Romans 1:1

 

Παῦλος δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ, κλητὸς ἀπόστολος, ἀφωρισµένος εἰς εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ,

 

Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus called [to be] an apostle through having been appointed because of [remote meaning: giving the reason for his appointment] the gospel [to communicate the good news of the gospel and the spiritual life] from God [ablative of source].

 

Paul means little and the perfect name for a person who understood the love of God and that he had no rights before God. He understood that that Jesus Christ is the ruler of the church as per Ephesians 1:22, “And He put all things (fallen angels) into subjection under his feet and gave Him head over all things with reference to the church.” Paul recognized that Jesus Christ was the ruler of the church universal and oriented to this authority structure “Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus.” By using this term, he recognised that as a mature believer he had no rights. Paul was a slave and being a slave, it was the responsibility of God to provide everything he needed by way of logistical grace.

 

The rest of this verse indicates that it was a judgment call on the part of God which resulted in Paul becoming the twelfth apostle.

 

The Greek word, apostolos (apostle) is an Attic Greek word which was already 500 years old when used in the New Testament.  First, it was used for the highest naval admiral in command of the Athenian fleet and the army in time of war. These men were chosen by a special council and were given absolute authority. This would be equivalent to the authority given to the twelve apostles sent to evangelize the unbelievers of Israel and to the twelve apostles commissioned in the Church Age for the primary function of evangelizing, establishing Churches and writing the New Testament Canon. Regarding its secondary meaning, the Athenian government would delegate authority to a person for the purpose of governing an Athenian colony.  This new governor of the colony was called an apostolos as well. Paul, for example, delegated authority to many pioneer missionaries that they might have the necessary power to execute their responsibilities.  Therefore, both uses of this word are found in the New Testament.   

 

Who were the apostles to the Lost Sheep of Israel?

 

Jesus had approximately 5000 disciples at one point in his ministry.  Out of these disciples only a small number would be promoted to the position of apostleship. Jesus realizing that he needed to promote some of his students to apostleship went up to a mountain and prayed all night regarding this matter.  The next morning, he came down with a promotion list. Twelve disciples were promoted to the temporary rank of apostleship.  It was temporary since they would hold this position until 30 A.D. when the Church Age would begin.  As believers taught by Christ himself, their responsibility was to give the gospel to the “Lost Sheep of the House of Israel”.  

 

“And it was at this time that he went off to the mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. When he returned, he called his disciples (approximately five thousand) to him and chose twelve from among them whom he named his apostles [to the lost sheep of Israel]: Simon whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; Philip and Bartholomew and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor.”  (Luke 6:12-16)

 

What was their responsibility? Jesus gave these twelve the authority and responsibility to evangelize the unbelievers of Israel (Matthew 10:5, 6) and to announce that the rule of the Messiah was coming nearer (Matthew 10:7).  They were given the gift of healing sickness and diseases and to cast out demons to identify themselves as the Lord’s apostles as per Matthew 10:1. (Their sensational gifts of healing and miracles were never designed to remove suffering.  If so, they would have healed all and performed miracles to benefit all, but they didn’t.)  These gifts of healing and miracles were designed to gain an audience and then to give those in the audience the gospel message.     

 

Who were the apostles in the early church?   

 

In the Church Age in order to become an apostle, one had to see the resurrected Christ.  “One of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection” (Acts 1:22).  The resurrected Christ appeared to the eleven disciples, and to Paul conferring on them the permanent rank of apostleship in the Church Age. “And that he appeared to Cephas (Peter) then to the twelve (the twelve is a title, actually there were only eleven left at that time). After that he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now (still alive), but some have fallen asleep (died); Then he appeared to James (Lord’s half-brother), then to all the apostles (the eleven) and last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared to me (Paul) also.” (1 Corinthians 15:5-8)

    

What was their responsibility?   These twelve men had absolute power and authority to teach the spiritual life of the Church Age, to establish churches, to train men for the ministry and to write the New Testament epistles (Also, a few others wrote who were closely associated with apostles). They had rank with absolute power to get the Church Age started.  

 

As the Athenian Commander had absolute power over the Athenian Navy so the twelve apostles had absolute power over the Churches.  To illustrate their power, Paul had the authority and power to turn a Christian over to Satan for the purpose of being tortured to death (1 Corinthians 5:1, 5).   

    

Others were called apostles in the early church!  

 

The second meaning of the Greek word apostolos was used for pioneer missionaries who were under the authority of the apostles. They had tremendous powers, but they were delegated powers. They were called apostles because apostolos is also used for a Greek who founded and governed a colony as we mentioned in the introduction. They did not possess the spiritual gift of apostle, but held such gifts as pastor-teacher, evangelism, prophets etc. Since Barnabas helped Paul on some of his missionary journeys, Paul delegated to him authority to function as a pioneer missionary.  “But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting out” (Acts 14:14).

 

Also, Epaphras, Andronicus, Junias, Timothy, Silvanus were called pioneer missionaries (In the Greek: apostolos) just to mention a few.  

“But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your spiritual ruler (in the Greek: apostolos), a minister to my needs.” (Philippians 2:25)

 

“Pay my respects to Andronicus and Junias, my cousins, and fellow prisoners who are prominent among the missionaries (in the Greek: apostolos), who also have been in Christ before me.” (Romans 16:7)

 

“Nor did we (Paul, Silvanus, Timothy) seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles (Paul, Silvanus and Timothy) of Christ we might have asserted our authority.” (1 Thessalonians 2:6)

 

 

Romans 1:2 

 

ὃ προεπηγγείλατο διὰ τῶν προφητῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν γραφαῖς ἁγίαις,

 

Which [gospel] was promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Writings [writings set-apart for the formation of the Canon].

 

The gospel was taught in the Old Testament as it is in the New, obviously with some differences because the cross had not occurred historically during the time of the writing of the Old Testament. The aorist tense of this participle is a constative aorist; it takes the writing of the Old Testament canon and gathers it up into a single entirety, from when Moses wrote Genesis all the way to the last book, 2 Chronicles. [Malachi is in the middle section in the Jewish canon]. The middle voice emphasises the agent with a view toward participating in the results which means that every man who wrote an Old Testament book was saved and knew the gospel very well. The indicative mood declares the historical reality of the gospel previously promised.

 

Romans 1:3

 

περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ τοῦ γενοµένου ἐκ σπέρµατος ∆αυὶδ κατὰ σάρκα,

 

concerning his son who was born from the seed of David according to the flesh [true humanity],

 

 

Jesus had to be true humanity and he had to be descended from the line of David. Matthew 1:18, 21, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: His mother, Mary [descended from David via Nathan] had been contractually married to Joseph [descended from David via Solomon] but before [emphatic form in the Greek] they had come together [in sexual intercourse], she was found to be pregnant from the source of the Holy Spirit. [She provided 23 chromosomes from the line of David and the Holy Spirit provided 23 male chromosomes.] (21) She will give birth to a son and you [Joseph] will call His name Jesus for He will save His people [the Jews] from their sins.”

 

Jesus Christ has three royal families namely divine, Davidic and the Church. As eternal God Jesus Christ is royalty. His title is Son of God equal with the Father and with the Holy Spirit who are His royal family. Jesus Christ in His humanity was born into the Jewish royal family. As humanity He is the Son of David, and therefore the entire family of David which preceded Him and all the family of David that followed Him are His royal family. As a result of his strategic victory over Satan, the resurrected and ascended humanity of Christ was seated at the right hand of the Father and given the designation, King over kings and Lord over lords (to be fulfilled at the 2nd Advent), and with this new title he would be given a royal family namely the universal church. Since the royal family must be formed the Age of Israel came to a halt and the Church Age intercalated.  

 

Romans 1:4

 

τοῦ ὁρισθέντος υἱοῦ θεοῦ ἐν δυνάµει κατὰ πνεῦµα ἁγιωσύνης ἐξ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν, Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡµῶν,

 

who was marked-out, [by the Divine Decree] Son of God [emphasizes the identity of Christ before the virgin birth/incarnation] by means of power according to the Holy Spirit [the proto-type spiritual life given to the humanity of Christ as per Isaiah 11:2] by means of resurrection from death [physical death; the plural of this noun is many times used for the singular], Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

The Greek word, horizo in this context means “appointed” or “marked out” by the divine decree. The constative aorist tense takes the action of the verb and gathers it up into one entirety. It takes the virgin birth, the hypostatic union, and everything related to the first advent, and gathers it up into one entirety.

 

The deity of Christ is called the Son of God because of his role as it relates to the human race. It does not imply that the Son is subordinate, obedient or inferior to God the Father for they are co-equal, co-eternal and co-infinite and have the same attributes etc. As such, God the Son obeys no one. Just as God the Son functions like a son so God the Father functions like a father toward mankind, but God the Son is not a son, and God the Father is not a father.  

 

1. In the divine decree of eternity past the second person of the Trinity was marked out as the Son of God because of His ministry regarding the first advent.

 

2. It was Jesus on the cross bearing our sins who was judged by the justice of God. This judgment of sin on the cross freed the righteousness of God to provide eternal salvation for anyone who would appropriate the gracious work of the cross by faith alone in Christ alone.

 

3. Consequently, salvation was completed during the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross namely he paid the penalty for our sins. After he had paid that penalty, he dismissed his human spirit as per John19:30.

 

4. The resurrection, ascension and session not only demonstrated the efficacy of Christ’s work on the cross but also His victory in the angelic conflict.

 

5. For the person who rejects the work on the cross, rejects the love of the Lord Jesus Christ and that of God the Father.  For that, he will be punished for all eternity in the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 20:12-15)

 

Romans 1:5

 

διí οὗ ἐλάβοµεν χάριν καὶ ἀποστολὴν εἰς ὑπακοὴν πίστεως ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόµατος αὐτοῦ,

 

Through whom [Jesus Christ our Lord] we have received grace and apostleship [there must be a communicator] for the purpose of obedience to doctrine [must learn under authority] among all the nations [believers come from all nations] for the sake of His person,

 

 

1. Apostleship is a communication gift. It has no counterpart today in the extension of its authority over all the churches.

 

2. Pastor-teacher is the comparable gift, but with authority extended over one congregation only.

 

3. A communication-gift is necessary for every believer to advance to the point of reciprocating God’s love.

 

4. Believers cannot advance spiritually except under the teaching ministry of their right pastor, whoever he might be.

 

5. Believers must hear the Word taught for spiritual advance. This involves the concept of academic discipline, respect for authority, and good manners. No one has capacity for life who rejects any system of legitimate authority.

 

6. The sacrificial life of constant study and persistent teaching is the responsibility of the pastor.

 

Romans 1:6

 

ἐν οἷς ἐστε καὶ ὑµεῖς κλητοὶ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,

 

among which [nations] you also are elected [to privilege and opportunity] of Jesus Christ [We are the privileged royal family of Christ.]

 

Election is the believer’s entrance into the plan of God and expression God’s sovereign will for the believer to have His best. To demonstrate this, he deposited in eternity past great blessings for the Christian in time as well as eternity which we call Escrow Blessings. The equal privilege and opportunity of election means there never has been and never will be a Church age believer who did not have exactly the same privilege and same opportunity to fulfill God’s plan, to reach spiritual maturity, and to receive the fantastic blessings provided for him by God the Father in eternity past.

 

Romans 1:7

 

πᾶσιν τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Ῥώµῃ ἀγαπητοῖς θεοῦ, κλητοῖς ἁγίοις· χάρις ὑµῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡµῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ

 

To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called saints [a reference to union with Christ], grace to you and prosperity [escrow blessings] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ [the Father is the depositor of our Escrow blessings; Jesus Christ is the Escrow Officer].

 

There are three categories of sanctification in the Christian way of life. Positional sanctification is union with the person of Jesus Christ at the moment of salvation. Experiential sanctification refers to the spiritual life after salvation. Ultimate sanctification refers to when the believer receives his resurrection bodies at the Rapture. Positional sanctification makes every believer in union with Christ a saint (set apart in Christ) positionally higher than angels as taught in Hebrews 1-2. Positional sanctification removes all the barriers related to arrogance, prejudice, antagonism, and discrimination. It removes racial prejudice, cultural differences, social distinctions, personal antagonisms, economic barriers, ideological differences, sexual discrimination, environmental subjectivity, pre- salvation religious prejudice.

 

Escrow blessings are infinitely superior to all other categories of divine blessings for both time and eternity. There are no set of circumstances that can hinder the conveyance of your escrow blessings. You will receive your escrow blessings as a mature believer even though the rest of the nation may be falling apart all around you. Escrow blessing is a metaphor designed to explain the ultimate blessings available to every Christian in time and eternity.

 

A metaphor is the application of a phrase or a concept to an object or concept it does not literally denote in order to suggest a comparison. Escrow is defined as a deed, a bond, or other valuable asset in the form of a written agreement delivered to a third person by the grantor, to be delivered to a party of the second part on performance or fulfillment of the escrow conditions. Escrow conditions for us are the execution of the protocol plan of God under the concept of equal time, equal privilege, and equal opportunity. Race, culture, sex, and economic standing are no hindrance to the conveyance of your escrow.

 

God the Father created an escrow that He might bless us to the maximum. So, the grantor is God the Father who deposited in heaven in escrow greater blessings that stagger the imagination for both time and eternity. Each believer is a grantee. God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, is the escrow officer and the depositary of these blessings. These blessings remain on deposit until we fulfill the conditions of the escrow by executing the protocol plan of God.

 

Metabolized doctrine leads to blessing both for time and eternity. During our post-salvation experience as believers, through maximum doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness, we grow up. We grow spiritually through the various categories of Bible doctrine. Spiritual growth is accelerated by using the Problem-Solving Devices in time of problems, heartaches, difficulties, and trouble. We are tested periodically by God, which helps accelerate our spiritual growth. God never blesses us in time until we have the capacity. Capacity for blessings is in the soul and depends on metabolized doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness. At spiritual maturity we receive our escrow blessings for time which blessings are doubled after passing Evidence Testing. Immediately after the rapture of the Church, the mature believer receives the distribution of his escrow blessings for eternity. These blessings were irrevocable as of eternity past. If they are not conveyed, then they remain on deposit forever in the heavenly hall of records.

 

The believer who attains spiritual maturity is classified as a winner, one who glorifies God through the execution of the protocol plan of God, and as an invisible hero who has maximum impact on human history when he reaches spiritual maturity and maximum impact upon angelic history when he passes Evidence Testing. The combination of these two impacts glorifies God to the maximum.

 

The first thing God ever did for us is the means of glorifying Him. Billions of years ago, God the Father actually deposited into escrow for you as a Church Age believer, greater blessings in two categories namely escrow blessings for time and escrow blessings for the eternal state. Ephesians 1:3, “Worthy of praise and glorification is the God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.” The term “spiritual” blessings is used because God is the source, not because they are necessarily “spiritual” in nature, for they include many temporal blessings.

 

Spiritual blessing means maximum awareness of life. You are very much alive, and you savor every moment of life, whether in adversity or prosperity. You have zest for life and an enjoyment of every moment of life, regardless of what it brings. This zest for life excludes being depressed or upset by the ups and downs of life. Spiritual blessing means orientation to objective reality, a maximum amount of objectivity in your life, and the accumulation of all the characteristics of spiritual adulthood. This means a combination of all the characteristics of spiritual self-esteem, spiritual autonomy, and spiritual maturity which results in maximum contentment, tranquility, and happiness in life regardless of your station, circumstances, or status quo in life. Spiritual blessing means maximum use of the Problem-Solving Devices provided by God for spiritual adulthood. (These Problem-Solving Devices are used in varying degrees until you reach spiritual maturity when they are used to the maximum.) The use of these Problem-Solving Devices gives you an edge on life which no one else has. In a moment’s time, you can use occupation with Christ, your personal sense of destiny, plus H, personal and impersonal love, doctrinal orientation, grace orientation, the faith-rest drill, the filling of the Spirit, and rebound; all of which produce a fantastic confidence that is unique and exclusive to spiritual maturity.

 

Spiritual maturity means maximum blessing in the relationships of your life with God, people, and self. Your relationship with God is fantastic and is based upon a tremendous confidence that, while you have never seen God, you know Him and understand Him as He wants to be understood through the mystery doctrines of the Church Age. You will be blessed in your contacts with all kinds of people, both loving and antagonistic. People can no longer disturb you or cause you to be disillusioned and full of self-pity. Furthermore, you have a relationship with self that is honest and virtuous.

 

Some of the spiritual blessings specific to spiritual maturity include the following:

 

1. Maximum contentment, the stability of happiness.

 

1. Maximum tranquility, the backbone of happiness.

 

1. Maximum poise, the overt manifestation of happiness.

 

1. Maximum capacity for life, for love, and for happiness. This is having a zest for life simply because you’re alive, regardless of the circumstances. Your consciousness of just being alive in relationship to God gives you a zest for life that no system of adversity or suffering can disturb; even in suffering this blessing is never lost.

 

1. Maximum production in Christian service from true motivation. This results in receiving gold, silver, and precious stones at the Evaluation Throne of Christ. Your Christian service is related to whatever is your spiritual gift so that you are not in competition with other Christians.

 

1. Maximum function of your spiritual gift. If you attain spiritual maturity, don’t worry about your spiritual gift; God will see to it that you are using it.

 

1. Personal sense of destiny. You cannot have reached spiritual maturity without having a personal sense of destiny. It’s a wonderful warm feeling to know that you have arrived without being arrogant or vain, yet you do have a sense of destiny. You know that one day in the future you will die. Knowing that you have no control at all over the time, manner or the place of your death gives you great confidence, for death and resurrection are strictly the Lord’s victory.

 

1. Maximum virtue instead of self-righteousness.

 

1. Maximized personality identification.

 

1. As an invisible hero, you have invisible but real impact in four categories: personal, national, and if a missionary international and finally angelic.

 

1. The ability to interpret historical trends and to evaluate life from the divine viewpoint.

 

You are not in any way influenced by the worst things that happen to believers e.g., arrogant self-righteousness, pious hypocrisy, legalism, human good rather than divine good, crusader arrogance, and all the other functions of pseudo-spirituality. Instead, you have maximum grace orientation to life; maximum dependence upon the grace policy of God, therefore, eliminating human dynamics as having any part of the spiritual life; and maximum utilization of the unique features of the great power experiment of the Church Age.

 

You live within your human limitations in life. You live within the limitations of your environment, and you do so without embarrassment, regret, inordinate ambition, or inordinate competition. You have a dynamic spiritual life (not necessarily a dynamic personality) which glorifies God in every circumstance.

 

Therefore, you have finally arrived at complete niche orientation, at the point where you can say God’s plan has been executed in your life.

 

Other spiritual blessings include cognitive invincibility, mental stability, orientation to reality, and grace orientation to life, which includes grace thinking and subsequent grace motivation, grace decisions, and grace actions.

 

Therefore, you have maximum control of your life through the function of the Problem-Solving Devices of spiritual adulthood. This eliminates the three Cs of the disorganized life: (1) Competitiveness from arrogance, a destroyer of life. (2) Comparativeness from subjectivity. (3) Conspiracy from inordinate ambition.

 

Categories of Temporal Blessings or Prosperity.

 

1. Although the emphasis is on spiritual blessings, God does provide the mature believer with temporal blessings as a promotion. However, if God doesn’t promote you, you’re not promoted. God doesn’t promote any mature believer above his limitations, or into a sphere of activity where he would be distracted or his spiritual life neutralized.

 

2. All mature believers have spiritual prosperity, which is maximum occupation with the person of Christ. Spiritual prosperity means equating living with dying and adversity with prosperity.

 

3. Temporal blessings vary with the individual mature believer and with his environment. But some of the categories can be noted.

 

a. Establishment prosperity include the blessings of privacy and freedom; the enjoyment of both life and property; protection from crime, reprisal, violence, and vindictiveness from others; contentment under national disaster; and acceptance by one’s own peers, whether they like you or not.

 

b. War and national emergency prosperity include the blessings of efficiency, success, promotion, and for some leadership, whether soldier or civilian.

 

c. Professional prosperity is maximum success or efficiency in a profession, whether law, medicine, engineering, science, military, teaching, law enforcement, athletics, art, music, literature, etc.

 

d. Business prosperity, where pertinent, means success in business as an owner or an executive of a large corporation, success as a salesman, administrator, laborer, etc.

 

e. Social prosperity is the possession of loving, faithful, reliable, and stable friends, and maximum enjoyment of your relationships with them. It is the ability to handle all sorts of social situations. Your great happiness and enthusiasm for life is expressed both vocally and in silence with friends.

 

f. Romantic prosperity can mean a wonderful relationship with a member of the opposite sex where happiness replaces sinfulness. Sinfulness refers to the whole realm of mental attitude and verbal sins. Those are the areas that destroy romance much more than the obvious overt sins of unfaithfulness and adultery. Romantic prosperity is perpetuated under all circumstances of adversity and prosperity. This includes sexual prosperity in marriage. Or it could just mean peace from a nagging wife; nevertheless, a successful marriage is reality.

 

g. Mental prosperity is the ability to concentrate; to organize both your thinking and your life; to synthesize, to analyze; greater cogitation and perspicacity; courage, which is the ability to think under pressure; the function of wisdom in the exercise of the intellect; the development of common sense and an excellent sense of humor. Mental prosperity includes freedom from the mental sins of fear, worry, and anxiety. The development of normality in life comes from thinking objectively. You will become more observant and aware of others, and therefore not do the things that hurt them. You will have a relaxed mental attitude and a true sense of humor.

 

h. Cultural prosperity is maximum capacity for good entertainment; the enjoyment of the best in music, art, literature, drama, history, and whatever your hobbies may be, from horticulture to equitation.

 

i. Health prosperity is given to some mature believers, but if you have violated too many principles of health already you may not have good health, but you will have the ability to cope with your lack of good health. This prosperity means nervous energy and nervous stability, though not necessarily freedom from pain. You can be in good health and have pain. An abundance of nervous energy and stability is a characteristic of all great men of history.

 

j. Leadership dynamics, though not for everyone, is a blessing for some by virtue of either their genetics or spiritual gift, or it can be acquired. This is the ability to take any assigned responsibility and do it efficiently, cheerfully, and effectively. Therefore, it is the ability to assume authority and responsibility without loss of virtue and integrity, and without tyranny. This is true leadership, not micromanagement or petty bureaucratic behavior.

 

Several passages refer to some of these prosperities.

 

a. Proverbs 8:18, “Riches and honor are with Me [doctrine], enduring wealth and virtue [righteousness].”

 

b. Psalm 23:5-6, “You have prepared for me a table in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed my head with oil. My cup [of blessing] is overflowing. Only prosperity and grace pursue me all the days of my life [escrow blessings for time], and I will remain in the house of the Lord forever [escrow blessings for eternity].”

 

The impact related to spiritual maturity and escrow blessing is as follows: personal, national, international and angelic impact.

 

Personal Impact is a category of blessing by association with the winner or invisible hero. Everyone who has contact with him has contact with an invisible hero. All relationships and contacts with an invisible hero result in blessing. There are two categories of blessing by association and/or personal impact namely direct and indirect. Direct blessing from God to those persons associated with the winner or invisible hero. This means fantastic blessing is given to those who are undeserving but who have a relationship with a mature believer. This includes family, friends, loved ones, business associates, and pets.  Indirect blessing from God comes by means of the mature believer. Because he possesses all the virtues of spiritual maturity, the mature believer is thoughtful, considerate, kind, tolerant, and often very generous, though in a quiet way. Because of his attainment of spiritual maturity, he shares his wisdom in conversation, and shares whatever else he has. Therefore, to be in his presence is a pleasure. You can count on him not to verbally sin against you or stab you in the back. The mature believer shares both his virtuous personality and his material blessings with those associated with him. He is a source of stability in the life of those around him.

 

There are six areas of blessing by association.

 

a. The spiritual periphery refers to those associated with the mature believer in the local church, prayer meeting, prep school, mission board, or in some Christian service organization.

 

b. The family periphery refers to those associated with the mature believer as husband, wife, father, mother, children, relatives, and even pets.

 

c. The social periphery refers to friends associated with him.

 

d. The geographical periphery refers to those associated with the mature believer in his neighborhood, city, county, state, or nation.

 

e. The professional or business periphery refers to those associated with the mature believer in business, in schools, on athletic teams, medical clinics, law firms, law enforcement organizations, engineering firms, banks, corporations, symphony orchestras, and military organizations.

 

f. There is blessing by association after death. Those loved ones who are left behind receive the greatest insurance policy provided by association with the mature believer. This could be classified as heritage blessing for the next generation of those who have been associated with the mature believer. Blessing by association continues after the death of such a believer; it extends to the next generation, and sometimes even to the third. This explains how bereaved ones associated with the dead mature believer, regardless of their spiritual status (even unbelievers) receive blessing and prosperity by association. Again, this is part of the explanation as to why some wicked prosper.

 

National Impact of the Invisible Hero.

 

1. The mature believer or winner in the protocol plan of God becomes a part of the pivot in the client nation to God, and if he passes Evidence Testing becomes a member of the Pleroma Club (those receiving the fullness of blessing from God).

 

2. The size of the pivot in the client nation becomes the basis for blessing or cursing to that nation. A large pivot of mature believers means national blessing, national prosperity, and historical preservation. A small pivot of mature believers means the administration of national discipline from God. (This also applies to the number of Pleroma believers)

 

3. The principle is that as goes the believer in the client nation to God, so goes that client nation.

 

4. As the pivot shrinks, the client nation to God declines and is eventually destroyed by the administration of the fifth cycle of discipline.

 

5. Reversionism and apostasy among believers result in national disaster, while having anywhere from 5% to 10% mature believers means national prosperity.

 

6. This can be called the salt principle, as per Matthew 5:13 or Mark 9:50, where we are said to be “the salt of the earth [land].” This is the pivot and pleroma principle.

 

7. The client nation to God provides many wonderful things such as: freedom for evangelism, for Bible teaching and the function of the local church, for missionary activity, and for Christian service; free enterprise; and fulfillment of manifest destiny. So, a client nation to God has tremendous responsibility even internationally.

 

International impact occurs through missionary function.

 

1. One of the important functions of a client nation is to send out spiritually mature missionaries.

 

2.The mature missionary must have wisdom and avoid legalism, making an issue only out of the Gospel and doctrine. He must understand salvation, the mystery doctrines of the Church Age and of course the spiritual life as found in the New Testament epistles, and to be able to give a clear exposition in the native language.

 

3.When mature believers go to non-client nations as missionaries, they are the real source and usually the only source of blessing to that non-client nation.

 

4. So, through indigenous modus operandi to non-client nations, there is blessing for nations that have no other source of blessing other than the Laws of Establishment. A non-client nation can be blessed by association even with just one missionary who is a winner and an invisible hero.

 

Angelic Impact of the Invisible Hero:

 

The Angelic Conflict and Evidence Testing

 

Evidence testing is Satan’s cross-examination of every witness presented by God in the historical trial of all fallen angels. In human history, man’s thoughts, motives, decisions, and actions are entered as evidence, exhibits, precedents, and arguments in Satan’s appeal trial. Every believer who attains maturity is an argument or witness for the Prosecution against Satan. Evidence testing is Satan’s cross-examination of every witness presented by God.

 

No believer qualifies as a witness until he has attained spiritual maturity, tantamount to the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God. The three stages of spiritual adulthood (spiritual self-esteem, spiritual autonomy, and spiritual maturity) are the prerequisites for facing and passing the three categories of suffering for blessing, providential preventative suffering, momentum testing, and evidence testing. Passing evidence testing as the highest category of suffering for blessing results in the doubling of your escrow blessings.

 

Every believer who attains spiritual maturity is a witness for the prosecution, either in the formal trial of Old Testament history, or in the rebuttal phase of the First Advent and Church Age, or in the closing argument and summary phase of the Second Advent and the Millennium.

 

Evidence testing in two categories is Satan’s attempt, through his cross-examination to discredit those believers who attain spiritual maturity. It appears that Satan in most cases administers evidence testing, but under restrictions imposed by God before the evidence testing begins. For example, Satan was not permitted to kill Job. The two categories of evidence testing are as follows: the relationship to the plan of God test is illustrated by our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 4:1-11 and the relationship to life test is illustrated by Job.  Whether it be this category or that category, evidence testing is administered only to the mature believer, for only he is a witness for the Prosecution. Apparently, the spiritually mature believer does not take both tests, and which one he receives is a matter of the sovereignty of God.

 

A few more points on Evidence Testing.

 

1. By means of passing evidence testing, the winner or invisible hero becomes a witness for the Prosecution in the rebuttal phase of Satan’s appeal trial which is coterminous with human history. Evidence testing is designed for the maximum glorification of God in the historical extension of the angelic conflict. Evidence testing related to Life often temporarily removes certain escrow blessings distributed at the point of spiritual maturity, as in the cases of Abraham in principle, and Job. Usually, evidence testing comes to the mature believer without warning, since it is generally administered by Satan. To resolve Satan’s appeal trial in favor of the Prosecution and to see if the Source of blessing is greater than the blessing itself, the mature believer enters into this stage of suffering for blessing. Evidence testing as undeserved suffering for blessing demands the highest function of personal love for God as your motivation. Passing this test causes the elect angels to cheer.

 

2. Temporary loss of escrow blessings in time as part of Evidence Testing is the ultimate honor that God can bestow on an individual. The temporary loss of escrow blessings in time provides the ultimate in spiritual experience. To be deprived of everything and to be totally occupied with the Lord is the highest function in the spiritual life. Job said in Job 1:21, “The Lord gives, the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” While the blessing may be removed, the Source cannot be and will not be removed. If you still have the Source, even though the blessing is gone temporarily, you still have that Source and the possibility of even greater blessings. The real blessing comes from knowing the Source is permanent. As long as you have the Source, you have everything even when you have nothing.

 

Dying Blessings belongs to the Invisible Hero, the mature believer who has taken Evidence Testing. This represents the doctrine of dying grace which is the dying status of the winner or mature believer. Whether he has a quick and painless death or a prolonged and painful death, the mature believer will have the greatest blessing of his life as he crosses the high golden bridge between time and eternity. God gives him through the objective reality of the absolute truth of Bible doctrine the greatest tranquility that his soul has ever experienced. The believer in spiritual maturity has learned how to die, since he has also learned how to live. In spiritual maturity he dies magnificently as unto the Lord.  Philippians 1:21, “For me living is Christ, and dying is profit.” Psalm 23:6, “Only prosperity and grace shall pursue me [prosperity looks for the mature believer] all the days of my life [dying is the last segment of living].”

 

Romans 1:8

 

Πρῶτον µὲν εὐχαριστῶ τῷ θεῷ µου διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ περὶ πάντων ὑµῶν, ὅτι ἡ πίστις ὑµῶν καταγγέλλεται ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ κόσµῳ

 

First of all I thank my God [the Father] through Jesus Christ [our High Priest] concerning all of you [Roman Christians] because your faith is celebrated in the entire world.

 

Thanksgiving is that form of worship in which the Church Age believer acknowledges the gracious benefits received from the three members of the Trinity. The power for worship is found in John 4:24, “God is a spirit, and those who worship Him must worship by means of the Spirit [the Filling of the Spirit] and by means of truth [doctrine].” The Filling of the Holy Spirit plus the metabolization of doctrine plus the Problem-Solving Devices on the FLOT line of the soul equals true thanksgiving. The application of doctrine through the use of the Problem-Solving Devices produces the only true thanksgiving. Thanksgiving has no meaning, even for believers, until they are consistently functioning under the spiritual skills. Thanksgiving is a part of the daily function of the ten problem solving devices deployed on the FLOT line of the soul. Thanksgiving is a part of the spiritual life and of worship. Thanksgiving is not some shallow, fleeting system of gratitude for something. Thanksgiving is a moment-by-moment mental attitude produced by metabolized doctrine in the stream of consciousness. Thanksgiving is the mental attitude forged from cognition and inculcation of Bible doctrine plus subsequent capacity for life from metabolized doctrine in the right lobe. Colossians 2:7, “Having been rooted and having been edified in Him, and being stabilized by means of doctrine as you have been taught, overflowing with thanksgiving.” There is a relationship between your consistent perception of Bible doctrine and your attitude of thanksgiving toward God. Bible doctrine gives capacity for gratitude. Colossians 1:12, “Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us for a share in the endowment of the saints in the light [of the infallible word of God].” Thanksgiving is the expression from capacity for appreciation of God and the mental attitude of gratitude toward God. Only winner-believers have capacity for true thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is more than an expression of gratitude, more than appreciation in a human sense. It is appreciation for God, which cannot exist apart from the function of the spiritual skills. Ephesians 5:20, “always be thankful with reference to all things toward God, even the Father, through the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Thanksgiving is first of all directed toward God, and as an overflow it is capacity for life and appreciation. Thanksgiving is an index of the spiritual status of the believer. The greater the content of metabolized doctrine in the believer’s right lobe, the greater the capacity for mental attitude thanksgiving in the life. The increased usage of the Problem-Solving Devices of the protocol plan of God results in increased capacity for thanksgiving toward God.

 

Thanksgiving reaches its peak in personal love for God the Father and occupation with the person of Christ. Thanksgiving fulfills the divine mandates of 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Ephesians 5:20, “Always be thankful with reference to all things to God even the Father through the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 9:15, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.” Revelation 7:12, “Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and ability belong to God forever and ever. Amen.” Psalm 100:4, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, honor His person.”

 

Thanksgiving is a function of prayer. Ephesians 1:16, “I do not cease giving thanks for you, and I make mention of you in my prayers.” 2. Colossians1:3, “We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.” Colossians 4:2, “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.” Philippians 4:6, “Stop worrying about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Giving causes thanksgiving, 2 Corinthians 9:7-12,  “Each person to the degree he has determined [not a percent] by means of his right lobe [by means of his thinking from metabolized doctrine] so give, not from distress of mind [never give because you are pressured], not under compulsion of emotion [giving is worship so worship must be related to doctrine, not emotion] for God loves a grace oriented [gracious] giver. (8). God is able to make all grace abound to you [the grace-oriented believer] that always having a sufficiency in everything [money to give] you may have an abundance for every good deed [Ephesians 4:8]. (9): Just as it stands written [a quote from Psalm 112:9], “He scatters abroad [God gives money to certain people]; he gave it to the poor. His righteousness abides forever.” (10): Now he who supplies seed to the sower [capital] and bread for food, He God will supply and multiply your store of seed [your capital] and increase the harvest of your righteousness [Christian service]. (11) You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. (12): This service [giving is recognized as Christian service] that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanksgiving to God.”  

 

Food should be accepted with thanksgiving, 1 Timothy 4:3-5, “[men] who forbid marriage [and advocate] abstaining from foods, which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. (4) For everything created by God is beneficial, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving. (5) for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer” This applies to all food, anytime, anywhere. God has created food to be received with thanksgiving.  Thanksgivings before meals is a part of grace orientation with special emphasis on the appreciation of God’s logistical grace provision. Thanksgiving and asking God to sanctify the food, protects the believer’s health from any possible impurities in the food and so that the food will fulfill the requirements of the body when metabolized.

 

Capacity for blessing means thanksgiving potential. Thanksgiving potential depends on the amount of Bible doctrine in the soul of the believer, so that the believer who is blessed is occupied with the Giver as well as the gift. And to enjoy the gift, the person who is thankful must be occupied with the Giver. True happiness is loving the Giver more than the gift. Capacity for life is to enjoy the Giver more than the gift.

 

 

Romans 1:9

 

µάρτυς γάρ µού ἐστιν ὁ θεός, ᾧ λατρεύω ἐν τῷ πνεύµατί µου ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, ὡς ἀδιαλείπτως µνείαν ὑµῶν ποιοῦµαι

 

For God is my witness, whom I serve by my spirit by means of the good-news [how Paul was saved and lived his life] with reference to his son, how I constantly make mention of you,

 

“I make mention” is the present middle indicative of the verb poiew. The present tense is a historical present, it views the past event of Paul’s intercessory prayers for the Romans with the vividness of a present occurrence. He remembers them in prayer even though he doesn’t know them. Their fame has gone before them; their attitude toward doctrine has become well known. Their dynamic attitude toward doctrine motivates Paul to pray for them. Note that Paul makes intercession for believers whom he has never seen.