#281 The Kingdom Of God: Man and His Ministry

 

Recently I was given a book by Myles Monroe that provided a key I was missing to tie our commission to rule over the things on the earth with the ministry of the Holy Spirit. His emphasis was upon the natural earthly realms of the Kingdom. This “Key” opened for me the importance of focusing upon both the visible realms and the invisible realms of God’s creation. Ruling over the principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places has always been a mystery to me because they are too far removed from man’s realm of authority, which was limited to earth. The invisible realms are also involved it the Kingdom of God’s Government.

Many ministers recognize that most of the problems associated with man on earth originate in these unseen realms of fallen spirits. The moral decay and the lack of ethical standards and the effect on society by those who practice righteous living has deteriorated over the years. Some will argue that we are no worse than Sodom and Gomorrah but God had to destroy them. We are no worse than the Roman or Greek empires but those kingdoms came down. The outward laws of the Old Testament were designed to assure morality and community life in Israel and sacrifices for sins. Still, no power over these unseen realms was given through the Law of Moses.

After Satan and 1/3 of the angels fell, long before Genesis 1:2, God set out to judge them. However, there was no law in heaven to judge them and He must do it righteously and according to His own integrity. He must judge the created beings that disobeyed through created beings that live in obedience. In other words, God can righteously judge disobedience when our obedience is fulfilled.

To do this God could have created a super race of created beings that would always do the will of God and remain loyal to the Creator. Instead of that God created the earth and all that was within it and then out of the lowest element on earth He fashioned a dirt form. He breathed into it the breath of life and this dirt figure became a living soul. God gave this created being (Adam) sovereignty over the earth to rule over everything that moved upon the earth. Some of the things that were moving upon this earth were invisible, unseen created beings that fell from their first estate. Man was deceived and fell into sin and death. Man could never rule over the unseen realms by participating in more and more knowledge, from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God’s created man could only fulfill his commission to rule by participating in the Life of God by eating from the Tree of Life. Man had life but only created life. He must now begin to participate in the uncreated Life of God, Himself. (Greek= Zoe) The problem was that after man fell that Life was beyond the ability of fallen and sinful man to experience. That Tree was isolated outside the realm of fallen man’s participation.

For that reason man must be fully and completely redeemed and reconciled back to God. His sins must be forgiven and forgotten and man must be recreated in the image and likeness of God. Since “man’s redemption” took place many centuries ago, at Calvary, we might think that the principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places were being ruled over now by redeemed man. The fact is that the physical evidence reveals that the unseen realms are still functioning at full speed with little interference from man.

Man in his redeemed and developed state and in a Vine/Branch or Life/union with Jesus Christ must cooperate with God to get the will of God done on the earth. It should be obvious that under-developed man, that is still in preparation, is in no position to reign, and until he comes into a Vine/branch union with Christ. The Man, Christ Jesus has all authority to reign over both the visible realms and over the invisible realms. Now His body must step into “His authority and learn to rule over” the visible and the invisible realms.

God’s plan for man is to rule over His adversaries and to make the enemy and the revengeful to cease.

Psalms 8:1 O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Thy name in all the earth, Who hast displayed Thy splendor above the heavens! [2] From the mouth of infants and nursing babes Thou hast established strength, Because of Thine adversaries, To make the enemy and the revengeful cease. [3] When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, The moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; [4] What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him? [5] Yet Thou hast made him a little lower than God, And dost crown him with glory and majesty! [6] Thou dost make him to rule over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet, [7] All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field, [8] The birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. [9] O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Thy name in all the earth!

God has put all things that affect the earth realm under the sovereignty of man. The problem is that unless man is functioning under the sovereignty of God he has no sovereignty to rule over the created things. As we pointed out in another study God never gave man dominion over other men. This is a major problem in churches that teach pastoral authority and believer submission. They set themselves up with dominion over other men. Man was given authority over all things on the earth [except other men] but it is not yet apparent the extent of everything that has been subjected to man.

HEB 2:5 For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. [6] But one has testified somewhere, saying, “WHAT IS MAN, THAT THOU REMEMBEREST HIM? OR THE SON OF MAN, THAT THOU ART CONCERNED ABOUT HIM? [7] “THOU HAST MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS; THOU HAST CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR, AND HAST APPOINTED HIM OVER THE WORKS OF THY HANDS; [8] THOU HAST PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.”

HEB 2:8 For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. [9] But we do see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

It is my opinion that once man has escaped from the natural light and the bondage of the Outer Court that these “other things” that has been subjected to man will be revealed. From the scriptures we see that in order to comprehend some of the “other things” put under man’s authority we have to discern the things put under the authority of Christ. Some of these things also apply to His body or those who are in a Vine-branch union with Him by Life. God will reveal these things when we are in a position to need to know. Then they are revealed in the Holy Place by the Holy Spirit.. Since this realm of authority and dominion is out of our reach while we are limited to the natural light, there is a great urgency for us to press on into the spiritual dimension of the seven Spirits of God where these “other things” will be revealed. If we are faithful in administering the “All things that are presently subjected to man” then He can open up the unknown things at that time. We must remember that when God put “all things” in subjection under man that God didn’t say EXCEPT THIS OR THAT, and since He didn’t exclude anything it means that there are other unexplored realms of authority that are ours but it is hidden at the present time. Still, in Genesis 1 God never gave man dominion over other men but over all other things. Even though it doesn’t say “except other men” it is implied since at that time there was no other men.

Since we have been kept in darkness about this God given authority “over all things on the earth”, the devil has moved freely about with no hindrance. Much of the church ministry has been emasculated by this ignorance and the result is an Outer Court people that are passively waiting for the coming of the Lord. Most have no idea that they have not fulfilled the purpose of God and are not ready for the coming of the Lord. We just cannot passively sit and wait for another generation to correct this problem.

This responsibility has fallen upon this generation of ministers. The fact is this; We cannot rule over the invisible spiritual realms from the visible, natural, intellectual realms of the outward man!

Col 1:16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created by Him and for Him.

Heb 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

All principalities and powers, all dominions, all rulers and all authorities whether they are visible or invisible were all created BY HIM AND FOR HIM. Some of these function in heavenly realms and some in earthly realms. The problem is that not all these created “dominions” are cooperating with God to get His purpose completed. In fact they are busy working against God.

The outward man is severely limited because in his natural state he can only know about the visible things. However, there is another realm of “things” that are on earth but are invisible. Even this great cloud of witnesses that are observing us are not seen by us. Included in this invisible realm are also “anti-man and anti-God” spirits that are invisible to natural man and are secretly working against man and are trying to subvert God’s purpose from being fulfilled on earth. The dilemma is that man has been given dominion over “all these things” but they are not obvious to man and the natural man ignores them because he can’t see them. This has become a great problem for the “natural church” because they don’t even believe there is this “spirit realm” that is encouraging the church to remain in the “natural realm.”

When God created man He made man with both a visible part and an invisible part. The visible part is our body and the invisible part is our spirit. Between these two there is the “soul” which is (Greek) “psuche or life.” After man sinned in Genesis 3 his spirit either died or became inoperable toward God.

The result is that man is just soul and body or he is only natural in his relationship to the earth. His knowledge is limited to the “visible creation” and to him the “invisible creation” is too mystical or maybe a fantasy of fanatical Christians. Man has become “pragmatic” in his intellect and accepts only visible proof of the invisible realms. Man in this state will deny the spiritual realms of the invisible world that surrounds us and the natural church has no power or dominion over it even though this was designed into His plan for man and is ordained by God. This is the dilemma of the “Outer Court Christian” and the “Outer Court Ministries.” As long as they remain in the natural light of the Outer Court they have no dominion over the unseen realms and wander in this “wilderness of pragmatism” until they die.

Just being “baptized with the Holy Spirit” and speaking in tongues will cause us to be aware of the unseen spiritual realms but doesn’t provide dominion over them. Why? Because the new spirit man must be developed, enlarged and matured to exercise dominion within this invisible realm. The other problem is that “dominion” is exercised at the Altar of Incense and not from the Outer Court. Man must return to God’s Sovereignty and function in this unseen spiritual realm from under the sovereignty of God. Man has no autonomous authority apart from our union with Christ. Most all communication with God is through this developed and matured spirit of man.

Trying to communicate with God or learn His will or what He is saying or discover what He is doing from the Outer Court is very discouraging. The Holy Spirit speaks and leads from this invisible realm. The question that plagues the seeker after the Kingdom is this; How do we get from here to there”

God has designed His Kingdom to function within us. [Jesus could certainly have explained this a lot more clearly but He didn’t!] In fact the Tabernacle of Moses contains the understanding for us to begin to function in this realm right now. Man is created after the pattern of the Tabernacle of Moses. Man has an “outer court” which functions in natural light which we call “body.” He has a “holy place” which we call “soul” by which man relates to either the earth, natural realm, or to the realm of the spirit. In addition to that man has a “most holy place” which we call “spirit” in which we relate to God and to the unseen realms. God dwells in the invisible realm of spirit and speaks in the spirit. Like the original Tabernacle there is a veil between the holy place and the most holy place which is identified as “flesh.” (Not in the carnal sense but in the human sense)

The principle I want to emphasize is that God rules through man in the degree that God rules in man. God’s sovereignty in man is the key to man exercising sovereignty and dominion over the invisible and the visible realms. After God establishes His Throne “in us” He wants to establish His sovereignty through us. Our lack of dominion is not because of God but because of our lack of a developed spirit through which God can rule. Also, there is our delay in coming to a full consecration and to freely give God total sovereignty within, in every area of our life.

Ministry has gotten caught up exercising “authority and expecting submission” by the congregation when God never gave us ANY dominion over another human being. We are not even operating under the sovereignty of God ourselves and the evidence is that we have no dominion over these unseen realms.

Many ministries have been standing at the Second Veil. They have not entering in to that dimension themselves but then , out of ignorance, are prohibiting the believers from entering in because they want to exercise authority over “something.” Wanting to “rule” has been created within our DNA. However, God never intended us to rule over people but over everything else in the visible and the invisible realms. Since we didn’t develop sufficiently to accomplish that, we just decided to rule over people and demand their submission to us. This is a sure way of perpetuating the eternal childhood of the believer because it is not encouraging the believers to come into a Life union with Jesus Christ.

My opinion is that we better quickly repent of this ignorance and consecrate ourselves fully to God and give Him total sovereignty so He can establish His Throne in our most holy place. God may have winked at this ignorance in the past but that time is over. It is time for every minister to move into the Kingdom of God by asking or even begging the King to move into His Throne Room within us. Trying to communicate with God from a distance is the source of much of our frustration and we now need to seek Him within, where there is no distance.

The responsibility for the eternal childhood of the believer rests squarely upon the shoulders of the ministries. The ministries have become the road block in this race and are afraid that the believers will run past them and “go over their heads.” Therefore, the ministers have become the cork in the bottle that prevents the new wine from flowing. Instead of ruling over the people, the ministers must refocus upon leading the people into this next restoration.

However, until the “ministries” develop in spirit ( inner man) and until the invisible powers know they have an adversary on earth these “ministers” are not prepared to lead the believers out of the Outer Court dimension into the next restoration. To speak of “spiritual warfare” in the Outer Court dimension is ignorant. Spiritual warfare is not yelling at the devil but exercising authority over him and causing Him to cease working in the area assigned to us.

There is a strong warning to “ministers” in Matthew 19 but it is hidden within a few words. It deals with those who make themselves “eunuchs” for the sake of the Kingdom of God. The questions deal with divorce and remarriage but Jesus’ answer goes a lot farther and deals with a spiritual issue. This focuses upon “spiritual adultery” and speaks about these “eunuchs” who make themselves “eunuchs” for the sake of the Kingdom. Some church groups take this to mean that men should remain unmarried or remain celibate if they are married. This is supposed to help men participate in the Kingdom.

Mat 19:10 The disciples said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” [11] But He said to them, “Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given. [12] “For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”

Since God ordained marriage when He set man over the kingdom of the earth, it seems apparent that here “spiritual eunuchs” are in view here rather than physical eunuchs, and relates to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Isa 56:3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will surely separate me from His people.” Neither let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” [4] For thus says the LORD, “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, [5] To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.

When it comes to ministering to the church that will become the bride it is absolutely essential that the ministers keep themselves as “spiritual eunuchs.” The eunuchs were kept by the king to watch over his wives and concubines and protect them from infiltration by other men. The eunuchs were made eunuchs just for this purpose. The work of the eunuch is revealed in several Old Testament scriptures. The eunuchs were made eunuchs so they could not impregnate their life into these women who were set apart for the king.

God is preparing a bride for His Son and is looking for those “ministers” who will make themselves eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom. That means that they will fully keep the bride for Jesus and not impregnate her with their life, opinions, philosophies, standards or try to make the bride like the “minister.” Many times the doctrines taught within the Charismatic Movement was the exact opposite of this ordinance.

2 Cor 11:2 For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. [3] But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

When we finally understand our inner arrogance and spiritual superiority and human authority that we exercised as “ministers of God” it is amazing how ignorant we are of true spiritual ministry. It is my opinion that directly following the Consecration Offering God confronts us with the Veil of Truth (reality) about Jesus. The “spiritual ministry” of the Holy Place will demand that these carnal Outer Court attitudes and spiritual superiority and carnal authority must be exposed and severely dealt with. This requires another death and the extinction of these attitudes and carnal thinking that seemed normal in the Outer Court ministry. This is all part of the trauma experienced when finally making the transition into the next restoration.

Man has many more problems that just sin or sins and these are carried over into the ministry when they are not dealt with by full consecration and by the revelation of TRUTH about who we really are. In addition to this there are all the defects of the priests that will prevent them from ministering in the Holy Place, that are revealed in Leviticus 21.

After we recognize our own casualness and shallowness, concerning our personal lives and inner attitudes, the lights come on and we “see.” Then those of us who have gone “into the ministry” understand that it is little wonder that the church is not advancing into even the spiritual dimensions provided by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Since we have not moved into these “spiritual dimensions” we have become the stumbling block to others. Suddenly we find ourselves working against God instead of with God and we think it is time to quit. That is just an excuse for not repenting and asking God to correct us and restore us to His standards of ministry for the next restoration.

Most “ministers” understand that another 10 years of ministry that are just like the last 10 years will produce nothing more that is eternal within the believers. Another seminar on marriage, or spiritual gifts, or ministry, or evangelism or women’s ministries will produce no more this time around that it did the last 10 times. 30 years ago these were “deep teaching” but produced very little in our life. Still, they tickled our ears for the time being and made us think we were growing.

Our ignorance is only exceeded by our arrogance in trying to make the bride like ourselves instead of just keeping her for Him and asking Him to build His church according to His design. Until the “ministries” get it together and move into the next dimension of restoration, the believers will continue to languish, be discouraged, disappointed and dissatisfied. Then in our arrogance we blame them because they complain. Well, we either have to blame them or take the blame ourselves.

The problem is that God may hold us responsible for corrupting the one He has betrothed to His Son by impregnating her with our own life instead of preparing her to receive His Life . If the “bride” is not ready for the glorious presentation to the Lamb, have the ministries failed? If God is holding the Five-fold Ministries responsible for the perfection of the saints, what IS the first priority for the Five-fold Ministry?

The real danger today is if the Five-fold ministries fail to enter into the next dimension of preparation, growth and development, they may prevent all those who follow them from participating in the Lampstand Church dimension of Revelation 2 and 3. This is the place He is building His Church. He will take the Church He is building to the third heaven dimension of the Most Holy Place but what if He is holding the Five-fold ministry responsible for getting the saints into the Holy Place experience? If the church He is building overcomes in the Lampstand dimension He will make them something in the Third Heaven Dimension.

These invisible realms of the Holy Place dimension are only invisible to those who are still in the Outer Court (natural light) dimensions. These invisible realms are in the New Creation Man, the New Species that exists because the Living and Abiding Word of God, the Sperma, has done it work of creating this born-again person as eternal reality within us. This Living and Abiding Word of God is Christ in us, our hope of glory.