Spiritual Law (Part 3) (Mark 11:23-24)

Mark 11: 23-24

Spiritual Law (Part 2) examined Mark 11:23 quite extensively and proposed the following paraphrase, based on the Greek text:

"...Jesus answering said to them, 'have faith in God [hold onto, and possess, do not let go of, the God kind of faith, or the faith of God], for verily I say to you ['amen' I say to you; it is an established, unmovable reality, a foundational truth], that whosoever shall say to this mountain [that you can physically see, right here, right now], 'You, be removed and cast into the sea' [that is, be lifted up, elevated from the ground, and violently, with extreme intensity, be thrown like a ball, into the sea], and shall not doubt in your heart, [but shall have your internal focus solely on the spiritual reality of the guaranteed outcome of what you are saying], but shall believe [have unmovable faith] 'because' those things which you are saying [the words you have declared, and constructed, like building blocks, into a formal structure, as a confession of your inward reality of faith], shall come to pass [what you have declared, or announced, immediately, comes into existence, in the spiritual realm], you shall have what you say [what has just been created, and brought into existence, by your spiritual confession; declaration of your faith, will show up in the natural, whether immediately, or progressively, but it will manifest itself, in the natural]".

Like much of historical Rabbinic teaching, Jesus employs a frequent method of instruction, of repeating the same concepts, found in Mk.11:23, in Mk.11:24, by simply changing the words, or terminology, to convey the same truths. The text reads:

"Therefore I say to you, what things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them" (11:24).

"Therefore" is used to join the verses, and is basically stating, "...because of, or, as a result of what I have just told you..."

"What things soever..." This leaves the degree of inquiry wide open, with no limitations, as to what could or could not be asked for.

 "...you desire..." The word 'desire', in the Greek, is (aiteo), 154, which has 4 basic meanings:

1. 'to ask', not simply to 'desire' something, but to ask for it.

2. 'to ask for yourself', hence, it is what 'you' ask for yourself, individually; not someone else.

3. 'to demand'. The word has a sense of not just asking for yourself, but actually forcefully demanding it.

4. 'A legal right' The individual is asking for themselves, even demanding, because they have a legal right to whatever it is that they are forcefully laying claim to.

 "...when you pray..." The word used for 'pray', as in 95% of the whole of the New Testament, when 'pray' or 'prayer' is referenced, is (prosechomai), 4336, and is from the word group meaning, 'to make bold or confident assertions about oneself, to brag, boast', or by implication, 'to make affirmations or confessions'. It is used 87 times in the NT, but the word group, of the same meaning, is much more frequent.

"...believe..." [i.e., have faith, the faith of God].

"...that you receive..." The word 'that', is the Greek word (hoti), 3754, and is more accurately translated as the conjunction, 'because'.

"...receive..." This is the verb (lambano), 2983, which is 'the aorist of immediate consequence', meaning that it happens instantaneously.

"...and you shall have..." This is future tense, which, despite the previous phrase indicating that you 'have' the possession, immediately, there is still some passage of time, whether seconds, minutes, hours, days, or months, before what you 'have' taken possession of, in the spirit, shows up in the natural.

Paraphrase, based on the Greek text:

"In light of what I have just told you, whatever you demand for yourself, because you have a legal right of ownership to claim it, when you make bold or confident confessions, or declarations, concerning what God has spoken to you, have and possess, the God kind of faith, because, knowing this spiritual reality, of the authority of your words, you immediately receive what you have demanded, in the spiritual realm, and what you have received in the spirit, will manifest itself in the natural" (Mk.11:24, paraphrase).

It is quite evident that the same spiritual law, clearly stated in Mk.11:23, is repeated, using different terminology, in Mk.11:24.

The Law

You are God's Best and God's Best is Yours