THIS HOLY SPIRIT - 5

THE BAPTISM, INFILLING AND SEAL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

In Acts 2, we know how it was recorded that the disciples were gathered together according to the instructions of our Lord Jesus Christ, of which at the end they received the Holy Spirit as promised.

The Holy Spirit's first entrance into the body of man was this day. He came fully on day of Pentecost. By this, we mean that the Holy Spirit had been on earth prior to that day. Remember how that Jesus Christ himself was full of the Holy Ghost, and how he said to his disciples "receive ye the Holy Ghost...", when he had not yet been crucified.

The Holy Spirit as we have discussed in previous lessons, is the third form God would take, to complete the whole plan of redemption - the eternal counsel. God became the Holy Spirit to perform certain assignments as regards the establishment of his Kingdom. So the aim of God giving us his spirit is in line with this.

Jesus Christ, being the firstborn among many brethren, was first to house the Holy Ghost. By "house" , we refer to the indwelling of the Spirit in the mortal body. The book of Acts says "he went about doing good" as a result. This refers to the contributions of Christ to the establishment of the Kingdom. The Holy Spirit is not for show, it is given for this purpose.

Concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit, that was what happened in the upper room on the day of Pentecost. It is the "coming" of the Holy Ghost with signs. Baptism means immersion, so it means the disciples were immersed in the Holy Ghost and they became one spirit with him. This is also a moment where one is exposed to the activation of the gifts of the spirit. One common gift during baptism is the gift of tongues. The day you are baptised in the Holy Ghost is not necessarily the day you receive the Holy Ghost. You receive the Holy Spirit at salvation, not at baptism. We will get this more clearer as we proceed.

The baptism of the Holy Ghost is important in the life of the believer. It is actually the baptism that applies strictly to believers, not water baptism. The baptism can be administered by another believer who is already baptized, or prayed for. It is not necessary that the believer is a pastor or preacher. The baptism of the Holy Spirit results into the gifts and constant fellowship of the Holy Spirit. It makes you more sensitive and yielded.

The Holy Spirit cannot be measured, as some have erroneously taught. In the OT, or we say before the death of Christ, people do receive the spirit with measure...people receive the spirit of God at different rates and volume. This "spirit of God" which is measured to them at those times is not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who is same as God, never dwelled in the OT prophets. The believers were first to receive the Holy Spirit. And they didn't receive it by measure. Jesus Christ being our first born was first to receive him.

John narrated and said "For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God GIVETH NOT THE SPIRIT BY MEASURE UNTO HIM.  The Father loveth the Son, and hath given ALL THINGS into his hand"

So when you see the "spirit of God" in the OT, they are with measure. You remember that God took this spirit (in Moses) and divided it among 70 elders of Israel. This is not the same as the Holy Spirit in us today. The Holy Spirit in us is for the adoption of sons. He is our connection back to the Godhead.

When exactly did a believer receive the Holy Spirit?

AT SALVATION!

Paul said "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also AFTER THAT YE BELIEVED, ye were SEALED with that holy Spirit of promise"

The day you believe in the finished works of the cross is the day you got saved and it is the same day you received the Holy Spirit. You didn't only receive him, you were sealed by him. God sealed you as his own, you have been owned forever. The presence of the Holy Spirit in you is the evidence that you are of God. It is God's eternal signature on you. Whether you feel it or not, if you are saved, you have received the Holy Spirit.

You want Gifts? Then be baptized. How? Let someone administer that or you pray for it.

You want fruits? Then continue to fellowship with him. The fruits of the spirit is not your doing. Fruits grow automatically from trees, you don't force them out. Just water the trees. Your intimacy with the Holy Spirit is required for your great exploits in the Kingdom. Only those who have the Spirit are His and can live forever with him.

Remember, if you are saved, you already have the Holy Spirit and you have been Sealed by him forever and forever!

God bless you!

THIS HOLY SPIRIT - 4

PRAYING WITH HOLY GHOST FIRE IS AN ERROR

Some of the unfortunate and ungodly abuse against the person of the Holy Spirit is the use of "Holy Ghost Fire" in warfare prayers. Some men of God have devised some other means by which they can reach God in prayers aside through Christ, and one of it is the use of this Holy Ghost Fire.

Whenever such people want to pray, they call on "the Holy Ghost fire" instead of the NAME OF JESUS Christ. For it is clearly written in the epistles how that we as believers are authorized to use ONLY the name of Jesus Christ in prayers. Every other name will not work.

In the book of Acts, Peter said there is no other name given under heaven to be saved. In the epistles, Paul said, at the name of Jesus, every knee must bow. In fact, Jesus Christ himself was first to declare the power and authenticity of the use of his name. That whatever we ask in his name, we will receive.

All these things point to one thing: That if you pray through any other name or means, you are praying wrongly, and you will not get the right result. In fact, it is one of the reasons why, many prayers seem unanswered to many people. The only authorized access through which our prayers must reach the Father is through the Son, Jesus Christ.

Why is this so?

This is because, the mediator between God and man, is Christ Jesus. We were accepted in him and in him only. Outside of Christ, we are miserable. There is no amount of boycotting, it will not work. The only and authorized approach is through Christ Jesus, he is the bridge between heaven and earth. So when we pray, we should only do that by his name. We don't pray by the name of the Holy Ghost. It is an error to do so. It is like fetching water into a basket.

What then is the role of the Holy Spirit in prayers?

Romans 8:26, Paul revealed to us that "the spirit also help our infirmities: For we know not what we should pray for as we ought: But the spirit itself MAKETH INTERCESSION FOR US with groanings which cannot be uttered."....because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God"

It is therefore clear, that the Holy Spirit cannot be prayed to, let-alone  the Holy Ghost fire. He is the one who do restructure our prayers according to the will of God. The Holy Spirit in us has that sole mission during prayers. We can only pray by the name of Jesus Christ, other name, no other means. We then leave the rest for the Spirit to handle.

It is an ignorance of the higher degree to pray by calling the name of Holy Spirit or pray to him. Except you want to fellowship with him or that you want to converse with him. It is an ignorance of the highest order to pray with the Holy Ghost fire. The Holy Ghost fire is not meant for burning enemies. This fire (which we believe is of the Holy Ghost) is for believers not enemies. This fire must follow your baptism of the Holy Spirit. This fire makes you burn for the things of God. It sets your heart on fire and makes you zealous for the work of the kingdom of heaven. It is not a fire, that you need to call upon or send on errand to destroy your enemies.

Matthew 3:12...and shall baptize you with Holy Ghost and Fire!!!

It is you who need the HOLY GHOST fire, not your enemies!!! You!

Amen.

THIS HOLY SPIRIT - 3

‘THE LIVING WATER – WHAT DOES JESUS MEAN?’

In the gospel of John chapter four, Jesus had a discourse with a Samaritan woman and during this discourse; he mentioned a living water which he would give. We shall look closely at the discussions between them, which will also help us to understand another function or role of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers.

When God made the first man, he made him a spirit being. Man was in cordial relationship with God. God made man to rule and dominate the earth realm as he dominates the heavenly realm. God had to be in constant connection with man in order to relate his counsel to him and in order for him to function exactly like him. Then Adam lost it all. He lost this relationship. The spirit of man died, he became controlled by his mind. His control faculty became his senses. He no longer receives constant communication from his creator. This birthed religion.

In lieu of this, Jesus proposed a solution of the living water in his discussion with the Samaritan woman:

Now, in John Chapter 4… (words in brackets are mine)

1-2: The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.

3-4: When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria.

5-8: So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" …His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.

9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" …For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.

10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew THE GIFT OF GOD and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you LIVING WATER."

(This is what we have discussed in lesson one; the confusion about the identity of Jesus has caused religion to thrive. So the knowledge of Christ and the knowledge of the Holy Spirit is very important)

11-12 "Sir," the woman said, "You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?"

13-15 Jesus answered, "EVERYONE WHO DRINKS THIS WATER WILL BE THIRSTY AGAIN, BUT WHOEVER DRINKS THE WATER I GIVE HIM WILL NEVER THIRST. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to ETERNAL LIFE." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."

Clearly we see how that the woman is confused about the statement of Jesus Christ on the living water. Jesus Christ was simply referring to the reception of the Holy Spirit. When he said “everyone who drinks will never thirst”, he meant that, this Holy Spirit is an eternal satisfaction to the thirst of man for God.

After the fall of man, the Spirit of God left man. There was a breach in relationship as we have said in the first paragraph, and ever since then, man has wanted to return back to their position in the Godhead. Man has had a desperate longing for God.  Man has had a very deep thirst for the divine, the glory they lost.

This thirst was what Jesus Christ was referring to. That this Holy Spirit is the water that can satisfy the thirst of humanity. That this Holy Spirit is the living water that will never run dry in the life of anyone who drinks it. This Holy Spirit is the eternal answer to world’s problem. This Holy spirit is the solution to the long time quest.

How do we know? See it again John 7:38-39

“Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this HE MEANT THE SPIRIT, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

The Holy Spirit is the living water, water that can never run dry.

This is telling you and I that, what we actually need in this life is the Holy Spirit. He is all we need. If he is God, and he is the solution to the dryness in the life of man, then he is all we need and all  we should seek to have in us.

Amen.

THIS HOLY SPIRIT - 2

‘THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD’

In the narration of the birth of Jesus Christ, it was recorded that the angel of the Lord, visited Mary and gave her some good news which at first was strange to her. This good news was that she will be pregnant with a baby that will change the course and destiny of the fallen man. She will bear the baby Jesus in her womb, but how will it be? She asked in curiosity, and the angel gave her a reply which was not so clear to her, she found it difficult to believe that 'a Holy Spirit' will come upon her and then she will be pregnant.

We all know the end of this story, that the Holy Spirit truly came upon this virgin and she became pregnant with  a baby. This baby was Jesus (meaning the savior) and Christ (meaning the anointed one).

Now, why are we telling this story?

In our study of the Word of God, we have discovered how that Jesus was both God and man. The bible made us understand in the book of John that, he was in the beginning with God, and that all things were created by him, and in fact, that he (the Word) is God himself. John went further to tell us how this Word who is God himself became Flesh and dwelled on this earth as Jesus Christ, but many people did not know it. They took him for an ordinary man just like everyone else.

And in the book of Philippians, we have it spelt out more clearly, that God left his throne to become Jesus Christ. This again confirms the deity of Jesus Christ as God himself.

So, if Jesus Christ was born of the Holy Spirit coming upon the virgin, then it means the Holy Spirit birthed Jesus Christ. By implication, the Holy Spirit and the Father are the same!

The Holy Spirit is therefore God!

Let’s get this very clear…

God is not three persons. God is just one person! The ELOHIM…

The confusion of the understanding of the three:  Father, Son and the Holy Spirit is a very major controversy, I agree, and I do not intend to delve into that theology here. It is the first argument ever to spring up after the death of the apostles; it is exactly the argument that caused the great schism – the first division in the church in the early 1000s.

The Holy Spirit has been relegated to be the ‘third’ person in the trinity. Although this is true by dispensation, however ‘third’ does not refer to the position as in hierarchy at all. The Holy Spirit is not the third person in command. He is not the next person after Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is not less important than the Father and the Word. The Holy Spirit is the same as the Word, and the same as the Father.

The confusion of the trinity is a result of many statement and occurrences in the bible where the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit were manifested distinctly. For example, in the story of the baptism of Jesus Christ. We have the Father speaking from heaven, as the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, with Jesus inside the water. So people use cases like this to differentiate between these three, and get confused again when Jesus say that to Philip that he sees him, he has seen the Father!

What then is the mystery? Why do we say that the Holy Spirit is not inferior? Why do we say that the Holy Spirit is God?

This is because, God is one!

The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit is the name of the three offices or functions of God to humanity! 

That God is the Father when he needed to be, that he became the Son to perform another function or task, and that he became the Holy Spirit to perform another function. One God splitted himself into three major Functions.  Hope you get it?

To avoid arguments and to stick with sound doctrine, we will not go deeper than that.

These three are functions, the Father must send the Son to the earth realm to redeem, the Son must be filled with the Holy Spirit to successfully complete this task. The Holy Spirit must then seal those who were redeemed thereafter, for proper identification and connection with the Godhead.

All these are the functions, roles and offices that are necessary for the fulfillment of the eternal counsel of God.

God is one!

God is not three!

The Holy Spirit is God!

Don’t ever take him for a wind; he is not a wind, neither a breeze!

Although the Holy Spirit has taken up several forms; like wind, breeze, dove, fire etc. But these does not make him any of these things. He became those things at those times to perform certain tasks.

Remember that Peter made Ananias to understand that they lied against the Holy Spirit? If you check well, he again said they lied against God. So, the Holy Spirit is God!

You believe that God is a Spirit? Then that Spirit is same as the Spirit that is you!

Amen.

THIS HOLY SPIRIT - 1

“THE CONFUSION OF IDENTITY”

The Holy Spirit has been mistaken for many things today in the body of Christ. Some have taken the Holy Spirit to be a breeze or a wind, some say it is a dove, some say it is the spirit of God. Howbeit, one of the keys to enjoying life of the faith in Jesus Christ is the proper knowledge of whom the Holy Spirit is.

Jesus talking in Mathew chapter 19, asked his disciples…”whom do men say that I am?” they said some say he is Elijah, some say he is Jeremiah, some say he is John the Baptist, some say he is one of the prophets…the disciples gave Jesus Christ the up-to-date information of what people on the streets call him. However, he knew that the problem about his identity has its wings on the ignorance of the disciples themselves. That is, if the disciples know whom he is, then the people on the streets would also come to knowledge in due time. The ‘knowledge of who he is’ was Jesus’ main challenge during his earthy life. Because he was born in a manger, and born in a carpenter’s house, it was very difficult for people to agree that he is actually the Christ, and the Messiah.

So Jesus wanted the disciples to come this knowledge and understanding first, then they can transfer same knowledge to the people, because he would soon be crucified. Then he directed his question about his identity to his disciples….he asked them “now, who do you say that I am”? That is, if the other people are having uncertainty about my identity, then what about you, what do you think of me?

Peter then replied him “You are Christ, the Son of the Living God!” and that settles it!

Jesus was pleased that day because, Peter was not confused about his identity. Although there was no information about others, but we know that Jesus was no longer bothered about it, and so he blessed Peter, and we are sure that through Peter’s statement, the knowledge of whom Jesus is, was made known to others, and extended to the streets.

What Jesus experienced during his time is being repeated today. There is confusion in the streets about whom the Holy Spirit is. And this confusion came to be as a result of the ignorance and inadequate knowledge of those who are believers. If the believers are not confused about the identity of the Holy Spirit, then his identity will be properly communicated to the people out there.

And it is a great disaster to the advancement of the kingdom. Because the kingdom of God is governed by this Holy Spirit, and without an adequate knowledge of whom he is, you are joking as far as the Kingdom of God is concerned.

This confusion about the identity of the Holy Spirit is exactly what we want to address in this series of teaching. But before we deeply consider some of these things, let me just inform you that:

The Holy Spirit is not a Wind!

The Holy Spirit is not a Dove!

The Holy Spirit is not a Ghost! – Holy Ghost is the best way the interpreters of the Old King James Bible could put it. It doesn't really mean a ghost. We will look into this later!

The Holy Spirit is not even the “third person ” in the Trinity as in the case of hierarchy. 

The Holy Spirit is not a goose bumps activator! When you feel goose bumps on your skin, dont always think it is the Holy Spirit. This is too ridiculous!

The Holy Spirit is God! Yes! God, the creator of the heavens and the earth is the Holy Spirit!

You will understand better when you read through the next lesson.

Amen.

IMPORTANT MATTERS ABOUT THE CHURCH - 6

WHERE WE ARE MISSING IT

The truth remains that the Church of Christ is advancing every day and night, we are improving physically and spiritually. We are in the era of Sons, so it is expected that we experience manifestations greater than the days of Old. However, we still must not shy away from the fact that we are missing it seriously in few areas. That is why we are where we are today. The very essence of Christ's lifetime on earth has been mistaken for a religious adventure because of what the body of Christ has become. Jesus Christ would have not been mistaken to be a religious leader if we had continued with the pattern laid down by the apostles in the early church. When you read history on how many of the religions we have today started, you will understand what I mean.

So, the serpent came deceiving Eve again. We have been believing lies and swallowing deception as food for many years. Our unity is being questioned day by day by even unbelievers. Who can boast now, that the church is united? Even as I make these things known here, some people are angry with it. And we are supposed to be brethren sharing a common love in Christ Jesus our Lord. There have been too many rifts and conflicts, the serpent caused it.

Don't forget that the fruit that was eaten by Adam and Eve caused them to loose comfort and pleasure. The repercussions were just too difficult to bear. "falling short" of the glory of God is not a mere loss. So also is the replay we have today. The Church has been eating from the serpent and it has caused the Church to loose her power and authority. We can challenge evil face to face again in the public, how can we have numerous denominations in a nation and evil still thrives?

Many people gather together at various "church centres" to seek for what was made 100% available at redemption. Funny isn't it? But it is also excruciating. That you have billions of dollars in your bank account and you still go begging for money! That is just how the poison of the forbidden fruit has robbed the church. We have wallowed in ignorance because we swam for long in deceit. Good knowledge births good results, so because we have no sound doctrine, we suffer the loss. In the NT, the move of God was evident in the Church simply because they feed on the right meal of the word and they were fellowshipping together in spirit and in truth. There were many flow of gifts of the spirit and there was great increase in those who believe the gospel. Signs and wonders never ceased to be wrought, it was just too cheap in those days. This is because they were doing the right thing and they are in the right relationship with each other. And there is just one greatest factor responsible for all these beautiful things among them, that is UNITY!

You see, that is just where I am going. That is where we are missing it. We have lost unity and without it, we will continue to struggle with God's plan for the world through us.

It is because the Church was not united, that made Islam and other religions to be trending even after GOD HIMSELF CAME, WALKING ON THIS EARTH. We disappointed God. See what Turkey had become today, the 99% muslim nation was once a missionary ground for Apostle Paul.

It is because the Church is not united, that is why we have many thousands of DENOMINATIONS today. And every of this denomination claim to be the true denomination. Their founders had found fault with their previous denomination, then they started their own. So a competition is inevitable. 

You hear and see adverts on the media telling people that, it is only in their denomination that they can receive this and that. We took the bride of Christ, and sliced it into thousands of different parts. Isn't that horrible?

Let me call your attention to the fact that, this has been happening even when Paul and others were on this earth, but they fought it very hard. They were able to cub certain of these unpleasant attitudes and they preached unity and oneness every time. Remember when some people wanted to start denominations with Paul and Apollos? Some said "WE ARE FOR PAUL, ANOTHER SET SAID WE ARE FOR APOLLO" That was when denominations could have begun, but Paul shunned that nonsense immediately. Along the line, the serpent came again tempting the Church, but there was no more "Paul", but Catholic priests who were void of proper understanding, hence the great schism that birthed the Orthodox Church in 1043.

Well, that is where we are missing it. Jesus said "a kingdom divided against itself shall not stand", that's just how foolish we have being. Our role in the eternal plan of God is to establish his Kingdom, but we are divided. Tell me, how do we succeed?

So some people are waiting for rapture (I laugh) and I wonder if you will just allow the sacrifice of Christ to be in vain. Check the statistics of believers against unbelievers on Google, you will be surprised at how very slow the advancement of the Kingdom had been. All we are doing is building BIG AUDITORIUMS and STARTING BRANCHES and DENOMINATIONS. Some of you can die because of your denomination.

Let every man or woman with adequate understanding, know this: That Christ will not come until the GLORIOUS CHURCH is ready. The readiness starts with you and I. That is my submission, that is my cry, that everyone of us will grow to understand this. And I am very sure, that is what Christ is also expecting from us all. Christ love the Church, let us love him back!

God help us!

IMPORTANT MATTERS ABOUT THE CHURCH - 5

ADAM, EVE AND THE SERPENT REPLAY?

Well, we all know the popular story of what happened in the garden of Eden. How the serpent deceived Eve, and how Eve gave the fruit to Adam.

The account in the garden of Eden, is more prophetic and figurative than real. That's why geographers are still in confusion of where this garden is located till date. It is important to know that this was a narrative from an angel to Moses, it was the only narrative whose characters were never seen by any man. The word "Eden" as used by the angel means a place of delight and pleasure. So I can say now that I am in my Eden typing this. In fact, the garden of Eden was used to describe the environs of the Joel army in Joel 2. Asides this, the garden of Eden was made by God himself according to the book of genesis. Now, there is a typology of Eden, Adam, Eve, the trees and the serpent in the New Testament and we could clearly grasp the message of God in putting up the story in the book of the beginnings.

Now, we already know that Jesus the Christ is the Adam of the NT. He was born of God and he started a new generation of God's sons and daughters. He is the first man after this order.

Also, Eve is the typology of the Church, being the wife of Adam. The Church of Christ is referred to as the bride of Christ many times in the bible, even Jesus once told a parable of the bridegroom and the virgins. So the Church is the bride of Christ which is married to Christ eternally upon salvation.

However all these terms "bride", "bridegroom", "marriage" etc are not to be taken in their literal senses. They are the best choice of words the writers could use for proper description.

Now, the tree of life is a symbol of Jesus Christ. Well, we know that in this tree was kept the eternal life. And by the revelation of the Spirit of God, we know that eternal life can only found in Jesus Christ. That's why John said "And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. " Good!

Dear reader, the question that comes to mind now is, who and where is the serpent?

Now, follow closely...I will show you whom the serpent is and how the serpent has been deceiving Eve again. Since this is more of a deeper revelation, I will try as much as possible to fashion it correctly in a simple manner, with references.

Remember that the serpent is said to be the most cunning or subtil beast according to genesis. The word beast tells us that the serpent is more than the kind of snake that you imagine. The word "beast" is the Hebrew word "chay" which actually means a living creature. That gives us a little light on the nature of the serpent. So the serpent is not necessarily a snake!

So what is then the serpent?

Now, in Revelation 12, we see how that Satan was referred to as a serpent. In fact, Satan was said to be a very old serpent. "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world..."

It is interesting to know that the word "serpent" in the general sense in most cases is used in the bible to describe a creature with wisdom or smartness. That is just why Satan was called a serpent, not that he is a snake or that he is the only serpent.

Jesus was also referred to as a serpent. He said in the gospel according to John to Nicodemus "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. ", It then means that the brass serpent raised up on the pole for the people of Israel in the OT, was a typology of Jesus Christ. The biting they suffered from the fiery serpents was a typology of deception which led to death.

Ok, let me show you again...

In Matthew 10:16, Jesus said "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore WISE AS SERPENTS, and harmless as doves." You see that? SERPENTS ARE WISE CREATURES!!!

But since our goal in this lesson is to show us that the same kind of scenario between the serpent and Eve in Eden, is found on replay today, let us therefore see to that. Now, Eden symbolizes the Kingdom of God. And by this we mean, the Church is being deceived by the Serpent, even in the Kingdom of God.

Paul saw this and said..."Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents." 1 Cor 10:9. He also said in 2 Cor 12:3 "But I fear, lest by any means, AS THE SERPENTS BEGUILED EVE THROUGH HIS SUBTILTY, SO YOUR MINDS SHOULD BE CORRUPTED from the simplicity that is in Christ." How does Paul mean? He went further to say "For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him"

So now who is the serpent? They are many!

The serpents are those who TEACH OR PREACH FALSEHOOD OR DOCTRINES AGAINST THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. They are false teachers! They are mostly legalistic in nature; they are sound and full of cunning ways.

Even before Paul, Jesus was first to identify them in Matthew 24, that the elect could easily be deceived by them.

Jesus condemned them himself, he said "Ye SERPENTS, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?"

Peter also saw them in the Church, he called them brute beasts!

They crept into the Church and were deceiving people with false doctrines. They perverted the gospel of Christ and mixed it with many things that were passed down to many generations, even till today. 

These serpents were using the same tactics as used by the old one in the garden of Eden. They do present their own version of God's word to the Church, and the Church, which is vulnerable always fall for it. Just the way Eve was vulnerable, the serpent never deceived Adam, but Eve.

Miracles, signs and wonders among many others ceased because of these things. The unity of the Church became affected. The Church suffered and she is still suffering from this great havoc. The great schism of 1043 was another big blow. And that's how doctrinal issues divided the Church into pieces, till we now have more than 70,000 denominations in the world. ALL OF THEM WITH DIFFERENT DOCTRINE, claiming to be the true church. It is the work of the serpent.

But saviors are risen, the last army, and we will bring serious war upon these serpents and flush away their ancient venom from among God's people. Then, we shall see the GLORIOUS CHURCH OF CHRIST in white robes united in love!!!

Amen.