By Francis Frangipane
To obtain conformity to Christ means we are seeking to serve God with the very same character, purpose and empowerment (or "anointing") that was revealed in Jesus. Yet, Christlikeness is not something we mimic, but a life that flows to us from Christ Himself and is worked in us via the Holy Spirit (see Phil 3). This is why our primary focus is not upon the outer form or style of our worship, but upon the Person we worship. Yes, to be conformed to Jesus in all things is true worship perfected.
When we speak of conformity to God's Son, we mean that the very same anointing that rested upon Him, now rests upon us. In the Bible, when one was anointed, it denoted that an individual had been chosen and prepared by God to serve in a role of either priestly, prophetic or kingly authority. As Israel's Messiah, Christ was the perfect embodiment of these three functions of the anointing. This is not new teaching about Jesus Christ. If you are born again of the Holy Spirit, you have received a living power which is also working in you the manifest life - the anointed life - of Jesus Christ (see 2 Cor 4:7-11). God's goal is not just to bring us to Christ when we die, but to manifest Christ where we live.
Remember, the title Christ means "Anointed One." To truly know the Lord Jesus is to understand His Messianic identity as Israel's Anointed. To be conformed to Him, however, is to walk in His anointing (see 1 Jn 2:6). Thus, as we near the end of the age, the true church will be increasingly identified by Christ's three-fold anointing: we will be given to intercession as a priesthood of believers; we will be prophetic in our discernment and communication of God's word (whether the word comes to teach, comfort, evangelize or warn); and in all of life's spheres, we will walk in a holy, kingly anointing, as ambassadors of Christ and His kingship in heaven (see 2 Cor 5:20).
Christ's Fullness
Yet, this last arena, the transference of Christ's representative governmental authority to the church, has been resisted by many Christians. While most might accept the authority of Christ to help in their sphere of influence, even sincere believers question the legitimacy of godly leaders being called to serve in government. They ask for New Testament teaching to confirm this doctrine.
The very fact that Jesus Christ sits as king in heaven, and that His expressed will is that we be conformed to His image in all things (Rom 8:29), validates that He will have disciples who will manifest His governmental anointing on earth. For, "as He is, so also are we in this world" (1 John 4:17). You see, God has called His church to one goal: reveal the fullness of Christ.
We should learn from past mistakes, but not limit our potential because of them. Our birthright cannot be measured by the failures of our past, but against the stature of Christlikeness. Our confidence must abide in the Father's ability to fulfill what He has spoken concerning us. Therefore, let us forget for a moment our current limitations and consider with reverence our spiritual potential. And let us not be staggered by unbelief, but with faith pray, "be it done to me according to Your word" (Lk 1:38).
John writes,
"For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace" (Jn 1:16).
Paul states,
"The church . . . is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Eph 1:22-23).
Again, Paul says the height of our destiny is nothing less than "the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:13).
God's will is not that our growth be stunted halfway to full maturity, but that we know and walk in the full anointing of Christ! Consider: the proof that Elisha had truly received Elijah's anointing was that Elisha did the works of Elijah (2 Kings 2:8-15). Likewise, the anointing that rests upon us should, in time, produce the very same life that we see in Christ, our heavenly King (see Jn 14:12). Thus, when someone questions the validity of Christians serving in government, we have only to point them to the prayer Christ taught: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Indeed, every time we pray those words, someone is receiving grace to represent the character and interests of Christ in our governmental settings.
The Kingly Anointing
Again, the question arises, "But the realm of kingly or governmental authority is fraught with the corrupting influence of power. Why would God send His servants into secular leadership?"
Hebrews 11 tells us that God specifically sends His servants into world systems to transform them and lead nations toward heaven. Consider: From verse 22 through verse 34, each person given as an example of faith was an individual raised up by God to lead their nation. Who would like to inform the righteous kings of Judah, from David to Josiah, that it was not God's will for them to be in power? Whisper this idea that God does not anoint and send people into world leadership to Daniel and see if he concurs. You see, God has always had it in His heart to raise up men and women who serve Him in wisdom and righteousness, whom He uses to bring multitudes to Himself.
Consider God's word to Abraham:
"As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you" (Gen 17:4-6).
For over two thousand years, from Abraham to Christ, God worked primarily with Israel and its line of kings. However, His promise to Abraham was that he would be a father of "a multitude of nations." He never has abandoned Israel, yet three times in the above promise the Lord mentions that many nations would look upon Abraham as their father. He then adds, "and kings will come forth from you" (vs 6).
It has always been in God's heart to bring nations to Himself, but it wasn't until Christ came that the grace of God could truly spread worldwide. The fact is, you cannot bring nations to God without turning the government of those nations to God as well. So the Lord tells Abraham, "kings will come . . . from you." Kings exercise authority over nations. Paul speaks of this, in principle, in the New Testament when he urged "that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority" (1 Tim 2:1-2).
In the Lord's promise to Abraham, the Hebrew word for kings referred to "officials of many levels." This word, kings (Melek in Hebrew), was a "very common term for virtually any magistrate" (Zodhiates Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible). In other words, among those who were to come forth from Abraham would be a generation of godly leaders whose sphere of influence would be felt in every strata of secular authority.
Isaiah 60 also speaks of "nations" that would come to our light and "kings" to the brightness of our rising (Isa 60:1-3). Again, kings here is the same word that encompassed all levels of secular authority. This promise of God is not only for the millennium, but also for now, during the time when "darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples" (vs 2). Just because the cultural atmosphere is charged with demonic darkness, it does not mean the Almighty has abandoned society. God desires to raise up warring priests who intercede for mercy; He has prophets who call His people to repentance and vision; and He is preparing leaders who will rule righteously with wisdom and meekness.
The Gift of Democracy
Only in recent times has mankind been given a wonderful gift from God: democracy. For approximately 5700 years the entire world order was ruled by kings and tribal chiefs (except briefly in Athens). Even today, nearly half the world does not elect their government leaders.
With democracy, we do not have to wait for a king or dictator to die to hope that his heir will be more righteous. In America, every four years we are given the opportunity to pray and decide who shall guide our nation. This means that we can choose godly leaders to guide us. Of course, no one is perfect. We will always struggle with the apparent imperfections of any candidate; we will never stop needing the priestly role of intercession to redeem our leaders' errors. But in democracies, we have the opportunity to realize the anointing of Christ in governmental systems. It is a tremendous gift from God!
Am I saying that democracy is the same as heaven? No, absolutely not! Not until Jesus returns will we realize the fullness of God's kingdom. Remember, we said that our goal is not to see the church become political, but the political realm become spiritual, where the integrity, wisdom and justice of Christ - the anointing of the Messiah Himself - manifests in godly leadership.
People say, "The Lord will decide who is elected. I'm not voting." Excuse me, but in democracies God chooses to work through the voting system. We will always have to trust the Lord no matter who is elected, and we should pray that He "stir up" the spirits of godly people to vote, but He will not override the mechanics of our democratic nation. Thus, we must choose our officials with prayer and principled wisdom. We must also encourage others and work to see godly leaders positioned in government; and where godliness does not exist, we must pray for leaders that they might come to Christ.
How do we discern among candidates which individual is capable of receiving Christ's anointing for government? First, we must look beyond an individual's debating skills and ask, does this man or woman bow to Christ as their ruler? You see, to that leader, Jesus must be revealed as the King of kings. Not until a person genuinely bows before Christ, is he fit to rise and lead the people.
One last thing: No matter who is elected, God calls us to pray for our leaders with faith and mercy, trusting in God's goodness. I am not telling you for whom you should vote, but urging you to vote with vision and prayer. Which candidate do you feel can be most influenced by Christ to lead our nation? Vote for the individual who, as best as you can tell, is most open to the anointing of Christ the King.
Vote For the Anointing
"I Don't Remember"
How little we understand of eternal redemption! How many times will God forgive you? If you have truly set your heart to follow Him, He will cancel your sins as often as you ask. Will He forgive you of the worst sin you can think of? Yes! You may have to live with the consequences of your misdeed, but God can use your repentance and newly found humility to inspire others. As for the sin itself, if you deeply and sincerely repent of it, not only will God forgive you, He will blot it out of His memory.
Let me share an experience. A certain man of God had been gifted with revelatory insight into people's lives. During an evening service he ministered to a Presbyterian pastor and his wife. By the gift of the Spirit, he revealed the couple's past, uncovered their present situation, and then disclosed to them what was to come. This work of God greatly impressed the couple, and as the prophecies were fulfilled, one month later the Presbyterian minister brought two other pastors, each with their wives, to another service for personal ministry.
Drawing Near to the Holy God
By Francis Frangipane
The Lord did not cease being holy when the New Testament began; His nature did not change. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He began with "Hallowed be Thy name." If we would truly know Him as He is, we need an Old Testament fear of the Lord combined with the New Testament experience of His grace.
Understanding God's Holiness
Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house. The priests could not enter into the house of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the Lord upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the Lord. --2 Chronicles 7:1-3
What an unparalleled event in the history of man! After Solomon dedicated the temple, the glory of the Lord descended and filled His house. What was this glory? It was the light, the bursting forth into man's world, of the radiant holiness of God Eternal. It signified that the Lord's actual person had drawn near. So great was this appearance of glory that the priests could not enter the temple. After the fire fell and the Lord's glory filled the temple, we read, "Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord. And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep" (2 Chron. 7:4-5).
Consider this: the king offered 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. They were not serving an invisible God by faith-- they were in the manifested presence of the Creator Himself! Solomon could have offered one million oxen, yet it would not have satisfied the demands of his eyes as he beheld the glory of God! It is only our fathomless ignorance of who the Lord truly is that suggests a limit on any sacrifice we bring Him.
As Solomon's offering reveals, the more we see God as He is, the more compelled we are to give Him our all. Yet herein lies a dilemma that every present-day Christian must face: though most know of God intellectually, few know Him in His glory. Our churches tend to be sanctuaries of formality, not of the Divine Presence.
If we are part of that sector of Christianity that has rejected ritualism, in its place we simply offer varying degrees of informality. But where is God? Where is His creative, unlimited power in our gatherings? When was the last time our pastors could not stand to minister because the glory of God overwhelmed them? Such was the revelation of God in the Old Testament.
The Hebrew people knew God was holy--that was both their virtue and their problem, for He was too holy for them, as sinful individuals, to face. They served Him without relating in love to Him. For a vast majority of the Jews, their offerings were not born out of an eagerness to seek God's presence as much as they were an effort to satisfy His unalterable justice (Heb. 2:1-2).
The common man never approached God Himself but brought his required offerings to the local priests. The priests, in turn, had a multitude of regulations and preparations that had to be fulfilled before they themselves could approach God. There were daily, weekly, and annual sacrifices, sin offerings, and sacrifices of praise for harvests, as well as assigned offerings for restored health. Whatever the need, when the priests approached the Almighty, they could not come near without the shedding of blood or the offering of grain. They had washings, the burning of incense, and the recitation of certain prayers, all which had to be fulfilled in precise detail with the most exacting adherence to the requirements of the ceremonial law.
To further illustrate the Old Testament perception of God, we are told in Leviticus that Aaron's priestly sons brought a "strange offering" to the Lord. When they did so, "fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord." In consoling Aaron, Moses said, "It is what the Lord spoke, saying, 'By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy.'" And the Scripture says, "So Aaron, therefore, kept silent" (Lev. 10:2-3). In Aaron's mind, the holiness of God justified the instant death of his unholy sons!
Ultimately, the relationship between God and the Hebrews was not one of fellowship; it was almost strictly a matter of proper ritual and obedience to the Law. Other than the prophets and a handful of kings, few lived in harmony with the higher ways of God.
As Christians, through the blood of Jesus, God has opened the way for us to enter the holy place of His presence (Heb. 10:19-22). For the Hebrews, however, only the high priest entered the holy place and then just once a year on the Day of Atonement. Before he entered, a rope was tied around his leg and small bells sewn into his clothing. Thus, in the event he suddenly died or collapsed while in the Holy of Holies, the quieted bells alerted his fellow priests, enabling them to pull him from the sacred room without violating the Law (Exod. 28:35).
What we perceive in the carefulness of the high priest characterizes the attitude of the Old Testament Jew: no one dared approach the holy, living presence of God without perfectly fulfilling the Law. Eventually the Jews stopped writing and speaking the sacred name of God. Even His name was too holy to be uttered in this world.
Understanding God's Grace
This very sense of God's holiness is one of the main reasons why the first-century church in Jerusalem was so powerful. As Jews, they knew the holiness of God's law. But as Christians, they possessed the knowledge of His grace; they knew personally the Lamb, the perfect sacrifice, who had come and fulfilled the requirements of the law. God, even He whom the Jews worshiped, had taken human form and given Himself for sin!
Many Christians the world over celebrate the forgiveness of sins in Christ, but they end their experience with God there. Jews, who knew historically the fearful justice of God, still lived outside the Divine Presence because they did not understand the forgiveness of sins in Christ. But it is the union of both truths that produces power in our lives and leads us into the reality of God.
Abraham was about to sacrifice to God his beloved son Isaac. (Remember, anyone who has seen God as He is willingly offers his all.) As they walked up the mountain, Abraham spoke prophetically. He said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb" (Gen. 22:8). While we must be willing to give to God our all, we must remember that our all is not good enough. God has provided His own Son, the perfect Lamb, as access to Himself.
There are many times when we feel unworthy, when we seek to escape from the person of God. In these times the last one we want to face is God in His holiness. But in the midst of our unworthiness, let us call upon the Lord. We can escape to God for forgiveness.
When John the Baptist looked at Jesus, he told his disciples, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). The Lamb of God has taken away not just the sins of the world but your sins as well. Christ's sacrifice is much more than all the bulls and sheep ever offered throughout all of time; He perfectly satisfies the demand of God's holy justice. And while the high priest drew near with fear and terror, we can draw near with confidence through the blood of Christ--so great and complete is the sacrifice God has provided (Heb. 4:16)!
The justice of God's law is holy, but the sacrifice of the Son of God is holier still, for "mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13). The Lord who filled Solomon's temple with His presence will fill, and is filling, His people today. We have the inexhaustible sacrifice Himself seated upon the throne of grace--it is He who is calling us to boldly come before Him. Enter, therefore, into His glory by the blood of the Lamb. Let Jesus wash your heart of its sins. For our goal is to live in the presence of the very same holy God who appeared in His glory to the Hebrews!
Adapted from Francis Frangipane's book, Holiness, Truth and the Presence of God available at www.arrowbookstore.com.
Blessed Are the Meek, Part 2
By Francis Frangipane
The Voice of the Holy Spirit
God speaks to His followers through the Holy Spirit, and our ability to hear His voice is evidence of our humility. Don't miss that important truth: our humility is measured by our capacity to hear His voice. And the way to hear God's voice, the process of coming into that, is acknowledging our need, repenting, and becoming pure in heart. As you continue to embrace that cleansing process, you will become more and more sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
True humility brings joy when we listen to His voice. His voice may not be audible. The fruit of meekness and humility allows a greater ability to hear the Spirit speaking. Jesus told His followers, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10:27, NIV). In Psalm 95:7–8 (NIV), David warned the people, "Today, if only you would hear His voice, ‘Do not harden your hearts as you did…in the wilderness.'" He is speaking the same words to us: "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts" (Heb. 4:7, NIV). A person characterized by humility hears and responds to
the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Blessed Are the Meek, Part 1
By Francis Frangipane
In the kingdom, there are no great men or women of God, just humble people whom God has chosen to use greatly. How do we know when we are humble? When God speaks, we tremble. God is looking for men and women who tremble at His word. Such people will find the Spirit of God resting on them; they will become a dwelling place for the Almighty.
The divine pursuit begins with the humbling of self. Fleshly desires, soulish fears, and human ambitions try to rule us. Thus, when true meekness emerges in our hearts, it silences the clamor of our fleshly minds. The voice of our fears and inadequacies becomes a whisper. To humble our earthly perspectives and opinions, we must relegate them to a lower priority; they become mere background noise as our focus turns increasingly toward God. No pretense prevails; we come humbling ourselves. We bow on our faces before the holy gaze of God. And in His light, we finally perceive the darkness of our souls.
Embracing the Fight of Faith
By Francis Frangipane
In spite of worldwide conflicts, the Holy Spirit is guiding the church into its greatest season of transformation. We must not look at the pressures of our times as though they were obstacles set to restrict us. For in the hands of the Almighty, these are the very tools He is using to perfect us.
One of the problems of interpreting end time events is the tendency to focus only upon one set of conditions. If we only look at the fact that Satan will be raging or that there will be lawlessness, wars, earthquakes and famines, we might conclude that difficulties and darkness is all that we have awaiting us until the rapture.