Program: Writing the Vision Prayer Meeting – Day 2
Date: Tuesday, 18th of April 2023
Transcript Summary
1. (Genesis 1:26). The essence of God's image and likeness is to express His dominion. The impact of a dominion depends on the type of image it communicates. This means different images communicate different manners of dominion (Dan. 2:27-31). We cannot fully interpret the dominion of God without accurately capturing its full image. The essence of image is to attract servants or followers that are committed to sustaining that dominion. If a dominion cannot continue, it will pass away. Thus, image-making is key to giving continuous expression (of life) to a dominion.
2. We must receive an abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness in order to reign in life (Rom 5:17). We have life in our 'spirit' as believers, but we cannot give full expression to that life without image formation in our souls. This means without image formation in our souls, we cannot bring forth full dominion (in life). This is why after the new birth and the infilling of the Spirit, our 'soul' must be quickly brought into the formation of Christ so that the expression of God’s life can be a reality in us.
3. Many people teach the authority of believers as dominion. However, the authority of believers over spirits and by laying of hand is not dominion. We can only exercise that authority because of imputed righteousness (in our saved spirit). Dominion cannot be expressed without image-making, and image cannot be made without knowledge, doctrine, or learning. When they brought the children of Israel to Babylon, they made sure they were taught the learnings of the king and made skillful in wisdom; this is so that they could be made rulers over the province of Babylon, thereby becoming extensions of the king (Dan. 1:4). This means you cannot have dominion without learning.
4. “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” (Eph. 4:24). The essence of knowledge is to produce the image of righteousness and true holiness in us, which is the new man. The full expression of the image of the new man is not just that of the new man who is perfect or godly (Christ); it includes the divine nature, which is also a new nature. The image comes through learnings that bring about trials or temptations. We have to be schooled and examined. Our exams are the commandments and instructions that knowledge delivers to our hearts.
5. “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.” (Heb. 2:8). Although all things were subjected under Adam, he did not have dominion over all things. As believers, we have authority over many things but do not yet have dominion over sin. Adam and Eve did not have dominion over "all things" because they did not yet have the image and likeness of God in its fullness. As such, they could not fully reign in life.
6. A man who is flesh can become a son of God if he believes and subscribes to learning. The operation of knowledge is a working of God’s wisdom. Wisdom does not work in isolation. The making of the image of the Son of God inside us is the work of wisdom. Image is a tangible work that speaks of the visitation of God’s thoughts. The materials for making images are God’s thoughts. The essence of knowledge and doctrine is to put thoughts in our hearts. Thoughts of what to drink and eat are some of the things responsible for putting earthly thoughts in us. Everyone who falls into the filthiness of the flesh begins from thoughts and is driven by the vanity of the mind, blindness of hearts, and ignorance. These make up the seat of self in a man. The essence of knowledge is to saturate us with godly thoughts in order to make the thoughts of the image distill upon our hearts and minds.
7. “Now is come salvation, the dominion of our God and the power of His Christ…” (Rev. 12:10). This is said concerning the man-child company; and shows that a man who is flesh can have dominion over spirits and their works. Fallen spirits turn man to flesh and make him carnal via this world; they designed works in men to keep them perpetually serving this world. No evil spirit wants man to be free from these works and have dominion over their works. A man who is flesh may cast out demons, but evil spirits want their works to remain inside him. As long as their works are in a man, such a man cannot have dominion over them. A man is meant to ascend to heaven and bear the image of the heavenly (Phil. 3:20). True dominion is having dominion over fallen spirits and their works; this is the dominion that God has in mind.
8. Satan is a work with an image of corruption. This is the image he also put on other angels that fell. These are the works that God wants man to overcome. When Lucifer converted from a Cherub to a dragon, he brought forth a completely new image. If Satan were to stand beside a Cherub like Gabriel, we might not see any outward difference. This is because dominion is within (Luke 17:20-21). What is being referred to as a dragon is a framework on the inside. His outward frame is still the same. Isaiah 14:13 showed that Satan kept on saying things in his heart. We may not see a dragon when we see Satan; we may still see an angel of light. It takes dominion to see the work that is on his inside. Satan carries an image he desires to give to man, but Jesus is planning to destroy it. The only way this can happen is for us to put on the new man and put off the old man. The old man is corrupt, and we are meant to put it off in order to put on something new (Eph. 4:22-24).
9. The beginning of the making of Christ (a godly work) in us is to clear the former works that we have on our inside. The formation of Christ in us prepares us to take on the image of the Son of God; this is so that we can have dominion. Dominion is a work. When a godly work is being done inside us, it is as a result of our obedience to it (Rom. 6:16). What we exercise ourselves in determines the work that is being carried out on our insides.
10. Images are persons (Heb 1:3). There is a person of Christ – a godly man. A godly man is a kind of soul that the Holy Ghost governs. Every man leans on his own understanding; on the other hand, a spirit-governed man is godly. Such a man is Spirit regulated by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1-2); the life of the Spirit is what governs or rules him, not his carnal mind. These conversations will become daily experiences for us. Our daily activities should be governed by the Spirit and not our own understanding.
11. (Isaiah 50:10-11). Trusting is waiting. Stay in your waiting. It is possible to kindle a fire or start up something that is not by grace but based on our own understanding. We will walk in our own fire if we do not wait enough. It is part of the training of a godly man to wait for light to come or for God’s instruction to come on a matter without being hasty. We must learn to wait because we are being taught to overcome spirits and their works; this is part of our training.
12. Being conformed to Christ and moving on to conform to the image of the Son of God is a progressive work. We are meant to graduate in knowledge and discipline. There must be a formation of the image of the Son in us to receive glory. The Son is the brightness of God’s image and the express image of His person (Heb. 1:3-4); this is what we need to come into the glory of God. The glory of God is in His praise (Isa. 42:8). His praise is His raising or exaltation. He will not give this praise when the making of His image is not rising in men for His dominion. The increase of His dominion in us is the rising of His image in us, and this is the rising of His praise in us.
Blessings!