Lesson for May 20, 2018
The Doctrine of Spirituality vs. Carnality
Doctrine of Operation Z – How a Believer Learns Bible Doctrine
There are four stages of Operation Z. In stage one, the pastor teaches the mystery doctrine of the Church Age to a group of believers. In stage two, the enabling power and teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit teaches the believer’s human spirit, called in Greek the “pneuma.” The believer must be filled with the Spirit for the Holy Spirit to be able to teach his human spirit. Where there is positive volition, the Holy Spirit will turn that information into understandable spiritual information, which is the Greek word “pneumatikos.” In stage three, “pneumatikos”is transferred down a “pipeline” to the left lobe of the soul where it is academically understood (called “gnosis” in Greek). In psychological terms, this is called receptive comprehension. In stage four, “gnosis” doctrine is transferred from the left lobe to the right lobe (heart in Scripture, “kardia” in Greek) of the soul, where it becomes “epignosis” doctrine. This is the equivalent to the metabolization of doctrine, the only doctrine beneficial to your life. “Gnosis” doctrine must be converted into epignosis doctrine before it has any spiritual value. It is your faith perception that accepts the academically understood information as spiritual phenomena, converting it into “epignosis” doctrine. In psychological terms, this is called retention. When “epignosis” doctrine is applied to life, it is called wisdom (“sophia” in Greek).
Stage One: Communication by the Pastor-Teacher
In stage one, the pastor teaches Bible doctrine to a group of believers in several different categories: 1) in a local church to a group of assembled believers 2) in a non-face-to-face situation via modern technology and 3) written literature.
The pastor communicates doctrine using the “ICE” principle: a) “I” is for Isagogics, the interpretation of Scripture within the framework of its historical setting or prophetical environment. The Bible must be interpreted in the time in which it was written and in the original languages in which it was written; i.e., Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. In this sense, the pastor is a detective. He must be able to go back to the ancient world and recreate the world as it was then, and associate the words in the Bible with life at that time, and how those words were used. b) “C” is for Categorical communication of doctrine. This is the hermeneutical principle of comparing Scripture with Scripture, called rightly dividing (handling accurately) the Word of Truth. Scriptural comparison determines the classification of doctrine and results in a biblical systematic theology. Different points of theology occur in different Scriptures, all of which combine eventually into a system. Categorical communication cannot be separated from dispensational considerations. When there is no dispensational theology, this results in confusion and failure to teach the Protocol Plan of God. Categories of doctrine must be assigned nomenclature (a set or system of names or terms) for retention. c)“E” is for Exegesis, the analysis of Scripture in the original languages. Each verse in a given context must be analyzed grammatically and syntactically from the original language. The etymology of words in the original languages must be traced for meaning and usage. The meaning of a word is determined by its usage. The function of words in a context depends upon their association with other words.
Therefore, the true objective of interpretation of Scripture is to determine, under the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the exact thought of the human writer of Scripture.
“All Scripture is God-breathed,” II Timothy 3:16. This means that God provided the information in the intake of the information or the thought that He wanted communicated. Then the human author wrote down God’s completed and connected thought toward man. This is the doctrine of plenary verbal inspiration of the Scripture, which says that God supernaturally directed the human authors of Scripture so that, without waiving their human intelligence, individuality, literary style, personal feelings, or any other human factor, God’s complete and coherent message to mankind was recorded with perfect accuracy in the original languages of Scripture, the very words bearing the authority of divine authorship in the original languages.
One cannot interpret Scripture without understanding what he interprets. The true object of Bible teaching is the accurate communication of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit also causes doctrine to become spiritual phenomena in the human spirit of the positive believer who hears the Word. Then the information automatically goes into the left lobe of the soul as “gnosis” doctrine. To become “epignosis” doctrine in the right lobe of the soul, the ministry of the Holy Spirit is again involved with our faith perception.
Such accuracy demands a lot of study under the filling ministry of God the Holy Spirit. Such accuracy demands that the pastor spends a lot of time studying the Word of God. The pastor must be filled with the Holy Spirit when he studies, which means the Holy Spirit must control his soul. But he should have prepared himself so that he can study from the original languages (or depend on them from someone else), and he must understand theology. The pastor must be “walking in the Spirit,” which is residence, function, and momentum inside God’s power system under the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.
Stage one includes the pastor’s preparation of his lesson. The pastor must bear in mind that there are certain important distinctions related to the authority of the Word of God. Revelation is where God makes known the unknown. God is just as eager for the pastor to understand the unknown and make it clear as the pastor is eager to understand it. Therefore, revelation is a message from God reduced to writing in the Canon of Scripture.
Inspiration is the divine means employed by which doctrine is accurately transmitted into the written form of the Canon of Scripture. Illumination is the enabling power of the Holy Spirit providing the ability of the pastor to understand the doctrine. No pastor can ever succeed apart from maximum relationship with the Holy Spirit. No pastor can accurately teach what he does not understand. Interpretation is the pastor’s verbal expression of Bible doctrine to the congregation under the enabling power of the Spirit. Inspirationdeals with the enabling ministry of the Holy Spirit to the human authors of Scripture. Illumination deals with the enabling ministry of the Holy Spirit to pastors who study. Interpretation deals with the communication of that information under the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.
Stage one finds the faithful pastor studying the Word of God under the filling of the Spirit, wherein the Holy Spirit provides the ability to comprehend, concentrate, organize, categorize, and interpret, so that he can communicate his interpretation. Stage one continues with the pastor teaching what he has learned to a congregation or a group of believers, either directly (face-to-face) or indirectly (non-face-to-face). When he teaches while filled with the Holy Spirit inside God’s power system, the Holy Spirit provides the power of communication within the framework of his individual personality.People no longer have visions, revelations, or special treatment from God because the Canon of Scripture is now complete. Therefore, in this dispensation of the Church Age, communication of doctrine is the responsibility of the pastor-teacher.
A believer living inside God’s power system and motivated to hear Bible teaching has positive volition. Stage one is the believer’s first option regarding doctrine. A believer first must make himself available to Bible teaching by being where it is taught and hearing it. Listening is a non-meritorious function. A believer, once in Bible class, also faces the option to Rebound in order to be filled with the Spirit and reside in God’s power system while being taught the Word of God.
So in stage one, the believer listens consistently to the communication of doctrine from his right pastor face-to-face or via some other means. Stage one requires the believer’s positive volition and being filled with the Holy Spirit in order to ensure concentration, academic discipline, good manners, and poise. The believer’s human I.Q. is no issue. The only issue is that you are in Bible class, you are positive, you listen and concentrate, and soon you have a frame of reference for what is being taught because you have been consistent in listening and learning.
Stage Two: The Holy Spirit Teaches Our Human Spirit
In stage two, the enabling power of the Holy Spirit teaches the human spirit of the believer the content of Bible doctrine communicated by the teaching of the Word of God. Bible doctrine must first go to the human spirit rather than directly to the left lobe because an unbeliever cannot understand the things taught by the Holy Spirit according to I Corinthians 2:14. A “natural man” is the Greek word “psuchikos” meaning a soulish man. He is dichotomous, having only a body and soul, but no human spirit. At salvation, God the Holy Spirit creates a human spirit making the believer trichotomous.
No spiritual phenomena can be understood apart from the Holy Spirit teaching the human spirit. Since the unbeliever does not have a human spirit, and since the Gospel is spiritual phenomena, when the unbeliever hears the Gospel the Holy Spirit acts as a human spirit so that the unbeliever can understand the issue of salvation: personal faith in Jesus Christ. The unbeliever can understand a lot of things in his soul, including the Laws of Divine Establishment as found in the Bible. But they cannot understand any spiritual phenomena. Likewise, the believer outside God’s power system and controlled by his sin nature cannot understand spiritual phenomena (“epignosis” Bible doctrine).
The positive believer residing in God’s power system can understand doctrine when the Holy Spirit teaches his human spirit. When the believer listens and concentrates while filled with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit puts that information into his human spirit so that he understands it as spiritual phenomena. The teaching content of the Bible study lesson can be converted into spiritual phenomena only by the Holy Spirit. This is the grace factor in receptive comprehension. The teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit takes communicated doctrine which is believed and transfers it to the human spirit of the believer where it is understood as spiritual phenomena.
The Holy Spirit is called by the Greek word “parakletos” in John 14:26, which means the energizer, helper, or enabler. Without the Holy Spirit, none of us could understand any doctrine or grow spiritually.
This verse covers all four stages of operation Z. And once doctrine becomes spiritual knowledge in your right lobe, then it is converted into wisdom for application to life. The Holy Spirit bringing doctrine into your memory is the application of that doctrine, and there is where you grow spiritually. This prophecy by Jesus is fulfilled in part by the completion of the Canon of Scripture, and in part by our study of Bible doctrine.
So, when the pastor teaches doctrine and those believers residing in God’s power system concentrate and hear, God the Holy Spirit makes that doctrine a reality, first in the human spirit, and secondly in the human soul.(John 16:13) The coming of the Holy Spirit was the beginning of the Church Age. The Holy Spirit has a relationship with you that never existed with any other believers before the Church Age (only with Jesus Christ), and will never exist again after the Rapture of the Church. So, it is God the Holy Spirit Who teaches us. Without His ministry we could never understand spiritual things. Understanding doctrine doesn’t depend on human I.Q., but on spiritual I.Q. provided by the Holy Spirit.
I John 2:27, “anointing” means the enabling power of the Holy Spirit inside the Divine Dynasphere. “And as for the anointing which you received from Him, when it resides in you, you do not need for anyone to be teaching you, but as His anointing keeps teaching you concerning all things as it has been taught to you, keep residing in it [Divine Dynasphere].” So, the anointing is actually the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit inside the Divine Dynasphere. Romans 8:16 gives the pattern, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our [human] spirit that we are the children of God [royal family of God].”
I Corinthians 2:10 in corrected translation, “But to us [believers], God has revealed them [doctrines] through His Spirit [Holy Spirit], for the spirit [human spirit] investigates all things, even the deep things of God.” Once you are consistent in the perception of Bible doctrine, you will become more and more interested in the “deep things of God.”
I Corinthians 2:12-13 in corrected translation, “But we have not received the world’s frame of reference, but the human spirit from the source of God the Holy Spirit, in order that we might have permanent knowledge of the things which have been graciously given to us under the authority of God; which things [mystery doctrine of the Church Age] we also teach by categories, not by teaching from the source of man’s wisdom, but by teaching from the source of the Spirit, bringing together spiritual thoughts to a spiritual vocabulary.”