Culture of the Kingdom
Today’s Topic: The Revelation of Mysteries
Scripture: Matthew 3:16; Luke 23:39-43; Romans 6:3; Colossians 1:13
Greetings Kingdom Citizens
We know that there is a natural world and eternal. So in the Scriptures there are also two levels, the natural and the eternal. Now we know that God uses the natural to bring us to the eternal. So in the scriptures that are things that we are to take naturally but also there are things that are natural to bring us to the eternal. Now if you do not understand this then understanding how God brings us into the New Season and changes the various seasons in your own life will be extremely difficult. Now the reason why so many people have not come into the reality of the New Season is because religion does not allow you to and let me explain.
All religion keeps that, which is meant to be the fulfillment of what is first presented naturally, a mystery because it has no ability to decode the mystery. A great example is the song “Jacob’s Ladder”. Religion let’s you sing the song and keep you thinking that we are climbing Jacob’s ladder to Heaven. But later on you will see that the thing that God presents naturally first, has an eternal truth attached to it to bring you into the reality of what God is doing.
When we talk about revealing mysteries, revelation consists of Holy Spirit showing humans the true meaning (Heavenly meaning) of that natural thing (type and shadow) that appeals to the soul. The unspiritual mind, whether it be an unconverted person or a carnal converted person, is not interested in things that can only be discerned by the spirit because the soul has no control over the meaning and the application of spiritual things. This is where religion has a problem with revelations. Revelation always encounters resistance when there is existing traditions. The way religion is setup, it keeps emphasizing and holding for the traditions. These traditions often are the natural things that is meant to give way to the things of the Spirit but because of the traditions then natural thing is exalted and they never get to the eternal reality of the thing. A great example of this is the Baptist (Southern, Primitive, Missionary etc.) Denomination. Now I am not broad stroking the entire denomination but I want to give an example. A big part of the Baptist denomination is Baptism. Now in many of their doctrines it states a requirement of baptism to join their church with of course the Romans 10:9 concept and confession. Now, we know baptism according to the scriptures means submersion. Matthew 3:16 says when Jesus was baptized, He went straightway out of the water. So the true definition of baptism is submersion, not sprinkling over the head. Now some in those denominations believe you must be baptized because Jesus was baptized. Now in some of these churches and the people who are members, and I am talking about the specific not the entire denomination as a whole, exalt the natural and not the reality. So is water baptism a requirement. Now let’s use this because it is all about whether you believe Christ or not. While on the Cross there were two thieves (Luke 23:39-43) and one of the thieves repented and asked the Lord to remember him when in His Kingdom. Jesus did not take the man off the cross and then baptize him then put him back on the cross! How do I know? Luke 23:43: “Verily I say unto thee (The thief), Today shalt thou be with me in paradise”. So if baptism is not required what is the meaning and why do it. Water baptism is symbolic of death. Romans 6:3: “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life.” So water baptism is symbolic of death of the old creature. It is a symbol to the Heavens that this person has made a decision to leave the Kingdom of Darkness and be adopted into the family of God. That is the reality and when the Ephesians 4:5 speaks of one baptism, it is speaking of being translated from the Kingdom of Darkness and being put into (baptized) the Body of Christ and in the Kingdom of God (Colossians 1:13). So water baptism is symbolic but it is not a requirement for being saved. Jesus proved that with His interaction with the thief on the cross and of course if someone is on their death bed or for medical reasons cannot participate in baptism, that does not disqualify them from being saved and it surely should not disqualify them from fellowshipping with that body of believers.
This is just one example of how religion can exalt the natural and miss the eternal truth. We will continue this message on the Revelation of Mysteries in the next message.
At the Father’s Service,
Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.
