“… who did bewitch you … having begun in the Spirit,
now in the flesh do ye end?”
(Gal 3:1 & 3, YLT)
Many faith movements originate in the Spirit, are thus initiated by God, but along the way acquire a carnal element which contaminates it. It is of course the case that any Spiritual act is facilitated by broken people with flaws, but their dependence on and obedience to the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit ensure that it stays under control of the Spirit.
Paul admonishes the Galatians for getting bewitched, something which led to their faith becoming carnal in nature and not a relationship led by the Spirit, a very weighty accusation. In Rom 7:5 he explains that this carnal spirituality is indeed driven by “sinful passions” and that it “bear[s] fruit to death”. Truly, to be carnally minded is equited with death (Rom 8:6).
As Paul states in 2 Tim 2:17-18, when believers trail away from the truth their message will “spread like a cancer”. In this way many well-meaning believers are bound to deception, over time exposed to greater and greater levels of deception which they are unable to discern because their spiritual eyes are not open. Remember 2 Sam 22:27 (MKJV): “With the pure, You will show Yourself pure, and with the perverted You will appear perverse.” Also 2 Thess 2:11 – “And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie…”
The ZCC faith community (that we discussed in the previous manna) can be considered one of these movements that started in the Spirit, but ended in perversion (from the Latin perversus: “a turning from truth”). Through the mighty revival brought about by the ministry of John G Lake, the Apostolic Faith Mission originated around 1910, where white and black were baptised together in Wakkerstroom. Because of segregation the black believers were kept apart and did not become part of this new South African movement. The bitterness and rejection experienced by those left out of the fold left the group exposed for bewitchment, and they did indeed start following a road of deception. This explains why the ZCC is especially prone to deception and bewitchment in the sphere of water spirits, one of the basic rituals all members perform. You might have noticed how they draw water from streams and rivers, or you might have brought back seawater for a domestic worker, all used in these kinds of rituals.
But this principle also extends wider. Any church which originated through a split from another church bears within it the seed of deception, because it has been built on a corrupt foundation. Jude 1:19 clearly states the case – “These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.” Nothing of eternal worth can be built upon it.
- Sela: Ask God for forgiveness for your part in the deception of our black brothers.
- Read: 1 Kings 2; Prov 29; 2 Thess 2
- Memorise: 2 Thess 2:11
- For a deeper understanding: Read about the above mentioned history in John G Lake’s Adventures in God.