Posted: 02/05/2009 at 8:49am
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The Substance of Spirit
By Ron McGatlin
The substance of God is available to abide within redeemed mankind. God’s desire is to flow His life by His Spirit from the throne in heaven directly into the hearts of His sons on earth. (Sons is not used here as a gender specific term.) Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit each have a part in the work of transference of the substance of God from the throne in heaven into the clay vessels of mankind on earth. Father is the creator and initiator. The Son is the Savior, King, and Lord. Holy Spirit is the transmuted substance of Father and Son. God’s plan and desire is to abide within and flow through redeemed mankind to redeem and govern all facets of life on Planet Earth with perfect love and righteousness.
This is the rudimental structure of the kingdom of God on earth from heaven to rule and reign on earth as in heaven. The substance of God flowing into and through man is the rule of God - the kingdom of Christ on earth. Every aspect of life in the world and every system of the planet are to be redeemed and transformed or translated into the kingdom of God. This is the gospel (good news) of the kingdom of God. The full redemption of all that was lost in the first Adam is a major part of the goal and purpose of the last Adam, Christ Jesus, sent from heaven by Father God and now flowing through the Holy Spirit into sons of God.
The great shift in the world is the beginning of the end of religion that released the power of the soul of man. And it is the maturing of the sons of God releasing the substance of God by the Spirit of God. Religion and soul power relate to the tree of knowledge of which we all have partaken through the first Adam. The works of darkness were released by Adam’s disobedience and can still be released through the soul power of men. The substance of God flowing through the Holy Spirit and indwelling God’s people relates to the tree of life. In the first Adam sin separated us from the tree of life. In Christ Jesus we have been restored to the potential of again fully partaking of the tree of Life.
Returning to the Tree of Life
In the past seventeen to eighteen centuries, the church has functioned to various degrees in soul power based on intellectual discernment of the Bible. In the period sometimes referred to as the dark ages, the church was primarily in this mode. However, in recent centuries there has been a continuing work of God moving us toward the return to the tree of life – the life substance of God by the Spirit of God. The yet incomplete process of moving from the darkness of ungodly worldliness and religion into the light of the kingdom of God has caused a season of mixture of darkness and light in much of the church.
We are now experiencing and will continue to experience an increasing work of cleansing of the people of God from the darkness of the past. The mixture must be removed. The pattern for the pure and holy “ekklesia” is coming down from heaven and being formed on earth as the New Jerusalem lifestyle.
Historically, for the most part, the substance of God was not flowing by the Holy Spirit in the past church systems. This void allowed the apostles and prophets of God to be replaced with theologians who fostered teachings that were often man-made, highly intellectual, and sometimes demon inspired. These doctrines became the framework for the church systems of man-centered religion.
The renewed flow of the substance of God through His Spirit is again giving life to apostles and prophets as humble loving powerful firebrands of truth to establish the kingdom that was begun in Christ and His disciples in the first century.
The obvious observation is that the kingdom of God cannot be built upon the foundation of the past church systems nor can it rest on the mixture present in much of the church and ministries at this time.
Much of the recent prophetic and apostolic ministry has attempted to build upon mixture and is in a precarious position. Multitudes of seekers have been misled by past religious darkness and the more recent mixtures of darkness and light. In order to gather a crowd and stay afloat, ministries continue to indulge in and give voice to the mixture from past church systems while attempting to present freshly revealed or restored light of truth.
New models and forms of church are of no value to God without the reality of the substance of Christ and the Father flowing into the people by the Holy Spirit of God bringing the good news of the real kingdom of God.
Relational groups and networks focused on growing through human-to-human relationship without flowing the substance of God is of little or no spiritual value. It is much the same as a secular support group.
A relational group based upon the past church system’s darkness or the present mixtures will not produce the kingdom of God on earth as in heaven. In fact, it will lead to confusion and will come to a premature end. Among others, two factors will be present in gatherings or networking works of God. First, the Holy Spirit will be bringing the substance of God including the headship of Christ. Secondly, there will be the primary focus of seeking the real kingdom of God and His righteousness.
The cry of the Spirit of God upon the earth today is for holy, pure-hearted, gifted apostles and prophets to arise and proclaim the powerful pure message of the gospel of the kingdom. At Jesus’ baptism the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and He began His ministry of preaching, teaching, and demonstrating the kingdom of God. At Pentecost the substance of God flowed into men and women of God by the Holy Spirit empowering them to do the works of Christ. The disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit, went about doing the works of God as the Lord worked with them by the Holy Spirit.
Mark 16:19-20: So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
The glory of the latter house will be greater than the former (Hag 2:9).
If you are reading this and are still shying away from the full work of the Holy Spirit and clinging to past teachings that devalue the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it is time to lay aside the past and move toward the high calling of knowing Christ Jesus in the power of His resurrection life flowing through the Holy Spirit.
It will not be profitable to continue to allow religious teachings or previous experience of abuses or mixtures to hinder us from truly becoming the full measure of the stature of Christ as a son of God. Please get this: You do not have to understand it all in your mentality, and you do not have to have seen it with your natural eyes. All of this is available today BY FAITH. What must we do to do these works of God? Only believe in Him who is sent (John 6:28-29).
Mark 16:16-18: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
Heb 11:1: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
The substance of God involves the anointing of God - the power, love, and wisdom of God - the Spirit of Christ - the manifest presence of God - the very life of God and the grace of God. Grace is “the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life” (strongs G5485). All this and more is available through direct connection of the Christ in you connected to the Christ on the throne by the Holy Spirit.
The substance of God can be experienced in the manifest presence of God. God’s presence often comes into a gathering first within the spirits and souls (hearts) of God’s children. The substance of God flowing from the throne into their hearts will flow from them. The immediate atmosphere around becomes affected by the substance of God. As God’s people come together, the atmosphere can become super-charged with the substance of God releasing spiritual works and manifestations that are supernatural.
Ministering spirits (holy angels) may come to supernaturally do miraculous works among the people. Angels are drawn to the presence of God. However, demons panic and will flee easily when resisted. Gifts may be activated releasing prophetic utterances, tongues and interpretation, words of knowledge, words of wisdom, and spiritual visions and revelations or whatever is needed to meet the needs of the people and glorify God.
This and more is normal biblical works of God. What many of us have experienced in the past religious church was a powerless form of godliness without the powerful reality of the substance of God. More recently we may have experienced mixtures of grace gifts of God contaminated by impure vessels leading eventually to disappointing results and confusion. Spiritual discernment sharpened by use is needed to quickly discern what is of God and what is not. With discernment we need not fear receiving from a mixture. We can receive that which is of God while at the same time rejecting that which is not of God. Yet, God is raising up a people without mixture who by the Spirit flow the substance of God into the world doing the works of Jesus.
John 14:12: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”
The predominant characteristic of the substance of God is love.
Every gathering or meeting will be different when led by Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit. The wonderful power of manifestations will not manifest the same and may not always be recognizable within a meeting. However, love and humility will always be present where the substance of God is flowing by the Holy Spirit. Love and humility is not to be confused with human affections and social graces based in human etiquette. The love and humility flowing through the Holy Spirit is from the throne and is accompanied by righteousness, power, and wisdom of God. Peace and joy are products of love along with strength and righteousness for edification and correction.
1 Cor 13:13: And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Gal 5:22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Eph 5:8-11: For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
Edited by Ron McGatlin on 06/02/2010 at 6:23pm
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