Ex. 22:22 π Psa. 68:5 π Psa. 82:3 π Psa. 146:9 π Prov. 23:10 π Isa. 1:17 π Mt. 13:43 π Mt. 23:8 π Jn. 8:44 π Jn. 14:18 π Jn. 14:23-24 π Rom. 3:4 π Rom. 8:15-16 π 2 Cor. 6:17-18 π Gal. 4:6 π Eph. 1:13-14 π Jas. 1:27Greek Words Mentioned in This Article
Orphan – orphanos – [3737]; 2nd; 3rd
The “spiritual fathering” movement has found yet another concept to twist and distort to their own destruction – those who refuse to submit themselves under a “spiritual father” are now accused of and condemned for having an “orphan spirit.” Those who are under this “orphan spirit,” are to be shunned and dismissed as deceived as they are not able to receive the “spiritual fathering” “revelations” as truth. That the idea of an “orphan spirit” cannot be found anywhere in the Bible does not seem to trouble anyone since it is too convenient a label to excuse their own unScriptural notions and to manipulate those who rightly question the “spiritual father’s” “right to rule” or to get rid of those pesky people who speak of the “spiritual fathering” deception as the demonic scheme that it is.
The idea of orphans is found in the New Testament in only two places:
“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans [ 3737 ] and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” ( Jas. 1:27 ); and
“I will not leave you orphans [ 3737 ]; I will come to you.” ( Jn. 14:18; top )
The Greek word is orphanos [ 3737 ] and it simply means “bereaved (orphan), parentless or fatherless.” That’s it. There is no mention of any “orphan spirit” anywhere in the New Testament (just as there is none in the Old Testament). The phrase, as used in the “spiritual fathering” movement is merely a cover for judging others who recognize the truth about “spiritual fathering”! And if this were all that one could recognize and discover about “spiritual fathering” from the Scriptures, it would be enough to cast doubt on every other aspect of the movement. But there is a deeper layer to this deception that will remove the doubt and expose, for those who have ears and eyes to hear and see God’s truths, the deeply laid Satanic schemes interlaced into the “spiritual fathering” movement.
We must consider how the judgment of the “spiritual fathers” contradicts what Jesus said. If the “spiritual fathers” are correct, that someone who disagrees with their doctrines and practices is under an orphan spirit, then Jesus is a liar because He promised “I will not leave you as orphans.” So who then is the liar – the “spiritual fathers” or Jesus Christ? As Paul said, “…let God be true, but every man a liar.” ( Rom. 3:4; top ) For the “spiritual fathers” and their followers to accuse anyone of having an “orphan spirit” simply betrays their movement for what it is – a deception designed to ensnare men into abandoning God so as to follow a man.
Further, Christ promised “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” He also said to His disciples, “If anyone loves me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” ( Jn. 14:23-24 ) Not only does Christ come to us, the Father comes to us as well. How does Christ and the Father come to us? Paul wrote, “After you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” ( Eph. 1:13-14; top ) It is through the Holy Spirit that we experience Christ and the Father and by Him we know that we are guaranteed of receiving our inheritance in our Father’s kingdom.
Further, Paul writes:
“God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’” ( Gal. 4:6 ), and
“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” ( Rom. 8:15-16; top )
The Spirit of adoption is the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of holiness, the Spirit of God who brings the Father and Christ to us! Anyone who does not have this Spirit does not have anything of God. For the “spiritual fathers” to accuse anyone having an “orphan spirit” is to deny that they have the Spirit of God. Yet it is they themselves who have rejected the Spirit of the Father and of Christ so that they can have a man standing over them to tell them what to do, how to live and how to be! The “spiritual fathering” movement accuses its victims of what it is they literally do – they orphan themselves from the true Father and then demand that everyone else do the same. Anyone who refuses must be under this “orphan spirit.” Manipulation and false accusations are signs of the demonic’s work and not that of the work of God.
Even if the “spiritual fathers” were right that the people they accuse of having an “orphan spirit” had somehow failed to enter into something that God rightly gives His people, their use of the phrase as a sneer and a snide way to dismiss and reject those whom they deem “fatherless” again betrays just where this teaching comes from. The Old Testament commands the followers of God:
“You shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.” ( Ex. 22:22 )
“Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.” ( Psa. 82:3 )
“Do not remove the old landmark; and do not enter into the fields of the fatherless.” ( Prov. 23:10 )
“Learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.” ( Isa. 1:17; top )
Jesus did not come, die on the cross and command His disciples to follow Him just to enable them to treat orphans rudely and with contempt!
The Psalmist wrote,
“A father of the fatherless, and a defender of widows, is God in his holy habitation.” ( Psa. 68:5 ) And
“God relieves the fatherless and widow; but the way of the wicked He turns upside down.” ( Psa. 146:9; top )
God is the Father of those who have no other father. This is why Jesus commanded His followers, “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.” ( Mt. 23:8 ) and why He told the Jews, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.” ( Jn. 8:44; top ) Whereas God takes care of those who rely on Him alone to be their Father, the “spiritual fathers” use the accusation of being fatherless as a way to deride and dismiss those they deem to be “orphans”! They are doing the desires of their father, Satan, they are turned upside down and are doing the things they accuse others of.
“Come out from among them and be separate,” says the Lord. “Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters,” says the
But the deeper lesson here is that those who touch the unclean – and having any man function in any rightful place of Christ or the Father is an unclean practice – will not have God as their Father and they will not be the true sons and daughters of God! The “spiritual fathering” movement is merely a demonic deception put in place to ensnare those who have enough spiritual awareness to escape the deceptions of the “church” but who do not yet have the spiritual maturity to follow only after the Lamb wherever He leads. Many have avoided this snare but many have not and the devil is rapidly devouring any who fall into his clutches. Only when we stop clinging to the worthless traditions of men and stop practicing the deceptive teachings (doctrines) that come from the demonic will we truly be the sons of the kingdom who shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Father. ( Mt. 13:43; top )
Let he who has ears hear
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