Over the past two weeks I have started to lay a foundation on the concept of what a Household of Faith is.

Today I want to start introducing you to the theology and doctrine surrounding the Households of Faith. This will help you to better understand this concept and also lay a scriptural foundation with regards to this new wineskin for the Church.

THE THEOLOGY OF ‘HOUSEHOLDS OF FAITH’

1. THE CHURCH IS THE NEW HUMAN RACE OF CREATION

2 Corinthians 5:17-21

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

NEW ‘creation’ = part of a new colony and order of humans; your category of function is completely different to the world.

This immediately places upon us the demand to know then what is this new creature? How does this make me different from what I have been in the past? When we become a new creation we are birthed into a new nation, culture and kingdom. You are now a citizen of the Kingdom of God and are no longer part of the nation of this world.

We now constitute a new family – a new species.

This is no cultural Christianity. There are no color differences. You are only in Christ or not in Christ. There is now only the Kingdom of God and as such we are of the Family of the Kingdom of God.

Our Mandate that we received are reconcile people back to the father. The problem in the garden where Adam broke fellowship with God and lost his inheritance as a Son of God is now restored. Adam was called the son of God

Luk 3:23-38

(23) Jesus Himself, when He began [His ministry], was about thirty years of age, being the Son, as was supposed, of Joseph, the son of Heli,

(24) The son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

(25) The son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,

(26) The son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda,

(27) The son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,

(28) The son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,

(29) The son of Jesus, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,

(30) The son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,

(31) The son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,

(32) The son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon (Sala), the son of Nahshon,

(33) The son of Aminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,

(34) The son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,

(35) The son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,

(36) The son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,

(37) The son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,

(38) The son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. [Genesis 5:3-32; Genesis 11:10-26; Ruth 4:18-22; 1 Chronicles 1:1-4, 24-28; 1 Chronicles 2:1-15]

We know that Adam alienated himself from the Father in heaven– he lost his image and likeness to God as well as his authority when he sinned.

Jesus has now reconnected us back to our Father through His death on the Cross. Once we are reconnected to God the Father there is now placed a demand upon us to also reconnect everybody else back to the Father.

That is your mandate. Now that you are connected - Reconcile the sons of God to the Father. You connect to someone by recognizing the grace of the Trinity.

We are a new creation. God in Christ has reconciling us back to God the Father. The new creation is built upon the pattern of family and specifically the Family of God which are now called the Household of God.

1. WE ARE BUILD ON THE PRINCIPLE OF FAMILY

Mat 16:13-20

(13) Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is?

(14) And they answered, Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

(15) He said to them, But who do you [yourselves] say that I am?

(16) Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

(17) Then Jesus answered him, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven.

(18) And I tell you, you are Peter [Greek, Petros--a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra --a huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it].

(19) I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven. [Isaiah 22:22]

(20) Then He sternly and strictly charged and warned the disciples to tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

Note he does not say ‘Jesus Christ’ (a reference to his humanity) or ‘Christ Jesus’ (the heavenly ascended Christ); he just says ‘CHRIST’ – referring to the pre-existent Christ before the six day creation. Who is this ‘Christ’?

In Colossians 2:9-10 it states that the fullness of the Godhead is in Christ. The godhead, i.e. Father, Son and Holy Ghost is in CHRIST. All these are resident in CHRIST.

Col 2:9-10

(9) For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature].

(10) And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead--Father, Son and Holy Spirit--and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power].

Peter was telling Jesus that he was recognizing the full anointing of the Godhead in Christ – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When he looked at Jesus and engaged Jesus he could recognize the grace of the Godhead in Jesus. He saw God revealed in Christ as Father, Son and Holy Spirit…. A Family concept.

Mat 28:19

(19) Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

This scripture is not referring to the baptism in water that we have all been taught but refers to every individual being baptized in the Nature of the Godhead consisting of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. It refers to each one we disciple being clothed in the very nature of the Godhead.

Water Baptism is only a token and symbol of this manifestation.

When Peter here responded to the question Jesus posted and spoke the words “You are the Christ” he was not using it as the surname of Jesus but as the revelation he received of something far greater. He was referring to the revelation of the fullness of the Godhead he saw reflected in Christ.

Let us take a moment to analyze the statement that Peter made:

His statement had two dimensions to it:

• You are the Christ
• The Son of the living God

In his statement to Jesus he is recognizing Jesus as firstly the Christ, the fullness of the Godhead revealed before creation was established, secondly he is recognizing Jesus and the Son of God, thus placing Jesus within the framework of being part of the family unit called God.

In looking at his confession we see that Peter is saying… in the Son, is the grace of the Father, the grace of the Son and the grace of the Holy Spirit.

When we speak of ‘Christ crucified’ - we are speaking of us partaking of all the fullness of God in Christ which consists of all parts of the Godhead. We are partaking of the Godhead, consisting of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Rom 8:19

(19) For [even the whole] creation (all nature) waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God's sons to be made known [waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship].

If this scripture is correctly understood we see here that creation is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. We see that the meaning here is that creation is waiting for the Sons of God to start revealing and disclosing their sonship. What does this mean…….

The fullness of Christ (which is Farther, Son and Holy Spirit) must be fully resident and visible in all the sons. Earth can only respond to the manifestation of the Godhead in You as the son. You must manifest the very essence of the Godhead in and through your life. Then earth will respond to the image and the likeness of Christ in you. Earth can only respond to a family member of God. How do you show that you are a family member in the natural?

People recognize you as a member of your biological family because you carry the image and likeness of your parents in your genes and in your conduct and behaviour. In the same way this is what needs to take place in the spiritual dimension.

Take Note :

My father has revealed this to you.

You are ‘Peter’ = Petros = masculine; ‘On this rock’= Petra = feminine (implication of a womb)

Upon this confession of the Christ being the fullness of the Godhead, I will produce a womb to bring forth Christ.

Christ in you in the hope of Glory.

Col 1:27 [AMP]

(27) To whom God was pleased to make known how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ within and among you, the Hope of [realizing the] glory.

Col 1:27 [NIV]

(27) To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

The Greek word for "Christ" in this passage is Christos, and it means, "anointed, anointing; the anointed One." Its Hebrew equivalent is 'maw-shee-akh' and can also mean, "a consecrated person, such as a king or priest," and is transliterated into the English, "Messiah."

2Co 4:4

(4) The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Paul further adds in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that "Christ" is the "IMAGE of God"

Let us take a moment and please bear with me as we compare the following scriptures:

Gen 1:26-28 [NIV]

(26) Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, ^[2] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

(27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

(28) God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

1Co 15:49 [NIV]

(10) And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we^[6]bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

2Co 3:18 [NIV]

(10) And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect^[1] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Col 3:10 [NIV]

(10) and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Gen 1:26-28 [AMP]

(26) God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth. [Psalms 104:30; Hebrews 1:2; Hebrews 11:3](27) So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. [Colossians 3:9-10; James 3:8-9](28) And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.

1Co 15:49 [AMP]

(49) And just as we have borne the image [of the man] of dust, so shall we and so let us also bear the image [of the Man] of heaven.

2Co 3:18 [AMP]

(18) And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.

Col 3:10 [AMP]

(10) And have clothed yourselves with the new [spiritual self], which is [ever in the process of being] renewed and remolded into [fuller and more perfect knowledge upon] knowledge after the image (the likeness) of Him Who created it. [Genesis 1:26]

"Christ" is the ANOINTED ONE.

Ecc 8:4

(4) For the word of a king is authority and power, and who can say to him, What are you doing?

Where the word of a KING is, there is power and dominion. The Christ in every Spirit-filled child of God rules by the power of God's (Jesus') name!

Rom 14:17

(17) [After all] the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The Kingdom is in the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is in you

Luk 17:21

(21) Nor will people say, Look! Here [it is]! or, See, [it is] there! For behold, the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you].

By the indwelling Spirit-"Christ in you"- You are a King a Priest and a Prophet. Are you consciously aware of the greatness of "Christ in you"? Do you live your life from this place and position of your maturity in Christ? This is where you as sons of this Household of faith lock into the grace of the Christ that is resident in one another in order for us a a Household to manifest the corporate son in the city in unity with the other Households of Faith in the City.

Rom 10:6-10

(6) But the righteousness based on faith [imputed by God and bringing right relationship with Him] says, Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into Heaven? that is, to bring Christ down;

(7) Or who will descend into the abyss? that is, to bring Christ up from the dead [as if we could be saved by our own efforts]. [Deuteronomy 30:12-13]

(8) But what does it say? The Word (God's message in Christ) is near you, on your lips and in your heart; that is, the Word (the message, the basis and object) of faith which we preach, [Deuteronomy 30:14]

(9) Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

(10) For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.

Gal 4:6

(6) And because you [really] are [His] sons, God has sent the [Holy] Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba (Father)! Father!

Jesus said to Peter that upon this confession of YOU ARE THE CHRIST ……..

I will Build my church

Build = oikoidomeo = To establish a building that will be called the household.

= To build a house or a city

The house of Lord is like a city or a tower. Jesus is saying that He will build something that will have the image of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This house will have the nature and power of the Godhead in it. Christ will not be seen in His fullness unless we as the members of His Household manifest Him as the Sons of God.

Note the progression from :

Christ –

Son –

Build –

My Father has revealed …. REVELATION FROM HEAVEN

We are a Household of Faith within the Household of God. The challenge then this morning to us as a corporate Household of Faith are the following:

1. Each one of us individually has to ask ourselves several questions:

a. Am I a son that has truly locked into this Household as the Place where God has placed His name for me according to Deut 12:5

b. Am I truly locked into the grace of this Family and Household of Faith that God has given to me. Remember I can only say yes to this question if I am locked into the grace of the Father of this House as well as those of the sons of this House.

c. Have I truly embraced my position as a Son of God within the Household of God?

2. Corporately we also have to respond to the challenge being placed before us today:

a. Do we as a Household and as a corporate Son of God manifest the Godhead in order for the Father to be revealed in and through us?

b. Have we locked into the grace of the corporate Father in the City of Pretoria

c. Are we in the position where we can truly say as was prophetically released by God at the Apostolic Transition Forum by Prophet Shaun Blignaut an accurate prototype of a Household of Faith in the City of Pretoria?

These are the questions that are being posted to us by God this morning. I want us to take a moment and discuss these questions and our responses. If we have a desire to be accurate in this season…. The demand has been placed to this morning and we need to respond to God’s questions to us.

Let those who have ears to hear, hear what the Spirit of God is saying.

DISCUSSION

Eph 2:13-22

(13) But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were [so] far away, through (by, in) the blood of Christ have been brought near.

(14) For He is [Himself] our peace (our bond of unity and harmony). He has made us both [Jew and Gentile] one [body], and has broken down (destroyed, abolished) the hostile dividing wall between us,

(15) By abolishing in His [own crucified] flesh the enmity [caused by] the Law with its decrees and ordinances [which He annulled]; that He from the two might create in Himself one new man [one new quality of humanity out of the two], so making peace.

(16) And [He designed] to reconcile to God both [Jew and Gentile, united] in a single body by means of His cross, thereby killing the mutual enmity and bringing the feud to an end.

(17) And He came and preached the glad tidings of peace to you who were afar off and [peace] to those who were near. [Isaiah 57:19]

(18) For it is through Him that we both [whether far off or near] now have an introduction (access) by one [Holy] Spirit to the Father [so that we are able to approach Him].

(19) Therefore you are no longer outsiders (exiles, migrants, and aliens, excluded from the rights of citizens), but you now share citizenship with the saints (God's own people, consecrated and set apart for Himself); and you belong to God's [own] household.

(20) You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself the chief Cornerstone.

(21) In Him the whole structure is joined (bound, welded) together harmoniously, and it continues to rise (grow, increase) into a holy temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, consecrated, and sacred to the presence of the Lord].

(22) In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you yourselves also are being built up [into this structure] with the rest, to form a fixed abode (dwelling place) of God in (by, through) the Spirit.

• ACCESS TO THE FATHER
• SHARE CITIZENSHIP
• BELONG TO GOD’S FAMILY – HOUSEHOLD
• BUILT UPON FOUNDATION OF APOSTLES AND PROPHETS AND CHRIST AS THE CORNERSTONE
• HOLY TEMPLE
• FIXED ABODE – CITY OF GOD

Thus we see the two principles of theology we spoke on this morning manifested:

THE CHURCH IS THE NEW HUMAN RACE OF CREATION

WE ARE BUILD ON THE PRINCIPLE OF FAMILY

As I have said at the start of the service this morning we are building the theological framework for understanding Households of Faith. We have come to a place of understanding that it is through this wineskin that God will release his purposes. God is after a Household of Faith that accurately portray the Godhead in the earth. God is not after us building numbers and big buildings (noses and nickels) – but we are to build households patterned after the heavenly order.

If a wineskin is not properly prepared and built it will loose the wine. It will not be able to contain the new wine. The challenge before us is to build a household of Faith accurately in order that we assure that the household of God will not be desolate.

Mat 23:29

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,

Jesus is here condemning the practice of building these glorious buildings in the name of God but in reality they are building monuments and gravesites to celebrate death. They are building with a focus on the prophets and the righteous. They are uplifting man and not God. God is serious about building himself a house. An accurate House that manifests the image and nature of the SON.

Mat 16:18

And I tell you, you are Peter [Greek, Petros--a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra --a huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it].

Jesus said: I will build my church. Peter said to Jesus You are the Christ. In making that statement Peter referred to the pre-existent Christ that operated before creation in Gen 1:1.

Gen 1:1

(1) In the beginning God (prepared, formed, fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth. [Hebrews 11:3]

Heb 11:3

(3) By faith we understand that the worlds [during the successive ages] were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose) by the word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things which are visible.

Joh 1:1-3

(1) In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. [Isaiah 9:6]

(2) He was present originally with God.

(3) All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.

This Christ was in the timeless zone in the eternal. The beginning is the place where this plan of God took form. This Christ is the fullness of the godhead that we read of in (Col.2:9-10). The godhead (Father Son and Holy Spirit) is Christ. We preach Christ and Him crucified – not just crucifixion in the flesh as an historical event. We dramatize the blood and suffering in stead of the crucified CHRIST who has die God head in HIM.

You cannot know Christ after the flesh. We must be baptized in the name (nature and character) of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – not in water but the nature of the fullness of the godhead (which is Christ). In each of us there must be a manifestation of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

When Jesus said – I WILL BUILD

We need to look at how and what Jesus built…..

God took the rib from Adam. The word for rib in the Hebrew is also bana that we see being used here in the new Testament for house. = He was taking from Adam to build the fullness of what the man Adam represents. He [produced the woman in order to establish the womb from which the earthly man would be produced. First the natural and then the spiritual. We see Jesus here again doing the same but this time He is speaking to Peter. He is engaging Peter on the spiritual level. First as the man Petros and then progress to the use of the word Petra that speaks of the womb. Upon this WOMB Jesus said he will build His church.

We can and my not reduce Jesus to an historical context. We have to study the pre-existent Christ. Jesus said On this ‘petra’, I will build = on the womb of this confession he will build a community of people… An Ekklesia.

Build = oikodomeo = building a household or dwelling place on the foundational principle of family. This household will consist of several families and these families will be called a CAHAL – Which is the Ekklesia. This then is what we call the Household of God. We are to be connected to the family in heaven and we are made up of different family units as Households of Faith consisting of Fathers and sons.

I want to close here for today. So now we understand that:

· THE CHURCH IS THE NEW HUMAN RACE OF CREATION

· WE ARE BUILD ON THE PRINCIPLE OF FAMILY

I will continue next week in further expounding the theology of the Household of Faith.