#70476 Are We Paranoid About Coming To Maturity?

Since we focus so many meetings upon coming to harvest maturity / perfection, many people totally misunderstand our obsession with this message. In this document I will try to explain clearly why we place so much emphasis upon this one subject.

Mat 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

First, this was Jesus’ professional counsel to the multitudes when He was preaching the Sermon on the Mount. Of course many people think this it completely impossible so they reject this counsel. It is true that the natural man is helpless to fulfill this commandment. Therefore, God must have a different plan and discovering and preaching that plan IS our obsession.

Second; This was also Paul’s obsession and He was always concerned about the church staying as babes in the things of God. He had a concern even about them remaining as children and being disturbed by strange doctrines and not being able to distinguish between true ministers and imposters. He was always seeking to share more and more revelation with them but found they were not mature enough to understand the mysteries. However, he said he did share deeper things with the mature and that also is our goal.

1Cor 2:6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory;

Speaking “God’s wisdom in a mystery” is the method of this ministry but that is the very reason the immature cannot understand this mysterious Wisdom of God. Surely, that means that the mature must develop some inner ability to comprehend these mysteries because that was part of God’s predestined plan for the church! Understanding these mysteries is part of the glory of the church that is beyond any intellectual ability the world system can develop. Then what IS the basis of this ability that is not available to the natural man? Even though this may appear to be quite involved and complicated it really very simple. Paul says it all revolves one principle which is “Christ in you the hope of glory.”

The confusing aspect in all this is the lack of clarity between the Eternal Christ and the Man, Christ Jesus. We know Jesus was born of the Divine Sperma 2000 years ago and this Divine Sperma IS the Living and Abiding Word of God, which is the Spirit of Christ. This same Spirit of Christ was also in the Old Testament prophets.

1Pet 1:10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry, 11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things into which angels long to look.

Today, when we consider Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus we know that there is no difference between Jesus and Christ, the Living and Abiding Word of God. Why? They have become one and the same. The Sperma that conceived Jesus has come to Harvest Maturity and now there is no difference. The “seed planted”, the Sperma, has come to full growth. What is attributed to one is also attributed to the other. This is the confusing part of making sense of this concept of the pre-existence of Jesus and His part in the creation of all things. When we read Colossians 1 and Philippians 2 it seems clear that Paul is just speaking about Jesus, the first born of all creation, though whom all things were created. In Genesis we know that God spoke His Word and the worlds were formed. We know that through the Word of God all things were created. However, in these two chapters there is little question that Paul is speaking about Jesus, the man! Since our theme is focused upon coming to Harvest Maturity we should attempt to settle this conflict the best we can.

Col 1:13 For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. 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. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Philip 2:5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

In these verses it seems clear that Jesus was pre-existent and with the Father before the incarnation. He then emptied Himself of glory and took on the form of a man and was obedient to the Father even unto death on a cross. Now God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name above every other name. Now Jesus has become Lord.

It is from verses like these that we get the doctrine that Jesus is God and is the original Creator of all things. The logical interpretation then is; there is only Jesus who appears at different times with different names and He is God. To make the Bible absolute that there is but one God then it must follow that the Father is Jesus, the Word is Jesus and the Holy Spirit is Jesus. Then the SON is also the Father.

All this seems very confused also when we try to fit this concept into all the other scriptures dealing with His birth and growth and ministry. It is also difficult to understand how God, who is eternal Life, could die for our sins when we learn that by MAN came death so by MAN must come resurrection. It is obvious that the MAN, Christ Jesus, must be genuine MAN to fulfill the scriptures and complete the commission given to first Adam. For God to be called the Last Adam seems confused. If Jesus IS God but has now gone to be with the Father, how is it that He could be an example for us or how could we, just regular man, do greater works than God?

Our theme is still about each of us coming to Harvest Maturity. Why? Because the end time is the harvest and the First Fruits, who mature before the rest, are gathered in from the field first.

Col 1:21 And you, who were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish, and without charge in His sight, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith grounded and settled, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard and which was proclaimed in all the creation under Heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister,

Col 1:27 For to them God would make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, 28 whom we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, so that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 For which I also labor, striving according to the working of Him who works in me in power.

We still insist that “Christ in you” is NOT Jesus in you. Why? Because the Man, Christ Jesus, is at the right hand of God. Eleven verses confirm this Truth. Since “the eternal Christ” is the living and abiding Word of God, the Sperma of God Almighty, this whole plan of perfection or harvest stage maturity is dependent upon this one eternal principle which IS Christ in you, the hope of Glory! If we ignore this eternal principle none of the demands of the Kingdom are possible to fulfill nor is the corporate witness of a manifested Christian Life possible. Why? Because all this is dependent upon the provision of Christ in you. This same “Christ” that is in us is the exact same “Christ” that was in Jesus. We should not confuse this with Jesus, the Jewish “Messiah, Christ, the anointed One” but “Christ” the Living and Abiding Word of God.

In much of the church today this verse is just another cliche or a verse to read before a message so they can preach on something quite different. These verses in Colossians 1 are treated as cliches rather than revelations of God’s purpose and the solution to the natural man. Paul is revealing the plan of God to bring us into His eternal Purpose so we can bring joy to His heart. To be “Perfect as your heavenly Father is Perfect” is only possible if we stick faithfully to God’s provision. All this depends completely upon our receiving the Sperma of God, a real conception of a new species takes place, and the new inner man is permitted to grow to harvest maturity. Harvest Maturity is synonymous with Perfection. Paul measured his success in ministry by whether the saints developed into full grown sons of God. If this was not happening, Paul felt that he had failed, wasted his time and produced nothing eternal.

Phip 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings, 15 so that you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. Among these you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding forth the Word of Life, so that I may rejoice with you in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain nor labored in vain.

It was probably in the Third Heaven that Paul got the revelation that the ministries that were officially chosen, anointed, ordained, and assigned from that exalted position by Jesus Christ were appointed for the specific purpose of bringing the saints to this target goal of perfection or harvest maturity.

Eph 4:9 (Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is the same also as He who ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.) 11 And truly He gave some to be apostles, and some to be prophets, and some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

Eph 4:12 for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. 13 And this until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full-grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 so that we no longer may be infants, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, in the dishonesty of men, in cunning craftiness, to the wiles of deceit.

There is little doubt and it is visibly obvious that it is the maturity and growth of the church that protects it from all the greed and dishonesty that is rampant in the religious world today. Today it is disturbing how boldly and unafraid the ministries are to deceive and lie to congregations just to deliberately mislead them into giving to their “ministry.”

Underdeveloped and ignorant “believers” are evidently easy to deceive and betray over and over again. Therefore, growth and maturity is the best protection for the believers who should know within themselves the ways of God and be able to expose the lies and proclaim the truth. This maturity is the heritage, security and protection of ALL the children of God and is the exact reason Christ Jesus has set mature, priesthood ministries (Holy Place ministries of Apostles etc) in the church He is building. It is for the “perfecting of the saints so the saints will grow up and mature and do the work of ministry.” If this is NOT happening it is the “ministries” that have failed. Paul boldly said that if I fail in this I have run in vain.

Since these “ministries” are specifically chosen for the “perfecting of the saints” it is obvious that their work starts from the very beginning of the Outer Court preparation (winning souls) to and completing the 7^th Outer Court experience of the Consecration Offering. This we can call “outer court perfection / maturity” but this is NOT Harvest Maturity.

After the saints pass through the Second Veil there is no more ministry by men that is necessary. In the Holy Place dimension they have no need for men to teach them because they shall all be taught by God. Also in that realm the abiding, inner anointing teaches All things. Since the Holy Place Life and Ministry is that of the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek, the High Priest is responsible for the training of the priests and those of the Lampstand Church who then become the candidates for ministry. It is for that reason that we see the High Priest walking among the seven golden Lampstands disciplining, warning, teaching and threatening the candidates. Why? Because there is not much room for error in that dimension allowed! This is seen in the experience of Nadab and Abihu when they burnt strange fire before the Lord and the fire of God destroyed them.

Maturity, Priesthood and Lampstand, then, is related to God’s Kingdom, which is related to God’s Eternal Purpose and that is related to the World yet to come. It is for this reason that the focus upon perfection or harvest maturity will NOT be ignored by the priesthood ministries that He appoints in the church He is building. Why? Because this is also His burden. We must not share, preach or imply that Harvest Perfection is optional. Why? Because the end time IS the harvest.

Mat 13:36 Then He left the multitudes, and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37 And He answered and said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

Because the Harvest IS the end of the age, the “harvest maturity and the harvest of the first fruits” is fundamental elements, purpose and focus of the end of the age. Each of the three main feasts were all harvest feasts. The gathering in of the three harvests along with the gathering of the first fruits of the first two harvests were the focus of these seven Feasts of the Lord. These were called the appointed times of the Lord. These “feasts” were explanations of the end times. The End Time IS THE FINAL HARVEST.

If the end time Harvest follows the pattern of the Seven Feasts which are the appointed times of the Lord it would indicate that the final harvest will be in three parts. We have identified this as (1) The first Fruits (2) The Main Harvest and (3) the Gleanings.

Therefore, when we speak about Harvest Maturity we are referring first to the “First Fruit Harvest” and if we are not ready for that “harvest” before the great Tribulation then we MUST be ready for the Main Harvest in the middle of the Great Tribulation. The only other choice is the gathering in of the Gleanings at the end of the Great Tribulation. Our counsel is to be ready BEFORE the Great Tribulation and that is why we are obsessed with this message of “Harvest Maturity.”

Now, you may think this really does not adequately explain the pre-existence of Jesus or the Eternal Christ or why the church is called the Body of Christ instead of the Body of Jesus. We learn that Christ is the Head of the Church and also that Jesus is Head of the body so which one is correct? This is speaking on the One Eternal Being or Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, who is also a man like us. However, He is of a different species than first Adam because He was born of the Sperma of God and not by the will of the flesh. He was made perfect / mature / complete. Our hope of sharing in His Glory is simply by being born of the exact same Sperma and then growing up in ALL things into Christ who IS the Head.

It is NOT POSSIBLE to separate Christ, the Living and Abiding Word of God from the Man, Christ Jesus, who is at the Right Hand of God. Why? They ( man and Sperma) are both from one Father and have grown into one Eternal Person. He is also our example how we can grow up into Him. To be the body of the High Priest will mean that we have passed through the Outer Court perfection and are now Growing up into Our High Priest to become His body. If my speculation is true then becoming Priests after the Order of Melchizedek is our highest priority. Of course coming to the perfection of the Outer Course must be our immediate goal.

Since they (man and Sperma) are ONE what is attributed to one is also attributed to the other and many times Paul makes no difference. John clearly saw that the Eternal Word of God who IS GOD became flesh and dwelt among us. The Man, Christ Jesus, was the visible result but now in resurrection His normal state is in the invisible realm of the Living and Abiding Word of God. We know very little about that invisible realm and any explanation sounds rather silly. Nevertheless, When Jesus comes on His big white horse His name is now called “THE WORD OF GOD.” Why? That was the seed that was planted but then came to Harvest Maturity! This same seed is, “Christ,” is our hope of Glory.