Someone emailed and asked:
Are there degrees of the Holy Spirit in God’s people? Do all of God’s people get in the Kingdom of Heaven or just those who are persecuted for righteousness and the poor in spirit and those who are pure in heart? What constitutes a pure in heart? When God destroys His people for being unfaithful does that mean He throws their soul to Fiery Pit Everlasting or does He put them in a lesser part of the Kingdom. We know that God ordains His elect so all of His children to whom He doesn’t give that Spirit to are they condemned in Hell? In your books I cannot clarify this. I hope you can for many of our people are being destroyed for lack of knowledge or even wanting it. I ask questions for if I am equipping myself with God’s armor I need to have an answer for those who ask and right now I am not sure.
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My reply/comment:
God dispenses to each a different measure of faith. A grain of mustard seed-sized faith is still faith; even as spiritual gifts are not dispensed equally.
“But unto every one of us is given Grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:7)
“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of Faith.” (Romans 12:3)
The Measure of Grace and Faith dispensed by God is indeed fully sufficient to believe unto salvation—the Foundation of the Spiritual House; however, the Measure of Grace and Faith upon which the structure is built upon that foundation, is different and determined by God and differs from individual to individual, even as Scripture says that the stars themselves differ in magnitude (I Corinthians 15:41). But, the Holy Spirit Himself is dispensed in fulness—not His ultimate Fulness, but the fulness that God determined man to be able to contain.
“For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.” (John 3:34)
All those who are actually converted, regardless of their measure of Faith and Grace are redeemed and will enter the Kingdom. What makes you think otherwise? There indeed is a dichotomy, but not one that should be so confusing that people can’t comprehend simple Bible truth. The Law of Contradiction says that no two things can be true at the same time in the same way. Since God says believers who violate the Law of God and teach others to do the same shall be least in the Kingdom, that clearly is evidence that they will be in the Kingdom. The fact John says those who don’t keep the Law of God don’t even know God and the Truth is not in them and the fact that Christ said that MANY who thought they were Christians, doing “wonderful things” in Christ’s Name shall be rejected and cast into Hell, is not a contradiction. Such “contradictions” exist in peoples minds because their minds are constipated.
If I told one person that I had a hamburger for lunch an I told someone else that I had a hot dog, only a fool would, without deeper investigation, imagine that I lied, rather than realize he was lacking information. I had both, I was hungry, after I ate the hamburger someone gave me an all-beef hotdog. I told one person about the hotdog and the other about the hamburger for any one of numerous reasons. If I say I own a Milwaukee saw and tell someone else I own a Makita, it is not a contradiction. It is beyond the realm of some people’s imagination that I could own two different brand saws?
So it is with some lawbreakers being least in the Kingdom and some lawbreakers being cast into Hell. The difference between the two classes has nothing to do with their not keeping the Law; it has to do with their not truly being converted. Why would some who are truly converted not keep the Law? —they are sinful, ignorant, spiritually retarded, sickly. Someone has to be the least in the Kingdom even as someone had to betray Christ (and when I say, “has / had to”, I mean by God’s Determination, not that God was forced to operate upon any external circumstances that forced themselves on Him). Christians aren’t sinless. They can and do sin even reprehenisbly and there is a sin unto death. Paul talked about delivering certain unto Satan that Satan would influence them to rapid self-destruction and death —though the body be destroyed the soul would be saved on the Day of Christ Jesus.
Thus, only God knows who are converted disobedience children and who are unconverted; and thus we are to work out our salvation in fear and trembling—that is daily examining ourselves whether we be in the faith; that is if we are in the faith our lives, our thoughts our speech our actions should demonstrate obedience and conformity with Christ. Works do not save but are evidence of true conversion. Lazarus’ hopping around and muffled attempts to speak did not bring him back to life—but were evidence that Christ resurrected him to new life.
Whether others are saved or not we cannot know (all of the disciples were shocked that Judas was not truly one of them; but that is the purpose of the tares*); but our lives should be a testimony that we are.
I don’t understand your saying that I don’t clarify this in my books. I explain this over and over. Maybe you have just missed those parts or have not read those books of mine that deal with this topic.
If someone has no desire to learn of God, either they are unconverted, or very sickly or immature and God may or may not heal them or bring them to maturity, or they were spiritually still born--but if they were ever converted they are and always will be saved. However, there are some who were not ordained unto salvation, even many of those who go to church and think they are saved. If they ever heard the truth and what God requires, most would turn their back and walk away, like the rich young ruler... esteeming himself his own god of more importance and not worth submitting to God.
[* When Christ declared at the Last Supper, at Passover (BEFORE communion) that one of them should betray Him, not one of the disciples replied, “It has to be Judas—that dirty rotten scoundrel; I never trusted him; he gives me the creeps”.]
There are numerous different classes persons (all the elect of God’s people) who will enter the Kingdom. You also have to specific WHICH Kingdom to which you are referring: the Millennial or Eternal? Those who are beheaded for Testimony of Christ shall be resurrected for the Millennial Kingdom, and those who are alive and remain shall enter the Millennial Kingdom. Concerning “those who are persecuted for righteousness sake” and “the poor in spirit” “pure in heart” you must read those passages and read what the passage says, not what it does not say. Do such verses say, “ONLY those who are persecuted will enter the Millennial Kingdom”...? Then you cannot build a case of EXCLUSION based upon what a passage DOES NOT say. What constitutes a pure in heart? Obeying God in the spirit and the letter, obeying what He commanded according to the intention as well as the exactness and doing it with the right attitude: to obey and please God.
The same thing applies concerning passages that refer to God destroying certain of His people. Does the verse say that He cast them into Hell? Then of course that is what it means. If it does NOT say that, and if not enough information is known to determine what they are guilty of and what God declared the fate of such people to be, then of course we do not have enough information to know one way or the other. Is this not common sense? Is this not how you would attempt to understand any other area of life? You can only make a determination based upon sufficient evidence. Why do you think the Bible is any different? The Bible is Truth and the Truth is logical, not irrational. If someone is ordained unto destruction then he does things that will deserve destruction, even as moths are drawn to the flames. God would not put in a lesser part of the Kingdom someone ordained unto destruction and God would not condemn unto destruction one of His children whom He loves. Why is this confusing? If ever you are confused, focus on what you DO know. Then draw logical inferences and conclusions based upon what Scripture does say, knowing that God will not contradict Himself.