The Sunday Mail
SHEKKAINAH Glory Ministries Global’s mission is to awaken every man’s mind by bringing them into full understanding (flawless clarity) in order to prove or present everyone perfect in the Lord Jesus Christ 
(Colossians 1:28). They will soon host a Grace Conference. Tendai Manzvanzvike (TM) spoke to Shekkainah’s founder Bishop Shelton Mudyaro (pictured) (SM), who is also part of the Mirror Bible translation written by Francois du Toit, about the message of grace. This is the first part of the message.
TM: You are holding another Grace Conference?
SM: Yes, from October 29 to 31. This year is a bit unique in that we will have a slot for a grace-based talk show because some people have a misinterpretation of grace, and we want them to understand the distinct difference between the message of grace and the law. The live talk show will be with a few people that have grasped the revelation of grace, and we will be asking the questions we have been encountering each time we preach the message of grace.
TM: When you say live talk show, what format will it take?
SM: This will not be an interactive session. I’m excited about the fact that these will be Zimbabweans whom I said have understood the revelation of grace in their lives. So, we are taking this opportunity, and we are also taking this platform to share amongst us Zimbabweans, so that people can actually understand and they can also see the impact of the grace message in our nation.
TM: And your theme?
SM: We are running it under the theme: “The Mystery Revealed: Christ in You.” This is from Colossians 1: 26-29, where Paul talks about the mystery that has been hidden for ages and generations but has been made manifest, made known, which is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
TM: What do you mean by that?
SM: When God laid it on my heart, about having these Grace conferences here in Zimbabwe, it was because there are some people who understand a little bit about grace, and when they share this message, it’s a mixture of the law and of grace, which is very dangerous.
TM: Like mixing water with oil?
SM: It’s like what Paul says in Galatians 5:9 that, “a little leaven, leavens the whole lump,” which means that a little bit of our effort on what Christ has done and achieved nullifies grace. God laid this on my heart: the “mystery revealed” and ‘God revealed’. But our main thrust will be Christ in you.
TM: Meaning what when you say Christ in you the hope of glory?
SM: Meaning that whatever we hoped for, Christ is the substance. In Hebrews 11:1, the Bible says: “faith is the substance of things hoped for,” which means when we talk about faith, there is actually something that gives substance to that faith, the substance of that which we hope for. So, when we talk about Christ in us who is our hope of glory, we are saying what we hope for is fulfilled in the person of Christ. Whatever we anticipate is fulfilled in the person of Christ.
TM: And the speakers?
SM: We have one main speaker — Francois du Toit, the author of the Mirror Bible translation.
TM: Let’s now turn to grace per se. Most people can cite scriptures on grace, but to understand and say what the grace of the Lord means; to unravel the mystery is where the issue is. What is your comment on that?
SM: I will give a holistic meaning of what grace is, as a total package. The Bible is divided into two sections — the Old and New Testaments. A testament is a covenant or agreement of the highest order where there has to be a guarantor to guarantee the oath made between two parties. So you find that in the old covenant which is under the Mosaic Law, you had to do something in order for God to do something for you. This was the arrangement.
You had to earn it because the Bible says that if you do this, then I will bless thee!
TM: So it was based on the principle of “if” and, “then”?
SM: Yes! It depended on your performance. If you performed right, you would get it but if you failed to attain it, you ended up in condemnation. This was the agreement under the old covenant: if you did something then you would get something in return. But from the very beginning, we find out that Adam had an enjoyable relationship with God. It was an unhindered relationship.
Due to the fall of Adam, Paul in Romans 5:19 says: “Because of the disobedience of the one, sin entered into the human race,” which means we were born in sin and not that we committed the sin; the sin committed by Adam.
Sin literally means missing the mark, but when you take that word in the Greek language, it is called “hamartia” (without form/inheritance).
What happened was that Adam bought the devil’s idea that put us into a system where he basically said, ‘I shall be God after I partake from the tree of good and evil’ — a continuation of sinning since the devil sinned from the beginning.
When you read Ephesians, it talks about the inheritance of the saints, which is Jesus Christ. The devil no longer had that inheritance, so he sold a lie to Adam. When we are born in sin, it means that we are born without an inheritance.
Psalms 2:8 says, “Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession.” So, what we lost in Adam was our inheritance; that we were before God. Man is now born in ignorance of who he is in God. In Genesis 1:26, God said, “Let us create man in our image and in our likeness,” meaning that God was saying ‘us, bring forth one like us.’
God was saying He would have a being that would resemble who He is, whom He could commune with, whom He could relate to on a higher level.
That’s why, every now and again, God would visit Adam in the Garden of Eden. What did He want from Adam? There was nothing that He wanted from Adam apart from a relationship, not just an ordinary relationship, but an intimate fellowship with Adam.
TM: And sin messed up that relationship?
SM: Now because of sin, we are born out of that relationship, out of that fellowship. That’s why Paul says God was in Christ when He was reconciling the cosmos to Himself. If you are reconciling with someone, it means that there was a relationship before there was a divorce. When you are reconciling, you are going back to that relationship.
So now, just because we are born in ignorance, we are born without our inheritance, and we are born in the lie that Adam accepted from the devil. It means that we are born in a fallen state.
But here is the special part: the Bible in Revelation 13:8 talks about the Lamb slain from before the foundations of the earth. What actually happened was that the fall never changed the love that God has for mankind. That is why Paul says God chose us in Christ before the foundations of the earth, which means that before God lost us in Adam, He already saw us in Christ.
