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“The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Revelation 19:10

Behind, in, and through all that God is saying, revealing, and doing is the comprehensive, incomprehensible, “testimony of Jesus.”  The Father’s heart is radically centered in His Son, and He has ordained “… that in all things He (Christ) might have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:18)  Consequently, the “spiritual DNA” that penetrates, permeates, prescribes, powers, and propagates all of creation, both seen and unseen, throughout time and eternity, is the centrality and supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ!  All the fullnesses of both the old and new creations are inherently Christocentric in nature and expression.  Governing all, the mystery of the Father’s will is relentlessly working to “…bring back to and gather ’round the main point all things.” (Marvin Vincent’s literal translation of Ephesians 1:10b)  That “main point” is “Christ.” (vs. 10)

In light of this, the calling of the Ekklesia is to be God’s instrument to declare and display forth to all of creation the unrivaled centrality and supremacy of Jesus Christ in all things through its own embodiment of His preeminence and sovereignty in every aspect of its being, vocation, and testimony.  Such is our high calling according to God’s eternal desire and design concerning His Beloved Son.  (See Ephesians 3:10-11.)

Prophetic Christocentricity

In keeping with the eternal purpose and passion of God, the Holy Spirit and prophetic Scriptures are, likewise, radically Christ-centered.  All prophetic ministry that flows out of and is in accordance with these, therefore, is inherently and essentially Christocentric in nature.  The divine purpose of such ministry is not only to reveal the Father’s wisdom, will, ways, and works, but also to call all that has departed and deviated from God’s ultimate intention concerning His Son back to the universal centrality and supremacy of Christ in all things.  In its purest essence, the vision, burden, and focus of prophetic ministry is the restoration of all things back into and unto Christ, the Main Point, that He may become “all, and in all” (Col. 3:11) throughout all of eternity!  This is the end toward which genuine prophetic ministry is pointing and pressing.

Spiritual Eccentricity

That being said, the greatest obstacle and opposition to prophetic ministry is that which can rightly be called, “spiritual eccentricity”, i.e. that which is spiritually out-of-center ( “ec-” = “out of” and “centricity” = root: “center”.)  With the entrance of sin into God’s creation through the self-exalting spirit of Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12-14), the unrivaled centrality and supremacy of the Son of God was challenged and partially disrupted.  Rival centrality and supremacy was introduced, spread to one third of the angels, and, through the seduction of Adam and Eve, was passed on and permeated all of humanity.  All that now stands in rebellion and resistance to God, therefore, has at its root the principle of “spiritual eccentricity.”  This principle underlies and, therefore, defines the ultimate clash between the Kingdom of Light and the kingdom of darkness, the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan.  This, subsequently, underlies and defines the primary mission and battle line of prophetic ministry!

Prophetic Christocentricity vs. Spiritual Eccentricity
(Illustrated)

To more fully perceive this entire battlefield and its essential, underlying principle, the battle for centrality and supremacy, I’d like to offer an illustration that should help to bring these things into very clear focus.

(Note: What I am about to describe is one of the most important revelations/insights from the Lord that I have to share on this blog, so please stay with me in this slightly extended post! Thanks! 😉 )

Please picture for a moment, a large white circle surrounded by a dark gray background.  This white circle has one central, preeminent point, which is its centerpoint.  Now picture this circle being filled with numerous other points.  These points all orient to the center and so they can be further illustrated by their being turned into small vectors all pointing toward the centerpoint.

This picture is now a symbolic representation of what we shall identify as “the fullness of God.”  As such, it represents four spiritual attributes:

1. Unity – There is only one, unified circle with one indisputable, unrivaled centerpoint.
2. Fullness – The circle is filled with numerous other points representing all of the particulars that fill its contents.
3. Balance – All of the points are oriented toward the centerpoint, represented by the points becoming vectors, and are “weighted” properly according to their distance from the center, representing in totality a properly oriented and balanced system.
4. Purity – There is nothing of the surrounding darkness that exists within the circle.  It exists in a state of purity.

If we further identify the centerpoint of this circle as Christ Himself, this diagram serves as a depiction of a “Christocentric spiritual system”…i.e. the Kingdom of Light/the Kingdom of God.  As we have said, the essential attributes of such a system are spiritual unity, fullness, balance, and purity. 

Before moving on to the next development of this diagram, we need to highlight the unique significance of these four attributes.  According to Ephesians 4:11-15, these four attributes can be seen as characteristics of the end goal toward which the “five-fold ministry gifts” (including prophetic ministry) are pointing and pressing:

“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to…

1. unity

“…the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,

2. fullness

“…to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ;

3. balance

“…that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

4. purity

“…but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head–Christ–“

As we consider these verses alongside the diagram, we can see exactly how these four attributes come to increasingly characterize the spiritual condition of God’s people when Christ Himself occupies the undisputed, unrivaled place of centrality and supremacy in all things related to the fullness of God!

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Continuing on with the further development of our diagram, let us now picture just one of those dots/vectors within the circle taking on a greater significance than it ought to, and instead of pointing to the centerpoint, it points to itself, loses its vector, and begins to rival the centerpoint as to its significance, centrality, and preeminence.  If this point becomes adopted by some of God’s people as a new spiritual centerpoint, taking on greater significance and focus than Christ Himself, the natural result is that a new circle will form around it that is shifted over from the original circle and becomes something of a rival to it, center to circumference.

With this new development, we have the introduction of a new condition we can rightly call “spiritual eccentricity.”  The center of this new circle is “out-of-center” from the original and its circumference is no longer concentric with the former one.

When this happens, four new attributes are introduced into the diagram as a matter of course:

1. Disunity – There is no longer one circle with one undisputed, unrivaled centerpoint, but two circles with two rival centers.
2. Diminishment – The second circle has moved over and part of the original circle (i.e. the fullness of God) is now left out, indicating spiritual diminishment.
3. Distortion – All of the vectors within the second circle twist to orient to a new center and so become distorted from their original orientation.  Their proximity to the original center (indicating “weightedness”) also changes bringing in further distortion from their original state. Everything is now torqued and out of balance from the original.
4. Defilement – The second circle, having shifted over, now also incorporates into it aspects of the darkness that exists outside of the original circle, thus defiling it.

“Spiritual eccentricity” comes into existence, therefore, whenever something or someone takes on greater significance, centrality, and preeminence, than God’s ordained center, Jesus Christ.  When some aspect, even of the holy things of God, becomes more primary than Christ Himself, a new “center” is formed and a new “circle” comes into existence, shifting over from the original and ushering in the four attributes of “spiritual eccentricity”: disunity, diminishment, distortion, and defilement.  (This is tantamount to a spiritual law and is what explains, at the most fundamental and formative level, the vast prevalence of division, deadness, deception, worldliness, and carnality in the Church throughout Christendom to this day.)

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Lastly, whenever such spiritual eccentricity comes into existence within God’s people, it begins to take on personal and corporate shape and form.  The more developed, advanced, and established these become, the more impervious and incorrigible they become to prophetic correction and re-centering.  Any attempts to re-align any one aspect of a “spiritually eccentric system” with the values and orientations of a “Christocentric system” are met with unexpected resistance and resilience.  This is because each aspect is so enmeshed in the entire eccentric system that it requires either a re-centering of the entire system itself or an irreparable rending of it, both of which are much more costly and consequential than most are willing to consider or pay the price for.  The “conformative matrix” of the eccentric spiritual system is simply too intertwined and unyielding to allow for radical re-centering and its resultant re-formation.

Thus, whenever prophetic Christocentricity clashes with spiritual eccentricity, whatever prophetic influence may be exerted to initiate change is often resisted and rejected.  The Christ-centered prophetic instrument is further deemed to be the “eccentric” one, and the seeker of true unity in Christ alone is deemed to be the “heretic.”  Such is the nature of the prophetic battle for the fullness of God and for the deliverance of Christ’s bride from all that divides, diminishes, distorts, and defiles her.

May we discern the true nature of this battle and pay whatever price it takes to fully align ourselves, individually and collectively, with God’s Christocentric spiritual system, the Kingdom of Light/the Kingdom of God!  There is no more costly nor consequential war that is being waged!

For the follow-up post to this one, please see: “Christocentricity/Eccentricity Spiritual Theory” – Explained and Illustrated (with animated short)

Previous posts in this collection:
Prophetic Ministry and…(#propheticresistance)
Prophetic Imbalance and… (#propheticresistance)
The Stronghold of Pragmatism (#propheticresistance)
The Stronghold of Traditionalism (#propheticresistance)
The Stronghold of “Toxic Positivity” (#propheticresistance)

Related:
Centrality and Eccentricity
When God Does a New Thing – Pt. 5: Orientation