Message 1 - Book Five
Monday, July 28th, 2008Message One - Book Five - SOMEWHERE BEYOND BELIEF
THE SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT AND METAMORPHOSIS OF APOSTLE PAUL
The spiritualization of a determined young man known as Saul of Tarsus, by the powerful quickening Spirit of the risen Christ – and by the spontaneous infusion into him of the Spirit of the Holy Ghost on the Damascus Road (Acts Chapters 9, 22, 26) – converted Saul from a persecutor of Jesus’ disciples into a resolute follower of His. Even more phenomenal, his name was changed to Paul to reflect the radical spiritual change he had undergone: from a dedicated Jew, quickened by the Christ Spirit, into a believer in Him and a follower and outspoken teacher of His New Covenant Gospel. Saul was spiritualized and converted from his condition as a “natural man,” in which state he had been unable to understand the things of GOD, which are only spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2:9-14). This change from the “old unspiritual man,” into the “new spiritual man” he became by the spontaneous infusion into him of the Christ Spirit and the Holy Ghost, remarkably altered his life in that earth incarnation. It is the Spirit Energy of the Son of GOD that Saves human souls into eternity who believe in Him and have Faith in Him as man’s Savior.
It is by man’s flesh experiences in the earth dimension that he learns, life-after-life, to conform himself to become obedient to, and compatible with, the Will of GOD the Father, and Christ HIS Son (1 Sam. 15:22; Acts 5:29,32; Heb. 5:9). It was the Son of GOD who made the Way passable into heaven for all souls trapped in the earth plane. Until Jesus Christ made His excruciatingly agonizing blood sacrifice on the Cross, there was no way passable into GOD’s heavenly eternal Light for human souls trapped in the dense materiality of the earth plane.
It is understood that Apostle Paul’s spirit soul had previously incarnated on earth under the name Saul the son of Kish (1 Sam. 9:1-3). In that life he had become the first king of Israel (1 Sam. 11:13), at a time when the chosen people insisted upon being ruled-over by a king (1 Sam. 8:5-6). Saul reigned for only one year (1 Sam. 13:1), and the story of his experience is biblically recorded in the Books of Samuel, the Prophet. Saul, in that experience, manifested a stern and coldly resolute personality that continued to characterize his subsequent experience as Saul of Tarsus; which incarnation preceded his changed life as Apostle Paul, who underwent spiritual rebirth by the Christ Spirit and the Holy Ghost on the Damascus Road – as noted supra.The spiritual conversion of Saul of Tarsus was sudden, unexpected and shocking. After all, he had devoted a great deal of his time to searching-out and persecuting Christians; which he later humbly explained:
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim. 1:12-14).
This became the pattern of salvation for Christians by the powerful Christ Spirit, combined with the induction of the Holy Spirit into those who turn away from their “natural” flesh ways, and – once spiritualized – steadfastly refuse to return to their former “natural” ways (cf. Heb. 10:26).
Thus, that which Saul of Tarsus had done while a “natural man” (1 Cor. 2:9-14), was reversed after his spiritualization by the Spirit of Jesus Christ on the Damascus Road, at which time he received the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Ghost and “other Comforter – as Jesus on earth had promised would come to pass for those who would have faith and belief in Him (Jn. 14:14-17, 26; Jn. 15:26; Jn. 16:7; 12-16). It applied to those who would obey God the Father of All, and Christ GOD’s Son (Acts 5:29-32; Acts 7:39; Heb. 5:9).
That which took place in the life of Saul of Tarsus when he underwent spiritual rebirth on the Damascus Road, graphically illustrated GOD’s intention when HE sent HIS son into the world as Adam, accompanied by his binary soul made, Eve. Neither of them having previously experienced life on the earth, they both fell to the wiles of Satan, who had long before been made “covering angel over the earth” by GOD the Father Himself (Ezek. 28:14-19). Satan had not only failed, but had turned against GOD’s Will, apparently intending to establish his own kingdom on the earth. But GOD has never permitted evil to prevail indefinitely in HIS Kingdom. Man’s human flesh experiences are intended to provide him with experiential opportunities in this earth dimension to learn first-hand for himself that life in the flesh is mainly of spiritual importance to him. It is the sum of his earth flesh experiences that is to be totaled at the time of final judgment:
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad.” (2 Cor. 5:10).
Jesus taught:
“Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose in the earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Mt. 18:18)
After Apostle Paul’s illuminating spiritual rebirth experience on the Damascus Road, he set about fulfilling that which Jesus had commanded His disciples: to teach all people what He had taught them. Thus, hat which Paul had learned by the Holy Ghost. He traveled far and wide to spread the Good News of Christ to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians and all who would hear the strikingly revelational spiritual truths that had been revealed to him. Paul became an example for all Christians who receive the Holy Ghost and have been shown spiritual truths that are often mind-boggling and hard to accept. For example, he taught that spiritual truths often have two sides, so we have to look at both sides:
“Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered-to by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living GOD; not in tablets of stone, but in fleshy tablets of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ to Godward: not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of GOD; who also has made us able ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit, for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.” (2 Cor. 3:3-6; and note Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Heb. 8:10.)
Series to be Continued in Message 2 - Book Five - SOMEWHERE BEYOND BELIEF.