Apostle Don Meares
As believers and disciples, we must be under God’s government. Many of us should understand that it is different from the government we have in this world. In the US, our government is a democracy that follows the majority vote of the people. In the Kingdom of God, we follow a theocracy—God is our head and ruler. One of the important things we will discover as we learn more about God’s government is who Jesus served.
We need to know that we have a purpose as individuals and corporately, as part of the Church. Furthermore, we are accountable for fulfilling His purpose in this lifetime. Knowing these two purposes will determine how we will spend our eternity. While most Christians are assured that they will spend their eternity in Heaven, they are not aware that what they do here on earth will determine the rewards they will receive in eternity. Unfortunately, with this knowledge, not many Christians know how they can achieve their purpose.
So many Christians commit a major mistake by following tradition. This wrong mindset makes people think they will be equal in authority, status, and calling in eternity. The problem with this is that the Word of God doesn’t teach this anywhere. Many cannot grasp the value of a trillion years versus 70, 80, or 90 years they might spend here on earth. They live as if their years here on earth won’t determine what they will be in eternity.
The importance of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and water
When you accept Christ as your Lord and Master, you will receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Simultaneously, baptism in water is also very important. It is said that most Christians have no comprehension of what baptism in water is all about. It identifies that a person belongs to the Lord Jesus, that through Him, they have been bought with a price and no longer belong to the world. When you get baptized, you are no longer part of the kingdom of darkness.
You can receive much more by faith in the waters of baptism. However, faith can only come to you when you experience the things that the Word of God teaches. If you have heard them, or you have taught them, faith will come. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
In the waters of baptism, your old man will be buried, and your new man will arise to walk in the newness of life. Your new man is dead to the world, cut off from the world, and dead to the kingdom of darkness. You now belong to God in a unique way, and the waters of baptism will apply to your heart and spirit the circumcision of the heart.
Baptism is more than an outward sign that a person belongs to Christ. When you get baptized, you will receive faith, a new spirit, and the Holy Spirit (Read Acts 2:38). Then, when you have been immersed in the Holy Spirit and in water, you will receive the speaking of tongues. It is a way to build up your faith and speak mysteries from God and to God (Read 1 Corinthians 14:2).
The blood of Jesus, the water, and the Spirit have been applied to you through baptism. You now have a witness here on the earth regarding your faith. But it’s only the beginning.
First Principles of the Doctrine of Christ
The Peril of Not Progressing
“Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits.” – Hebrews 6:1-3
If you do not believe in repentance from dead works, faith for God, baptism of the water and the Spirit, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment, you will not grow in your faith. You have to be familiar with these things so that you can grow and know your individual purpose.
The dead works are not a part of your purpose. Rather, God has prepared for you to do good works as part of your individual and corporate purpose. Psalm 139:15-16 says that before you became a seed in your mother’s womb, you already existed in God. Your personal purpose as well as your corporate purpose tied to the local church where you are planted are crucial parts in carrying out these good works. Jeremiah 1:5 says,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
In this example, we can see that a person can be ordained a prophet for their individual calling and as a prophet to the nations for their corporate calling. These have both been decided before we were born and we will be judged according to these. So how are you handling God’s purposes for your life?
This is why we should understand eternal judgment. You cannot change this anymore once you reach eternity. Whatever you achieve down here will influence your eternity. Don’t live for life and worldly pleasures here on earth. Decide to live for the life to come. This is where most of your life will be lived, not here but in eternity.
Living under the Lordship of Jesus
When you are under the Lordship of Jesus, you know your purpose. He’s interested in telling you this. It’s important to have a relationship with Him so you would know this. And when you understand that He is your Lord then you must submit your decision to His will for your life. Not your will but His will be done.
One of the significant things about your purpose is your vocation. God has a specific type of work that you are to do. This will be the passion you have in life and what will bring out all the gifts and talents He’s placed in you. When you have a relationship with God, your vocation will be revealed to you.
You can’t do just what you want to do because of a paycheck. Many people are unhappy because they work a job just for some money. God has a specific plan for your individual purpose regarding your vocation. And if you are not in the vocation that He has called you to, that is His plan for your life, you are not going to be happy. No matter how much money you make, the gifts and the talents that He’s put inside of you will never be able to be expressed to their maximum potential.
We are to serve God with the right attitudes. Those who are called must serve the Lord with gladness (see Psalm 100:2). Your attitude is very important to God. This has to do with your destiny and purpose here on earth. If you’re not going to come under His Lordship, you’re not going to fulfill this calling of your purpose. It all depends on the relationship that you have with the Holy Spirit.
You have to have joy because without joy there is no strength. You have to have praise because, without praise, you can’t even go down the courtyard to the holy place. You can’t even get into His presence. And you have to sing just to go through the gates. More importantly, how is God going to judge you on judgment day of how you achieved or did not achieve, developing the attitudes that He demanded you to possess and develop in your walk with Him both individually and corporately?
The Lordship of Jesus covers every area in your life. This means sin is simply doing what you want to do. We must do His will and not ours.
The fruit and the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” –Galatians 5:22-23
To get the fruit, you have to die. Luke 9:23 says, “Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’”
John 12:24 says, “unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” You must develop the fruit in your lifetime. As believers, we must be willing to go through the processes so that we will bear fruit. Seeing the fruit in our lives could take a lifetime, but it will always be worth it.
When it comes to the nine gifts of the Spirit, a person can flow in one or more of the gifts. These gifts mature through exercise. However, you must know that these gifts never touch the importance of the fruit. The fruit is much more valuable than the gift and must be cultivated. In 1 Corinthians 13:1-2, the Apostle Paul writes:
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”
You can have all the gifts, but if you don’t love, it will be for nothing. Without the fruit, the gifts will not be operable. The fruit is vital. It starts at home and the church.
Are you fulfilling your calling as a priest under God? Psalm 51:17 reminds us, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.” Grace comes through humility when we sacrifice ourselves to do the will of God.
The fruit we bear will reveal whether or not we are a disciple of Jesus. Our obedience matters. It has to do with our ministry of reconciliation. This will allow us to be salt and light in the world (Matthew 5:13). Our fruit and our obedience will encourage others to become disciples too.
Who did Jesus serve?
As we seek to become more like Jesus and know our place in God’s government, we must ask: Who did Jesus serve? Of course, many of us know the answer to this is the Father and the Holy Spirit. But we also have to consider His life here on earth. Jesus served those in authority over Him, as well as the prophets, kings, and priests. Fully God and fully man, He was held accountable to serve them. And during His time here on earth, He also had to submit to people in authority such as the parents who raised Him.
Matthew 20:28 says, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Knowing this, we need to ask: Who is our first priority to serve? Who is our first priority in ministry? This is a crucial part of our faith. We must understand that people are not our priority. Jesus was never controlled by the needs of people. If we are to look at Jesus’ example, the answer is we must serve the Father first.
During the first 30 years of Jesus’ life, He served His Father as His individual purpose. In Luke 2:49, He said that He must be about the Father’s business. He understood this at a young age but when He entered the ministry, He moves into the corporate purpose of His life. He also serves the Holy Spirit who gives Him words of wisdom, knowledge, and discerning of spirits.
Aside from the Father and the Holy Spirit, we must know that Jesus had people in His life, human beings that had total rule and authority over Him. These are the prophets, kings, and priests. Every word they prophesied from the Holy Spirit and God about Jesus came to pass. But Jesus was also held accountable to serve them and do what they prophesied. He left nothing undone.
Much of the instruction and revelation of what He was to do in ministry did not just come from the Father or the Holy Spirit. Much of it came from a revelation of what the prophets, kings, and priests said. In reality, Jesus also had to submit to people so that He would leave nothing undone during His mission here on earth. His individual purpose involves Him serving the Father. His corporate purpose involves Him serving the Father, the Holy Spirit. He also had shepherds that were major in His life. This is why Jesus knew the law and the Scripture, which greatly influenced His ministry and His purpose.
In our walk as followers of Jesus, we must understand these things. Our service has to have intention and direction so that everything we do would honor God and influence our eternity.
