We are continuing in our study where we are discussing the relationship between the Jewish Feasts and the events of the First Advent of TLJC that launched the church age.
We have seen that the Jewish Feasts that relate to the events of the First Advent of TLJC are Passover, Unleavened Bread: First Fruits and Pentecost, the day that the Holy Spirit was sent to indwell and fill believers universally providing the power for unique spiritual life for believers in the church age.
We have seen that the model and precedence for this unique spiritual life was established by TLJC during his life on this earth in unglorified humanity at the beginning of the hypostatic union. Heb 10:5; Heb 12:2a;
At Pentecost God launched the church age and we are presently discussing the impact that the events of Pentecost had in redefining the believer's relationship with God in the church age.
As we have seen, this includes the church age believer being indwelled by the Trinity.
Last time we ended with the principle that God the Holy Spirit through his indwelling ministry establishes a beachhead for the use of His omnipotence as the means of executing the protocol plan of God in the believer.
He provides a base whereby His power is available, attainable, and usable when believers choose to live and function inside the power system and believers execute the protocol plan through positive volition to the filling and teaching ministries of God the Holy Spirit.
The filling of the Spirit, is the basis of the believer's residence, function, and momentum inside the divine power system and the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit enables the believer to be able to comprehend Bible doctrine.
The teaching ministry of the Spirit is documented in John 14:26; John 16:12-14; 1Cor 2:9-16; and 1John 2:27;
The indwelling of the Spirit provides for the believer to be enabled to function in the two categories of Christian function that comprise the believer's spirituality.
#1: The filling of the Spirit, Eph 6:18, is when the Holy Spirit is controlling the believer's soul in the divine power system making spiritual growth possible after salvation.
#2: Walking by means of the Spirit, Gal 5:16, is when to the Church Age believe is living inside God's power system. This is the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit related to God's power in the believer.
We also have the mandates not to grieve or quench the spirit. Eph 4:30; 1Thes 5:18;
We have seen that scripture reveals that all three members of the Trinity indwell church age believer's bodies to enable them to advance in God's plan regardless of weather they choose to do so or not.
Divine power has always been available to a few believers in every dispensation but never before in history has there been maximum availability of divine power and maximum emphasis on the use of divine power to fulfill God's purpose, plan, and will for believers.
The omnipotence of God the Father related to the portfolio of invisible assets is available.
The omnipotence of God the Son related to the preservation and perpetuation of human history is available.
The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit inside the divine power system related to the execution of the protocol plan of God is available
The same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead and seated him at the right hand of the father is available to church age believers, Eph 1:19-20.
The Church Age is the only dispensation where there is no prophecy during the course of the dispensation.
While there are many prophecies related to the Old Testament dispensations, the tribulation and the millennium, there are only two prophecies related to the church age.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit, that was the beginning of the Church Age, was prophesied by our Lord in John 14:20; and in Acts 1:5 just before He ascended into heaven.
The Exit Resurrection or Rapture of the Church is the next event in prophecy to be fulfilled. 1Cor 15:51-52;
This is why the exit resurrection is always described as imminent, there is no intervening prophecy to be fulfilled prior to its occurrence.
In every other dispensation, there is an ongoing stream of prophecy being fulfilled.
The only exception is the Church Age. This makes the church age a time of limitless potential and means that instead of prophecy, the events of the church age function entirely on historical trends.
The uptrends of history in the history are always related to the function of evangelism of mankind followed by the communication of the mystery doctrine of the church age.
The Church Age runs simultaneously with the times of the Gentiles, mentioned by our Lord in Luke 21:24; and discussed by Paul in Rom 11:25;
This means that the Church Age is the only dispensation in history where Gentile "client" or "priest" nations to God exist. In the other dispensations where there is a client or priest nation, Israel is the client or priest nation. Exod 19:5-6;
As goes the believer, so goes the client nation to God.
A maximum number of mature believers in a pivot means blessing to that client nation. A minimum number of believers in a pivot means national discipline in the stages of the five cycles of discipline.
The principles of cycles of discipline revealed to Israel as God's first client or priest nation apply to all client nations.
The first cycle is found in Lev 26:14-17.
The second cycle is found in Lev 26:18-20.
The third cycle is found in Lev 26:21-22.
The fourth cycle is found in Lev 26:23-26.
The fifth cycle is found in: Lev 26:27-38 and Deut 28:49-67.
The first Gentile nation to God was the Roman Empire. The client nations in the history of the church age have included Germany, France, Spain, and England. The present Gentile client nation to God is the United States of America.
The downtrends of history during the Church Age are related to the number of people, who reject Divine Establishment and Bible Doctrine and become involved in the evil of satan's cosmic system.
God's truth and divine good as revealed in Bible doctrine and satan and his system of evil that is promoted by the kosmic system both preexisted mankind.
Therefore believers cannot change evil but if they choose to function in arrogance, the evil of the kosmos will change believers .
Neither can believers change Bible doctrine, but when believers choose to function in humility Bible doctrine will change the believer.
The historical trends of the church age are therefore determined by which system that believers choose to function in.
The divine system and uptrend or the kosmic system and downtrend.
Another unique factor of the church Age is that it is the dispensation of invisible heroes.
In every other dispensation, the visible hero is emphasized.
During the dispensation of the patriarchal priests, the visible heroes included Abel, Seth, Enoch, Noah and Abraham.
It was Abraham who "staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what God had promised, God was able also to perform."
During the dispensation of the Levitical priesthood the visible heroes included Moses Joshua, Caleb, Samuel and David.
It was Moses who said "Stand still, and watch the deliverance of the Lord. The Lord will fight for you today."
Joshua said, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
David stood before Goliath and said, "The battle is the Lord's."
Visible heroes occur every dispensation except the Church Age.
In the Tribulation there are the two witnesses, the Tribulational martyrs, the 144,000 Israelite evangelists; all of whom are visible heroes.
In the Millennium there is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, a very visible hero
But In this dispensation, the spiritual heroes are invisible.
There are two factors necessary for the manufacture of invisible heroes in the Church Age.
The teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit who enables the spiritual life of the church age believer and the faithful communication of the mystery doctrine of the Church Age through pastors who understand it and will communicate it.
The principle of the invisible hero is emphasized in: Eph 3:1-13, Eph 4:11-16 ;
The impact of the invisible hero in the Church Age comes through their execution of the protocol plan of God from a position of equal privilege and equal opportunity.
This is the great power experiment of the Church Age which was designed for the development of invisible heroes through their post salvation spiritual growth in their new identity through persistent perception, metabolization, and application of doctrine.
Invisible God plus invisible assets plus invisible power equals invisible heroes.
An invisible hero is a mature believer who has advanced to occupation with TLJC has impact on history in four ways.
Personal impact is blessing by association to those in the periphery of a mature believer. The believer's loved ones, friends, relatives, associates are blessed by God because of the mature believer.
National impact is the blessing of the Gentile client nation that is based on the number of mature believers in the pivot in that nation. As goes the believer, so goes the client nation to God.
International impact is blessing by association to other nations based on the missionary activity of evangelists from the client nation to God.
The missionary who advances to spiritual maturity through the execution of the protocol plan of God is the basis for blessing to two nations. The client nation from which he comes, and the foreign country to which he goes are both blessed by God.
Angelic impact results when the mature believer passes evidence testing and becomes a witness for the Prosecution in the rebuttal phase of Satan's appeal trial which is also coterminous with the Church Age.
Heritage impact is blessing by association with the mature believer or invisible hero after his or her physical death. The invisible hero leaves behind blessing by association to loved ones, close friends, associates.
This is the greatest blessing that one can pass on to their children after their death and is also often why the wicked prosper. Heritage impact can extend for several generations.
Invisible heroes can change the course of human history in any generation of the Church Age, functioning under the principle of the "salt of the earth.". Matt 5:13;
All precedence for the Church Age is taken from the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union. The extension of the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union into the Church Age has resulted in establishing the unique precedence of all time.