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Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power [ Greek – dunamis, G1411], after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Introduction

I have been asked by several people to give a talk about what the scriptures reveal about fear and phobias. When I was first asked to do this, the first scripture that came to my mind was:

1Jn 4:18 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.

That is not a condemnation of any of us. It is rather a revelation of all of us. Fear is common to all men, and this verse is couched in admonitions to love our brothers, because lack of love contributes to fear, and thinking of the needs of others is one of the greatest tools for fighting fear. When all you can think of or talk about is yourself, and your misfortunes, you are a miserable and terrified person. Here are the verses immediately following that verse:

1Jn 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
1Jn 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
1Jn 4:21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

So the point the holy spirit is making here in 1Jn 4 is that there may be many things which can be done to fight fear, but none are any more important than loving your fellow man. The point is not that there are some people who are not perfected in love, but rather that none of us has yet been perfected in love, and we are all in need of remaining “sober and vigilant” against allowing any “root of bitterness” to spring up in our lives.

Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

There it is. It is a very plain warning which is given to us all. Beware that you do not allow ‘any root of bitterness’ to spring up and trouble you, because this is exactly what does happen, and it defiles many.’
So fear is actually something we all struggle with on a daily basis as we fight the self- centered beast we have come to recognize as that person right there in the mirror. Christ Himself dreaded the prospect of being murdered at the age of 33.

Mat 26:36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
Mat 26:37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
Mat 26:38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

Here is the Contemporary English Version of what happened with Christ here in the garden of Gethsemane.

Mat 26:36 Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane. When they got there, he told them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
Mat 26:37 Jesus took along Peter and the two brothers, James and John. He was very sad and troubled,
Mat 26:38 and he said to them, ” I am so sad that I feel as if I am dying. Stay here and keep awake with me.”
Mat 26:39 Jesus walked on a little way. Then he knelt with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, don’t make me suffer by having me drink from this cup. But do what you want, and not what I want.”(CEV)

I am, by no means equating Christ’s experience with a panic attack, but I am pointing out that Christ did face death as a young man. He had not lived to be 100 years old and His body was not worn out and tired, and He faced death just as you and I would under the same circumstances. It was a dreadful event, even for Him. He was ‘so sad he felt as if He were dying.’ So my point is simply that fear, and a sense of dreadfulness is common to all flesh under certain circumstances of life, even the flesh of Christ. Fear, according to scripture, is simply part of our Adamic life of “by nature being children of God’s wrath,” and as such living under the curse of terror for our disobedience.

Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Lev 26:15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:

That is all of us to a tee. So what is prophesied for such sinners?

Lev 26:16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

What these verses in Leviticus are saying is that your enemies will scare you with the false doctrines and false fears, like the doctrine of eternal hell fire, and like all the phobias of life, which, along with all the other false doctrines they will give you, will “consume your eyes, and cause sorrow of the heart,” so that you cannot see the truth and see that the terror with which they threaten you is nonexistent. But being blinded to that fact, you will work for those, your enemies, and ‘sow your seed’ with them, and as they themselves urge you, “give till it hurts,” “for your enemies will eat it.” In other words, your enemies thrive on your faith in their lies.
In other words, if you truly believe that you are about to be embarrassed in front of someone, or that you are about to smother, or choke or have a heart attack, or that you are about to die, it doesn’t matter that none of that is true, because in your mind something dreadful is about to happen, and you are living in terror. We are a society eat up with the “what if” syndrome that scares everyone with the very worst case scenario and sets the mind up to expect it. The Learning Channel, the History Channel, the evening news, the National Geographic channel all threaten us with dire predictions of global warming, the collapse of the country, the extinction of mankind, etc. Rest assured none of the predictions will occur.  God’s word is much more reliable than all the “gloom and doom” theories. Scripture tells us life will be still chugging along when Christ returns with the people of the nations “marrying and giving in marriage”, which shows us a continuation of the habits of our societies.
Terror is common to us all at our appointed time. That is the curse God pronounces upon us when we “despise His statutes” as we all do in our appointed time.
When I was asked to speak on this subject, I wondered just how prevalent completely unfounded phobias are in our modern society, so I did a little research and found this article from a magazine called Quality Health. I have excerpted these few paragraphs which I will read to you.

“By Emily Dillon
Reviewed by QualityHealth’s Medical Advisory Board

Do you have an irrational or excessive fear of something? If so, you’re not alone. According to the American Psychiatric Institute for Research and Education (APIRE), 7.8 percent of U. S. adults suffer from a phobia of some kind.

What Is a Phobia?
A phobia is defined as an abnormally emotional and physical response to an imagined or irrationally exaggerated fear. According to the American Psychiatric Association, symptoms of a phobia include but are not limited to:

• Feelings of panic, dread, horror, or terror.
• An understanding that the fear goes beyond normal boundaries and the actual threat of danger.
• Uncontrollable and automatic reactions that consume a person’s thoughts.
• Rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, trembling, and an overwhelming desire to flee the situation.
• Extreme measures taken to avoid the feared object or situation.

The 5 Most Common Fears

According to medical professionals, phobias range from generalized fears of certain situations to irrational worries about specific objects, animals, or places. The following represent some of the most common conditions:

1. Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is defined as the abnormal fear of being helpless in a situation from which escape may be difficult or embarrassing. Those suffering from agoraphobia– an estimated 5 percent of the U. S. population—may avoid bridges, busy streets, and crowded stores. In extreme cases, patients may become so disabled that they refuse to leave their homes. Two- thirds of those who suffer from agoraphobia are women, and symptoms usually develop between late adolescence and the mid-30s. Most people suffering from agoraphobia develop the disorder after suffering from one or more spontaneous panic attacks. These attacks seem to occur randomly, making it impossible to predict what situation will trigger the next reaction. The unpredictability of the attacks trains a person to anticipate future attacks and avoid any situations that could trigger them.

2. Social Phobia
A person suffering from a social phobia fears being watched or humiliated while doing something in public. The feared activities can be as mundane as shopping at a grocery store or walking the dog. Many people suffer from a generalized social phobia, in which they fear and avoid social and interpersonal interactions of any kind (the most common being public speaking). Social phobias tend to develop soon after puberty and, if left untreated, can last a lifetime.

3. Aerophobia
 A erophobia is the abnormal and persistent fear of flying. Aerophobics experience severe anxiety even though they know that flying isn’t risky enough to justify their fear level… In extreme cases, the patient’s anxiety about flying may be so extreme that it prevents him or her from air travel completely or causes the person to become physically sick, have panic attacks, or vomit at just the sight of a plane.

4. Acrophobia
Acrophobia, better known as a fear of heights,  [ can keep you from entering an elevator, an escalator, or even going up a flight of stairs.]

5. Claustrophobia
Claustrophobics, who fear of being trapped, may experience symptoms or panic attacks in cars, trains, planes, elevators, … and virtually any other confined space. It’s interesting to note that people who have panic attacks may, as a result, develop claustrophobia because they’re afraid they won’t be able to escape a situation if they have an attack. 

Phobias that persist into adulthood are rarely conquered without treatment. If you think you or a loved one may be suffering from a phobia, it’s imperative that you seek help. With proper treatment, which may include cognitive behavior therapy and/ or medication, the vast majority of phobia patients can overcome their fears and be symptom- free for years, if not for life.”

I used to believe that these phobias were just people who wanted attention, but the exact opposite is very often the case. Unwarranted fear is a very real curse upon the lives of many people.
Christ certainly did not suffer from unwarranted fear, but He certainly did suffer from the dread of what he knew was about to happen on the night he was apprehended by those who hated Him so. In Joh 14 Christ is speaking to His disciples on the night of His betrayal by Judas and His apprehension at the hands of the Jews. Judas and the Jews, of course, are really you and me. It is in these circumstances that Christ’s whole concern is for the welfare of His disciples. When we might think that He would be in need of comfort, He is instead comforting others with these words:

Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Joh 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Who is it who, through the Father’s holy spirit, is “with us to the end?”

Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world [ Greek – aion, age]. Amen.

Christ had already laid claim to being the Truth when earlier in this same 14th chapter of John, He had told Thomas and the other disciples that they already knew the way to life because they knew Him:

Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Joh 14:4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
Joh 14:5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

If “no man come to the Father but by me,” then what is this verse saying?:

Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

That is right, Christ identifies Himself with the spirit of His Father. “Where I am you may be also” is not a promise which pertains only to the distant future. We are even now seated with Christ in the heavens, because He is seated at the right hand of His father in the heavens, and where He is, there we are.

Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly [ places] in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [ his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Christ is not claiming to be God’s spirit. What He is claiming is that God’s spirit has been given to Him, and that through God’s spirit Christ can come into us and dwell in us. Christ does, through God’s spirit, live His life in us. When He was in the flesh, He could not do that, but through God’s Spirit, Christ can and does live and dwell in each of us just as His Father dwells in Him. That is not a lie; that is the Truth. So He tells us:

Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Joh 16:14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Joh 16:15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Joh 16:16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.

Do you “see Christ” or do you see all kinds of “lying wonders,” which keep you worshiping that lying beast who is keeping you in fear and dread of life? Believe Christ and the Truth, and realize that the lies are false spirits telling you falsehoods which have no basis in the Truth.

2Th 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

We can believe “him whose coming is after the working of Satan,” or we can believe this:

Joh 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

It is through His Father’s spirit that Christ lives His life in us. Christ’s life was not a life of fear. Philip had just asked Christ to show all the disciples His Father, and this is what Christ said:

Joh 14:8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Joh 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
Joh 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

Christ has just now revealed to us that His words are His Father’s works. In Christ’s mind His Father’s words are the same thing as His Fathers works. In other words, Christ’s words are His Father’s works in you and me. So, if Christ says “we will receive power after the holy spirit is come upon us,” then it is when the holy spirit comes upon us that “The Father that dwells in us does His works.”

What Are “The Works We Do?”

What power do we have when the holy spirit comes upon us? Well, we have the power that Jesus has because “as He is so are we in this world.” He has “sent us just as His Father has sent Him,” and we are promised to do the works Christ did, “and greater works than Christ did.”

1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
Joh 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

If Christ’s words were physical words, then we could expect to do physical miracles in “greater” numbers and quality than Christ’s physical miracles. But “the words that I speak unto you” are not physical words, “they are spirit.” So it is a much better and lasting work Christ is doing in us because it is a spiritual, and therefore “greater work”, because He has returned to His Father, where He was before emptying Himself of His divinity and coming to this earth:

Joh 1:30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
Joh 6:62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: t he words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

What works do we do to receive this power? Rest assured it is not physical work, and it is not of us.

Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

The work we do is “That ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” Why should we “believe on Him whom He hath sent?” What benefit or power is there in believing the words of Christ, which are in Christ’s words spirit? Let’s look again at what Christ said when He appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, while they were hiding behind shut doors in fear of their lives.

Joh 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Joh 20:20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

“Peace be unto you… Then said Jesus again, Peace be unto you.” Peace is the opposite of fear. Those four words mean little more than a salutation to so very many. But those four words, “Peace be unto you” mean so much to so very few. Right there in those four words is “power over all the power of the enemy.” To have inward peace is what Christ called “all power in heaven and in earth.” Inward peace is worth more than all the outward physical miracles that Christ ever performed or ever will perform. Christ physically healed many thousands while he was walking this earth in a body of flesh and blood. It was the very people who had, just the day before, witnessed the miracles Christ had performed by both “healing their sick” and feeding the multitudes with “five loaves and three fishes,” who turned away and walked no more with Him after He told them that the physical benefits of physical miracles was not what mattered, and that the physical benefits of physical miracles upon the flesh “profited nothing.”

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Joh 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

“From that time” was the day after that incredible miracle was wrought upon the whole multitude, and the reason they “walked no more with Him,” was because He had just informed them that the physical benefits of physical miracles had not and do not affect the heart.

Joh 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [ they] are spirit, and [ they] are life.

It is the spirit that affects and heals the heart, and Christ’s words are that spirit. These were the very people who had, only the day before, physically benefited from that miracles of physically “healing of their sick” and of eating of Christ’s supernaturally produced physical loaves and physical fishes. It was this very same multitude of whom Christ tells us in chapter 8 “You want to kill Me… because I tell you the Truth. That is the multitude who cried out for Christ’s crucifixion, and that is the extent to which the benefits of physical miracles will change the hearts of the multitudes, and that is why those who are so caught up in calling for the physical benefits of  physical miracles are so disgusted with these very words which caused them to turn their backs on Christ and ” go back, and walk no more with Him.”

Joh 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
Joh 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Joh 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
Joh 6:31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
Joh 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
Joh 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

Christ had just given these ungrateful recipients of the benefits of his miracles the words of life: “This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He hath sent.” He had just chided them for wanting the physical benefits of physical miracles which had not changed their hearts, and their response was a request for the benefits of more physical miracles. These people had not simply been fed the loaves and fishes, these are the multitudes who Matthew tells us also had their sick healed that very same day.

Mat 14:14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.
Mat 14:15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
Mat 14:16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.
Mat 14:17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.

When Christ said “give you them to eat,” He was speaking spiritually for your benefit and for mine. We know this is so because He tells us “the words I speak are spirit.” So this entire event of “healing their sick” and feeding the multitudes with fish that had been in the fire and bread which had also been baked in the fire was all done, not just for the benefit of the multitudes, but for the benefit of Christ’s disciples who He had promised to make “fishers of men.” The carnal multitudes “profited nothing,” but Christ’s words of spirit profit those who see them for what they really are; “They are spirit and they are life.”
These multitudes on the other hand, you and me at our appointed time, are the people who had their sick healed, had seen and experienced all the physical benefits of all of those miracles, and then when Christ told them that believing on and obeying His words was far more important than the physical benefits of His miracles, “they walked no more with Him.”
So what power then did those who stayed with Christ receive? Were they given the same power Christ was given to perform miracles for the physical benefit of the multitudes? Were they given the ability to do greater works than Christ by doing more and greater miracles? While there is no denying that the apostles were given the power to heal the physically sick, cast out the evil spirits which caused physical diseases and even, in the case of the apostle Paul, to raise up a dead man, let’s be intellectually honest and admit that it simply is not possible to say that is true of any of the twelve apostles or anyone else since Christ.

Joh 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Those to whom it has been given to do ” the work of God, [ and] believe on him whom he hath sent,” realize that the physical benefits of physical miracles is not the focus of being given “power over all the power of the enemy.”

Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Luk 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

“Serpents and scorpions” have nothing at all to do with physical snakes and insects. They are Bible- speak for all the lies and false doctrines which have been oppressing God’s creation since the first ‘serpent’ told the first lie, which mankind still believes to this very day:

Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

That is a lie which makes us value this physical body and the benefits of the flesh over the true power of God’s spirit to set us free from all lies and to give us the peace of mind and the faith in His words, which produces that peace. That peace of mind and spirit is worth more than all the physical benefits of all the physical miracles produced by either Christ or any and all of His disciples of all time. The flesh profits nothing, and all the lies which teach that we will do the physical miracles and greater of our Savior, are manifestly false and serve only to seduce unsuspecting babes in Christ to yield themselves to a multitude of false doctrines which take away the very peace we have been given in Christ and believing on Him and His “words which are spirit and life.”

Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Believing on Christ is believing His words. In the very same chapter in which Christ had fed the multitudes, of which multitudes Matthew tells us “He healed their sick,” Christ also makes this statement. This is part of the statement which caused all of His disciples, whose emphasis was on the physical benefits of physical miracles, to “go back and, walk no more with Him.”

Joh 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

“From that time” included these words from just a few verses earlier:

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth [ Greek, gives life]; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Here are the intervening verses:

Joh 6:64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
Joh 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
Joh 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Was Christ saying that these people “believed not” that he could heal their sick and eat supernaturally produced loaves and fishes? Obviously not! They had just the day before had their sick healed and had witnessed and eaten of the loaves and fishes.

Mat 14:14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.
Mat 14:17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
Joh 6:11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
Joh 6:12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
Joh 6:13 Therefore they gathered [ them] together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.
Joh 6:14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
Joh 6:15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

What is Christ saying? Is Christ saying that these people had not the faith to believe in healing revivals and the prosperity gospel? Absolutely not! That was the staple of these multitudes, just as it is the staple of the multitudes who follow Christ to this very day. These people had witnessed healing of their fleshly bodies, had witnessed Christ feeding thousands of people with five loaves and three fishes, and yet they were so carnal that they had conspired to force Christ to become their physical king.

Joh 6:15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

The words of Christ, “the flesh profits nothing,” even if that flesh is physically healed and physically whole, were of no use to such carnal Christians at that time, and they are to this very day of no use to the babes in Christ who “come behind in no gift,” and “are yet carnal… babes in Christ.”

1Co 1:1 Paul, called [ to be] an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes [ our] brother,
1Co 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
1Co 1:6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
1Co 1:7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

But an inordinate emphasis on gifts which benefit the flesh, is the very sign of an immature Christian. So we are told of these very same Christians, something that is completely foreign to their doctrine:

1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able [ to bear it], neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

It is the healing of the physical flesh, which they insist upon and upon which is their every thought. It is the physical prosperity of the flesh which they insist upon and upon which they dwell. This is you, and this is me. The words that Christ speaks saying “the flesh profits nothing” are ignored and denied and literally despised, and they are replaced with a false doctrines which speak of physical healing apart from “dying daily,” and of physical prosperity apart from “selling all you have, to take up your cross and follow Christ.” These lies replace “the flesh profits nothing,” with phrases like “spiritual flesh.” It is a lie that will rob us of our peace and of our power over all the power of the enemy.

Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

Why is there “no good thing in the flesh?” Why cannot the flesh “perform that which is good?”

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

So much for the orthodox false doctrine of a body of “spiritual flesh.”  “In my flesh dwells no good thing,” and lest there be any doubt Paul goes out of his way to drive this point home in second Corinthians:

2Co 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more [ after the flesh].
2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

This afternoon we will see the difference between the words power and authority. The King James makes very little or no distinction between these two words, and actually uses them interchangeably, but they are different words with different meanings and we need to know what are those differences.