The Judas Chronicle Suffering in Silence
Religious Vs. Relationship
Religion is not a bad thing when we adhere to the word’s literal meaning: to consider divine things. The word “religion” has three meanings in the Word of God: outward religious acts, such as praying and going to church; the feeling of absolute dependence; and the observance of moral law as a divine institution. James 1:26–27 defines “religion” from the Christian point of view: “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
Religion is linked with worship. Religion, when pure, is very powerful. However, religion is also defined as an organized system of doctrine with an approved pattern of behavior. Behavior has to demonstrate a proper form of worship. This is where we move from pure and undefiled religion to ritual. Demons of doctrine rob individuals of their freedom to worship a holy God in purity by instituting rules and regulations for their worship.
I have always been a creative thinker and an expressive worshiper. I have been known throughout the Body of Christ as a modern-day prophet who expresses the heart and mind of God, and I have always had to maneuver past spirits of religion that would resist this gift of God. Demons hate revelation from God. They resist those gifts in the Body that bring revelatory freedom to the members of the Body. They attempt to stone the revelation of apostles and prophets, because this revealed word establishes God’s foundation in the Church for this age. First Corinthians 12:28 sets an order of governmental gifts in the Church for victory in the world. That order is “first apostles, second prophets.” Religious spirits attempt to defy God’s order.
Religious spirits can also just deny change! Our minds and processes of thought aid the Spirit of God to produce change in the earth, but the carnal mind is in enmity with God. Religious spirits attempt to block strategic thinking for the future. They can make individuals get so routinized, or in a rut, that they do not want to shift into today’s methods for victory.
In the New Testament, the Lord’s disciples had to have revelation of who He was, who they were and who their enemy was. The Pharisees had a choice either to deny the divine nature of God’s Son or to align themselves with Him. They had to choose either to keep rules in place that prevented any behavioral change in worship or to begin to worship in Spirit and truth. Most failed in making the choice that could have changed their lives, their families and their society. Therefore, in Matthew 16:18–19 we find Jesus taking the keys of the kingdom of heaven from the scribes and Pharisees and giving them to the future leaders who would defy religion and lead the Church into its future. The same is true today. We must know who Christ is, who we are and who our enemy is, and we must choose to follow the Spirit as He leads us into these days of transformation.
Romans 12:2 reads, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” The word “transform” means to change, transfigure or experience a metamorphosis, such as a caterpillar, which is transformed into a butterfly. The Lord told His people, Israel, that they could change from being worms to being new, sharp instruments with teeth that would thresh the mountains (see Isa. 41:14–16). However, prior to giving this promise of transformation, the Lord says, “Fear not” (v. 14).
Religion is not a bad thing when we adhere to the word’s literal meaning: to consider divine things. The word “religion” has three meanings in the Word of God: outward religious acts, such as praying and going to church; the feeling of absolute dependence; and the observance of moral law as a divine institution. James 1:26–27 defines “religion” from the Christian point of view: “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
Religion is linked with worship. Religion, when pure, is very powerful. However, religion is also defined as an organized system of doctrine with an approved pattern of behavior. Behavior has to demonstrate a proper form of worship. This is where we move from pure and undefiled religion to ritual. Demons of doctrine rob individuals of their freedom to worship a holy God in purity by instituting rules and regulations for their worship.
I have always been a creative thinker and an expressive worshiper. I have been known throughout the Body of Christ as a modern-day prophet who expresses the heart and mind of God, and I have always had to maneuver past spirits of religion that would resist this gift of God. Demons hate revelation from God. They resist those gifts in the Body that bring revelatory freedom to the members of the Body. They attempt to stone the revelation of apostles and prophets, because this revealed word establishes God’s foundation in the Church for this age. First Corinthians 12:28 sets an order of governmental gifts in the Church for victory in the world. That order is “first apostles, second prophets.” Religious spirits attempt to defy God’s order.
Religious spirits can also just deny change! Our minds and processes of thought aid the Spirit of God to produce change in the earth, but the carnal mind is in enmity with God. Religious spirits attempt to block strategic thinking for the future. They can make individuals get so routinized, or in a rut, that they do not want to shift into today’s methods for victory.
In the New Testament, the Lord’s disciples had to have revelation of who He was, who they were and who their enemy was. The Pharisees had a choice either to deny the divine nature of God’s Son or to align themselves with Him. They had to choose either to keep rules in place that prevented any behavioral change in worship or to begin to worship in Spirit and truth. Most failed in making the choice that could have changed their lives, their families and their society. Therefore, in Matthew 16:18–19 we find Jesus taking the keys of the kingdom of heaven from the scribes and Pharisees and giving them to the future leaders who would defy religion and lead the Church into its future. The same is true today. We must know who Christ is, who we are and who our enemy is, and we must choose to follow the Spirit as He leads us into these days of transformation.
Romans 12:2 reads, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” The word “transform” means to change, transfigure or experience a metamorphosis, such as a caterpillar, which is transformed into a butterfly. The Lord told His people, Israel, that they could change from being worms to being new, sharp instruments with teeth that would thresh the mountains (see Isa. 41:14–16). However, prior to giving this promise of transformation, the Lord says, “Fear not” (v. 14).
In compiling Freedom from the Religious Spirit, Peter Wagner has gathered a wonderful team of contributors around him. The truths contained in this book unlock revelation for today and release keys. I want to encourage you, as you read this book, “Fear not.” Fear not change! Fear not embracing the paradigms that need to be expressed today to bring change. Fear not confrontation. Fear not the next great move of the Spirit of God. Fear not letting go of worship methods in the Church that have caused us to become comfortable. Defy the spirits of religion around you and move with boldness into your future!
The final portion of Jesus’ prayer (vv. 20–26) was for future believers who would come to Him through the message of the apostles. In the Church Age all Christians have come to Christ directly or indirectly through the apostles’ witness. Jesus knew His mission would succeed. He would die and be raised, He would send forth the Spirit, the apostles would preach, people would be converted, and the church would be formed. As each high priest of Israel bore the names of the tribes before the presence of God in the tabernacle and the temple (cf. Ex. 28:9–12, 21–29), so now Jesus, the great High Priest, carried future believers into the holy presence of His heavenly Father (cf. Heb. 4:14–5:12; 7:24–8:2).
17:21. Jesus requested unity for future believers (cf. vv. 11, 22). This verse is a favorite of promoters of the present ecumenical movement. Admittedly the divided church is in many ways a scandal. The cure, however, is not institutional union. Jesus was not praying for the unity of a single, worldwide, ecumenical church in which doctrinal heresy would be maintained along with orthodoxy. Instead, He was praying for a unity of love, a unity of obedience to God and His Word, and a united commitment to His will. There are great differences between uniformity, union, and unity.
All believers belong to the one body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13) and their spiritual unity is to be manifest in the way they live. The unity Christ desires for His church is the same kind of unity the Son has with the Father: just as You are in Me and I am in You (cf. John 10:38; 17:11, 23). The Father did His works through the Son and the Son always did what pleased the Father (5:30; 8:29). This spiritual unity is to be patterned in the church. Without union with Jesus and the Father (they … in Us), Christians can do nothing (15:5). The goal of their lives is to do the Father’s will.
The disciples’ union with Jesus as His body will result in people in the world believing in the Father: that You have sent Me (cf. 17:23).
17:22–23. The glory which Christ gave the church may refer to the glory of the Cross (cf. vv. 1–5). As the church received and pondered the significance of Jesus’ atoning work, it would be united in God’s purposes and redemptive plan. Again the union of Christians (that they may be one) is likened to the unity the Son has with the Father (as We are One; cf. vv. 11, 21). This union is further linked by Christ’s indwelling of believers (I in them).
The goal of the unity of believers with each other and with God is twofold: (a) that the world will believe in the Son’s divine mission (know that You sent Me), and (b) that the world will sense that God’s love for believers is deep, intimate, and lasting as is His love for His unique Son (cf. v. 26).
17:24. The communion and fellowship which disciples have with Jesus in this life will increase in eternity. The goal of a believer’s salvation is future glorification which includes being with Jesus (cf. 14:3; Col. 3:4; 1 Thes. 4:17). Jesus’ last testament and will (I want, thelō) is that His disciples enter into (see) His glory (Heb. 2:10). This glory was what Jesus had from the Father and would again have (John 17:5). His testament was sealed by His death and resurrection. Since His will is identical to the Father’s (4:34; 5:30; 6:38), it will certainly come to pass.
17:25–26. Jesus’ prayer for believers ends with a call to the Righteous Father. The word translated “righteous” here does not occur often in John’s Gospel (cf. 5:30; 7:24). Its significance here seems to be in Jesus’ praise of the Father for His work of revelation (cf. Matt. 11:25–26). The Father is right (righteous) and the world is in the wrong (the world does not know You). Jesus has known, revealed (John 17:6), and glorified (v. 4) the Father, and so should Christians. The essence of God is love (1 John 4:8). Jesus made the Father and His love known to the world by His death. And the Father made known His love for the Son by raising Him to glory. Jesus’ purpose in revealing the Father was that Christians would continue to grow in that love (that the Father’s love for the Son may be in them) and to enjoy the personal presence of Jesus in their lives (that I Myself may be in them).
Jesus’ petitions for believers are four: preservation (John 17:11), sanctification (v. 17), unity (vv. 11, 21–22), and participation in Jesus’ glory (v. 24). This prayer is sure to be answered (cf. 11:42; 1 John 5:14).