Since the real nature of honor has largely gone
untaught, caring and knowledgeable Christians have
fought an uphill battle. Far too many of us have been
trying to teach honor using religion as the basis. The
concept of honor has become lost in the translation.
Many people today have no foundation for receiving
spiritual teaching.

Part of this problem is that the Church is divided
into so many different denominations, associations
and affiliations that we no longer speak the same
language. Through the years we have developed different
vocabularies as well as different doctrines and
practices. The result is that we have different terminologies
for different things.

Various groups of Christians speak different
languages. They speak the language of Protestant,
Catholic, Evangelical, Fundamentalist, Pentecostal
and on and on.

To effectively teach honor—real honor—to someone
else, we must learn to speak his language. We
have to learn to interpret our message in terms that
he can understand. We must base the teaching we are
trying to impart to him on something he knows.
Let me give you an example.

Not too long ago, I heard a street gang member
being interviewed on television. He was asked if he
would kill.

“Yeah,” he answered.

He was asked what would cause him to kill.
Immediately he responded, “If somebody jumped on
one of my boys, I’d do what I gotta do.”
My ears perked up.

“Did you hear that, Gloria?” I exclaimed. “There’s
a covenant between those kids, and they’re honoring
their covenant.”

If somebody would go into those gangs, preach
the blood of Jesus and talk with those young people
on a basis they understood, we would see some
results. He might ask them: “Did you know that Jesus
is offering Himself as leader of your group, your gang,
your family of people? His message is simple. He’s saying:

‘You come to Me. When the devil jumps on you,
I’ll do what I have to do. I’ll give you My weapons. I
have given you My life.’” Believe me, they would
understand that type of language.

When I preached the blood covenant this way in
Africa, some of those people sat on the edge of their
seats. And they didn’t stay there! They jumped out
onto the floor. I was talking about the foundation of
their culture—their life.

When I began to talk to those people about honor
coupled with that kind of covenant, I presented the
gospel in a way they could understand. In their culture
they would rather die than dishonor a covenant.

They would rather give up their lives than criticize or
curse somebody who is in covenant with their family.
It is a matter of honor. In fact, these people are taught
that they will die if they dishonor a covenant.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

admin Kenneth Copeland, kenneth copeland ministries covenant, honor, language

Be kindly affectioned one to another with
brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
not slothful in business; fervent in spirit;
serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope; patient
in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
distributing to the necessity of saints; given to
hospitality (Romans 12:10-13).

God wants us, you and me, to do business. He
wants us to do business in honor, in the spirit of the
covenant He has given us.

In the spirit, we are covenanted together because
we are part of the covenant that Jesus has with the
Father. We are in Him—in Jesus.

Is Jesus in you? Are you in Him? He is in me, and
I am in Him. If you and I are in Him, then we are in
Him together. If He is in me and in you, then you are
in me and I am in you.
This has some consequences.

One Body, One Honor

For as the body is one, and hath many members,
and all the members of that one body,
being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For
by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body,
whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be
bound or free; and have been all made to drink
into one Spirit.

For the body is not one member,
but many…. And whether one member suffer,
all the members suffer with it; or one member
be honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in
particular (1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 26-27).

The Bible says that all of us together make up the
Body of Christ; and if one member of the Body suffers,
we all suffer. For me to dishonor you affects not only
you, but also me. It affects the whole Body of Christ. If
one of us is honored, or honorable, we all share in that
honor. Likewise, if one of us dishonors himself, there
are negative consequences for all of us.

God has the power to turn over all the world’s
finances to us. Until now we have not been worthy of
that kind of trust. We would have used that wealth on
ourselves. We would have squandered it and used it
foolishly, until the devil got hold of it all again.

If all the wealth in the world were divided evenly,
every man, woman and child on the face of the earth
would receive several million dollars. The figure goes
up each day as more assets are discovered. If those
assets were evenly distributed today to every individual
in the world, in a year’s time or so the ones who
control it now would have it all back. Unfortunately,
that’s also true of the Body of Christ and it shouldn’t
be that way. God’s blessings are for every person in
Christ Jesus, not just a few.

We are one Body in Christ and each one is a
member of the others.

God has given us definite instructions: “Be kindly
affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in
honour preferring one another… distributing to the
necessity of saints…” (Romans 12:10, 13). We are to
honor one another—and the Lord—with our material
blessings.

God has given you the same thing He has given
me. I have to respect the fact that you have eternal life,
which only God can give. He bestowed it upon you
just as He bestowed it upon me. I have to respect you,
because I respect God. The Bible says that if we love
the Father who begat, we love him also who is begotten
of Him (1 John 5:1).

I don’t love you because you are lovable, or because
you are not lovable. I love you because you are born
of God. God has honored you with His life, His Name
and His Spirit. How can I do any less? It really makes
no difference how I see your conduct—whether I
think it is right or wrong. I am to deal with my conduct,
which is regulated by the covenant I have
with Almighty God.

God is the only One who has the right to judge.
You and I do not. It does not matter if we think the
other person is right or wrong. It’s none of our business.
Whose business is it? God’s.

I asked the Lord one time, “What is the biggest
problem in the Body of Christ?” I didn’t expect to
hear what I heard. He answered me quickly, without
hesitation: Your dogged determination to correct
one another. It’s the biggest problem in the Body
of Christ. It stops more healings, more faith, more
power, more of everything. Our dogged determination
to correct people that we have no authority
over is dishonorable.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

admin Kenneth Copeland, kenneth copeland ministries Body of Christ, lovable

Fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; rejoicing in
hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant
in prayer; distributing to the necessity of saints;
given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute
you: bless, and curse not (Romans 12:11-14).

Never lag in zeal or in earnest endeavor. Be aglow
and burning with the Spirit, always eagerly and faithfully
serving the Lord.

Don’t go around with the corners of your mouth
hanging down. Put on Jesus. Be like Jesus. Do as He
would do.

Rejoice and exalt in hope, says the Apostle Paul.
Be steadfast and patient in suffering and tribulation.
Be constant in prayer.

In this passage Paul is describing the way we are to
act in the Body of Christ. We are to keep our mouths shut
about our own trials and tribulations, about our own
hurts. We are not to go around rehearsing our problems
all the time, repeating them to every preacher, minister
and counselor we run across—again and again.

One of the reasons that we ministers of the gospel
sometimes have to avoid our fellow Christians
at meetings is because we cannot stay under the
anointing if we constantly and repeatedly are
being burdened with other people’s trials and
tribulations. Many people who do this don’t really
want help. They just want to go over their problems
again and again and again, drawing attention
to themselves. That’s dishonorable.

God has said that our hurts are very important to
Him (1 Peter 5:7). However, they ought to mean little
or nothing to us. We should be paying very little attention
to our own problems and difficulties other than
to take our stand of faith on God’s Word and roll our
cares over on Him and leave them there. He wants us
to be alive with hope, not going around saying that
things are hopeless all the time.

Be alive with hope. Be steadfast and patient in
suffering. Don’t worry about what is coming against
you. Be strong in faith. Belittle your problems in the
presence of others.

Quit carrying your burdens and cares around
everywhere you go. Distribute to the needs of God’s
people. Share in meeting the necessities of the saints.
Pursue the practice of hospitality. Bless those who
persecute you, those who are cruel in their attitude
toward you. Bless, and do not curse.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

admin Kenneth Copeland, kenneth copeland ministries burdens, hope, trials and tribulations

I must be about my Father’s business (Luke 2:49).

God does not want us to be slothful in conducting
our business. He has honored us by giving it to us. We
have to honor our obligation to Him by running that
business or doing that job to the best of our abilities to
do it in faith.

I’ll give you an example. God has given me this
ministry. He has given me the calling to minister. I
have to honor that call and duty. I made a decision
that I am going to live responsibly and honorably. I
know Jesus wants me to do that, so I am determined
to do it.

I promised God that any time I was called on
to preach or minister, I would be ready; I would be
prepared. That does not mean I want to all the time.

It does not mean I am constantly, consistently prayed
up and ready to go just on a second’s notice. Most
of the time I know in advance when I am going to
preach. I promised the Lord that I would never take
time for myself and my own wants during the periods
I should be preparing to minister to other people.

I am responsible for a prophetic ministry. When
I travel from place to place on behalf of the Lord,
I don’t sightsee. I have been all over the world and
have hardly seen anything but airports, hotels and
convention centers. I don’t go for pleasure or relaxation.
I don’t go to visit or fellowship. I go to do business.

I take seriously Jesus’ instructions to His disciples
as He sent them out to minister. He said, “When
you find a worthy house, stay there” (Matthew 10:11,
author’s paraphrase). I don’t run all over town. I
come prepared, ready to settle down and attend to
business—my Father’s business.

I learned this originally from Oral Roberts; then I
found it in the Word of God. Later, I saw it in Kenneth
E. Hagin and in other anointed men of God.

I have certain time limits that I just won’t violate. I
may be in your presence sometime, look at my watch
and say, “Excuse me, it’s time to go.” I do that because
I am determined to have God’s anointing on me. It is
only with the anointing that I can, in turn, be of help
to you at all. It is only through the anointing that I
can minister effectively to others.

That is the reason all of my children are in the
ministry. That is the reason there is romance in our
family: between Gloria and me, our children and their
mates and our grandchildren. My family and I honor
the business—the ministry—that God has given us. We
honor one another, uplifting one another at all times.
As a result we enjoy the blessing of God upon us.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

admin Kenneth Copeland, kenneth copeland ministries anointing, honor, ministry