I pray that the Father will grant me the wisdom to explain His redemption plan for the Church. I know that we have not yet comprehended the mind or intent of the Father in this matter. We are void of acknowledging the real purpose for the existence of the Sons on planet Earth. In this, I mean to reveal the true nature of the Sons. This is the place of error and unbelief. Remember the story of Israel in the wilderness? They failed to enter into the “promised land,” based on the way they considered themselves in comparison to the inhabitants of the land. They never stopped to consider that it was the Father who had brought them out of Egypt, kept them safe and victorious over their enemies as they crossed the desert. It was the will and power of God that caused them to prevail. It was also God who promised to drive the inhabitants of the land out from before them. They had nothing to do except trust and obey God. He was their strength and their power. It was God who would fight their battles as He did in Egypt and at the Red Sea.
Nevertheless, there were some who doubted the integrity of God. These scoffers and unbelievers persuaded others of their complete vulnerability to the forces of their enemies. Thus, fear and unbelief in the already proven power and faithfulness of God provoked the Children of Israel to rebel against Moses, God and Truth. The same is true today. The church has been provoked to unbelief by false doctrines that report the weakness and fallibility of the Sons of God. The truth of the power of sonship has not yet been revived since the Church came out of the dark ages. “We are the Sons of God,” has become a slogan that really shows no kinsmanship to the Father that can be manifested in this life. Or, if I must go here, the power of healing and sporadic workings of the gifts of the Spirit have been reduced to merely showing an association with rather than a relative of God.
PURPOSE OF THE SONS:
In order to see the purpose of the Sons of God, we must first examine the purpose for the coming and living among sinners of the first Son. I hold the two are the same and there are others who agree with me.
St. Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
St. John 13:31-32
31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.
St. John 17:1
These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
Romans 15:6-7
6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
1 Peter 4:16
Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
I think it is safe to say that the purpose for God leaving the Sons on the earth for a season is so they will glorify Him. It appears from the above passages that it is going to take suffering and good works to glorify the Father. To glorify the Father is to reveal and manifest all that He is and has given to us, the Sons.
St. John 12:44-50
44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.
45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.
46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
Jesus came to reveal the character of the Father. That character is holiness. It is through the life of Christ that we become acquainted with God. He revealed God’s mind, heart and character to the world. It is by the life that Christ lived in the flesh that allowed us to know the character and intent of the Father. Christ also manifested that character and purpose of the Father. He lived in the eternal Spirit of the Father. His lifestyle was a manifestation of the Father’s love that can only be manifested in true righteousness. Just as Jesus was sent into the world to reveal this great love of the Father, so are we sent to reveal the same.
WALKING IN THE FLESH
It is the responsibility of the Sons of God to reveal the heart and mind of the Father. This can only be done the same way it was done nearly two-thousand years ago. God can only be manifested to the world by Jesus Christ, for Jesus is the revelation of the Father. That same Jesus lives in us today. Therefore, we must live our lives in the Spirit of Christ so we will be able to manifest the great love of the Father for mankind. We know this in theory and even more so because we try so hard to maintain a spiritual disposition in the midst of circumstances and relationships. But there is a tremendous hindrance to this manifestation of God in the lives of the saints.
The truth is, we have too long believed that circumstances, situations and relationships have caused this hindrance to our spiritual growth. Quite the contrary is true. These situations and relationships were designed to promote spiritual growth. Then what is the problem? Why is it that the saints of God find it so difficult to manifest Christ? I charge you that it is not the situations of life we find ourselves in that hinder us. It is the mindset that we have pertaining to salvation. In the previous chapters, I tried to lay out a convincing fight for walking free from sin. This is the commandment of the Father for the Sons. Just as we are able to walk free from the bondage of sin, so are we able to walk free from the emotional captivities of the flesh.
This is extremely important because it is the emotions of the flesh that cause us to enter into offenses and iniquity. I have found it is very difficult to convince the saints of God that we are able to live the life of a manifested Son of God. I find that it is not a matter of living the life of the Son that is the issue. No, we have not even gotten to that yet, but rather to simply believing that we can. The children of Israel perished in the wilderness due to their unbelief. The saints of God will do the same, unless we come to the place of agreement with the Word of God.
1 John 4:17
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
We can manifest the great love of God for man and our love can be perfect because we are the same as Christ in the world. In order for us to stand in the judgment without fear, our love for one another must be perfected. Jesus is the perfect lover. It is the love of Christ that must be manifested in the world today, and this love is powerful enough to endue hardness and all offenses to the flesh.
1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Galatians 2:20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
WALKING IN FAITH:
Since Christ lives in us, it is His life that must be manifested. The lack of agreement with God has caused us to waver even in our faith. For to walk in the spirit of faith is to walk in the Spirit of Christ, not only knowing in whom we have believed, but also trusting the Christ who is within enough to live in His desire and emotions. This is true faith. It is not a momentary or situational belief in the power of Christ. It is a yielding to the mind, heart and purpose of the Christ within. We know this. But why is it so difficult for us to walk in it? Listen to the chastening of Paul as he dealt with the Galatians.
Galatians 3:3
Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
The Church at Galata reminds me of the Church today. We, too, are born of the Spirit but move back and forth into the flesh. It is the soul that continues for a season in the spirit and then, in the midst of circumstances and relationships, vacillates back and forth in the flesh. Why? Because the soul is the spirit of the fleshy mind, and the mind has not yet accepted the fact that we can live above all offenses and desires of the flesh. Beloved this is the problem. The Church is not convinced that it can live free of the captivity of offenses, disappointments and emotional pain. Yes, we can live free of emotional pain and disappointment from our fellow man.
Oh, Dr. Banks, what are you saying? Do you mean to imply that offenses of the flesh should not hurt the Sons of God? Are you also implying that the Sons of God should not feel emotional pains of loss, rejection and humiliation? Yes, that is indeed what I am saying. Consider the following passage, the way the Holy Ghost meant us to understand.
Romans 8:7-10
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
The carnal mind is the mind that controls the thoughts and activities of the flesh. It is the fleshy mind that determines the spiritual disposition of the soul. Paul plainly states that the carnal mind of the flesh is an enemy of God. It does not submit to the law of God and consequently can never please God. How is it that we are the Sons of God, born of the Spirit of God, made partakers of the divine nature, but still see, think and feel the same emotions as those who have not known God? Well, I hear the mind of the flesh. I know you are thinking, “Doc., we may be able to feel the emotions of the flesh, but not be held captive by them.”
This, my friend, is a gross deception. We are not of the flesh, but of the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in us. How is it that a spiritual creature is so susceptible to the feelings, desires and emotions of the flesh? I’ll tell you how. He is walking in the flesh. We do even as the Galatians. We begin in the Spirit and rejoice there, until the negative circumstances and relationships of this life overtake us. It is then that the soul, with its emotions, desires, imagination and will travel from the habitation of the Spirit to live inside the beggarly elements of the flesh. It is impossible for the body to be dead to sin and not dead to offenses.
These offenses and the emotions they pertain to are manufactured by circumstances, situations and relationships being processed in the sense realm of the flesh instead of the Holy Ghost. This is what it means to walk in the flesh. When you entertain situations in the sense realm, you can only produce damaged or perverted emotions for the Sons. In addition, these perverted unlawful emotions produce sin by stopping the flow of love.
The facts are that saints feel it is lawful to experience the hurt of emotional pain, rejection, persecution and humiliation, if only for a moment. We just simply are not to allow it to cripple us. But this is not so. To feel such is unlawful for the Son of God. Note the Apostle Paul.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
How is it that he is able to take pleasure (delight) in infirmities and reproaches? How is it that he is able to rejoice in the midst of persecution and affliction? This does not sound like a man who is experiencing hurt or emotional pain due to offenses lain on his person. Paul learned how to walk in the Spirit. This is why the more Israel persecuted him the more he became their intercessor. This is the example that is set before us. We cannot love and hurt at the same time. Love will go lacking.
Romans 8:12
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
We are not indebted to the flesh, neither are we to live after the mind of the flesh. The emotions of the flesh are created by its five senses. To entertain situations or relations through these will gender iniquity and/or spiritual paralysis. These situations must be entertained by the spiritual senses, if the life of Christ is to be maintained in them. Paul desired that the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon him. He was already born of the Spirit, but realized that the flesh needed to be affected by the Spirit as well. The flesh needed to be baptized in the anointing of the Holy Ghost and the mind of the flesh needed influence and renewal. Therefore, he took on the mind of the Spirit, encouraging us to do the same.
Philippians 2:5
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians 4:22-24
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
WE MUST FORCE THE FLESHY MIND TO SUFFER TRUTH. It must come into agreement with the work of the Spirit within us. It must accept the salvation experience as the creation of a new being, one who is not subordinate to the dictates, emotions or desires of the flesh. The mind and the spirit of the mind, which is the soul, must be purged and then renewed. The mind must take on the attributes of the Spirit. The attributes must rest upon the flesh.
Isaiah 11:2-4
2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor,…
We must not see anything through the eyes of the flesh for we are in the Spirit. We must not entertain situations with the ears or heart of the flesh, but we must judge righteously with the Spirit. We are spiritual beings who must live in the realm of the spirit all the time. It is death for the Sons to live in the flesh. Torment and frustration are present when we entertain our relationships and situations after the flesh, bringing rejection, heartache and perverted emotions. Sons of God, when we live after the flesh, it only brings sin and death to our soul.
Romans 8:13-18
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
WE ARE BORN AGAIN. WE ARE NOT OF THE FLESH. This must become the mind of the Sons of God. We are the children of God. We are His heirs, thus partakers of all that He is. We are able to love the way He loves, not having to go through a thought war in order to get back on course. Thought wars are for babes. If we are to mature, then we must demand that the fleshy mind conform to the mind of Christ. It must see as He sees. Think as He thinks. Feel as He feels and love as He loves. It is not natural for the Sons of God to entertain any situation or relationship with the emotions of the flesh. We must see, hear, think and feel with the Spirit of Christ. WE ARE NOT IN THE FLESH.
WALKING IN THE SPIRIT One of the greatest deceptions in the Church today is the spiritual disposition of the new creature. Because Christians have failed in their relationships, their character and their witness of Christ, they have consequently made the disposition of the flesh equal with that of the Spirit, or rather the spiritual being they have become. It is almost impossible to convince the average saint that they are able to actually live unimpaired by the emotional infirmities of the flesh.
St. John 14:16-20
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
The Holy Ghost is the Comforter. He is the Spirit of the Most High and in Him is the Godhead bodily. But what is a comforter, and what is it He comforts us in?
THE COMFORTER parakletos (par-ak'-lay-tos); an intercessor, consoler or advocate in 2 Thessalonians 2:16 it combines encouragement with alleviation of grief.
2 Thessalonians 2:15-17
15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
17 Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.
The Holy Ghost can establish us in every good word and work. Every word that proceeds out of our mouth should be one of edification for the Body of Christ and the lost. We can move in the Spirit to a place where we do not offend in word or in deed. Furthermore, the Son of God has not reached maturity until he is not offensive in word or in deed.
James 3:2
For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
1 John 4:17
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
If the Son is able to live free of offending, then He should be able to live free of being offended. Then and only then will he be able to rejoice and maintain peace in his heart in the midst of negatives.
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
These are the attributes of the Spirit. To live in the Spirit is to walk in love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.
Galatians 5:24
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
THE SONS OF GOD CRUCIFIED THE FLESH, ITS AFFECTIONS AND ITS LUSTS. THE AFFECTIONS OF THE FLESH ARE CRUCIFIED. Therefore, it is unlawful to walk in them. Love now must be more than sensual. It must be of a godly nature. Peace must not be superficial, but that which passes understanding. Reasoning must become wisdom, and suffering in flesh must become a way of life.
Galatians 5:25
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Psalm 119:165-168
165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
166 LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments.
167 My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly.
168 I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee.
Look at the 167th verse . . . “My soul hath kept thy testimonies; . . .” This is the heart of serving the Lord. The soul is the prize that is at risk of being lost. It is the soul that must keep the commandments of the Lord. It is the soul that must have the testimony of Jesus Christ. I am sure the Body of Christ understands the meaning here. It is the soul that migrates back and forth in and out of the Spirit. It follows the dictates of the flesh for a season and then it wants to walk in the Spirit for a season. This is not acceptable unto the Lord. The soul in this state is a hindrance to the working of the Christ in us. When the soul is in agreement with the Word of God, it acquires an affection for things pertaining to God and godliness. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SONS OF GOD TO ARTICULATE THE LOVE OF THE FATHER TO THE WORLD AND ONE ANOTHER. This can only be achieved by walking in the Spirit. Jesus Christ came to reveal the great love of the Father to us. Now are we sent into the world to reveal the same.
St. John 17:18
As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
How has the Father articulated His love for us?
1. While we were yet in sin He sent Christ to die for us. This is minimized in the minds of the saints because rarely do we really consider what the Lord has saved us from. (The torments of everlasting fire.) 2. He has adopted us into the royal family and made us partakers of His divine nature. We are now the Sons of God.
3. His love can be seen in how He makes Himself vulnerable through longsuffering, patience and forbearance in the circumstances and relationships that we carry Him.
However, He never lowers the standard of the Word. So it follows that submission to the Word of God will allow and even evoke the love of God. We, too, must articulate the same love to the world and the church. To do so means we must comprehend that great love for ourselves also. Then and only then, can we be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:17-19
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
COMPREHENDING SONSHIP
1. To comprehend the salvation experience is to stop resisting who we are.
2. All wantonness (lust) must be turned to sacrifice.
3. Being no longer indebted to the flesh, we must give up the rights thereof.
4. The fleshy mind must suffer the truth concerning the new birth.
5. We must set our affections on things above, not minding the things of this world.
We can live in the Spirit twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. We are Sons of God, created in the righteousness of God. Therefore, we can do all things pertaining to life and godliness. We can overcome the trappings of the flesh by walking in the Spirit.
Romans 8:35-37
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
BELOVED, WE CAN WALK IN THE SPIRIT. I’ll meet you in the Spirit, Dr. Mary Banks
