The Apostle White Reality Hour Podcast

Welcome to The Apostle White Reality Hour! This podcast promotes the spirit of truth that emerges from the heavenly realm, offering each listener the opportunity to gain spiritual liberty and enlightenment. Every episode delves into the profound mysteries of God, providing a place of peace, reflection, and spiritual growth.

Someone Has To Stand In The Victory Circle Against The Enemy 10/20/2026

(#990) Simply Wait On The Lord Until He Gives You Instructions 10/17/2026

(#989) The Lord Came From Another World To Bring You Up Into The Top Of The Mountain Of Righteousness 10/13/2026

(#988) It All Comes Down To You Presenting An Honest Heart Unto God 10/13/2026

(#987) Then Opened He Their Understanding 10/10/2026

(#986) Should The New Creature Wear The Old Mans Name Or The New 10/08/2026

(#985) Not Everyone Is Created To Worship God 10/08/2026

(#984) The Soul That Sinneth, It Shall Die 10/03/2026

(#983) Do You Realize The Curse That Is Upon Whoever Is The Natural Chosen People Of God 10/01/2026

(#982) Victory Has Already Been Established Within You 09/26/2026

(#981) Man Is Rushing Through Life Up Against The Clock Of Death, But Not God 09/25/2026

(#980) God Has To Liberate You From Man's Indoctrination Before You're Able To Follow The Spirit 09/24/2026

(#979) Stock Up On Faith 09/19/2026

(#978) Me And My Jesus 09/19/2026

(#977) Everyones Looking For What Is Already Here 09/19/2026

(#976) Invest All Of Your Faith & Energy Where You See The Lord Working In Your Life 09/12/2026

(#975) Christ Deserves Faithulness So Trust And Wait On Him 09/10/2026

(#974-A) From The Stars Of Heaven To The Victory Over Death - Text Reading 09/10/2026

(#974-A) From The Stars Of Heaven To The Victory Over Death - Text Reading From the Stars of Heaven to the Victory Over Death The Recovery of That Which Was Lost The work of salvation did not begin with the natural birth of man, nor can its full meaning be understood by beginning only with man's conduct upon the natural earth. To understand what Christ came to recover, we must understand what was lost. And to understand what was lost, we must look beyond the natural creation into the spiritual order that preceded it and is reflected by it. The history begins with conflict: “And there was war in heaven.” (Revelation 12:7) The salvation work must be understood against the background of this war. It began in the heavenly order, but its conflict did not end there. The war continued as its participants were cast down, and its effects extended through the spiritual earth and ultimately into the hearts and minds of men, where the conflict between darkness and light continues even unto this present hour. Within this heavenly conflict, the dragon exercised his power against a portion of the stars of heaven: “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.” (Revelation 12:4) The language is forceful. The stars were cast down. The dragon acted upon them and cast a third part of the stars of heaven into the earth. Elsewhere, stars are associated with the righteous and with God's heavenly order: “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3) The stars cast down by the dragon therefore represent a portion of righteous spirits belonging to the heavenly order of God. Revelation then describes the defeat of the dragon within that same heavenly conflict. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels: “And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.” (Revelation 12:8) The dragon was cast out: “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan… he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Revelation 12:9) Jesus described that fall: “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” (Luke 10:18) Satan was defeated and cast down with the suddenness and force of lightning. Then heaven announced the consequence: “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” (Revelation 12:12) The war that began in heaven had now moved into another realm. The righteous spirits had been cast down into the spiritual earth, and the dragon who had cast them down was himself afterward defeated and cast into that same lower realm. The conflict continued: “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed.” (Revelation 12:17) The dragon's expulsion from heaven did not end his opposition to God. His sphere of operation had changed. This establishes the beginning of the spiritual history necessary to understand the salvation work. Those whom Christ would ultimately liberate originated in God. Darkness was not their beginning. Darkness came afterward. Cast Down Into the Spiritual Earth The earth into which these spirits were cast is spiritual earth—a lower spiritual realm or condition in contrast to the heavenly order from which they came. God declares: “Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool.” (Isaiah 66:1) The stars occupied the heavenly order and were forcibly cast down into the spiritual earth. The dragon was afterward cast into that same lower realm, bringing his wrath and darkness into the realm where the spirits had been cast. The war therefore continued below. What had begun as war in heaven became conflict within the spiritual earth. Darkness Upon the Face of the Deep This spiritual order brings the opening of Genesis into view: “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” (Genesis 1:2) The earth under darkness is the spiritual condition preceding the bringing forth of the natural earth. The darkness upon the deep describes the spiritual condition produced under the dominion of the opposing power. Throughout Scripture, darkness is associated with that power. Paul speaks of being delivered: “From the power of darkness.” (Colossians 1:13) Christ speaks of: “The power of darkness.” (Luke 22:53) Paul describes its operation: “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light… should shine unto them.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) Darkness blinds. It conceals knowledge. It prevents understanding. The spirits who originated within God's righteous heavenly order now existed within a realm over which darkness exercised its power. Then God spoke: “Let there be light.” (Genesis 1:3) This light appears before the sun and moon are appointed as the natural lights governing the visible creation. God introduces light in direct opposition to spiritual darkness. Paul reaches back to this same language when describing God's operation within man: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts…” (2 Corinthians 4:6) The same God who commanded light against darkness now performs that work within the heart. The natural creation then gives visible expression to spiritual realities. The invisible things of God are understood: “By the things that are made.” (Romans 1:20) The visible creation therefore reflects a spiritual order that preceded it. What Darkness Took Away The righteous spirits existed before darkness exercised dominion over them. Their origin was in God. What darkness accomplished was blindness. Knowledge was obscured. The spirits lost the knowledge of who they were, from whom they originated, and the spiritual order to which they belonged. Psalm 82 reveals this condition: “They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness.” (Psalm 82:5) God then declares: “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.” (Psalm 82:6) And immediately follows it with: “But ye shall die like men.” (Psalm 82:7) The progression is unmistakable. They do not know. They do not understand. They walk in darkness. Yet they are children of the Most High. And in the absence of knowledge concerning their true spiritual identity, they die like men. Their ignorance prevents them from operating according to the reality of their origin. Their identity as gods does not mean that each possesses an independent deity. Their identity exists within the oneness of the Spirit of God. “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” (1 Corinthians 6:17) Jesus prayed: “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee… that they may be made perfect in one.” (John 17:21–23) The children of the Most High belong within the one spiritual family and life of God. Their identity is inseparable from the Spirit from whom their life proceeds. But darkness concealed that knowledge. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6) They are God's people, yet lack of knowledge leaves them subject to destruction. The war that began in heaven is now being fought over knowledge, identity and spiritual consciousness. Christ Came as the Light Christ came to liberate the captive spirit. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me… to preach deliverance to the captives… to set at liberty them that are bruised.” (Luke 4:18) Paul identifies the power from which liberation comes: “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” (Colossians 1:13) Christ enters the condition of darkness as Light: “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12) Light brings knowledge. Knowledge brings liberty. “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) The spiritual progression is direct: Darkness produces blindness. Light produces knowledge. Knowledge of truth produces liberty. The work of salvation therefore includes the restoration of the knowledge that darkness had concealed. Christ came to reveal to the lost spirit its origin, its identity and its relationship to God. Jesus pointed again to the declaration: “Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?” (John 10:34) The identity is collective within the oneness of the Spirit. The children of God do not exist as separate gods independently possessing divine life. They participate in the one Spirit of God. Christ came to reveal the Father, truth and life, restoring those who had walked in darkness to the knowledge of the spiritual reality from which their understanding had become alienated. “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) The lost belonged to God before becoming lost. Christ came to recover that which belonged to God. Renewed in Knowledge The language of renewal reveals the work taking place within man. Paul speaks of being: “Renewed in the spirit of your mind.” (Ephesians 4:23) And: “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2) Most significantly: “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” (Colossians 3:10) Renewal is connected with knowledge, and that knowledge is connected with the image of the Creator. The spirit that walked in darkness begins to see. The one who did not know begins to know. The one who had lost the knowledge of his spiritual relationship begins to understand his life in God. The one who lived under the consciousness of separation begins to understand oneness. The mind is renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator. The battlefield has now moved directly into the mind and heart. And as knowledge increases, faith must rise with it. Faith Must Rise to the Knowledge Knowledge reveals the spiritual reality. Faith enables the awakened spirit to live according to what has been revealed. A person may hear that he has passed from death unto life and continue believing himself governed by death. He may hear that the old man has been crucified and continue identifying himself with the old man. He may confess Christ while inwardly continuing to believe that Christ possesses one kind of life and he possesses another. Faith must therefore rise to the truth being revealed. Yet this faith is itself the operation of God. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13) Christ is: “The author and finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2) The natural man cannot elevate himself into the consciousness of God's righteousness through determination. The natural consciousness remembers weakness, shame, former conduct, limitation and mortality. God must elevate faith beyond the natural man's estimation of himself. Isaiah declares: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains…” (Isaiah 2:2) The righteousness is God's. Faith does not reason upward from what the old man was. Faith accepts what God has made the new man to be in Christ. From Adam Into Christ Death entered man's natural experience through disobedience: “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) And: “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) Death therefore possesses a direct relationship to sin. But the same passage announcing the wages of sin declares: “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Death governs the condition established through disobedience. Life governs the condition established in Christ. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22) Adam — death. Christ — life. The believer has been spiritually translated from the government of Adam into the life of Christ. The sentence governing Adam does not possess unchanged jurisdiction over the life existing in Christ. Paul declares: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2) There has been a change of government. Jesus says: “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life… but is passed from death unto life.” (John 5:24) He is passed from death unto life. Eternal life is the believer's present spiritual reality. Sin, Condemnation and Confidence Death cannot be addressed without addressing sin because: “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) Freedom from death therefore requires the believer to understand his freedom from sin. Paul declares: “For he that is dead is freed from sin.” (Romans 6:7) And: “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” (Romans 6:18) Again: “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” (Romans 6:22) The believer has been made free from sin. This freedom removes condemnation: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) And the absence of condemnation produces confidence: “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.” (1 John 3:21) The heart free of condemnation possesses confidence toward God. That confidence is essential to faith. The believer now lives under the government of the Spirit: “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” (Galatians 5:18) And: “Where no law is, there is no transgression.” (Romans 4:15) God governs the heart of the believer. Righteousness is not established merely by the external judgment of another person. Neither is righteousness established by human self-will. God Himself governs the inward man. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13) When God convicts, the heart knows conviction. When God governs the heart in righteousness, the condemnation of another person cannot establish divine condemnation where God has placed none. Jesus demonstrated this consciousness: “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” (John 8:46) Men accused Him repeatedly. Yet their accusations did not become His inward condemnation. His testimony remained: “I do always those things that please him.” (John 8:29) He knew the Spirit from which He operated. When He entered the temple, overturned the tables, scattered the money and drove out those conducting business there, His conduct disrupted what had become accepted practice. Yet the judgment of those observing Him did not determine the righteousness of His action. His conduct proceeded from His oneness with the Father. So it is with the believer governed by the Spirit. The believer does not establish righteousness according to fleshly desire. Neither does another human being establish his condemnation merely by declaring his conduct wrong. God governs the heart. The believer who knows that his actions proceed from the persuasion of God's Spirit possesses confidence toward God. And that confidence becomes indispensable when faith confronts death. Christ Took Authority Over Death Death possessed standing authority as the penalty of sin. Christ entered death itself. He entered the grave and arose from it. He declares: “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore… and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Revelation 1:18) Christ possesses the keys. Christ possesses authority over death. Hebrews declares: “That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them…” (Hebrews 2:14–15) Christ went through death and broke the power associated with it. At His death: “The graves were opened.” (Matthew 27:52) Then: “Many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” (Matthew 27:52–53) The saints were released from the grave. Immediately surrounding the resurrection of Christ, the authority of His victory reached into death and manifested itself in the release of those who had slept. Then the risen Christ declares: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” (Matthew 28:18) Death does not stand outside the authority of Christ. Defeated in Heaven, Defeated on Earth, Defeated in the Grave The war that began in heaven now reveals the extent of Christ's victory. The adversary was defeated in heaven and cast down: “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” (Luke 10:18) On earth, the powers of darkness recognized the authority of Christ: “What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29) The devils requested permission to enter the swine. Their request demonstrated their subjection to His authority. Then Christ entered death and emerged possessing the keys of death and the grave. The adversary was defeated in heaven. He was subject to Christ upon earth. His power of death was broken through Christ's death and resurrection. The remaining battlefield is within the heart and consciousness of man. The war that began in heaven has reached the heart. The defeated enemy continues to exercise government where darkness continues to persuade those whom Christ has liberated that they remain subject to powers over which Christ possesses authority. The entire progression now returns to the beginning. Darkness produces ignorance. God commands light. Light produces knowledge. Knowledge reveals truth. Truth produces liberty. Liberty removes bondage. Freedom from sin removes condemnation. Freedom from condemnation produces confidence. Confidence permits faith to stand. Faith apprehends the victory already accomplished in Christ. The final battlefield is within man. The Bride and the Last Enemy Death is an enemy. “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:26) Christ possesses authority over that enemy. And Christ loves His bride. “For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: for we are members of his body.” (Ephesians 5:29–30) The bride participates in His body and His life. Christ does not surrender His bride to the authority of an enemy He has defeated. As the members of His body awaken to the knowledge of the victory residing in Christ, they are brought to understand that surrender to death is not the highest expression of faith. Victory over death is not the believer independently attempting to accomplish something Christ failed to accomplish. It is Christ's victory becoming operative within those who have awakened to their oneness with Him. The believer does not manufacture the victory. “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57) God gives the victory. God supplies the faith. God works within the believer both to will and to do. The believer awakens to the authority of the divine life in which he now exists. “Ye Shall Die Like Men” We can now return to the declaration: “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men.” (Psalm 82:6–7) The preceding words reveal their condition: “They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness.” (Psalm 82:5) They lack knowledge. They walk in darkness. And they die like men. But light changes the condition. Those who did not know begin to know. Those who walked in... /episode/index/show/theapostlewhiterealityhour/id/42855280

(#974) I Can't Go Back Into Darkness Because I've Drank The Blood 09/07/2026

(#973) Authenticate Your Connection To God By Having Peace 09/07/2026

(#972) Its Time To Get Down To Business And Pray To God With A Sincere Heart 09/05/2026

(#971) The Spirit World Is Deeper Than Deep 09/03/2026

(#970) The Devil Wants To Keep You Ignorant Of Your Oneness With God 09/03/2026

(#969) You Cant Be Spiritually Liberated In A Natural Church Sitting Under A Natural Pastor 09/03/2026

(#968-B) When The Spirit Must Remain Guide - Text Reading 09/01/2026

(#968-A) All Things Are Of God - Text Reading 09/01/2026

(#968) How Is Your Heart Position To Engage The Lords Enemy 08/29/2026

(#967-B) Which Baptism Cleanses The Heart? - Text Reading 08/28/2026

(#967-B) Which Baptism Cleanses The Heart? - Text Reading WHICH BAPTISM CLEANSES THE HEART? One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism “How forcible are right words!” — Job 6:25 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” — John 8:32 There is a question concerning baptism that cannot be settled merely by tradition, denominational practice, historical custom, or even by isolating individual actions performed by the apostles while they themselves were being led progressively into the revelation of Christ. It must finally be settled by truth. And the controlling question is simple: Which baptism cleanses the heart? This question reaches beyond ceremony. It reaches into salvation itself, because Jesus identified the place from which man's defilement proceeds: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders...” —Mark 7:21 Again: “Those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.” —Matthew 15:18 Sin's defilement is inward. Therefore, the cleansing necessary to deliver man from that defilement must reach inward. Natural water cannot do that. Natural water can wash the body. It can remove filth from the flesh. A person can be completely submerged beneath it and brought up again. But Scripture never gives natural water the power to enter the heart, purge the conscience, circumcise the inward man, crucify the old man, regenerate the spirit, or place a person into Christ. Therefore, the question is not merely: Have you been baptized? The greater question is: What baptism have you trusted to cleanse your heart? CLEANSE FIRST THAT WHICH IS WITHIN Jesus established the divine order: “Cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.” —Matthew 23:26 God's concern is not satisfied by outward religious performance while inward defilement remains untouched. Under the former order there were physical washings and ordinances. Hebrews speaks of: “divers washings, and carnal ordinances...” —Hebrews 9:10 The writer describes former purification as sanctifying: “to the purifying of the flesh.” —Hebrews 9:13 But then comes the greater operation: “How much more shall the blood of Christ... purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” —Hebrews 9:14 The distinction is unmistakable. One operates upon the flesh. The other reaches the conscience. Hebrews 10:22 maintains the distinction: “Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” A washed body and a cleansed heart are not the same thing. Jesus said: “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” —John 15:3 And Peter later testified concerning God's work among the Gentiles: “And God, which knoweth the hearts... giving them the Holy Ghost... purifying their hearts by faith.” —Acts 15:8–9 Notice where God looks: the heart. Notice what God purifies: the heart. And notice how Peter says that purification occurs: by faith. JOHN'S WATER AND CHRIST'S BAPTISM John the Baptist established a distinction that must not be erased: “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I... he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” —Matthew 3:11 Two administrators are identified. John says: “I... baptize you with water.” Then concerning Christ: “He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.” John also explained why he came baptizing with water: “That he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.” —John 1:31 John's baptism had its appointed purpose. But John himself pointed beyond his baptism to the baptism of Christ. John had water. Christ has the Holy Ghost. Then Paul later declares: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” —Ephesians 4:5 If there is one baptism, the question cannot be avoided: Which baptism remains as the baptism of the one Lord, one faith, one body and one Spirit? Paul answers: “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body...” —1 Corinthians 12:13 The administrator is the Spirit. The destination is the one body. This is something natural water cannot accomplish. BORN OF WATER AND OF THE SPIRIT Jesus told Nicodemus: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” —John 3:5 Nicodemus immediately attempted to understand spiritual birth through natural processes: “How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?” Jesus answered by establishing two realms: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” —John 3:6 Then: “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” Natural produces natural. Spirit produces spirit. Natural water cannot give birth to the spirit man. And John's Gospel later identifies the living water Christ gives: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me... out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” —John 7:37–38 Then John explains: “But this spake he of the Spirit...” —John 7:39 The living water is Spirit. Christ does not merely wash the surface. Christ reaches the inward man. THE WASHING OF REGENERATION Paul writes: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” —Titus 3:5 Regeneration is not accomplished by washing the surface of the body. It is the renewing of the Holy Ghost. If sin proceeds from within, salvation must perform its operation within. The heart must be reached. The conscience must be purged. The inward man must be renewed. Natural water cannot accomplish these things. BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST Paul writes: “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” —Romans 6:3 Paul does not say that believers are baptized into natural water so that natural water might afterwards transfer them into Christ. He says: “baptized into Jesus Christ.” Then: “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death...” And: “Our old man is crucified with him...” This is an inward union with Christ. The old man is crucified. The believer participates in Christ's death. The believer is raised into newness of life. A minister can lower a body beneath water. But can that minister crucify the old man? Can he take hold of another person's spirit and place it into Christ? Can he determine the moment when God has brought about inward death and resurrection? No. Flesh can be placed into natural water; only Spirit can place spirit into Christ. Galatians confirms the destination: “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” —Galatians 3:27 And Corinthians identifies the agency: “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.” —1 Corinthians 12:13 THE OPERATION OF GOD Colossians brings the inward nature of this work into powerful focus: “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands...” —Colossians 2:11 Made without hands. Paul continues: “In putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.” Then immediately: “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God...” —Colossians 2:12 Follow Paul's progression: Circumcision made without hands. The circumcision of Christ. Buried with him. Risen with him. The operation of God. Who knows precisely when God circumcises another person's heart? Who can see the moment the old man is put off? Who can determine the instant at which a spirit is buried with Christ and raised with him? Man cannot. But God knows. The Spirit knows. And therefore Paul calls it: “the operation of God.” Even more importantly, Paul says the believer is risen: “through the faith of the operation of God.” Faith therefore has an object. It rests in what God performs. WHAT HAPPENED AT PENTECOST? Acts 2:38 is frequently treated as though Peter declared that natural water possesses the power to remove sin: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins...” But listen first to the charge Peter had made: “God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” —Acts 2:36 Then: “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said... Men and brethren, what shall we do?” —Acts 2:37 The Word had already reached their hearts. They had rejected the Messiah. Now they were commanded to repent and submit themselves in the name of Jesus Christ—the very name they had rejected. Their repentance addressed that rejection. Their baptism in Jesus' name became an act of obedient submission under the name of the One whom they had rejected. But the water itself possessed no power to remove their sins. Remission belonged to Christ. Their confidence was to be transferred to the very Christ whom Israel had rejected. And the same Peter later tells us how God actually purifies hearts: “Purifying their hearts by faith.” —Acts 15:9 Not: purifying their hearts by natural water. But: “by faith.” CORNELIUS EXPOSES THE LIMITATION OF NATURAL WATER Cornelius presents a decisive problem for any doctrine that makes natural water the necessary means by which God cleanses the heart before giving his Spirit. While Peter was still preaching: “The Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.” —Acts 10:44 The circumcised Jewish believers were astonished: “because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.” How did they know? “For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.” —Acts 10:46 Only after God had given the Holy Ghost did Peter say: “Can any man forbid water...?” —Acts 10:47 God did not wait for natural water. God knew their hearts. God received their faith. God gave them the Holy Ghost. Peter later explains exactly what happened: “God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost... purifying their hearts by faith.” —Acts 15:8–9 If God purified their hearts by faith before natural water was administered, natural water cannot be the agent that purified their hearts. God himself demonstrated that distinction. THE PROMISE IS UNIVERSAL—THE PENTECOSTAL SEQUENCE IS NOT Peter said: “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” —Acts 2:39 What promise had he just mentioned? “The gift of the Holy Ghost.” The promise extends to all whom God calls. But Peter did not thereby declare that the exact historical sequence experienced by those Jews at Pentecost must be repeated in every person. Cornelius proves otherwise. At Pentecost we see repentance, baptism in Jesus' name, and the promise of the Holy Ghost. At Cornelius' house, God gives the Holy Ghost before water. Therefore: The promise is universal. The method experienced by those Jews at Pentecost is not thereby made universal. DO NOT MAKE THE APOSTLES' TRANSITIONAL PERFORMANCE THE FINAL BAROMETER At this point someone may say: “But Peter baptized with water.” Yes. “Philip baptized with water.” Yes. “Paul participated in water baptism.” Yes. Scripture does not hide these facts, and neither should we. But another fact must not be hidden either: The apostles themselves were being progressively led into the revelation of what Christ had accomplished. Jesus told them: “When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth...” —John 16:13 To be guided into truth describes movement. Progression. Understanding unfolding under the leadership of the Spirit. Consider the evidence. Jesus had already commissioned his disciples concerning: “all nations.” —Matthew 28:19 Yet Acts later says that scattered believers were: “preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.” —Acts 11:19 They possessed the words “all nations,” yet they had not comprehended their full reach. Peter himself required a vision from heaven before entering the house of a Gentile. He said: “Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.” —Acts 10:28 Peter had walked with Jesus. Peter had heard his teaching. Peter had heard the commission. Peter had received the Holy Ghost. And Peter was still being shown something he had not previously understood. That is not an accusation against Peter. That is the record of Acts. God then demonstrated Gentile acceptance by pouring out the Holy Ghost while Peter was still speaking. And Peter had to return and explain what God had done to the other Jewish believers. Therefore the barometer of the final truth concerning baptism cannot rest solely upon asking: What did an apostle physically perform at a particular stage? The question must continue: Into what truth did the Spirit ultimately lead them? We must follow the revelation through. Paul eventually writes: “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.” He writes: “Baptized into Jesus Christ.” He writes: “Baptized into Christ.” And finally: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Do not freeze the apostles at one point in their transformative progression and make that point the final definition of baptism. Follow the Spirit's revelation to its maturity. PHILIP AND THE ETHIOPIAN Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch in natural water. That fact is undeniable. But what does the text establish? It establishes that Philip used water. It does not say that the water purified the Ethiopian's heart. It does not say the water regenerated his spirit. It does not say the water placed him into Christ. And this occurs before the Cornelius breakthrough in which God dramatically expanded the Jewish believers' understanding concerning the Gentiles. The Ethiopian himself said concerning Isaiah: “How can I, except some man should guide me?” Human beings minister according to the understanding and revelation they possess. But Christ promised that the Spirit of truth would continue guiding his people into truth. The act of Philip cannot be given a spiritual power that Scripture never assigns to the water itself. PAUL'S PROGRESSION TOWARD THE ONE BAPTISM Acts 19 records Paul encountering disciples who knew John's baptism. Paul explained: “John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Paul laid hands upon them, and the Holy Ghost came upon them. But continue following Paul's revelation. Later he writes: “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.” —1 Corinthians 12:13 Then: “Baptized into Jesus Christ.” —Romans 6:3 Then: “Baptized into Christ.” —Galatians 3:27 And: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” —Ephesians 4:5 Paul even says: “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel...” —1 Corinthians 1:17 If administering natural water were the indispensable operation by which hearts are cleansed and spirits are placed into Christ, such a distinction would be difficult to explain. But if Christ performs the true baptism through the Spirit, Paul's statement becomes clear. Paul could preach. Paul could plant. Another could water. But: “God gave the increase.” —1 Corinthians 3:6 Man ministers the Word. God performs the inward operation. NOAH AND THE BAPTISM THAT SAVES Peter writes: “Eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us...” —1 Peter 3:20–21 But Peter immediately says: “not the putting away of the filth of the flesh...” Peter refuses to locate the saving operation in outward washing. And Genesis tells us something remarkable concerning the flood: “The waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.” —Genesis 7:17 The waters that judged the world lifted the vessel containing Noah. Those engulfed by the flood died. Noah was not saved because water washed his flesh. He was safe because he was inside God's appointed provision. Therefore the spiritual question is not: Who touched water? The question is: Who is in Christ? Paul says: “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him...” —Colossians 2:12 And: “hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” —Ephesians 2:6 The believer's salvation is in Christ. WHY CONTINUE THE SHADOW WHEN THE REALITY HAS COME? Someone may concede everything concerning Spirit baptism and still say: “I want natural-water baptism also. I consider it a symbol.” But why? What spiritual necessity remains for the symbol once the reality has come? Scripture describes former ordinances as: “a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” —Colossians 2:17 And: “a shadow of good things to come...” —Hebrews 10:1 The coming of the reality changes the believer's relationship to the shadow. The veil is taken away in Christ. Paul writes: “Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.” —2 Corinthians 3:16 Then: “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” If the Spirit has performed the baptism, what remains for natural water to accomplish? If the Spirit has cleansed the heart, what remains for water to cleanse? If the Spirit has placed the believer into Christ, where else must the believer be placed? If the Spirit has joined the believer to the one body, what spiritual union remains incomplete? If the old man has been crucified and the believer has been raised into newness of life, what spiritual burial remains for natural water to perform? If the answer is nothing, then by what authority do we preserve the shadow as though God's operation requires an outward supplement? Saying: “It is only a symbol” does not answer the question. It creates another: Why preserve the symbol when the substance has come? WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE HEART REJECTS THE BAPTISM THAT CLEANSES IT? Here the matter becomes much more serious. There is a difference between practicing something because it is all one has ever been taught and rejecting truth after truth has reached the heart. Ignorance and rejection are not identical. A person may have entered natural water sincerely. He may have believed he was obeying God. He may never have been caused to consider whether the water touching his body could possibly cleanse the place where Jesus said defilement originates. But when truth comes, the matter changes. Jesus said: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” —John 8:32 Truth comes to liberate. But what happens when truth comes and the heart refuses it? If God reveals that the heart is purified by faith; if regeneration is by the renewing of the Holy Ghost; if Christ baptizes with the Holy Ghost; if by one Spirit believers are baptized into one body; if believers are baptized into Christ; if this is the operation of God; and if Scripture finally declares one baptism— then this is no longer merely an argument over competing baptismal customs. The question becomes: Will the heart believe the operation of God? Paul says the believer is risen with Christ: “through the faith of the operation of God.” —Colossians 2:12 If the operation is God's, faith must rest in God's operation. If the heart refuses confidence in what God performs inwardly and instead rests... /episode/index/show/theapostlewhiterealityhour/id/42591220

(#967-A) Except It Be For Fornication - Text Reading 08/28/2026

(#967-A) Except It Be For Fornication - Text Reading EXCEPT IT BE FOR FORNICATION The Purchase of Christ, the Sovereignty of God, and the Question of Natural Marriage The Pharisees came to Jesus with a question concerning man's authority over marriage: “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?” — Matthew 19:3 Jesus did not begin His answer by giving them a list of permissible causes for divorce. He took them back to the beginning: “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” — Matthew 19:4–6 The importance of the order is immediate. They asked about man's authority to separate. Jesus answered first with God's authority in joining. Before discussing when man might put something away, Christ established that man is not the highest authority over the relationship: “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” The Pharisees then appealed to Moses: “Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?” — Matthew 19:7 Jesus answered: “Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.” — Matthew 19:8 Now another element enters the discussion. Jesus not only distinguishes God's joining from man's putting asunder; He identifies something within man that stood behind the Mosaic concession: hardness of heart. Then comes the statement around which this inquiry has developed: “Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication…” — Matthew 19:9 The progression matters: God joins. Man seeks authority to put away. Moses permitted putting away because of hardness of heart. From the beginning it was not so. Then Christ speaks of fornication. Consequently, “except it be for fornication” should not be isolated from everything Christ has just established and treated merely as a legal formula giving man permission to divorce. The discussion has already raised greater questions: What has God joined? What authority does man possess over what God has joined? What does hardness of heart have to do with the desire to put away? And ultimately: Who possesses jurisdiction over man himself? That final question takes us beyond Matthew 19 and into the work Christ came to accomplish. Before determining the ultimate claim of one human relationship upon another, we must determine the claim of Christ upon the person. And that takes us to the blood. Bought With a Price Paul writes: “Ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” — 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 The first consequence of the purchase is unmistakable: “Ye are not your own.” This is more than a call to improved morality. It is a declaration of ownership. The body is God's. The spirit is God's. The members are God's. The person has been purchased. The blood of Christ therefore establishes a claim upon the whole person. Revelation describes Christ as having redeemed unto God by His blood people: “out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” — Revelation 5:9 Those once “far off” are “made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). Those who “in time past were not a people” become “the people of God” (1 Peter 2:10). This marks an important movement in God's dealings with mankind. Israel had occupied a particular covenantal position as a people called unto God, while the Gentiles were described as strangers from those covenants. Yet through Christ's blood the call reaches beyond that former boundary. Paul, speaking at Athens, declared: “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.” — Acts 17:30 There is a significant “but now.” The blood has been shed. The purchase has been made. The nations are called. And those answering that call are called unto holiness. The purchase therefore establishes the governing premise of this inquiry: The person purchased by Christ cannot possess an independent jurisdiction over himself greater than the jurisdiction of the One who purchased him. If the person himself belongs to Christ, then everything involving that person's body, spirit, members, conduct, relationships, and joinings necessarily comes beneath Christ's authority. This includes marriage. Can Natural Marriage Supersede Christ's Authority? Marriage is among mankind's oldest and most deeply established relationships. But its antiquity cannot make it sovereign. A marriage may be recognized by family. It may be recognized by society. It may be recognized by civil government. It may be recognized by a religious institution. It may have existed before either person consciously came to Christ. None of those facts, standing alone, can establish that the relationship possesses authority superior to Christ's ownership of the person. If Christ has purchased someone, can a natural relationship say to Christ: “You may possess this person's spirit, but concerning this relationship Your jurisdiction ends”? The language of the purchase does not allow such a conclusion. “Ye are not your own.” Therefore, the question is not whether marriage matters to God. Jesus' teaching plainly establishes that it does. The question is whether natural marriage is sovereign over God. It cannot be. A proposition that may appear radical must therefore be faced: If Christ, exercising His jurisdiction over a person He has purchased, calls that person out of a particular natural marriage, no human institution possesses authority superior to Christ by which it can forbid Him to do so. This must immediately be distinguished from a very different proposition. It does not mean that an individual possesses unrestricted authority to leave a marriage. The authority belongs to Christ. Personal dissatisfaction cannot manufacture His call. Desire for another person cannot manufacture His call. Human reasoning cannot manufacture His call. Neither can an individual simply rename an unwanted marriage “fornication” and thereby give personal desire divine authority. The proposition is not: “I may leave because I have decided God does not approve.” It is: If Christ calls, Christ possesses the authority to call. The distinction is fundamental. What God Hath Joined This brings us back to the precision of Christ's statement: “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Notice where Jesus places the decisive action: God hath joined. He does not merely say, “What has been joined.” God's action stands at the center of the statement. This gives extraordinary weight to a joining that proceeds from God. Man does not possess authority to put asunder what God has joined. But the statement also raises a question that should not be answered carelessly: Is everything human beings call marriage necessarily identical with “what God hath joined together”? Matthew 19 does not explicitly answer that question. We therefore should not put words into Christ's mouth and claim that He expressly divided marriages into two categories—those God joined and those He did not. But neither can His statement reasonably be reversed into another proposition: Whatever man joins, God is thereafter obligated to recognize as His own joining. That would make man's action sovereign over God. The text says: God hath joined. And God's sovereignty must remain intact. Can Man Make Something Holy? The same question appears when we consider holiness. God says: “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” — 1 Peter 1:16 Holiness originates with God. Man does not create holiness merely by attaching a religious or legal title to something. Age does not produce holiness. Tradition does not produce holiness. Civil recognition does not produce holiness. Even religious ceremony, considered independently of God, cannot compel God to call something holy. This does not mean that a marriage involving an unbelieving or unholy person is automatically nonexistent or invalid. First Corinthians 7 prevents such an easy conclusion. Paul says that where an unbelieving spouse is pleased to dwell with the believer, the believer is not to put that spouse away. He even describes the unbelieving spouse as sanctified in relation to the believer. That is important evidence. It shows that an existing natural marriage may continue when one person comes into Christ. But it does not establish the larger proposition that Christ has thereby surrendered all personal jurisdiction over the believer and can never direct otherwise. Indeed, Paul says within the same chapter: “But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk.” — 1 Corinthians 7:17 The Lord's call remains governing. Therefore neither extreme follows. It is not: Everything that existed before Christ must be abandoned. Nor is it: Everything that existed before Christ must necessarily remain unchanged. The governing question is: What is the Lord pleased to do with what now belongs to Him? The Former Life Becomes History This is where the nature of new birth becomes indispensable. Christian conversion cannot adequately be described as the natural man accepting a new set of religious teachings while otherwise continuing under his former governmental identity. Paul writes: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him…” — Romans 6:6 And: “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead… even so we also should walk in newness of life.” — Romans 6:4 Something dies. Something comes forth. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul speaks similarly concerning the former lives of believers: “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified…” — 1 Corinthians 6:11 The glory of redemption is not that Christ must take everything belonging to the former life and declare it holy. The glory is that the former life becomes history. What I was belongs to the history of sin. What I have become belongs to God. The old man is not merely renovated and renamed. He dies. The new creature comes forth. Consequently, the old man's history cannot automatically dictate what Christ must require of the new creature. Some things Christ may leave in place. Some things He may sanctify to continued use. Some things He may call the believer away from. But the governing authority belongs to Him. Married to Another Paul uses marriage itself to describe this change of jurisdiction: “ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead…” — Romans 7:4 This passage specifically concerns the believer's death to the Law and union with Christ. It should not be made to say directly what it does not say about natural divorce. But its underlying movement is unmistakable: death → release from former jurisdiction → marriage to Christ → fruit unto God. The believer is: married to another. That “another” is Christ. Entrance into Christ therefore establishes a relationship higher than every natural relationship. The believer's highest allegiance is Christ. His highest ownership is Christ's. His ultimate marriage is to Christ. No natural relationship can properly be elevated above that union. Christ Was Already the Bridegroom The identification of Christ as Bridegroom was not something Paul invented when he later wrote concerning Christ and the church. Jesus spoke of Himself as Bridegroom: “Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them?” — Matthew 9:15 John the Baptist likewise declared: “He that hath the bride is the bridegroom…” — John 3:29 The Bridegroom mystery therefore already exists within Christ's own ministry. Paul later unfolds it: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.” — Ephesians 5:25 Then, after quoting the Genesis declaration— “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife…” —Paul says: “This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” — Ephesians 5:32 Natural marriage therefore points beyond itself. It participates in a mystery whose greater reality is Christ and His church. Male and Female: The Mystery From the Beginning This gives deeper significance to Jesus' appeal to the beginning. Genesis records: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” — Genesis 1:26 Then: “So God created man in his own image… male and female created he them.” — Genesis 1:27 The written record later identifies Christ as: “the image of the invisible God.” — Colossians 1:15 Paul calls Him: “the last Adam” — 1 Corinthians 15:45 and: “the second man… the Lord from heaven.” — 1 Corinthians 15:47 Then the Genesis language concerning male and female becoming one flesh is taken up in Ephesians and opened into: Christ and the church. This allows us to see a mystery within “the beginning” greater than natural marriage alone. The natural male and female are not meaningless. Adam and Eve are real participants in the Genesis account. But the later revelation concerning Christ allows the beginning to be viewed through a greater spiritual reality: image, male and female, joining, and oneness ultimately opening into Christ and His church. Thus when Jesus says: “from the beginning it was not so,” the beginning carries more than a historical date. It reveals an originating principle. What had entered afterward? Hardness. Putting away. Separation. The beginning points instead toward joining and oneness. God's Joining Opens Beyond the Natural Picture There is another dimension to God's joining that becomes visible as Christ's work unfolds. Jesus said: “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring… and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” — John 10:16 His hearers could not yet see the full historical manifestation of what He was describing. Yet after Christ's resurrection, the boundary separating Jew and Gentile was crossed by God's own action. When Peter was challenged for entering the house of Gentiles, he explained how God had given them the Holy Ghost. His conclusion was: “Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us… what was I, that I could withstand God?” — Acts 11:17 Peter's question expresses the principle of divine sovereignty with unusual clarity: What was I, that I could withstand God? Paul later describes the work accomplished in Christ: “For he is our peace, who hath made both one…” — Ephesians 2:14 And: “for to make in himself of twain one new man…” — Ephesians 2:15 And: “that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross…” — Ephesians 2:16 The Gentiles are subsequently described as: “fellowheirs, and of the same body…” — Ephesians 3:6 This should not be presented as though Matthew 19:6 explicitly defines “what God hath joined” as a prophecy concerning Jew and Gentile. The immediate subject in Matthew is marriage. But the later work of Christ reveals a larger spiritual principle entirely consistent with His words: God joins according to His own sovereign purpose, and man does not possess authority to withstand His joining. That principle also protects the sovereignty of God in the opposite direction. If man cannot forbid what God joins, neither can man establish a joining of his own and then make that joining sovereign over God. In either direction, the authority remains God's. Made Perfect in One The mystery reaches extraordinary expression in Christ's prayer: “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee…” — John 17:21 And: “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one.” — John 17:23 The movement becomes increasingly clear: male and female → one flesh; Christ and the church → great mystery; other sheep → one fold; Jew and Gentile → both made one; twain → one new man; both → one body; believers in Christ → made perfect in one. The work of Christ is fundamentally a work of divine joining. He is bringing man into union with God. The believer's completeness consequently cannot finally rest in another natural person. Paul says: “And ye are complete in him…” — Colossians 2:10 Christ is the believer's completeness. Natural marriage may have its legitimate place where God is pleased for it to remain. But it cannot become the source of a spiritual completeness that belongs to Christ. Resurrection and Natural Marriage Jesus declared: “I am the resurrection, and the life.” — John 11:25 And concerning those who obtain the resurrection He said: “they neither marry, nor are given in marriage…” — Luke 20:35 The immediate setting of Luke 20 concerns resurrection from the dead, and that context should remain clear. Nevertheless, Christ Himself is the resurrection, and resurrection life has already begun operating in those raised with Him: “like as Christ was raised up from the dead… even so we also should walk in newness of life.” — Romans 6:4 Thus the ultimate order toward which resurrection points is not an eternity governed by natural marriage. It is life in God. Natural marriage therefore has a legitimate natural place where God is pleased for it to remain, but it cannot become man's eternal or supreme identity. Born of the Spirit Jesus said: “The wind bloweth where it listeth… thou… canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” — John 3:8 The natural mind cannot write beforehand the complete movement of one governed by God's Spirit. Paul writes: “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God… neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” — 1 Corinthians 2:14 And: “he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.” — 1 Corinthians 2:15 This establishes an important boundary. An action being unexpected does not prove that God commanded it. But neither does an action violating natural expectation prove that God did not command it. Natural convention cannot appoint itself judge over God's sovereignty. The final judgment belongs to God, and genuine spiritual discernment must itself proceed from Spirit. This becomes particularly important when considering whether Christ could call a person out of a natural marriage. The natural observer cannot settle the question merely by declaring: “God could never do that.” If Christ possesses the person, then the ultimate question remains: Has Christ called? Joining: The Critical Connection First Corinthians 6 brings together purchase, ownership, body, joining, fornication, and union with Christ in one argument. Paul asks: “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?” Then: “shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.” Then: “he which is joined to an harlot is one body…” And immediately: “But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” Then comes: “Flee fornication.” And the argument concludes: “ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price…” The progression is remarkable: Members of Christ. Joining. One body. One Spirit. Fornication. Ownership. Purchase. Fornication therefore appears in a discussion... /episode/index/show/theapostlewhiterealityhour/id/42587535

(#967) You Have To Unwrap Yor Mind From Around The Natural And Rewrap It Around The Spirit 08/27/2026

The Apostle White Reality Hour Podcast

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