

Let’s do a quick thought exercise, but let’s be honest. If I wrote frequent letters to you and said, “Grace and peace to you from the Father and the Son!” and stopped there, don’t you think almost the whole church would think it strange? I don’t believe any honest person could say otherwise. Almost any Christian would be critical. After all, “Why didn’t you mention the third person?” Funny enough, that’s exactly what the apostles did in almost every single book in the New Testament.

In almost every single greeting in the Apostles’ letters, it has some form of “Grace and peace from the Father and the Son” written. 

Those references are 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, 1 Timothy 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:2, Philemon 1:3, 2 Peter 1:2, 2 John 1:3, and Jude 1:1.

It’s not as if this is once or twice. It’s most of the time! I’m talking about critical verses, like when praise is being given for instance, only the Father and Son are mentioned. When speaking about the source of eternal life, only the Father and Son are mentioned. And in basically every single greeting from the Apostles, only the Father and the Son are mentioned as the source of grace and peace.

None of this proves anything by itself, but it was too frequent to ignore. We were clearly missing something, and something important, if it was this pervasive in scripture.

So why is the Holy Spirit almost never mentioned when the Father and the Son are listed together? It’s so simple.

John 14:16, 18 (KJV)  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever… I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Did you see how Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as Himself? He referred to sending “another Comforter” (the Holy Spirit) and then said, “I will come to you.” Jesus called Himself the Holy Spirit, as if He is that Spirit.

As you read scripture, notice this: The Father will never be referred to as “the Son.“ And the Son will never be referred to as “the Father.“ They are not interchangeable. You could never say “the Son so loved the world that He sent the Father.“ This shows us that they are two distinct individuals (albeit exactly the same in nature). It was the Father that sent the Son. You could never say, “the Son sent the Father,” and be accurate.  In the Bible, those names are never used interchangeably. On the other hand, the Bible calls the Holy Spirit “the Father” and “the Son” (or “Christ”) all the time. 

See here:

Galatians 2:20 (NKJV) …Christ lives in me…

Ephesians 4:6 (NKJV) one God and Father of all, who is… in you all.

These verses are talking about the Holy Spirit inside of us. Yet He is referred to as “Christ” and as “the Father” in us.  

Some people may not be surprised at this because they would say “Well, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all one.” But even traditional doctrine does not teach that all three of them are the same person. Traditional doctrine teaches three distinct individuals. So that would not be a reason for why the Bible uniquely calls the Holy Spirit “the Father” and “the Son.” 

The Father is never called the Son. The Son is never called the Father. But the Holy Spirit is referred to as both the Father and the Son. Why is this? Because the Holy Spirit is the Father and the Son. Specifically, He is their Spirit. That’s almost too simple.

If I asked you if Jesus lived in you, you would say “yes.” If I asked you if your Father lived in you, you would say “yes.” And yet, isn’t Jesus in heaven at the right hand of the Father? How are they in you? You would say, “It’s their spirit.” And you’d be exactly right. Instinctively you know, just from reading scripture, that the Holy Spirit is the Father in you. He is the Son in you. 

This is so plain in scripture; it would take outside influence to convince us otherwise. The Father and the Son are two distinct individuals, but the Holy Spirit is not a third person. He is the Father. He is the Son. He is their Spirit. How do we know that? Well because the Bible calls Him the Father and the Son. You probably do too and just didn’t realize it!

Let’s be perfectly clear. If someone asked if we believed in the Holy Spirit, I would say, “Of course!” If they asked me if the Holy Spirit was a person, I would say, “More than that. He’s the Spirit of two people.” If someone asked if we believed that the Holy Spirit was God, I would say, “I’ll take it a step further. Not only is the Holy Spirit God, but He is the Father. He is the Son.” 

But there’s more, so let’s keep reading.

You have a spirit, right? Is that a separate person from you? Of course not. It’s a part of you. It’s not a separate person. If I saw your spirit outside of your body somehow, (which has happened in the Bible) I would say that’s you! But I could also refer to it as separate from you because it’s not the whole of you, it’s a part of you. It’s not your body, it’s your spirit. Does that make sense? 

I think that’s what most Christians already believe about their spirit. Why would that be strange in reference to God? The Father has a Spirit. The Son has a Spirit. The Holy Spirit is their Spirit. It’s so simple and right under our noses. Look at this verse: 

Romans 8:9 (KJV) But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

If you don’t put any spin on this verse, what does it say? It says that God has a Spirit (hence, “Spirit of God”) and it says that Jesus has a Spirit (hence “Spirit of Christ”). And clearly, this verse says that it’s the same Spirit! 

We wondered for so long why the Bible would only mention the Father and the Son so frequently with no mention of the Holy Spirit. But the Bible isn’t omitting anyone! It makes so much sense. The Holy Spirit is not a third separate person, He is merely the Spirit OF God and OF Christ! Just like you have a spirit! 

But there’s more. Even when the Bible talks about the Holy Spirit making His home in us… 

John 14:23 (KJV) Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

When the Holy Spirit comes to make His home in us, this verse says that it’s Jesus and the Father (two people) coming to make their home in us! The two of them have a Spirit (Romans 8:9), and the two of them live in us by their Spirit!

All of this perfectly explains why only the Father and Son are mentioned in so many instances when praise is being given. It also explains why the apostles almost universally greeted with “Grace and peace from the Father and Jesus.” Because they’re not leaving anyone out. The Holy Spirit is merely the Spirit of the Father and the Son. Two people, One Spirit.

Lastly, let’s look at John 17. In this chapter, Jesus is praying to the Father and He says this:

John 17:1, 3 (NKJV) Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You… 

(Verse 3) And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Firstly, I’d like to point out that again, only the Father and the Son are mentioned in this verse, particularly as the source of eternal life. But let’s keep reading further in this same chapter:

(Verse 22) And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one…

First, Jesus only mentions Himself and the Father as the source of eternal life. Just the two of them. But in verse 22, He says that He and the Father share the same glory! It says they are one in this glory! Then it says that we have been given this glory also! Now, what glory does the Father and Son share that has also been shared with us? This glory is a reference to the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is sometimes called “the glory of the Father” in the Bible.

Romans 6:4, 8:11 (NKJV) …just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father… 8:11) But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead…

You can see that Romans 6 says Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father and then chapter 8 says He was raised by the Spirit of the Father. He’s calling the Holy Spirit “the glory of the father.”

So John 17 only mentions the Father and the Son, but says that they share the same glory – which glory they have also shared with us now. And what glory is He referring to? He’s referring to their Spirit. Two people with the same glory. John 17 is just another example of two people being mentioned, sharing the same Spirit. 

In summary, this is how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are explained: The Father and Son are exactly the same in nature, but are two distinct people that are never interchangeable. These two people share the same Spirit, which has now been shared with us as well.

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The Trinity

Length: 6 Minutes

Let’s go over a couple more questions regarding those who have justly died and God’s will for everyone to live.

Ultimately, it is the will of God that everybody would live. Jesus died for everybody. In a case where someone has been put to death justly to preserve the lives of others, I would defer to the Lord’s judgment. Here’s why.

Obviously, if this person was going to continue to put other people’s lives or safety in jeopardy, the Lord would not raise them right now because God is for the preservation of life, not destroying it (Luke 9:56). So, if one person remaining dead means preserving more lives of the innocent, the Lord would not raise that person right now. That’s a truth. No apologies need to be made for that.

The reason I would defer to the judgment of the Lord is because, like anyone, people who have been executed justly can be changed. There was a criminal being crucified with Jesus, and Jesus made it clear that this man was converted to salvation. So that’s a perfect example of a criminal who would be a good candidate to raise (Luke 23:43).

The Lord knows the results of raising people from the dead, and therefore, as always, we should rely on His leading to work through us. 

In speaking about all of this, do not allow people to make exceptions when it comes to the resurrection of the dead. That is the potential danger when speaking about things like this. People start thinking that there are exceptions to the phrase, “God wants everyone to live.” But there is not. Jesus died for everybody! This includes people who have been executed justly for crimes. God’s will is for everyone to live. Full stop. It’s just a matter of whether raising that person from the dead would result in more harm to human life or not, because God is for preservation of life.

Ezekiel 33:11 (NKJV) Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.

If you have been around Reform Church long enough, you know that God is not judging anyone for their sins anymore. But there is a kind of vengeance that God does demonstrate today. There is a vengeance that God takes in defense of the church, toward anyone that would oppose us or harm us. This deserves a lengthy explanation, so consult our other teachings on this topic. This is a particular kind of vengeance that applies today, in the new covenant. It’s a vengeance that God takes, not against people, and not for their sins, but for the safety and defense of the church (Romans 12:9).

For those that know that this is a reality, what place does this vengeance have with resurrection? There are moments in the Bible (even in the New Testament) where God has put people to death or threatened their life when they were trying to harm the church (such as Nabal, Ananias and Sapphira, and Abimelech when he took Abraham’s wife, in Genesis 20:3). How does this make sense with God’s desire for people to live and be raised?

None of this contradicts God’s desire for people to live. This vengeance that we’re speaking about is not God devaluing human life. It is God prioritizing the lives of his children when someone forces that decision upon Him. 

When someone who will not receive from God comes against someone who has, if the church will receive it, God will not allow an unbeliever to harm a believer (namely, His bride, the church).

This is the exact scenario that Pharaoh found himself in, when he came against the children of Israel. This was before the law, so you know that God was not judging him for his sins (Romans 4:15 and 5:13). This was purely defense for the people of Israel. God ended Pharaoh’s life, because of the threat he was to the lives of God’s people. God’s will was for Pharaoh to live as well, but God’s obligations are to his kids who have received from Him. 

In a situation like that, someone is going to get harmed, either the person posing the threat or the church being threatened. And if the church will receive it, God will ensure that it’s not the church.

You would certainly harm someone in defense of your children, if a person came to harm them. Is that because you devalue the other person’s life? Is that because you don’t want them to live? No, you were faced with a choice of whose life to prioritize. So you prioritized the lives of your innocent children, whom you have an obligation to. You would do the same for your family or for your country.

So this vengeance is not a contradiction with God’s desire for people to live. This is God prioritizing life, when someone poses a threat, not God devaluing even the lives of those who don’t believe on Him. 

In fact, the disciples wanted Jesus to call fire down from heaven and consume a group of people, but Jesus rebuked them and said that He did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. Here’s the interesting thing: Jesus said this specifically about a group of people that had rejected Him in unbelief. He did not want to destroy their lives. He came to save them (Luke 9:56). And they did not pose a threat to His disciples, so there was no need for this type of vengeance. It’s a perfect example of how Jesus is not even destroying the lives of people who don’t believe. 

This vengeance we’re talking about is not for people’s unbelief. It is not for their sin. In fact, it’s not against them at all. It’s for the church (Isaiah 54:15).

We had a part of this series where we stated that God is not killing people to “call them home to heaven.” This is entirely true. God is not arbitrarily putting unbelievers to death, let alone calling a believer home to heaven. This defense against threats to the church does not contradict that at all. 

Death is a bad thing that Jesus came to redeem everyone from. It’s never a good thing. And it is certainly not used as a utility to bring Christian’s home to heaven. God is always for life. But when God’s kids are under threat, and God is faced with a choice of who will end up being harmed, you can be sure that his obligations are toward those who have believed and are willing to receive from Him. 

It’s not a devaluing of life. It’s a prioritization of life when someone forces that choice upon Him. 

Please listen to our teaching on this topic, because there’s much more to learn. 

Read the whole handbook here

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Length: 5 Minutes

Once you believe that Jesus provided resurrection, some people may think it’s unbelief to do these various things. So, let’s talk about how you proceed in these situations with this newfound knowledge.

If someone dies, you proceed with things as usual. Pray for them, believe that they can get right back up, but until they do, you proceed with things as necessary. 

Don’t be afraid. It is not harder to raise someone no matter what happens. Jesus’ death at the cross is the surety that people can live. And unless His death is ever wiped from history, your loved ones still have free access to all of His life! Only believe this, and it’s going to be just fine. Salvation has come for them.

It would be the same circumstance if your spouse was missing in action. It would be handled the same way. That’s something you would simply have to seek the Lord about. But in time, if you desire to remarry, there should be no guilt whatsoever. For you to even think twice about this shows that you believe in the Resurrection. There’s no unbelief in this at all.

Just get your focus on Jesus and what He’s done. When you do that, He will put the right desires in your heart (Psalms 37:4, Philippians 2:13). If you get a feeling inside, in opposition to remarrying, then you don’t have to. But if you feel a desire inside to remarry, don’t think that it is an ungodly choice. God could certainly lead someone to marry again, and it could be the best thing for them to do. 

You can still maintain that God wants everyone to live and yet remarry if you desire to. For that matter, every believer is going to be raised sooner or later and we will all be living together, as brothers and sisters, on a new earth. Just get focused on Jesus. He will change your desires and take care of everything else. Rest in Him.

And for those who have already remarried, there’s also nothing wrong with that. You just believe what Jesus provided and that God wants everyone to live. You leave the details to the Lord. He knows the right way to do things and to work all things out for your good. Remember, it’s not us with this thing called “resurrection” that we’re trying to wield. It’s a person, Jesus, inside of us, that is manifesting these things in the way that He knows is proper. Our job is the believing. His job is the manifesting. You just believe correctly and the Lord will take care to raise those that are willing to receive it.

Not at all. As believers, we take precautions in many ways — not because we believe that we need to suffer any of the hurt or trouble in this world, but because of lack of knowledge. Taking a precaution does not mean you believe in the danger of this world, neither does it mean you are planning on going through it. It is just a precaution for our lack of knowledge.

You have the power inside of you to walk through a furnace and not even smell like fire, but you should still grab an oven mit when you take your cookies out of the oven. That’s not a silly example. You genuinely should not believe that you have to be burnt if you touch a hot pan. Nevertheless, you take the precaution, while still believing what you have in Christ. 

You put your seatbelt on, you eat healthy, you exercise, etc. None of these things are because you believe you are a part of this evil age (Galatians 1:4). These are mere precautions, while we lack knowledge, as we’re growing. 

Faith is not an action. Faith is a mentality, a belief in your heart (Romans 10:10). You can believe the same things, while taking precautions. Just never trust in the precautions. Place your trust in the finished work of Jesus.

A will or life insurance is no different. There’s nothing wrong with having life insurance or writing a will. There’s only something wrong when you think that death is inevitable or irreversible. As long as you believe in Jesus, the resurrection and the life, who gives you the ability to live and never die to begin with, then there’s nothing wrong at all with a will or Life insurance. It’s just a precaution that you don’t have to plan on using. 

If you do write out a will, at the bottom you could say, “If you’re reading this, don’t worry. Be right back!”  Not that you need to plan on using the will, but at least it would glorify God, and would win you some ‘style points’ as well.

The truth is, most people aren’t even asking these questions. Why? Because they don’t even understand the life that Jesus provided to begin with, so it wouldn’t even occur to them. The fact that someone would even ask questions like this or be curious about it, shows a genuine belief in the truth. 

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Length: 7 Minutes

Before we answer some more questions about resurrection, it’s important for us to know that, while there’s nothing wrong with having our questions answered on how it looks when resurrection is manifested, it’s not a preoccupation with manifesting these things that actually produces it. It’s a preoccupation with what Jesus provided at the cross that does the trick. 

God is the one that manifests resurrection, and He does so in the correct and proper way. We are merely believing that Jesus provided these things. And while we’re hearing and believing, miracles happen (Galatians 3:5). It’s our belief in Jesus that allows the Holy Spirit to manifest these things; not because we work out all the details in our head on how we’re going to manifest it.

A great example for this is Peter walking on water. Do we think that Peter had been learning how to walk on water? Did he take a class on how to step on waves? Had he been practicing this for a while, which gave him the ability to do so? No, the only thing that Peter had been practicing was to keep his mind on Jesus. Peter merely believed that what Jesus was manifesting, he could also. His only job was to believe, and the walking on water was manifested completely by the Spirit.

We know that it was merely his belief in Jesus that manifested this, because when he began to sink, Jesus did not ask him, “Why did you stop walking on water?” as if that was Peter’s job. He only asked him, “Why did you doubt?” showing us that the only thing Peter was doing to produce this miracle was believing. And that was also the only thing Jesus was expecting of him , which is why he merely asked, “Why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31).

Peter didn’t need to work out all the details in his mind on how he was going to step over each wave, or how he was going to keep his foot planted on the surface of the water. The Holy Spirit saw to that. Peter just needed to believe the work of Jesus, and do so steadily.

So there’s nothing wrong with answering questions on how it looks when the Holy Spirit manifests resurrection, but it’s not a preoccupation with manifesting it that produces it. It’s a preoccupation with Jesus and what He provided that produces it. 

Let’s get into our first question.

Jesus provided resurrection for the dead. No one is excluded from that promise if we believe. It doesn’t matter the state that their body is in, at all. Whether your concern is how long ago they died or because they were cremated at the time, you’ve got the power inside of you that formed a man from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). God has no problem fixing up human bodies. Not to mention that every believer’s body will be raised when Jesus comes back anyway (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Sooner or later, the body of every believer will be raised, no matter how long ago they died or if they were cremated. It’s going to happen anyway. But why wait? Jesus died for us two thousand years ago. We’re not waiting for anything. 

Ezekiel 37:7-8 (NKJV) So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over…

Firstly, let me clarify that we may refer to certain manifestations as “healing, resurrection, youth, etc.” but it’s actually all the same thing. It’s all just the “life” of God being given to decay in people’s bodies (Romans 8:11). God even calls the healing of Sarah’s womb, and the youth given to Abraham, “life from the dead” (Romans 4:17). It’s all the same stuff!

So, the life that raises people from the dead, is the same life that heals their body from whatever ailment or oldness that caused them to pass to begin with. Their body is being healed as they are raised. Lazarus was someone who died of sickness, and it’s safe to assume that he was raised without that fatal sickness that caused him to pass in the first place. Of course, when you raise someone from the dead, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are receiving a glorified body either. They can be raised from the dead but still have a mortal body that has imperfections. 

Ultimately, we need to know that it’s God’s will to raise people, and God knows the right way to do it. He’s the one manifesting it, not us. We’re just believing it. It’s not as if we are wielding the resurrection of the dead by ourselves. It is God working it through us. He knows how to do these things the right way. This is not His first rodeo. He knows the correct way to manifest it, and it will be done for the person’s benefit, health, and comfort.  

Not at all. The power of God isn’t limited by distance. If you feel led to go where the person is, that’s fine, but there is no need to feel that the power of God is limited because you’re not present with the person.

Jesus didn’t lay hands on Lazarus. He was dead four days in a tomb (John 11) and Jesus just said the word. A Centurion once came to Jesus desiring his servant to be healed, and Jesus said the word right from where He was, and the servant was healed (Matthew 8:8–13). So, God’s power can travel just fine. 

On a practical level, if you’re concerned about how someone gets out of a buried coffin, for instance, here are some examples.

In the case of Lazarus, there were people there to roll the stone away and let Lazarus out of his grave, but after Jesus was raised, many believers also came out of their graves just fine; and not because there was someone present to let all these people out (Matthew 27:53). 

Peter was stuck in prison, and because people were praying for him (who weren’t present), an angel came to him and took his chains off, let him out of the locked door, and opened up the outer gate for him to release him. And moments later, Peter just showed up at the house where they were praying for him (Acts 12:7–17). 

God has no problem raising the dead and getting them out safely. As I said before, this is not His first rodeo. So don’t be surprised if the people you’re praying for come knocking at your door too.

All in all, I may have given you a couple examples of people being supernaturally released from a holding place, but we don’t actually need any of this precedent to have been set by men of God before us. We already have the precedent of Jesus Christ, our forerunner, having been raised and released from His grave. Jesus is the example of our inheritance. We are joint heirs with Him. If He received it, we can receive it. And that is the bottom line. That is the nail pulled out of the coffin (so to speak). 

We do not need any other man or woman of God to have received something, for us to know we can access it. The only person that needs to have received before us is Jesus. And if He entered this resurrection and life, it’s ours to possess as well. 

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Length: 7 Minutes

A very common question amongst those who believe in resurrection is, “What if someone doesn’t want to be raised?” Well, before someone died, they may have been resistant to the idea for different reasons. Let’s talk about two of them.

Some people who have died may have been completely resistant to the Lord, or at least the idea of resurrection. There’s a type of person that simply isn’t open to believe it. Would God raise up that person?

Answer:

A person does not need to be saved to receive miracles through you. But whether we are ministering to someone else, whether we are preaching to them, healing them, or raising them from the dead, it’s not all dependent on our knowledge of Jesus. They need to know Jesus for themselves (Mark 6:5), or at least submit to us to receive from us (Genesis 39:5). 

If you wanted to heal or preach to someone, but they are resistant to it, that will affect their receiving for sure. It’s the same with resurrection or anything else. If you want to raise someone but they are resistant to the truth of resurrection, that will affect their receiving. 

Jesus Himself could do no mighty works where people’s unbelief was severe enough.

Mark 6:5-6 (NKJV) Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. 

The beliefs of other people come into play, even if we’re praying for them. The thing that I am not sure of is how their faith works after they have died. Once someone dies, their physical brain is not working, so they cannot believe with their physical mind. But their spirit still has a mind (whether they are in heaven or hell doesn’t matter). Their spirit can still think. Jesus illustrated this with the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16). 

So I am not sure how much the beliefs of their physical mind (before they died) or the beliefs of their spirit come into play, but I know for sure that their beliefs have an influence over their receiving. It’s not all on your knowledge. 

In summary, here are the things we know for sure:

Now where does that leave us? As with our preaching, healing, or anything else, just be led by the Lord as to who to pray for and when. Delight yourself in the Lord so that He can put His desires in your heart (Psalms 37:4-5). And when you feel like praying for someone, pray for them. If you feel resistant to the idea, like you’re going against your internal grain, then don’t pray for them (Luke 4:25-27). Praying for the dead to be raised is no different than praying for someone in any other scenario.

Apart from the Lord giving us knowledge, we wouldn’t know whether someone was truly receptive or not. So as always, just be led by the Lord as to whether someone will receive the life within you. But be sure of this. God wants that person to live. He paid a very high price to make that possible. Never use the “they weren’t receptive” line as an excuse for not truly believing that Jesus provided this for everyone.

This life is extended to everyone in the world. They just need to be open to receive it, either for themselves or tasting of it through you.

This is a far more common question I hear about. What if a Christian died (fell asleep) but they were just tired and wanted to go home to be with the Lord? That can certainly be the case and there’s no condemnation there whatsoever. But would God raise this person back up?

Answer:

I know that many believers may have been tired before they pass, and just wanted to be with the Lord. Some may have even told you to not raise them back up, if you have that kind of reputation.

Here’s what we know for a fact though. If a Christian was of this opinion, they were only tired because of an ailment or hardship in their body at the time. The Bible says that no one hates their body but nourishes it and cherishes it (Ephesians 5:29). No one wants their body to die. People just want pain relief and I understand that. That is certainly not lost on me, nor on the Lord. God is not angry with someone who wants to go home to be with Him. But because it’s true that no one hates their own body, especially not a believer, I know for a fact that they would have a change of heart if they could be raised, being healed and whole of whatever they were experiencing before. 

How do I know this for sure? Because God will physically raise every Christian who has died sooner or later — either now or when Jesus comes back (1 Thessalonians 4:14). When Jesus comes back, the bodies of all Christians who have died will be raised. Yes, that even goes for the Christians who were “tired and wanted to be with the Lord.” God will raise them up anyway. And why won’t they mind one bit? In fact, why will they be pleased? Because they will be healed and whole. 

This proves that every Christian would have a change of heart if they knew there was life sufficient to raise them without the hardship they were experiencing before. 

That’s my first answer. But I have one more interesting point to make about Christians. Make sure you follow me with this:

Jesus wants everybody to live (John 10:10, Luke 9:56, and Proverbs 8:35). But it’s more than that. In our spirits, we think just like Jesus (Hebrews 12:23 and 1 Corinthians 2:15). So, if Jesus wants our bodies to live, truthfully, even the spirits of those believers who have died and went to heaven, they themselves also want their bodies to live. Our spirits think just like Jesus.

So, the physical mind of some Christians may just be tired of suffering, and they want to be with the Lord. That may be the case, but truthfully every Christian, in their spirit, wants their bodies to live just as much as Jesus does because we have the mind of Christ!

There is no Christian’s spirit in heaven that doesn’t want their body to live again. They are of the same opinion as Jesus. They don’t want to be unclothed of their body. They just want their body to be swallowed up by life (2 Corinthians 5:4). 

To summarize:

If a Christian was tired and just wanted to be with the Lord, possibly even requesting that you don’t raise them, I don’t think that’s much of a determining factor. They only said so because of the discomfort they were feeling at the time. That’s understandable. But despite their request, God is going to raise them up anyway, sooner or later. What they really want is to simply be raised up healed of what they were feeling before. And we know that’s exactly what God wants.

So that should answer the question of “what if they don’t want to be raised?”

People have different levels of receptiveness to the idea of resurrection, but none of that should overshadow what God’s will is. God wants everyone to live. No exceptions. And apart from someone being entirely resistant to the truth, God will use you to raise people back up again. But remember, you’re the believer, not the Resurrection. So you do the correct believing and the Lord will raise people from the dead through you.

I would encourage you to read “The Resurrection Handbook: Death Is Not God’s Solution To Suffering” for more on this.

Read the whole handbook here

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