What is Man?

Phill 2:9

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

I would like to present a situation to you. I want you to imagine coming home after a hard day’s work. You have done your job well, and worked hard in order to provide for your wife and children. Looking forward to your 7 o’clock home cooked meal, you speedily pull up in your driveway. After rushing inside, you notice the usual smell of dinner is not what meets you at the door.

In fact, when you go over to the kitchen there is none prepared. Well, your wife said she wasn’t feeling well so you begin to look for her. You go upstairs to your room, and upon opening the door you see another man in your bed with your wife. This is not just any man, but he is one of your closest friends. One of the deepest mysteries that exists is the oneness of husband and wife. Even the scriptures testify of its depth; however, before your face this mystery has been defiled.

As you ponder upon this I want you to write in your notes your first emotions.

You might have even been someone who has had this experience before and if you felt the emotions of the Spirit I praise the Lord with you. If not however, there are certain factors worthy to be considered. If you, the best friend and the wife, should all die immediately.

Eph 5:31-32

For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Another good scenario would be if we found out another man has been abusing your daughter. What would be your first response/emotion? after your first response where would you all go? Would you all be in heaven or in hell? A question like that may seem irrelevant because it seems least likely to happen, but I think it is truly worthy of our consideration. It is not the norm for a man to be or even try to be rational in this given situation.

Some may even think it is ludicrous of me to even suggest that the man experience anything other than rage and violence. After all it is his house and his bed. His wife has betrayed him and so has his closest friend. This leaves us with a betrayed marriage and abused trust. All these are seemingly worthy of an unrighteous response, but before we go any further I would like to ask another question. It’s important that we judge our first responses against Christ. Remember, your first response is your true spiritual location.

The enemy’s ultimate agenda is to pervert mankind. He does this by ministering a perspective that rejects Jesus Christ, and in doing so, he has kept the church in captivity. Many in the church do not recognize this subtle plan because his notion of who a man is, is so widely accepted.

If Christ were in the same situation what would be His first emotion and ultimate response? God gave man dominion over the earth and all the things that dwelt in it. Adam in his innocence was the ruler of the earth, and was submissive unto the Lord. It has been the agenda of Satan from the beginning to pervert man. He has brought about his perversion by ministering a perspective that has brought the majority of the sons of God back into captivity. It is the captivity of their own mind that is the enemy here.

1 John 1:1

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life It goes without saying the life of Christ was that life which was hid in God before the foundations of the earth. He is the true manifestation of the heart and sentiment of a man. He was God’s true design for a male. However, the devil has successfully ministered a perception which rejects Christ. The devil has sought to redefine who a man really is, changing God’s intent for the man. Sadly, his ministry has been believed on so strongly by the men of the world that it is almost subliminal. What is even worse is this perception is so deeply embedded in the hearts of men they don’t even realize it is devilish. It is even found and often accepted in the church. A DEVILISH SENTIMENT

Ezekiel 28:14-15

14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

Lucifer was created a holy creature. He was beautiful and anointed by God himself. For skin he had the covering of precious stones, and instruments were fashioned within him. He was bright, and wise; indeed a perfect creature. However, Lucifer allowed his blessings to corrupt him and he developed iniquity in his heart. The iniquity engendered a drive from within him to defy God and to overthrow His kingdom.

Ezekiel 28:16

16By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

The root of Lucifer’s iniquity was that he allowed his blessings to corrupt him. He ceased to recognize that everything he owned, all his “glory” was given to him by God, not earned. Today, the devil is doing the same thing in man - causing him to look upon his blessings and become puffed up. He dangles before man the reasons that he (man) is worthy of worship. Just as some men judge themselves based on what they have, so do others judge themselves based on what they lack - thus creating discontentment and wantonness.

The gist of the enemy’s ministry to man is pride - man should never allow himself to be undermined, and if he does, he is either effeminate or a freak of nature. Here the root of iniquity is revealed. Iniquity caused his imagination to create an image of himself that was far from the truth. The image he saw was himself as God and God a servant to him. He believes this lie. This is the same iniquity satan has passed unto men. He has caused men to look upon themselves and create an image that exalts them above that which is spiritually lawful.

Satan causes us to look upon our blessings and see ourselves in another light. He uses our blessings to puff us up, to the point where we are worthy of worship. Whether the worship of attention or the worship of respect, nevertheless worship is sought. He also causes men to judge themselves according to what they lack, in order to incite lust, discontentment and wantonness in their hearts.

Please hear the Lord on this matter. Satan has truly redefined the man and the world has agreed with him. He has ministered the perception of who a man ought to be; and the gist of it is pride. This pride runs so deep into manhood that we may even miss its tentacles. The devil has taught us to seek to be at the top and a servant to none. We should never be defied; we should never be abused; we should never appear weak. If we are victims of any of those mentioned, then we have essentially failed at being a man. And if we are not men, then we must be either some freak of nature or feminine.

The power of vanity. He has passed this iniquity by living inside of man. It is however sad to say that many who have been saved have kept the same iniquitous mentality. Please note that a blessing could simply be the fact that you are a man; one of strength and authority. The blessing refers to anything that men use as justification for their pride. Jesus Christ is an offense to the ego of man. Ego is corrupted wisdom. Pride is the belittling or abasing of everyone who does not meet your standard. This is such a powerful reality. It has been inbred in the hearts of men that they should never be or even seem to be undermined.

For example, if men are ridiculed, the responses of pride may vary in each. The offense of one may be manifested through cursing and fighting. The offense of another may be manifested through embarrassment and low-self esteem. Ultimately the standard we judge ourselves by is that same standard the devil has set – no one should ever undermine you! However, this mindset is an absolute offense to Christ, and Christ an offense unto it. But what is worthy of examination is this question; even though Christ has revealed that he hates this devilish perception of a man, is it truly our heart to agree with God, and be a man as Jesus is? Have you ever noticed the proportion of men to women in the church? Why is it such a struggle for men to serve God?

The answer highlights the great offense that Christ is to ego of man. Ego is corrupted wisdom. It looks upon the blessings God has given and seeks to exalt itself with the same. It is also important to note there is actually no true exaltation, it is merely imaginary. Therefore, exaltation is manifested in the abasing of all who do not meet your standard. This is the true definition of pride, the belittling or abasement of everyone who does not meet your standard. Whatever or whoever that standard is, has taken the place of Christ. He is the only one worthy of glory.

This reveals why Jesus is such an offense unto the world, it is because He is the only one worthy of glory, everything else falls into the category of pride; and pride is imagery.

It is a truth that the devil has trained mankind to seek glory, and attention. He has trained us to stand out, and to compete with one another. He has taught us to take pride in ourselves at the expense of others. He has trained us to exalt ourselves above the knowledge of God.

Eze 28:17

Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

Prov 6:14

These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. Godly man according to scripture:

Phil 2:5-8

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

It is expected that the devil would try to pervert man’s thinking, and cause him to see Christ as offensive; but the man has sinned against God when he chooses to believe those evil sentiments. Only true agreement with God can bring men out of this captivity. Well after all this is said it is needful for us to ask the question, “What defines a Godly man?” In answering this question, we must look to the creator of man. He has the original design for mankind. A godly man loves his abusers, and prays for those who despitefully use him. He never seeks to glorify Himself or appear to be above His peers. He is able to be ridiculed and mocked because he is of humble character.

The true godly man, is Jesus Christ, who through the new man, we have put on. Jesus Christ is within us to allow us to naturally manifest the character of a Godly man. But, Christ is an offense to the ego. Ego is what has been defined as manly. The truth is men hate Christ because He appears weak and almost feminine to them. This reveals how deeply this perversion of man has gone. If that which God defines as a man appears as feminine to us, then this is true perversion.

Instead of being servants of God, mankind has served himself. Seeking out great pleasures and higher thrones, and by this we manifest devilish sentiments. When we look at this shaping after the Spirit, we will see the handiwork of the devil. It is natural for the devil to minister Christ as an offense, but our sin is in our belief of that which he ministers. I am simply saying that men actually believed the devil’s definition of a man and preferred it to God’s (which is the true definition).

The essence of it all is that we have been raised to revere pride over love. The next step is to repent and agree with God. It is that simple. You are not the architect of the Body of Christ, God is. Behold His great wisdom and see it transform the world, one soul at a time. You have been chosen to be His vessel of ministry and a demonstration of righteousness. It is not the wisdom of the world that you promote, but the character of a God whose wisdom is higher than that of the world. You are the offspring of a divine supreme entity. You are the sons of the Living God.