TEEN TREE OF LIFE 
THE DOCTRINE OF POSITIVE VOLITION
Part 3
April 2, 2017
BEFORE we begin, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, take a moment to name your sins to God the Father. This will allow you to be filled with the power of The Holy Spirit as you read this booklet (EPH 5:18 & 1JO 1:9). IF YOU HAVE never believed in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have that opportunity right now. Simply tell God the Father that you are believing on His Son Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If you make that decision, you are now a believer and will always be a child of God! When you die, you will spend eternity with Him forever in heaven! (JOH 3:16 & ACT 16:31).
Finding your right pastor-teacher is essential in having positive volition. You can have all the positive volition in the world but if you aren’t studying with your right pastor-teacher, you’re wasting your time! This is also true if you are studying under someone who is not teaching the correct way by going back to the original text of the Bible.
At the moment of Salvation, certain male believers are endowed by God the Holy Spirit with the gift of pastor-teacher. We learn this in EPH 4:11: And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers… The purpose of the pastor-teacher is given in EPH 4:12: …for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ. As a part of each believer’s destiny, he/she is given access to the ministry of a well-trained pastor-teacher. Positive volition is the tool that is needed to unlock the mysteries of Scripture, but believers can’t do this alone; they need a dedicated, prepared pastor-teacher to lead the way to spiritual maturity.
Let’s look at two points regarding the pastor-teacher and those under his charge. The first point is that every believer is called to study under a pastor-teacher. The second point is that a pastor-teacher has authority over only one congregation at a time. 1TH 5:12 teaches that believers have a pastor-teacher who has charge over them: But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction…
Remember, no one man is everyone’s right pastor-teacher. God has given this gift to all types of men with many diverse personalities. So, with all the different types of people who comprise the body of Christ, it’s natural for certain Christians to be drawn to certain pastor-teachers. The gift of pastor-teacher was given by God to equip and train the Royal Family for combat. Believers cannot afford to be without training for the spiritual battle which exists in this world.
The one thing that you should make sure of in choosing a pastor-teacher is to find one that gives you instruction based entirely on the Word of God. Be sure that he uses the principles of isagogics, categorical teaching and exegesis. Isagogics: To fully understand the Word of God, the Bible must be interpreted within the framework of isagogics, which is the historical setting. Categorical: The Bible must be studied through the scrutiny of the particular doctrine as recorded throughout the Scripture, line upon line, verse upon verse, and category upon category. Scripture must be used to interpret Scripture. No scripture can stand alone. Exegesis: The Bible should be studied in the original languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek), with full context of the selected verse or verses, paying strict attention to grammar, syntax, and the etymology of the words form the original languages.
No believer is ever called to a ministry where a pastor-teacher is not doing his job studying and instructing his congregation in the Scriptures. ACTS 20:28 helps to illustrate our second principle. Paul is addressing elders or pastors, upon whom the Holy Spirit has bestowed the gift of pastor-teacher: Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. The words “flock” and “church” are both in the singular, illustrating that there is one pastor for one congregation. As we have already seen, finding your right pastor-teacher means finding a man who is prepared, dedicated and faithful in the communication of Bible doctrine. It also means consistent exposure to his teaching either through attendance at a local church (called face-to-face teaching) or through a consistent program of non-face to face teaching (such as audio, tape, video, radio, TV) or the printed word.
God has provided a means of executing His Plan for every Church-Age believer by providing prepared pastor-teachers who faithfully teach doctrine. The believer has the volition to accept or reject this teaching, in the privacy of his priesthood. This means that you can keep your decision to accept or reject between you and God. If the teaching is accepted, God the Holy Spirit teaches the believer and stores the doctrine in the soul of the believer. This enables the believer to grow spiritually. By using this stored doctrine to solve the problems of life, the believer advances and becomes more conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.
Positive volition is the key that gives the believer the opportunity to learn more doctrine and apply it to the circumstances of his/her life. Each believer in The Lord Jesus Christ, at the moment of Salvation, is baptized by The Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ. Those men who have been chosen by God the Holy Spirit to receive the gift of pastor-teacher are the joints and ligaments that hold the Body of Christ together. EPH 4:16 says in corrected translation: From whom [Jesus Christ], the whole body being fitted [Baptism of the Holy Spirit], and being inculcated [repetitious teaching of the Mystery Doctrine] by that [doctrine] which every joint supplies [pastor-teacher] on the basis of the operational power of each individual part [omnipotence of Trinity] causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
Joints provide unity of the body and give it motion and coordination. They are the connection between various parts of the body which allows the body to function properly. Different parts of the body represent the variety of differences among believers from the standpoint of spiritual gifts, growth, progress, function, and personality.
It is the faithful teaching of the Mystery Doctrine of the Church-Age by devoted pastor-teachers which provides the dynamic energy for the Royal Family of God. Without this there would be no fulfillment of God’s Plan, no production of Divine good and no spiritual champions. Believers cannot attain spiritual maturity and become spiritual champions apart from the perception, metabolization and application of Bible doctrine. This is the motivation to maintain positive volition toward doctrine and to study under your right pastor-teacher…
The spiritual gift of pastor-teacher describes the active authority in the Royal Family of God only during the dispensation of the Church-Age. During the dispensation of Israel, there were no pastor-teachers and after the rapture of the church, they will never function again on earth. The pastor’s authority is described in HEB13:7: Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. HEB 13:17 teaches us more about the authority of the pastor-teacher: Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. Pastors don’t rule over you in the sense of telling you what to do or interfering in how you live your life, but in the sense of teaching you what God expects from you and how to execute His Plan. You submit to the pastor’s authority by listening to his communication of doctrine and learning what he has prepared for your enlightenment. The pastor-teacher’s authority is established on the basis of his teaching of doctrine; the issue is not the man, but the message.
{to be continued}