CHRIST: OUR SUBSTANCE

INTRODUCTION

I grew up in the 1960’s. A time when family values prevailed through almost every home and merchandise sold in stores lasted a long time because they were made of rock-solid materials. Like cars, for instance: almost every part was some sort of metal—including the dashboard. I remember our washer machine was a tank. It lasted all of my childhood, and into my mid-teens. I think my mom simply wanted the ‘new-and-improved’ version, so we got rid of the old one (it might still work to this day if we had kept it).

Then somewhere along the line somebody got the bright idea that their business might close up if the stuff they made lasted too long, so things started being manufactured without so much quality. After all, if the time came when everybody owned one, they wouldn’t have to make any more – right? So, metal got replaced with plastic, and white-collared management spent meeting-times figuring out where they could cut corners, and so forth. What had changed? What made the products being produced cheaper? Their substance; what they were made of, the actual materials that were put together to manufacture the products being sold. One can see examples of this practice in every area of modern existence.

Why do I bring this up? Because I wanted to get our thinking heading in a particular direction; the direction of substance examination – the materials used to manufacture a thing, or in our case, the true basis (or foundation) of our belief-system. To bring it down – what exactly do we believe about God, and why? What is the foundation, or origin, of what we believe? There are so many voices in the world speaking their renditions of what we should believe about God (some of which are saying there is no God); leaving the decision in our laps – whether we want it, or not. The thing is there is no neutral-ground. We all are faced with the choice of what it is we believe about God. No matter how many layers of other choices we make in life, there is the undeniable one about God somewhere under it all. And the pressures of life are making a demand for the decision to be finalized about Him – where He stands in our lives and our relationship with Him.

I know this is a bold venture, one that many would rather leave for the privacy of their own homes, or the deep recesses of their own hearts. After all, the prevailing attitude is ‘I’ll believe what I want to and leave you to believe what you want to.’ Nobody wants to ruffle anybody else’s feathers and contend (or, account) for what is being believed. Jesus said “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3:19-21, underline and italics mine for emphasis). The result of this attitude has allowed for those who are passionate about what they believe (or, their agenda) to have affected the law books and for immoral practices to become common-place in our society (God’s Word being the Standard for morality). This spiritual and social blight is what I would like to talk about. The position of a ‘personal-belief-system’ leaves no room for a rock-solid foundation; and that is the perfect set-up for societal and spiritual obliteration, leaving chaos to fill the void.

[This writing was originally to be another ‘Word of Encouragement’ – brief, pamphlet-style teaching, but it grew into the following booklet.]

THE BLOOD COVENANT

Now that we’ve traveled down this path a bit, let’s cast believing aside for a moment and use a little common-sense logic. Let’s assume there is a God behind all of existence (which there is); and put ourselves in His shoes (or, in His place). If we—any one of us—had created all of these things wouldn’t we be entitled to expressing our intention for their purpose? Wouldn’t we want to be involved in their existence? Or, would we just walk away and have the attitude ‘Let whatever happens, happen. Let each one do and believe whatever they want’ and turn a blind-eye to their activity—including the denial that the creator (we) even exists? I can almost hear your thinking right now.

The truth of it all is that type of attitude is absurd. So, why is God allowing such controversy? The answer is so simple it’s easily ignored—He created everything and placed the stewardship of it all in the hands of mankind (Adam and Eve – the parent-set of mankind), who sold-out the human race to the enemy of us all: Satan. The Good news is God had a plan to overturn that act of treason so that ‘whosoever will’ can live their lives ‘as the days of heaven on earth’ (Deut. 11:21).

What is that plan? The blood-covenant! Jesus, the Lamb of God! The Book we call the Holy Bible is the record of our blood-covenant with God through the Lord Jesus. [There’s far too much to say about blood-covenants to include it here—but study them out, and approach the Bible with that mind-set. You’ll never be the same! I will say this: the blood covenant is the absolute strongest commitment between two parties or individuals in existence!]

OUR ENEMY: SATAN

You might ask “If God reversed the treason Adam committed through Jesus shedding His blood, why aren’t we experiencing the ‘days of heaven’ here on the earth?” – I’m glad you asked that! The original stewardship God gave to man is still in effect, and Satan is still roaming around “as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1Peter 5:8b).  Since he cannot create anything, he comes behind God and gets man to corrupt what God does. We’ll call that religion. What I mean is God gave us His Word—the record of the blood-covenant we have through Jesus—and Satan came along and got men to interpret it with natural-human reasoning (their minds). “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1Co 2:14).

Jesus said it like this: “God is a Spirit” and “the words I speak to you are spirit” (see John 4:24 and 6:63). So, God’s Words cannot be reasoned using the minds of men, they can only be discerned by the “hidden man of the heart” (1Peter 3:4), the spirit man. And, since all Scripture is recorded at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2Tim. 3:16), Who better to interpret them than the Spirit of God Himself? “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God” (1Co 2:12, underline mine for emphasis).

Jesus, speaking of the Holy Spirit, said He would guide us into all truth (John 16:13), and while praying to the Father He called God’s Word truth (John 17:17) [see also 1John 4:6 & 5:6 – these call the Holy Spirit “the Spirit of truth”]. So, a vital—working relationship with the Spirit of God is a great necessity to “rightly divide the Word of truth” (2Timothy 2:15), or accurately discern (understand) God’s message to His beloved—mankind.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS WRITING

I’m writing all of this because I truly believe the time has come for the show-down of the ages between God and Satan! What do I mean? I wrote earlier that there were many voices in the world claiming to represent the true God (or, that there is no God at all). I submit to you that there is ONE God over all, and He is NOT schizophrenic! Meaning, He’s not one way to this group, and another way to someone else. No! He’s the same to all, and over all His works! He has given us ONE Standard by which we can know His purpose and will for mankind—the Holy Bible. [It’s not my intention to name names, but to present the already established Standard for finding, understanding, and knowing Him—the true and living God!]

PRIOR SHOWDOWNS

The challenge of His existence, and/or His will has occurred many times throughout history. The one in particular I’d like to reference here is the time Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal in 1Kings 18. Israel’s leadership had established advisors that corrupted God’s Laws, which resulted in judgment and brought about the show-down recorded in 1Kings 18: “And Elijah came to all the people, and said, ‘How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’ But the people answered him not a word” (1Kings 18:21). Sound familiar? Let me inject here: if your religious convictions won’t stand up against the onslaught that’s going on against the people of God these days, then they need a Holy Ghost adjustment!

God is ready and willing to show that “He stands by the terms of His covenant” (Deut. 8:18b, NIrV). How will He do that? First, He looks for a person of faith who will work together with Him; “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2Chron. 16:9a). In other words, He’s looking for anyone who will stand on His Word and proclaim it to others. He then will watch over His Word to perform it (Jeremiah 1:12, ASV); “the Lord working with and confirming the word through the accompanying signs” (Mark 16:20 – italics removed for better clarity [in King James Versions of the Bible words in italics were not in the original text, but added at the discretion of the translators; so their removal is permissible]).

OUR STANDARD

I like using the word standard when referring to the Bible. I looked the word ‘standard’ up using Dictionary.com. I particularly like the third meaning given: “a rule or principle that is used as a basis for judgment.” Our unseen God gave us His Word as the Standard by which we judge His involvement in, or approval of something. He has given us example after example. Paul even said “whatever things were written before were written for our learning” (Romans 15:4) and “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1Co 10:11). In other words, Scripture both records historical accounts of God’s involvement and interactions with mankind, and provides His will and purpose for man—the instructions and expectations He has for us: the terms of our Covenant with Him.

I’ve heard the saying “Preach the Gospel everywhere you go, and if you have to use words.” I even quoted it in a prior book I wrote. But, the Lord has been stirring me up to re-examine that statement. You see, we have grown cold and calloused to the supernatural-divine intervention of God. We’ve gotten so used to powerlessness that we have settled for the Fruit of the Spirit—which enables us to suffer long at the hands of persecution with kindness (right?)—as the only involvement God offers to His people. Yet, that’s not what I see in the Bible. Paul said “my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1Cor 2:4, underline mine for emphasis). In other words, Paul preached Christ and Him crucified everywhere he went, but that’s not all—he demonstrated that Jesus was alive, working together with the Holy Spirit, as proof of His resurrection! [Put down your stones. I did not say that the Fruit of the Spirit wasn’t important! It truly is. Study church history and see the tragedy that comes when there is no character found in a ministry of power.]

THE TRUE GOSPEL

I submit to you, through the following handful of Scriptures, that the proclamation of the true gospel will have accompanying signs: God validating the message preached. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Rom 1:16, underline mine for emphasis).

1. When John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask if He were the One to come (the One John was sent to precede), Jesus’ response was “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Luke 7:22).
2. The Gospel writer John records Jesus saying “I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me” (John 5:36). Jesus testified the works He did bore witness that the Father had sent Him, which brings us to Acts 10:38:
3. “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Act 10:38). This corresponds with the words Jesus spoke in His first sermon “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me…” (read Luke 4:18-19).
4. On the Day of Pentecost—in the first Gospel sermon preached after Jesus arose from the dead—Peter said “Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know” (Acts 2:22). The point I wanted to make here was that God attested to Jesus by the miracles—signs—and wonders He did! This is the pattern of the true gospel message!
5. The writer of the book of Hebrews states that the gospel message, “which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will” (Hebrews 2:3b-4).
6. Paul and Barnabas preached Christ in Iconium (Acts 14) who “stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands” (v.3). When Christ was boldly preached God validated the message with signs and wonders! [I submit: He’s the same God today, and will show Himself strong on behalf of those who will boldly proclaim His message!]
7. Then, Paul, writing to the Romans, testified: “For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient—in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ” (Rom 15:18-19). [Notice the purpose of preaching the gospel and the demonstrations of the power of the Spirit of God were to solicit actions from the Gentiles – that they may believe in Him Whom God had sent (see John 11:45 and 12:11)!]

Look at the recurring language: “God bearing witness”, “attested by God”, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.” Let me put it in plain English: when the true gospel is being preached; if Jesus is proclaimed truthfully, then there should (will – must) be accompanying signs!!

Just like the time when God [oh, I feel the ‘preach’ coming on!] not only silenced the mouths of Baal’s prophets, but He consumed the sacrifice and the altar it was on (not to mention licking up the water that filled the trench Elijah dug—at the command of God! [1Kings 18:38]). He also judged all of Egypt’s ‘gods’ by His mighty signs (see Exodus 5—12). I submit to you, by prophetic-conviction, that the ‘gods’ of today: the idols being worshiped—from the 9-5 slave market many trust in (called ‘careers’) to the works of men’s hands (called ‘accomplishments’)—Almighty God will show forth that everything which has not come about by His direction, and by His great grace will be shaken and come to nothing (see Hebrews 12:27)! We are the generation ordained to close-out the age of man’s ‘lease’ (the time-frame allotted by the counsel of God for this stewardship we’ve been talking about). And we will go out with a bang (to use a human colloquialism), working together with our Triune God, pointing to the Lordship of Jesus and bowing our knees to Him, confessing such to the glory of God the Father!

SUBSTANCE

Now, let’s come full circle and talk more about ‘substance.’ Going back to Dictionary.com I found definitions 4 and 5 to fit properly in the thought I want to convey: “the subject matter of thought, discourse, and study; the actual matter of a thing, as opposed to the appearance or shadow; reality.” I like that! The actual matter of a thing, or we could say the true material or contents of something—reality. Investigators gather evidence and study it to either support the truthfulness or expose the lies of witnesses in a criminal case. If what they are saying is true it will bear out, but if they are lying, then their testimony will be full of holes and not stand in any court room. I submit that our minds are the court room, and the ‘voices of this day and hour’ are to be scrutinized for their substance (their outcome and purpose – the direction their message leads to). The Word of God (which is the true gospel—our Standard) will stand the test against all others, and lead us to His attestation, and approval!

Paul was entrusted with the job of preaching the gospel and instituting churches throughout most of the world of his day. Sometimes he spent a great amount of time in an area to firmly establish these churches and then moved on to another city. The devil opposed this work by sending in his ‘preachers’ to try and confuse these new Christians with a bunch of ‘works-mentality’ messages. Things like: ‘you have to be circumcised to be fully (or, truly) saved’ and observe religious festivals, and things like that were the ‘substance’ of their messages. These ‘preachers’ were motivated by the spirit of Antichrist and Paul called them a thorn in his flesh (2Corinthians 12:7). The letters (epistles) Paul wrote addressed these erroneous messages and contained instructions for the Body of Christ (initially, the churches he founded by the Spirit of God). The following portion is part of those instructions, and is the spring-board this teaching came from:

“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” (Col 2:16-17, underline mine for emphasis). In other words, Paul had just finished addressing certain religious practices and thoughts, talking about circumcision, festivals, and Sabbath-activities, calling them a “shadow of things to come” stating that what they were pointing to was found (fulfilled) in Christ (what He accomplished on the cross). The former were announcements, but the fulfillment of them was (is) Christ! The book of Galatians calls those former practices ‘tutors’ that were to bring us to faith in Christ (3:24-25). Jesus said He did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets (the writings of the Old Testament), but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17). In other words, He was (is) the substance of them. He completely satisfied all their requirements, both physical (outward) and spiritual (inward).

WORKS MENTALITY

One of the first fruits (manifestations) of the sin-nature, which became man’s new nature after the Fall in the Garden, was to satisfy the wrong they committed by covering it up in their own way. Man was initially clothed in the same fiery-glory substance that God is clothed with. When they sinned that covering went away and they discovered their nakedness. To ‘cover-up’ what they had done, they “sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings” (Genesis 3:7b); works. They thought they could take care of the sin they committed on their own by putting together some fig leaves and cover up their nakedness. – Wrong! Anything we attempt to accomplish, apart from the direction of God, will fail and come to naught – “fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)!

Over and over, throughout the entire Bible, God has said the things Man does on their own—without His direction and intervention—will fail and come to nothing. He spelled it out like this in Jeremiah 17: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD” (v. 5b, underline mine for emphasis). Did you catch that? “Whose heart departs from the LORD.” The point is the heart has departed from trusting in the Lord. So, the attitude of ‘I can do this myself’ falls under the category of ‘trusting in man’ – which ultimately fails! Mankind was, is, and will always be an outward expression of the unseen spirit world in this natural (seen) world [let’s say it like this: Mankind is created to express the unseen spirit-realm]. The Father God was originally to be the sole substance of this expression; He being the image of physical expression in this natural world through Man. But, Satan nudged his way in (uninvited, I might add) and got Man to sin – Fall away from God, and expressing Him. So, Man began giving expression to the evil one (their nature had changed) – the Light had gone out, and Man found themselves naked of the fiery-glory of God (their original covering).

That’s why we have Scriptures that say things like: “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2b, underline and italics mine for emphasis), and “We know that the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1Jn 5:19b, NIV). The New King James Version of the Bible says it like this: “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” The point I’m making is people are created to give expression to the spiritual kingdom they are being influenced by (or, are members of). Christians are to express Almighty God through the indwelling Holy Spirit, because of Jesus. The rest of the world (mankind) receives their influence by wicked spirits, headed up by Satan (the devil) because of the sin-nature which was passed on to them through the treasonous act committed in the Garden. This is why we “must be born-again” (John 3:3). The Law of Genesis says all things produce after their own kind – Man is not excluded from that Law. Having become sinners, their nature passed on to the entire human race. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom 5:12, KJV). In case the revelation of this verse didn’t hit you like it did me when I read this from the Authorized King James version of the Bible, I’ll connect the dots; “by one man sin entered: for that, all have sinned.” Do you see it? By this one act of treason against God, Adam’s decision (choice) passed on to the entire human race, and we became sinners.

I’m not pointing fingers (or, judging), but giving explanation to why people act-think-and say the things they do. This is why Paul wrote to the Ephesians “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood (the people [themselves] around you), but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12, parenthesis mine). The NIrV puts it this way: “Our fight is not against human beings. It is against the rulers, the authorities and the powers of this dark world. It is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly world” (Eph 6:12, NIrV). Keeping this in mind will help us maintain in our love-walk toward others, for “Love…believes the best of every person” (1Cor. 13:7, AMP).

EXAMPLES OF SUBSTANCE

To further drive home the point of this teaching let’s look at examples of substance(s) we all can relate to and put into practice in our daily lives.

1. Medicine can come in two forms: original manufacturer (brand-name) or generic (store-brand). They both have most of the same ingredients (their base medication), but the filler-ingredients may differ a bit. This makes the generic cheaper to produce. The difference? — Their overall substance (what they’re made of).
2. Another could be a food-dish. For instance lasagna. I make mine with two meats and four cheeses. Mine is robust, full of substance! When you take a bite, mine is full of stuff — not fluff (like store-bought).
3. Political speeches: either filled with promise for a bright future, or hot-air that truly leads nowhere!
4. Sound (this one’s big with me!). Quality sound will be rich with a full range of frequencies and no distortion in its reproduction. The bass will vibrate your body, while the trebles will tingle in your ears. Substance!
5. Comparing conversations between good friends, and just acquaintances. The one will come from the heart; the other may just be superficial. The substance of it will show what sort it is (from the heart will include thought, feelings and emotions, which connects the two conversing together; the superficial will soon be forgotten, and be meaningless).

IN CONCLUSION

I think we’ve adequately spelled-out some examples of substance to solidify the purpose of this teaching. Christ is the Substance for our beliefs, actions, points-of-view, and destiny! He is the One we live for! The Substance for our religion is Christ Jesus (I hate using the word religion because what I’m talking about is actually a life-style, not a formality toward some deity)! We are in Him, and He is in us! The world (without Him) lies in a state of hopelessness – He is our hope (see Colo. 1:27 and 1Tim. 1:1). When we preach the Gospel, He is the Substance behind it – He will heal the sick, cast out devils, raise the dead, and every other good thing God has promised! When Jesus sent out His disciples to preach the gospel He said “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19).

It’s ShowTime! Every believer; every Christian; everyone who has called on the Name of the Lord to be saved needs to ‘put their hands to the plow’ (be about our Father’s business [Luke 2:49]) and show this lost and dying world that there is a Savior Who loves them so much He gave Himself so they could live in hope [He died for us all so we could live for Him; what an awesome, loving God we have!!]. Every one of us can (and should) cast out devils (that’s not just from someone, but every area that influences our lives: work, school, neighborhood, etc.), lay hands on the sick that they may recover – freely give of what has been given to us! This is not simply a hyped-up exhortation to get believers excited about God, so they run-the-aisles of church. I believe it’s a mandate from Heaven to awaken our priorities, for the Day will come and the Books will be opened, and we all will be Judged for what we have done while in the body (2Cor. 5:10). “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1Co 3:11-15).

It’s time for the fear-of-God to return the Church (Body of Christ)—the soberness (reality—truth) we all will face when we stand before Him and give account for our lives. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10:31).

*** Selah ***

A sloppy rendering of God’s grace has entered the Body of Christ, allowing for sin to come in and weaken our authority against Satan and his demons (hence, powerlessness). This blindness has caused us to skip over Scriptures like Hebrews 10:31, Acts 20:31, 1Cor. 4:14, and 1Thessalonians 5:14 – which all speak of warnings God gave Paul to write.

I’ll finish this work with a concise definition of grace (which is intended to cause a chain-reaction and resurrection of the power of God in our generation!) that God has given me to portray. Grace is God’s strength – power – ability given to/for man to stand against (resist) sin and live as an exact representative of Jesus. It is the power of God that recreated our human spirit, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph 2:8-9, underline mine for emphasis). Mike Leach rendering: the faith that came by hearing the Word of God connected us to His power and saved us (made us New Creatures [2Cor. 5:17 and Titus 3:5]). God’s grace is what we need to bring about change in our lives, and the lives of those around us! Be BLESSED and influence the world around you! ML