The Meaning Behind Your Name

“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the Temple of my God… and I will write upon him the name of my God… and I will write upon him my new name” Rev 3:12

“…and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name” Isa. 62:2

“To him that overcometh will I give… a new name which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it” Rev 2:17

“Who is he that overcometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the son of God?” 1 John 5:5

     Have you ever considered the significance of a name?  With the exception of women who traditionally adopt their husband’s last names upon marriage, most people live their entire lives with only one name.  But who are we really?  Are we the names we have been conditioned to respond to, or is our heritage of a much higher calling?  Is our identity forged in the name itself, or does it transcend beyond this earthly existence?  For as surely as those who overcome are raised a new body, spiritual and eternal, so too has God promised every believer a new name in Christ.

     It is therefore not the name itself but the soul and spirit that make the essence of a person (1 Thes 5:23).  The names we are assigned at birth are as transient and temporal as the physical body, which returns to the dust upon death.  The first name represents the self, that unique individual person on earth.  The last name represents patriarchal bloodline, the families into which we are born.  But we are much more than our earthly names!  Our true names are hidden in God until we are reborn from the dead, raised a new resurrection body incorruptible and eternal (Col 1:18; John 3:3; Rom 8:29; Rev 2:17).

     When Jesus said you must be “born again” to see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3), the Greek text translated “born again” is “gennao anothen.”  The Greek verb “gennao” can be used for either the father or mother.  In Mathew 1:2 “gennao” is translated “begat,” as in “Abraham begat Isaac,” or “Abraham ‘gennao’ Isaac.”  When used of the father gennao means to “beget” or “engender.”  When used of the Mother it means to “conceive” or “bring forth into the world.”  Jesus is speaking of the Father when he said a man must be “gennao anothen.” (John 3:3 rendered “born again”).

    The word “anothen” can also be translated “from above” in John 3:3 rather than “again.”  Indeed, it is rendered “from above “ in many other passages of scripture (See John 1:31; 19:11; Math 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 1:3; James 1:17; 3:15; 3:17).

     Thus, to enter the Kingdom of God a man must be “gennao anothen,” meaning “begotten” or “engendered from above.”  Many Christians who believe they have been “born again” have really only been spiritually “begotten from above.”  The difference in terminology is important because it is at resurrection that we are truly “born again” from the dead (Co 1:18) and receive our spiritual bodies and new names.

     This does not mean to say that a change does not take place upon spiritual regeneration, the point at which one is “begotten from above.”

“For if any man be in Christ he is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17)

     At physical birth we enter this world with a living body and soul but a latent, dormant spiritual identity unconscious of God and incapable of a relationship with Him.  We are born spiritually dead, the consequence of Adam’s fall, also known as original sin.  We exit the womb a dichotomy (body, soul, latent/dormant spirit) but are potentially a trichotomy (body, soul, living spirit).  To activate the spiritual dimension of the inner person, one must be “gennao anothen,” or “spiritually begotten from above.”

     Spiritual regeneration can be compared to the human reproductive cycle.  When we are “begotten from above,” God’s Word is like sperm that penetrates the mind and heart, the very mentality of the soul, entering the body via the ear canal and resulting in faith (Rom 1:17).  Faith can also come as a revelatory gift from the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:17; Gal 5:22).

     It is through this faith that fertilization occurs and the new spiritual embryo germinates.  Similar to the female ovulation cycle, sometimes our minds and hearts are more receptive to God than at other times.  However, once fertilization occurs, there is no going back.  God quickens to life the dormant human spirit, what is referred to in Eastern philosophies as the opening of the heart chakra or energy center.  The individual becomes privy to a new spiritual awareness and higher understanding of Truth—Enter God Consciousness.

     This opens the door to a relationship with the Creator, the beginning of one’s spiritual journey.  The body becomes the ova of God, the Holy Grail of Christ, the vessel through which His Spirit moves.  And with the spiritual embryo, there is no such thing as abortion, miscarriage, or forfeiture of eternal life once received.  Salvation is eternally secured.  The earthly existence becomes the incubation period in which we may grow to spiritual maturity, eventually being reborn and renamed at the resurrection. 

     Marriage is another useful analogy to illustrate the new identity promised in Christ.  It is the restoration of harmony to duality, the perfect yin and yang relationship.  It is the balance of the masculine and feminine principles within.  This is the sacred marriage spoken of in alchemy: God and man in communion; spirit and soul consciously dwelling together at-one.  The transmutation of lead into gold was an allegory for the depraved and darkened soul becoming instantaneously purified through faith in Christ.  Love is that mysterious fifth element, the very essence of God, the philosopher’s stone spoken of by the ancients which makes transmutation possible.  That is how it has worked throughout the ages, faith results in the activation, restoration, and regeneration of the human spirit.

     In today’s age, since the resurrection of Christ some 2,000 years ago, the sacred marriage takes on an even greater meaning.  God is not only restoring the dead spiritual identity lost in Adam.  He is also reproducing Himself in humans, calling out a family of spiritual royalty after his own likeness.  The body is not only the egg for the restored human spirit, but is also the very temple of God Himself (1 Cor 3:16).  Prior to Christ God did not permanently indwell believers, promising to never leave or forsake them (Heb 13:5).  In Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit would come and go (Psalm 51:11).

     But nowadays the indwelling presence of the Lord permanently resides in the believer (2 Cor 6:16).  Unprecedented power to overcome the most adverse of circumstances or accomplish the loftiest of goals are now available to every believer.  Christ foretold that his followers would do even greater works than Him (John 14:12)!

     What God has in store for those who Love Him staggers the imagination, it is more than what we are capable of comprehending (1 Cor 2:9).  At the same time that God’s Holy Spirit quickens to life the dormant human spirit, the soul is baptized into the body of Christ, and Christ permanently indwells the believer’s body as His temple.  Enter the paradox—if you are in Christ, then Christ is simultaneously in you.

“Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

     In today’s age, the sacred marriage transcends beyond spirit and soul, mind and heart, intellect and emotion.  In today’s age, the Holy Spirit and human spirit bear witness together (Rom 8:16), believer’s share the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16), and Christ permanently indwells the believer’s body.   We are a new spiritual species as a result of this union, God’s children through faith (2 Cor 5:17).

     Like a husband and wife in which the “two become one flesh” (Math 19:5), so too is it with our husband, Jesus Christ.  We share His body and He ours.  Though separate in individual part, believers collectively comprise one inextricable whole—the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27).  He is the head and we are His parts.  We are currently betrothed to Him in marriage, and the Holy Spirit is the sign of this pledge, similar to an engagement ring (2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:14).

     When Christ returns, an actual marriage will take place in heaven (Rev 19:7; 20:5, 6).  As God’s wife, we adopt His last name, representing the new family to which we belong (Rev 3:12; 22:4; Isa 62:2).  As God’s newborn children, He provides us a new first name based upon the individual victories won during life and the resulting glory we brought Him in our earthly existence (Rev 2:17).

     As we grow deeper in intimacy with God, we come to see the many relationships we share:  God is our Spiritual Father, Our Nurturing Mother, Our Beloved Husband, Our Kinsman Redeemer, Our King on Earth, Our High Priest in Heaven; He is our Rock; Foundation, Light, Life; He is Master, Creator, Partner, Friend, Food, Savior, Provider, and Sustainer;  He is the ineffable Self-Existent One, the Great “I Am” who is most Holy and Blessed forever.  This is by no means an exhaustive list, but a few names, labels that help us understand what we have scarce capacity to receive:

“God is Love”   1 John 4:16

May the Lord add a blessing to the reading of His Word.

                                                               Larry Word

The Light of Inner Vision

“And the Lord answered me and said, ‘Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.  For the vision is for an appointed time… though it tarry, wait for it: because it will surely come’” Hab 2:2-3

“… ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ… written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart” 1 Cor. 3:3

 

“A new heart will I give you, and a

new spirit will I put within you.. and I will take away the stony heart… and give you

a heart of flesh” Ezek. 36:26

“Where there is no vision, the people 

perish”Prov. 29:18

     Today we are going to talk about vision.  The Light of inner vision comes to those who have received the Spirit of the Lord.  Without vision, there is no hope, no future.  Without vision, we die.

     The translation of our ideas from the mental plane into the physical world is much different to receiving vision from the Lord.  Imagination should not be compared with inspiration.  Plans contrived in the mind are different to those impressed upon the heart by God.  Our own plans are premised upon our effort and pride, while a righteous vision requires an understanding of the relationship between Grace and Faith.  Grace is God’s unmerited favor, the outpouring of His Love.  Faith is the channel through which Grace flows. 

     Grace and faith are both reciprocal and proportional.  We are “faithing” toward God, while God is “gracing” toward us.

    GRACE

   FAITH

     Through Faith, God is entreated for the vision.  By Grace, that vision is written upon your heart.  Through Faith, you surrender, submitting your mind and heart to God.  By Grace, His Spirit moves in you, causing you to be in the right place at the right time, meet the right people, or say the right words to bring about the vision.  Through Faith, you become a conduit for positive energy, a malleable lump of clay for the Lord.  Faith relinquishes control.  Grace receives reward and blessing.

     Deny yourself and become a witness in the background.  Watch God.  He will work in you and through you as the vision unfolds.  Yes, it is still you.  But now you are the co-author of your life, the co-creator of your reality.  It is now Christ in you who takes preeminence.  As you wait for Him to move, observe as a silent witness.

     The righteous shall live by faith (Rom 1:17; 4:22).  And this “faith” should be viewed as an action verb.  It is a “faithing” experience to wait on the Lord.  Our actions come to reflect the trust we have placed in God.  The carnal nature will struggle to control the life, to encapsulate your mind within self and keep you from the vision. 

     But the call is to crucify self daily (Luke 9:23; Rom 8:13).  What does this mean?  It means to simply “hang here” in this present moment.  Refrain from all thinking and wait for the Spirit to move you.  “Hang here” and wait, just as Christ hung on the cross.  It sounds simple, but it takes trust and awareness.

     “Hanging here” in this present moment with consciousness resident in the heart and not the mind describes that “faithing” and waiting on the Lord.  It is total blind contentment necessary for the righteous vision to come to pass.

     God will write His vision for your life on your heart.  He puts a new heart and spirit inside you as a result of trusting the promises of His Word (Ezek. 36:26; Jer. 31:33).  A new heart and spirit represent a changed mindset and attitude in the believer, bringing about conviction and repentance.  The vision comes into focus through sustained faith-action. The vision crystallizes in the heart and we run toward it; if we sin or fall back, the vision starts to dissolve. The vision may change several times and coalesce into something new based on personal choices and missed opportunities.  But there is always a vision and purpose for the your life, and God wants to reveal it.  He wants us to run toward the vision.

     The vision begins as a cloudy silhouette upon the heart, but comes into focus as we demonstrate faith and grow into spiritual maturity:

“for now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part but then shall I know even as also I am known”

1 Cor. 13:12

     One of the greatest exercises of faith is in the activity of prayer.  Prayer made in the Spirit is a sweet incense to the Lord, a powerful force which can influence reality and manifest inner vision.  Prayer is a weapon for the strong, not a crutch for the weak.  Notice in today’s highlighted scripture, vision comes through prayer: “And the Lord answered me and said…” (Hab 2:2-3).

     This is an important lesson.  If we desire an inspired, personal vision from God, we must be seeking it, praying for it.  Unfortunately, most believers will never behold God’s vision for their lives.  They will see but that cloudy silhouette because they are not earnestly seeking God’s will or exercising faith.  But this need not be so.  God reveals vision to the diligent seeker.  He writes it upon the heart of the person who prays.

     Let us examine how God’s vision for Paul manifested.  On his way from Damascus and in the desert, God knocks Paul to the ground and blinds him.  Paul asked, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do” (Acts 9:6).

     This is how we begin our spiritual journey.  In seeking vision, we first must begin blind; we must ask, “Lord, what would you have me do?”  Paul remained blind for three days (Acts 9:9).  Paul got right with God and His prayers had power.  God sent Ananias to heal his blindness, “for behold, he prayeth” (Acts 9:11).

     So notice the order of events.  First, God knocks us to the ground (Acts 9:4).  This pictures humility, our starting point.  Then our proper response should be, “Lord, what would you have me to do?” (Acts 9:6).  Finally, we energize through prayer. God restores our sight—the vision comes into focus (Acts 9:11, 18).

     Praying in the Spirit unleashes the Power, or “dunamas,” of God.  Grace is the favorable result of the “dunamas” of God.  The formula is in itself a reinforcing loop: PRAY-WAIT-TRUST.

                                    WAIT

                        PRAY             TRUST

     Keep denying self, “hanging here” in the presence of the moment, and at the appointed time God will move, reveal, and transform:

Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it”

Hab 2:2-3

     The reinforcing loop of PRAY-WAIT-TRUST energizes the “dunamis” (power) of God:

“…that he may run that readeth it.”

(Hab 2:2-3). 

     At the appointed time, the Spirit moves toward that vision.  We appropriate courage; we lean upon God in being filled with the Spirit.  Willpower no longer controls.  Logic and the mental faculties take a back seat to the operation of the Spirit, the “dunamas” Power of God.  He works through  submissive vessels to bring about a personal vision.  As we run closer, the mosaic becomes clearer and the vision takes form.

     The PRAY-WAIT-TRUST loop energizes the “dunamis” (Power) of God.  Don’t plan too much.  Jesus said that tomorrow will take care of itself.  Look at the vision and focus on what you are supposed to do today.  God will show you exactly what to do when tomorrow comes.  Day-by-day living feeds the soul and enlightens the vision upon the heart: “And the Lord answered me and said, ‘Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables”—

These tables picture the heart: 

“… ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ… written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart”

2 Cor. 3:3

     Did you catch that?  God writes a vision upon the tables of the heart.  Our lives write a new epistle!  We have the opportunity and potential to become the very personification of Scripture, a living testimony to God.  We are to become that vision, and that vision is to become us.

     The vision is akin to God whispering a divinely inspired secret upon your heart.  You receive it, trust it, and run toward it to examine it more closely: “that he may run that readeth” (Hab 2:2-3).  The vision unlocks by patiently trusting it will come: “though it tarry, wait for it: because it will surely come” (Hab 2:3).

     God’s purpose in writing His vision upon your heart is to create living, walking, breathing Epistles—testimonies of His Love and Power on earth.  Our bodies are the Temple of God (1 Cor 3:16; 1 Cor 6:19)

     Let’s recap how to receive inspired vision.  First, humble yourself, or God will enforce humility.  Second, be converted and receive that new heart and spirit that He has promised.  This requires trusting God.  Third, be brought to that point of asking, “Lord, what would you have me to do?” (Acts 9:6).  The answer may not come right away but you must diligently seek it.  Finally, God opens your eyes to the vision when you pray.  God restored Paul’s sight because, ”behold he prayeth” (Acts 9:11).

     The vision may take days, weeks, months, or years to manifest, but God will begin by writing it upon the tables of your heart.  It may begin as a cloudy silhouette, but it will crystallize as you run toward it.  It will show itself clearly as you grow in His Spirit and Love.  Finally, as part of His vision for your life, you will be transformed into a Living Epistle, a shining testimony for others to see. 

“… though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come.” Hab 2:3

May the Lord of Glory reveal to you the light of inner vision.                                             

                                                               Larry Word

Love not the World

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world… For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world” 

1 John 2:15-16

“And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever”  1 John 2: 17

“…know ye not that friendship of the world is enmity with God?  Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”  James 4:4

     Do you love the world?  I am not speaking of the beauty and wonder of the earth itself, but of the organized and structured systems of which it is built. 

     We have been deceived.  Our attachments and desires weigh so heavily upon our souls that we do not even realize we are suffocating.  We love our jobs, homes, and cars.  We love our habits, routines, and schedules—from eating at our favorite restaurant to watching our regular television programs, we would rather do anything than serve and worship God.  We are overlords of our own little universe.  We love our wealth, status, and prestige.  We love the little niches we have carved for ourselves.  If we see something someone else has, we compare it to what we have.  Our souls are forever wanting, our appetites never full.

     We are but faintly aware that there is a vacuum at the core of our being, a desperate void that longs to be filled.  Our little microcosm provides pacification without fulfillment, a counterfeit peace which distracts our attention from the sorrowful longings in the soul.

     But Jesus promised us a different kind of peace than what the world provides: “My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, giveth I unto you” (John 15:27).  Isn’t that interesting?  The world offers us a form of peace, but Christ offers us a “peace which surpasses all understanding” (Phil 4:7).  And this peace is not obtained by knowledge or effort but by faith: “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).

     You see, by loving the world, we unwittingly serve its ruler, Satan, the prince of this world (John 12:30, 16:11).  He currently deceives all nations and peoples of the earth (Rev. 20:3).

     One of the biggest lies the devil sponsors is that only gross evil originates from him.  But scripture declares that, “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14).  His world policy is based on both human good (self-righteousness) and evil.  Satan incorporates as much good into the world as possible while still maintaining his objectives.  What are those objectives?  To prove God a liar and bring in a counterfeit peace, thus obtaining the worship and glory rightfully due our Lord.

     This may come as a shock, but the presence of evil in the world is something of an embarrassment to Satan, for it illustrates his impotence to execute his plan.  Misery and depravity are not by his design, but rather, are the result of a creature attempting to take on more than he could ever possibly administer.

     So this is why we cannot love the world, for it is all the cosmos diabolicus—the devil’s orderly, structured world system.  Cosmos diabolicus is a latin theological term that refers to Satan’s domain and the scope of his authority.  The cosmos diabolicus is vast.  It includes governments, art, politics, media, education, the economy, commercialism, morality, and yes, even religion!  It represents man’s attempt to live separate, apart from God.  All of these systems in the world work together to numb man, to provide a counterfeit peace that cannot be sustained.  And the revelation of scripture is that it all must ultimately be destroyed, not just the evil, but the entire heavens and earth must be annihilated and re-created (2 Pet 3:7, 10; Rev 21:1).

     So whether you consider the world in its microcosm (i.e. our habits, routines, and the little empires we have amassed) or in the macrocosm (the cosmos diabolicus—governments, religion, the economy, etc.), just remember to keep it all in perspective.  Don’t get duped into accepting that counterfeit peace offered by Satan and his world.  For it is only meant to deceive you and distract you from your purpose in Christ.

     Don’t love the world, but seek the Kingdom of God and all else will be added to you.  We may be formed of the dust but deep in the heart of man is the fiery morning star seeking to shine forth.    Though we were born terrestrial “earth creatures,” we have a dormant celestial identity, the mystery of which is unlocked in the heart by faith:

“… having received the promises… and were persuaded of them, and embraced them… (they) confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth”      

(Heb 11:13)

We may live in the world, but we are not of the world.

Larry Word

Invisible Heroes

“God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost”  Heb 2:4

“But He giveth more grace, Wherefore He saith, ‘God resiteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

James 4:6

     There are few in today’s world who understand the actualized potential of Spirit.  Fundamentalist and Conservative branches of Christianity hold that the signs, wonders, and miracles of apostolic times have altogether ceased, that the gifts of the Spirit were valid for but a short season in the early church in order to bear witness to the Lordship of Christ (Heb 2:4).  Charismatic and some Pentecostal denominations, on the other hand, believe that if you do not manifest signs and wonders of the Spirit, such as the gift of tongues, then you are not saved.  So who is right?  Let us explore this question together.

     In the days of the early church, God worked on the principle of bearing visible and conspicuous witness that something incredible had occurred (Heb 2:4)—the resurrection and ascension of Christ.  There were no Bibles back then.  The message had to travel via word of mouth from one believer to another.  The common spiritual phenomena of tongues, healings, and miracles in the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:28, 29) enabled the Christian faith to spread like wildfire, a pandemic contagion that enveloped the Roman Empire.  Slowly, these spiritual gifts faded (1 Cor. 13:8), but not before the establishment of churches and the writing of the New Testament Epistles.

     Nowadays, conversion is typically not associated with the same supernatural fireworks.  It is simply by grace through faith that the Kingdom is born within the heart.  The orthodox sects have gone too far in saying that God is no longer in the business of miracles.  But Charismatics are equally errant in believing that the Holy Spirit is some sort of dog-and-pony show; that much noise and exaggerated emotions are evidence of a spiritual experience.

     The Truth is that God now works from a different principle.  Rather than bearing visible and conspicuous witness to the collective body (Heb 2:4), God works through individual believers, invisible heroes with an enlarged capacity for grace: “But he giveth more grace… unto the humble” (James 4:6). 

     You do not have to speak in tongues or perform miracles to be saved.  In fact, most tongue babbling and so-called tent revival healings are a farce.  I say “most” because I cannot relegate the sovereignty of God.  But I can state that, nowadays, God works His Power (dunamas) through invisible heroes.

     Speaking in toungues is a deeply personal experience between you and the Lord.  It is no longer meant for spectacle.  It is not a scheduled event for the eyes of men.  If the true spirit of wisdom, knowledge, or any of the other gifts have touched you (1 Cor. 12:8-11), then you probably feel out of place in both the church and the world.  But God has not left you marooned on an island.  He calls you to be an invisible hero, reporting directly to the Master.  He expects you to submit yourself as a humble vessel through which His Spirit works.

   An invisible hero gives his or her alms in secret.  An invisible hero influences events from behind the scenes.  An invisible hero understands that the Power of God’s Spirit cannot be harnessed, commanded, or turned on and off at will.  An invisible hero waits for the Spirit to move, for the waters to pour forth.  The family, friends, and professional affiliations of the invisible hero are blessed simply by peripheral association: “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curseth thee,” was the promise to Abraham; how much more shall the invisible hero receive in Christ!

     The humility of the invisible hero is what enables  super-grace capacity: “But he giveth more grace… unto the humble.” (James 4:2).  But humility does not mean that you have to be timid.  Contrary to popular opinion, the mark of humility is in being able to receive instruction and correction.  The proud exalts himself but the humble is exalted by God.  Humility enables one to develop virtue and character, resulting in the fruits of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” (Gal. 5:22, 23).

     Humility simply means “teachability,” and the Holy Spirit is our private tutor.  A humble man or woman receives conviction from the Holy Spirit, resulting in behavior modification and the continued growth of that new spiritual identity born in the heart, that “new man” of  Eph 4:24.

     So ask yourself, are you an invisible hero?  Has the Lord enlarged your capacity for grace?  Because if you are, then you know that above all else, Love is the highest calling, greater than any spiritual gift or supernatural phenomena (1 Cor. 13:1-4).  The Greek word for this type of Love is “agape,” rendered “charity” in 1 Corinthians 13:1-4 (KJV).  This is the same Love (agape) that describes God sacrificing His only son (John 3:16).  We could better render it “cherish” rather than “charity.”  It is a Love of self-sacrificial giving.

     Invisible heroes sacrifice themselves, submitting their body and blood to the service of the Lord and the betterment of humanity.  They are in effect mini-messiahs, anointed by the Holy Spirit:

“I have said, ‘ye are gods; and all of you are children of the Most High”

(Psalms 82:6; John 10:34, 35). 

     Invisible heroes have divine compassion on others—they don’t just Love, they cherish.

Larry Word