The Perfection of Beauty

“Out of Zion, THE PERFECTION OF BEAUTY, God has shone forth” (Psalm 50:2).

Zion means “a conspicuous desert or dry place”; conspicuous means “something that attracts attention by being great or impressive.”  According to James Strong, it is “a monumental or guiding pillar—a sign.”  It is therefore something readily visible or observable, something both openly rebuked by the blazing noon zenith of God at the full brightness of His coming, and something therefore evidentially manifested in the full spectrum of His pure white scrutiny; it attracts “special attention, as by outstanding qualities or eccentricities.”  Zion is God in us, the light of the Lamb being the only light necessary inside our New Jerusalem city.  He beautifies us with His love, and He, the perfection of beauty, beautifies us first in Jerusalem/Judea, places which mean “lion of God or heroic” and “celebrated,” and which correspond to our spirits; secondly in Samaria He beautifies us, a place which means “idolatrous sanctuary or tent” and which corresponds to our souls; lastly He beautifies our bodies outside the camp, even unto the outermost limits of the earth—if we receive His commissioning and give our service to promoting His kingdom wherever we go.

“May our God come and not keep silence; fire devours before Him, and it is very tempestuous around Him” (Psalm 50:3).

When God arises, His enemies scatter!  When God speaks from out of Zion into the rest of our being, it sends shock waves or tremors throughout the whole of our tripartite being.  Consequently, we become emboldened in our spirits (lion-hearted and courageous), we cast away the idols in our soul, and we throw our flesh outside the camp (into outer darkness).  At least that is the way we ought to respond to His still small voice (which is actually and ironically large and loud in portent).  Indeed, fire devours before Him in still small flames of uproarious joy in our spirits and in upwelling waves of conflagration in our idolatrous soul and body.  Until all is purged and refined, it is, indeed, “very tempestuous around Him.”  But as Samuel Rutherford so insightfully put it (paraphrased), “The Rock in us doesn’t ebb and flow, only our sea.”  The Lord is a root out of parched ground and water from a flinty and desert rock, not because He is not within Himself all fruitful and flourishing and verdant and abundantly watered, but because He is all that in us!  Out of the dry and barren desert of His regenerated children He shines and gushes forth abundantly, but out of His remnant bride (the Zion part of the Jerusalem whole), THE PERFECTION OF BEAUTY, He shines out more profusely and gushes out even more steadily and violently than abundantly, to the point and measure that ultimately causes His glory to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

“The angel of God, who had been going in front of the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them.  The pillar of the cloud moved from in front and stood behind them.  So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel.  It was a cloud along with darkness [even by day to the Egyptians], but it gave light by night [to the Israelites]; so one [army] did not come near the other all night” (Exodus 14:19-20 AMP).

The darkening pillar of cloud and the enlightening pillar of fire are one and the same pillar of truth, but what was light to Israel (the new creation spirit) was darkness to Egypt (the soul lifted up and not right in man).   

Charles Finney said,

If one observes the ways of God very closely they will soon learn that God moves with an amazing economy of motion.  In other words God always achieves more than one of His objectives with each of His interventions.  The amazing mercy of God is always accompanied by awakening judgment.  The thorns of judgment always accompany the roses of grace.  In one motion God bares His arm of salvation to believers, and at the same time He strikes those who know Him not.  Throughout Scripture we see this.  When the Israelites were delivered from Egypt through the Red Sea, at the same time they were delivered, the Egyptians were drowned in the water which had provided walls to the Israelites.  When the stone flew from David’s sling, at the same time deliverance was wrought for Israel, a blaspheming foe was felled.  When the temple of Dagon collapsed in Gath, not only was Israel delivered from the Philistines, but a prophet of God was disci­plined and delivered out of his misery and more Philistines were slain than in any event in his prodigious life.  God always acts with an amazing economy of motion.  He accomplishes many objectives in one act.  This is the profound wisdom of God.  The same event can be a blessing or a curse, depending upon where one’s perspective is or interests lie.

Thus God in one mighty swipe rebukes the uplifted soul and affirms the oppressed (by that uplifted soul) spirit in the same person.  Once this process is over, when the spirit ascends to its rightful place, and subjugates the soul and body as it does, a bride begins to ready herself to marry.  The perfection of beauty is the bride prepared to meet her bridegroom.  The glory that arises on her is the Lord resurrected inside her heart/spirit.  Indeed, says the apostle concerning the prophetic word, “You do well to pay [close] attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and light breaks through the gloom and the morning star arises in your hearts” (2 Peter 2:19 AMP).  Because it is only “He who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God] and he who keeps My deeds [doing things that please Me] until the [very] end, to him I will give authority and power over the nations; and he shall shepherd and rule them with a rod of iron, as the earthen pots are broken in pieces, as I also have received authority [and power to rule them] from My Father; and I WILL GIVE HIM THE MORNING STAR [emphasis mine]” (Revelation 2:26-28 AMP).       

The temple which is our body was the tent we sojourned with in the desert.  But the outer-skin tent of the Law schooled us into the inner-substance temple of the gospel of Christ.  God VISITS our iniquities (joined by whoredom to our souls) in order to HABITATE our persons (in holy matrimony, FIRST in our spirits, then in our souls, and finally in our bodies).  He ever moves from VISITATION to HABITATION, from Law to Grace and Truth, from sinner to saint, from slave to son, from called to chosen, and ultimately, most deeply and intimately, from harlot to bride.  As stated, we must overcome to the end of the process to inherit the Morning Star.  Our perfection of beauty is Immanuel (God in us) in matured expression.     

“When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night” (Isaiah 4:4-5 NKJV).  Here is the end of the process, the cloud by day and the fire by night (His manifest presence, His Shekinah glory) in and over the temple of His people, over “every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies,” above the single disciple (as he dwells in his house and moves about among the people) and the corporate disciple (as they come together as Jerusalem [His body], “a city compact together,” no fissure or schism is between any of her lively stones—see Psalm 122:3).  This pillar of God’s presence is that light risen upon us which simultaneously densely darkens those unprepared to meet their Maker.  “‘And the Lord [the Messiah], whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,’ says the Lord of hosts.  But who can endure the day of His coming?  And who can stand when He appears?” (Malachi 3:1-2 AMP).   

Indeed, the time has come to be favorable to Israel (the true Israel of God!).  “Arise [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you—rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!  For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and dense darkness [all] peoples, but the Lord shall arise upon you [O Jerusalem], and His glory shall be seen on you” (Isaiah 60:1-2 AMPC).  “Fear not, for you will not be put to shame; and do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced; but you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.  For your husband is your Maker, whose name is the Lord of hosts; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, who is called the God of all the earth” (Isaiah 54:4-5 NASB).    

The Holy Ghost and fire is the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning; those baptized thusly are those who emerge...without the scent of fire (we are not appointed unto ULTIMATE wrath)...purified and refined, without spot and wrinkle...He beatifies us with His love (makes His bride ready by activating her reciprocal response of love).  And what does His love look like?—that love that beautifies us?  “For love is as strong as death, jealousy as cruel as the grave; its flames are flames of fire, a most vehement [even violent in its intensity] flame” (Song of Solomon 8:6).  “Our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29), not by external fiat, but by inherent nature; for God to come near to and embrace His bride, therefore, she must be utterly constituted like myrrh, not only fireproofed (see my notes on “myrrh” at the end of this writing), but of such substance that she even blooms in the conflagration of His holy and jealously protective flame of pure love.  We, unlike most, must be able to endure the day of His coming!  And those who love His appearing shall!  “‘For the Lord has called you, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,’ says your God.  For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will gather you.  In an outburst of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,’ says the Lord your Redeemer” (Isaiah 54:6-8 NASB).

As George H. Warnock put it, “The ministration of the gospel goes far, far beyond declaring a message, or writing and talking about it.  It involves a people penetrating the world of darkness by coming into association with the powers of the heavenly realm, and becoming acquainted and KNOWN [a holy matrimony intimacy term] of God in the citadel of Zion.  Only then are we able to loosen the shackles from the hearts and minds of men.”  Only the bride of Christ walking in holiness and pure white glory is bright enough to penetrate “deep darkness.”  Only Zion is bright enough in this hour (the night HAS come when no man can work).  Only the pinnacle (the choice elevation) of Jerusalem, the remnant (those few who comprise the Bride of Christ) of His people are qualified to represent Him in this night.  Only those who “press on to know the Lord” from “the spirit of harlotry” (see Hosea 6:3 and 5:4) up and onward to the faithful and holy oneness of matrimony are worthy to share (emanate) His glory in the deep and midnight darkness of the dawning Day of the Lord.

“For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning.  The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; and you will be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will designate.  You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.  It will no longer be said to you, ‘Forsaken,’ nor to your land will it any longer be said, ‘Desolate’; but you will be called, ‘My delight is in her,’ and your land, ‘MARRIED’ [emphasis mine]; for the Lord delights in you, and to Him your land will be married.  For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:1-5 NASB). 

Some notes on “myrrh” as it pertains especially to this message:

Myrrh symbolically represents tears of repentance and has a very unique quality when burned by fire.  It also has significance in relationship to The Day of the Lord.   The formation of myrrh is produced by a process of internal attrition—a hollowing out—like as the displacement of self on the throne of our lives allows Christ to enlarge within us until He genuinely reigns.  Myrrh is our personal residue; the cremated ashes of what remains of self life.  The phoenix that is to arise from these ashes lies at the base of our heart.  We have endured the Dark Night of the Soul, the fiery furnace of affliction, and we are now one with our consuming fire of a God; we have so taken on the nature of our Lord that we even expand and bloom in the conflagration (myrrh comes in tears or drops of resin which respond differently than other resins to fire; whereas other resins melt or liquefy when heated up, myrrh actually expands and blooms).  Our tender Lord treasures our tears, but only wise men present them in the proper form of myrrh.  Myrrh is not symbolic of tears alone, but symbolic of what they produce: “godly sorrow...not to be repented of” (2 Corinthians 7:10).  Myrrh, like genuine sorrow, forms within the heart of trees; likewise, we as trees of righteousness must be genuinely sorry from the heart if we are to produce a final judgment that is fireproof—a repentance not to be repented of!  Tears and sorrow do more than purify—they kill; if we will allow ourselves to be forever drowned by the flood (where God sits as King forever) we will forever remain baptized—forever placed into His death—and thus forever fireproofed.

It is additionally noteworthy that Esther (at that time a queen in training) was dipped in oil of myrrh regularly over a six month period of time in preparation to stand before the scrutiny of a worldly king (how much more should we prepare to be examined by the King of kings?).  A regimen of “Six months with oil of myrrh and six months with sweet spices and perfumes and the things for the purifying of the women” (Esther 2:12 AMPC) did Esther and all the queen candidates undergo.  Just as God is nowhere to be found (mentioned) in the book of Esther, and so He seems absent now to many at the advent of His second coming, so we, like Esther need say, “If I die, I die!” but I will prepare and go into the King’s presence.  But without preparation?  The scrutiny of God is witheringly perfect, and anything in us unprepared to face it will burn to ashes.  Let us not neglect to thoroughly prepare ourselves to meet the bridegroom; let us regularly baptize ourselves in oil of myrrh.  “Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are those who mourn [over their sins and repent], for they will be comforted [when the burden of sin is lifted]” (Matthew 5:4 AMP).  

Balancing the Confession Message

Recently I had a brother ask my opinion concerning what he deemed “a popular” but perhaps “dangerous and false doctrine,” the idea and teaching about “calling things into existence, decreeing and declaring.”  Another brother, in a similar vein, called this doctrine “THE CONFESSION MESSAGE.”  I responded as follows,

This doctrine you speak of, like many false doctrines (if indeed it is one...we shall see as we go along), is grounded in much truth (else it would get no traction).  We know that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, therefore we also know that false doctrines promoted by devils within the church are likewise disguised as revelation and enlightenment.  Satan twists the word of God, bending it to man.  This bent in the wrong direction (toward man) is the core problem.

Only someone “in the Spirit”—someone outside the scope of themselves as the ruling principle—is qualified to decree and declare anything in a doctrinally correct way.  The power of life and death that is in the tongue calls things into existence only insofar as God sanctions it.  Of course, a foul, abusive and dead making tongue creates a dark and oppressive atmosphere (sort of like that dirt cloud that always hung over and in the midst of the “Peanuts” character “Pig-pen”).  But always, we need to remember, “Once God has spoken; twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God” (Psalm 62:11).

Jesus declared that He only spoke and did what His Father spoke and did; likewise, we are merely ambassadors of another country, ONLY declaring and doing what has been delegated to us.  Our authority is therefore delegated authority, not autonomous authority.  Some who call things into existence and who also declare and decree, do so from this legitimate legal premise of delegated authority (and then only on a partial basis, being only able to speak into a limited sphere of influence); unfortunately, an imbalanced teaching concerning this matter has proliferated a deception about what kind of authority we have (too many are ungoverned except by their own vain imaginations and false arguments).  Only those governed by the Holy Spirit, those ruled by Him in their spirits, are qualified to judge spiritual matters.  All the judges in the book of Judges, and even Jesus Christ Himself (when He rode into Jerusalem), rode donkeys; I believe this picture of man riding upon a donkey is pictorially symbolical of spiritual authority.  The donkey (representing flesh) ridden by man is the picture of man controlling his flesh; this man is a spiritual man and therefore empowered.  He “judges all things” (see 1 Corinthians 2:15).  Only in spiritual maturity is there proper and sound delegated authority—and only to the carnal eye—what looks like “autonomous authority.”

There is also an extreme and obviously fleshly version of “calling things into existence, decreeing and declaring.”  To the extent of how it is sometimes preached and taught flies in the face of the injunction that “ye are gods but will die like men.”  Or, to put it another way, “You are gods [SINCE YOU JUDGE ON MY BEHALF, AS MY REPRESENTATIVES]; indeed, all of you are children of the Most High.  But you shall die as men and fall as one of the princes” (Psalm 82:6-7).  Jesus Christ quoted this verse (John 10:34) speaking to the Jews that were ready to stone Him for blasphemy, and no doubt, when we ONLY do what the Father does and says (“It is enough for the disciple that he becomes like his teacher, and the slave like his master”—Matthew 10:25), we too appear as God to the people and incite their anger as a result.  They suppose this high standard is unobtainable and therefore blasphemous only because they cannot come up to it.  They are offended by mere men walking like Christ upon the earth (even though every Christian is commanded to do so); “The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6).  Now if the apostle can ask this question, “For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” (1 Corinthians 3:3), then we can infer from his question that the normal Christian walk is beyond the pale of carnality and higher than mortal accomplishment and conversation.  Thus, we cannot avoid the seemingly impossible mandate to “be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). 

         

Gary Burge, in the NIV Application Commentary regarding Psalm 82:6 and John 10:34, said this,

“Now, let’s look at how Jesus uses this passage. Jesus had just claimed to be the Son of God (John 10:25-30).  The unbelieving Jews respond by charging Jesus with blasphemy, since He claimed to be God (verse 33). Jesus then quotes Psalm 82:6, reminding the Jews that the Law refers to mere men—albeit men of authority and prestige—as “gods.” Jesus’ point is this: you charge me with blasphemy based on my use of the title “Son of God”; yet your own Scriptures apply the same term to magistrates in general. If those who hold a divinely appointed office can be considered “gods,” how much more can the One whom God has chosen and sent (verses 34-36)?

“IN CONTRAST [emphasis mine], we have the serpent’s lie to Eve in the Garden. His statement, “your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5), was a half-truth. Their eyes were opened (verse 7), but they did not become like God. In fact, they lost authority, rather than gaining it. Satan deceived Eve about her ability to become like the one true God, and so led her into a lie. Jesus defended His claim to be the Son of God on biblical and semantic grounds—there is a sense in which influential men can be thought of as gods; therefore, the Messiah can rightly apply the term to Himself. Human beings are not “gods” or “little gods.” We are not God. God is God, and we who know Christ are His children.”

Some more thoughts:

I’ve heard many proponents of this doctrine use Job 22:28 as the basis for the legitimacy of their position, however, look at the context.  It was Eliphaz the Temanite, who was soundly rebuked by God for NOT SPEAKING “what is right,” who said these words (remember...these words are already determined not to be right), “You will also DECLARE A THING [emphasis mine], and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways” (Job 22:28 NKJV).  Here is God’s scathing rebuke to Eliphaz and his fellow “miserable comforters”: “The Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, ‘My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.  Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has” (Job 42:7 NKJV).  To “declare a thing,” at least in this context, is therefore wrong.

 

But let’s delve a little deeper.  A minister friend of mine who I believe is honest and knowledgeable, ironically (just this day—the date of this writing—1/28/2016), said this on FB, “‘Lord, help me to stay balanced.’  Mark 11:23 tells me that I can have what I say if I believe in my heart.  But the Bible also says: ‘Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?’ (Lam. 3:37).  So, faith is not a formula. THE ‘CONFESSION MESSAGE’ IS TRUE WHEN BALANCED WITH OTHER SCRIPTURE [emphasis mine].  I must know His Word, and have fellowship with His Spirit. When I say what agrees with His Word, and I’m in communion with Him to know His will for my life, then I can have what I say. ‘Lord, help me to stay balanced’”—Tony McCanless.

Obviously, any true Christian in ministry has a great responsibility before God and man to represent Christ honestly and fully.  Our whole life is to speak—declaring and decreeing the Word of the Lord—in everything we do; we are epistles of Christ, read and known by all men!  We are the personification of His flesh and blood, His words digested and assimilated into our DNA.  We are regularly partaking of the divine nature.  We are made into His image.  We are His children.  We are not, however, sovereign like God, but what is “free will” in us?  I would suggest that it is sovereignty in limitation.  If we are made in His image, and the image of Christ perfectly reflects the Father, than the aspect of His nature called sovereignty must have a reflection in us.  We are autonomous within a scope, sovereign within a limit.  We cannot in the purest sense “speak things into existence,” however, whenever we “forward” His words spoken to us to others, we join our free will offering to His sovereign decree (we agree with Him!) and therefore we speak as it were the oracles of God.  We are as God to the people!  A prophet is God’s mouthpiece, and in office and function a prophet lawfully speaks forward/forth God’s creative word.  He also decrees and declares the mind of God.  Also, since “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10), anyone who testifies of Jesus is—at least in some measure—“speaking things into existence, decreeing and declaring.”

Another thought:

   

Does God share His glory?  He declares unequivocally that He will share His glory with no man (Isaiah 42:8).  Then Simeon, holding the baby Jesus, said that Christ Jesus would be “A Light for revelation to the Gentiles [to disclose what was before unknown] and [to bring] praise and honor and GLORY TO YOUR PEOPLE ISRAEL [emphasis mine]” (Luke 2:32 AMPC).  Of course, not all Israel is TRUE Israel.  For neither is circumcision [now] of any importance, nor uncircumcision, but [only] a new creation [the result of a new birth and a new nature in Christ Jesus, the Messiah].  Peace and mercy be upon all who walk by this rule [who discipline themselves and regulate their lives by this principle], even upon THE [TRUE] ISRAEL OF GOD!” (Galatians 6:15-16).  Now I said all that to come to this.  The only way God “shares” His glory is through marriage/oneness; thus if we are married to God we are no longer two but one (spirit/Spirit).  When we realize that “man is the image and glory of God,” and “woman...the glory of man” (1 Corinthians 11:7), we see that the bride of Christ is Jesus’ glory extended (emanating) in and through her.  God does not share His glory!  He simply emanates His glory through His bride attached to Him in holy matrimony.  All of this speaks to the question about the audacity of some making themselves as God before others, having the brashness to declare and decree and speak things into existence as if they are God.  Only those FAITHFUL to Christ, married to Him, one in thought, intent, and sentiment, speak for Him; and whether it is her (His bride/the church) or Christ who speaks, is hardly distinguishable (when this perfect alignment and full maturity is reached).

In the final analysis, I think perhaps our confusion over this matter is superficial.  There are no doubt those who speak in His name unlawfully, those who do so unattached to His Person, and are therefore speaking presumptuously.  This is what causes confusion (especially to those that are young in Christ)—those speaking from themselves (seeking their own glory) instead of His glory.  Most are simply immature (and regrettably, taught inadequately) and would do well to sit down and be quiet until the Teacher promotes them.  Others, however, are more egregiously misguided, like the sons of Sceva as an example, attempting to exercise power and authority without marriage and intimacy.
 

These last days are marked by deception, and I have often said to others that we will see two people doing exactly the same thing, one will be wrong and the other right.  The only way to know the difference is by spiritual discernment.  I believe the lying signs and wonders is not inherent in the actual signs and wonders themselves per se, but in the off-centeredness of their promulgators.  A liar is not a liar merely because he gets the facts wrong (anyone can and does that sometimes), but a liar is a liar because he is dispositionally off-center.  “The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29), but character is not.  Thus to sum it all up, to decree, declare, promulgate, preach, teach, and call things into existence through the power of the tongue, are only true when that tongue originates from God (and the promulgator attached to God in faithful marriage bond).

Above is the extent of my words concerning this matter, but not one day later, in the normal course of my reading, I came across an extraordinary confirmation.  Note: I am in the practice of reading many books simultaneously, and sometimes I leave off reading a particular book for many months until I return to it.  This is exactly what happened in regards to Phil Mason’s book Quantum Glory: The Science of Heaven Invading Earth.  I had read about one-third of Mason’s book several months ago; then yesterday, I began to read it again where I’d left off.  Here is that portion I read (pages 132-134, XP Publishing, 2010):

You Are Not God!

There is something unique about the observational capabilities of the Divine Observer.  God is more than an Observer of the entire universe; He is the Creator of the universe.  The invisible elements of the universe respond uniquely to His creative voice so that when He observes and when He speaks, the creation literally stands up and is transformed into an entirely new form or position.  God has allowed scientists to discover the “observer effect” and to discover the role that consciousness exercises upon the quantum world, but we must not blur the line between creature and Creator.

As conscious beings our human consciousness has the capacity to interfere with the quantum world, but this is nothing more than an extremely finite reflection of the infinite power of God’s consciousness to create and maintain entirely new realities.  Human beings are “creative” in a secondary sense.  We are endowed with creative and imaginative abilities to manipulate and shape the world around us because we are made in the image and likeness of God.  But God has not endowed human beings with ultimate creative power to speak things into existence in the way that only God can.

This is where the discovery of the so-called “observer effect” is carried beyond the pale of reality by New Age metaphysical speculators.  The observer effect is invoked to assert we humans have the God-like capacity to create our own reality.  But this blurs the biblical line of demarcation between creature and Creator.  New Age metaphysics asserts that you are God and that you are thus endowed with unlimited creative ability to create your own reality.  Eager recipients of this inflated self-perception expend great emotional and mental energy seeking to merely create just one single day of harmony and bliss, only to discover that they are not God and they are not endowed with unlimited creative powers.

 

At the end of the day they discover that they are still mere mortals and that they are not God.  If humanity were God there would not be so many disillusioned New Agers who are forced to face the reality that they are finite beings.  Beyond all the hype of New Age speculation concerning the God-like status of humans, we are all faced with the limitations of humanity.  This is what the Lord says about Himself: “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.” (Isaiah 46:9)

Even though we humans are made in the image and likeness of God, we are nevertheless not God.  We are not the “ultimate observer.”  We are the observed!  We are not endowed with unlimited power.  We are conscious beings and our consciousness interacts with the world around us, even at a quantum level, but we are not endowed with ultimate creative abilities to create entirely new realities out of nothing in the way that the Creator of the heavens and earth can.

 

To assert that “you are God” as the New Age community wishfully asserts, is to send people forth on a journey that is doomed to end in frustration and despair.  If you still cannot create your own day, let alone create your entire life, you can always tell yourself that you have not fully mastered the secret and you can always try a little harder.  But we will always be humbled at the end of the day by our mortality and the limitations of our humanity.

We are dependent beings who need that gift of spiritual grace and power that only comes through the acknowledgement of our absolute dependency upon God to be the strength of our life.  “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV) God’s power is revealed in the context of the acknowledgement of our weakness. 

What we believe determines what we practice.  Right now at this period in Western history there are tens of millions of people buying into a theology that is being peddled to them that boldly declares that “you are God” and that you have the unlimited power to create reality.  And, they are told, the discoveries of quantum physics prove that you create your own reality.  As human beings we intuitively realise that we were destined for greatness, but this greatness can only be realised through the path of humility and dependency on God, not through puffing ourselves up with over-inflated half truths that capitalise upon people’s intuitive sense of the greatness of their destiny.

New Age practitioners are notorious for borrowing concepts that are true for those who are “in Christ” but are fundamentally false for those who are still “in Adam.”  The Bible reveals that for those who believe in God (as He is revealed in the Bible) “all things are possible for those who believe.”  (Mark 9:23) But the key is to put our faith in God, not in our own abilities and limited resources.

Phil Mason would go on to “delve a little deeper into the creative power of the Word of God that the true believers are given the unique privilege of participating in,” but in the final analysis thus far articulated, I wholeheartedly agree with Mason that we are not God and are therefore unable to operate as He alone operates.  In the end, this insidious doctrine tends toward pride, not humility.  Therefore let us never forget to tremble at His word, even when it is expressed from our own lips and the lips of other mere men.  It is clear that we are murky!  We are acutely obtuse!  “For we know in part and we prophesy in part”; also, “Now we see through a glass, darkly” (1 Corinthians 13:9, 12).  Ultimately, “Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know” (1 Corinthians 8:2).  Let us humble ourselves to the point where Moses did—“Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3)—and then, from that exalted position (on our face before the throne of glory), our eyes will open and we will behold Him as He is!  And assuredly, words spoken from this dichotomously lowly and yet high vantage point get filled with the Presence of God.