Dear Friends,

My grandmother was part of a church which fully believed in salvation through faith in Jesus, but they were, what I'll call, a "New Testament Only" church. What I mean by that is they did very little study or preaching from anything in the Old Testament. Their position was that once Jesus came the "New Testament" was instituted and that, generally speaking, what was written in the Old Testament did not pertain to Christians.

While I agree that the very essence of "Christian doctrine" is contained in the New Testament, I find it very difficult to believe that God would waste even one syllable of scripture by giving us something which did not in some way impact the Body of Christ. In fact, something that has been stirring in me for years is that there are things in the Old Testament which have yet to be uncovered. Recently, God confirmed those thoughts and gave me some insight about what is rising within the Church.

For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit. (Hebrews 5:12-6:3)

Those who had received the indent to the Hebrews had become stagnant in their spiritual walk. They had allowed many foundational truths to slip and needed to again be taught what was referred to as "the first principles of the oracles of God," and "the principles of the doctrine of Christ." The writer lists some of these foundational doctrines and states that these things must become settled in our hearts or we can never go on to perfection (full spiritual maturity).

Stated differently, until these "first principles of the oracles of God" are clearly understood, we will not be able to understand the teachings which take us to greater maturity. Our "spiritual digestive system" must be fully prepared with milk before we can handle the meat. This means that what is written in the book of Hebrews is not as "meaty" as some people might have you believe. Therefore, it is critical that we grasp "Book of Hebrews Doctrine" to be prepared for further perfection.

Going on to perfection, or full spiritual maturity, means that there are many things beyond the "first principles" which must be taught; there are greater and deeper revelations from God's word which much be understood in order to grow to these levels of perfection. Think of it this way: teaching the first principles got us to where we are; to go beyond this point, we must receive "perfection teaching." Consider what people said about Jesus and His teachings,

And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine (Matthew 7:28)

There are other verses in the four Gospels revealing similar responses from those who heard the Lord teach. At times in His teachings and conversations with the Jewish religious leaders, Jesus would make reference to something written in the Law or the Prophets. When He did, the people were "astonished" and how He was applying or explaining what was in the Law and the Prophets.

But why were they astonished? These were people who had heard the Law and the Prophets read and taught all their lives. Some of them were high-ranking priests, scribes, and Pharisees, and yet even they were amazed. So why were they astonished at Jesus' teaching? It was because He was bringing out things in the Law and the Prophets that had been hidden for centuries. In other words, Jesus was uncovering mysteries from the Law and Prophets which had been there the whole time, yet had not been revealed.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (Hebrews 1:1-2)

Until Jesus came along, God moved upon prophets to write what we know as the Old Testament. Since then, Jesus is the One through whom God speaks to us, the Church, Keep in mind that the book of Hebrews was written after Jesus had been raised from the dead and ascended back into Heaven. So then, how is it that Jesus speaks to us?

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26) I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. (John 16:12-13)

Jesus is in Heaven, but the Holy Spirit has been sent to carry on the teaching ministry of Jesus. Therefore, we could say that as Jesus speaks to the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit then passes on and teaches us what Jesus has said. This is how the New Testament was written. Today, the Holy Spirit is not authoring any more scripture but will "teach us all things," meaning He will help us understand the scripture which has been given. Consider what Paul wrote to the Corinthian church,

Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (1 Corinthians 2:6-7, 10, 12-13)

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (Hebrews 1:1-2)

Why did God wait so long to begin giving these revelations and their understanding? Because He could only give them to people who were spiritually ready. In John 16:12 Jesus said, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now," meaning that until spiritually reborn, they were not ready for more. This is what Paul was referring to when he wrote, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual."

But even though we're born again does not mean we are immediately ready for the meat of the word. At salvation, we are "spiritual babes" and we need the nourishment of "spiritual milk." In other words, we need to become established in the first principles of Christ. If we willingly and with an open heart receive the milk, we will grow to the point that we can begin receiving meat. It is the meat which will take us on to perfection; but even being able to digest the meat is a growing process as we mature from "hamburger level" to "New York Strip" level.

Now take a close look at the following passages,

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. (Col 2:17-16) For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. (Heb 10:1) Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. (Galatians 3:24)

Briefly, this is telling us that there were things written in the Law and the Prophets which pointed people to Jesus. At the time it was written, many of the people did not comprehend because their “understanding was darkened” by the sin nature. But now that we are born again, we can go back to the Old Testament, read the Law and the Prophets and grasp the symbolism being presented. What is interesting is that the more we grow in the Lord, the more symbolism we can see in the Old Testament. This takes me back to what I shared at the beginning of this indent, that there are things in the Old Testament which have yet to be uncovered. Recently in prayer the Holy Spirit began ministering to me and said,

"There is a level of revelation knowledge of God that is about to be poured out on the church. Things about God's presence and glory that (we've) never understood will be made known. "There is s day-to-day walk in God that some will enter. It will be a walk that will be like a bridge between Heaven and Earth, similar to Jacobs dream (Genesis 28) when he saw angels ascending and descending a ladder into Heaven. "People will enter and leave this glory and their spirits will become storehouses and treasuries of revelation and glory. When they speak, their words will drip with anointing and bondage-breaking truth."

His words to me dove-tailed perfectly with a prophecy the Lord had given me back in June of 2006,

"I want to show you things about the days to come that will impact you, your church, and my body. There is a new, higher level of teaching that needs to be released in my church. It is an 'Apostolic-level' of teaching. It will not be new revelation, but buried revelation uncovered. "Much of my word remains a mystery to my church. There are things even about creation that are not being taught. I do not see my word as segmented, but as a whole. I am tying the pieces together in these last days so that the anointing of the whole can be released. "Too many of my preachers have high levels of pride which are keeping them from this higher level of teaching. They would use the revelation that I give them to build their ministries instead of my kingdom. As it is, there are very, very few teachers I can us at this higher level. The pride must be purged. "I call this an 'Apostolic level' of teaching because it will be reminiscent of when the Apostles were first laying the foundation of the church. I am even now preparing these teachers for this incredible outpouring. It is coming…it is even at the door."

When God said that there is a new and higher level of teaching about to be released and that it will give us greater understanding of God’s presence and glory, it was as though He opened my Bible and directed me to things written by such prophets as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. At times in their writings, they seemed to have had a deeper experience with God than practically any Christian I know of. It’s as though God pealed back the curtain of the natural and gave them a privileged glimpse into the heavenly realms.

But I now understand that there are aspects about things that these and other prophets wrote which will be unveiled in these last days. I'm telling you, we are about to have a wave of "mysteries" revealed which will "unlock" our understanding of God in a way we've never known. All of this reminds me of what Paul wrote to Timothy,

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

"All scripture" would include everything God has spoken to us, both the Old and the New Testaments. Notice that the first thing listed as the purpose for all scripture is doctrine. Then notice that the first result given of what all scripture will do is that the man of God may be perfect, or, spiritually mature. This fits right in line with the admonition in Hebrews chapter six to go on to perfection.

Right along with this we must keep in mind that Satan will try to counterfeit the move of God. Therefore, to guard against deception I highly emphasize the need to stay in firmly entrenched in prayer (especially praying in the Spirit), the Word (reading, confessing, studying in a contextual fashion), worship (primarily private worship), and fasting. Additionally, I simply cannot stress the critical need to seek God with all your heart and BE SURE you are regularly attending the church He wants you attending.

God is doing everything He can to get His church ready for the return of our Lord and Savior. Hallelujah…even so Lord Jesus, come quickly!

To God be the glory,

Jim

P.S. Next month I am going to pass along something very interesting the Lord showed me from the book of Isaiah.

Back « to the Resource page or on to the Next Newsletter » Jun 2007

 Email Page               Print Page