ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: A NEW ONOMA, Part 13

A New Onoma,  Part 13

April 19, 2013

G' Morning!

David Herzog is about as unconventional as they come among those of the prophetic community.  As I begin writing this Coffee Break, I've just finished streaming his time of sharing, teaching and prophesying at Paul Keith Davis' S.O.S. gathering for this week.  Although he shared a whole lot tonight, one thing in particular really stands out. 

I'd venture to say that there's not a one of us who hasn't prayed for healing or deliverance or resurrection for someone.  Ever wonder why we don't see more results?  OK, think about it like this.  Your Aunt Sally has cancer and you're praying for her to be healed.  Everything in you says that you're praying according to the will of God.  You know the Word of God!  You know -- at least you quote the Scripture from I Peter 2:24 from time to time -- that "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." 

It's an accomplished fact!  Right?  Jesus already paid for all the healing we could possibly need for every disease under the sun.  There's nothing He didn't already provide for by His death and resurrection!  The operative phrase here is, "ye WERE healed"....... PAST TENSE!

So how come Aunt Sally isn't getting better?  Why aren't you seeing the answer to your fervent prayer?  Here's the problem.  Our mind -- our subconscious thoughts -- are interfering.  Subconsciously, we're planning Aunt Sally's funeral.  Here's how David Herzog put it: "We need a miracle of mind-renewal!  We need an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the restoration of our minds and thoughts!"

OK?  I could spend this whole Coffee Break on that theme, but maybe we'll come back to that at a later time.  Onward with our discussion on the transformation of our onoma!  Pour yourself a cup of some of that good really dark roasted French Roast coffee and pull up a chair.

3.  The “Teaching of Baptisms” releases within our onoma two things essential to our transformation.

The first is baptism in water, which signifies our agreement with, and testimony to, the efficacy of Jesus’ shed blood on the Cross.  Jesus’ death on the Cross was an event with legal implications.  His blood represented “life for life.”  He allowed Himself to be murdered by Satan so that the sentence of death hanging over the human race could be nullified.

Roughly 20 years ago, I wrote an Open Letter to the Ekklesia titled, It is Finished.  Parts of that article have been quoted from time to time in various Coffee Breaks in which we have talked about the necessity of canceling Satan’s legal hold over the human race.  A Plan was set in motion before time began which would provide the means for us as created beings to overcome and defeat his authority in our lives.  Jesus fulfilled the first and most essential part of that plan by being murdered on the Cross, by taking with Himself on the cross all of our bondages to Satan, all of our failings, all of our sicknesses and diseases – and Satan himself – to the death!

Then He nullified death by rising from the dead on the third day.  By so doing, He set the stage for all who would agree with His position as the Son of God, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Bridegroom who eagerly awaited His Bride, all who would agree with His death and resurrection, all who would agree with His  ascendancy and superiority over Satan, and empowered them to die and rise again from the dead even as He had done.

The simple act of agreement with Jesus’ power over death was demonstrated in water baptism.  The “agreer” died as he or she was immersed – buried, if you will – under the water.  The “agreer” then rose from the dead as he or she came up out of the water.  The act of agreement with Jesus Christ legally freed the agreeing individual from any penalties for sin which would have been incurred as slaves to Satan.  The act of water baptism testified before the Universal Court, and before Satan and all his cadre of evil spirits, that their legal hold was broken.  This, however, was only the first phase of the “teaching of baptisms.”

The second phase was being baptized in the Holy Spirit.  Baptism in the Holy Spirit was the means by which those who agreed with all that Jesus Christ had done, was doing, and had purposed for them, enacted legally their acquiescence to being betrothed to Jesus Christ.

It signified their willingness to be taken into “the King’s house,” even as Esther had done, to begin the “time of preparation and thlipsis” in order to be readied as a co-equal counterpart for the King of Kings.  Baptism in the Holy Spirit also set the stage for the “betrothed” to begin receiving her dowry: the gifts which were the promise of things to come – a foretaste of the changed onoma, the promise of being “like Him.”  That dowry – those gifts – were to be manifested as that which we have come to refer to as “the gifts of the Spirit.”

Let me pause for just a moment.  Are you seeing the picture of “foundations?”  Are you beginning to understand how all of these things are only the “baby basics” – how they must precede true intimate relationship with Jesus Christ?  Salvation does not create relationship with Jesus Christ – it only sets part of the foundation for that relationship.  Faith in God does not create relationship, but it is essential to our existence if a relationship is to develop.  Baptisms do not create relationship – they set the stage for our preparation by the Holy Spirit for that relationship.

4.  “The Laying on of Hands” brings us to another foundation fundamental: the impartation (or actual transmission) of the power of Jesus’ onoma.  One of the basics of a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ necessitates the transference of that which we generally refer to as “the baptism in the Holy Spirit,” as well as His healing virtue, and the dynamic of true revelation which comes through and by the Spirit.  The transference of that dunamis (power, “dynamite”) is consummated through the physical touch which comes when a person already imbued lays hands upon another who is asking for “the baptism of the Holy Spirit,” healing, etc.

Generally implied – although there are exceptions to this – is the fact that the one  laying hands upon another has already entered into a place of relationship with Jesus Christ, and has matured in that relationship.  The onoma of Jesus Christ must have already been at least partially developed for that transference to occur.  While the laying on of hands should imply a degree of fellowship and intimacy between the individual (who performs the act) and Jesus Christ, it is not necessarily an indicator of that.

By way of illustration, when our son, Chris, was six years old, he was laying hands on other children who were suffering from various afflictions including legs or arms which were too short or crippled.  In each and every case (without exception) a miracle of healing and/or restoration occurred.  He was not even yet baptized in the Holy Spirit when it happened.  The Lord simply took the opportunity of that simple expression of faith as a means to demonstrate His grace and love for those children whom Chris touched.

He did not receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit until six years later when he asked me to lay hands on him for that purpose.  When Mike Scudder and I laid hands on Chris, he instantly received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and began to prophesy.  Not long thereafter, Chris likewise laid hands on one of his friends, Chris Schlotfeldt, who also received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The laying on of hands, therefore, is a simple fundamental of Jesus’ onoma.  It is part and parcel of His nature and makeup; and those who respond to His expressed desire to manifest His grace, or love, or power towards some individual become nothing more than a vehicle or a pipeline for His onoma.  By the laying on of hands, the Holy Spirit chooses to move through one individual into another; and then into another, and then into another, etc., etc., ad infinitum, until the heart’s desire of the Bridegroom be accomplished and fulfilled.

5.  “The Resurrection of the Dead” encompasses both the spiritual and the natural realm.  This is one of the most basic of truths at the foundation of all relationship with Jesus Christ.  First and foremost, it has spiritual significance and importance.  It is this dimension which is of greatest concern to the Lord – and probably the one to which we have accorded the least attention.  From the moment Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they (and all their descendants) became infected with what I have come to refer to as the “knowledge virus.”  Beyond the consequences imposed upon their natural, physical beings, (i.e., death) their spiritual genetic makeup also became infected.  Every human being born into this world since has had an appointment with death.

That it has been, first and foremost, a death of the spirit is demonstrated among those who make “knowledge” to become the priority of their existence.  That knowledge inflates the ego and the self-will, leading individuals to walk according to that which they have learned intellectually, setting aside the responses of the spirit to the Lord (because they are not logical to the trained mind).  The more they rely on their own intellect and mental skills, the more this “knowledge virus” becomes ensconced as the HIV of the spirit.

An aging scientist friend of ours lamented one day in a luncheon conversation with us that he would give all that he has to know the Lord personally and enjoy the revelation he has seen us walk in on a daily basis, but that he just can’t seem to set aside the reasonings of his mind.  I said to him, “My friend, your problem is that you are so brilliant, you are stupid.”  (A former colleague of Einstein’s, he has an IQ exceeding 200.)

Dr. Joe had intellectually assented to the knowledge of God and the claims of Jesus Christ, and on more than one occasion even prayed “the sinners’ prayer,” but says he feels completely lacking in a personal relationship, and has readily admitted that he cannot cope with spiritual things because “they don’t make any sense.”  He has become a victim of the “knowledge virus.” Without deliverance from that virus none of us can walk in the Spirit.  Stated another way, Joe's “knowledge” and brilliant mind are separating him from a living relationship with Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist prophesied of Jesus on the day of his baptism in the Jordan river, “And now the axe is laid to the root of the tree.” (Matthew 3:10)  What tree?  The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  With Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, therefore, He reversed the course of the “knowledge virus” for all those who would become one with Him, making it possible once again to have the same intimate love-relationship that Adam and Eve experienced during all those years they walked and talked with Him in the Garden.

For Adam and Eve, death first occurred for them in the realm of the spirit when they ate of the fruit of that tree.  The immediate consequence was their forcible eviction from the Garden and separation from intimacy with the Lord.  Jesus’ first priority, therefore, was to “lay the axe to the root of the tree,” severing the possibility of a recurrence of that death; and then raise from the dead all those who would choose to enter into life in the spirit with Him.

During the three and a half years of His public ministry, He demonstrated His power over all death by raising the dead.  He sent forth His disciples with the command, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons; freely you have received: freely give.” (see Matthew 10:8)

None of them had been raised from the dead in the natural realm, but all had been raised up in the spirit.  Thus, they were able to give what they had received.  And they went forth doing just that: healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, raising the dead, casting out demons, etc.  This should be the hallmark of all those who live in a place of genuine relationship with Jesus Christ.

Both Della and I have experienced raising the dead on at least two different occasions each.  On one occasion, I was the one who was raised from the dead.  My father was raised from the dead as a six-year-old and given to the Lord as a direct part of that incident.  Many of you are aware of Della’s part in raising Marcia from the dead after she was killed in an accident a number of years ago.  This is, and should be, the norm for all of us – not the exception.

Resurrection from the dead was first established by our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, on our behalf.  It was not a mark of our relationship with Him.  He did it so that we could have an intimate relationship together without the curse of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil hanging over our heads.  He did it so that our onoma could be changed to compliment His onoma.

He likewise gives it to those who will enter into that place of love and intimacy – not so they can prove that they have a relationship with Him, but that His heart’s desire will be met for a completed Bride.

Next week I'll try to wrap up this series as we conclude with The Doctrine of Eternal Judgment, and do a final overview of God's purposes and destiny for us as His people.

Blessings on you!

Regner

Regner A. Capener                                                            
CAPENER MINISTRIES

709 South 7^th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944

(509) 515-0133

A Tale of Two Brides is now available on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Tale-Two-Brides-Relationship-ebook/dp/B00BSV6HZC/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1363139096&sr=8-8&keywords=A+Tale+of+Two+Brides#_

All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted –provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are available at http://www.RegnersMorningCoffee.com.   Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.

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CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit: http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: A NEW ONOMA, Part 12

A New Onoma,  Part 12

April 12, 2013

This past Sunday we were really blessed to have Don Pirozok and his wife, Cheryl, as our guests.  Don is known nationally for his prophetic ministry and the accuracy of his prophecies.  Sunday was no exception.  I really appreciated the manner in which the personal and family prophetic words were given.  We took a few people (perhaps three or four) at a time, shared with them and then took a break for a time of worship.  More people would be ministered to, and that would be followed with more worship.  This process was repeated again and again.  Our time of gathering for fellowship, praise and worship, and ministry -- both corporate and personal -- along with fellowship around the table, lasted just over eight hours.

While we don't often have that much time together when we gather, five to six hours is pretty common.   Our times of gathering are designed to be a true expression of Ekklesia -- NOT church.  While I'm not condemning folks who still utilize the traditional mode of church gathering -- and certainly we've seen the Lord work very mightily within the church from time to time -- the Greek word "Ekklesia," which has been almost uniformly translated "church" for the past four hundred years or so -- represents a kind of gathering that is anything but the conventional structured mode we see in the contemporary churches.

Ekklesia is really nothing more than the assembling together of the Betrothed by the Bridegroom.  (And when I say that they have been assembled together by the Bridegroom, it is just that!  This is not a club you can join.  If Holy Spirit doesn't draw you and bond you to the group of people, you're just playing "church.") Ekklesia is a company of people -- not more than 12 families -- who've been drawn together among whom Holy Spirit is developing a close-knit bonding, a place of absolute trust, a level of confidence that each person in the Ekklesia has your back -- and at the same time, is willing to administer reproof and correction in love when needed.

I could literally spend this entire Coffee Break talking about Ekklesia, and the things Holy Spirit has taught us about Ekklesia as a lifestyle and a processing period in our lives to prepare us for the Bridegroom.  But that's not where we will go today.  Let me continue where we left off last week.

Throughout my years of walking with the Lord, enormous change has taken place in me.  Yes, responses have been required of me.  Yes, obedience to the word and will of the Lord has been mandatory.  But the change, and the glory which is manifested, have come because of the indwelling work of the Paraklete, and the sovereignty of the Bridegroom in His choices for me.

This is what the onoma of the Lord Jesus Christ is all about!  His onoma -- which  incorporates the Spirit of Judgment and Burning, the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and Might, the Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of the Lord, The Spirit of Grace and Supplications, the Spirit of Truth, and the Spirit of Glory (all summed up in agape) -- has been the onoma of a Bridegroom-to-be seeking after a Bride, a Bridegroom who has sent a Paraklete to prepare, mold, train, equip and dress that Bride for the final day of joining: the Marriage of the Lamb!

All those things which we have treated as doctrines: Salvation, Water Baptism, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Deliverance, Sanctification, Holiness, etc., etc., have only been stepping stones in the process to have a Bride.  Those things which we have known as "the gifts of the Spirit" are simply a dowry, given as a promise of that which would become the natural, everyday operation and function of our lives and existence.  The gifts of the Spirit have simply been the "interest," given to woo us onward toward the changes and processing necessary which would result in those gifts being a 24-hour-per-day reality -- a part of the life and breath of our onoma.

The intention of the Lord is that we become so like Him that these things which we have known as “gifts” are no longer gifts, but the natural operation of our beings – an integrated part of our very existence.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  His purpose is to make us naturally supernatural, and supernaturally natural.  Expressing it  another way, His intention is to see that which we have regarded as “miraculous”  become the norm of our daily breathing and living.

Take a quick look at this process from the beginning through the perspective of what we have often heard, and what has been taught to us as foundational doctrines:

1. Salvation: the legal act of Jesus' death on the cross in order to free a people from bondage to Satan, and bondage to the Law of Sin and Death: a legal act necessary to make possible a way for people to respond freely to His wooing and romancing.

2. Water Baptism: the legal act necessary as the first response of those who accept Jesus' offer of freedom: a legal act which says to Satan, "the old me, born into this world as a slave to you, subject to the Law of Sin and Death, has died and been buried.  The new me has been resurrected by the power of Jesus Christ, made alive and freed to respond without your curses and penalties hanging over me."

3. Baptism in the Holy Spirit: the first joint-legal act of the Bride-to-be and the Paraklete, in which we release our tongue to Him and He evidences that release by using it to speak in previously unknown or unlearned languages as a sign of the release of our entire being, which then gives Holy Spirit the right to begin the process of house-cleaning, change, and restoration of the individual into the image and onoma of the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ.

4. Deliverance: the legal right, and necessary act of the individual now undergoing the housecleaning process of the Paraklete to expel all those spirits He identifies, which have worked to shape and mold us into the onoma of Satan.

5. Justification: a legal act, consummated by Jesus Christ, which establishes our right to come before the Father as freely as both the Son and the Paraklete.

6. Sanctification: the processing of the Paraklete to enact the necessary changes of our onoma so as to conform us to those requirements of the Bridegroom prior to the day of the Marriage of the Lamb.

7. Holiness: the change which is wrought to our makeup, our character, the very essence of our being so that we become like our Bridegroom.

Now, I realize that the way I have defined some of these "doctrines" may not be the way some of you are familiar with them, but bear with me for a moment.  Intriguingly enough, only the first three "doctrines" in this list are so mentioned in Scripture.  The last four are not.  They are concepts which have been taught as doctrines, often to the exclusion of those which Paul taught as "stepping stones."  In an Open Letter to the Ekklesia entitled, The Strait Gate, which was sent out a number of years ago, we talked about those doctrines which are laid as foundations in our lives; and the necessity of leaving them, once established, so as to "go on to the completion."

I won't try to cover all that ground again, but in brief (see Hebrews 6:1-3) Paul talks about "not laying again the foundation of (1) repentance from dead works, and (2) faith in God, of (3) the teaching of baptisms, and (4) of the laying on of hands, of (5) the resurrection of the dead, and (6) of eternal judgment."  (Without getting into any argument on the subject, I will repeat that we assume for the sake of this discussion Paul to be the author of Hebrews.)  The point he makes is that it is necessary to "go on."  The aforementioned teachings are simply the foundation place of our relationship -- not the end!  To make the assumption that we "have arrived," once these are locked down in our understanding is to fall short of the Glory of God.

“Change” is the operative word.  Consider again the significance of these foundations of which Paul writes.

1.  “Repentance from dead works.”  We have often expressed this as “Salvation,” but let’s look a little farther.  The “dead works,” of which Paul speaks, takes on a different perspective in the light of his letter to the Hebrews.  Dead works are the keeping of the law, the performance of duties and rituals “because they are expected of you,” the observance of commandments because “they are ordered,” etc., etc., etc.  Make sense? 

(In case we forget, let’s remember that the objective of all of this is the most intimate of relationships with Jesus Christ.)

O.K!  Where’s the relationship if we keep the law?  Where is the relationship if we observe His commandments just because they were ordered of us?  Where there is a love relationship – an intimate love-relationship – these things happen as a natural byproduct of that bond between us and the Lord.  There is no place for ritual in relationship.  There is no place for “duty” in relationship.  There is no place for a careful observance of the law.  These things are all “dead works.”  Where there is a bond of love and intimacy between us and the Lord Jesus Christ, His heart’s desire becomes as normal to us as breathing.  It is integral to our onoma. 

Let me use the relationship between Della and me as an example.  Suppose when we first got married that I handed her a list of requirements: ten “do’s” and “don’ts” which she was required to carefully observe on a daily basis, with the threat of punitive action on my part if she failed to keep them.  Suppose she had been given a list of duties and requirements – whether written or unwritten – by which her commitment to me would be required.  Sounds insane, doesn’t it?  What kind of relationship would we have?  Zero!  O.K., well, maybe a master-slave relationship but not a marriage of  counterparts, co-equals, or one in which true love was genuinely manifested. 

Now let me take it a step farther.  Suppose Della took all of my letters and writings over the years, along with various accounts of my accomplishments which have been reported in the news media, Who’s Who volumes and other publications, and pored over them daily so that she would get to “know me better?”  Are those letters and writings, and news reports going to give her an in-depth knowledge of me, my makeup and character, my personality, or my love for her?  Of course not!  It’s ridiculous!  Especially when she has me in person, and we can communicate personally, sharing  ourselves with one another on the most intimate basis. 

So it is with the Lord Jesus Christ.  To trade that which has been written, said, and done for a personal intimate sharing relationship on a daily basis with Him is to live in “dead works,” ritualism and legalism.  “Repentance from dead works,” therefore, begins with Godly sorrow over our having lived legalistically and ritualistically, repenting or turning from such dead living, and embracing Jesus Christ as lover, as  Bridegroom-to-be, and even more – as the totality of our existence without whom we neither live, nor breathe, nor have our being.

2.  “Faith in God” likewise has a deeper significance than that which we have  commonly accepted.  Jesus made it clear that “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”  Then He identified the means by which that faith comes by saying, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  Faith, therefore, is not faith if we have not heard the Lord.

Does that make sense?  O.K.  Let’s try it this way.

The Lord often speaks through many  different methodologies.  For example, we hear His Spirit speaking within our spirit.  Sometimes we are reading and a scripture will stand out.  There is a quickening in our spirit by the Holy Spirit that this is a truth He is applying to us, or to a specific situation in our lives.  Then there are the occasions when He speaks to us directly in dreams or visions.  On rarer occasions, we are permitted to hear the audible voice of the Lord in our ears.  In each instance – no matter what method He utilizes – He will confirm that “word” through multiple avenues so that we can know of absolute surety that we have heard Him.

Once we have heard Him, faith is generated.  That faith becomes the very substance of that which He has spoken by virtue of the creative power of His onoma.  As we speak out of that substantive faith, we speak our agreement with that which He has spoken.  When we agree with Him – not intellectually, but in our spirit – within the very core of our beings, life explodes.  Creative forces are unleashed.  Our faith in Him, therefore, becomes a practical reality with signs following.

“Faith in God,” therefore, is not some mystical, ethereal hope within our hearts.  It is a life-giving force with the very same creative dynamics which were unleashed when Jesus Christ spoke the worlds into existence, and set in motion the inevitability of His Bride.

We'll stop here and continue with "The Teaching of Baptisms" as we continue to share on this onoma transformation.  See you next week.

Blessings on you!

Regner

Regner A. Capener                                                            
CAPENER MINISTRIES

709 South 7^th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944

(509) 515-0133

A Tale of Two Brides is now available on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Tale-Two-Brides-Relationship-ebook/dp/B00BSV6HZC/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1363139096&sr=8-8&keywords=A+Tale+of+Two+Brides#_

All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted –provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are available at http://www.RegnersMorningCoffee.com.   Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.

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CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit: http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: A NEW ONOMA, Part 11

A New Onoma,  Part 11

April 5, 2013

It was back in the spring of 1983.  I was heading up the ministry and operations of the Christian Broadcasting Network - Alaska, and pastoring a fellowship called The House of Praise.  Because of the public (and even national) attention we had garnered because of articles which had appeared in national publications, as well as my appearances on national television, there were people around me who began to treat me like I was really SOMETHING (if you know what I mean).

I woke up one day to the realization that folks were putting me on a pedestal and giving me an honor that didn't belong to me.  It shook me to my very roots, and I began to pray, "Lord, whatever it takes, get me off this pedestal!  Knock it out from under me so that folks realize this is all your doing -- not mine."

Whewww!!!  If I'd thought about it more, I think I might have changed that prayer just a bit!  My pedestal got knocked out from under me, all right!  Brother, did it ever!  Within a couple of months, I was shell-shocked!  CBN-Alaska was dissolved along with our relationship with the national network, the leadership of the fellowship had been passed on to another brother in the Lord, and a whole fistful of other events were unfolding that I won't even try to get into here!

On the one hand the quieting voice of Holy Spirit was reassuring me that my prayers had been answered, and there was a settled peace in my spirit.  On the other hand, there was the very heartfelt knowledge that I was no longer carrying a weight that belonged to the Lord.  It didn't matter anymore that I wasn't everyone's fair-haired wonder; people weren't trying to bestow an honor and glory on me that was God's.

By the way, in case you think that I handled everything well and behaved honorably in the midst of it all, I've got a bridge to sell you cheap!  :-)  Ahhh, but that's another topic.  Human flesh does not do well when it is given the honor, the glory, the adulation, the worship (and that's what it amounts to!) that rightfully belongs to the Lord.  We see the disasters that result in people's lives when they are idolized by the public.  The issue becomes compounded when that adulation and glory are suddenly yanked from them.

You understand where I'm going with this, don't you?  I don't need to belabor things.  The point is that glory -- The Spirit of Glory -- when it is seen in us as the Bride of Christ, is a reflection of the character and nature of the Lord Jesus.  THAT'S the way it is supposed to be.

We WANT His Glory -- the Spirit of Glory -- to so pour out of every aspect of our existence that society sees Jesus Christ -- NOT us!  When that happens, our onoma has become merged into His onoma, and His onoma has been merged into us!

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.  Let's take a slightly different look at the Spirit of Glory.

As we conclude our look at the Seven Spirits of God, once again for the sake of review, here are the Seven Spirits as they occur in Scripture.

1. The Spirit of Judgment & Burning

2. The Spirit of Wisdom & Understanding

3. The Spirit of Counsel and Might

4. The Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of the Lord

5. The Spirit of Grace & Supplications

6. The Spirit of Truth

7. The Spirit of Glory

John 1:14:  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

I Peter 4:14:  ¹⁴If ye be reproached for the name (onoma) of Christ (Christos: the Anointed One and His anointing), happy (makarios: blessed, prosperous) are ye; for the spirit of glory (doxa: very visible and apparent honor, glory, dignity, praise; a weighty presence) and of God resteth (anapauo: to take up residence, to take ease, to refresh oneself) upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

The whole concept of Glory is one pretty much lost on the world of today.  People have become so rational, so academically-minded, so concerned with human logic that the thought of some tangible – and yet inexplicable – visible presence manifesting on a person gets lost in the translation.  Peter describes the manifestation of the Spirit of Glory as being the product of the onoma – the character, the makeup, the personality, the very essence of – the Lord Jesus Christ evidenced in us.

More than that, the Spirit of Glory comes with the anointing.  Peter specifically uses the expression, “If you are reproached for the onoma of the Anointed One and His anointing …..”

That anointing is somewhat akin to a mantle.  You’ll recall our discussion some weeks back concerning Elijah and Elisha, and the mantle of Elijah that he threw over Elisha.  Here is an instance of the use of the word “mantle” in Scripture which is separate and distinct from every other use.

The Hebrew word which occurs ONLY in I Kings 19 and II Kings 2 where it is translated “mantle” is the word, ‘addereth.  Although this word could be translated out as “splendid robe” or “goodly garment” its proper rendering is “glorious splendor.”

It IS a covering garment of a type, but the word ‘addereth denotes the addition of special recognition, someone of renown, someone set apart for some kingly duty or commission.  In fact, it designated the unique anointing that was upon Elijah.  He – among all of the Old Testament prophets – became the prototype of the miracle-working prophet.

When that anointing and mantle was passed to Elisha and he received the “double-anointing,” the Glory of God was so marked upon him that not one single person ever questioned his commissioning from God.  The Spirit of Glory rested upon Elijah and doubly manifested on Elisha.  There was a presence on them that was so strong it brought fear to the enemies of Israel.

We have previously noted that the Seven Spirits of God occupy the Throne of God – that they are in fact the essence of Who He is.  When God fulfilled His promise to Hannah and Samuel was born, she lifted up her voice in praise and worship.  As she worshiped the Lord, she prophesied.  Here is a portion of her prophecy:

I Samuel 2:7-10:  The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.  He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the Throne of Glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, and he hath set the world upon them.  He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.  The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

Everything that Hannah prophesies is a small picture of how the Spirit of Glory operates and manifests.  Samuel’s mentor was the High Priest Eli.  Without getting into the whole story, the Philistines raided Shiloh, in the process taking the Ark of the Covenant.  During the battle that ensued, Hophni and Phinehas, Eli’s two sons, were killed.

When Eli received the news that his sons had been killed, it provoked a reaction in him, but when he heard that the Ark of the Covenant had been stolen, he fell backward breaking his neck on the gate.  Phinehas’ wife was just giving birth to their son when the news of Phinehas’ death was brought to her.  She named their son, Ichabod.

I Samuel 4:21-22:  And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.  And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.

It was a striking event.  Because of the sins of Israel, and because of the sins of Eli’s two sons which he had done nothing to stop, God permitted the Ark of His presence to be removed from the nation of Israel.  Hannah had prophesied that the Spirit of Glory was the defense of God’s people.  When the Ark was taken, the Spirit of Glory departed from Israel and they were left defenseless.

Not until David retrieved the Ark of the Covenant and established it in a simple tabernacle atop Mount Zion in the midst of Jerusalem did the Spirit of Glory return to Israel.  David’s 33 years of nonstop praise and worship in Israel set the stage for the Temple to be built by Solomon.  At the dedication of the Temple almost 40 years to the day from the ushering in of David’s Tabernacle, the Spirit of Glory manifested Himself in a way Israel had never seen.

II Chronicles 5:11-14:  And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course:  Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)  It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;  So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.

In every instance where we see “Glory” represented throughout the Word, we see a weighty presence.  Most of us have seen folks get “slain in the Spirit.”  This is a rather trite expression, but what happens is that when the Spirit of Glory manifests Himself, there is a weight that comes with it which prevents people from standing.  For at least the last 60 years, I’ve seen more folks than I can count go down under the power of God.  Because I’ve also seen the phony acts of people who were putting on a show for their own reasons, I’ve resisted this with every ounce of my being.

At a conference Della and I attended in Red Deer, Alberta a few years ago with Steven Shelley, Paul Keith Davis, Bobby Connor and Charlie Robinson, there was no amount of resistance that could keep me standing.  I was down and couldn’t get up.  The weight of the presence of the Spirit of Glory was such that I simply had no power to get up; and I stayed there on the floor until He lifted that weight from me.

By the same token, when the Lord took me to Heaven and I was ushered into the Throne Room, the Spirit of Glory was so powerful that I fell flat on my face.  I was unable to get up or stand to my feet for some unknown period of time.  Two very large angels picked me up, carried me out and stood me on my feet.  Until they did so, I had no strength in myself whatever.

There is another picture of this in II Chronicles.

II Chronicles 7:1-3:  Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’S house. And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth forever.

Here is an instance where we see the Spirit of Judgment and Burning manifesting Himself with the Spirit of Glory.  Notice that the fire came first; and then the Glory followed.  It is a picture of what is happening in us and in the Body of Christ today.

As we’ve already noted, the Spirit of Glory is the last to appear in the list of the Seven Spirits of God.  The Spirit of Judgment and Burning is the first named in Scripture.  Consider the sequence.

1.      The Spirit of Judgment and Burning begins the work of cleanup and restoration on those who will respond to the total and complete rulership of the Lord in their lives.

2.      The Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding (Revelation) come next to bring us needed revelation of the character, the nature, the makeup and the personality of the Lord Jesus Christ as the standard by which we are to be measured.

3.      The Spirit of Counsel and Might enters the ongoing processes in our lives to bring counsel, guidance and direction, and establish the boundaries of safety for our walk with the Lord.

4.      The Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of the Lord commences to create within us that necessary awe and reverence of the Lord, and make us Holy and without blemish before God.

5.      Now the Spirit of Grace and Supplications goes to work in earnest.  He’s already been at work in our lives, but our focus now is the Covenant-relationship with have with the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ.   Access to our Covenant-privileges, rights and responsibilities comes into focus.

6.      Because of our contamination by the world around us, the contamination that comes through religion, through the influence of the myriad of voices about us, and through a host of other sources, the Spirit of Truth must establish the baseline in our beings of all that Jesus is.  As Jesus noted, He is “The Way, The Truth, and the Life.”  “No man cometh unto the Father but by me.”  Without the Spirit of Truth making this a certainty in every cell of our existence, we can be led astray and miss the goal – the mark that has been set before us.

7.      All this processing must take place in us before the Spirit of Glory can be manifested and demonstrated in such a way that the world will sit up and take notice that we not only have been with Jesus – we ARE in Him, and He IS in us!

In Matthew 22, Jesus is giving the parable of the Wedding Feast and speaking of those who try to come uninvited, or unprepared.  He makes the following statement – and this is perhaps the central purpose for the Spirit of Glory:

Matthew 22:14:  For many are called, but few are chosen.

The Spirit of Glory manifests Himself upon us, in us, and through us to demonstrate that we have not only been called, we’ve been chosen.  We’ve been chosen because we have responded to His call at every opportunity, without reserve, without drawing back, without compromise or argument of any kind.  We’ve permitted Holy Spirit to work the Glory of the Lord in us by ignoring the cost to us personally, the cost to our reputation, the cost to our esteem and the cost to our flesh.  And...we’ve been commissioned and given a mantle of the Spirit’s anointing!

And we still have more to share on this onoma transformation.  See you next week.

Blessings on you!                                                        

Regner

Regner A. Capener                                                            
CAPENER MINISTRIES

709 South 7^th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944

(509) 515-0133

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