Eph 357-391 8/28/86-10/12/86, 716 1/3/88, 768 3/16/88

 

DOCTRINE OF THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD (Part 2)

 

L.  Omnipotence and The Spiritual Death of Christ.

            1. Scriptural Evidence for the Spiritual Death of Christ.

                        a. Rom 5:7-8, “For scarcely for a righteous man would one die, and yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” This substitutionary prepositional phrase refers to our Lord’s spiritual death when He became our substitute and was judged for all our sins.

                        b. This last phrase is explained in part in Rom 5:19. “For as through one man’s disobedience [Adam’s original sin] the many [human race] were appointed sinful, so through one person’s obedience the many shall be appointed to righteousness.”

                        c. Christ’s obedience is amplified in Phil 2:8. “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

                        d. 2 Cor 5:21, “He [Father] made Him [Son] who knew no sin [impeccable] to become sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Only God the Father is the subject.

                        e. 1 Pet 3:18, “Because Christ also died once with reference to sins, the Righteous on behalf of the unrighteous, in order that He might bring us to God.”

                                    (1) To be impeccable humanity, even while bearing our sins, Jesus Christ had to rely upon the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit inside the prototype divine dynasphere.  personal faith in Christ “brings us to God.” The greatest manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit was on the cross, not the day of Pentecost.

                                    (2) Inside the prototype divine dynasphere, our Lord maintained His status of being righteous. The human race is unrighteous. Jesus Christ could not “bring us to God” and provide salvation apart from the sustaining power of the Father in logistical grace, and the fantastic operational power of God Holy Spirit inside the prototype divine dynasphere.

                        f. 1 Pet 2:24, “He Himself carried our sins in His own body on the cross.”   Every sin in the history of the human race was imputed to Christ during the darkness period from 12 noon until 3:00 p.m.

                        g. 1 Jn 3:5, “Indeed, He was revealed in order that He might carry our sins.”

                        h. In His spiritual death on the cross, our Lord’s humanity experienced two categories of divine omnipotence.

                                    (1) The sustaining power of God the Father under logistical grace.

                                    (2) The sustaining power of the Holy Spirit inside the prototype divine dynasphere. Our Lord’s humanity was able to endure the spiritual death of the cross because the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit inside the prototype divine dynasphere continued to empower His humanity to withstand the greatest suffering ever endured by a member of the human race. The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit sustained our Lord, who remained inside the prototype divine dynasphere during that entire experience! Not once did our Lord ever get out of the prototype divine dynasphere. The strength to endure the most intense and most important three hours in history came from the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit.

                                    (3) The omnipotence of God the Father imputed our sins to Christ and the Father’s Justice judged our sins while Christ was carrying them on the cross.

                        i Ps 22:1a is the prophecy with regard to our Lord’s unique spiritual death on the cross. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken [abandoned] Me?” The repetition of a noun in the Hebrew is an idiom for intensity. It also expresses exceptional and highest quality of the person being addressed:  God the Father. “You” is a second person masculine singular suffix on the verb, referring to God the Father only. “Me” refers to Jesus Christ.

                        j. In Mt 27:46, this same phrase is found in Aramaic, the words our Lord actually uttered on the cross, and its Greek translation. So this phrase is given in all three languages of the Scripture:  Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. “And about the ninth hour [3:00 p.m.], Jesus shouted with a loud voice, `My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me [Aramaic]?’ that is (which is translated in Greek), `My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’”

                                    (1) Jesus Christ could no longer address God as “Father,” because He [Father] was judging our sins in Him. In both the Greek and the Hebrew, whenever a noun is repeated [although there are seven different reasons for this], the most important reason is that is expresses not only the fantastic quality of the person involved, but it also emphasizes specific attributes of that person.

                                    (2) The repetition of the vocative emphasizes the two categories of divine attributes involved in the judgment of our sins on the cross.

                                                (a) The first vocative refers to the fantastic holiness or integrity of God the Father. The holiness of God is made up of the justice and righteousness of God. The justice of God was imputing the sins of the world to Christ on the cross and judging all of them.

                                                (b) The second vocative refers to the omnipotence of God the Father. The authority and power for the judgment of Christ came from the omnipotence of God.

                                    (3) The interrogative adverb HINANTI is used in a rhetorical question. Part of this word is the conjunction HINA, used for both purpose and result. God the Father’s purpose in judging our sins in Christ was to solve the sin problem and to establish the basis for the strategic victory of the angelic conflict. The result is our salvation. “TI” is the neuter singular of the interrogative pronoun meaning “why” or “what", therefore “for what reason.”

                                    (4) HINANTI introduces a rhetorical question, not directed toward God for an answer; for Jesus Christ, in both His humanity and His deity knew the answer and had always known the answer. God the Father did not have to give an answer, because the answer had been decided in the eternal decrees long before the existence of the universe.

                                    (5) Therefore, the reason for the rhetorical question is so that we could understand what Jesus Christ was doing on the cross, how He was sustained, and how He endured the judgment for every sin in the history of the human race in the short period of three hours.

                                    (6) “Have forsaken” is the aorist active indicative of EGKATALEIPO. It is the second masculine singular suffix, referring to God the Father only. Deity cannot forsake deity. This is why Christ had to become true humanity to go to the cross. He was forsaken because “He who knew no sin was made sin for us.” The culminative aorist regards the entire work on the cross from its existing results, of which there are at least seven:

                                                (a) The provision of eternal salvation for the entire human race under the doctrine of unlimited atonement, 2 Cor 5:14-19; 1 Tim 2:6, 4:10; Tit 2:11; Heb 2:9; 2 Pet 2:1; 1 Jn 2:2. Jesus Christ was judged for every sin in the history of the human race.

                                                (b) The guarantee of eternal salvation to anyone who will believe in Christ. Jn 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the Sons of God, even to those who believe on His name.” Jn 3:16, “Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Jn 6:47; Acts 16:31, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Eph 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved [in the past with the result that you are saved forever] by faith, not of works, lest any man should boast.”

                                                 © The strategic victory of the angelic conflict.

                                                (d) The resurrection, ascension, and session of our Lord, at which time He received His third royal warrant:  King of kings, Lord of lords, the Bright Morning Star.

                                                (e) The interruption of the dispensation of Israel, and the insertion of the Church Age for the calling out of a royal family to accompany our Lord’s third royal warrant.

                                                (f) The perpetuation of the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union and Incarnation into the Church Age, causing this dispensation to be absolutely unique in history. Never before in history has so much power been available and delegated to the individual believer.

                                                (g) The greatest availability of power in all of human history to every Church Age believer, causing the Church Age to become the crossroads of history, and the dispensation of the intensification of the angelic conflict.

                                    (7) God the Father produces the action of this verb by abandoning and forsaking Jesus Christ Whom He was judging. While the deity of the Father cannot forsake the deity of the Son, Christ was carrying our sins in His humanity (body). The judgment of just one sin staggers the imagination! The judgment of just one sin is more than any human being could ever stand.

                                    (8) Jesus Christ had to be perfect all of the time He was bearing our sins. His impeccability had to be perpetuated even while bearing the judgment for our sins. To ability to do this came from the enabling power of the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit inside the prototype divine dynasphere.

                                    (9) The interrogative indicative assumes there is an actual fact of Bible doctrine which can be stated in answer to the question. There is:  the whole realm of soteriology, e.g., to provide unlimited atonement, to propitiate the Father, to redeem and to reconcile man. 2. The Omnipotence of God and the Spiritual Death of Christ.

                        a. In conjunction with His divine holiness, the omnipotence of God the Father judged the sins of the world as they were imputed to Christ on the cross.

                                    (1) The source of the judgment was the holiness of God the Father, which includes both His justice and His righteousness. The answer to our Lord’s question in Ps 22:1a is given in Ps 22:3, “because You are holy.” This is why the Father forsook Him. Eternal and holy God, from the power of His omnipotence, was judging the sins of the world after He imputed them to Christ on the cross.

                                    (2) The power and authority for the judgment of our sins on the cross came from the omnipotence of God the Father. The motivation behind it was the holiness of God. God had to judge every sin in the human race; no sin was omitted. If even one sin was omitted, that person would not be qualified for salvation. But we are all qualified on a non-meritorious basis of faith.

                        b. The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit sustained the humanity of Christ, and gave Him both the endurance and the enabling power to be judged for our sins on the cross, though the intensity of the suffering is beyond description.

                        c. Under the doctrine of kenosis, our Lord’s humanity did not use His own omnipotence independently of the Father’s plan, but He relied on the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit inside the prototype divine dynasphere. This was the greatest act of humility in all of history. “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

                                    (1) The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit sustained Jesus Christ in the greatest pressure situation in all of human history. Our Lord stayed on the cross to the end and was judged for every sin.

                                    (2) During the Incarnation, our Lord voluntarily restricted the independent use of His own divine attributes in compliance with the Father’s plan for the Incarnation.

                                    (3) During the Incarnation, our Lord did not use His own attributes to benefit, provide for, or to glorify Himself.

                        d. While the omnipotence of God the Father was judging our Lord on the cross, the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit was enabling our Lord’s humanity to endure the most intense suffering of all human history; the unique spiritual death of our Lord.

                        e. The omnipotence of God the Father was judging Christ as the sin offering; the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit inside the prototype divine dynasphere was providing the enabling power of endurance, by which our Lord remained on the cross and received the judgment for every sin we have ever committed.

                        f. The endurance of our Lord is taught in Heb 12:1-3, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race [protocol plan of God] that is set before us. Be concentrating on Jesus [humanity only], the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy [happiness] set before Him endured the cross, despised the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself so that you do not become fatigued and faith in your souls.”

                                    (1) In context, the cloud of witnesses refers to the Old Testament believers mentioned in Heb 11; the few who used the available omnipotence of God to become witnesses for the Prosecution in evidence testing.

                                    (2) An “encumbrance” is anything that takes us out of the operational-type divine dynasphere, the whole system of arrogance in cosmic one, the substitution of human power for divine omnipotence, the greatest blasphemy the believer can commit.

                                    (3) The “sin that so easily entangles us” is always rooted in the most basic sin: arrogance; for all sins go back to arrogance.

                                    (4) Running with endurance is residence in the divine dynasphere, under the enabling power of the Holy Spirit and momentum from metabolized doctrine. To run with endurance, you have to rebound, learn doctrine, and keep going.

                                                (a) You must persist in learning and applying Bible doctrine, in spiritual growth, which can only occur inside the operational- type divine dynasphere. When other things temporarily or permanently take priority over Bible doctrine, we have loss of endurance.

                                                (b) Note that Jesus Christ didn’t quit on the cross when facing certain sins or your sins. So running with endurance includes your utilization of the two categories of divine power:  the omnipotence of God the Father related to our portfolio of invisible assets and logistical grace support, and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit related to residence, function, and momentum inside the operational-type divine dynasphere. The endurance comes from the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit inside the divine dynasphere, the same source of our Lord’s endurance on the cross.

                                    (5) Verse 1 can be classified as the mandate for the utilization of divine power in the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God.

                                    (6) Verse 2 is an illustration of that endurance, which is where the great power experiment began:  with the Hypostatic Union.

                                    (7) “Who for the joy/happiness set before Him . . .” To have perfect happiness in the greatest pressure situation of all human history indicates that the humanity of Christ had attained the ultimate in spiritual growth in the prototype divine dynasphere. Happiness is always a matter of priorities.

                                    (8) “Endured the cross” indicates Christ was able to receive the judgment of the sins of the entire human race and to stay in the prototype divine dynasphere. If He had left it at any time during those three hours through any bitterness or arrogance, there would be no salvation. But He endured the cross through the available omnipotence of the Holy Spirit inside the prototype divine dynasphere. In other words, the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit inside the prototype divine dynasphere enabled the humanity of Christ to endure the judgment of the sins of the world.

                                    (9) We can’t understand the “shame” of sin because we’re sinners. But our Lord despised the shame because He is impeccable humanity and perfect deity.

                            (10) “And sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Out of the judgment of the cross came the strategic victory of the angelic conflict.

                            (11) The phrase “who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself” doesn’t refer just to those present at the crucifixion who ridiculed Him, but to the hostility of the entire human race by their personal sins.

                            (12) “So that you do not become fatigued and faint in your souls.” Becoming “fatigued” is the result of failure to utilize the omnipotence of God to execute God’s will, plan, and purpose for your life. “Faint in your souls” is a Greek idiom for discouragement. There is inevitable discouragement from the function of human power and human dynamics in attempting to execute the will, plan, and purpose of God for your life. Whenever you revert to using human power (and you will when out of fellowship), you will become fatigued and faint in your soul. 3. A Fortiori and Omnipotence.

                        a. A Fortiori is a Latin prepositional phrase meaning “with stronger reason.” It has become a system of logic related to comparison or inference. Hence, it is a conclusion compared with some other conclusion, inferring that the second conclusion is inescapable or even more certain.

                        b. The principle:  If the omnipotence of God has accomplished the most difficult at the cross, it follows that the omnipotence of God can accomplish the least difficult in providing for you in the Church Age.

                        c. For example, if the justice and omnipotence of God the Father did the most difficult thing in all of history in imputing our sins to Christ and judging them on the cross, it follows that He can do the least difficult thing, which is to deliver the believer from the Last Judgment.

                        d. An a fortiori in Scripture can generally be recognized by the phrase “much more then” or “much more therefore” .

                                    (1) Rom 5:9, “Much more therefore, having been justified by His blood [efficacious sacrifice on the cross], we shall be delivered from the wrath of God through Him.”

                                                (a) Once you believe in Christ, there’s no way you can be involved in the Last Judgment, the judgment which condemns unbelievers to the Lake of Fire.

                                                (b) The a fortiori here is that it is easier for the omnipotence of God to deliver the believer from the Last Judgment than for the omnipotence of God to impute our sins to Christ on the cross and to judge every one of them. The most difficult thing the Father ever did was to use His power, His divine omnipotence, to judge our sins in Christ.

                                    (2) Rom 5:10, “For if, while we were His enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His son, much more, having been reconciled [most difficult] we shall be delivered by His life [least difficult].”

                                                (a) The least difficult thing for the omnipotence of God is to provide the divine power for the execution of the protocol plan of God.

                                                (b) It is easier for the omnipotence of the Father to deliver the believer from the Last Judgment than for the omnipotence of the Father to reconcile the world to Himself.

                                                 © The most difficult thing was for the omnipotence of the Father to reconcile the world to Himself. The barrier between man and God was the sins of the world. Since the work of Christ on the cross, the barrier has been removed. Man is reconciled to God because every sin of the world was judged. It was the omnipotence of the Father which reconciled us by judging our sins on the cross. Christ reconciled us by receiving our sins on the cross. The Holy Spirit was involved in reconciliation because He empowered Jesus Christ to endure and receive the judgment of every sin.

                        e. It is much more difficult for the omnipotence of God the Father to judge our sins on the cross than for that same omnipotence to provide our portfolio of invisible assets.

                        f. It is much more difficult for the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit to sustain and empower the humanity of Christ on the cross than it is for the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit to sustain and empower the Church Age believer inside the divine dynasphere.

                        g. If the most difficult has been accomplished by the omnipotence of God, the least difficult is that much easier.

                        h. The key to the Christian way of life is not human dynamics, human power, human personality, but the utilization of divine power.

                        i. Hence, the inescapable conclusion of a fortiori:  If the most difficult function of the omnipotence of God occurred in the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union, it follows, a fortiori, that the least difficult function of the omnipotence of God occurs in the great power experiment of the Church Age.

                        j. We are beneficiaries, as Church Age believers, of the greatest demonstration of divine power in all of human history. But without understanding, you will never be able to utilize divine power. Remember, to whom much is given, much is expected. You are expected to function inside the divine dynasphere under divine power, not human power!

                        k. The same omnipotence that sustained the humanity of Christ during the First Advent now sustains every believer during this Church Age.

                        l. Rom 8:32, “The God, who did not even spare His own Son, but delivered Him up [as a sacrifice] for us all; how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things?”

                                    (1) If the omnipotence of God can accomplish the most difficult, it follows, a fortiori, that the omnipotence of God can accomplish the least difficult.

                                    (2) “All things” includes the omnipotence of God the Father doing the easy thing of providing for every Church Age believer his very own portfolio of invisible assets. “All things” includes the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit providing the easy thing: the divine power for the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God for the Church Age.

                                    (3) If the omnipotence of God provided the greater at salvation, it follows, a fortiori, that the omnipotence of God will provide the lesser in the great power experiment of the Church Age.

                                    (4) The function of the omnipotence of God in the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union was far more difficult than the function of the omnipotence of God in the great power experiment of the Church Age.

                                    (5) If the omnipotence of God did the most in the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union, it follows, a fortiori, that the omnipotence of God will do much more than the most in the great power experiment of the Church Age. Much more than the most is the easiest or the least difficult function of the omnipotence of God.

                                    (6) In fact, the same omnipotence that sustained Jesus Christ during the Incarnation and during His saving work on the cross is exactly the same divine omnipotence made available to every Church Age believer for the purpose of fulfilling the Christian way of life.

                        m. The omnipotence of God is guaranteed, delegated, distributed, and made available to every Church Age believer as royal family of God. Never before in human history has so much divine power been made available to so many believers as in the great power experiment of the Church Age.

            4. Divine omnipotence functioned during the first unique death on the cross, the spiritual death of our Lord.

                        a. The omnipotence of God the Father called for the printout of every sin in human history, imputed every sin to the perfect, impeccable humanity of Christ, and judged every one of them in three hours.

                        b. The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit provided the staying power inside the prototype divine dynasphere and enabled the humanity of Christ to endure the judgment of the sins of the world, down to the last sin of the Millennium.

                        c. While being judged for our sins in His humanity, the deity of Christ was perpetuating human history by holding the universe together.

                                    (1) Col 1:17, “He [deity of Christ] eternally existed before all things, and by means of Him [omnipotence of Jesus Christ] the all things of the universe are held together [continue to exist].”

                                    (2) Heb 1:3, “upholding all things by the Word of His power.”

                                    (3) All the time He was being judged for our sins, during the greatest pressure period of all of human history, His omnipotence was holding the universe together so that history could continue. This is compatible with the doctrine of kenosis, since this function of our Lord’s omnipotence has existed from eternity past and does not interfere with or conflict with the Father’s plan and purpose for the Incarnation.

 

M.  Omnipotence and Our Lord’s Unique Physical Death and Resurrection.

            1. Christ died twice on the cross that we might be born twice. He died spiritually to provide salvation. He died physically because His work was finished. His physical death on the cross indicated the completion of His mission for the Incarnation.

            2. Jn 19:28, “After this [work/salvation], Jesus, knowing that all things had already been finished, in order that the Scripture [Ps 69:21] might be fulfilled, He said, `I am thirsty.’”

                        a. Thirst accompanies intense suffering. Jesus suffered, to maximum intensity, in bearing our sins in His own body on the cross.

                        b. This was the humanity of Christ speaking.

            3. Jn 19:29, “Now a jar of [the Roman soldier’s] wine was standing there, so they dipped a sponge in it, put it on a branch of hyssop, and brought it to His mouth.”

                        a. Hyssop was used to sprinkle the blood of the animal sacrifices. In the account of the Passover, Ex 12:22 hyssop was first used to sprinkle blood on the sides and top of the door.

                        b. Hyssop was also used in the ceremony of purifying lepers, Lev 14. Hyssop was used in the ordinance of ceremonial purification of a person who had touched a dead body in Num 19.

                        c. Only a hyssop branch was there at the cross, indicating the fact that this was the efficacious and ultimate sacrifice.

            4. Jn 19:30, “When Jesus therefore had received the [soldier’s] wine, He said, `TETELESTAI! [It has been finished in the past with the result that it stands finished forever.]’ And having pushed His head forward, He delivered [handed] over His [human] spirit.” The physical death of our Lord began with the departure of His human spirit from His body.

            5. Jn 19:30 is amplified in Lk 23:46, “And having enunciated with a loud voice, Jesus said, `Father, into Your hands I deposit My spirit.’ Then having said this, He expired.”

            6. The physical death of the humanity of Christ emphasizes the human spirit going to the presence of the Father in heaven.

            7. The human soul of our Lord left His body simultaneously and went to Sheol or Hades in the heart of the earth. He said to the dying thief in Luke 23:43, “Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.” His soul went into Paradise, a compartment of Hades.

                        a. Ps 16:10 prophesied, “You will not leave My soul in Sheol neither will You permit Your holy one [body] to undergo decay.”

                        b. Acts 2:27, “His soul came out of Hades.” This was a resurrection message by Peter. He explained in Acts 2:31, “David [Ps 16] looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades nor did His body suffer decay.”

                        c. Explaining the expression of the death of Christ in terms of descending, Eph 4:9 says, “He descended into the lower parts of the earth.” This refers to Hades. The soul of our Lord’s humanity specifically went to Paradise, which was where all Old Testament believers were located, until they were transferred to the third heaven.

                        d. While He was in Hades, according to 1 Pet 3:18-21, the Holy Spirit sustained and guarded the soul of our Lord. By means of the Spirit, the soul of our Lord went down to Tartarus, another compartment of hades, where He made the victorious proclamation to certain fallen angels.

            8. The human body of Jesus went into the grave of Joseph of Arimathea. Lk 23:50-53, “And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Sanhedrin [Pharisee], a good and righteous man, had not consented to their plan of action. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, a person who was waiting for the kingdom of God. This one went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. And he took it [body of Jesus], wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb cut into the rock; no one had ever been placed there before.”

            8. In His physical death on the cross, the humanity of our Lord had a trichotomous separation. His human spirit went into the presence of God the Father in the third heaven. His human body went into the tomb. His human soul went into the first compartment of Hades, Paradise, where all the Old Testament believers resided until the resurrection of Christ.

            9. Christ died twice on the cross that we might be born twice.

                        a. The first birth is natural generation in which the omnipotence of God the Father creates a human life to be imputed to the soul at birth.

                        b. In the second birth, called regeneration, the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit creates a human spirit for the imputation of eternal life.

   N.  The Pattern of Omnipotence and Resurrection.

            1. The spiritual death of our Lord was absolutely unique.

                        a. “He who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

                        b. 1 Pet 2:24, “He carried our sins in His own body on the cross.”

                        c. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes unto the Father but by Me.”

            2. The physical death of our Lord was also unique because of His trichotomous separation.

            3. Our Lord’s resurrection was unique. The omnipotence of God the Father restored our Lord’s human spirit in heaven to His body in the grave. Hence, God the Father is said to be the agent of the resurrection, Acts 2:24; Eph 1:20; Col 2:12, 1 Thes 1:10, Rom 6:4, and 1 Pet 1:21.

            4. The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit restored our Lord’s human soul in Hades to His body in the grave. So God the Holy Spirit is also an agent of the resurrection, as in Rom 1:4, Rom 8:11, and 1 Pet 3:18.

            5. The omnipotence of God the Father sent our Lord’s human spirit through billions and billions of light years of space to His body in the tomb. Simultaneously, the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit returned His human soul from Hades to His body. Now rejoined in the resurrection body, our Lord walked through the stone. Later on, an angel rolled away the stone so that the world could see and verify the resurrection. The power that resurrected Christ was made possible to a human being from the omnipotence of God the Father and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit.

            6. Scripture.

                        a. In Acts 2:31 Peter said, “He [David] looking ahead spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that He was neither abandoned in Hades nor did His flesh see decay.”

                        b. Eph 1:20, “which divine power He put into operation by means of Christ when He [F] raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in heavenly places.”

                        c. Rom 6:4, “Therefore, we have been buried with Him [Jesus Christ] through baptism into death [baptism of the Holy Spirit] in order that, as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” The power that raised Christ from the dead makes it possible for us to walk in newness of life. For the omnipotence of God the Father provided our portfolio of invisible assets, and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit provides the power in divine dynasphere to execute the protocol plan of God.

                        d. 2 Cor 13:4, “For indeed He was crucified because of weakness [ours], yet He lives because of the power of God.”

            7. Christ did not use His own divine power in His resurrection. During the Incarnation, our Lord voluntarily restricted the independent use of His own divine attributes, including His omnipotence, in compliance with the Father’s plan for the Incarnation and the strategic victory of the angelic conflict.

            8. Christ could have used His own omnipotence at the cross; He could have delivered Himself. But instead, He depended upon the omnipotence of God the Father and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit. This is taught in Jn 10:17-18. “For this reason, the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life [soul] that I might receive it again. No one has taken it [My life] from Me; but I lay it down from the source of Myself. I have the power to lay it down; I have the power to receive it again. This mandate I have received from the Father.”

                        a. Jesus Christ surrendered His human spirit to the Father in heaven and His soul to the Holy Spirit in Hades that He might receive His soul and spirit again.

                        b. “I have the power to lay it down.” Christ could have used His own power. The word EXZOUSIA means authority and power. However, He did not use His own power and authority to raise Himself from the dead; instead He depended upon the omnipotence of God the Father and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit.

                        c. Although Jesus Christ had the power to raise Himself, He did not do so. Instead, in obedience to the mandate from the Father and in reliance upon the omnipotence of God the Father and Holy Spirit, our Lord in Hypostatic Union voluntarily restricted the use of His own omnipotence and established the pattern for the successful fulfillment of God’s plan for the Church Age.

            9. However, during the Incarnation, the deity of Christ was still holding the universe together.

                        a. Col 1:17, “He existed before all things; and by Him all things hold together.”

                        b. Heb 1:3, “He holds together all things by the word of His power.”

     10. The power of resurrection.

                        a. Our Lord had the power and authority to receive His life again. This authority or power came from the omnipotence of God the Father, who restored our Lord’s human spirit to His body, and from the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit, who restored our Lord’s human soul to His body.

                        b. At that moment, the human spirit and soul of our Lord rejoined His body in the grave through the agency of the omnipotence of God, and the humanity of Christ was resurrected.

                        c. In His resurrection body, He walked through the solid stone of His tomb. The resurrection body is designed so that it can walk between the space of molecules!

     11. During the period of His physical death, Christ did not exercise His omnipotence to benefit Himself, to provide for Himself, to raise Himself from the dead, or to glorify Himself in any way.

     12. The same power, the omnipotence of God the Father and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit, that raised Christ from the dead is the same power by which the Church Age believer fulfills the protocol plan of God. If we’re going to use this power, we have to know that exists, we have to know that it’s available, and we have to know the mechanics of utilization.

     13. The great power experiment emphasizes all three members of the Trinity, but only the omnipotence of God the Father and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit pertain to modus operandi of the humanity of Christ, and then the modus operandi of every Church Age believer.

     14. 1 Pet 1:3-5, “Blessed be the God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who, according to His great mercy, has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; to an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you who are guarded by the power of God through faith for a deliverance ready to be revealed at the last time.”

                        a. What is this “living hope?” It is the fact that your power, abilities, and strengths will contribute nothing to Christianity. God has provided the power, the ability, and the strength through regeneration, made available in the protocol plan of God.

                        b. An inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled is an inheritance based on divine power rather than human power, on God’s grace rather than human accomplishment. It will not fade away because God’s power cannot fade.

                        c. The power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the same power that guards you and provides eternal security for every believer, winner or loser.

                        d. The “deliverance” refers to the resurrection of the Church, effected by the omnipotence of God the Father and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit. The power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power by which Church Age believers have eternal security and the means of fulfilling the God’s plan for the Church Age.

                        e. God’s plan, will, and purpose can only be fulfilled by the omnipotence of God the Father related to our portfolio of invisible assets and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit related to the divine dynasphere.

     15. Rom 1:4, “Who was demonstrated the Son of God by means of power belonging to the Holy Spirit, by means of the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

     16. Rom 8:11, “Now if the Spirit [Holy Spirit] from Him [God the Father] who raised Jesus from the dead indwells you [and He does], He who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will also give spiritual life to your mortal bodies by means of His Spirit who indwells you.” There is no spiritual life apart from the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit; i.e., through residence, function, and momentum inside the divine dynasphere. No one reaches gate #8 apart from the omnipotence of God the Father and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit; it cannot be accomplished in the energy of the flesh.

     17. 1 Pet 3:18, “Because Christ also died once with reference to sins, the righteous on behalf of the unrighteous, in order that He might bring us to God; on the one hand, having died physically, but on the other hand, having been made alive by means of the Holy Spirit.” We were brought to God by grace. It was the work of the Father who judged our sins from His omnipotence. It was the work of the Son who endured the cross; it was the work of the Holy Spirit who sustained the humanity of Christ for the most intense and awful suffering the world has ever known.

     18. That is why Paul said in Phil 3:10, “that I may come to know Him and the power of His resurrection.”

     19. Hence, the importance of epistemological rehabilitation after salvation. Cognition of the resurrection includes understanding divine omnipotence as the mechanics. This same divine omnipotence becomes the mechanics for the two great events of history:  the execution of the protocol plan of God, and the Rapture of the Church.

     20. The same omnipotence of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is the same power that has been provided for us in grace to execute the protocol plan of God. The power experiment of the Hypostatic Union turned history around, for now in the Church Age the same omnipotence of God the Father and omnipotence of the Holy Spirit is available to you in the mechanics of the protocol plan of God, and in the promises and guarantees in our portfolio of invisible assets.

     21. Never before in history has so much divine omnipotence been available to so many believers for the glorification of God through the execution of His will, His plan, and His purpose. You have available to you the greatest power!

    22. The dispensation of the Church is the greatest power experiment in human history, the greatest opportunity for the ordinary believer to make maximum use of divine power, to glorify God, to have a marvelous life on earth, and to receive the fantastic escrow blessings from the omnipotence of God the Father. This is the challenge of the omnipotence of God.

 

O.  The Pattern for Omnipotence in the Protocol Plan of God.

            1. The great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union and the Incarnation overflows into the Church Age and provides the pattern for the protocol plan of God.

            2. During the Incarnation, the humanity of Christ depended upon the omnipotence of God the Father and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit. The omnipotence of God the Father provided life for the humanity of Christ, designed the plan for the First Advent, invented the prototype divine dynasphere, and used His divine power to administer logistical grace. The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit provided power for the execution of the Incarnation plan inside the prototype divine dynasphere.

            3. The pattern of omnipotence continued into the resurrection. The same pattern is now perpetuated into the Church Age, as the continuation of the great power experiment.

            4. The great power experiment of the Church Age involves all three members of the Trinity.

                        a. The omnipotence of God the Father provided in eternity past for every Church Age believer a portfolio of invisible assets, having three categories.

                                    (1) Primary assets:  escrow blessings and computer assets.

                                    (2) Secondary assets are dependent upon the believer’s utilization of divine power. They include:  volitional assets, production assets, the assets of undeserved suffering, and the invisible impact assets.

                                    (3) Personnel assets were designed by God the Father and are administered by God the Holy Spirit. These are spiritual gifts.

                        b. The omnipotence of the Son continues to provide the environment of human history during the Church Age by holding the universe together.

                                    (1) So-called scientific laws are really a demonstration of the faithfulness of the omnipotence of God; specifically the omnipotence of Jesus Christ, who is both the creator and the sustainer of the universe. Science did not originate any of these laws that hold the universe together; science cannot enforce them or perpetuate them.

                                    (2) So-called scientific laws are based upon the statistical assumption that the present universe, which operates according to a fixed norm, will continue to. While science can observe these laws through the function of empiricism, they cannot originate, guarantee or perpetuate them.

                                    (3) So-called scientific laws depend upon the faithfulness of our Lord Jesus Christ, who combines His omnipotence with His immutability and veracity by perpetuating these laws in human history.

                                    (4) Col 1:17, “And He [Jesus Christ] existed eternally before all things, and by means of Him [omnipotence of Jesus Christ] the all things of the universe hold together [continue to exist].” Heb 1:3, “upholding all things of the universe by the Word of His power.”

                                    (5) While Jesus Christ was being judged for our sins on the cross in His humanity, His deity was holding the universe together.

                                    (6) During the Church Age, Jesus Christ continues to manifest His omnipotence by holding the universe together for the perpetuation of history, and He will continue to do so until the last moment of the Millennium. Then He will destroy the universe and create a new one for the eternal state.

                        c. In this dispensation, the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit provides seven things for every Church Age believer at salvation.

                                    (1) Efficacious grace is the enabling power of the Spirit to the believer for eternal salvation.

                                    (2) In regeneration, He creates a human spirit so that God the Father can impute eternal life to that human spirit.

                                    (3) The baptism of the Spirit.

                                    (4) The indwelling of the Spirit in the body of every believer to provide a temple for the indwelling of Christ as the Shekinah Glory.

                                    (5) The initial filling of the Spirit, which is the enabling power of the Spirit inside the divine dynasphere.

                                    (6) The sealing ministry of the Spirit, which is the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit providing a signature guarantee of your very own portfolio of invisible assets.

                                    (7) The ministry of the sovereignty of the Spirit in the distribution of spiritual gifts, plus His omnipotence used for the execution and function of these gifts.

            5. Two of the ministries of the Holy Spirit are the basis for equal privilege and equal opportunity in the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God. Equal privilege and equal opportunity in God’s plan for your life comes from the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit.

                        a. Equal privilege comes from the baptism of the Spirit, by which the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit enters every Church Age believer into union with Christ. This is the basis for our becoming royal family of God and a new spiritual species. This is the doctrine of positional sanctification. The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit creates the royal family of God, 1 Cor 12:13, and a new spiritual species, 2 Cor 5:17.

                        b. Equal opportunity comes from residence inside the operational- type divine dynasphere. Inside the divine dynasphere you are filled with the Spirit; functioning within its eight gates is walking by means of the Spirit. This provides equal opportunity for every believer to execute God’s plan for the Church Age.

            6. Without the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit, fulfillment of God’s plan, purpose, and will for your life would be impossible. This is noted in the application of the law of equivalent power.

            7. The fact that the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit creates the royal family of God, note 1 Cor 12:13. “For by means of one Spirit [Holy Spirit] we were all baptized into one body [formation of the royal family of God], whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free; all were made to drink of one Spirit.”

                        a. No racial distinctions, social, or economic distinctions exist in the royal family of God. The application of this is that you must regard yourself as neither superior nor inferior, but as a person, a person sustained by the power of God.

                        b. Drinking, like eating, emphasizes the non-meritorious characteristic of faith, which is the means of salvation. Good, bad, moral, amoral, religious, non-religious; all types of people can eat and drink because it is a non-meritorious function.

                        c. Drinking is the fulfillment of our Lord’s invitation to salvation on the last day of the Feast of the Tabernacles. Jn 7:37-39, “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast [Tabernacles], Jesus stood up and shouted saying, `If any person is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, streams of living water shall flow from within him.’ Now this He spoke concerning the Spirit whom those who believed in Him were about to receive. The Spirit was not yet given because Christ was not yet glorified.”

                        d. Thirst is equivalent to positive volition at God-consciousness and Gospel hearing, while drinking is analogous to personal faith in Jesus Christ. Isaiah gave the same message:  “Ho, everyone who thirsts, let him come and drink.”

                                    (1) In the Old Testament, the Spirit’s ministry was called enduement. It was neither indwelling nor filling, but was a temporary function of the Holy Spirit in providing power for certain functions. This power was given to men such as Elijah, Elisha, David; it was given to less than 1% of believers in the Old Testament. Now in the Church Age, the Holy Spirit is given to every believer under seven different ministries.

                                    (2) At this time, the Holy Spirit was not yet given, for Christ had yet to suffer for our sins on the cross, be resurrected and seated. The great power experiment of the Church Age could not begin until our Lord was resurrected and seated at the right hand of the Father, where He received His third royal title.

            8. The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit, by means of His baptism, also creates a new spiritual species. 2 Cor 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new spiritual species. Old things have lost their power; behold, new things have come.”

                        a. The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit creates a royal family of God with equal privileges for the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God. At the same time, the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit creates something that has never existed in all of human history:  a new spiritual species. There is only one spiritual species in history, the Church Age believer only. The purpose for the new spiritual species is for the delegation and distribution of divine omnipotence.

                        b. Israel became a new racial species for the function of client nation status. Abraham became a Jew at age ninety-nine, beginning a new racial species. But in the Church Age, every believer is a new spiritual species for the great power experiment.

                        c. Old things refer to the old sin nature; genetical, environmental, and volitional handicaps; position in Adam which is spiritual death; the function of human power in the cosmic system rather than divine power; and people emphasis having priority over God emphasis. Divine power makes it possible for relationship with God to take precedence over relationship with people.

                        d. New things come in the form of our portfolio of invisible assets which the omnipotence of God the Father prepared for us in eternity past. New things have come in the form of the protocol plan of God which emphasizes Christian life inside the divine dynasphere, where the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit is available for the glorification of God.

                        e. In contrast, Israel was under a ritual plan of God. The Mosaic Law was a combination of things for unbelievers to follow under the laws of divine establishment, and a system which taught soteriology and Christology for believers. Jesus Christ came under a new plan, the incarnation plan of God. Once He was seated at the right hand of the Father, the protocol plan of God was begun.

                        f. New things have come in the form of the lifestyle of wisdom, epistemological rehabilitation through the ministry and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit inside the divine dynasphere. New things have come in the unique life, which is the indwelling of all three members of the Trinity.

                        g. Therefore, new things have come in the form of great power experience in the Church Age:  the provision of the omnipotence of God the Father and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit for the execution of the Christian way of life.

            9. Omnipotence and equality in the Church Age.

                        a. Only divine attributes such as sovereignty, omniscience, and omnipotence could provide both equal privilege and equal opportunity for every believer in the Church Age to fulfill the protocol plan of God.

                        b. Equal privilege is related to two categories of divine omnipotence.

                                    (1) The omnipotence of God the Father is related to our portfolio of invisible assets, the appointment of every believer to the royal priesthood, and the provision of an operational-type divine dynasphere.

                                    (2) The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit is related to the baptism of the Spirit which occurs at salvation and manufactures the new spiritual species.

                        c. Equal opportunity is also related to these two categories of divine omnipotence.

                                    (1) The omnipotence of God the Father is related to our day-by-day logistical grace support for life.

                                    (2) The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit is related to the enabling power to execute the protocol plan of God.

                        d. Therefore, equal privilege and equal opportunity in the protocol plan of God is related to divine power. The omnipotence of God is guaranteed, available, and delegated to every believer, but is utilized by only a few believers. Those few are the basis for the continuation of this client nation.

 

P.  The Panorama of the Omnipotence of God in the Great Power Experiment.

            1. There are two phases to the great power experiment.

                        a. The thirty-three years of the Hypostatic Union, terminated with the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the basis for the strategic victory of the angelic conflict.

                        b. The Church Age, terminated with the resurrection of the Church. This is the basis for the tactical victory in the angelic conflict.

            2. Each phase is terminated with resurrection, which is very fitting, for resurrection requires God’s omnipotence. Both the omnipotence of God the Father and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit are involved in each resurrection.

            3. This is the Church Age phase of the great power experiment. It occurs between the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the rapture of the Church. It is the greatest concentration of divine power ever provided for believers.

            4. The great power experiment occurs in six of the most important events in human history.

                        a. The virgin birth of Christ. The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit created twenty-three perfect male chromosomes for the virgin pregnancy of Mary. The omnipotence of God the Father created the human life which He imputed to the human soul of the humanity of Christ at the point of His physical birth. The result was the beginning of the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union, which is coterminous with the first advent of Christ.

                        b. The Incarnation of Christ. The omnipotence of God the Father invented the prototype divine dynasphere and sustained our Lord’s spiritual life. He provided logistical grace support and thereby kept the humanity of Christ alive during those thirty-three years of pressure. The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit provided the divine power inside the prototype divine dynasphere through which our Lord executed the Father’s plan for the Incarnation. The result was that Jesus Christ fulfilled the Father’s plan for the First Advent and achieved the strategic victory in the angelic conflict. This is basically the subject of Hebrews 1.

                        c. The unique spiritual death of Christ on the cross. The omnipotence of God the Father, in conjunction with His divine holiness, judged the sins of the world while Christ was bearing them on the cross. The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit sustained our Lord for those three hours on the cross, during which darkness covered Golgotha, and billions of sins were imputed to Christ and each one was judged. Our Lord’s humanity endured the most intense suffering in human history concentrated into three hours. The result was:

                                    (1) Eternal salvation was provided for the entire human race and made available to all people now, in the past, and in the future through personal faith in Jesus Christ.

                                    (2) Jesus Christ defeated Satan who had the power of death and thereby achieved the strategic victory of the angelic conflict. Heb 2:14, “Therefore, since children [of Adam] partake of blood and flesh, He Himself [Jesus Christ] likewise also partook of the same that through death [spiritual death] He might render powerless him [Satan] who had the power of death.”

                                    (3) Our Lord’s third royal patent was given to Him at the right hand of the Father. This is the basis for the existence of the Church Age. The dispensation of Israel was interrupted for the insertion of the dispensation of the Church to call out a royal family. Heb 1:1-4, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets [Old Testament] in many portions and in many ways, at the end of these days [Old Testament], He has spoken to us by means of His Son whom He appointed heir of all things [strategic victory of the angelic conflict] through whom He manufactured the dispensations; who being the flashing forth of His glory and the exact image of His essence [deity of Jesus Christ], and He [omnipotence of Jesus Christ] upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made a purification of our sins, then He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high; having become so much better than angels [humanity of Christ] as He has inherited a more excellent title than they.”

                        d. The resurrection of Jesus Christ. The omnipotence of God the Father restored our Lord’s human spirit, which was in heaven, to His body in the grave. Thereby, God the Father became an agent of the resurrection; Acts 2:24; Eph 1:20; Col 2:12; 1 Thes 1:10; 1 Pet 1:21. The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit restored our Lord’s human soul in Hades to His body in the grave and thereby became the agent of resurrection; Rom 1:4, 8:11; 1 Pet 3:18. The result was:

                                    (1) The ascension and session of Jesus Christ, where He received His third royal warrant.

                                    (2) The perpetuation of the great power experiment of the Church Age.

                        e. The great power experiment of the Church Age. The omnipotence of God the Father provides our portfolio of invisible assets. The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit provides the power for the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God, but only inside the divine dynasphere. The result is the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God, the glorification of God, and for those who do it, the tactical victory of the angelic conflict.

                        f. The Rapture/resurrection of the Church. The omnipotence of God the Father resurrects the dead in Christ. The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit provides a resurrection body for living believers at the rapture. The result is the ultimate sanctification of the Church. Both winners and losers receive their resurrection body from the omnipotence of God and enter the eternal state.

                                    (1) 1 Thes 4:13-18, “But we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, about those who are asleep [dead believers waiting for resurrection]. For if we believe that Jesus died [physical death] and rose again [and we do], even so God [Father] will bring with Him [Son] those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. For this doctrine we communicate to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God; in fact, the dead in Christ shall rise first [omnipotence of God the Father]. Then we who are living who remain shall be caught up together with them [omnipotence of the Holy Spirit] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort each other with these doctrines.”

                                                (a) The omnipotence of God the Father resurrects the dead in Christ, causing the perishable body to put on the imperishable, 1 Cor 15:53-54.

                                                (b) The voice command assembles living believers, while the trumpet command assembles the dead believers.

                                    (2) 1 Cor 6:14, “Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us through His power.” The same omnipotence that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the omnipotence that will be used at the rapture. That same omnipotence is the power by which we fulfill the unique protocol plan of God.

 

Q.  The Omnipotence of God and the Indwelling of the Trinity.

            1. The indwelling of God the Father is documented in Jn 14:20,23; Eph 4:6; 2 Jn 9. 2. The indwelling of the Son is documented in Jn 14:20, 17:22, 23, 26; Rom 8:10; 2 Cor 13:5; Gal 2:20; Col 1:27; 1 Jn 2:24.

            3. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is documented in Rom 8:11; 1 Cor 6:16, 6:19-20; 2 Cor 6:16.

            4. There are three important distinctions we must understand.

                        a. The difference between the indwelling of Jesus Christ in our bodies and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our bodies.

                        b. The distinction between the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our bodies and the filling of the Holy Spirit in our souls, which is tantamount to residence, function, and momentum inside the divine dynasphere. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is status quo from salvation. Therefore, it is not an experience. The filling of the Holy Spirit is the experience we call spirituality, the result of living inside the divine dynasphere. Life inside the divine dynasphere is the only place for the utilization of the Spirit’s power for the execution of the protocol plan of God. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit occurs in the body of every believer. The filling of the Holy Spirit occurs in the believer’s soul only inside the divine dynasphere.

                        c. The distinction between the indwelling of Jesus Christ in our bodies and the glorification of Christ in our bodies. The indwelling of Jesus Christ is status quo from salvation and is therefore never experienced. The glorification of Christ in our bodies, however, is the ultimate experience of the Christian way of life, the experience of maturity. Each stage of spiritual adulthood is characterized by an experience related to Christ.

                                    (1) The experience of spiritual self-esteem is in Gal 4:19, “My little children, I am sweating you out until Christ is formed in your bodies.”

                                    (2) The experience of spiritual autonomy is in Eph 3:17, “Christ being at home in our bodies.”

                                    (3) The experience of spiritual maturity is in Phil 1:20, “Christ being glorified in our bodies.”

                        d. The significance of the indwelling of God the Father is:

                                    (1) Related to the glorification of His protocol plan for the Church Age, as taught in Eph 1:3, 6, 12.

                                    (2) A guarantee of His ministry to every Church Age believer which was prepared in eternity past and provided in time as the author of our portfolio of invisible assets, as grantor of our escrow blessings, as mastermind of the protocol plan of God, and as designer of the divine dynasphere.

                        e. The significance of the indwelling of Jesus Christ is:

                                    (1) A badge or sign of the royal family.

                                    (2) A guarantee of the availability and potential utilization of divine power by every Church Age believer who resides inside the divine dynasphere.

                                    (3) A guarantee of life after death in the presence of God forever.

                                    (4) that, as the depositary and escrow officer, He is the guarantee of distribution of our escrow blessings on the attainment of spiritual maturity.

                                    (5) Motivation for momentum in spiritual adulthood when   facing the three categories of suffering for blessing.

                        f. The significance of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is:

                                    (1) The Holy Spirit provides a temple in the body of every believer for the indwelling of Jesus Christ as the Shekinah Glory. Because the old sin nature resides in every cell of our body, Jesus Christ could not indwell our bodies were it not for this temple.

                                    (2) As a base of operations for the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God, which results in glorifying Christ in our bodies.

            5. Each member of the Trinity has coequal, coinfinite, and coeternal omnipotence. Each one indwells every Church Age believer. Therefore, not only is divine power available through our portfolio of invisible assets and the divine dynasphere, but divine power is resident in our bodies through the indwelling of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

            6. Therefore, divine power is guaranteed, available, delegated to all Church Age believers. It is utilized by those believers who, through the function of epistemological rehabilitation, learn pertinent doctrine.

            7. Never has so much power been made available to every believer. Yet we accept the cheap substitutes of human power, such as personality changes, moral modus operandi, taboos (which at best reflect a culture, never the spiritual life), and emotionalism. There is no feeling or emotion that is directly related to utilizing the omnipotence of God. You cannot mix human experience with divine power.

 

R.  Concluding Principles.

            1. The superior power of God is omnipotence.

                        a. The omnipotence of God has been guaranteed, delegated, distributed, and made available to every Church Age believer. It is made available in such things as our portfolio of invisible assets, in the seven ministries of God the Holy Spirit at salvation, in equal privilege and equal opportunity of predestination, in the omnipotence of Jesus Christ holding the universe together which provides both the environment as well as the perpetuation of human history as an extension of the angelic conflict.

                        b. The grace provision for the believer is inevitably and always related to the omnipotence of God the Father, which is related to our portfolio of invisible assets.

                        c. The grace power for the execution of God’s plan is inevitably and always related to the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit.

                        d. The alternative for the believer is the utilization of God’s omnipotence rather than the function of human power. Human power and divine power are mutually exclusive; you function under one or the other. If you are in the divine dynasphere, you’re functioning under divine power.

                        e. Ignorance of pertinent doctrine is no excuse for failure, since the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit is the basis for epistemological rehabilitation after salvation.

            2. Ignorance and/or rejection of Bible doctrine results in failure to understand the mechanics of delegated omnipotence, and therefore failure to use divine power for the execution of the protocol plan of God.

                        a. The Christian way of life is a supernatural way of life and demands a supernatural means of execution, which is the omnipotence of God the Father and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit. The only way to glorify God is to use divine power.

                        b. Neglect, rejection, ignorance of the basic problem solving device of rebound results in perpetual living in Satan’s cosmic system where no divine power is available and where the believer is deluded by functioning under human power and, in some cases, Satanic power.

                        c. Failure to utilize divine omnipotence made available in the divine dynasphere means accepting the cheap substitute of human power. This results in the complications of self-induced misery followed by the three categories of divine discipline. This is why believers are the most miserable and obnoxious people in the world when functioning under human power. You were not designed to function under human power. A perfect plan can only function on perfect power. This is the only dispensation in which perfect power to execute God’s perfect plan has been made available to every believer.

                        d. The use of divine omnipotence in divine discipline is the alternative to using divine omnipotence inside the divine dynasphere. So you have a choice:  you can see the use of divine power in divine discipline administered to you, or you can use divine power to help you inside the divine dynasphere. Inside the divine dynasphere, God’s power is working for you. Outside the divine dynasphere, God’s power is working against you. The choice is yours.

                        e. The divine plan for the Church Age is perfect. A perfect plan demands a perfect power. Therefore, being perfect, the divine plan can only be executed by divine power. Therefore, the omnipotence of God is guaranteed and delegated to you through your portfolio of invisible assets; it is made available to you through your divine dynasphere; and it can be utilized by you, which is the function of the Christian way of life.

                        f. God cannot and will not accept the function of human power in His plan. His plan cannot be fulfilled by any power generated by imperfect creatures. God’s plan can only be executed, and God can only be glorified, through the utilization of divine power made available to every believer.

                        g. Therefore, there is no substitute for epistemological rehabilitation and cognition of the mystery doctrine of the Church Age, which was not revealed to any believers in past dispensations, because the Church Age is a maximum power thrust never given in the past, and will never again be available after the resurrection of the Church.

                        h. In Mt 22:29, Jesus made a remarkable statement in anticipation of this power which would be given to us. “Jesus answered and said to them [disciples], “You are constantly being deceived, not knowing the Scriptures or the power of God.” There is no power in emotion or morality; both are human power systems.

            3 There are two enemies to knowing the Scriptures and the power of God.

                        a. Ignorance or rejection of Bible doctrine means failure to understand the guarantee, delegation, availability, and mechanics for the utilization of divine power in the fulfillment of God’s plan, will, and purpose for your life.

                        b. The malfunction or neglect of the rebound technique means a perpetual life inside the cosmic system, where the only experience of divine power comes from divine discipline.

                        c. Failure to utilize divine power which has been provided in equal shares for every believer means accepting inadequate and blasphemous substitutes. These substitutes include such things as:

                                    (1) Personality improvements. Christianity has many personalities but only one power.

                                    (2) Behavior improvement, which can be done magnificently in the energy of the flesh.

                                    (3) Self-satisfaction and self-righteousness. That is human self-esteem when you are satisfied with your behavior improvement, with your morality, with what you do for God. These are related to legalism.

                        d. There is no substitute for the utilization of divine power for the execution of the protocol plan of God.

                        e. The divine plan demands the use of divine power made available through God’s policy of grace.

                        f. God cannot and does not accept human power in the function of His plan. For divine and human power are mutually exclusive.

                        g. Therefore, there is no substitute for epistemological rehabilitation and the function of the rebound technique by which God’s power is transferred and utilized as the modus operandi of your life.

            4. The Great Power Experiment of the Church Age.

                        a. The power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power now available to the Church Age believer for the execution of God’s plan.

                        b. Never before in human history has God guaranteed, delegated, and made available so much divine power to each believer as He has now distributed in the Church Age. More divine power is available to you than was available to anyone but the prophets who wrote the Old Testament.

                        c. The omnipotence of God the Father has provided for every believer his very own portfolio of invisible assets, and in that portfolio, equal shares of divine power to all believers. There are no exceptions, no discrimination; God has provided equal shares for all.

                        d. The omnipotence of Jesus Christ provides the historical environment for the fulfillment of the great power experiment of the Church Age. It is the omnipotence of Jesus Christ that holds the universe together.

                        e. The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit has provided unprecedented delegation and distribution of divine power inside your very own palace, the operational-type divine dynasphere. Inside the divine dynasphere you have an equal share of divine power for equal opportunity in the execution of the protocol plan of God.

                        f. The great power experiment was first tested during the First Advent of Christ, as demonstrated by kenosis, impeccability, and the unique spiritual and physical deaths of Christ, as well as His resurrection, ascension, and session.

                        g. The great power experiment is continued and concluded between the resurrections of Christ and the Church, the period of the Church Age.

                        h. The perfect plan for the Church Age is the protocol plan of God, which demands perfect power and perfect ability to execute that perfect plan. The only perfect power is divine omnipotence administered under the divine policy of grace. This includes the omnipotence of God the Father related to our portfolio of invisible assets; the omnipotence of the Son perpetuating human history; and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit providing the power, the energy, the cognition, and the ability to fulfill the protocol plan of God for the Church Age inside the operational-type divine dynasphere only.

                        i. In contrast to previous dispensations, this divine power is available to every Church Age believer without exception.

                        j. Under the law of equivalent power, the perfect plan of God can only be executed by the perfect omnipotence of God. That omnipotence is available to you.                          k. In nearly 2000 years of Church history, Bible doctrine has rarely been the criterion for the modus vivendi of Christianity, and yet it is the only criterion. Instead, in every generation, there is a tremendous amount of apostasy which is related to tradition, culture, philosophical speculation (scholasticism, existentialism); all which have ignored the grace provision of divine power.

                        l. Tradition is prone to substitute human power for divine dynamics. In one Christian group, tradition demands asceticism, some form of self-sacrifice. In another Christian group, it demands that emotional and ecstatic experiences have priority. In another, it is crusader arrogance involving Christianity in social engineering, Christian activism, civil disobedience, the use of force and violence to superimpose Christian standards on a non-Christian population.

                        m. Moral degeneracy is the direct result of substituting human power for divine omnipotence. The so-called “changed life,” the personality overhaul, the standardization of behavior through non-Biblical taboos demonstrates the believer’s failure to establish his norms on the basis of the mystery doctrine of the Church Age.

                        n. Constant dedication, rededication, reaffirmation in some overt manifestation of frustration results in failure to utilize divine power. People are walking aisles, seeking new experiences, trying this thing and that, going from church to church, looking for something that is satisfying to the human life. As a result, they are missing what God has provided.

                        o. Ignorance of what constitutes Christianity has resulted in an assortment of human power functions which supersede the use of divine power in this dispensation of the great power experiment, the Church Age.

            5. Four Great Benedictions in the New Testament. Four great benedictions specifically mention the power of God. What is found in a benediction is always significant with regard to Christian experience.

                        a. Eph 3:20-21, “Now to Him [Father] who is able to do infinitely more than all we could ever ask or think on the basis of the power which is working for us; to Him be the glory by means of the Church and by Christ Jesus with reference to all generations of this unique age of the ages. Amen.”

                                    (1) Far beyond our imagination or thinking, God has provided for us through His power the most fantastic things.

                                    (2) The “power working for us” is the omnipotence of God the Father in providing our portfolio of invisible assets, the omnipotence of Jesus Christ in holding the universe together and perpetuating history, and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit in providing the functional, operational power in the divine dynasphere. The power of all three is working for us!

                                    (3) Verse 21 means that the great power experiment of the Church is designed to glorify God under the tactical victory of the angelic conflict. The great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union resulted in the strategical victory of the angelic conflict, won by the humanity of Christ utilizing the power of the Father and Holy Spirit.

                                    (4) In every generation, positive believers, through cognition of Bible doctrine, through the utilization of divine power fulfill the protocol plan of God, receive their escrow blessings, and thereby glorify God.

                                    (5) “Age” is a reference to this unique Church Age. “Of the ages” is a reference to other dispensations, both past and future, which are distinguished from the Church Age.

                        b. Rom 16:25-27, “Now to Him [Father] who is able to establish [strengthen] you according to my Gospel [good news], and the proclamation of Jesus Christ according to the revelation [unveiling, disclosure] of the mystery doctrine, which has been concealed with reference to past dispensations but now is revealed through the prophetic Scriptures [Jn 14-17, Rev 2-3] by decree of the eternal God, having been made known to all the Gentiles for the purpose of obedience to the doctrine; to the only wise God through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

                                    (1) God’s power is not available until one believes in Christ. Equal shares of divine omnipotence applies to believers only.

                                    (2) The mystery doctrine is unique to the Church Age. It is so great that miracles are set aside, being secondary to mystery doctrine. Eschatological dynamics [prophecy] has been set aside for personnel dynamics [spiritual gifts]; something so unusual and different that it is classified as “mystery doctrine.”

                                    (3) Israel has not only been set aside as a client nation, but it has been completely set aside as a spiritual factor. This is the times of the Gentiles, when only Gentile nations can be client nations. Now the Jew must come to the Gentile for the Gospel, for the message of God’s plan.

                        c. Heb 13:20-21, “Now the God of prosperity [Father] who brought up from the dead Jesus our Lord, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant equip you with every good thing of intrinsic value [portfolio of invisible assets] for doing His will, doing in us [omnipotence of the Holy Spirit] that which is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Note that we are not to do “His will” in the energy of the flesh. We are equipped by the omnipotence of God the Father, who provided “every good thing of intrinsic value” in our portfolio of invisible assets.

                        d. Jude 24-25, “Now to Him who is able [omnipotence of God the Father] to keep you from falling [guard you from stumbling], and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great happiness. To the only God our Savior [Deliverer] through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all the ages [eternity past] and now [in Church Age] and forever [future].”

                                    (1) The omnipotence of God, which provided our eternal salvation, is the same omnipotence that maintains our eternal security. We cannot effect our eternal security in any way by anything we do or fail to do. Since your salvation is the “power of God,” you do not have the human power to cancel it.

                                    (2) How can we possibly stand before God blameless? The same omnipotence of God that resurrected Jesus Christ provides resurrection bodies for all Church Age believers. In a resurrection body we are blameless, as taught by the doctrine of ultimate sanctification.

 

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 © 1989, by R. B. Thieme, Jr.  All rights reserved.

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