Word Made Flesh

A: THE LIVING WORD

John 1:12-14

12. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The Word manifested in the flesh is the will of the Father brought to the earth. The will of the Father for our lives was made known to us by the lifestyle of Jesus Christ. He did only those things which pleased the Father.

Jesus Christ came to this earth to manifest the Word of God. He walked here thirty-three and a half years making the will of the Father known to the world. He walked in that which was written of Him. He lived and acted inside the boundaries of the Word of God. It is also worthy to note Christ made a decision to agree with the will of the Father, before He began His ministry here on earth.

Sitting here writing this, I'm thinking of the long and meticulous efforts of the Word of God to bring me and others to walking in the mind of Christ. Sometimes, when I look back on all the messages, books, tapes, conferences, schools and discipleship sessions, the focal point of them all is the mind.

The Word has worked hard to bring us into the mind of Christ. Many circumstances, situations and relationships have been created over the years which were designed to reveal our true spiritual location, mindsets and desire to serve. However, the question most often asked in the minds of those caught in the web of change, "Why is all of this necessary?” After all, we're saved. What is the purpose of the renewal of the mind? And most definitely, is it really necessary to go into the depths we seem to go?

Though many of you who read this material may not have had the type of systematic spiritual developmental message as those who have grown up with this ministry, however, I must ask those who have, why is the Word so hard on us. Why has the Word demanded we examine every thought and intent of our hearts, without ceasing? More importantly, why is it taking so long for us to come into the mind of Christ after receiving powerful revelatory word from the Lord?

God's purpose cannot be fulfilled without the character of Christ developed in His people.The chastening of the Lord is a training process. Inside the training of the people of God, the evil mindsets must be destroyed. The mind must be retrained to accept the will and way of the Father.

The Word must become life in us. It must be the bread and meat we are nourished by. We must see the Word operating in every one of our situations. This will not happen if we do not regard the sanctity of the Word.

This process of retraining the child of God is a time consuming one. This time is consumed in the demonstration of the power of the Word in our circumstances and relationships.

a. Experiential knowledge must be gained from these experiences.

b. Knowledge must then be tried and tested before it can become virtue.

Virtue is the power of the knowledge we have received. It is the spiritual anointing which is contained in righteousness.

John declares the disciples beheld the glory of Christ. He goes on to explain this glory came from the fact that he walked in the grace and truth of God.

FULL OF GRACE

Jesus was fully influenced by the will of the Father. “To be full” means to be controlled by the will of God. He was actually controlled by the desire of the Father. He never once exalted His will above that of the Most High. “To be full of grace” also means Jesus was persuaded the will of the Father could be accomplished in Him. He was motivated only by the will of the Father. Jesus knew what the prophets had written of Him. He had spent all His growing up years studying the scriptures. In them, He found Himself and discovered His purpose for life.

The Lord discovered He was charged with the awesome task of revealing the will of the Father to the world and to prove the character of the Father could be manifested in the flesh. For this was the will of the Father: the Word of God to be made and put on display among men.

The character of God was seen in the law, which had no power to cause men to deny themselves the lusts of this world. Therefore, there was a need for another covenant, seeing as how the first was broken by consistent sin.

Now Timothy says, great is the mystery of godliness or the godly character that is to manifest in our relationships with one another. This was the attempt of the law. To show man how to live together, doing only those things which would be pleasing to the Lord. It was an attempt to govern man's attitude and actions towards one another. However, the law was made weak through the wantonness of the flesh.

B: ACCOUNTABILITY

Let us take a good look at the government of the Church, those who are supposed to govern it.

CHRIST: The head of the Church; works through the administration of the Holy Ghost on the earth.

THE APOSTLE: The "sent one"; the head of Church government. Receives the revelatory Word from the Master. The scriptures, the mind, the heart and the method by which God is going to raise up the royal priesthood is revealed to the apostle. He or she is the one given the grace to merge His mind with His method for the procuring and development of His people. The apostle is chosen to lead in the reformation and development of the Church. He or she is the master builder.

THE PROPHET: The voice of God; sent to confirm His Word and His Will. He also foretells future events relative to the Church and its people. These events are connected with the purpose of God in the lives of His saints and the direction of Church movement.

THE EVANGELIST Compels to worship - the soul winner

THE PASTOR The shepherd - the keeper of the sheep

The head of the local church.

THE TEACHER The instructor - piece-meals the word to the flock.

THE SHEEP Members of the Body of Christ

From the above breakdown of Church structure, we understand the five-fold ministry is the governing body of the Church. According to the apostle Paul in his letter to the church at Ephesus, (Eph. 4:11), they are also the perfectors of the body. In other words they are responsible for bringing the Church into the mind of Christ. Let us look at just how this is to be done.

1 Corinthians 1:10

10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

The first and foremost fact is the Church will never experience the unity of the faith until the leaders themselves are speaking the same thing. This means there must be one message in the Church. This singleness of speech will bring about unity in thought and judgment.

The above passage is referencing the disposition of leaders in the Church. It is the leaders who must first have the same mind, in order to render the same judgment in a matter. This unity of the faith can then be passed down to the “sheep.”

There are no private interpretations of scripture. However, I noticed something very alarming in the face of so much revelation…the stagnated growth rate of some of the saints. Though all were listening to the same Word there were disturbing differences in their spiritual locations. Why?

C: CONFRONTATION IS THE CATALYST FOR CHANGE

Though the Word came pure and simple, I noticed those who did not attend those settings which placed us in direct confrontation with the Word of God were spiritually stunted in comparison to those who did attend such functions. Discipleship or transmittal sessions, as we sometimes call them, are spiritual settings wherein leaders impart the wisdom of the Word. Discipleship meetings are where the sheep express their difficulty in applying the Word to their lives. It is here the shepherds nurture the sheep. It is in these settings the sheep are given more clarity on the intent of the Word in their situations and relationships. This is where the mind of Christ is taught in detailed, live situations.

It is in these discipleship meetings and shut-ins the government of God confronts His citizens. Without this confrontation, the body of Christ becomes a greedy, gainsaying, lustful people. In these sessions the saints must give an account of the Word they have received. If they are not spiritually prosperous in a situation or relationship, then they must answer why.

Counseling, discipleship or transmittal sessions are one on one confrontations with the mind of God. Beloved you may know the Word and may be able to articulate it, however, that does not guarantee you will walk in it. Hearing provides knowledge, but doing produces the power of the Spirit.

On the way to maturity, the flesh will respond like an undisciplined child without confrontation from those they are accountable to.

Accountability brings about a "choice in the presence of witnesses" to obey or disobey the Word of God.

Leaders must see shut-ins, group and individual counseling as their opportunity to cultivate the mind of the flock. The shepherds must desire to handle the sheep. They must spend quality time nurturing and training in the mind of Christ. This is confrontation that forces accountability.

Ministry is not done only from the pulpit. You must learn the hearts and minds of the flock, but, you will never really know the mind of the people unless you spend time with them. This is the example Jesus left us to follow. He spent 3 1/2 years with the apostles before trusting them with the ministry. This is why they were called disciples. They were disciplined in His mindset, which made them steadfast in their purpose.

Confrontation is the force which is needed to push the Church into righteousness. Without it we raise the saints as bastards. Likewise, if leadership fails to make itself vulnerable by submitting to one another, then we, too, will be as wild men and women, without accountability or standard.

Accountability does not weaken; it strengthens. Submit to it and you will grow in grace.