Title: 13
Author: Joe G
Last saved by: Paul J. Davey
Company: GDC

Clanking Chains		07-03-06.CC02-723 /

Divine Power System: Motivational Virtue & Functional Virtue, Mark 12:28-31, 1 Jn 4:20-21; Momentum Testing: Sin Nature, People, Thought, System
5)	Motivational Virtue: personal love for God; the development of reciprocal love from with arises the motivation to continue the pursuit of truth under the mentorship of the Holy Spirit.
6)	Functional Virtue: Unconditional love for mankind which is dependent upon the motivational virtue of personal love for God.  The tandem nature of these two virtues, with gate 5 as primary and gate 6 as secondary, is pointed out by the Lord and by John:
Mark 12:28 -	One of the scribes … questioned Jesus, “What is foremost of all the commandments?”
v. 29 -	Jesus answered, “The most important is [ Deuteronomy 6:4-5 ], ‘Hear, O Israel!  The Lord our God is one Lord;
v. 30 -	and you shall love the Lord your God out from you entire kardia, out from you entire soul, out from your entire system of thought, out from your entire strength.’
v. 31 -	“The second is this [ Leviticus 19:18b ], ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is absolutely no other commandment greater than these.”
1 John 4:20 -	If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
v. 21 -	And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.
7)	Momentum Testing: acceleration of spiritual growth under several categories of pressure:
1.	Sin Nature Test: The sin nature can tempt but it is not the source of sin.  Volition chooses to submit to the allurements presented by the sinful nature’s lust patterns.  You do what you want to do.  When and if you do recover it begins with rebound: confession alone to God alone.
2.	People Testing: The challenge of dealing with those whose thoughts, decisions, and actions negatively affect you either mentally or physically.  The sin nature tempts the believer to react through anger, bitterness, spite, revenge motivation, retaliation, vituperation, and malice.  But the solution is to apply unconditional love toward your adversary.
3.	Thought Testing: The challenge to distinguish truth from the lie, good from evil, and divine viewpoint from human viewpoint.  This is accomplished by inculcation of Bible doctrine which develops an inventory of ideas based on the divine standards of God’s righteousness which can discern Light from Darkness.  The solution to temptations in this area is to apply doctrinal rationales to the issues confronted.
4.	System Testing: In order for any aspect of human activity to be organized and efficient it must function within a system.  However, because such systems are developed, utilized, and maintained by humans they invariably acquire, either initially or eventually, areas of unfairness.  To be victimized by a flawed system presents a challenge to become self-centered, move into crusader arrogance, and challenge authority.  To do so is a failure to orient to the fact we are in a fallen environment that is administered by a fallen angel.  The solution to such pressure is to direct unconditional love to the individuals involved and use doctrinal rationales to resolve the injustices imposed by the system.
8)	When a believer is out of fellowship he is in status quo carnality.  When this status continues over a long period of time he gradually comes under the authority of Lucifer’s cosmic system.

© 2007 by Joe Griffin Media Ministries.  All rights reserved.	www.joegriffin.org