SUPERNATURAL MATHEMATICS
Part 3
February 26, 2021
It may appear that I
go overboard with this but I can't help it.
I get started with this stuff and can't stop. I love the parallels in Scripture. Math and mathematical principles abound in
the Word of God. God is very precise in
everything that He does, and we govern our lives according to that precision.
Math
was always one of my favorite subjects in school. From the time I was in grade school, junior
high, high school/college (you remember that I never attended a regular high
school – I went straight from 8th grade into classes with the
University of Nebraska), math was one of my easiest and most fun subjects. It just came easy. Guess it's one of those gifts the Lord gave
me from my youth up. Remembering
mathematical formulas was always a piece of cake. Just kind of goes along with engineering,
too, if you know what I mean – hence my near-lifelong involvement in
broadcasting engineering and electronics.
Anyway,
one of the things they teach you in math is that the laws of physics dictate
reciprocals. A reciprocal is always the
exact, polar opposite of whatever number or numerical equation. Kind of goes like this: the reciprocal of 2/3
is 3/2. The reciprocal of 27/32 is
32/27. The reciprocal of ½ is 2/1 – and
so forth.
An
example of a reciprocal formula goes like this:
The
reciprocal of north is south. The
reciprocal of east is west – and vice-versa.
If you have a positive or a plus, the reciprocal is a negative, or a
minus. That’s a bit over-generalizing,
but you get the idea.
Reciprocals,
however, are not just laws of mathematics.
They are not simply laws of physics.
Reciprocals
are laws of nature.
Reciprocals
are also laws of the spirit. Let me
illustrate.
In
his epistle to the Ekklesias in Rome, Paul writes, “There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath
made me free from the law of sin and death.”
(Romans 8:1-2)
See
the reciprocal? The positive is “the
law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.”
The
negative, or reciprocal, is “the law of sin and death.” We can come back to this in a minute, but
let’s look at some others.
In
John’s first general epistle to the body of Christ (I John 4:18), he writes,
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath
torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”
There’s
a perfect example of spiritual reciprocals: love and fear. We usually think of love and hate as being
reciprocals, or opposites, but the truth is that hate comes out of fear. Hatred is a byproduct of fear. The true reciprocal to love is actually fear.
There’s
another aspect to this picture of love and fear also.
The
apostle Paul amplifies this while talking about another spiritual reciprocal:
circumcision and uncircumcision. In
Galatians 5:6 we read, “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availethany thing, nor
uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”
I
have frequently referred to faith and fear as working in the same realm – as
being opposites of the same thing; and here’s where it comes from. Faith and love are inseparable. They work together. Faith works by love; and love works by and
through faith. Think about it for a second.
Take
away love and faith is non-existent.
Without love, there is no motivator, no force and means by which faith
can function. It is our love of the Lord
by which faith functions.
Applying
that rule to the faith/fear picture, we look once again at what John wrote, and
this time, let me give you my translation from the Greek: “There
is no fear or terror in love, but perfected, completed and mature love casts
out fear or terror; because fear with alarm and terror inflicts punishment and
torment. He who is tormented and
afflicted with fright and alarm cannot be made whole and complete in love.”
Now,
let’s go back to the two primary laws of the Spirit. The first law, as we’ve already said, is “There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit.
Simply
stated, that law is described as the Law
of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.
It is absolute, and it is unequivocal.
One cannot enjoy a condemnation-free life unless they walk after the
Spirit.
The
reciprocal and polar opposite law is described by the apostle Paul as the Law of Sin and Death. This law was implemented when Adam and Eve
ate of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Law of Sin and Death was the natural
consequence.
Because
this law is final in its effects and consequences, and the human race as a
whole has been infected by the knowledge virus which brings sin and death,
there is no deliverance in the natural realm from the consequences of this
law. The tragedy is that this law need
not ever have been put into force.
Had
Adam and Eve never eaten of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, their
seed would never have inherited the sinful arrogance and pride that comes from
eating of the knowledge of good; and their children would never have known the
contrast of evil with good, they would never have been infected by the Fear of
Evil, and there would never have been a reciprocal in operation for the Law of
the Spirit of Life.
The
parallel to the Law of the Spirit of Life is the Law of Love. Jesus made the following command to
believers, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have
loved you.” We’ll
come back to this law momentarily.
Based
on this commandment, the apostle Paul expands on the differences between the
Law of the Spirit of Life, and the Law of Sin and Death.
First
of all, he says (Galatians 5:17), “For the flesh lusteth
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary
the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not
under the law.”
In
so saying, he makes clear the fact that one cannot serve the desires of the
flesh, walk after the Law of Sin and Death, and still walk after the Law of the
Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.
He
continues, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness,
revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do
such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Then
he illustrates the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus by saying, “But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they
that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we
live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
Notice
that the very first item that comes from walking after the Law of the Spirit of
Life is love. Once again, it is clear that the parallel to
this primary law is love.
I
won’t take the time today to rehearse the 13th chapter of I
Corinthians (known as the “love chapter”) but the evidence of the Law of Love
working in you IS the fruit of the
Spirit, among which also we find faith. If the first evidence of our walk after
the Spirit of Life is love, it follows that faith must also be
operational. This brings us back to one
of our first pictures of a spiritual reciprocal: faith and fear.
Faith
and fear are polar opposites. One cannot
have faith and be afraid of anything. It
is simply incompatible. Faith comes by
hearing the Word of God. Once you’ve
heard that Word and it is lodged in your mind, your heart and your spirit, it
becomes evidentiary. Once you have
faith, you begin to talk faith. It comes
out of our mouth as a creative force.
You expect God’s Word to be fulfilled.
After all, He has NEVER said anything He didn’t fulfill or
accomplish. And you act on that Word
with that expectation.
Fear
is faith in reverse. With fear, you
believe that something evil is going to happen.
Once you believe it, you speak it.
Once you speak it, you begin to take action to prevent or deal with the
expected impending evil, despite the fact that fear is only imaginary
evil. What’s worse, the voice of fear in
your spirit is lying to you and speaking something that is directly contradictory
to the Word of God.
Let
me illustrate.
In
Psalm 91, David wrote, “Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow thatflieth by day; nor for the
pestilence that walketh in
darkness; nor for the
destruction thatwasteth at
noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy
side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the
wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD,
which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy
dwelling. For he shall give his angels
charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”
How
much clearer do you want things? “There shall NO evil befall thee, neither
shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.”
It
is unequivocal and uncompromising. There
are no “ifs,” “buts” or “maybes.” David
describes the condition under which this Truth is operational when he says, “He
that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow
of the Almighty.”
Then
he writes, “Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the
most High, thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee…..”
Finally,
he says, “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver
him.”
Here’s
the best one of all: “With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.”
So
much for insurance policies! Insurance
policies are all taken out in fear of what might happen. If we live our lives on the basis of what the
Lord says will happen, there can be no “what if,” or “suppose.” The Word of God is clear, unambiguous and
unequivocal.
Faith
says that God never lies. Faith says
that God’s Word is Truth. Faith says,
“If God says it, I believe it; and that settles it!” Faith takes positive action and steps to
follow after the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.
Fear,
on the other hand, says, “Hath God said?”
Fear takes portions of Scripture out of context and twists them so as to
cause doubt and unbelief. Suppose Jesus
had listened to Satan quoting the 91st Psalm when he tempted Jesus
to jump off the pinnacle of the Temple because “He shall give his
angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest
at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone”?
It would have been to dare God’s Word.
It would have amounted to nothing less than an expression of doubt and
unbelief that God’s Word was true.
I
don’t want to go there today because it’s another long discussion, but one of
my pet gripes against some would-be Christians is the great lengths to which
they go to prepare for the “Great Tribulation.”
I refer to them as “would-be” because they live their lives in fear of
doom and gloom instead of living their lives in absolute faith and trust in the
Word of God. They live their lives
looking for the end rather than a continuing life enveloped in Christ Jesus.
I
don't want to beat people up who've been stuck with a "Tribulation"
mentality. They just haven't received
the revelation that Heaven is NOT our objective. Heaven isn't even our final dwelling
place. Heaven is only a stopover for
Eternity. JESUS is our objective! He MUST be our only objective!
As
John closes out the book of Revelation, he says, “But the fearful, and
unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and
sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake
which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
In
so saying, he places the fearful and unbelieving in the same category as
murderers and whoremongers (the sexually promiscuous). John makes it clear that those who live their
lives in fear cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.
Faith
and Fear. Love and Fear. Believing and Unbelieving. Circumcision and Uncircumcision. (That’s a metaphoric way of describing those
who either live by the Law [of Moses], or those who live by the Law of Faith in
Christ Jesus.) The Law of the Spirit of
Life in Christ Jesus vs. the Law of Sin and Death.
These
are spiritual laws. They are spiritual
reciprocals. What are you choosing?
I've quoted him before and I'll quote him again --
my lifetime friend and brother in the Lord, Dwain McKenzie, "Things are
not what they seem to be, they’re what God says they are!"
In case you are missing out on real fellowship in an environment
of Ekklesia, ourSunday worship gatherings are available by conference call –
usually at about 10:30AM Pacific. That
conference number is (712) 770-4160, and the access code is 308640#. We are now making these gatherings
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not yet, anyway.
Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Temple, Texas 76502
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