A Voice for the Gathering Saints
Duane Stewart
April 18, 2016
The church of today is living in a time and season when God is in the process of a separation because, in a progressive fashion, God is bringing forth a people to the fullness of the stature of Christ. In this, the church is to know this time of separation as the fruit of the good seed of God from the fruit of the bad seed of the evil one is accomplished. Remember, the church age has had its time of purpose, which was, to become a spiritual womb for God to plant His seed into for the birthing of a many member son. Is not the time of this birthing at hand; is it not now upon us? This is that time for the birthing of this son because faith and knowledge, given through spiritual revelation, is bringing forth the unity of Christ and making up God’s perfect man.
Eph. 4:13-15, “till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ .”
Note in verse thirteen above, that the word “perfect” as used here is a Greek word which has the meaning of “one who has reached maturity as to age or qualification; that which has reached its end; hence perfect”. The context allows us to know that this state of being perfect qualifies that person to walk in the unity of Christ as a member of His overcoming body. This membership becomes a part of the whole and as the body of Christ; their purpose is to manifest the love of Christ in defeating the lies and deceitfulness of the carnal structure that is seeking to displace the true church of God. Thus, the time of separation speaks of the tare’s removal from the field called the generation of Christ, the wheat.
Note and remember that at the time of God’s creation, He instituted a law of reproduction that would affect every generation. This law speaks that “every seed shall bring forth after its own kind”. According to this law, today’s generation is seeing the evidence of such a law of reproduction bringing forth its fruit. Observation from both a spiritual and natural standpoint reveals the fruit of each seed that was planted. With the church, typed as a woman, and created for receiving seed, what seed has its members, individually and collectively, received? The fruit of each seed received now reveals itself because the time of maturity has come. The seed received will manifest the fruit of the lawless corrupt one or the fruit of the many member body of Christ.
The seed of the lawless one has the evidential fruit of carnal doctrines conjured up by the trickery of carnal minded men. It produces cunning craftiness as the results of deceitful plotting for deceiving the people to accept a far-off God that desires not to share His power and authority with man. Thus, these men are manufacturing this far-off God who leaves His creation to their own carnal desires and devices. In this, they follow their own self will, their own lustful emotions and the carnal minds own deceitful thinking ability. 2 Peter 2:1 states loudly, “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction”.
Herein, we have a so-called church that has fallen into the professing position of being a people having only a form of godliness without having any of God’s power of expression. “Heresies”, as used above, is a word that originally denoted the making of a choice or having an option. Its meaning has now progressed to having a preference because of an opinion or a sentiment, it easily slipped into a mode of disunity, choosing sides, having diversity of belief, creating dissension, and substituting self-willed opinions for submission to the truth. Heresies dominant use in the New Testament signifies different sects, people professing opinions independent of the truth of God.
However, thanks to our God, He has His seed also present. This seed is bringing forth the fruit of the Christ that expresses God’s love in the form of His nature. This is a people who are birthed as God’s man-child. These are to reveal God to the world, having divine power and authority from God while establishing His kingdom in all the earth. For this coming man-child, a key is given to an open door into the heavens. This is a door opened where no man can shut out the believing saint. Rev. 3:7-8, “… These things says He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who open and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens: I know your works. See I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept my word, and have not denied my name [nature]”.
In this, we see a birthing, the coming forth from among the church, a first-fruits people who have received from the Father an understanding of the mysteries of God. Those things once hidden as mysteries have now become an open door for knowledge and understanding to flow from within each receiving vessel. This knowledge and understanding, when received, results in a nature change with Christ dwelling within men who now manifest Him unto the world about them. This man-child, being of those who Christ has conquered in spirit, soul and body, have matured into God’s throne-room order. These shall now proceed from God’s throne-room to be presented to the world as they reveal the Christ into that same world.
Who are these who become of full stature with Christ? Are they not the first-fruits of the harvest? Are they not the man-child birthed from out of the women church, to finish the seven-day plan of God? That is, a plan purposed and fulfilled to make men in God’s likeness and image. Meaning a many member man would become the expression of God in the earth while establishing His kingdom. In this expression of the church’s victorious offspring, some of the world’s carnal minded men shall finally begin to humble themselves before God’s as they begin to worship the Christ and receive His accomplished work on the cross. Rev. 3:9, “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan [carnal church], which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee”.
The above verse speaks of a people who have conquered, becoming a people who have put all things beneath their feet in victorious living as the first-fruits of God. “I (God) will make them to come and worship before thy (first-fruits) feet” speaks of recognizing the glory of God manifesting from these first-fruits as the results of the work of the cross of Christ within them. In them, the carnal world has been conquered and placed beneath their feet, a sign of total victory. Therefore, from the carnal church as they come out from among it, a people shall begin to recognize the same need, a need to allow the cross of Christ to do a work in them. Realizing, their need to forsake carnal religion for the eternal work of Christ’ sacrifice, the cross.
These glorified ones, the overcomers, the man-child is now sent forth to glorify Christ in all things. Manifesting all they have received from the Father because of their faithfulness to Him against all the odds that stood against them. They, having overcome all temptations in the midst of tribulation shall bring glory to God’s holiness. Rev. 3:10, “Because you have kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth”. These glorified ones are the faithful one’s who only do the things they see their Father do, they only say the things they hear their Father say and as such, their works are not their own works, but the works of the Father who sends them. In this hour of trials coming upon the whole earth, a carnal church remains. These of the earth, the carnal church, shall know the severity of this time of testing. They shall feel the wrath of God against all carnality, with the opportunity, because of Gods first-fruits, to be humbled before God.
Thus, the world shall see the coming forth of a full measured people, those who have become a glory unto God because perfection has become the measure of their stature. These are those, who are no longer of the earth, earthly, but find themselves as the first-fruits of God’s mighty harvest. These are of those who become bone of His bone, and flesh of His flesh, the whole body of Christ, edified in love. Eph. 4:16, “from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love”.
Note the transformation of this first-fruits people, a people who were once dead to Christ, but are now dead to the world and its carnal nature. Having died in Christ to carnality, they now live in Christ as the heavens of God. Remember, He is not an afar off God. No, but He lives within His fruitful people as they likewise live in Him. Eph. 2:4-10, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ [by grace you have been saved], and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any should boast. For we are His workmanship,created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them”.
Note that heavenly fruit only comes through dwelling with Him in heavenly places. Meaning, an order of heaven is now within those of us who have received Him. In receiving Christ within, within us is the dwelling place of God who progressively matures us until influenced only by the Christ in the heavens within. The heavens within speak of a new nature, one that responds only to the mind, the will, the desire and emotions of God. Thus, a man-child birthed from God to become His created purpose. These know a new birthing into that of becoming one “of full stature”.