Record: Pattern made living by God to bring increase.
· Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Record: We can also understand this by thinking of a seed. Seeds bear the image of that which springs forth from them when they are joined to the powers of heat, light, and moisture. Witness: It is the power that gives life to the record. The seed will not grow in a bag. The seed must be joined to the power to be brought to fruition.
Record: Ordered knowledge and sanctified tokens provided by God for the expression of faith in Him.
Witness: The power provided by God in confirmation of His record.
Record: Pattern or blueprint of God’s design for faith which is made living by His Spirit (witness).
· Hebrews 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
· Exodus 40:34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
· 1 Chronicles 28:19 All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.
· Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of all that he had by the spirit. (1 Chronicles 28:11-12)
· 2 Chronicles 7:1 Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house.
· Mark 9:7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
God makes His record for faith known by revelation through stewardship. When faith follows this divine pattern, faith is made living and carried to completion by the Spirit.
· Acts 1:2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
· 1 Peter 1:23-25
23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
The Word: Record, pattern, seed. Christ is the Word of God.
· Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
The scriptures are not the Word. The scriptures testify of His Word.
Precept: Selecting scriptures to give witness to a record of one’s own selection or design.
Precept: Living by precept causes one to be out of step with the movement of the Spirit of God. Scriptures are selected and used to resist the move of the Spirit.
· John 4:20-24
20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
· John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
While God approved Abraham’s worship in high places, this activity was restricted by the revelation given to Moses which took faith from the high places into the tabernacle. That which had been met with God’s approval was no longer accepted by Him. God had provided knowledge and tokens for Abraham to exercise his faith but now new knowledge and new tokens were being provided by God for faith through the stewardship of Moses. All those of faith were expected to follow this move of the Spirit. As with this woman Jesus was speaking to, many resisted the move of the Spirit and selected their own record for faith.
We see this also when God took faith from the tabernacle to the temple by the revelation God gave to His servant David which again took faith into a new direction with new knowledge and new tokens for faith. Many resisted this move of the Spirit and selected scriptures written by Moses to resist the revelation given to David. All those of faith were expected to follow this move of the Spirit.
So also with Jesus. The leaders of the Jews selected scriptures to stand against Christ who was again taking faith into a new direction.
· John 5:37-40
37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.
39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
We see that those of the precept resist those of the Spirit. Precept resists the move of the Spirit. This is why the apostles preached by the Spirit and not by the letter.
· 2 Corinthians 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
Precept kills by resisting the record which the Spirit gives life to.
When faith follows precept, it becomes separated from the source of life.
Precept cannot tether faith to God. Precept cannot join faith to Christ. God provides His record for faith to be joined to Him by His Spirit. God provides the power of His Spirit to join our faith to Him through Christ who is the record of God for faith at this present time.
Precept provides false justification to stand independent of the Godhead and thus resist or stand against His stewardship.
The imagination works with precept. Faith works with the record of Christ.
· Job 21:27 Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me.
· Proverbs 19:21 There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.
The record restricts the imagination. The record stands in the power of the witness. Those who follow precept and work with the imagination testify of sin and death working within them but those who follow the record of Christ by faith testify of His Light and Life working in them.
By the record and witness, faith grows, increases, and matures. The scriptures confirm this and testify of Christ. But when scriptures are selected according to one’s own choosing to give direction for faith, the scriptures are broken. The breaking of scripture is by the precept and is as the breaking of a branch from off the tree. The scriptures were given by God for the purpose of faith remaining joined to Him through the tethering of His Spirit.
· Psalm 82:5-7
5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
7 But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
· John 10:35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
Being out of course has to do with being out of step. We cannot know God or walk in cadence with Him by our own instincts and the imagination of our own hearts. This is what Chief Apostle Peter was warning when he wrote:
· 2 Peter 3:15-18
15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
For as the record and witness are joined together in our hearts, we experience the Life and Light of Christ being formed in us.
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If you’d like to come into covenant with God, you have to begin to seek God. You’re also going to have to put aside the barriers of your former traditions and your mindset. You’re going to have to seek Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength if you want to come into covenant with God. His grace will abound towards those who seek Him out of a pure heart. –
Apostle Eric vonAnderseck
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John Welty is a confirmed Apostle in the government of God and valued member of Apostles Today Network of the Second 8th Week, ministering the grace of God to those seeking to build upon the true foundation of Jesus Christ. He is a regular contributor to the Prophetic Path and teaches Body ministry, helping believers regain their Christian priesthood by learning how spiritual sacrifices of prophecy work, how the anointing of truth works, and how the spiritual tools of the Second Covenant work. As God brings the church into a new era, Apostle John is here to help guide your faith into the new work of the Spirit, pray for you, and answer your