Eternal Glorious Fountain Ministry (EGFM)
Believers' Convention 2022 (DAY 2 - Morning Session)
Date: Monday, 8th August 2022
The theme for this Believers convention — Who is Like God? — is an age-long question. It can also be asked as, ‘Who is configured like God?’ or ‘Who has the image of God?’. God is in a class of His own. He is God because of the substances that make Him up but He does not want to be there alone. He wants men and women to be configured like Him. His original intention for making man was to make man like Himself (Gen. 1:26). No one is like God, but God wants man to be like Him.
God is a quickening spirit, not a living soul. However, the first man God created (Adam) was a living soul. This means that the first man was not exactly like Him. The components of God are contained in the tree of life. When a man partakes of them, he will become like God. Similarly, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil contains the things of the enemy; these were the things that turned Lucifer from how God created him to become evil. The beast is a man who has taken the fullness of the enemy (Rev. 13:1), but our Lord Jesus took on the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col. 2:9). These two images are being raised on earth but evil spirits want to raise the image of the enemy at all cost.
Evil spirits war against humans, and the Church in particular, because the Church has the ability to scuttle their plans. The purpose of creating man is so that men who walk on earth will be men who are like God. The earth was not made for men who are like the devil. The only thing that brings God pleasure is a man who is like Him, but the enemy does not want God to have pleasure. The reason for the gospel and for ministry is to be configured like God. Anything other than joining forces with God to raise men to be like God is not ministry. This is the reason for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He showed us the pattern of true ministry — to grow up and trap everything about God.
“Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” (Heb. 10:7). The will of ‘O God’ is that men would also come to the place of ‘O God’. God wants to be our Father and He wants us to be His sons and daughters (2 Cor. 6:17-18). The sons and daughters of God are those who have inherited the things of God and have become like Him, just like our Lord Jesus. Jesus came into the image of God by inheriting all things about God. If the gospel of God (Rom. 1:1) is preached to a man, he will become like God.
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, [2] (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)” (Rom. 1:1-2). The gospel of God has been promised to man; this is why people have been called to the ministry. The contents of the gospel of God are the substances that make God up. Therefore, God can be configured in men through the gospel. The Son of God is the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of His person (Heb 1:3); He was made by the gospel of God. God is the promise that was made to man and the Church is the place where He should be given to man.
Ministers of the gospel are meant to give God to men, but before they do so, they must first become like God. God can be given in measures and portions. The age-long desire of God is that men and women will become like God. The fact that God the creator wants His creation to be like Him shows how large-hearted He is. It is possible for us to also be like this; we can be so large-hearted and accommodating that we do not mind people being on the same level as we are.
Angels were raised with a certain nature. They did not grow but were made so. Angels are higher in authority than men (Heb. 2:7), but the prophecy is that we will become better than they are (1 Cor. 6:3). Angels are not as holy or separated as God but they have their unique nature. There are different classes of angels: spirits, flames of fire and works in places of God’s dominion (Psa. 103:20-22, 104:4). These angels are sent to minister to them who will be heirs of salvation. When these heirs attain salvation, they will be much better than the angels but the angels would neither be envious nor jealous of this. It takes a lot of meekness and lowliness for angels to deliver such a message to men without desiring it for themselves.
Our earthly profession is to be like God. It sounds out of this world but the essence of our lifetime is to be like God: this is the reason for living and for ministry. As such, ministers first need to be raised like God. We should race and press into this because this is a place of advantage. The things the Church grapples with now are as a result of where we are. But when we go up, they will come under us. Dominion is given to people of stature, not children.
“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; [2] Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience…” (Eph. 2:1-2). When we had not come to the place of enlightenment, our walk was influenced by a spirit — the prince of the power of the air. The work of this spirit is to enforce disobedience, just as God is also working in His children: to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philipp. 2:13). The essence of His good pleasure is to make us willing to become like God. What we end up becoming is dependent on what we yield to do. Evil spirits are deliberate and intentional, for they want to configure us by force. However, the time has come for the church to be intentional about who we yield to.
“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.” (Eph. 2:3). The end of this negative walk described above is nature formation. Satan wants all men to end up as children of wrath. But God called ministers to ministry to help men change their conversation by preaching the message of a person. This is because a man can be born again and still walk according to the course of this world.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Rom. 8:1-2). A man can be born again but still walk after the flesh. Therefore, it is by revelation and understanding that his manner of walk will change. We cannot appropriate this to ourselves if we have not received the knowledge of Christ, which is the first allocation of God. God wants to commit the message of Christ to ministers because it is the antidote to the work of Satan in men. When ministers preach Christ, the way men walk in the spirit will change.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. [17] For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Rom. 1:16-17). As the righteousness in Christ is being revealed, the walk of the just will change, for they will be smudged from the path of destruction. As they walk in Christ, their configurations would be broken down and they would escape the wrong image to receive the right image. Many moves have come to the Church, but the devil will keep scuttling such moves if ministers do not race into becoming like God. But God has a joker; He wants to give man His image and likeness.
We need to race into Godhood. There are things inside God that can deal with our wrong natures. When we are becoming like God, we are becoming child-like, and it is children that can preserve this message. A man can be so anointed but be quick to scatter things because he has no substance within him to protect what God is doing in him. However, a child has no reputation. This is why he will not respond when he is accused with words.
Satan railed accusations upon Michael but Michael gave no response (Jude 1:9). Satan knows how to use words to destabilise us but we have to be smaller than those things that can destabilise us. Jesus had to endure His portion during His time on earth, but He was too little (meek) to give a response to all the embarrassments and accusations. He was not willing to prove a point. Adults love to be bold but children prefer to hide. Therefore, except a man be converted and become like a little child, he can not enter the kingdom of God (Matt. 18:3). The giving of God is the giving of that which constitutes God.
We are a generation of men who have a lot of knowledge, therefore, we have to take heed to this warning. Revelation knowledge puffs up (1 Cor. 8:1) but Jesus is not puffed up, in spite of the fact that He has all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. A man who does not take heed to these warnings would begin to look down on others.
Knowledge is good, for without it, we cannot be like God. However, we should first apply it to ourselves because the knowledge of revelation does not mean automatic salvation. With all the revelations that Paul had, He still brought his flesh under (1 Cor 9:27). When we have revelation, we will easily know when flesh is rising in us. Revelation is for the development of nature, therefore, it should be rightly engaged.
There is a lot of ignorance in the body of Christ. God gives revelations to the body of Christ because He wants everyone to come to the unity of the faith (Eph. 4:13). We will be unable to help the body of Christ if we are divided, based on our levels of revelation. Knowledge will increase but God wants us to also increase (inwardly) with it. God will build His Church but He starts by building ministers. What God wants to build is His image, and revelation is the means by which that building takes place. If we are not careful, we will develop wings above those whom we think are not revelational.
Revelational people tend to easily detest people whom they perceive to not be as revelational as they are. God is not raising us according to how much revelation we have but how meek we are. The reason He gives us His things is to make us meek and lowly. A meek person can have so much knowledge and yet, be normal. To be abnormal is to be puffed up and such person will eventually miss God.
Blessings!
Summary
1.God is in a class of His own. He is God because of the substances that make Him up but He does not want to be there alone. He wants men and women to be configured like Him. His original intention for making man was to make man like Himself (Gen. 1:26). No one is like God, but God wants man to be like Him.
2.The beast is a man who has taken the fullness of the enemy (Rev. 13:1), but our Lord Jesus took on the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col. 2:9).
3.God wants to be our Father and He wants us to be His sons and daughters (2 Cor. 6:17-18). The sons and daughters of God are those who have inherited the things of God and have become like Him, just like our Lord Jesus.
4.Jesus came into the image of God by inheriting all things about God. If the gospel of God (Rom. 1:1) is preached to a man, he will become like God.
5.(Rom. 1:1-2) The gospel of God has been promised to man; this is why people have been called to the ministry. The contents of the gospel of God are the substances that make God up. Therefore, God can be configured in men through the gospel.
6.The Son of God is the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of His person (Heb 1:3); He was made by the gospel of God. God is the promise that was made to man and the Church is the place where He should be given to man.
7.Ministers of the gospel are meant to give God to men, but before they do so, they must first become like God. God can be given in measures and portions. The age-long desire of God is that men and women will become like God.
8.Our earthly profession is to be like God. It sounds out of this world but the essence of our lifetime is to be like God: this is the reason for living and for ministry. As such, ministers first need to be raised like God.
9. We should race and press into this because this is a place of advantage. The things the Church grapples with now are as a result of where we are. But when we go up, they will come under us. Dominion is given to people of stature, not children.
10.(Rom. 8:1-2). A man can be born again but still walk after the flesh. Therefore, it is by revelation and understanding that his manner of walk will change. We cannot appropriate this to ourselves if we have not received the knowledge of Christ, which is the first allocation of God.
11.We are a generation of men who have a lot of knowledge, therefore, we have to take heed to this warning. Revelation knowledge puffs up (1 Cor. 8:1) but Jesus is not puffed up, in spite of the fact that He has all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. A man who does not take heed to these warnings would begin to look down on others.
12.Knowledge is good, for without it, we cannot be like God. However, we should first apply it to ourselves because the knowledge of revelation does not mean automatic salvation. With all the revelations that Paul had, He still brought his flesh under (1 Cor 9:27).