Rebound Revisited
Before you begin your Bible study, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, be
sure you have named your sins privately to God the Father.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (Known, Unknown and Forgotten sins)
(1Jn 1:9)
You will then be in fellowship with God, Filled with God the Holy Spirit and
ready to learn Truth from the Word of God.
"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth,"
(John 4:24)
THE APOSTLE PAUL, above all men, completely understood the
importance of rebound, confessing his sins privately to God the Father. When
rebound is neglected carnality is perpetuated and the Spiritual life self-
destructs. Without rebound the filling of God the Holy Spirit is grieved and
then finally quenched; the Christian way of life disintegrates.
In, (2Co 7:5) Paul has deserted his post at Troy; he has gone AWOL.
(Absent without leave) He is emotionally tormented.
For even when we [Paul, Silas and Timothy] came into Macedonia our
flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted [Under stress] on every side: [In
every way] conflicts without, [Adversity] fears within. [Emotional irrationality]
(2Co 7:5)
The Corinthians are still immersed in carnality. Reacting in anger and
despair over developments in Corinth, Paul has also become fleshly. (Carnal
— out of Fellowship) (1Co 3:1-3) Paul describes his distress this way — "this
body, this flesh, of ours had no rest but we were under stress" or ’’stressed
out in every way" — conflicts on the outside; fears on the inside. Paul is in the
grip of fear and stress.
There is a Principle we will extract from this passage: Every believer is
culpable for his own sinfulness under the Law of volitional responsibility. Thus,
when God initiates any of three stages of Divine discipline upon the carnal
believer, (Warning, intensified, or dying discipline; 1Co 11:30) it is with a
desire for the believer to recover fellowship using the rebound technique.
When a believer refuses to or fails to acknowledge his carnality, he must hurt
before he will receiver. In carnality he is in a position of weakness. From
weakness springs fear, a malevolent fear now internalized by both Paul and
the Corinthians.
Without rebound any believer can be enslaved by fear; or any other sin
as well.
1. The more things you surrender to fear, the more things you fear.
2. The more things you fear, the more you increase the power of fear
and or sin in your life.
3. The more you increase the power of fear in your life, the greater your
capacity for fear.
4. The greater your capacity for fear, the greater the stress factor in
your soul.
5. The greater the stress factor in your soul, the more you concentrate
on the problem and the less you concentrate on the Divine solution. (God’s
Thoughts; 2Pe 1:10)
Paul, currently mired in human false reality and human solutions, is a
prisoner of fear. This tenacious carnality would persist until Titus arrived in
Macedonia. (2Co 7:6-7) By that time Paul had rebounded and was
encouraged.
But God, who comforts the depressed, [The carnal believer who
humbles himself by employing God’s grace provision of rebound] comforted
[Encouraged] us by the coming of Titus. (2Co 7:6)
And not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he [Titus]
was comforted in [About] you. as he reported to us your longing, your
mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more. [Because the
authority of Paul among the Corinthians was restored] (2Co 7:7)
DIVINE SOLUTIONS vs. HUMAN SOLUTIONS
If we confess (Homologeo) our sins. He is faithful (Pistos) and righteous
(Dikaios) to forgive (Aphiemi) us our sins and to cleanse (Katharizo) us from
all unrighteousness. (1Jn 1:9)
Rebound is the Divine solution for recovering fellowship with God and
defeating fear in life. Just as faith in Christ is the solution for Spiritual death;
(Eph 2:1-5) so rebound for the recovery of the filling of God the Holy Spirit is
accomplished in the status of carnality. In each case God does all the work.
That is grace.
Countless believers fail to understand and rely on the grace of God.
When they reject God’s grace in rebound and continue in carnality, their
attention is gained only through the pain and suffering of Divine discipline.
God disciplines the believer as a Father disciplines a child. He loves and
desires only the best for every believer. Divine discipline alerts believers to
the futility of human solutions. Human solutions are no solutions! Divine
solutions are the only solutions! (Being in fellowship and Thinking with God’s
Thoughts)
The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God [Stay in
fellowship] and Keep His Commandments, [Think with God’s Thoughts]
because this applies to every person. (Eccles 12:13) cf. (John 4:23-24)
The believer who receives Divine discipline will eventually be motivated
by the pain and anguish where, unfortunately, he is not motivated by grace.
Homologeo, "to confess" or "to admit" being out fellowship, this is a non-
meritorious grace function. How do we know it is a grace function? Once we
come to point X, the Divine solution, we rebound by admitting our sins and or
being out of fellowship; (For known, unknown or forgotten sins) and then God
forgives us. To KNOW when we are Spiritual or carnal, is one of the most
important issues of the Spiritual life! If we are THINKING: worry, fear,
bitterness, arrogance, pride, subjectivity, hate, lust, deception, competition,
sensuality, criticism, revenge, greediness, envy, condemnation, etc., we are
CARNAL; and need to rebound! When we are Spiritual God the Holy Spirit
produces Virtue in our Spiritual life!
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is
no Law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh [The
old sin nature] with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us
also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another,
envying one another. (Gal 5:22-26)
We never earn or deserve the wonderful recovery of fellowship, God
provides for us. Recovery is not based on how we feel, it is not based on
how we agonize, it is not emotion, (Metamelomai: 2Co 7:8) it is not sorrow;
(Lupeo: 2Co 7:8) IT IS "sorrow according to the will of God." The change of
mind [Repentance; in the Greek, Metanoia] This is what motivated the
Corinthians to rebound. (2Co 7:9) All emotional gimmicks are signs that
believers do not understand the grace of God. The believer who tries to
recover through emotion and remorse is the believer who has misplaced the
key to the Spiritual life. Instead, he substitutes emotional human penance —
for God’s wonderful plan of recovery.
Two nouns in, (1Jn 1:9) describe God’s grace in rebound — "faithful
and righteous." The Greek word pistos means "faithful." The faithfulness of
God always forgives and cleanses the believer who admits his sins to the
Father. God always extends the same grace, even when we admit being out
of fellowship, for the 1,385th time. He never tires of forgiving us because
those sins were judged on the cross.
Dikaios means "righteousness" — God’s perfect righteousness. His
righteousness is never compromised by forgiving our sins. No matter how evil
we are, God never compromises His righteousness by forgiving us. Why?
Our sins have already been judged on the cross. We receive the imputation
of perfect righteousness at the moment we express faith alone in Christ
alone. Nothing we can do extinguishes that judicial, forensic righteousness in
us. (1Co 1:30)
Remember a basic Principle: In eternity past, God isolated every
problem in human history and God provided the solution to every problem in
human history. All solutions for the believer are contained in the ten problem-
solving devices. No believer will ever have a problem that cannot be worked
out through the ten problem-solving devices.
Illustration
The first problem-solving device and gateway to the other nine devices is
rebound.
(1Jn 1:9) is a statement about the essence of God when He confronts
all our sins. Is He shocked? Does He revile us? Definitely not! He has already
taken care of every sin we will ever commit — He took all our sins to court at
the cross. In dealing with our sins God sees only the righteousness of Christ,
His substitutionary sacrifice that blots out those transgressions. His work on
the cross is the basis for Salvation — "believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will
be saved." (Acts 16:31) Concurrently, the work of Christ on the cross is also
the basis for forgiving the sins of the believer in rebound.
What does God do for the carnal believer, in every case, when a sin is
acknowledged? First of all, God "forgives" (Aphiemi) our sins. Secondly, God
"purifies" (Katharizo) from all wrongdoing. God’s grace does it all! Just as He
provides thirty-nine irrevocable things plus one revocable the moment we
believe in Christ, But He restores the filling of the Holy Spirit and fellowship
with Himself at the moment any carnal believer rebounds.
We can temporarily lose our Spirituality; we can quickly recover our
Spirituality. We can fail in our Spiritual life, but we can never lose our
Salvation from the Lake of Fire. What we do lose through carnality are
eternal rewards in heaven and temporal blessings in time. (2Co 7:9; cf.,
1Co 3:15; Php 3:18-19; (2Jn 1:8; Jud 1:11-19)
Despite his Spiritual maturity, the Apostle Paul had entrapped himself in
pain and emotions. He suffered anguish in Troy, then later in Macedonia.
What Paul was experiencing, the Corinthians were also experiencing. Paul’s
anguish is reflected in the Greek verb metamelomai which is used twice in,
(2Co 7:8). Metamelomai is regret, sorrow, feeling sorry for sins, being
desperately sorry for wrongdoing. Metamelomai is strictly emotional, a
penitence which is incompatible with the grace of God. Just like the
Corinthians, Paul had allowed his ’’feelings’’ to supersede his Spiritual
Thinking; in this case, of God’s faithful provision of rebound.
A believer may feel sorry for his sins but his feelings carry no merit with
God. Emotion is never a criterion for the Spiritual life. Emotion may be a
grateful response to God’s magnificent care and provision, but emotion has
no value in God’s forgiveness.
The solution is homologeo, the non-meritorious act of confessing your
own sins to God the Father. To interject our feelings into God’s method of
rebound is arrogance. Only what God Thinks about our sins is important, not
how we "feel" about them! He despises our sins. However, He is faithful and
righteous to forgive them based on the work of Jesus Christ. You cannot help
God — that is anti-grace and legalism.
When I first came to Berachah Church, forty-five years ago, I taught
rebound. Some people resented this Concept of grace. They wanted to help
God — to justify God’s forgiveness of themselves. Rebound is still resented,
but the message is the same: Rebound results in the filling of God the Holy
Spirit and restores the Spiritual life. (Prov 28:13) You will never recover the
filling of the Spirit by feeling sorry for your sins. If you have to hurt or be
disciplined as a motivation for rebound, then the Law of volitional
responsibility takes over.
For they sow the wind, and they reap the whirlwind... (Hos 8:7)
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this
he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh
reap corruption. (Gal 6:7-8)
You conclude, "I must help God to recover — I felt sorry for my sins! I
regretted what I had done; I apologized to God!" This becomes your criterion
for forgiveness by God. What arrogance; what legalism! How dare we have
the colossal ego to attempt to bribe God with our pitiful sorrow! God never
asks for an apology or regrets. He says only, "admit sinning!" You can do
nothing about your past failures, but through rebound you can do something
about your future, your Spiritual life. You make wrong decisions, you sin, and
you hurt. You lose track of the grace of God. You must come back to square
one. Do you know what square one is?
If we admit our sins He is faithful [He always does the same thing;
forgives] and absolute righteousness to forgive us our sins [We cannot be
judged for the same crime twice; Christ was judged ONCE AND FOR ALL,
already; Heb 7:27; Heb 10:10; 1Pe 3:18] and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. [Known, unknown and forgotten sins] (1Jn 1:9)
When you get out of fellowship and you rely on so-called "godly sorrow"
for recovery, you are a loser.
You find the same sort of problem today in Lordship Salvation — faith
plus commitment. As a Spiritually dead person you can never make Christ
"Lord," (HE IS, WAS AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN THE LORD GOD
ALMIGHTY!; Rev 1:8) or gain the approbation of God by making a
dedication, walking an aisle, raising your hands, jumping through a
psychological hoop. You can never invite Christ into your heart or into your
life. (Of course most believe in Christ, before they ask Him to come into their
heart) When you invite Christ into your Spiritually dead heart, you are inviting
Him into a sewer; you are inviting Him into a tomb. Instead, God summons us
to share His eternal life through faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
(John 3:16) Only the Holy Spirit can make Christ OUR Lord at the moment
we express non-meritorious faith in Christ alone.
Likewise, only the filling of the Holy Spirit makes the believer Spiritual.
Without rebound the Holy Spirit is grieved and quenched by carnality. No
wonder believers have so little impact for Christ. Political activism and rigid
morality are the only impression many unbelievers have of Christianity.
Activism and morality are not Spirituality. Spirituality is on a higher plane and
is derived from the filling of the Spirit. (Gal 5:22-23) The believer who
substitutes human morality and political activism for the Virtue of the Spiritual
life; is in the snare of the devil. (2Ti 2:24-26)
As a believer progresses in the sphere of Christian Virtue; develops a
sense of responsibility. That sense of responsibility is not based on an
emotional guilt trip, but on Divine Viewpoint from metabolized Truth. Hence,
the believer is no longer carried away with short-lived emotional compassion,
as he watches television reports of unfortunate, starving people around the
world. Such fervent sympathy fades when the momentary emotion subsides.
Instead, the compassion of a believer with Virtue is permanent, a far
loftier empathy than exists in fleeting emotional outbursts. This true
compassion puts human tragedy in perspective. We live in a lost and dying
world in which the Gospel and the Bible must take priority!
The Spiritually mature believer realizes the solutions to wretched human
conditions in Satan’s world are not political activism, not well-meaning
compassion, but ONLY Spiritual regeneration and growth to maturity! Hunger,
famine, starvation, war will be present until the Lord returns. Only the Gospel
and Divine Thinking can heal the misery of human circumstances. Those who
accept the Gospel of faith alone in Christ alone will not spend eternity in the
Lake of Fire. (John 3:18) For those believers who grow Spiritually; peace,
happiness, and contentment characterize their lives. Circumstances are not
the consuming issue.
Believers who reject rebound reject the only means of gaining and
maintaining Spiritual momentum. They say, "I cannot just rebound; I need to
feel remorse. I do not feel forgiven unless I regret my sins." But how you feel
is inconsequential!
The issue is not your feelings; the issue is the Cross where your sins
were judged. The issue is the righteousness of God the Father. Countless
millennia ago God the Father isolated every problem in human history and
provided a solution based on grace. There never has been a Divine solution
that was not based on grace.
Unbelievers have access to Divine solutions through the Laws of Divine
establishment, the four Divine institutions that deal with individuals and
nations. These institutions are volition, marriage, family, and government. For
the individual believer — the child of God in the New Covenant Age is a priest
indwelt by God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and is also
an ambassador for Christ — the Divine institutions are just one aspect in a
myriad of significant Principles and Divine Thoughts inherent in the Christian
life. The Virtue of the Spiritual life includes the Principles of Divine
establishment.
The believer has access to all Divine assets — the filling of God the
Holy Spirit, Bible Truth, ten problem-solving devices. The function of the
Spiritual life depends upon the filling of the Holy Spirit, the Great Equalizer.
The filling of the Holy Spirit converts even the lowest human IQ into Spiritual
IQ. Every believer now has equal opportunity and equal privilege to perceive
and understand Divine Thinking. With Spiritual IQ the believer is capable of
understanding and metabolizing Truth and forming problem-solving devices in
the soul.
Metabolized Truth also provides a mirror in the soul for objective self-
evaluation. (Prov 27:19) When the believer sins and fails, he can look into the
mirror of his soul. The quicker the believer sees his reflection in the mirror of
Divine Viewpoint, the sooner he rebounds and avoids hurt and discipline.
Until you understand grace in rebound, you will have an emotional
hangover. You will be emotionally wrung out from all the attempts to help
God forgive your sins. Hangovers originate from a lack of grace orientation;
from believers who do not understand what God can and will accomplish.
You must recognize that the Divine solution IS the only solution; human
solutions are no solutions! In Spiritual death the Divine solution is faith alone in
Christ alone. Anything you add to faith is a human solution and Salvation is
not yours. Faith accompanied by human works is invalid. The only faith that is
valid is faith without works. Then, God takes over and provides thirty-nine
irrevocable things plus one. That one is the filling of God the Holy Spirit —
Spirituality. Spirituality is obtained through God’s gracious provision at
Salvation. Spirituality is maintained through the gracious provision of God at
rebound.
SPIRITUAL FREEDOM
God gives every believer a system of freedom based on metabolized
Truth circulating through the seven compartments of the stream of
consciousness. With this Spiritual freedom we can fulfill His plan. God
provides the time and the means to fulfill His plan. When the believer
perpetuates Spiritual freedom in his life, he moves into the sphere of Virtue.
If your happiness depends on people, things, self and or circumstances,
if your happiness depends on your sex life, if your happiness depends on
approbation, you are not free! If certain people can upset you, you are not
free. You are a slave to whatever ruins your peace of mind. You do not know
Spiritual freedom or true contentment.
At one time Paul was a slave to fear, worry and anxiety, as we have
noted in, (2Co 7:5). His fear made him unhappy. Ask yourself. Who makes
me unhappy? What makes me unhappy? Who does things to hurt me? What
gives me the "blues"? If your happiness depends on people, things, self or
circumstances, that is slavery. When you have a happiness that does not
depend upon people or circumstances, but rather your well-being is based on
the Word of Truth in the soul, you share the Happiness of God. God has
never been unhappy.
In eternity past Lucifer, the highest angelic creature created by God,
revolted against Him. Satan, as he is now called, persuaded one-third of the
angelic creatures to join the mutiny. Nevertheless, God did not become
unhappy. The defection and loss of those super-creatures could not make
God unhappy.
When Adam sinned and died Spiritually, God never became
despondent. God has eternal, infinite, perfect happiness that does not
depend upon people, things or circumstances. (His happiness does however
depend on His perfect essence; HIMSELF) This same magnificent Virtue can
be ours! (Gal 5:22-23) Yet, you will never attain His happiness if you operate
on unstable, pseudo-compassionate, emotional binges, instead of Truth.
The truest and most genuine compassion is based on Spiritual Virtue-
morality and on the Divine Thinking resident in the soul! Such compassion
motivates people to witness and teach give Truth. Such compassion inspires
noble kindnesses. Bona fide Christian compassion reveals Divinely influenced
contentment and happiness in your soul to a lost and dying world.
According to, (2Co 7:5-6) Paul was "comforted," he was back in
fellowship by the time Titus arrived in Macedonia. As a born again believer in
the adult stage of the Spiritual life, Paul recovered his fellowship with God
through the rebound technique. His comfort came from his confidence in the
faithfulness of God. He was, therefore, prepared for either a good or bad
report from Titus concerning the Corinthian problem.
The nature of the report was not the issue. Rather, the issue was the
status quo of Paul’s Spirituality after he confessed his fear and trepidation to
the Lord. After rebound God took over and solved Paul’s anxiety problem.
God IS faithful. God IS righteous. God forgave Paul’s sins. God purified
Paul from all unrighteousness. At the point of purification Paul was again filled
with God the Holy Spirit, restored to fellowship with God, and had resumed
his Spiritual life. Paul was relaxed and ready for anything by the time Titus
arrived. The report from Titus was excellent and Paul "rejoiced." It is
interesting to note that while Paul was out of fellowship in Troy and
Macedonia, that the Corinthians were also carnal, Titus remained Spiritual.
THE FOLLY OF EMOTIONALISM
For though I caused you sorrow [Lupeo, severe mental anguish] by my
letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it [Metamelomai, extreme
emotional anguish] -- for I see that letter caused you sorrow [Lupeo], though
only for a while. (2Co 7:8)
I now rejoice, [After Paul utilized rebound] not that you were made
sorrowful, [Lupeo] but that you were made sorrowful [Lupeo} to the point of
repentance; [Metanoia; "change of mind" that brought them to rebound] for
you were made sorrowful [Lupeo] according to the will of God, [Kata Theon,
idiomatic usage meaning "as God would have it"] in order that you might not
suffer loss [As a loser believer] in anything through [Because of] us.
(2Co 7:9)
For the sorrow [Anguish of Divine discipline] that is according to the will
of God [As God would have it] produces a repentance [Change of mind; the
motivation to rebound] without regret, [Ametameletos, without any emotional
remorse] leading to salvation, [Deliverance from the anguish] but the sorrow
of the world produces death. [Sin unto death] (2Co 7:10)
Under the filling of God the Holy Spirit Titus had delivered a now lost
letter from Paul to the Corinthians. The epistle was a severe reprimand. It
caused the Corinthians severe mental anguish and agony. [Lupeo] Paul
matched their agony for a short time with his own emotional torment.
(2Co 7:8) When Paul recognized his emotional folly and realized that the
Corinthians had responded positively to his letter, he stopped emoting,
rebounded, and rejoiced. (2Co 7:9) The anguish the Corinthians suffered from
the letter also brought them "to the point of repentance, "metanoia," a change
of Thinking" that induced rebound. Paul’s triumphal rejoicing occurred not
because the Corinthians "were made sorrowful," but because their sorrow
and anguish caused the change in their Thinking.
Lupeo, "sorrow," has a number of meanings in the passive voice: "to
become distressed, to be sorry, to be grieved, to be hurt, to be sad, to be
insulted, to be irritated, to be offended, to be in mental pain or anguish." The
passive indicates that the carnal Corinthians in, (2Co 7:8-9) were acted upon
by the Divine Laws from the Supreme Court of Heaven. Two Laws were
operational: the first was the Law of volitional responsibility and the second,
the Law of Divine discipline.
The carnal Christians of Corinth were disturbed by Paul’s lost letter
delivered by Titus. Titus was face-to-face with hostile Corinthians full of
iconoclastic arrogance and evil obsession. They were resentful of him at first,
but through teaching and explanation he finally straightened them out. They
saw the issue clearly and came around to rebound and began to Spiritually
advance.
I now rejoice, not because you were distressed, [Lupeo] but because
you were in pain [Lupeo] to the point of repentance... [Metanoia] (2Co 7:9)
The first appearance of lupeo in, (2Co 7:9) connotes outright emotional
anguish. The second use of the verb lupeo follows the adversative particle
"but" and sets up a contrast with the emotional grief of the first lupeo.
Metanoia distinguishes the unsettling distress of the first phrase from the
encouraging distress of the second phrase. Metanoia does not connote an
impulsive action based on emotion.
THE CHANGE OF THINKING
"Repentance," metanoia, is a vastly misunderstood term. Many people
think repentance means to feel sorry for sins, an emotional loathing of sin.
What does repentance actually mean? It means "a change of mind" — to
Divine Thinking, ("Seeing" things God’s way) not temperamental emoting.
Divine Thinking refuses emotion as part of the solution. How do we
know that? Because, (2Co 7:10) abandons emotion: "repentance without
regret." [Emotion] Emotional reaction is the source of countless sins.
Emotionalism actually functions as a catalytic agent that locks in the
arrogance and emotional complexes of sins.
The carnal believer in an emotional state cannot think accurately.
Therefore, the emotional inclination must be rejected if the believer is to start
Thinking correctly. When the believer sets aside emotional activity, he can,
then recall what is hidden in the recesses of his mind. If he has been taught
rebound, God the Holy Spirit will help him remember the Divine method of
recovering his Spiritual life, (John 14:26) restoring fellowship with God.
The Corinthians had to endure mental agony to overcome their
emotional reactions. They needed to Spiritually Think, not emote. They
needed to search the recesses of their minds for the Divine solution.
If the carnal believer does not rebound, he will "suffer loss" at the
Judgment Seat of Christ. (1Co 3:15; (2Co 7:10) He loses his eternal rewards
but never his eternal Salvation from the Lake of Fire. Therefore, the
Corinthians must change their minds. A change of Thinking results in their
accepting the Divine solution of rebound.
However, emotional garbage in the soul must be eliminated. Hang-ups,
defense mechanisms, denial — all the psychological garbage must go! That
is the reason for "repentance," metanoia, being introduced in a prepositional
phrase. Metanoia is the result of eliminating all the refuse of emotional
activity. Garbage includes feeling sorry for your sins, going through penance,
pleading with God for forgiveness, agonizing, feeling guilty to get back in
fellowship. All of these false Principles prevent rebound. Rebound requires no
emotional activity.
If you add emotion, regret, penance, and or guilt; you have not
recovered your fellowship with God. You are not filled with the Spirit. You
remain in a state of carnality, only now you are worse off than you were
before. The Divine solution is simply to "confess" or "admit" your sins in the
privacy of your own soul.
The arrogance of those who believe they must do something, feel
something, or renounce something to effect a Divine solution is appalling.
Some believers are going to stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ in a
resurrection body in a state of shame. (Php 3:18-19) Why? Because they
never could get it through their heads that you only do something one way —
GOD’S WAY!
The Corinthians had been taught God’s solution to sin. Rebound
instructions had already been given by Paul.
For he who eats and drinks, [At the Communion Table] eats and drinks
judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. [Through rebound]
For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
But if we judged ourselves rightly, [Rebound] we should not be judged.
(1Co 11:29-31)
But the Corinthians were still doing things their way — what seemed
right to them. Human thoughts and ways are NEVER God’s! (Isa 55:6-9)
Because of their perpetuation of carnality, the Corinthian believers were
losers. God had to get the attention of these carnal, loser believers.
"GODLY SORROW"
...For you were made sorrowful [Lupeo] according to the will of God,
[Kata Theon] in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.
(2Co 7:9)
The use of the aorist passive of lupeo reveals unequivocally the non-
emotional content of the word "sorrow." It was God’s intention for the
Corinthians to feel pain, not to squeeze a passionate apology from them, but
to induce rebound. The pain caused objective self-examination which brought
on a change of Thinking that resulted in a decision. The carnal Corinthians
chose to acknowledge their failures and sins to the Father. That decision was
the solution, the only solution. Divine discipline pressured these believers to
comply with God’s grace method of rebound.
Lupeo is followed by another prepositional phrase, kata Theon. I want
you to notice that Theon is the accusative case of the proper noun for "God."
This noun is not an adjective to be translated "godly." To make an adjective
out of the proper name for God is false and blasphemy. Theon is never an
adjective.
What does the preposition kata plus the accusative of Theon mean?
Kata Theon can legitimately be translated three ways:
1. A literal translation is "according to God" which actually means
"according to the will of God" There is a problem with this translation. The
believer is in a state of carnality, "out of fellowship." The will of God cannot
be associated with carnality.
2. "In accordance with God" is also a legitimate translation. The phrase
literally means "in accordance with the standards of God."
"Standards of God" presents the same problem as the first translation,
"the will of God." Carnality is no more compatible with the norms and
standards of God than it is with the will of God. The norms and standards of
God in the believer are related .to the filling of the Spirit. The norms and
standards of God are related to the Spiritual life — fellowship with God.
These standards are irreconcilable with carnality.
These first two phrases would ordinarily be sufficient as translations,
except we are discussing a believer in carnality. No carnal believer is in the
will of God or functioning under the norms and standards of God.
3. The third literal translation is "on the basis of God."
"On the basis of" is an unusual rendering of the preposition kata. This
usage often denotes a combination of norms and purpose: "in accordance
with" and "because of." The same problem exists. Carnality is never in
compliance with the will, standards, and purpose of God.
The three previous translations are all legitimate when the believer is in
fellowship. But, (2Co 7:9) describes believers out of fellowship. So what
translation remains? The idiom, "as God would have it."
What does "as God would have it" imply? The idiom simply states the
Divine purpose to stimulate thinking in the carnal believer and to set aside
emotion. Thinking brings the believer to a decision about rebound, God’s way
of dealing with carnality.
I now rejoice, not because you were distressed, in pain, anguish,
sorrow and grief, but because you were distressed resulting in a change of
mind; resulting in Thinking that led to a decision to rebound, for you were
distressed as God would have it, so that you might not suffer loss in anything
through us. (2Co 7:9)
This translation avoids the blasphemy of making an adjective out of the
proper noun for God. "As God would have it" is the correct translation of kata
Theon in, (2Co 7:9-10).
The King James Version of, (2Co 7:9) is translated, "after a godly
manner," and (2Co 7:10) is translated "godly sorrow." The New International
Version translates the phrase correctly in 7:9, "as God intended," but
inaccurately in 7:10, "godly sorrow." Three of these translations are
blasphemous. Theon should always be translated as a noun.
Metanoia is a change of Thinking that results in a change of mind. The
change of mind is not the solution but leads to the solution, the decision to
rebound. The believer changes his mind by rejecting all of the emotionalism
which has no bearing on forgiveness and cleansing by God.
You must understand that emotion has no faculty for thinking.
Emotion is a responder, not a thinker. You must set aside emotion as a
Spiritual standard. You must start Thinking according to the Word of Truth!
(As God would have it)
Emotion is no gauge of Salvation — you are never saved because you
feel saved. After Salvation you are not restored to fellowship because you
feel restored or feel forgiven. There is only one way to recover fellowship
with God after you sin and that is God’s way. God’s way is to "admit" your
sins to Him. God takes over from there.
The carnal believer loses fellowship with God and the Spirit’s power for
living the Spiritual life until he rebounds. At the Judgment Seat of Christ the
consistently carnal, loser believer feels shame when he is evaluated.
(2Co 5:10; cf., 1Co 3:12-15; Php 1:20; (1Jn 2:28) He will not receive greater
blessings which were set aside for him by God in eternity past but can never
be conveyed to him. What a tragedy!
"I now rejoice" is Paul’s legitimate emotion after the rapid employment
of rebound. He continues his Spiritual life with great contentment. When Titus
came from Corinth with a good report, Paul was already in fellowship, and,
therefore, he was already rejoicing.
THE LAWS OF VOLITIONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND DIVINE
DISCIPLINE
I now rejoice, not because you were distressed but because you were
distressed resulting in the Thinking that led to the decision, [The decision is
the Divine solution] for you were distressed as God would have it, in order
that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. (2Co 7:9)
Paul adds a clause at the end of verse 9 — "in order that you might not
suffer loss in anything through us," which indicates the carnal Corinthians will
"suffer loss" but not because of Paul. They will suffer from their own bad
decisions, the Law of volitional responsibility, and from distress "as God
would have it," the Law of Divine discipline.
What is the Law of volitional responsibility? Scripture states the Law:
For they sow the wind, and they reap the whirlwind... (Hos 8:7)
The longer you stay out of fellowship, the greater your misery and pain
becomes.
He who sows iniquity will reap vanity... [Trouble] (Prov 22:8)
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this
he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh
reap corruption, [Divine discipline] but the one who sows to the Spirit will from
the Spirit reap eternal life. [Divine blessings] (Gal 6:7-8)
Paul wrote to the Colossians the effect of both Laws as they work in
combination. For he who does wrong [Volitional responsibility] will receive the
consequences of the wrong which he has done, [Divine discipline] and that
without partiality. (Col 3:25)
When you stay out of fellowship and fail to rebound, you extend
carnality indefinitely. You can be revived in only one way from a state of
carnality and emotional revolt. The consequences, "as God would have it,"
become increasingly miserable. God uses the Law of volitional responsibility
and the Law of Divine discipline to remind you of Spiritual priorities. He allows
you to wallow in the pain of your own making and if that does not remind you
to rebound, then He applies Divine discipline to hasten your recovery. The
justice of God makes you hurt! But remember, His Laws are compatible with
His perfect righteousness.
At some point you must recognize God’s Reality. You must realize the
consequences of your sin. Do not blame the torment from your sin on
someone else. The ultimate self-deception is never taking responsibility for
your own thoughts, decisions, and actions. We always do things because we
decide to do them. Only when we reverse bad decisions can we reverse
stress. The trend-reversing decision is homologeo, confess your sins to God
the Father. (1Jn 1:9)
Prayer cannot be the means to recover fellowship with God either.
Prayer is not a problem-solving device and can be effective only under the
filling of God the Holy Spirit. You can pray fervently for forgiveness of sins
and you are not forgiven. God heeds no prayers offered in a state of
carnality. (Psa 66:18)
Too often prayer for forgiveness is substituted; but prayer for
forgiveness is not an adjustment to the Light which God IS. Prayer for
forgiveness really assumes that God Himself needs to be changed in His
attitude toward the one who has sinned.
You can feel perpetually sorry, guilty, and remorseful; you are not
forgiven. You can apologize, you can try to make it up to God, you can go
through all the penance in the world and you will not be forgiven. (And or
Saved; Matt 27:3-5) That is not God’s way. If you will not agree to God’s
way, the alternative is suffering under the Law of volitional responsibility and
Divine discipline, "as God would have it." You will reap what you sow. Divine
discipline is administered in three stages. First is warning discipline, "Behold,
I stand at the door and knock..." (Rev 3:20) Knocking is God’s warning. "...If
anyone opens the door" is addressed to believers only. What does "opens
the door" mean? Admit being out of fellowship; to God. What happens next?
"I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me." (Rev 3:20)
Fellowship is restored! If the believer ignores warning discipline and keeps
the door shut, he then moves into the second stage of Divine discipline called
intensive discipline, a more potent form of warning discipline.
Believers who are out of fellowship and ignorant of Truth, exist on how
they feel, on their emotions. Feelings are subjective and irrational. Such
believers are Spiritually blind. A physically blind person must feel his way
through life. Likewise, a Spiritually blind person feels his way through the
Christian life. And if you are feeling your way through life, you have had it!
Spiritual blindness is a dangerous condition which may lead to the third
stage of discipline, a dismal departure from life under the sin unto death.
(1Jn 5:16-17) The loser believer will still go to heaven and be absent from the
body and face-to-face with the Lord. The purpose of certain earthly suffering
is to encourage rebound; rebound is unnecessary in heaven.
Whether you are a winner or a loser believer, when you die you are in a
place of perfect happiness until the believer approaches the Judgment Seat
of Christ.
However, inequality will always exist for believers while in this life and
also in eternity. (Rev 22:14-16) The only equality in life is the freedom to use
volition. Persistent positive volition toward Truth advances the believer to
become a winner. Persistent negative volition minus rebound generates a
loser. Thus, freedom spawns inequality. Where freedom reigns, inequality
exists.
The Ten Commandments are a freedom, code. Destruction of freedom
is caused by violating that code. "You shall not steal" affirms the right to own
property. (Exo 20:15) When someone steals, they are the enemy of freedom.
The Bible asserts that property is sacred — "you shall not steal." Scripture
also says, "You shall not commit murder," not "thou shalt not kill."
(Exo 20:13; KJV) Homicide is the ultimate deprivation of freedom. The
criminal who kills should be executed. Otherwise, the victim is forgotten. The
Law demands death for a murderer, so he will never again strip the freedom
of another victim. (Lev 24:21; Rom 13:4)
"As God would have it," then, relates to the Principle of freedom and the
Law of volitional responsibility. Every believer will be accountable for his
decisions both on earth and before the Judgment Seat of Christ.
(Rom 10:1; (2Co 5:10) Those who regularly utilize the rebound technique in
life; remain in fellowship with God, grow to Spiritual maturity; will not feel
shame at the Judgment Seat. (Php 1:20)
For the distress as "God would have it" [Divine discipline] produces a
change of Thinking without regret, resulting in deliverance; [From Divine
discipline] but the guilt complex of the world produces death. (Carnality and
the sin unto death) (2Co 7:10)
"Distress as God would have it" produces a change of Thinking that
brings on a decision. What is the decision? Rebound that results in, (Soteria)
"deliverance." What is deliverance? When you rebound, you are forgiven and
cleansed. God takes over. God forgives your sins; God purifies all your
wrongdoing.
AMETAMELETOS
Notice the phrase, "a change of Thinking without regret" The alpha
prefix on the Greek word metamelomai denotes a negative. Ametameletos
means feeling no remorse, having no regret — hence, the word has no
emotional meaning. The deliverance of rebound requires no emotional activity.
If you bring emotion to rebound, it is no solution. Ametameletos prevents
rebound through guilt, penance, or feeling sorry for sins.
God’s plan is never fulfilled by emoting. When you do fulfill His plan, you
may feel some emotion as you respond to the wonders of His grace. But the
great enemy, the worst arrogance in the world is to believe that you have to
feel saved to be saved and that you have to feel forgiven to be forgiven. How
you feel is of no consequence! Ametameletos, "no emotion," contributes to
this vital knowledge.
As Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer clearly taught, God always forgives and
cleanses the sinner from sin "regardless of emotions."
Great emphasis is placed on the fact, that the one condition to be met
for restoration of fellowship with God; is acknowledgement of being in the
state of carnality. (1Jn 1:8-10)
(2Co 7:10) reflects the Law of volitional responsibility. "Distress as God
would have it" is the three stages of Divine discipline designed to eliminate
emotion as a criterion for the Spiritual life and elicit a change of Thinking. A
change of Thinking evokes rebound and results in the restoration of fellowship
with God, the recovery of the filling of God the Holy Spirit, the grace method
of resuming our Spiritual life.
If we stubbornly prefer to trust our emotion, a false standard for the
Spiritual life, then worldly sorrow, (A guilt complex) and stress bring "death."
If we rely on feeling forgiven, feeling sorry for our sins, or a system of
penance, we will never return to fellowship, and may die the sin unto death.
God alone forgives and purifies.
THE SOLUTION TO SIN: REBOUND
In this study of, (2Co 7:5-10) we learned of Paul’s failure, his tormented
decline, and then his recovery. At the same time, we studied the source of
Paul’s unhappiness, the Corinthians. Paul’s distress over these carnal
believers developed into an emotional reaction. The effect is depicted by the
Greek word metamelomai, "to have great regret, to feel sorry, to enter into
guilt reaction." We also studied kata + Theon + lupe, mistranslated "godly
sorrow." Godly sorrow would erroneously involve God in the emotional
reaction of Paul and the Corinthians.
Emotion is not necessary for rebound recovery. In fact, emotion hinders
the function of the rebound technique. Therefore, in the same passage there
are other Greek words that signify to the believer the Divine method of
recovery.
Ametameletos signifies "the absence of emotion," the state of mind
which promotes rebound. Metanoia means a "change of Thinking,"
remembering Divine Thoughts — Truth and picturing the true Concept of
rebound. Once you decide to rebound, soteria is the "deliverance." You are
delivered from sin and restored to fellowship with God.
Rebound as a problem-solving device is not victory over sin. The
rebound technique is recovery from sin and carnality. Victory over the old sin
nature occurs from routine use of Spiritual mechanics — the protocol plan of
God. (Rom 6:17-18) Spiritual mechanics include utilization of the two power
options — the filling of God the Holy Spirit and Operation Z; also the three
Spiritual skills — the filling of God the Holy Spirit, Operation Z, and all the ten
problem solving devices.
Illustration
Without the Premise of rebound, there can be no Spiritual conclusion.
What is the Premise of rebound? It is found in the first half of, (1Jn 1:9) The
Premise comes in the form of a Greek third class condition, a more probable
future condition. The purpose of the third class condition is to indicate that
you have a choice, in this case a choice of whether to remain carnal or not.
"If we admit our sins," maybe we will and maybe we will not, is the Premise.
The Greek verb homologeo means "to admit, to name to cite" your sins. Non-
meritorious homologeo is the Divine solution of rebound.
If the Premise is false, then, of course, the conclusion is false. If you
add anything to "confess," homologeo, it cancels recovery of fellowship, just
as in Salvation, if you add anything to faith, (Pistis) it cancels faith for
Salvation. Faith plus "lordship Salvation," faith plus commitment, faith plus
anything negates faith. Rebound plus sorrow, rebound plus anguish, rebound
plus emotion, rebound plus penance superimpose human thoughts against
Divine Thoughts and negate rebound. The result is no recovery of fellowship
with God. When the believer consistently fails to utilize rebound, he is on the
road to becoming a loser.
Illustration
A loser believer can never lose his Salvation from the Lake of Fire, yet
he resides in a state of perpetual carnality. The ONLY exception, is a believer
living in the Tribulation period who takes the mark of the beast; (Rev 14:6-12)
if an unbeliever takes the mark of the beast or does not take the mark —
DOES NOT send him to the Lake of Fire. NOT believing in Jesus Christ
DOES! (John 3:18; Rev 14:6-7) A Believer who is given the GRACE, to see
and hear an angel tell him NOT to worship the beast and take his mark; AND
DOES! ...HE ALSO WILL... Go to the Lake of Fire. (Rev 14:9-12)
With the sin nature in control the loser believer develops a smug and
pompous mental attitude. In emotional revolt he becomes jealous of those in
his periphery. Jealousy develops into bitterness. By neglecting rebound
bitterness turns to anger and implacability, then hatred and vindictiveness.
Now, the loser begins a pattern of self-justification, self-deception, and self-
absorption, the three arrogance skills.
Illustration
Once the arrogance skills are in place the believer acts no differently
than the unbeliever. He is capable of being full of malice, revenge motivation,
vituperation, vilification, violence, even murder. Even the most Spiritually
mature of believers is susceptible to this road to ruin if he neglects rebound.
Rebound is the road to restoration accomplished in the privacy of your
priesthood. Every believer in the New Covenant Age is a priest,
(1Pe 2:5-9; Rev 1:6; Rev 5:10) and has access to God the Father. The sins
that you admit to God the Father are the same sins He imputed to the Lord
Jesus Christ on the Cross. Christ received the judgment of your sins on the
cross. "He who knew no sin was made sin as a substitute for us" (2Co 5:21)
— the corrected translation of the Greek preposition hupo + the genitive
plural of advantage from ego, "a substitute for us." He was our substitute: He
took our place; He was judged for our sins; "He carried our sins in His own
body on the cross!" (1Pe 2:24) Therefore, when we use homologeo, when
we "name, cite, admit, confess, acknowledge" our carnality, we are
acknowledging sins that were judged in the courtroom of the Crucifixion.
Without the basic Premise of rebound no Spiritual skills can exist.
Without the true conclusion of rebound no Spiritual life is possible. The
conclusion is the Greek form of the apodosis, of a third class condition — "If
you confess your sins to God, God forgives you."
Two Greek words aphiemi, "forgive," and katharizo "purify," define God’
s actions when we rebound. He "forgives us our sins" and "He purifies us
from all wrongdoing." We resume fellowship with Him. When we do so many
things and or sins that we do not even know are sins; they are also wiped
away. When we confess our known sins and or being out of fellowship, He
purifies us from sins that were not known to be sins. What about rebound as
a problem-solving device? Here are a few Principles you should know:
1. Rebound as the first problem-solving device on the FLOT line of the
soul, is the key to recovery of the Spiritual life from sin and carnality.
2. Rebound is the only problem-solving device that functions in the
status of carnality.
3. The only reason that rebound can function in the status of carnality is
because of the Doctrine of the universal priesthood of the believer.
4. The universal priesthood of the believer is irrevocable and is not
affected by the carnality of the believer.
Since the priesthood is irrevocable, when the priest is out of fellowship
through sin, he still represents himself before God. The believer-priest
acknowledges his sins to God in the privacy of his priesthood.
The royal priesthood of the New Covenant Age is part of the equal
opportunity for the believer to execute the protocol plan of God. Therefore,
the function of the priesthood in rebound has three results:
1. Recovery of the filling of God the Holy Spirit.
2. Restoration to fellowship with God.
3. Resumption of your Spiritual life.
When emotion becomes the criterion for the Spiritual life, believers
become subjective (How we "feel") and embrace Salvation by works and
rebound by works. The believer can eventually become involved in crusader
arrogance and Christian activism. A few points to remember:
1. Rebound is not victory over sin or carnality; rebound is recovery from
sin and carnality.
2. Pseudo rebound perpetuates carnality while true rebound has four
important results in the Spiritual life — well, actually three of them that we
have studied: recovery of the filling of God the Holy Spirit; restoration of
fellowship with God; resumption of the Spiritual life. The fourth is to reach the
point of a Spiritually mature, invisible hero.
Resumption of the Spiritual life and consequent persistence in the grace
mechanics of the Spiritual life, sets the stage for the victory over sin.
Rebound is not a victory over sin. Victory over sin is the procedure of
the four Spiritual mechanics of the protocol plan of God: the utilization of the
two power options; the function of the three Spiritual skills; the deployment of
the ten problem-solving devices; and execution of the three stages of the
adult Spiritual life. All of this is accomplished under the filling of God the Holy
Spirit as the first power option, followed by the second power option,
metabolized Divine Thinking circulating in the seven compartments of the
stream of consciousness.
NO SUBSTITUTE FOR REBOUND
Faith is not a substitute for rebound in the life of the believer. The faith
of a regenerate human being is ineffectual with God apart from the filling
ministry of God the Holy Spirit. (John 4:24) Since the carnal believer grieves
and or quenches God the Holy Spirit, such a believer is void of strength to
recover or to execute the Christian life. Faith, Bible Promises, Doctrines, and
ALL Scripture in use; without the controlling ministry of God the Holy Spirit is
futility, just another human activity! (John 4:23-24) That cannot gain
forgiveness or the approval of God and has no part in the Spiritual life!
Homologeo, the confessing of sins, is the Divinely ordained, grace method for
reinstating the filling of God the Holy Spirit, in the life of every believer. Only
when filled with God the Holy Spirit; can faith be effective for living the
Spiritual life. (Prov 1:23) The faith of a regenerate person functions only
under the filling of the Spirit.
The exercise of human old sin nature faith without the filling of the Spirit
is a work. An act of faith lacking the filling of God the Holy Spirit is merely a
human endeavor to appease God. Only faith in Christ for Salvation and
rebound, for believers, the first Divine problem-solving device, can operate
without the filling of God the Holy Spirit. (But God the Holy Spirit still provides
the means to make Salvation and rebound possible) Remember this Principle:
God cannot have fellowship with believers who add human works to rebound.
While God gives every believer thirty-nine irrevocable things at the
moment of Salvation, there is one other gift, the fortieth thing, the filling of
God the Holy Spirit that can be interrupted through sin and lack of rebound or
by pseudo rebound. When sin puts us out of fellowship, how can we recover
the filling of God the Holy Spirit? Not by faith in anything; but God’s Promise
of rebound! (1Jn 1:9) Only after recovery of the filling of the God Holy Spirit
can Spiritual faith even function in the Spiritual life. (1Co 3:1-3)
Let us examine the Concept of human faith. In eternity past our sins
were collected in one PROM chip in the computer of Divine decrees. The
omniscience of God knew all the knowable and programmed this one chip
with all the sins of human history. The impeccable humanity of Christ on the
Cross received the imputation and judgment for all those sins. Our sins went
before the Supreme Court of Heaven and were canceled.
This is why anyone who expresses human faith in Jesus Christ can be
eternally saved. Yet this believing faith issues from a Spiritually dead person.
Such faith has no value or validity in itself. The value of faith lies in its object,
Jesus Christ, and the validity of faith exists only through the power of God the
Holy Spirit; who causes human faith to be effective for Salvation. Faith is non-
meritorious; the merit belongs to Jesus Christ for His work on the cross and
to God the Holy Spirit who substantiates faith by His work of common and
efficacious grace.
The same is true of rebound. Admitting your sins is non-meritorious.
Vindication occurs because Jesus Christ was already judged for all our sins
on the Cross. When we admit our sins, God takes over. His faithfulness and
righteousness forgives us from all wrongdoing. Not our faith, but His
faithfulness secures forgiveness. Our failures are our own, but our recovery
depends on the grace of God.
Rebound is never a work on the part of the believer. God does all the
work. No emotional purging, agonizing, "godly sorrow," or penance is
required of the believer. Neither can the nonfunctioning human faith of the
carnal believer bring forgiveness. We can recover fellowship only through
acknowledgement of sins, to God the Father. This is the mandate of,
(1Jn 1:9). Once being out of fellowship is admitted, then the Spiritual faith-
rest life may again operate under the mentorship of God the Holy Spirit.
Admitting sins is accomplished by a priest; a priest represents himself
before God. Who is a priest? Every believer in Jesus Christ. You are a
member of a priesthood, different from all priesthoods of the Old Testament.
In Israel the Levitical priesthood served all the nation. But every believer in
the New Covenant Age is his own priest, a royal priest. At the moment of
Salvation, the baptism of God the Holy Spirit places us in union with Christ, in
the royal family and priesthood of God.
Once a priest, always a priest. There are two kinds of priests: a good
priest and a bad priest. A good priest is filled with the Spirit. A bad priest is in
a state of carnality. When a priest is carnal, how can he ever be Spiritual
again? Rebound! Yet, even in carnality he is still a priest — just like the
Levitical priest of old who could be unrighteous and still hold his priestly office.
Regardless of whether a Levitical priest was carnal or not, he followed
Divine instructions as defined in the Mosaic Law. He was charged with
interceding between God and the sins of the people. What was the personal
Spiritual life of the priest? We do not know — he may or may not have been
in a state of sin. But whatever the status of his Spiritual life, he still followed
instructions in performing his priestly duties. Faith was not the issue; he was
just to obey Instructions. When he followed Instructions, even in carnality,
God’s grace was made visible to all and the rebound offering was acceptable
to God.
When the Church Age believer commits a sin, the sin nature takes
control of the soul, and God the Holy Spirit is grieved, and with prolonged
carnality — quenched. The believer is powerless to express faith that is
acceptable to God the Father. He must simply follow the Divine Instructions
laid down by, (1Jn 1:9). Those Instructions are to admit his sins. Then, God
takes over.
The believer uses his volition to enter into sin. Likewise, he uses his
volition to follow Divine Instructions to recover the filling of God the Holy Spirit
— to be restored to fellowship with God. Just as the Levitical priest followed
the mandates of the Mosaic Law, so the Church Age believer must follow
New Covenant Instructions. Faith alone for recovery of fellowship is not part
of those directions. For the believer, faith is the vehicle for learning and
applying Truth. This faith-rest drill operates only in the power of God the Holy
Spirit. Therefore, recovering fellowship with God through faith is not part of
the Divinely designed plan.
If you examine your Spiritual life in the light of Truth and discover sin and
failure, accept the blame and follow instructions. What are the instructions?
Admit the sins that you know are sins, acknowledge them to God in the
privacy of your priesthood — no repentance, no works, no faith, no emotion,
no begging God for forgiveness, no "I’ll do better, I promise." That is works!
You have just ignored God’s Instructions.
A subtle attack on rebound has emerged: Since faith is the requirement
for Salvation, faith must also be the requirement for rebound. If you must
believe in Christ for Salvation, likewise you must believe to recover fellowship.
Not true! Expressing faith is not the Biblical mandate for Spiritual recovery
from personal sin. (Apart from believing that you will be forgiven, if you follow
the Instructions) In, (1Jn 1:9) homologeo charges you only to admit your
sins, acknowledge being out of fellowship and that you want to get back in!
(Just open the door; Rev 3:20) To follow any other instruction perpetuates
carnality and destroys the Spiritual life.
Follow your Instructions! What could be simpler or reveal God’s grace
more than admitting your sins in the privacy of your priesthood?
Acknowledging sins does not require faith. Human faith without the filling of
God the Holy Spirit is a hollow gesture devoid of Spiritual power.
In Spiritual death the unbeliever has but one Divine solution — faith in
Christ. In post Salvation carnality the believer has only one Divine solution —
to follow Divine Instructions!
Unbelievers are Spiritually dead and there is only one thing a Spiritually
dead person can do for Salvation. He cannot make a commitment; he cannot
make Christ Lord; he cannot go through agonizing emotional activity. He must
simply believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. (Acts 16:31)
Should not the same be true for rebound? Definitely not! Spiritual
impotence characterizes a believer-priest out of fellowship. Faith has no
power to induce forgiveness from God. What is the solution for the priest?
The believer-priest simply follows Divine Instructions. In the privacy of his
priesthood, and God takes over. Then the recovery of the filling of God the
Spirit provides the power to utilize faith in the Spiritual life.
Since Jesus Christ paid the penalty for all sins, fulfilling the mandate of,
(1Jn 1:9) it is never an activity that earns forgiveness. The acknowledgment
of sins carries no merit in itself. When you name your sins to God, you are
citing sins that went to court at the Cross. God forgives based on the work of
Christ, never our work!
Faith is never a requirement for forgiveness from God, only the function
of your royal priesthood in following Divine Instructions. You must represent
yourself before God. As a believer-priest in the state of carnality, you cannot
deploy any other problem-solving devices, including the faith necessary to
launch the faith-rest drill. You are out of fellowship, minus the filling of God
the Holy Spirit. All other problem-solving devices function only under the filling
of the Spirit. As long as carnality continues, you are helpless to utilize faith or
the faith-rest drill. That is why the Instructions are so simple.
(Prov 1:23; Isa 55:7)
God is not emotional; God gave us emotion in our souls as an
appreciator to enjoy the wonderful things in life. God’s solutions are not
emotional. You can whine and mew and beg God’s forgiveness. You can
express an enormous amount of faith. You are wasting your time — follow
Divine Instructions! Admit your sins to God privately!
Rebound is based on the function of the believer’s royal priesthood. As
a carnal or sinful priest, believers simply fulfill the function of homologeo.
Admitting your sins does not require faith. All post-Salvation faith is related to
one of three stages of the faith-rest drill that functions on the filling of God the
Holy Spirit. The first stage is faith-mechanics. Faith-mechanics includes
Thinking with Promises and Doctrinal Rationales and mixing them with the
second stage, faith-function. When you believe the Promises of God under
the filling ministry of God the Holy Spirit, then faith is operational. The third
stage, faith-execution, relates to the four Spiritual mechanics of the protocol
plan of God for the New Covenant Age.
In a state of carnality God the Holy Spirit is quenched and grieved and,
therefore, faith cannot operate. The carnal priest must follow instructions by
admitting his sins to God. When he does, the recovery of the filling of God
the Spirit causes faith to once again become operational.
You were not a priest when you believed in Christ. Therefore, you
employed faith alone in Christ alone for Salvation. Now that you are a priest,
you can deal with your own sins. Follow the priestly Directions — confess
your sins; nothing more. When you OBEY Instructions, God’s actions are
described in the apodosis of, (1Jn 1:9). Pistos, "He IS faithful" — He always
does the same thing. You may have to use rebound five hundred times or
more, but He is always going to do the same thing. He never loses patience.
We cannot be always consistent, but God is always consistent.
God IS faithful, pistos, and He IS also righteous, dikaios. His
righteousness is not compromised by forgiving your sins. When Jesus Christ
went to the cross and every sin in human history was imputed to Him, He
insured that the righteousness of God could not be compromised in forgiving
the believer’s personal sins.
Because He IS faithful and always does the same thing and because
His righteousness is never compromised, He "forgives," aphiemi, our sins,
and He "purifies," katharizo, us from all wrongdoing. The sins we forgot about
or did not know; He forgives those, too!
Who does the work in rebound? God! We simply name our sins — sins
that went to court at the Cross. We are citing a case — the only case in our
favor. The true Principle of rebound is based upon the substitutionary Spiritual
death and judgment of Christ on the Cross. Rebound works because God the
Father imputed to Jesus Christ every sin that any human being ever has or
ever will commit!
End
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