Faith Confession

“The word is near thee, even in thy mouth, and in thine heart; that is, the word of faith, which we preach: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Rom. 10: 8-9). A faith-revelation must precede to confession.

In evangelistic campaigns, much emphasis is put upon the confession of Jesus Christ. The evangelist asks those who come forward to be converted to repeat such a confession of Jesus Christ. The speaker then

assures them that they are now belonging to Jesus Christ. But if so it be, then demons will forestall many Christians in the kingdom of Christ, because they did not even wait for evangelistic campaigns to confess Jesus Christ come in the flesh:

“And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come here to torment us before the time?” (Mt. 8: 29). Mark, the evangelist, records: “And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.” (Mk. 3: 11). Luke writes: “Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee, who thou art: the Holy One of God... And demons also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ, the Son of God...” (Lk. 4: 34+41).

A man of God speaks to a sick person, saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. “ (Acts 3:6). But as we have seen evil spirits are also using the name of Jesus with the correct wording “Jesus of Nazareth” or “Son of God”.

Without a personal experience with Jesus Christ and a relationship with Him, any kind of formulated confession is of no avail, it makes you no more worth before God than a demon. First of all, one needs a revelation from heaven. Peter’s confession was not different in wording from the unclean spirits’ confession, the sole difference was that Peter had revelation from heaven (Mt. 16,17), but demons were sensible. Then confession and the following of Christ in obedience go together. We are further told in the Scripture: “And he who believes on the Son has eternal life. But whoever disobeys the Son will never see life. But instead the wrath of God abides on him.” (Jn. 3: 36 — amplified version).

Paul summarizes this fact, “I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak” (2 Cor. 4: 13b). A confession that is not made through faith in Jesus Christ the Lord believing God’s Word is meaningless, just as confession made by evil spirits. The apostle John tells us, “Who is he that overcometh the world; but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 Jn. 5: 5).

The confession of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, can be done in one way or other by God’s children and also by those of the enemy. Christians in all nominal denominations and even the antichrist himself use the same terminology. A confession is only valid if it happens in connection with the entire testimony of the Scriptures and the personal faith in Christ and in obedience to God and His Word. Everyone needs to have a direct personal revelation of Jesus Christ.

Many apologists find it quite hard to place 1 Jn. 4 correctly. “By this know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is that spirit of antichrist, of which ye have heard that it should come, and even now already is it in the world.” (1 Jn. 4: 2-3). In this passage more is expressed than one could see at the first glance. We are dealing with the true knowledge of the fact that Yahweh is Yahshua — Saviour, the Anointed One, Christ the Lord Who came into the flesh. A confession done by lips or repeated because somebody has asked for it, does not hit the point at all. Every spirit which does not confess Jesus Christ in this Biblical way is simply not of God. That is the spirit of the antichrist with his own confession. Whoever proclaims Jesus in any other way reveals that he does not have the divine knowledge that Yahweh of the Old Testament is Jesus of the New Testament. Whoever denies the Word of God with all its divine authority tells that the same is a victim of the antichrist spirit.

Whosoever just says, “Jesus Christ is the Son of God” and then thinks and believes as he wishes has not at all understood the matter in question. Also who lightly repeats, “I believe that Jesus has come into the flesh” has by far not expressed what the Holy Scriptures actually testify about. He was without blemish and without sin. Satan had no right with Him. But He had to become sin for all of us and to bear the punishment which God’s justice requires for sin. Therefore, He had to die for us in order to redeem

us and deliver us from death. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” (Rom. 6: 23).

There is another aspect by which we can detect the antichrist teaching. In the second epistle of John, verse 7, the apostle states, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in bodily form; such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist” (amplified version). It is very noticeable that in the so-called apostolic creed nothing is being mentioned of the bodily return of Jesus Christ. Therein we find the expression, “... from hence He will come to judge the living and the dead.” The final judgment has of course nothing to do with the physical return of Jesus Christ.

Immediately after the ascension of the Lord to heaven, we were told, “... This same Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1: 11). The resurrected Lord Jesus also had a resurrection body in which He could eat and drink, a body in which Thomas could place his hand (Jn. 20: 27). “Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any food? ... Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise” (Jn. 21: 5+13). Whosoever spiritualizes the return of Jesus Christ reveals by this fact that he is propagating the antichrist teaching. According to Jn. 14, the Lord went up to prepare the place and promised to return and take us into the heavenly mansions. At that moment 1 Cor. 15, from verse 51, and 1 Th. 4, from verse 13, and other Scripture passages will be fulfilled. The understanding of God’s plan of salvation as was revealed to His prophets and apostles is more or less lost in the course of the church history during which neither true apostles nor prophets stood up with an apostolic and prophetic ministry.

The antichrist teaching is found in the fact that the bodily return of Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom, Who will return to take His beloved bride home, is being denied. About this great event nothing is mentioned in the creeds. But the Scripture declares the return of Christ, the resurrection of those who will participate in the rapture and also the changing of the mortal bodies of those who live at that moment into the resurrection body in which we are to be taken up to meet the Lord in the air. Also few know about the marriage supper of the lamb (Rev. 19) or the millennial reign (Rev. 20). The same Jesus Christ Who was taken up into heaven will return in the same way to take His Own home, before the great tribulation and the judgments will come upon the earth.

In any case, it is not sufficient to just confess something with our lips. We need the real revelation of Jesus Christ. Both the things must be Biblical, our testimony of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that He is the Lord, and also the testimony that He, as the same Jesus will return bodily to take the bride to the marriage supper.

If you feel blessed, share and pour out the same blessings!

Epistle based primarily on:

WHOEVER CONFESSES JESUS…RIGHT OR WRONG CONFESSION? chapter 16 of the book « Traditional Christianity, TRUTH oR DECEPTION? » p. 60 (of Missionary Ewald Franck)