Principle Doctrine of Christ
Doctrine, just like commandments, has been given to us to teach us the mind of God so that we can all think the same, talk the same, and act the same way together as one body under one name. It's not surprising to hear people say they want to bypass doctrine or not focus on it because it is often considered a way to divide people. The reason is that doctrine defines the gospel of heaven and requires you to walk in a specific truth. Therefore it is thought that requiring people to focus on doctrine makes it harder for everyone to agree on the earth. I'm the opposite of that thinking. I believe doctrine unifies us by putting us all under one banner and giving us the direction we need to accomplish that. Oneness has always been at the forefront of God's mind, and doctrine is what will help us get there.
In this teaching, we will look at the scriptures in Hebrews 5:12 - 6:7. The goal is not necessarily to pick up on the writer's full context but instead to give some simple clarification and definition to each of these teachings of Christ.
Hebrews 5:12-
12 For when for the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become one that has need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that uses milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a child. 14 But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, to those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. 6:1 Therefore let us leave the principles of the doctrine of Christ, and let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2 of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this will we do, if God permit. 4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
The idea here is that we are not to remain as children only living in the basic principles of Christ, but build upon them and excel unto perfection. Perfection is oneness, and that's what the Lord desires for His body.
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The Doctrine
What is doctrine? The doctrine itself is simply a teaching. Beyond that, more precisely, a doctrine is teaching put forth from an established government. The doctrine of Christ is given to us from God's established government of heaven. It's His teachings of how He thinks and manifests in heaven and earth. It teaches us and brings us into the unity of heaven's great government.
Key Thought: The principle doctrine of Jesus Christ is given to us to bring us to perfection so that we may be in perfect unity with Christ.
Explanation: In heaven, there is an established government that must be learned to live there. The doctrine of Christ is taught among people on the earth to teach them how to be removed from an earthly government unto a heavenly. On earth, man has formed his religious doctrine of government in some form or another. Still, Christ has come to redeem us from the earth, establish our place in heaven, and put His new government in our hearts.
The beginning of the doctrine began with the baptism of John until the manifestation of Jesus Christ and His ascension to heaven. Even Jesus, who was God manifested in the flesh, was clear that His doctrine was not His own, it belonged to His Father, who sent Him from heaven to earth to establish His teachings in us.
All spiritual thoughts originate from these teachings. This doctrine teaches you how to forsake the error of your thoughts and ways and establishes you in the truth of Christ. It teaches you how to walk in the spirit of Christ, allowing your house to stand when the winds of doctrine, which are other teachings, blow upon it. As Jesus taught us, a wise man builds his house upon a rock, a strong foundation. That's what this doctrine does for us.
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The parts of this doctrine.
There is only one doctrine of heaven, yet it is divided into different parts for us so that we can be clearly taught. Sometimes we might think to learn them in order one at a time, but these doctrines are not meant to be experienced and learned one at a time. They should be learned in unity together as one doctrine. Each one gains its strength by joining itself together with another. To fully understand each one, you must understand them all. The government of your heaven depends on it.
The simplicity is that there is one body with many members. It would help if you thought of the teachings of Christ in the same way. The many teachings of Christ are the members of one government of heaven, with Jesus Christ being the head of that government.
As you learn the many different subjects of the kingdom of God, you will find that they will all be covered in the doctrine of Christ. You can find starting points in Hebrews 6:1-7. Other Scripture References include 1 Timothy 4:15-16; Isaiah 29:24; Matthew 15:9; John 7:16-18, Romans 6:16-18; and Ephesians 4:14.
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The doctrine of Christ
Perfection = All, and in all, complete in Him, nothing hidden, no limitations in the Spirit, one doctrine, one teaching, everything in unity. The love of God.
Key thought: These teachings are one doctrine of Christ called perfection. When you're talking about the doctrine of Christ, you are talking about perfection.
Explanation: This is the fulfillment of all of these doctrines. These teachings are the one doctrine of Christ called perfection. You cannot find a weakness in there. In perfection, there is perfect wisdom and understanding, which allows all the gifts and teachings of Christ to work in perfect unity. Your perception is not limited to one view, but you can be all and in all. For many of you, being perfect may just be abiding in the words that God has given you and not striving to attain in the things that have not been revealed to you yet. But there is perfection where you become all and in all because you have reached God's greatest finality. A place where nothing is hidden and all things are made known.
This perfection is Jesus Christ, the head of the body, the husband to the bride, the temple of the New Jerusalem, and the King of kings and Lord of lords of heaven and earth. The One true God in full glory.
Remember, don't think of these teachings as having to work in you in order like 1-2-3. They will all grow and work in you simultaneously, at all times, until they all are perfected in you. Each teaching is a part of perfection and must be joined together to work perfectly. There will be progressions to perfection. These teachings must work in you first for you to work them to others in a send of God.
Lastly, this is a subject that we will have to address many times because it's complex and needs much wisdom. Below you will read a basic introduction, yet powerful enough to teach you how to live in heaven and earth.
(1) Repentance From Dead Works = A change of mind and action. It's a turning from sin, which is the dead works of the flesh, and a turning to the Lord.
Key thought: This is repentance from dead works.
Explanation: Repentance is simply a change of thought or a change of mind which produces a difference in your works (actions). This is key when repenting from dead works because dead works are a manifestation of the carnal mind. The carnal mind is death and must find repentance to serve God in life and truth. When you live in the carnal mind, which is the mind of death, you will do dead works. These works are simply works of the flesh.
Doing dead works is where a confession of your sin is made. Confessing sin is not just in words; it's in your manifestation. It's your works that tell the real story of your confession. If you are confessing dead works, you need to change your admission through repentance. Not only do you change your mind, but you stop manifesting your dead works. It's repentance from displaying your sin. By repenting, you acknowledge that the carnal mind is death and the works of the flesh are dead works.
In conversations with many of you, you have thought that your sins are forgiven when you repent, and the work of repentance is done, but that is not exactly true to the letter. By faith and prophecy, you are forgiven, and therefore you can and should walk in forgiveness every day, but don't forget to finish the work. Without working all of the parts of this doctrine, the result of repentance has only just begun. If it remained by itself, it would be like saying Jesus died but didn't have to be resurrected. The work of forgiveness can only be finished when you join all the parts of this doctrine to repentance.
(2) Faith Toward God = Your word of believing toward God. It's when you've turned to the Lord in repentance, and you begin to go toward God with works of faith.
Key thought: This is a faith that works toward God.
Explanation: We were all taught that faith was only believing; that's why we were always asking God for something we wanted. We figured if we believed it, God would give it to us, and that was our faith. Since then, we have learned that faith is a word from God to us, and that word from God is our ability to believe in Him and work the works of God toward Him and not ourselves. Without a word from God, we could not believe God or bring anything back to Him. True faith is based on both a word from God and a genuine belief that the word from God is accurate and will not fail.
Still, the true secret to faith toward God is receiving a word from Him and allowing our faith to be toward Him in our belief and our works. Instead of asking God for things concerning our needs or the needs of others, it's all about what He needs in our lives and others. Therefore our works of faith are toward Him and will always benefit the kingdom of Christ. We work the word from Him back to Him, which is why it is faith toward God. If we are walking by faith, we have a word from God to work toward Him.
This is repetitive, but I want to emphasize that faith pleases God, so he who comes to God MUST BELIEVE HE IS! True faith is toward God, not toward what we want, so if you have faith in God, you will have no problem putting all your beliefs in God and towards God. That's why Abraham had great faith as our father, because he believed God and did not stagger at any of His promises, and that is what made him righteous before God. God is always the focus of faith!
(3) Doctrine of Baptisms = Being put into, as in being baptized into water, Spirit, one body, or the death of Christ. It is even being born again of water and Spirit.
Key thought: It's one teaching with plural baptisms. Baptism is being put into.
Explanation: The simple way to look at baptism is that it puts you into the body of Christ to partake of everything that He participated in. Another way to say it is that it puts you in a new body to experience every work of the Spirit of Christ. That's why there are plural baptisms because you will experience them many times.
Baptism is also compared to circumcision as cutting away the flesh and being born again by putting on a new body. If you are the one being baptized then it's happening to you, which is to say you are being put into your new spiritual body and putting off your old body. This is a spiritual work and can be seen by dreams and visions in the Spirit. (Although you can experience levels of understanding without dreams and vision). Suppose you are the one doing the baptizing. In that case, you are performing it, which is to say you are putting someone into you or into your gospel, which is creating their new body of Christ.
You can cover baptism in simplicity with these two baptisms.
(A.) There is a baptism of water, called John's baptism, and is a preparation for receiving the Spirit of Christ, or the teaching that you will be a Christ. John was the forerunner of the coming Messiah, and he prepared the way for Him by preaching repentance. He said you would receive a more significant baptism by fire when Jesus baptizes you. John's baptism is a baptism of repentance and remission of sin. This baptism prepares you by putting you in a repentant mind and tells you that you should believe in the one coming after, which is Jesus Christ, who is the baptism of the Spirit.
This is why John said, "I must decrease, and He must increase." He was telling us that our baptism should increase when Christ comes.
(B.) There is also the baptism of Spirit, which is the Lord's baptism, or the Holy Ghost and fire baptism. When being baptized of repentance, you must increase and be baptized in the name of Jesus. This baptism will teach you the revelation of Jesus. A good example is found in Acts 19:1-7. This example in Acts 19 will help separate the differences between these baptisms. The baptism of Spirit is the mind of resurrection, or newness of life, found in Romans 6:1-4, that you walk in while remaining in an earthly body. This baptism works with the resurrection of the dead. It allows you to walk in the Spirit of Jesus as an overcomer of flesh and blood. Acts 8:14-17.
While this baptism is different from the gift of the Holy Ghost, it's called the baptism of the Holy Ghost because it is the Spirit that is baptizing you by fire. Jesus Christ is the Holy Ghost that is baptizing you.
There is also the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is the power to be witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus. This gift is different from being born of God and is a gift of the Spirit. This gift gives you the power to go into all the world and bear witness to the resurrection. (This resurrection I'm referring to is the resurrection of Jesus, which is your resurrection, but you have to manifest it in the earth. I will add more to this in the resurrection of the dead. ). It's also an understanding of all tongues, and therefore you can interpret the tongues of men and angels.
Also: If you have questions concerning the differences between these baptisms, be patient. As you understand, you will learn that they are one baptism. They are divided to show how a disciple is born of God by baptism and then sent of the Holy Ghost with resurrection power to do the works of the Lord.
(If you remember, Rick taught the differences between baptism and Holy Ghost on a Sunday night meeting some time ago. Saying you are born of water and Spirit, but then you are sent with the gift of the Holy Ghost).
(4) Laying On of hands = impartation, giving a gift, imparting spirit, transference of spirit.
Key thought: This is a work of the body, hence the laying on of hands.
Explanation: This is how the works of God are performed, by the works of the hands. By putting your hands on others, you will transfer the Spirit of the Lord into them, accomplishing the work you are sent to do. (This is another diversity of the working of the Spirit).
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Impart life: dead are raised Mark 5:41
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Impart health: sick are healed Mark 16:18
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The hands of the Apostles give Holy Ghost. Acts 8:17
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Gifts are given by the presbytery / Apostles 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6
Many times in the Bible, the hand of the Lord was upon His servants to do His works. It also represents the power and authority you have in the Lord by allowing you to work in His stead as the king's hand.
(5) Resurrection of the Dead = to raise to life again, a raising up of the dead, to change your earthly body to a spiritual body. The redemption of the body.
Key thought: This is a resurrection of an earthly body, not just a worldly mind.
Explanation: Resurrection is a life-giver in both mind and body. It is important to note that there are progressions to resurrection, just like with the other teachings here. First off, resurrection works in every doctrine and gives them life. Remember that baptism puts you into Christ. Because resurrection is working there, it will raise you up and cause you to walk in the newness of life, which again is to walk in the Spirit even if you are in an earthly body. This is how Jesus walked in the earth as the resurrection and the life. Resurrection works with baptism very closely in that you are baptized into the death of Christ, but you are also raised with Him in His resurrection.
Still, the true secret to the resurrection of the dead is that you put off the flesh, not just in mind, or just in prophecy, but in the manifestation of the earth as well. The resurrection of the dead becomes greater because you are raised with Him in the newness of life. In putting off your earthly body, you are changed into a resurrected spirit body. Therefore you can now appear on the earth with a new body instead of being confined to living in the flesh full time.
This is what happened to Jesus after being crucified and resurrected from the dead. His body was changed, and He was never made corruptible again. After His resurrection, He was no longer in a corruptible earthly body. In His new body, He appeared to people and would disappear from them as well. This appearing and disappearing emphasize that He was now a Spirit (the Holy Ghost) that could appear and disappear as needed. As the Holy Ghost, He could even live in people and guide them while they were still in an earthly body waiting for the final resurrection. Jesus had no boundaries. The rules of flesh no longer constrained him. Death had no more power over any part of Him. His new body could live in heaven forever.
This resurrection of the dead is different from walking in a resurrection and still living in an earthly corruptible body. Even as the resurrection, the body of flesh has rules, and you have to abide by them. The Apostle Paul knew this very well and taught us how to walk in the newness of life (baptism of the Spirit) while still living in the flesh, just as Jesus did. He also knew that because of Jesus, he would one day finally put off his actual flesh body for good in His resurrection from the dead. Paul called this the redemption of the body. He talked about it as if it was coming, not as if it had already happened. (Romans 8:23; Philippians 3:8-16). Even though he had been raised from the dead in the Spirit, its work still had to be done in the earth that he preached in every day.
Lastly, when the resurrection happens, it reveals a new spiritual body that can live in the new earth. In the end, the new earth will be the place you live and work. When Adam was given a body, it was good in manifestation but without understanding. Once the knowledge of evil was revealed, sin manifested in the body, and his terrestrial body was defiled. It was Jesus who came to earth to get back the earthly body that was given to the serpent for a time. The resurrection of the dead redeems the earthly body of death. It regenerates that body into one that can walk and live in the new heaven and earth.
(6) Eternal Judgement = discerning of spirits, spirits manifested. Judgment of spirit, soul, and body.
Explanation: This is when you can judge spirits in the heavens and the earth. One part of eternal judgment is judging the image in the earth by the spirit that it walks in. There is a judgment upon the manifestation of the body of death and the works that it does. Still, eternal judgment can discern the spirit that works in the body and the image it possesses. No spirit can hide from eternal judgment!
The other part is to judge the principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, the spiritual wickedness in high places, and the prince of the air. Ephesians 6:12. This judgment has nothing to do with the flesh and can only be discerned by seeing and hearing in the Spirit.
As you go through eternal judgment, you begin to experience or discern every manifested spirit. Examples would be to not only discern truth from lies, or light from darkness, but you would discern Cain and Abel, Esau and Jacob, Ahab and Jezebel, Korah, Pharaoh, Moses, etc., and all others both good and evil. You could also discern the cities of Egypt, Babylon, Jerusalem, or New Jerusalem, etc. And finally, you would discern Jesus, angels, Satan, and the kingdom, both good and evil. Every spirit behind every image and beyond will be judged, which means they will be discerned.
Spirits have names, abilities, and total diversities as well. Evil spirits can be deceiving, angry, fearful, lustful, hasty, worldly, vexing, tormenting, lying, jealous, and the list goes on. They work in a send with particular agendas. They can be a dragon, a serpent, a satan, a beast, a father, a mother, and an Antichrist. They can be deaf and dumb spirits, familiar spirits, and divination spirits. They can create infirmities and heaviness and make unclean everything they touch. Spirits are a big deal, and they live in people everywhere.
The good news is we have the Spirits of God also who help all the saints overcome every evil spirit. Spirits of truth, wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, spirits of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. They can be an angel, an arc angel, a seraph, a cherub, a Father and a son, a mother and a daughter. They are humble, cleansing, faithful, living, quickening, ministering, and full of fire. There are spirits of adoption who work on behalf of Jesus to adopt all whom God gives Him. These are Spirits whom you need to discern as allies to your salvation so they can help you build your kingdom in Christ.
As you can see, there is a lot to eternal judgment and discerning every spirit in every image. This is why repentance can't be finished until eternal judgment is at work. The reason is that you may be able to repent from a work of the flesh, but if the spirit of it hasn't been discerned, then that spirit will manifest again in another work of the flesh, and your repentance will be void of fruit.
When Jesus overcame the flesh and resurrected it into a new body, He destroyed the body of death. Later, He judged and sentenced Satan, who is spirit, to the lake of fire. This is a complete work of eternal judgment, with a body, soul, and spirit all judged.
What about Hebrews 6:4-5?
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
The question might be, are these things listed in verses 4-5 other doctrines of Christ that go beyond the first six doctrines listed in verses 1-3? The answer is yes and no. They are a repeated listing of the six principles doctrines mentioned above. Still, they are also unique in themselves in that they provoke you to think higher than the fundamental principle doctrines. As you grow in the Spirit you will understand the more significant measures of these teachings.
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Conclusion
As you can see, this is a very intense study into the mind of Christ, and I barely scratched the surface. This is the purpose, of course, because I still have much to learn and experience in Christ, and secondly, what good is it for you if I tell you everything I know. This great doctrine must be experienced within each one of you for you to truly understand the greatness of God's established government.
These teachings are very intertwined and even overlap continually, so make sure you're paying attention to all of them simultaneously. There's plenty more to come on the doctrine of Christ as well as the Apostle's doctrine and others.