Study Guide
The Fullness of Christ
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Ephesians 4:13
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
When Paul mentioned the fullness of Christ, he was talking about the power, the presence, the agency and the administration of Jesus Christ. How is this fullness seen? It is not seen simply because I am saved, and therefore have the presence of God living in me, by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. Even though I am secure in the above elementary definition of presence, there is a deeper definition that implies He is working with me in all that I do. This was the concern of the apostles. The scripture said that they went out into all the world, the Lord working with them.
St. Mark 16:20
And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
THE PRESENCE OF GOD
You are not going to be successful in ministry until He is working with and in you. There have been times when I have had to stop all ministry activities, because God was not working with us. We determined to stand still until we started moving inside of His working. We were doing too much on our own and making our own decisions.
THE POWER OF GOD
For a ministry to succeed, you must move under the power of God. Faith is the effectual working of God's power in you. Faith will move you into the apostolic ministry. If God is going to use you, you must agree with His mind. He said: I have searched your thoughts and your heart; I know how you feel and I know when your feelings are contrary to my Word; I know when your thoughts are not My thoughts and I know when they are full of iniquity. God knows when you are allowing His influence and He knows when you are not. God is always conscious of the disposition of your mind.
It is time to face this fact. In God you have no cloaks. You have nothing to hide behind. One thing is guaranteed: when God has influenced you, no one can stop Him from using you. No one has that power. God has declared that your gift, that measure will make room for itself. You do not need to make room for it. If you are not growing, it is because sin is operating in you somewhere.
God will not let you move until He sees agreement with holiness. I had to face that a long time ago. I always knew when God had me on hold and when He wasn’t working with me. I couldn’t move until I submitted. I had to examine myself to see what sin He wanted to cleanse me of. I may not have been in fornication, or speaking profanities, but the disposition of my mind was not right. My thoughts and my motives were not right, and God being a good Father had to chasten me. He chastens everyone He loves. The love of the Father will bring you face to face with the disposition of your mind.
POWER TO BECOME SONS
St. John 1:12
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 . . .
If you are looking for God to give you some special anointing (power) to work miracles, and you feel the only evidence of having received power is when we are able to accomplish things like raising the dead or healing the sick to say you are sure God visited you, you are mistaken. This power you are to receive, is the power to become Sons of God (St.John 1:12). This is the power to be as Christ: the anointed one. Once the power of God has worked in you, to transform you into His image, you, too, will become an anointed one. This is all done by influence.
THE AGENCY OF GOD
The Holy Ghost manifests Himself on these levels:
1. One level of manifestation is the gifts given by the Spirit (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers). These are the administrative offices through which the Spirit of God flows into the Body. In addition to these five-fold frame workers, there are the exhorters, the governments, the administrations, the helps and the intercessors.
2. Another level of manifestation of the Holy Ghost is what most people call the nine gifts of the Spirit, which are:
Word of Wisdom
The Word of Wisdom is given when you need God’s wisdom to be revealed inside of a circumstance, situation or relationship. This Word may be given to comfort, settle your heart, instruct or even rebuke.
Word of Knowledge
The Word of Knowledge is insight that comes from God to speak of things that only He could have revealed. It is given to bring an individual to a place of belief.
Faith
Faith is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit inside the life of the believer. However, the individual with the gift of Faith will believe God for any manifestation of the supernatural.
Spirit of Discernment gives you the ability to discern from what you hear, see or observe. This observation may be either tangible or intangible. It may be from what is actually spoken or from what was not spoken (the void).
Prophecy
The gift of Prophecy is the demonstration of God’s power and wisdom. It exalts Christ, His redemptive work and sets the divine character of God’s revealed Word.
The Gift of Healing
Healing is a supernatural cure of the physical, mental and spiritual disposition of man.
The Gift of Miracles
Miracles are used to prove and establish the power of God to the onlookers. They are also a supernatural work that cannot be produced by natural agents or means. The work may be physical or spiritual. (St. John 10:38).
Divers Kinds of Tongues is the supernatural gift of speaking in another language without it having been learned. (1 Corinthians 14:22).
Interpretation of Tongues is the supernatural gift to give the understanding of what was spoken in an unknown tongue in order that the Body of Christ can be edified.
The agency and administration relate to the distribution of the power of God. This will help you to understand your calling and how it is going to be funneled to the Body of Christ. First, there are the five-fold gifts, which are governmental offices inside of the Body of Christ. That’s what makes them the agency through which the Holy Ghost channels His power. Not only are the five-fold considered offices, but they are considered agencies and gifts. Jesus said in Ephesians 4:8, "I gave gifts unto men . . .," so the agency of God is channeled through the gifts. These are the real gifts.