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I would like us to begin by taking a step back, and taking in a broad view of the circumstances in which we now find ourselves – the broadest possible view. The universe is in the closing stages of warfare. There has never been a time, since the fall of Satan, that the creation has known peace. Humanity’s history is a reflection of this. Ever since there were nations and civilizations, these groups of people have attacked one another for resources or for revenge.
Why is this the case? Why is there a Great Controversy? Why has it affected humanity in such a devastating way? And with regard to salvation, to an escape from the consequences of warfare, why is the Way that has been provided to us so narrow? One would think that, with something as important as the destiny of His children, Yahweh would make the Way “easy,” obvious, and readily available.
Well, the truth is, this is exactly what He did. What we are seeing now, our current experience, is not the Way as it was first created, and as it was intended to be. What we are experiencing is a combination of the Enemy’s work, and humanity allowing that work to be successful. Remember, when Yahweh created the first man, we read this: “And Elohim said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (Gen 1:26)
That word right there is the key to everything: dominion. Dominion is authority, control, responsibility, and also accountability. These are words we have been discussing in our last few studies, and they explain just why so much of the world is as it currently stands.
When Adam and Eve first sinned, we read of our Father’s immediate response: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did Yahweh Elohim make coats of skins, and clothed them.” (Gen 3:21)
We do not have a full record of all that passed between Yahweh and fallen humanity at the very beginning, but we see Him clothing them immediately. We see a system of sacrifices instituted immediately. We see the divine Creator providing for mankind, and teaching them how to survive in a now-cursed environment, because they could not live in Eden thereafter. They must come to know what “death” meant, the consequences of sin, so that they would seek out and appreciate redemption.
Because Adam had dominion, his choices affected everything about the new planet. Because Adam had authority over the world, its nature began to reflect his now-fallen nature. Dark and violent emotions: fear, wrath, and so on began to manifest in the plants and animals, and there was the need for a periodic shedding of blood in order to prepare the way for the coming and true Sacrifice.
But this was not a “difficult” religion, or one hard to find. Cain’s experience in violating the commandment against murder is recorded because it is so strange, so notable, and as unexplainable as Lucifer’s fall from grace. Abel, Seth, and many others inherited knowledge of the creation from Adam, and they faithfully performed their duties toward the Father and Son. There were no pitfalls. There were no extremes of understanding, or false doctrines to keep anyone away from the path of life. Yahweh had promised to redeem mankind and to crush the head of the serpent, and all those who wished to be saved from death needed to do was to trust in this promised salvation.
The reality is, that Way has never changed. Righteousness by faith teaches us that salvation is not of works. All who wish to be saved must simply trust in the once promised, now delivered, salvation, and to let that acceptance transform their lives into what they are supposed to be. Since that is the case, it does not matter what our circumstances are. It does not matter where or when we live. It does not matter what we have done. Because we believe, because we trust in our Father, and Yahshua, His Son, we have all that we need to overcome the curse of carnal humanity, and to live forever.
But it is called a “Narrow Way.” The reason is because of dominion. Adam’s descendants continue to have dominion over the earth. Yes, Satan is called the “god of this world,” (2Cor 4:4) because his spirit is reflected in the way that the world works, but the truth is that this is only possible because human beings allowed him to do what he did, and allow him to do what he does. It is all about dominion. Satan cannot just appear and kill a human being. His demons are very rarely allowed to affect the physical world. Perhaps you have wondered why… they are described as being more powerful than we are, (Psalm 8:5) and they are certainly more knowledgeable than we are by virtue of their age, and the freedom with which they can observe the things that both Yahweh and man have made.
Demons are restricted by the fact that human beings were the ones made to have authority over this world, and there is not much they can do without human permission. This is why there is the need for false prophets, to mislead people so that they give Satan permission to act. This is the reason why there is a Beast. Satan has to combine a fallen Church, which contains his spirit, with human power in order to persecute the saints. Why would he need to do that, if he was free to just send a plague to wipe us out, or burn us with fire from nowhere? He uses human power, which he despises, because he needs human power. None of us here today, discussing this, would be alive if Satan could directly act against us. We are all preserved by the love and grace of our Father, and that by the inexhaustible ministry of His angels, for which we are deeply thankful.
Satan has spiritual dominion here, because he caused Adam and Eve to fall, and so he may tempt all who have inherited their nature, but he does not have physical dominion. He is not free to do as he pleases without human instruments.
Without getting too deep into this subject, I will simply say that the Way to life, the religion of Yahweh, is rare, and is perceived as being difficult, because mankind has allowed it to become that way. Satan has inspired powerful, influential people, who have created extremes. In the beginning, there were no ditches to the right and left of the truth. There was only the truth. But demons, working with willing human participants, have taken every true doctrine, and they have twisted it to the left, making a ditch of error into which someone might fall. And then, knowing that this will only ensnare certain kinds of people, they have twisted the doctrine to the right, making an opposite, but equally deadly, alternative.
This is true for every genuine doctrine. There is a way of legalism, and a way of licentiousness. There is a way of knowledge without zeal, and a way of zeal without knowledge. There is a way of drunkenness, and a way of unnecessary burdens. In every case, Satan has taken a truth that is supposed to be obvious, easy, clear, and he has subverted mankind’s dominion in order to create pitfalls that he constantly presses inward to the middle, making the way that was once so obvious a narrow, practically unknown pathway.
This really explains almost everything spiritually significant about human history. Humanity’s experience of the past, all its warfare, all its prevailing evil, describes a continuous giving up of our dominion to the fallen angels, because we (and I speak of humanity in general) have been enticed, and drawn away by our own lusts, by the desires of our senses, and we have forgotten the faith, the trust, that would allow us to wait, just wait in peace and contentment, for the fulfillment of our Father’s promise.
So what does the Christian do in response? What does the saint do to counteract the work of Satan in the world? It is very simple: we exercise our dominion. This begins by taking responsibility for our past failures, acknowledging that Satan has controlled us in the past, saying then with Paul, “For I was alive without the Law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.” (Rom 7:9-11)
This is how it is for all who are born again. We live according to the world, and then we encounter the Law. When the commandment “comes,” when we acknowledge its authority over us, when we recognize that we are accountable to our Father for violating His Law, then we know that we are worthy of death. Those who will be saints do not attempt to excuse their guilt. They do not try to find ways to avoid the penalty. They know that they are worthy of destruction. They know that life and obedience must exist together. And so, they let the penalty fall on them. When Paul says, “ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God,” (Col 3:3) he is not using poetic language. It is spiritual language, but it is not metaphorical. We know that the “wages of sin is death,” and we accept those wages, continuing to live only by accepting the life of Christ, the endless and perfect life of Christ, in place of our own. This is the effect of forgiveness. We are given a new life for the ruined one that we wasted away. Now, when we have this new life, we are safe to be given dominion over so much more.
And now that we are born again… now that we are alive again, we must succeed where Adam failed. We will not return to the curse that once ensnared us. We will not turn away from the light that we have been given. We have freedom, we have authority, we have dominion… but we must learn how to use it, and so take back the power that had been stolen from us in Satan’s first success on earth.
Paul teaches us all about this, because Paul’s writings are all about this subject. They are all about freedom with accountability, not (as some would represent it) freedom from accountability. We know how the writings of Paul have been used. We read him saying, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost,” (Titus 3:5) and they say, “Oh, so if it is not about works of righteousness, then that means we are not accountable to the Law.” You see, this is the mind of Satan working; there can be no acceptance of judgment. There can be no responsibility to those things that Yahweh has genuinely placed upon us for our own protection and growth. They do not read on, to understand what the “renewing of the Holy Ghost” actually means, and how this renewing converts our thoughts, our words, and our actions, so that they conform to the Law.
Again, some read Paul saying, “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” (1Cor 11:3) They then conclude, “If the Head of every man is Christ, then why should I be accountable to a pastor, a relative, a friend, or a Church brother? If Christ is the Head of every man, why should I answer to any man for my actions?”
They have ignored Paul’s entire context. He begins that chapter by giving an instruction: “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” Immediately after that he then says, “Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.” (1Cor 11:1, 2)
Yes, Christ is your Head, but I have given you instructions as Christ’s representative, Paul writes. Here we have that balance between two extremes we have been talking about. This should be obvious. This should be the naturally understood way – freedom with responsibility, freedom with accountability to one another… but because the days are so evil, and because mankind has grown so foolish because of sin, sometimes these things must be explained, and often enough those explanations are rejected.
In the same chapter, down in verse 22, Paul writes about the disorder he has heard taking place during the Corinthian communion services: “What? Have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? Or despise ye the Church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.” (1Cor 11:22)
Paul does not sound, at all, like he is endorsing independent entities by his statement in verse 3, that Christ is the Head of every man. It is because Christ, one Christ, is the Head of every man, that we are all united as One. Every Christian has one Head, the same Head, and those that are faithful to that Head are all governed by that One spiritual authority. It is deeply shameful that Paul’s writings have been applied to an ignoring of the Law, to a lack of understanding of Yahweh’s instructions, and to the belittling of Church membership. Paul is extremely concerned for the visible, open unity of the Church, and its perception by the world it is trying to teach. Those who would use Paul’s writings in any way other than this, we praise them not. They do not know the spirit of the man, nor of the God who inspired him.
The freedom of mankind relies upon the responsible use of its authority. One part of the fruit of the Spirit is “temperance,” which is self-control. (Gal 5:23) An Adventist reading that verse is almost certainly going to think about certain things: avoiding coffee, not drinking alcohol, not smoking cigarettes, not having an unhealthy diet, and so on. And certainly, self-control is necessary for all these things that we would consider “good” in the general case… but many of us have been programmed by creeds into actually limiting the meaning and application of the Scriptures. We say that we reject creeds, here in the CSDA Church, and we certainly do. But we have come to associate Adventism with many of those creeds that we reject. We must be willing to learn and unlearn. There is a work to do, a processing of thoughts, an examination of our characters, to accomplish. We must see where false doctrines, or imbalanced teachings, may be making it more difficult to see even the most obvious spiritual truths. We need to understand, and reject, what an experience of imperfect Adventism, imperfect religion, may still be doing to the way we think about holiness. This is the work of the Second and Third Angel, and it must be brought to its fulfillment.
What is “self-control?” The word in Greek that Paul uses in Galatians 5 indicates a mastery of one’s desires and passions, not that they are destroyed, but that they are controlled, and used for the individual’s benefit. This means far more than just being faithful to the SDA fundamental doctrines, and even the applicable counsel of Ellen White. Self-control means that we have taken dominion, the rightful authority that our Father has given us. When we say to a demon, “Get behind me in the name of Yahshua,” it must obey. You see, it must be in the name of Yahshua, because we are dead. Because we have been guilty of sin, we do not have the authority that Adam had, who had been given this world as his birthright. And yet, we are content with the way that things are; we rest in this. We have even greater authority than Adam had, because we do not command in our own name, although we once might have been able to do so. Instead, we command in the name of Yahshua, and there is no greater name than this, as ordained by the Father for our use.
When we pray to the Father, approaching the Throne in both confidence and humility, this is dominion. We have the right to stand before the Creator of All Things, because in Christ we have been restored to His likeness, to His image, and so we are His Heirs together with Yahshua. When we claim, with our lips, “I have gained the victory. I am more than a conqueror. Sin shall not have authority over me. I am free from slavery to sin and selfishness,” when we say these things, openly before the witness of the world and the universe, we are asserting our dominion in the name of Yahshua, and it is not to be despised. It is not to be avoided. It is not to be rejected in the name of a false, carnal, shameful humility. That is not who our Father has created us to be. In the name of Christ, with the authority of redeemed humanity, we claim all these promises. We claim unity with the Father and Son, unity with the Church of Yahshua, and this is the testimony that overcomes the world, even the testimony of Yahshua, for this is what He claimed. Yahshua said He was One with the Father. Yahshua said that He was the Groom of the Bride, and thus one with Her. Those who have His testimony will say these very things, will testify to these very things, just as faithfully as He did. We are not the Only Begotten, but we are nevertheless sons and daughters of God – one with Him. We may not be the Groom, but we are members of the Bride, and the wedding-guests, one with the Church.
Dominion is freedom, it is authority. But it cannot exist apart from accountability. It cannot exist apart from submission to that which our Father has placed above us. Yahshua Himself, who was given all authority and power, submitted to His Head, the Father, in the Garden of Gethsemane, saying of His upcoming suffering, “Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42)
By contrast, Satan had all the authority a created being could have, and yet he rejected accountability. He rejected submission, and therefore his authority turned into pride, and it destroyed him. He could not control his freedom, and so it took dominion over him. In Yahshua’s defining moment as a human, He submitted to the Father’s will, and let Himself be sacrificed. In Satan’s defining moment as an exalted angel, He rejected the Father’s will, and sought to rise above the Throne of Yahweh. Human beings will fall into one of two categories, the Way of the Lamb, or the Way of the Goat. Paradoxically, as many things are in the spirit, the Lamb is to be the master, and the Goat is to be the slave.
Accountability, as we were discussing last week, is critical to the sanctification process. I gave an example of how to deny it, by rejecting order and the human element of Church membership. There is another way as well, to reject accountability, and that is by un-critically submitting one’s self to the judgment of others. Remember, because of Satan’s influence, and because of mankind giving up its authority, we now have extremes associated with every doctrine. We now have a ditch on both sides of the road at every opportunity.
We must not reject the authority that Yahweh has placed within His Church. He has given us the Church and its various roles for our perfection, for our growth. Those who deny the gift will not receive the benefits that gift was intended to convey. But also, the ditch on the other side of the road would make men into blind followers so that, even if they did the right things, and performed the right actions, their hearts are not truly converted to the truth, and would not survive a time of severe testing. Their motivation comes from the outside and so, as soon as visible accountability is removed, their obedience vanishes.
Those who submit non-critically to will of another will have no strength in themselves to exercise their own Christ-given authority. They will not be able to stand before Satan and say, “Get behind me,” if their choices have been made for them by another, whether it is a husband, a wife, or a pastor. Of course, we are to be in unity, in agreement, but this is only because each individual mind has examined a matter and said, “This is truth.” Guided by one Spirit, bearing the mind of Christ, we would expect that in almost all cases, we will come to similar, if not identical, conclusions. But where we do not, we recognize Christ’s dominion in one another. I am not the master of any, and yet I am accountable to all. If everyone would understand that, there would be no fear of being mislead, or arbitrarily controlled.
I say again, I am not the master of any, and yet I am accountable to all. I have chosen to let Christ be my Master, and I have acknowledged that at times He will speak through His Bride. It does not mean that I am uncritically submitting myself to the Church, or any of its members, but as Yahshua has said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27)
Now does that mean that, because Christ is the Head of every man, that everyone will continually hear voices from the sky, or have meaningful dreams when asleep? Certainly not. Even those who are recognized as prophets are not constantly in a state of vision. Events of divine intervention are rare – deliberately so. Even those who are prophets and apostles, as Paul was, willingly submit to the Church, as Paul did in the Book of Acts. (Acts 9:19) This is where the voice of the Shepherd is most consistently heard, and His sheep know that.
Here is a verse that is true: “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Yahshua the Messiah, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (1Cor 1:10)
Here is another passage that is true: “Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up, for God is able to make him stand. One man esteemeth one day above another, another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” (Rom 14:4, 5)
Now, what would Paul have said to a creed? What would Paul have said to a set of standard thoughts and behaviors that are supposed to be “orthodox?” If a Seventh-day Adventist decided to reject the Trinity, or start keeping the feast days, or learn about the New Moons, would the Conference be like Paul, and say, “Well, some of us see these things as important, and others don’t…let every man be persuaded in his own mind?” Or would they be like the beast, like Satan’s heart wrapped in human flesh, and say, “You can’t worship with us any longer. You aren’t persuaded the way we are persuaded. You need to go away. And don’t you dare keep that name that God has given you. If you try to do that, you need to go to jail.”
That, you see, is the wrong exercise of dominion. That is the use of force to control another person’s mind and conscience. The only dominion that one human being (created in the image of God) should ever have of another is voluntary. I agree to work for you. I agree to serve you. I agree to be your student. I agree to be your brother. If we agree, then both those statements from Paul can be true at the same time. We are each fully persuaded in our own minds, and we – by the miracle of the Holy Spirit – end up as One, speaking the same truths, judging matters according to the same principles. And this is a beautiful thing, never really seen before in the world, before this Family of the 144,000. We are blessed, above all men in the past, to be witness to the glories of the last days, even with the darkness of this generation. There is much more, and much much more, about which we are driven to rejoice.
The Spirit of Yahweh calls on us to walk the way, now Narrow, but once broad. The Spirit of Yahweh provided us with the Way of Salvation before there were any extremes, or errors in doctrine. We trust that same Spirit to guide us today, when the road appears to be narrow, and more dangerous, but Yahweh is not weakened. Our Father’s protection over us is just as strong as it was over Seth, and Abraham, and Noah, and Daniel. We have nothing more to fear than they did, and we have many more promises and examples than any of them ever received.
We avoid the misuse of Scripture to reject the unity of the Church, for this is our Father’s intention for us. We avoid the misuse of Scripture to reject independent thinking, and our own individuality in Christ. Both these things are gifts, to be our own individual selves in Christ, exercising His authority on our behalf, and to be joyfully and willingly accountable to the Brethren for their counsel, guidance, and support.
We have been restored to the image of our Father. We have used His authority to throw off the curse of carnal humanity, and because we have exercised dominion in this, He has given us authority over His creation. As it is written of the faithful servant, “His lord said unto him, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy lord.’” (Mat 25:21)
David.
An Enduring Witness
“In no case can Satan obtain dominion over the thoughts, words, and actions, unless we voluntarily open the door and invite him to enter. He will then come in and, by catching away the good seed sown in the heart, make of none effect the truth.” [Counsels for The Church, Volume 5, p. 166]
“It cannot be shown that the church did, in the lifetime of Paul, reach the state of unity, knowledge, and perfection, here [Ephesians 4:11-13]mentioned [...] and not until the Christians of the last generation of men shall be brought to the enjoyment of it by the last warning message, and all the means God may employ to prepare them to be translated to heaven without tasting death, will the ultimate design of the gifts be realized.” [The Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 1, p. 13]
“The church had been properly organized, and officers had been appointed to act as ministers and deacons. But there were some, self-willed and impetuous, who refused to be subordinate to those who held positions of authority in the church. They claimed not only the right of private judgment, but that of publicly urging their views upon the church. In view of this, Paul called the attention of the Thessalonians to the respect and deference due to those who had been chosen to occupy positions of authority in the church.” [Acts of The Apostles, p. 261]