02/08/25
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I. Increase our Faith
II. Jesus’ Second Test
III. Tree of Life
IV. Spiritual Personalities
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I. Increase our Faith
I’d like to speak about “Faith”: what it is and how to get more of it. Toward that end, I’m going to give you a new definition of the word. I acknowledge up front this definition isn’t found in the Bible; at least not that I’ve discovered so far. Nevertheless, I believe this new way of understanding the word will help us in getting more for ourselves.
For many people their understanding of the word means to believe in something. And to increase their faith means to believe in it more strongly. I think of the 1947 Christmas film, Miracle on 34th Street, where little Natalie Wood is trying to trust in Santa Claus. She says, “I believe. I believe. It’s silly, but I believe.” Then just at that moment she receives the proof she’s been looking for.
Unfortunately, that’s not how faith really works. Faith doesn’t mean to try to force yourself to believe something when common sense and circumstances are telling you it isn’t correct.
I’d like to draw your attention to two Bible passages in which Jesus speaks of faith specifically. In the first, Luke 17:5-6, Jesus was teaching several principles to His disciples when they asked Him to increase their faith. He answered by saying, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”
In the second, Matthew 17:14-21, Jesus had just come down from the Mountain of Transfiguration when a man ran up and asked Jesus to heal his son, saying that the Disciples weren’t able to do it. Jesus healed the man’s son, then afterwards the Disciples came to Him and asked why they hadn’t been able to. Then Jesus said, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind goes out only with prayer and fasting.”
In both of these passages the Disciples requested more faith, and Jesus told them that with sufficient faith they could do things which seem impossible. That is, moving a tree into the sea and moving a mountain from here to there.
Jesus’ mention of moving a mountain came just after they couldn’t move a demon. So what’s the connection? Well, it’s not that demons and mountains are anything alike. But it is that the flow of power needed to deal with any problem needs to be sufficient to the task. Jesus explained that the kind of power they were attempting to use has certain requirements in order to draw upon it.
This brings us to the new definition I’d like to offer; and it’s this. “Faith” is knowledge of the spiritual realm and how God’s kingdom operates. Now let’s look again at the passages, and this time substitute in the word ‘knowledge’ for ‘faith’ and see if it adds to our understanding.
Lk 17:5-6, “If you have [sufficient knowledge of the spiritual realm], you can say to a mulberry tree, ‘be plucked up and planted in the sea’, and it will obey you.” Does that give a better understanding of the verse? And the next.
Mt 17:14-21, “If you have [sufficient knowledge of the spiritual realm], you can say to a mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind goes out only with prayer and fasting.” Using the new definition makes the entire situation more understandable. It explains why the Disciples couldn’t drive out a demon this time when they’d been successful driving them out on other occasions.
In this, Jesus was explaining several things. But let’s focus for a moment on the part, ‘this kind needs prayer and fasting’. He was giving more information about how God’s power operates, saying that if you’re having trouble using the power, you can turn to fasting and prayer. Then in this state of prayer, you will receive the understanding you need to exercise full power. Typically a seeming fault in power is in reality a fault in our understanding.
We also see in these passages that when the Disciples wanted more ‘faith’, that is, more ‘understanding of the spiritual realm’, Jesus, in response, gave them the instruction to practice more. He essentially said, “Go out and start telling trees to move. You recall how I shriveled up that fig tree. You try it. And think even bigger: go tell a mountain to move. Keep trying until you’re successful.” In this He was saying, if you want to increase your knowledge, then you must practice and engage in trial and error. Try new things. Learn what works and what doesn’t. Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you into new methods. Fast and pray until you feel the power flowing more forcefully. “You, too, can do what I’ve done. What’s more, even greater things will be possible for you.” (Jn 14:12-14)
One example of this is how we at AIC like to practice cursing flowers in order to grow accustomed to using our words and faith to have physical effects. This experience is based on the example Jesus gave when He cursed the fig tree and caused it to shrivel up. The application of this is that once we see the powerful effect of our commands, we then feel more confident on those occasions when we have to order Cancer cells to die.
Another example is my accidental discovery of what I like to call “slap therapy”. This is a special way of praying which is not only fun for you, when you get to use it, but is also effective for the prayer recipient. There was an occasion, perhaps 20 years ago, when I squatted down to pick up something from the ground, then as I began to stand up I felt a sharp pain in my right knee. After I was standing up I began puzzling to myself on what it could be.
As I cast around for possibilities, I recalled my grandfather and how he had suffered many years from arthritis. He had it so bad that many of his joints were swollen to three times normal size. He liked to joke about it saying, “Once Uncle Arthur comes to visit, he moves in to stay!” (His joke being to call the affliction ‘Arthur Itis’.) We’d laugh politely at his saying, then quietly hope we wouldn’t get it.
So, as I stood considering my knee, I became afraid thinking, “could this be the first sign of arthritis?!” But the shock of that thought made my mind rebel. “No!”, I said to myself. “I’m too young to have that already! In fact, I don’t wanna have it ever!” I then leaned over and began slapping my right knee with my open palm and saying, “Get out! Get out! I don’t accept you! Not now; not ever!”
My concern had made me a bit angry, so I was slapping as hard as I could stand. I slapped so much the skin was stinging. Once I’d finished venting my frustration, I stopped. But as the tingling in the skin began to subside, I noticed that the pain in the joint had disappeared too. I thought to myself that’s a pleasant surprise.
Then as I considered what had happened it occurred to me that afflictions like arthritis are brought by demons; and as I was hitting my knee, I was also hitting the demon that was trying to get arthritis established in me. This thought then led to the recognition that demons don’t like being slapped in the face any more than humans do. And it made me feel good to think I was slapping a demon and keeping at it until he finally ran away.
I also realized that by having made a decision in my mind that I wasn’t going to accept arthritis, I had through my actions conveyed that decision to my body in a forceful manner, and convinced it to accept my decision on the matter.
So between my orders to the demon and also to my body, it’s now been 20 years and I still have not had another twinge of pain in my right knee! Left knee either.
The experience also taught me that words and actions in the physical realm have effect in the spiritual realm as well; and that demons don’t like getting slapped; and that our mind can give commands to our body; and if we do it right, our body as well as demons will obey.
These new insights have served me well over the years and have increased my effectiveness. But they were only discovered as a result of trying new things. So you too should practice and experiment so you may gain more knowledge of the spiritual realm, and may become more effective. In this way you, like the Disciples, may ‘increase your faith’!
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II. Jesus’ Second Test
I’d like to look now at how Jesus responded to temptation; maybe we can learn from His example. Immediately after Jesus was baptized, He was sent out to the wilderness to face temptation. First, He fasted for 40 days. Then, once He was seemingly at His weakest, Satan showed up and attacked Him with three tests.
First, Satan suggested Jesus turn a stone into bread to satisfy His hunger. Jesus refused. Second, he proposed that Jesus jump off the roof to call on the Father’s protection. Again Jesus refused. Third, he offered Jesus rulership of the world if Jesus would worship him. At this Jesus ordered Satan to go away.
I’d like to comment on the second part of these tests because Jesus’ response to it conveys some important principles regarding our relationship with the Father.
To begin the test, Satan pointed out that God had promised to protect Jesus throughout His mission. So Satan said, “Why don’t you jump off the roof and let God keep His promise?” But Jesus declined to do this. Instead He answered, “It’s not proper to put God to the test.” Jesus knew that He could count on protection as He went about His ministry. But to go out of His way looking for trouble was not a legitimate task in the furtherance of His work.
We, for our part, should follow Jesus’ example and take care to stay within the bounds of our individual ministries and the missions our God has given us.
Satan also was implying that Jesus wasn’t really the Son of God and that Jesus should take this action to prove Himself, and to press the Father to openly support Jesus’ claim. But this too Jesus refused to do. He did so for two reasons.
For one thing, it isn’t right to “test” the Father and put Him in a position of having to prove His word. He’s told us He loves us; and has made the greatest sacrifice possible in order to prove it. To ask Him to give more proof just calls into question our love toward Him. We only need to look at His giving us Jesus to know His love for us.
Then beyond this, we can look at the countless good things He’s done for us each personally; and that should take it beyond doubt. So to call on Him and say, “If you really loved me, you’d do this extra something or other to prove it!” Oh, come on now. If someone you loved were to say that to you, how would you feel?! Jesus recognized this, and so wouldn’t do anything to act this way. And we should follow His example in this as well.
The second reason Jesus didn’t submit to Satan’s demand that He prove His sonship was because to do so would be to acknowledge Satan’s suggestion that this point was even in question. In other words, Satan was saying, “If you’re really the Son of God, then show me.”
And Jesus answered, “Who are you?! Who are you to question me and my relationship with my Father? Who are you that I should have to prove myself to you? I don’t owe you any explanations. I don’t owe you any proofs. And I don’t have to engage in debate with you about this. You are the only one here with questionable authority and position. So, move on! And leave me alone!”
In this, too, we should follow the example of our Lord. Whenever Satan comes to us and says, “If you were really a son of God, you could do this miracle. But you can’t; so you aren’t!” We should then turn to him and say, “Who are you to question my position?! I don’t have to answer to you! So why don’t you throw yourself off the roof?! Begone, Satan!!”
You don’t have to fear Satan. But if you struggle with putting this concept into practice, you may find it helps to actually get angry with him. Anger can help you get past fear. And if you find getting angry hard to do, then think about all the pain and suffering he’s caused you. Don’t think of this in terms of the world; make it personal: think of the heartache and physical pain you’ve had as a result of him attacking you. Do this and it won’t take long to get mad enough to order him away – and to mean it!
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III. Tree of Life
Next I’d like speak about the Tree of Life which we find mentioned in the Bible. I believe many people hold mistaken ideas about the Tree, so I’d like to present a few beliefs of my own which may provide clarification of the principles.
The thought many people have, which I believe to be mistaken is that once someone eats from the Tree of Life, they are then immortal for the rest of eternity. Then, although nothing specific is said in the Bible, they further reason that Adam and Eve must therefore ‘not’ have eaten from the Tree. They can’t have since they’re now dead. So God must have forbidden them from that tree as well as the other one. If they had passed the test about the Tree of Knowledge, then they’d have been invited to taste the fruit of the Tree of Life; and thereby now be living forever.
I’d like to suggest that the reality of it was different. But first let me make use of a simile’ to illustrate the concept which I feel underlies the actual situation.
Imagine that you’ve just bought yourself a brand new ‘smart’ cell phone. You have at least a basic understanding of how to use them. You know it comes with a rechargeable battery installed, and that its battery typically lasts for a full day of use before it needs recharging. For our example let’s say you can get 12 hours of use out of it before it pops up a “low battery” notice and you have to put it on the battery charger. After an hour the battery is full again, so you can take it off the charger and use it for another 12 hours. As you go about your business you once again get a low battery warning, and once again you charge it. And so it goes, day after day, cycle after cycle; allowing you to use the phone for however many years you can go without breaking it altogether, or until you want a new upgrade.
Next let’s apply this simile’ to Adam and Eve. I believe that when God created them He filled their new bodies with “life force”. But as they were to live their lives and the years passed, their life force would gradually be consumed. Eventually there would come a day they noticed they were feeling a bit tired – they’d find themselves sleeping later in the mornings, not able to work so long in the garden without feeling winded, and the grandkids would suddenly be a little too heavy to pick up anymore.
At this realization they’d say to each other, “I think we need to visit the Tree.” They’d then go to the Tree of Life, and each pluck a nice fruit; they’d soon feel invigorated and full of youthful energy again.
Looking at how they lived over 900 years after the Fall, I surmise that their original amount of life force was suited for approximately 1000 years. I speculate that God’s plan was that they would visit the Tree every 1000 years to get rejuvenated, and would continue this cycle for the rest of eternity.
However, the initial plan got changed by subsequent events, as we know too well. Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan to eat from the forbidden Tree and thus lost their right to live in the Garden of Eden.
I expect that God didn’t want to do this, but the situation required it. God thought to himself, “I told them not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, but they did it anyway. Now, if I tell them not to eat from the Tree of Life, they can’t be trusted to obey. They’ve already proven they can’t keep this kind of instruction. So, in order that they don’t reach out and take from the Tree of Life and live forever, I need to remove them from the Garden, and put some guards at the gate.” (Ge 3:22-24)
Even without eating from the Tree of Life, they and their descendants for several generations were able to live over 900 years. You may think, “why didn’t they live a full 1000 years, if that was the amount of life force they had?” Well, certain life events cause us to lose some of our potential. Someone who lives a perfectly healthful and stress-free live may be able to reach the full amount of their expectancy. But most of us have things happen which burn away some amount of our force.
For example, there’s nothing that can shorten your life as much as having kids. You may laugh and say that’s a funny joke; but think about it. Yes, they bring joy; but they also bring stress, and worry, and all manner of hardships.
And for a specific situation, let’s look again at our original couple, Adam and Eve. Their first born son became a murderer. And their second born son was a murder victim. Whoa! What do you imagine that does to parents? Think of the immense grief they felt at the loss of both of their sons. Then beyond that, can you imagine the guilt they felt as they realized sin wouldn’t have entered their world if they hadn’t done what they did? And their sons could still be with them.
No wonder their lives didn’t reach their potential. And there’d have been similar trials and troubles for each following generation, as the levels of sin grew and grew with ever increasing rapidity. Things continued like this until the Great Flood.
After the Flood, God decided that in order to prevent a recurrence of that type of depravity, mankind would be better off with a shorter life. So the human life span and the amount of life force they would be born with was reduced to 70 or 80 years. And that’s the situation we have to this day.
I expect that after the Earth is made new again, and Eden is restored to its original place, we’ll once again have a life force level that lasts 1000 years, and we’ll again have access to the Tree of Life. From then on, whenever we feel we need a ‘recharge’, we’ll just go pluck a fruit and be as good as new.
It says in Revelation 22:1-2, that there’s a Tree of Life in Heaven. In the Temple of Heaven, the River of Life flows out from beneath the Throne of God and then flows down the main street. Some distance from the throne is a Tree of Life, growing up from either side of the River.
I believe the Tree of Life in the Temple of Heaven is a different one than the one in the Garden of Eden. Whenever we’re in the Heavenly Temple, if we need to renew our strength, we can take a piece of fruit from that Tree. But the primary purpose of the Tree up there is to recharge the life force of the angels.
I surmise that the angels, too, have a limited amount of life, and need to go to the Tree whenever they’re running low. I believe angels have a much longer life span than humans; say perhaps 10,000 years between charges. But whatever the amount is, it’s finite. This is why it’s said that Lucifer and his host of rebellious angels know their time is limited and they will eventually die. When they were cast out of Heaven, they lost access to the Tree of Life there; so they now have only whatever life force remained in them at the time of their expulsion.
(Note the similarity between the angels being expelled from Heaven to prevent their access to the Tree of Life, and humans being expelled from the Garden of Eden to prevent their access to the Tree of Life.)
I also speculate that if there are intelligent beings on other worlds, besides humans and angels, that they too have their own Tree of Life on their planets. And since they didn’t fall and lose their Trees, they’re able to perpetually recharge themselves throughout all time. What a fascinating system God devised.
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IV. Spiritual Personalities
Lastly, I’d like to present my personal theory about the new spiritual being in us. You may be inclined to ask, “Does this theory have Biblical support?” No, it does not. “Can you cite any authoritative sources to support your idea?” No, there are none that I know of. So you are welcome to take it or leave it. Acceptance is not crucial to Salvation. Consider it merely for entertainment, if nothing else.
To begin, I’d like to preface the idea with a different concept; one that is much better known. You are aware that social psychologists like to divide human personalities into 12 general types. Mankind has been doing this for centuries in an effort to understand ourselves better.
In longstanding European tradition personality is decided according to the month you were born; thus, resulting in 12 birth signs. Asian tradition, on the other hand, assigns this to the year you were born; yet they too cycle through 12 birth signs.
There is an alternate theory dating back to Hippocrates which describes four bodily “humors” and their effect on personality, rather than ascribing it to birthdate. These humors occur in the human body in different proportions, and it’s these proportions which determine one’s personality. The four humors – choleric, sanguine, melancholic, and phlegmatic – combine in 12 different configurations, each then representing a personality type.
Finally, there is another system nearly forgotten now since it hasn’t been much discussed for more than 100 years. This concept refers to the 12 sons of Jacob; you know, the Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob one. He had 12 sons, and it’s been said that each of these sons had a different personality. So that system aligns general human personalities with one of each of those sons.
Although these various systems attribute the resulting personalities to different causes, they share a similarity – they all have 12 personality types. Consequently, some may consider that similar finding of these systems to be sufficient support to accept the premise as correct.
I’d next like to point out that when we receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (BHS), there is born in us a new spiritual identity. The Apostle Paul referred to this being as “the new man”, (Ep 2:15; Ep 4:24; Co 3:10). Once we have this new being within us, we’re supposed to learn to recognize it, learn about it, and eventually integrate with it. This way “the two become one”, and we are then unified and complete beings, both physically and spiritually, just as we were created to be in Eden.
Therefore, in an attempt to learn more about this spiritual identity within, I’ve developed a theory which I find helpful, at least for me. So I’d like to share my thought with the hope that it may be useful to you as well.
It is my premise that the spiritual identity within us has a distinct personality, just as our physical identity has a personality; and that our spiritual personalities can likewise be sorted into groups. But unlike physical personalities which have 12 types, spiritual personalities fall into only 3 categories.
I posit that these three spiritual personality types correspond to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I hold that these three members of the Godhead each have their own personality. It is said of God that He is “one”; and if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. Nevertheless, I believe they each have distinct personalities; and this is why they have differing roles and different areas of focus as they go about the task of being “God”.
This idea then leads one to consider: What might the three characters of God be like? Well, when we think of Jesus we envision someone who is first and foremost very “compassionate”. During His time on Earth, He was always trying to help people and relieve their suffering. Healing their diseases, comforting their heartaches, delivering them from demons, and so on. Also, when He was in Heaven, when a need arose for someone to sacrifice himself to save Humanity, Jesus was the one who instantly volunteered. So we see Jesus as compassionate, helpful, friendly, and good natured.
When we think of the Holy Spirit what do we imagine? Our first though is that He’s mysterious. Then as we think further we realize He’s quiet and reserved, speaking with only a “still, small voice”. He mainly works secretly in the background. But He’s also the one focused on spiritual gifts; like healing, and teaching, and prophecy; and guiding others into the Truth, and into a relationship with God.
When we think of the Father, we think of the Great Judge. The one concerned with “the Law”. But not just moral laws, also the laws of nature, and keeping order throughout the universe; the administrator of the system. Yet, He too has a capacity for love and mercy, like the others; He just shows it differently.
As we become familiar with our own personal spiritual nature, I believe we’ll find it has a distinct personality. We’ll also find it tends to align with one of the three personalities of God, as I’ve just described them.
By this I don’t mean to imply that any one personality is better than any other. But rather that by recognizing the personality of our own spiritual man, we can better know where to focus our spiritual interests. And by getting to know our spiritual being better, we’ll be able to begin uniting with it. Thereby we’ll get closer to becoming that fully integrated physical-spiritual being which God created us to be.
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THREE SPIRITUAL PERSONALITIES
Upon receiving the BHS, there is born in us a new ‘spiritual identity’, often termed ‘the new man’. As this new spiritual being grows and matures within us it develops its own personality. These spiritual personalities can be generalized into three distinct personality types. Similar to how our physical personalities can be divided and categorized into twelve distinct types. The three types of spiritual personality generally align with the three members of the triune Godhead.
To understand what type of personality your own spiritual identity has, compare his traits to the general personalities of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and determine the closest match. Individual spiritual personalities share some traits from each of the three types, but one will be primary.
The importance of identifying our spiritual identity is so we may better understand it. This way we can know where to focus our spiritual interests. By getting to know our spiritual being we’re then able to begin uniting with it. Thereby we get closer to becoming that fully integrated physical-spiritual being which God created us to be.
Note: when attempting to identify your spiritual personality type, care should be taken to not confuse the traits of your spiritual identity with those of your physical identity.
General characteristics of the personalities of the triune Godhead:
* God the Father:
= Authority, moral Law, laws of nature, administrator, subdued love, paternal, logical, practical.
* God the Son:
= Compassionate, helpful, friendly, good natured, childlike, wonder, enthusiasm.
* God the Holy Spirit:
= Mysterious, quiet, teaching, healing, prophecy, relationships, maternal, emotional, comforting.
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