New Testament Fundamentals

New Testament Fundamentals refers to the essential, necessary, significant or serious aspects of the testimonies of the new creation, which makes it different from the old creation.

True believers in Christ and His victories are seated in heavenly places far above all principalities and powers of darkness. No demon can hinder the success, progress, breakthrough, good health, long life and general prosperity of a true believer who is already seated with Christ far above all works of the enemies. "Halleluyah".

True believers seat and reign with Christ in heavenly and exalted positions of Authority, Honour and Triumph. Not positions of failure, depression, despair and defeat. Satan brought sin, Jesus brought righteousness. Satan brought condemnation, Jesus brought justification. Satan brought defeat, Jesus brought victory - Rom 5:17, Rom 8:1,2 and John 10:10.

Believers’ victory over the devil depends on the view they have about themselves as a church. Are we militant, defeated or triumphant? It all depends on how well we understand our position in Christ.

The militant church are those believers who are not yet seated with christ in heavenly places but are rather still struggling and battling to gain victory over an enemy Whom Our Lord Jesus has not yet defeated.

The defeated church are the ignorant believers who do not know that they are supposed to be reigning in life through Christ, but rather, they have refused to use their authority in Christ and as such are constantly tortured, ravaged and pushed into continual failure, disappointment, pains, sickness and total defeat by Satan.

I refuse to be a defeated believer - In Jesus Name:

The triumphant church refers to the Body of Christ who are seated with Christ in heavenly places far above all powers and principalities. They know and exercise their authority in Christ and reign victoriously in life over Satan and his agents through Jesus Christ. So, know your stand, authority and position in Christ Jesus and act on that unlimited and unstoppable power. Eph 1:3 and Eph 2:6.

The Creation

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The earth was without form. The earth was void. Darkness moved upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Gen 1:1-2)

Outline of God’s creations: (Gen. 1:1-31)

On the first day, God created Heaven and Earth.

On the second day, God created Night and Day.

On the third day, God created water and dry land.

On the fourth day, God created moon and stars.

On the fifth day, God created sea creatures and birds of the air.

On the sixth day, God created man - that is both male and female and other creeping things.

On the seventh day, God rested from all His works, blessed and declared the seventh day Holy.

THE FALL

This fall concerns both Satan and man. Satan was created perfect by God and called Lucifer before he started manifesting the life of iniquities. (Ezekiel 28:15). He also had access to God as he dwelt upon the holy mountain of God. (Ezekiel 28:14)

According to Ezekiel 28:13, Lucifer had something to do with music, he was the chief musician in heaven before his fall and subsequent expulsion from heaven. This implies that the right kind of music prepares you to yield to the spirit of God. While the wrong kind of music prepares you to yield to the spirit of the devil. God works through your spirit by the Holy Spirit. While the devil works through the flesh or unregenerate soul by the evil spirit.

Lucifer’s fall was vividly pictured I Ezekiel 28:17-18. He became proud because of his beauty and so his wisdom was corrupted. The pride in him made him see himself to be equal to God. The five(5) ‘I WILLS’ he used in Isaiah 14:13-14 exposes Lucifer’s evil intentions.

God did not keep quiet when He saw Lucifer misbehaving. He equally responded with five(5) ‘I WILLS’ to subdue the negative intentions of Satan in Ezekiel 28:16-18.God declared righteous judgement for Lucifer’s rebellion. In Isaiah 14:12, and Ezekiel 28:16-17. Lucifer was cast out of heaven to the ground. Jesus Christ - our Lord also declared this in Luke 10:18 where he beheld Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

Apart from his rebellious life in heaven, Satan also came down to the earth to deceive man and made him to fall from the perfect life God gave to him. Being very subtle, Satan beguiled Eve into eating the forbidden fruit and thus offended God. (Gen 3:13). This shows that Satan is very crafty and deceptive. Out of anger, God cursed Satan, cursed the man also the woman. (Gen 3:14-19).

So, today’s believers must know the true names and nature of Satan as to identify him physically and spiritually. Satan’s characters reveals his rue nature.

He is an adversary - 1 Peter 5:8

He is a Thief - John 10:10

He is a murderer and Liar - John 8:44

An accuser of the brethren - Rev 12:10

A deceiver - Rev 12:9

Angel of Light - 2 Cor 11:4

The prince of this world - John 12:31, John 14:30, John 16:8 and 11.

The prince of the power of the air - Eph 2:2.

The god of this world system - 2 cor 4:4.

Once we understand that Satan is the god of this world, the confusion in our minds concerning the evil things that happen on earth today will clear away.

There is no other explanation possible of Gen 3 than that it is the narration of a fall, which consists in the transgression of an explicit command of God, thus bearing a moral significance, and therefore followed by repentance, shame, fear and punishment. The context of the chapter places this interpretation beyond all doubt, for before his fall man is represented as a creature made after God's image and receiving paradise as a dwelling-place, and after the fall he is sent into a rough world, is condemned to a life of labor and sorrow, and increases more and more in sin until the judgment of the Flood.

Nevertheless, the Fall is the silent hypothesis of the whole Biblical doctrine of sin and redemption; it does not rest only on a few vague passages, but forms an indispensable element in the revelation of salvation. The whole contemplation of man and humanity, of Nature and history, of ethical and physical evil, of redemption and the way in which to obtain it, is connected in Scripture with a Fall, such as Gen 3 relates to us. Sin, for example, is common to all men (1 Ki 8:46; Ps 14:3; 130:3; 143:2), and to every man from his conception (Gen 6:5; 8:21; Job 14:4; Ps 51:7). It arouses God's anger and deserves all kinds of punishment, not only of an ethical but of a physical nature (Gen 3:14-19; 4:14; 6:7,13; 11:8; Lev 26:14 f; Dt 28:15; Ps 90:7, etc.); the whole of Scripture proceeds from the thought that sin and death are connected in the closest degree, as are also obedience and life. In the new heaven and new earth all suffering ceases with sin (Rev 21:4). Therefore redemption is possible only in the way of forgiveness (Ps 32:1; Isa 43:25, etc.), and circumcision of the heart (Dt 10:16; 30:16; Jer 4:4), and this includes, further, life, joy, peace, salvation. When Paul in Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:22 indicates Adam as the origin of sin and death, and Christ as the source of righteousness and life, he develops no ideas which are contrary to the organism of revelation or which might be neglected without loss; he merely combines and formulates the data which are explicitly or silently contained in it.

What the condition and history of the human race could hardly lead us to imagine, holy Scripture relates to us as a tragic fact in its first pages. The first man was created by God after His own image, not therefore in brutish unconsciousness or childlike naivete, but in a state of bodily and spiritual maturity, with understanding and reason, with knowledge and speech, with knowledge especially of God and His law. Then was given to him moreover a command not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This command was not contained in the moral law as such; it was not a natural but a positive commandment; it rested entirely and only on God's will and must be obeyed exclusively for this reason. It placed before man the choice, whether he would be faithful and obedient to God's word and would leave to Him alone the decision as to what is good or evil, or whether he would reserve to himself the right arbitrarily to decide what is good or evil. Thus the question was: Shall theonomy or autonomy be the way to happiness? On this account also the tree was called the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It did not bear this name in the sense that man might obtain from it the empirical knowledge of good and evil, for by his transgression he in truth lost the empirical knowledge of good. But the tree was so named, because man, by eating of it and so transgressing God's commandment, arrogated to himself "die Fahigkeit zur selbstandigen Wahl der Mittel, durch die man sein Gluck schaffen will": "the capacity of independent choice of the means by which he would attain his happiness" (Koberle, Sunde und Gnade im relig. Leben des Volkes Israel bis auf Christenrum, 1905, 64). Theonomy, as obedience to God from free love, includes as such the idea and the possibility of autonomy, therefore that of antinomy also.

By the disobedience of Adam Ge 3:6,11,12; Ro 5:12,15,19.
Through temptation of the devil Ge 3:1-5; 2Co 11:3; 1Ti 2:14.

Man in consequence of the Fall

1 Made in the image of Adam. Ge 5:3; 1Co 15:48,49.
2 Born in sin. Job 15:14; 25:4; Ps 51:5; Isa 48:8; Joh 3:6.
3 A child of wrath. Eph 2:3.
4 Evil in heart. Ge 6:5; 8:21; Jer 16:12; Mt 15:19.
5 Blinded in heart. Eph 4:18.
6 Corrupt and perverse in his ways. Ge 6:12; Ps 10:5; Ro 3:12-16.
7 Depraved in mind. Ro 8:5-7; Eph 4:17; Col 1:21; Tit 1:15.
8 Without understanding. Ps 14:2,3; Ro 3:11; 1:31.
9 Receives no the things of God. 1Co 2:14.
10 Comes short of God's glory. Ro 3:23.
11 Defiled in conscience. Tit 1:15; Heb 10:22.
12 Intractable. Job 11:12.
13 Estranged from God. Ge 3:8; Ps 58:3; Eph 4:18; Col 1:21.
14 In bondage to sin. Ro 6:19; 7:5,23; Ga 5:17; Tit 3:3.
15 In bondage to the devil. 2Ti 2:26; Heb 2:14,15.
16 Constant in evil. Ps 10:5; 2Pe 2:14.
17 Conscious of guilt. Ge 3:7,8,10.
18 Unrighteous. Ec 7:20; Ro 3:10.
19 Abominable. Job 15:16; Ps 14:3.
20 Turned to his own way. Isa 53:6.
21 Loves darkness. Joh 3:19.
22 Corrupt &c in speech. Ro 3:13,14.
23 Devoid of the fear of God. Ro 3:18.
24 Totally depraved. Ge 6:5; Ro 7:18.

25 Dead in sin Eph 2:1; Col 2:13.
26 All men partake of the effects of fall 1Ki 8:46; Ga 3:22; 1Jn 1:8; 5:19.

1 Banishment from Paradise. Ge 3:24.
2 Condemnation to labour and sorrow. Ge 3:16,19; Job 5:6,7.
3 Temporal death. Ge 3:19; Ro 5:12; 1Co 15:22.
4 Eternal death. Job 21:30; Ro 5:18,21; 6:23.

5 Cannot be remedied by man Pr 20:9; Jer 2:22; 13:23.
6 Remedy for, provided by God Ge 3:15; Joh 3:16.

(Heb. 4:12, etc.). The Bible so called because the writers of its several books were God's organs in communicating his will to men. It is his "word," because he speaks to us in its sacred pages. Whatever the inspired writers here declare to be true and binding upon us, God declares to be true and binding. This word is infallible, because written under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and therefore free from all error of fact or doctrine or precept. (See INSPIRATION) All saving knowledge is obtained from the word of God. In the case of adults it is an indispensable means of salvation, and is efficacious thereunto by the gracious influence of the Holy Spirit (John 17:17; 2 Tim. 3:15, 16; 1 Pet. 1:23).

As believers, we have been translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear son. - (Col. 1:13). This implies that Satan and his demons have no authority over believers or the new man. Sin has no dominion over us. (Rom 6:14). Sin and Satan are synonymous. So, Satan shall not have any dominion over any true believer with renewed mind and regenerated spirit. Satan cannot control or lord it over us because he is not our Lord, he is under our feet. Jesus is our Lord and the head of the church, not Satan. Jesus is the only one who is to have dominion over us. He alone should rule us both corporately as the Body of Christ and individually. The new man must resist Satan if he brings any symptoms of distress, deficiency, depression, oppression, sickness, pains or disease of any kind along his way. He should be able to say, ‘No Satan, you can’t put all these on me. You are not my Lord, you can’t triumph over me. I refuse to permit or accept anything that belongs to you. Jesus has dominion over me. Jesus is my healer and deliverer. Jesus is a life giver and not a destroyer like you Satan’. In this way, the new man is able to take his stand against Satan in the name of Jesus, using the rightful authority. The enemy can’t bring any of his evil works your way. As a believer, once you are a doer of the word, Satan will never be able to defeat you. Jesus declared your victory over Satan in the word. Claim your rights and privileges in Christ Jesus. Act on the truth and you will be free. (1 John 5:4 and John 8: 29 - 32)

(Gr. diabolos), a slanderer, the arch-enemy of man's spiritual interest (Job 1:6; Rev. 2:10; Zech. 3:1). He is called also "the accuser of the brethen" (Rev. 12:10).

In Lev. 17:7 the word "devil" is the translation of the Hebrew sair, meaning a "goat" or "satyr" (Isa. 13:21; 34:14), alluding to the wood-daemons, the objects of idolatrous worship among the heathen.

In Deut. 32:17 and Ps. 106:37 it is the translation of Hebrew shed, meaning lord, and idol, regarded by the Jews as a "demon," as the word is rendered in the Revised Version.

In the narratives of the Gospels regarding the "casting out of devils" a different Greek word (daimon) is used. In the time of our Lord there were frequent cases of demoniacal possession (Matt. 12:25-30; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 4:35; 10:18, etc.).

The New man - who is a truly born again believer must have a good relationship with God. He is one that is proud of the resurrection of Jesus Christ who is presently seated on an exalted position for above principalities, powers, might, dominion and every other name that is named. As a new man - how are you affected? True believers are seated with Jesus Christ in heavenly places. Sitting jointly with Christ means being placed far above all principalities and powers of darkness. (Ephl. 2:6). You can’t be influenced by evil spirits. That believers are reigning with Christ means that they are occupying positions of authority, honour and triumph, not failure, depression and defeat. As a believer, sitting with Christ is part of our inheritance presently. Even though we are still here on earth, we are reigning and ruling with Christ in this life Now! Just exercise your rightful authority and stop allowing Satan to blindfold you and keep you away from what rightly belongs to you. (Eph 2:1-6). You need to exercise the authority that belongs to you in that position of ruling and reigning with Christ over principalities and powers before you can benefit anything from it. Our joint - sitting with Christ in heavenly places is not our circumstance. Rather it is our position. If you want to rise above your circumstances, you must take advantage of your position in Christ Jesus.

The new man is enthroned with Christ by God in heavenly places. As a church we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Takes advantage of your seating with Christ and begin to triumph. (Rom 8:37-39)

The victory of Jesus Christ over Satan on the cross gave us the ample opportunity to reign as kings in this life here in this world, because we are in Christ Jesus. Satan is under our feet. Formerly, we served as slaves to Satan and spiritual death; but now, we reign in life through Jesus Christ. This is part of the riches of our inheritance in Christ Jesus. Romans 5:17. Does this bible verse sound like a church under the dominion and control of demons and evil spirits? NO! When are we to reign over Satan and his evil schemes? Is it when we get to heaven? NO! All true believers are reigning as kings in the realm of life now. ‘I congratulate all believers’! Are you one of those I am congratulating? If yes, I then welcome you to the triumphant church. As born again, we have become new creatures in Christ Jesus. We are the victorious ones and not the defeated ones. We reign as kings in life through Jesus Christ now. This is part of the wisdom, which the Holy Spirit is trying to instill in the body of Christ. In times past, we served as slaves to Satan, but now we walk in the newness of life. Rm. 6:4 As followers of Christ, we have to struggle to be victorious, we only need to stand our ground with the Word against a defeated foe. Stand on the victory of Jesus Christ and speak the Word, you will see Satan and his demons, together with the afflictions they sent to you leaving your body and vicinity immediately. Always see Satan as a defeated and dethroned enemy. As a believer, you will definitely become what you dwell on. What you think about is what you dwell on. What you dwell on is what you believe, what you believe is what you talk about. And what you talk about is what you will eventually become. So, concerning Satan, if you think the thoughts of the devil, you will become depressed, suppressed, discouraged and oppressed. You will see yourself going into error. But if you think on the Word, you will be enlightened, illuminated and victory minded. Instead of going about preaching how powerful the devil is, preach the mightiness and victory of Jesus Christ. If you concentrate on the triumph of Jesus Christ, the devil will divert all his problems and antics away from you. Preach, teach, read and study the things that will edify your spirit and not the things that will terrify your life.

In the beginning, Adam had the dominion over this world and so was the ‘god’ of this world. But after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened and they knew good and evil. (Gen. 3:6&7). By eating the forbidden fruit, Adam had disobeyed God and so forfeited his dominion on this earth to the devil. Adam and Eve were separated from God. Through disobedience, Adam sold out his dominion of the world to Satan. And so Satan became the ‘god of this world’. Looking closely at the account of how Satan tempted Jesus Christ in Luke 4:1 - 8, Satan stated categorically that the kingdoms of this world have been delivered over to him. Who made this change of leadership possible? It was Adam! How? Through disobedience. Satan had no authority at all over the world before Adam gave it to him. Rather, Satan fell from the dominion he had initially. (Exe 28:16-18 and Luke 10:18). The authority and dominion which Satan has over the kingdoms of this world was confirmed in the temptation story. Believers should be wise and know their position in Christ Jesus. We should not allow sin, fear, disobedience and ignorance to overtake us if we do not want to handover what rightly belongs to us to Satan and his agents.

It is only the Word of God that grows and prevails in people’s lives. The Word of God grows and prevails over any circumstance, any demon, and any force of darkness in any person’s life if planted in the ground prepared by prayer and watered by the word and the Holy Spirit. The heart of people must first be prepared before the word is sown. This preparation is done spiritually through scriptural prayer and sowing of the incorruptible seed - which is the word of God. 1 peter 1:23. It is this word that brings light to men’s heart and sets them free from the dominion of the devil. (Ps 119:130)

Our prayer should be based on the word. Our teaching should also be based on the word of God. If we pray and preach the word, demonic strongholds will begin to collapse on their own. There is no other way to deal with the devil in all nations, except when we learn to pray according to the word of God. This is a very easy way of winning souls for Christ, because the labourers are really few. (Matt 9:37,38). Just keep asking the Lord for the rain of the Holy Spirit keep preaching, teaching and praying that more labourers be sent forth. This will lead to a harvest of souls. If our prayer is based solidly on the word of God, He will bring the expected increase. (1cor 3:6). We should stop praying unbiblically and begin to pray effectively and effectually according to the word of God so as to destroy the strategies of Satan and God’s purposes for us here on earth will then be fulfilled to a greater measure. The word of God is both lamp and light to us. So, if we pray with the word, our ways will be illuminated and Satan will have no hiding place. (Ps 119:105)

We need to know our enemy so as not to be ignorant of his devices. Many believers become fearful if we talk about the devil, demons and evil spirits and their activities. Many people seem to think that it would be better not to ever mention the devil or evil spirits. But if the word of God dwells in you through the Holy Spirit, you have nothing to be afraid of. If you are ignorant of the devices of Satan, you are in real trouble. The word of God is the only solution. Anyone who thinks and believes wrongly will eventually act wrongly. The Holy Spirit dwelling inside you will guide you into thinking, believing and acting on the Word of God. We must stop struggling to defeat the devil, Jesus has already fought and defeated the devil. That was why He told us to ‘occupy, till I come’ (Luke 19:13). We are only to take our stand on the Word against a defeated foe. So, we are in the occupying army of the Lord. We are not in battle. We are only to enforce the victory, which our commander-in-chief-Jesus Christ has already won for us. We should magnify the triumph, as believers, and not the battle. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit will encourage you to fight the good fight of faith, it is the Holy Spirit dwelling in us that strengthens our faith to trust in God’s Word. We should take control of our own thoughts and imaginations so as to prevent the lies of the devil from taking hold of our minds. (2cor 10:3-5). The Holy Spirit must be allowed to dwell richly in you as a believer for you to be ready at all times to challenge the devil with the word of God. The devil can’t get into a believer unless the door is open. An uncontrolled mind, wrong thinking, wrong believing and wrong talking are avenues of opening doors for Satan to enter into the life of a believer believers need to know that these are the major battlefields in life. We need to think faith thoughts and speak faith words constantly so as not to give the devil a place in our lives. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in you will help you to stay in the arena of faith, you will be able to stand against Satan and put him on the run. (James 4:7-8).

The third Person of the adorable Trinity. His personality is proved

(1) from the fact that the attributes of personality, as intelligence and volition, are ascribed to him (John 14:17, 26; 15:26; 1 Cor. 2:10, 11; 12:11). He reproves, helps, glorifies, intercedes (John 16:7-13; Rom. 8:26). (2) He executes the offices peculiar only to a person. The very nature of these offices involves personal distinction (Luke 12:12; Acts 5:32; 15:28; 16:6; 28:25; 1 Cor. 2:13; Heb. 2:4; 3:7; 2 Pet. 1:21).

His divinity is established (1) from the fact that the names of God are ascribed to him (Ex. 17:7; Ps. 95:7; comp. Heb. 3:7-11); and

(2) that divine attributes are also ascribed to him, omnipresence (Ps. 139:7; Eph. 2:17, 18; 1 Cor. 12:13); omniscience (1 Cor. 2:10, 11); omnipotence (Luke 1:35; Rom. 8:11); eternity (Heb. 9:4).

(3) Creation is ascribed to him (Gen. 1:2; Job 26:13; Ps. 104:30), and the working of miracles (Matt. 12:28; 1 Cor. 12:9-11).

(4) Worship is required and ascribed to him (Isa. 6:3; Acts 28:25; Rom. 9:1; Rev. 1:4; Matt. 28:19).

As believers, circumstances cannot limit our advancement so long as we act on the word of God. The devil and his demons cannot stop us. you can only be limited by your own self. But once you are in agreement with the word and the Holy Spirit, nothing can limit your advancement. We shall advance in our knowledge of the Holy Spirit, in the abundance of God’s Grace, in love, in the rich promises of God and in glory. (Eph 1:1-14). In His own good pleasure, Jesus Christ adopted us as His own children. Our sins are forgiven and we are redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. So, the devil has no where to capitalise on and hold us to ransom. Based on our joint seating with Christ in Glory, there is no limitations to the power and authority we exercise over Satan. Satan is under our feet. And anyone under your feet cannot easily rise up to over-power you. Jesus has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. So, we have nothing to fear. In His good pleasure, Jesus made His will known to us. We are presently sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Who then can stop our advancement in both the physical and spiritual realm? Nobody!! I will prosper in my body, health, finances, education, my relationship with God and my Study of the word of God. That is why I was born. Nobody can limit me!

In 2 peter 1:1-10, we are assured of God’s great promises that qualifies us to become partakers of the divine nature. We should be diligent enough to add virtue to our faith and add knowledge to out virtue. This will make us bolder and more confident when confronted with the challenges of life. By adding temperance to our knowledge, patience to our temperance, godliness to our patience, brotherly kindness to our godliness and charity to our brotherly kindness, we shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. As Jesus was pleasing to God, so also we must be pleasing to Jesus Christ if we must excel. Jesus must declare to us that we are pleasing in His sight before we can be favoured.

One fact is obvious, with Christ as my saviour, Lord and Master, there are no limitations to my spiritual, physical and economic advancement. I refuse to be hindered, limited, stagnated or obstructed along my success-road.