I was driving and thinking recently about the Person of Jesus Christ; about how incredible He was in the “days of His flesh” (Hebrews 5:7); His integrity, patience, compassion, selflessness, self-control, etc. If you think of Him you can’t help but grow quiet in deep admiration and amazement for Who He is.
Then one of God’s promises hit me – “We shall be like Him . . .” (1 John 3:2). All who belong to Him are going to have His exact image stamped into their souls. I’m going to be like Him! If we’re honest, is there really anything in time or eternity we want more than that?! Nothing is more important, nothing. So, everything we go through is designed to that end.
“God causes ALL things to work together for good to them that love God, to them called according to His purpose . . . to be conformed to the image of His Son . . .” (Romans 8:28-29)
Who Jesus was as Son of Man wasn’t based on his upbringing or his vocation or his physical appearance or social status. It was based on Who He was within His soul and spirit; it was based on His thinking. Here’s what I mean.
“As he thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7).
We are what we think. This is why there is such an overwhelming emphasis placed on our thoughts, our mind, in the Bible.
“Be transformed (into the image of Christ) by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2).
This is where the battle rages and where the victory is won or lost. Circumstances have nothing to do with it. We can have everything we think we want and be miserable or have nothing and be happy. It’s our thinking that determines our personal development as children of God. Freedom, rest, maturity, Christlikeness, etc., all these things are directly related to thinking, to truth (John 8:32; Matthew 11:28-29; 2Peter 3:18; 2 Timothy 3:16 and many more like passages).
Those who are victorious, who have inner happiness and rest, are those who think truth 24/7. For the mature believer every situation, every event, every relationship, every good thing, every catastrophe is run through the grid of truth resulting in thanksgiving or indignation or sadness or joy or rest or patient endurance.
When our minds are filled with, and controlled by the truth (cp. Ephesians 5:18 with Colossians 3:16) which is God’s viewpoint of life, we simply look at our situation and determine God’s will based on His Word and His leading in that instance. Then we move forward in full dependence (not on ourselves) but on His indwelling Spirit to provide the strength, wisdom and resources needed to accomplish God will, “Not by power, nor by might, but by My Spirit says the Lord . . .” (Zechariah 4:6). In principle, living the Christian life is not that complex. Challenging, absolutely, but God never intended this to be beyond our comprehension. The more we “learn of Him” the clearer things become.
Here are a couple of practical illustrations:
In Exodus 14 the children of Israel were faced with two choices: Death by sword (the Egyptian army) or death by drowning. This would be considered an impossible situation, unless death was your goal. The only other alternative would be a miracle – God would have to intervene, which He did. So, as they are standing at the Red Sea they can panic, which they did, or they can apply the truths they’ve learned and exercise faith. They can relax and wait on the Lord. This is not what they did (except Moses, Caleb and Joshua), but they could have.
Abraham was given the promise of having a son to be his heir. Eventually, Abraham was too old to have children, as was Sarah, and no child had been born. So, Abraham faced two choices: Wait on the Lord to fulfill His promise (which took 25 years, by the way) or Abraham could try to help God, which he did and which produced Ishmael and the Arab nations. Some time after the Ishmael fiasco Abraham relaxed, rested and waited. As the years went by, Abraham actually had to “hope against hope” being way beyond the age of being able to have children. But God had promised. This was the truth Abraham knew, so he held on to that in spite of the circumstances of his life which gave every appearance of making the fulfillment of God’s promise impossible.
John had “no greater joy” than to see his children walking in the truth (3 John 4). There are a number of things that can bring a parent joy in relation to his children. John knew what the most important was and rejoiced when he saw it. Why would John place this above love or integrity or any other admirable characteristic? Because when the truth controls the thoughts, the rest will happen naturally.
Hebrews 5:14 talks about having our spiritual senses exercised by moving from milk to meat. A person does not move from weakness to strength physically without consistent exercise. Take a long enough break in your training and you almost have to start over. One does not “run with patience the race set before them” (Hebrews 12:1) in one day. Spiritual maturity is actually defined in several passages as the result of growing in the knowledge of God – going from the elementary principles of Gods Word to the deeper things of the Lord (Hebrews 5:14; 1 Corinthians 2:1-3:2).
The things we desire most, inner rest, happiness, confidence, hope, etc. are the result of moving from infancy to maturity. They are the fruit of the Spirit developed in a life saturated daily with the intake of truth. There’s no other way – there’s no short cut to maturity.
So, what are the specific means given in the Bible for a believer to move from spiritual childhood to spiritual adulthood? The clearest passages on this would be 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17; Ephesians 4:11-15; 1 Timothy 4:16; and a comparison of Hebrews 5:13-14 with 1 Peter 5:2a & 1 Corinthians 3:2a. The bottom-line is simple: Spiritual maturity is reached by growing in the knowledge of our Lord through consistent study and personal application of the Word of God.
As we grow in our understanding of God's Word, the Lord will “test” all we learn by providing pressures and trials so that what we have learned can become part of who we are in real life experience (Romans 5:1-5; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7). As we learn of Him and as the Divine Architect shapes the circumstances of our lives, we move forward to maturity. If the study and application of God's Word is the single, highest, daily priority in our lives we will win; if its not, we will lose. As Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..." Lewis Sperry Chafer, the founder of Dallas Theological Seminary, believed that the attitude of any person toward the Word of God was the most “. . . certain indication of the innermost character and reality of that person's spiritual state.”
Now, nothing I’ve said is probably much of a revelation. We all know that we grow through knowledge learned and lived. However, even Christians who are daily in the Word often find themselves defeated and confused, not because they are unstudied but because they are "untaught" (2 Peter 3:16 "amatheis"). There’s a huge difference.
Just as the role of the pastor involves teaching, the role of the believer involves listening (Hebrews 13:7). It’s a simple system in concept; the pastor studies and teaches, and the congregation listens, learns, and applies the truths they receive. “Untaught” means “uninstructed”. Personal study is important (Acts 17:11) but it can never take the place of being instructed in the Word from those called and gifted of God to do so (Ephesians 4:11-15).
In the early church the believers gathered primarily to hear the teaching of the scriptures; other activities were secondary (Acts 2:42 cp. 1 Timothy 4:6, 11, 16), and for good reason - the primary goal of the Christian life is "growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ ... that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine... but speaking the truth in love, may grow up . . ." (2 Peter 3:18; Ephesians 4:15), and this can only happen as the saints commit themselves in ongoing, faithful submission to the teaching of God's Word.
So, isn’t this happening? Pastors are teaching all over our country. If this is happening, why so much defeat and immaturity? Where’s the breakdown? It’s twofold. First, there are certain realities in "handling the Word of God" (2 Corinthians 4:2 cp. 2 Timothy 2:15b) which must be utilized to insure that effective teaching is taking place. For example, there are definite rules of Biblical interpretation that if ignored can sabotage effectual teaching. Not everyone who is teaching is doing so in a way that can move believers forward spiritually. If the pastor you are under isn’t giving what you need and you limit your intake to what he is offering in spite of a feeling of spiritual starvation, moving forward is not going to happen.
“They (the prophets/teachers) heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially." (Jeremiah 8:11.
Your loyalty to your pastor and church is admirable, but your loyalty to God and His plan for your life must have the highest priority (Matthew 10:37-39).
There are ways to teach the Bible that genuinely instruct and edify the saints and there are teaching methods that leave the church empty - or worse. For instance, the Bible has devotional content, but it is not primarily a devotional book. It is a revelation of the nature, character and plan of God; and these truths aren't going to be learned by devotional-style teaching, and they aren't going to be learned overnight.
Teaching "... all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:27b) in all its glorious aspects is what builds the soul and spirit of a young believer into a mature saint. It is God’s plan for us to grow to maturity in this way. Bible teaching is to be accurate, in-depth, and thorough (Colossians 1:28; Acts 20:27).
Personal study of the Bible and reading random books and articles can help, they can supplement, but there is no substitute for learning from the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher. Just as salvation is “one way only”, so also is growth to maturity. God has laid out His plan for this in His Word, as well as the reasons it must be this way, and we ignore (or creatively alter) that plan to our own peril.
The second reason for much of the spiritual struggle in our generation is the unwillingness of the saints to persevere under the teaching they need until they reach maturity. This problem was actually prophesied in 2 Timothy 4:3 which states, “For the time will come when they will not endure (lit. persevere in) sound doctrine..." Bearing down (“enduring”) under sound teaching day after day, week after week and year after year is what we must do. “Give us this day our daily bread” has become “give us this week our weekly devotional”. Moving from milk to meat does not mean moving from “Our Daily Bread” to “Max Lucado”. There’s much more to it than that.
God’s not asking for production. He’s not asking for us to help Him do what only He can do. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He loves us with an infinite love and has made complete provision for our growth and happiness. He will work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).
What God is asking is for us to grow in grace and knowledge as we learn the truths of His Word by faithfully, consistently listening, praying and applying; getting us to the place where we think the truth at all times, where our minds have been so renewed by the scriptures, away from the thinking of the world (and the resultant misery of the world’s thinking), that we can see God as He really is and share His happiness. A disciple is first of all a student.
Ok, just to be both specific and annoyingly repetitious, let's sum up.
Just as the non-Christian wants to believe there many paths to God, many Christians want to believe there are many paths to spiritual growth. But in salvation God has made one perfect provision, the cross, and anyone who tries to enter another way, will not get in (John 10:1). So also in spiritual advance, God has made a perfect provision. It’s a system of training based on learning in humility under authority through discipline. It’s not a multiple choice. It’s not a smorgasbord. There is one plan, one provision, one way.
"I have come that they might have life . . . the words I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life." (John 10:10, John 6:63).
Life in Christ, as the Lord intended it to be, only comes by the word of God. In numerous passages and principles we are told to live one day at a time. We are to forget the past (Philippians 3:13) and leave the future in God’s hands (Matthew 6:34). The past is past and the future is unwritten. We must live in the present, each day, and in this day we are in training. Each day we are to learn the scriptures from those gifted by God to teach and open the scriptures to us. If our pastor doesn't teach four or five times a week (and whose does?) then there are books, CD's, etc. that are available for us. We can learn through those whom God has called to this ministry as often as we'd like.
The bottom line is - we need consistent instruction; it's a suvival issue. Every day we need new strength. We must be brought into the truth as often as possible, so our minds can be occupied with Christ and the enemy's lies cannot get a grip on us. We can stay above the world and deception we are living in, we can abide in Christ, if His word dwells richly in our souls (Colossians 3:16).
". . . if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules." (2 Timothy 2:5)
The “rules” for spiritual growth are very simple: daily instruction of God’s word under the authority of the spiritual gift of pastor/teacher (Ephesians 4:11-15; Hebrews 13:7,17). This is the system of training for spiritual advance God has provided for His children to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)
It would take a whole study to detail why, Old and New Testament, the humility/authority issue is so vital to the spiritual development of the people of God. It would take another study to demonstrate the need to have the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher engaged instead of simply opting for personal devotions.
Daily devotions isn’t the plan, reading the latest, most popular Christian book isn’t the plan, going to Church on Sunday and maybe throwing in a home group during the week is not the plan. Just as the cults have come up with a multitude of what seem to be Biblical and reasonable plans to get into heaven, Christians have also come up with a multitude of what seem to be Biblical and reasonable ways to move from infancy to maturity, but there’s only one way.
So, all we need to do at this point is ask ourselves two simple questions:
1). Do we know and believe the specifics of God's provision for our growth in Christ?
2). Are we availing ourselves of that provision each day or have we substituted our own agenda?
Every day we make a choice. If we make the right one, by God's grace, we win this race.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Revisiting the 4th Turning
The Convergence of 2012
by Mary Miller, Director of Research
Previously, we’ve discussed the cycles of history that promise to converge to create the anticipated apocalypse of 2012—a time when life as we know it ends and a new “spiritually enlightened” world emerges.
As we continue the study of cycle theory, the work of Neil Howe and William Strauss has been applauded in secular circles as “visionary.” Indeed, their book The Fourth Turning is provocative in addressing the cycle they believe America is in at this moment. In their 1997 work, Howe and Strauss defined four repeating generational archetypes: 1) Hero (raised protectively as children); 2) Artist (raised during a time of crisis); 3) Prophet (raised during post-crisis affluence); and 4) Nomad (raised during times of cultural upheavals).
As each of these generations progress through four phases of life (childhood, young adulthood, mid life, and old age), they create a “turning.” The turning represents the end of one 20-year cycle (approx.) and the beginning of another. The “national mood of the country depends upon where the generational archetypes exist within the cycles.” Howe explained “turnings” in a recent interview in “The Casey Report”:
Just as there are four generational archetypes, there are four turnings. The First Turning we call a High. Highs are periods in which institutions are strong and individualism is weak. Highs in America were experienced post-World War II, post-Civil War, and post-American Revolution. These were times when Americans felt good about themselves and wanted to gather together to enjoy life and prosperity.
Highs are followed by the Second Turning we call an Awakening. Awakenings are periods of public progress with no apparent limit to prosperity. However, suddenly everyone tires of social conformity and decides they want to rediscover individuality. America’s most recent and most memorable period of Awakening began in the mid-60s and continued into the early 1980s.
Awakenings are followed by the Third Turning we call an Un-raveling. In an Unraveling, individualism flourishes while institutions are weak and discredited. It is a time of celebrity circuses and a tremendous amount of freedom and creativity in our personal lives, but very little sense of public purpose. In American history, these were also decades of cynicism. The most recent period of Unraveling lasted from the mid-‘80s through the mid-‘90s and historically during the 1920s, the 1850s, and the 1760s.
A Third Turning has always historically been followed by a Fourth Turning. The generational line-up sets the stage: a Prophet generation enters old age, with Nomads entering mid-life, Heroes entering young adulthood, and Artists arriving as children.
It was Howe’s comments regarding the beginning of a Fourth Turning that got my full attention:
We have seen that if history doesn’t provide a Crisis-catalyzing event, Fourth-Turning leaders will invent them in order to galvanize collective action and begin the process of reversing many of the Third Turning attitudes. The culture begins to find a sense of purpose again, including propaganda that spurs people to coalesce around the same goal. Individualism gives way to a new sense of community. People begin to identify themselves with larger groups. We have seen this in previous Fourth Turnings, like the 1930s, which the historian Frederick Lewis Allen called the decade of community and belonging.
(Perhaps the comparisons of Barack H. Obama to Franklin D. Roosevelt following the first 100 days of Obama’s presidency were not so far-fetched.)
According to Howe, we are in the process of entering a Fourth Turning—one that is characterized by an agenda. And, it just so happens to come at a time when an agenda for change fits squarely into an already popular topic of catastrophic change—2012.
In order to mobilize a society to change quickly, an atmosphere of fear must be obtained and sustained. Historically, it has happened with war. However, the War on Terror, while mobilizing a reduction in personal freedoms in America, did not maintain our attention. The ensuing global financial meltdown (allowed by the U.S. government, the U.S. financial institutions, the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury) followed. Again, the situation had our full attention, but very little public outcry with the initial takeover of private banks and corporations.
There may be a reason for the slow start of a public response to the change in government attitude. Regarding the general mind-set at the time, Neil Howe said,
“During the Third Turning, it was in the interest of any investor and anyone in any business not to be noticed by the government, but rather to make your decisions in the free market, pocket your money, and move on.”
Howe continued with what would have been timely advice for many corporate executives,
“Now, however, you want to know and build relationships with people in power, because you never know when they will have the opportunity to do something for you—or do something to you.” (emphasis mine)
As we watch the headlines, we are amazed at the speed with which change is happening, especially in America. It is purposed that way.
Historically, many world leaders have sought a one-world (global) agenda. We are entering an extraordinary time in which the cycles of nature, societies, governments, and economies are converging in what appears to be a perfect vortex for the change to achieve that goal. Howe concluded his above re-marks with,
“Pragmatically speaking, as we move into an era of community and belonging, if you do not belong, your interests and your point of view are not going to be taken into ac-count.”
The “Change We Can Believe In” campaign slogan that brought Obama into the White House will require the “individual” to be sacrificed on the altar of “community.” The diversity of the American Middle Class must give way to a “standard acceptable lifestyle” in keeping with the world population. The time has arrived for the wealthy (regardless of how they came into that wealth) to pay for their opulence. In order to bring about the desired change without allowing society to disintegrate into total anarchy, a spirit of fear will continue to be dispensed from government leaders via a media that has already bought into the vision for the future. It is for such a time as this that Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
Cycles represent the rehearsals of what will ultimately become the end. Without a Biblical worldview, it will be easy to assume that what we face is just another cycle—one in which we will survive to live another day and change the outcome. This is a part of the deception the ruler of this world would have us believe. Paul again provides advice for our generation in 2 Timothy 3:13, “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”
The hype surrounding 2012 provides a backdrop to explain what is happening on a spiritual level in conjunction with the ancient civilizations as well as keep an apocalyptic fear of disaster at the forefront of our thoughts. It is imperative that we maintain situational awareness in our personal lives—that we not accept a spirit of fear, allow the deception to creep into our thoughts, and become part of the “community.”
Biblically speaking, what makes this convergence of cycles so different from those observed in history? Israel is in the land in unbelief as foretold by the prophets. We are operating on God’s time clock now. Truth is that point where word and deed meet. What lays on our horizon is that point where God’s Word and His deeds become one and prophecy is fulfilled. All indications point to a time of unprecedented upheaval to life as we know it. But then again, we’ve read the Book and we know the ending.
by Mary Miller, Director of Research
Previously, we’ve discussed the cycles of history that promise to converge to create the anticipated apocalypse of 2012—a time when life as we know it ends and a new “spiritually enlightened” world emerges.
As we continue the study of cycle theory, the work of Neil Howe and William Strauss has been applauded in secular circles as “visionary.” Indeed, their book The Fourth Turning is provocative in addressing the cycle they believe America is in at this moment. In their 1997 work, Howe and Strauss defined four repeating generational archetypes: 1) Hero (raised protectively as children); 2) Artist (raised during a time of crisis); 3) Prophet (raised during post-crisis affluence); and 4) Nomad (raised during times of cultural upheavals).
As each of these generations progress through four phases of life (childhood, young adulthood, mid life, and old age), they create a “turning.” The turning represents the end of one 20-year cycle (approx.) and the beginning of another. The “national mood of the country depends upon where the generational archetypes exist within the cycles.” Howe explained “turnings” in a recent interview in “The Casey Report”:
Just as there are four generational archetypes, there are four turnings. The First Turning we call a High. Highs are periods in which institutions are strong and individualism is weak. Highs in America were experienced post-World War II, post-Civil War, and post-American Revolution. These were times when Americans felt good about themselves and wanted to gather together to enjoy life and prosperity.
Highs are followed by the Second Turning we call an Awakening. Awakenings are periods of public progress with no apparent limit to prosperity. However, suddenly everyone tires of social conformity and decides they want to rediscover individuality. America’s most recent and most memorable period of Awakening began in the mid-60s and continued into the early 1980s.
Awakenings are followed by the Third Turning we call an Un-raveling. In an Unraveling, individualism flourishes while institutions are weak and discredited. It is a time of celebrity circuses and a tremendous amount of freedom and creativity in our personal lives, but very little sense of public purpose. In American history, these were also decades of cynicism. The most recent period of Unraveling lasted from the mid-‘80s through the mid-‘90s and historically during the 1920s, the 1850s, and the 1760s.
A Third Turning has always historically been followed by a Fourth Turning. The generational line-up sets the stage: a Prophet generation enters old age, with Nomads entering mid-life, Heroes entering young adulthood, and Artists arriving as children.
It was Howe’s comments regarding the beginning of a Fourth Turning that got my full attention:
We have seen that if history doesn’t provide a Crisis-catalyzing event, Fourth-Turning leaders will invent them in order to galvanize collective action and begin the process of reversing many of the Third Turning attitudes. The culture begins to find a sense of purpose again, including propaganda that spurs people to coalesce around the same goal. Individualism gives way to a new sense of community. People begin to identify themselves with larger groups. We have seen this in previous Fourth Turnings, like the 1930s, which the historian Frederick Lewis Allen called the decade of community and belonging.
(Perhaps the comparisons of Barack H. Obama to Franklin D. Roosevelt following the first 100 days of Obama’s presidency were not so far-fetched.)
According to Howe, we are in the process of entering a Fourth Turning—one that is characterized by an agenda. And, it just so happens to come at a time when an agenda for change fits squarely into an already popular topic of catastrophic change—2012.
In order to mobilize a society to change quickly, an atmosphere of fear must be obtained and sustained. Historically, it has happened with war. However, the War on Terror, while mobilizing a reduction in personal freedoms in America, did not maintain our attention. The ensuing global financial meltdown (allowed by the U.S. government, the U.S. financial institutions, the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury) followed. Again, the situation had our full attention, but very little public outcry with the initial takeover of private banks and corporations.
There may be a reason for the slow start of a public response to the change in government attitude. Regarding the general mind-set at the time, Neil Howe said,
“During the Third Turning, it was in the interest of any investor and anyone in any business not to be noticed by the government, but rather to make your decisions in the free market, pocket your money, and move on.”
Howe continued with what would have been timely advice for many corporate executives,
“Now, however, you want to know and build relationships with people in power, because you never know when they will have the opportunity to do something for you—or do something to you.” (emphasis mine)
As we watch the headlines, we are amazed at the speed with which change is happening, especially in America. It is purposed that way.
Historically, many world leaders have sought a one-world (global) agenda. We are entering an extraordinary time in which the cycles of nature, societies, governments, and economies are converging in what appears to be a perfect vortex for the change to achieve that goal. Howe concluded his above re-marks with,
“Pragmatically speaking, as we move into an era of community and belonging, if you do not belong, your interests and your point of view are not going to be taken into ac-count.”
The “Change We Can Believe In” campaign slogan that brought Obama into the White House will require the “individual” to be sacrificed on the altar of “community.” The diversity of the American Middle Class must give way to a “standard acceptable lifestyle” in keeping with the world population. The time has arrived for the wealthy (regardless of how they came into that wealth) to pay for their opulence. In order to bring about the desired change without allowing society to disintegrate into total anarchy, a spirit of fear will continue to be dispensed from government leaders via a media that has already bought into the vision for the future. It is for such a time as this that Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
Cycles represent the rehearsals of what will ultimately become the end. Without a Biblical worldview, it will be easy to assume that what we face is just another cycle—one in which we will survive to live another day and change the outcome. This is a part of the deception the ruler of this world would have us believe. Paul again provides advice for our generation in 2 Timothy 3:13, “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”
The hype surrounding 2012 provides a backdrop to explain what is happening on a spiritual level in conjunction with the ancient civilizations as well as keep an apocalyptic fear of disaster at the forefront of our thoughts. It is imperative that we maintain situational awareness in our personal lives—that we not accept a spirit of fear, allow the deception to creep into our thoughts, and become part of the “community.”
Biblically speaking, what makes this convergence of cycles so different from those observed in history? Israel is in the land in unbelief as foretold by the prophets. We are operating on God’s time clock now. Truth is that point where word and deed meet. What lays on our horizon is that point where God’s Word and His deeds become one and prophecy is fulfilled. All indications point to a time of unprecedented upheaval to life as we know it. But then again, we’ve read the Book and we know the ending.
Faith at the End of the Age
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1)
For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:24-25)
We walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)
The word used for “faith” (confidence in God) may change depending on context (“hope” is used in Romans 8), but there is one concept that is common to all three passages – the absence of sight, “ . . . certain of what we do not see”, “hope for what we do not see”, “by faith, not by sight”. When we are young Christians much of our faith is based on what we see God doing for us or others. Our faith seems to rest on our increasing awareness of God’s activity and faithfulness to His word. But the faith of the mature saint, the faith that glorifies the Lord most, is faith that does not require sight to support it.
In spiritual maturity faith and sight are often mutually exclusive. Faith is based solely on God’s word, on His integrity, not on what He does or does not do for us. Why is this so important in our generation?
At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
It is my personal belief that we are living in the time described in this prophetic passage of scripture. The final “shaking” predicted by the author of Hebrews has begun, so faith in the midst of the storm is more important than ever.
As Jesus said in Luke 18:8, “Nevertheless when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” This becomes the ultimate criteria for the church in the last generation – will we be strong in faith when both the earth and heavens have been shaken to the core? Whether we are talking about spiritual, emotional, cultural, social or political realms, all will be shaken to discover what has eternal value, to see what will “remain”.
In addition it’s important to remember that the antichrist and those who precede and prepare his way are operating by an opposite principle of faith. The spirit of antichrist provides “sight” in abundance. They deceive the world by “miracles, signs and wonders”,
The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders. (2 Thessalonians 2:9)
This lawless one will stimulate the faith of the masses because of what he does in their sight. At a time like this, only the spiritually mature believer who requires no “sight” will remain unfazed, undeceived, because he will know in Whom he has believed and nothing will shake his resolve to remain true to Him. If in your life, personally, there seems to be an absence of God combined with the presence of overwhelming pressure (“shaking”) God has not abandoned you, He is preparing you for this very unique time in history. The world pursues a faith supported by evidence, but the only evidence the mature saint needs is God’s word. The spiritually mature child of God walks by faith, not by sight, and is able to say with Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).
(Hebrews 11:1)
For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:24-25)
We walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)
The word used for “faith” (confidence in God) may change depending on context (“hope” is used in Romans 8), but there is one concept that is common to all three passages – the absence of sight, “ . . . certain of what we do not see”, “hope for what we do not see”, “by faith, not by sight”. When we are young Christians much of our faith is based on what we see God doing for us or others. Our faith seems to rest on our increasing awareness of God’s activity and faithfulness to His word. But the faith of the mature saint, the faith that glorifies the Lord most, is faith that does not require sight to support it.
In spiritual maturity faith and sight are often mutually exclusive. Faith is based solely on God’s word, on His integrity, not on what He does or does not do for us. Why is this so important in our generation?
At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
It is my personal belief that we are living in the time described in this prophetic passage of scripture. The final “shaking” predicted by the author of Hebrews has begun, so faith in the midst of the storm is more important than ever.
As Jesus said in Luke 18:8, “Nevertheless when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” This becomes the ultimate criteria for the church in the last generation – will we be strong in faith when both the earth and heavens have been shaken to the core? Whether we are talking about spiritual, emotional, cultural, social or political realms, all will be shaken to discover what has eternal value, to see what will “remain”.
In addition it’s important to remember that the antichrist and those who precede and prepare his way are operating by an opposite principle of faith. The spirit of antichrist provides “sight” in abundance. They deceive the world by “miracles, signs and wonders”,
The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders. (2 Thessalonians 2:9)
This lawless one will stimulate the faith of the masses because of what he does in their sight. At a time like this, only the spiritually mature believer who requires no “sight” will remain unfazed, undeceived, because he will know in Whom he has believed and nothing will shake his resolve to remain true to Him. If in your life, personally, there seems to be an absence of God combined with the presence of overwhelming pressure (“shaking”) God has not abandoned you, He is preparing you for this very unique time in history. The world pursues a faith supported by evidence, but the only evidence the mature saint needs is God’s word. The spiritually mature child of God walks by faith, not by sight, and is able to say with Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Guilt
First, I need to mention something that happened to me when I first decided to review the following truths. Much of this may appear to be very basic, so elementary you may be tempted to skim or even disregard what you feel you already know and don’t need to learn over again. Please resist that temptation. Trust me on this: often we only think we’ve assimilated certain truths. If we had really done so, many of the problems we currently experience would have been resolved years ago. No matter how fundamental something may seem, it hasn’t really connected until we’re living it. Just knowing it is not living it. If you have no problem with guilt, then you don’t need to read any further (unless you’re just interested in my take on it). But if guilt is still a struggle for you, then please don’t space out when we spend some time, for example, in 1 John 1:9. Give the following some serious undistracted consideration, you’ll be in the Word at some level, so it can’t hurt.
Of all the needless strongholds we allow to capture our mind, the one which is the most devastating is guilt. It not only focuses us almost exclusively on ourselves, leaving us incapable of seeing and feeling the needs of others, it also paralyzes us with fear. Guilt takes away hope. It distorts our view of God and makes Him, in our view, something wholly other than what He actually is. It robs us of the freedom we have in Christ (Galatians 5:1) and takes away our understanding of grace (Galatians 5:4). We live in sorrow and shame under a legalism God never intended for us, afraid of every rustling leaf, afraid of each new day, afraid of what might happen if the Lord came back and we had to “give account”. We live in pain and regret. Guilt destroys our body, our soul, our relationships and our spiritual life. Guilt is Satan’s most consistent and effective tool against the believer who desires to grow in Christ.
No matter how much of a failure one’s life may appear to be, guilt is never necessary and the provision to have it completely absent from the Christian’s life has been made through the sacrifice of Christ and the mercy of God.
“If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteous” (1 John 1:9).
We all sin – frequently. As we grow we may sin less (though since we may also become more sensitive to sin, it may appear to us as though we are sinning more – we leave those revelations in God’s hands). To confess is simply to acknowledge to God in a moment of silent, private prayer that the sin we have become aware of is, indeed, sin. We agree with God rather than trying to justify, rationalize or hide. In the garden, immediately after they became aware of their sin, Adam blamed God, Eve blamed the serpent, both hid, both were afraid, both were smothered in guilt. Satan was ecstatic. Guilt came early in creation and has never been abandoned by the enemy as an effective instrument of emotional and spiritual death.
Each time we sin, we simply acknowledge that sin to God. What does He do? He “forgives and cleanses”. He forgives the sin we confess and cleanses us from “all unrighteousness” – from all the sins we are unaware of. As we grow we understand more of what sin is, but along the way we commit a multitude of sins that in our immaturity we may not even know are sins. God’s goal through confession is to restore us to fellowship with Himself (1 John 1:3). So, to remove all barriers to that fellowship, when we confess a sin to Him, He cleanses us from all sin to keep us under an open heaven. He doesn’t do this for us because we feel sorry for our sin or beg Him to forgive us or promise to be better – He does it because, “God is faithful and righteous to forgive. . .” He forgives based on the cross where sin was paid for. He forgives based on His own work through Christ and His own integrity in remaining faithful to His promise. This is good news. Confession is all he asks from us; the responsibility to forgive and restore is His. This is grace. When we come to Him to confess a wrong we’ve done, regardless of how we may feel, He always does exactly the same thing – forgives and cleanses.
Now this next part is extremely important as related to guilt. When we confess our sin, God not only removes it, He blots it out forever – it’s gone (Psalm 103:11-13). It is absolutely imperative that as soon as we confess our sin, we forget that sin – in God’s reckoning, it’s gone, it should be gone for us too.
“Forgetting those things which are past, I press forward. . . “(Philippians 3:13).
If we don’t immediately forget (turn our back on any remembrance or anxiety) regarding that sin, then guilt will instantly grab us and move us into all that we saw earlier – depression, shame, fear, etc. When sin is confessed, it’s forgiven and gone. We must completely let it go. The enemy may remind us, others may remind us, but that’s their problem. Our relationship and trust is with God and His Word.
To use an example, many women are guilt-ridden over having an abortion. It may have been one week or ten years ago, but they hang on to that sin. As soon as they confessed it to God, He forgave and buried it. They could have done the same. If they had taken God’s attitude and approach to their sin, guilt would never have gotten a stronghold. They would be free to move forward, “forgetting the things which are past”. Each confession brings a completely fresh start for anyone who will believe God.
What are the things in your past which you feel guilty about? What do you think God did when you agreed with Him that those things were wrong, sinful, failings? He forgave them and forgot them (Isaiah 43:25, 44:22). Why are you “remembering” them? Are your sins greater than God’s grace? Do you enjoy discouragement over your past? Wouldn’t you rather set your face toward the future with the assurance and knowledge that your past is both forgiven and forgotten?
Some people struggle to “forget” their past (whether it’s the past five minutes or the past 50 years), because they still see the consequences of their sin in action, in the present. The woman who married under pressure or because of pregnancy is still in a relationship that should never have happened; the man who left his wife for another woman has lost her and possibly his children; the criminal who came to Christ then committed a crime is still in prison; the promiscuous young man or woman feels shame over their lifestyle; and the list goes on – drugs, alcoholism, pornography, lost jobs through personal failure . . . What’s your list? What are you ashamed of, afraid of? What do you condemn yourself, accuse yourself, berate yourself over? What real-life failures and sins have you done that you can’t let go of?
David committed adultery and murder; Moses committed murder; Abraham wimped out and was willing to give his wife to Pharaoh (twice); Peter denied the Lord Who bought him; Jacob, Samson, Solomon, etc. God has filled the Bible with men and women who sinned again and again, horribly. And yet, they eventually came to confess their sins to God, accept His forgiveness, “pick up the hands which hung down” in shame (Hebrews 12:13), dusted themselves off, forgot the past and moved forward with their head high (though humbled) in full confidence that God has forgiven, restored and was now moving them forward in the completion of His plan for their lives.
The consequences of our sin may or may not remain, but since we all sin, and all sin has consequences, we are all living our entire lives to one extent or another in an environment made up of the consequences of our sins. That is simply earth prior to heaven for everyone in the Bible (except Jesus) and for you and for me. “The whole creation groans and travails . . . and we also” (Romans 8:22-23). God made His plans for us personally billions of years ago; plans to begin and complete the work in us of conforming us to Christ. He did this with the full knowledge of exactly what our lives would entail. In His wisdom He has orchestrated all the events in our lives around the “consequences of our sin” making something good out of that which was intended for evil (Genesis 50:20). God works in this creation with these children, not in some ideal, sinless creation that’s not here yet.
When we sin and refuse to acknowledge our sin, our spiritual momentum stops and we suffer (Psalm 38:3-11). But the second come to our senses and confess that sin, we are restored to fellowship and our spiritual growth resumes (Psalm 51:4, 14; Psalm 40:3). In the story of the prodigal son, while he refused to acknowledge his sin, life became worse and worse until eventually he was living off pig slop for his food. But when he “woke up” and smelled the roses, so to speak, he said, “I have sinned”. That was all it took. He went back to his father, who when he saw his son coming, didn’t even let him talk about how unworthy he was, how he knew how bad he was and that he should be a “son”, etc. The Father just heard, “I have sinned” and that was enough. From then on it was restored fellowship and party time. Read through the story, you’ll see both the heart of God toward His sinning and confessing children, the instantaneousness of forgiveness upon confession and the full and total restoration that God in grace gives to those who come to Him (Luke 15:11-24).
By the way, having made this mistake myself on numerous occasions, I know the tendency people have when they read through papers like this; the tendency is to mentally acknowledge the passages cited but not take the time to actually look them up and read them. In the case of the passages noted throughout this document that would be a huge mistake. Exposure to the Word of God in these instances is essential to gain the full impact in a personal way of what’s here, especially some of the extended passages in Isaiah and the Psalms and of course, the story of the Prodigal (not exactly new ground, I know, but as with everything in life and in the Bible, familiarity is important, but timing is everything). Superficiality in studying this will greatly lessen the effect, spiritually, of what could happen when these truths penetrate the soul. And they are much more likely to penetrate when you get them directly from your personal consideration of them in the Bible itself than from an indirect discussion of them in what I write.
Ok back to the text.
If we don’t believe God has forgiven and removed our sin forever; if we don’t believe what He says He did when we confessed our sin to Him, then guilt will grab hold and bring our growth to a grinding halt. The development and embrace of guilt has nothing to do with how bad we were (or are), it has to do with whether we will believe God or not. 1 John 1:9 is true. When we confess, the sin is gone. They why would we have guilt? Only one reason – we don’t believe that God really did what God said He’d do in 1 John 1:9. If we believe that our sin is gone and that we have started over with a clean slate and that God is now going to use all our circumstances, even the consequences of our sin, to move us forward for our joy and His glory, then why the guilt, why the shame, why the fear? We are as cleansed and forgiven and safe as God Himself can make us, and NOT because of us, but because of His own faithfulness to keep His Word.
“God causes ALL things to work together for the good to those who love Him, to those called according to His purpose . . .” (Romans 8:28). “All things”, not “most things”. Who is it that loves God? Those who believe Him. “Can two walk together unless they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). Walking together is fellowship - 1 John 1:3. The foundation of fellowship with God is agreement, honesty, not sinlessness . 1 John 1:9 is agreeing with God, the restoration of fellowship, walking with Him hand in hand, abiding in the Vine, transparency before God, and experiencing what is meant by “called according to His purpose”.
If we believe His Word, even in our weakness and failure, which is common to all, we can have that life and that freedom. The cross and the faithfulness of God have made full provision for a completely guilt-free life. Are the implications of 1 John 1:9 a nice ideal or a living reality for us? This is the choice we must make daily as we “agree” with God and move forward with Him, forgetting those things which are past.
Once we’ve settled the issue of forgiveness and restored fellowship, and are convinced of the incredible value of forgetting the past and living guilt free, we come up against the issue of moving forward. Growing not only allows us to keep from losing what we’ve gained in these truths, it also increases our spiritual ability to move past these elementary things to other truths and revelations which deepen our walk with God far beyond the struggle of worrying about how to deal with past sins. This is the problem for people who say, “I tried 1 John 1:9 – it doesn’t work!” It doesn’t work if we stop growing, it does work (as does all Scripture) if we keep growing.
In our generation spiritual advance or growth in Christ, like many other truths, has been redefined and has become something that truly “doesn’t work” for most. We have to move from infancy to maturity. We will always need to implement and apply by faith the truth of 1 John 1:9, even when we are the most mature Christians, “In this do I exercise myself, to always have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward man.” (Acts 24:16). This is Paul’s terminology and application of 1 John 1:9. No matter how mature we get as Christians, this “exercise” will be a daily reality for us. But what becomes less frequent and as natural as breathing to the mature Christian can remain a constant struggle and frustration to the perpetually young Christian for whom in their mind “it doesn’t work!”
If you continue to be defeated and confused in the area of guilt it’s not because the truths of the Bible “don’t work”, it’s because in that area of your understanding of God and His Word you are in a spiritual stagnation mode – momentum, spiritual growth has halted due to a lack of proceeding from milk to meat.
“Brethren, I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat; for to this time you were not able to hear it, neither yet now are you able. . . “ (1 Corinthians 3:1-2)
“We have many things to say to you but they are hard to be uttered, seeing that you are dull of hearing. For by this time you should be teaching others, you have need that one teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk, and not of meat. Everyone who uses milk is unskillful in the Word of righteousness; for he is as babe. But meat belongs to those that are mature, who by reason of use have their (spiritual) senses exercised to discern both good (truth) and evil (error). Therefore, leaving the (elementary) principles of the doctrines of Christ, let us go on unto maturity . . .” (Hebrews 5:11-6:1a)
You see how important this is. The restoration of fellowship with God through the confession and forgetting of sin is not an end in itself. It resolves the guilt issue if it is believed and applied, but its intent is simply to keep the believer in right relationship with God so continued growth can occur. Confession keeps us under an open heaven so we can hear and learn and grow without the stronghold of guilt holding us down.
Eventually, hopefully, young Christians in churches who do not teach in a way that moves from milk to meat will realize they are starving and need much more than the elementary teachings of the Bible or simply “daily devotions” or inspiring sermons to insure real spiritual growth. Our minds must be renewed daily moving from basic teachings to the deeper things of God if we are to stay on top of things, remembering what we’ve learned and remaining able to use it in real life but also moving forward.
“Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind . . .” (Romans 12:2)
This renewal can’t come from perpetually staying in the realm of milk and simply rehashing the same basic truths over and over again from new and creative angles. Just as in the natural world, the things we learned and lived as a child will never sustain us as an adult. When we see adults who have “never grown up” we don’t think that’s cute or normal; why would we think we could be infants in our knowledge of God’s Word and not end up in the same position spiritually as the natural man who remains an emotional teenager into his 40’s or 50’s or 60’s?
If we really saw God as Who He is, we would have no doubt of His love, His forgiveness. Our doubts are not as much based on weak faith as they are on a distortion of our view of God. Faith isn’t strengthened by trying really hard to strengthen our faith, it’s strengthened by becoming more familiar (accurately familiar) with the object of our faith. Growing in grace and the knowledge of Christ is what strengthens faith (2 Peter 3:18 cp. Romans 10:17). Faith becomes increasingly solid, strong and supportive as we grow spiritually. It’s the natural consequence of moving from infancy to maturity.
“If you continue in my Word . . . you will know the Truth and the Truth will make you free” (John 8:32). “Continue” means “continue”, moving from the elementary to the more advanced truths of God’s Word throughout our life, never stopping or stagnating (as did the Corinthians and the Hebrews).
The Lord came to bring us life and freedom, not shame and guilt. When we know, believe and apply the truths He’s given us, we will see the development of inner freedom, and guilt will be a thing of the past (where it belongs).
Of all the needless strongholds we allow to capture our mind, the one which is the most devastating is guilt. It not only focuses us almost exclusively on ourselves, leaving us incapable of seeing and feeling the needs of others, it also paralyzes us with fear. Guilt takes away hope. It distorts our view of God and makes Him, in our view, something wholly other than what He actually is. It robs us of the freedom we have in Christ (Galatians 5:1) and takes away our understanding of grace (Galatians 5:4). We live in sorrow and shame under a legalism God never intended for us, afraid of every rustling leaf, afraid of each new day, afraid of what might happen if the Lord came back and we had to “give account”. We live in pain and regret. Guilt destroys our body, our soul, our relationships and our spiritual life. Guilt is Satan’s most consistent and effective tool against the believer who desires to grow in Christ.
No matter how much of a failure one’s life may appear to be, guilt is never necessary and the provision to have it completely absent from the Christian’s life has been made through the sacrifice of Christ and the mercy of God.
“If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteous” (1 John 1:9).
We all sin – frequently. As we grow we may sin less (though since we may also become more sensitive to sin, it may appear to us as though we are sinning more – we leave those revelations in God’s hands). To confess is simply to acknowledge to God in a moment of silent, private prayer that the sin we have become aware of is, indeed, sin. We agree with God rather than trying to justify, rationalize or hide. In the garden, immediately after they became aware of their sin, Adam blamed God, Eve blamed the serpent, both hid, both were afraid, both were smothered in guilt. Satan was ecstatic. Guilt came early in creation and has never been abandoned by the enemy as an effective instrument of emotional and spiritual death.
Each time we sin, we simply acknowledge that sin to God. What does He do? He “forgives and cleanses”. He forgives the sin we confess and cleanses us from “all unrighteousness” – from all the sins we are unaware of. As we grow we understand more of what sin is, but along the way we commit a multitude of sins that in our immaturity we may not even know are sins. God’s goal through confession is to restore us to fellowship with Himself (1 John 1:3). So, to remove all barriers to that fellowship, when we confess a sin to Him, He cleanses us from all sin to keep us under an open heaven. He doesn’t do this for us because we feel sorry for our sin or beg Him to forgive us or promise to be better – He does it because, “God is faithful and righteous to forgive. . .” He forgives based on the cross where sin was paid for. He forgives based on His own work through Christ and His own integrity in remaining faithful to His promise. This is good news. Confession is all he asks from us; the responsibility to forgive and restore is His. This is grace. When we come to Him to confess a wrong we’ve done, regardless of how we may feel, He always does exactly the same thing – forgives and cleanses.
Now this next part is extremely important as related to guilt. When we confess our sin, God not only removes it, He blots it out forever – it’s gone (Psalm 103:11-13). It is absolutely imperative that as soon as we confess our sin, we forget that sin – in God’s reckoning, it’s gone, it should be gone for us too.
“Forgetting those things which are past, I press forward. . . “(Philippians 3:13).
If we don’t immediately forget (turn our back on any remembrance or anxiety) regarding that sin, then guilt will instantly grab us and move us into all that we saw earlier – depression, shame, fear, etc. When sin is confessed, it’s forgiven and gone. We must completely let it go. The enemy may remind us, others may remind us, but that’s their problem. Our relationship and trust is with God and His Word.
To use an example, many women are guilt-ridden over having an abortion. It may have been one week or ten years ago, but they hang on to that sin. As soon as they confessed it to God, He forgave and buried it. They could have done the same. If they had taken God’s attitude and approach to their sin, guilt would never have gotten a stronghold. They would be free to move forward, “forgetting the things which are past”. Each confession brings a completely fresh start for anyone who will believe God.
What are the things in your past which you feel guilty about? What do you think God did when you agreed with Him that those things were wrong, sinful, failings? He forgave them and forgot them (Isaiah 43:25, 44:22). Why are you “remembering” them? Are your sins greater than God’s grace? Do you enjoy discouragement over your past? Wouldn’t you rather set your face toward the future with the assurance and knowledge that your past is both forgiven and forgotten?
Some people struggle to “forget” their past (whether it’s the past five minutes or the past 50 years), because they still see the consequences of their sin in action, in the present. The woman who married under pressure or because of pregnancy is still in a relationship that should never have happened; the man who left his wife for another woman has lost her and possibly his children; the criminal who came to Christ then committed a crime is still in prison; the promiscuous young man or woman feels shame over their lifestyle; and the list goes on – drugs, alcoholism, pornography, lost jobs through personal failure . . . What’s your list? What are you ashamed of, afraid of? What do you condemn yourself, accuse yourself, berate yourself over? What real-life failures and sins have you done that you can’t let go of?
David committed adultery and murder; Moses committed murder; Abraham wimped out and was willing to give his wife to Pharaoh (twice); Peter denied the Lord Who bought him; Jacob, Samson, Solomon, etc. God has filled the Bible with men and women who sinned again and again, horribly. And yet, they eventually came to confess their sins to God, accept His forgiveness, “pick up the hands which hung down” in shame (Hebrews 12:13), dusted themselves off, forgot the past and moved forward with their head high (though humbled) in full confidence that God has forgiven, restored and was now moving them forward in the completion of His plan for their lives.
The consequences of our sin may or may not remain, but since we all sin, and all sin has consequences, we are all living our entire lives to one extent or another in an environment made up of the consequences of our sins. That is simply earth prior to heaven for everyone in the Bible (except Jesus) and for you and for me. “The whole creation groans and travails . . . and we also” (Romans 8:22-23). God made His plans for us personally billions of years ago; plans to begin and complete the work in us of conforming us to Christ. He did this with the full knowledge of exactly what our lives would entail. In His wisdom He has orchestrated all the events in our lives around the “consequences of our sin” making something good out of that which was intended for evil (Genesis 50:20). God works in this creation with these children, not in some ideal, sinless creation that’s not here yet.
When we sin and refuse to acknowledge our sin, our spiritual momentum stops and we suffer (Psalm 38:3-11). But the second come to our senses and confess that sin, we are restored to fellowship and our spiritual growth resumes (Psalm 51:4, 14; Psalm 40:3). In the story of the prodigal son, while he refused to acknowledge his sin, life became worse and worse until eventually he was living off pig slop for his food. But when he “woke up” and smelled the roses, so to speak, he said, “I have sinned”. That was all it took. He went back to his father, who when he saw his son coming, didn’t even let him talk about how unworthy he was, how he knew how bad he was and that he should be a “son”, etc. The Father just heard, “I have sinned” and that was enough. From then on it was restored fellowship and party time. Read through the story, you’ll see both the heart of God toward His sinning and confessing children, the instantaneousness of forgiveness upon confession and the full and total restoration that God in grace gives to those who come to Him (Luke 15:11-24).
By the way, having made this mistake myself on numerous occasions, I know the tendency people have when they read through papers like this; the tendency is to mentally acknowledge the passages cited but not take the time to actually look them up and read them. In the case of the passages noted throughout this document that would be a huge mistake. Exposure to the Word of God in these instances is essential to gain the full impact in a personal way of what’s here, especially some of the extended passages in Isaiah and the Psalms and of course, the story of the Prodigal (not exactly new ground, I know, but as with everything in life and in the Bible, familiarity is important, but timing is everything). Superficiality in studying this will greatly lessen the effect, spiritually, of what could happen when these truths penetrate the soul. And they are much more likely to penetrate when you get them directly from your personal consideration of them in the Bible itself than from an indirect discussion of them in what I write.
Ok back to the text.
If we don’t believe God has forgiven and removed our sin forever; if we don’t believe what He says He did when we confessed our sin to Him, then guilt will grab hold and bring our growth to a grinding halt. The development and embrace of guilt has nothing to do with how bad we were (or are), it has to do with whether we will believe God or not. 1 John 1:9 is true. When we confess, the sin is gone. They why would we have guilt? Only one reason – we don’t believe that God really did what God said He’d do in 1 John 1:9. If we believe that our sin is gone and that we have started over with a clean slate and that God is now going to use all our circumstances, even the consequences of our sin, to move us forward for our joy and His glory, then why the guilt, why the shame, why the fear? We are as cleansed and forgiven and safe as God Himself can make us, and NOT because of us, but because of His own faithfulness to keep His Word.
“God causes ALL things to work together for the good to those who love Him, to those called according to His purpose . . .” (Romans 8:28). “All things”, not “most things”. Who is it that loves God? Those who believe Him. “Can two walk together unless they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). Walking together is fellowship - 1 John 1:3. The foundation of fellowship with God is agreement, honesty, not sinlessness . 1 John 1:9 is agreeing with God, the restoration of fellowship, walking with Him hand in hand, abiding in the Vine, transparency before God, and experiencing what is meant by “called according to His purpose”.
If we believe His Word, even in our weakness and failure, which is common to all, we can have that life and that freedom. The cross and the faithfulness of God have made full provision for a completely guilt-free life. Are the implications of 1 John 1:9 a nice ideal or a living reality for us? This is the choice we must make daily as we “agree” with God and move forward with Him, forgetting those things which are past.
Once we’ve settled the issue of forgiveness and restored fellowship, and are convinced of the incredible value of forgetting the past and living guilt free, we come up against the issue of moving forward. Growing not only allows us to keep from losing what we’ve gained in these truths, it also increases our spiritual ability to move past these elementary things to other truths and revelations which deepen our walk with God far beyond the struggle of worrying about how to deal with past sins. This is the problem for people who say, “I tried 1 John 1:9 – it doesn’t work!” It doesn’t work if we stop growing, it does work (as does all Scripture) if we keep growing.
In our generation spiritual advance or growth in Christ, like many other truths, has been redefined and has become something that truly “doesn’t work” for most. We have to move from infancy to maturity. We will always need to implement and apply by faith the truth of 1 John 1:9, even when we are the most mature Christians, “In this do I exercise myself, to always have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward man.” (Acts 24:16). This is Paul’s terminology and application of 1 John 1:9. No matter how mature we get as Christians, this “exercise” will be a daily reality for us. But what becomes less frequent and as natural as breathing to the mature Christian can remain a constant struggle and frustration to the perpetually young Christian for whom in their mind “it doesn’t work!”
If you continue to be defeated and confused in the area of guilt it’s not because the truths of the Bible “don’t work”, it’s because in that area of your understanding of God and His Word you are in a spiritual stagnation mode – momentum, spiritual growth has halted due to a lack of proceeding from milk to meat.
“Brethren, I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat; for to this time you were not able to hear it, neither yet now are you able. . . “ (1 Corinthians 3:1-2)
“We have many things to say to you but they are hard to be uttered, seeing that you are dull of hearing. For by this time you should be teaching others, you have need that one teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk, and not of meat. Everyone who uses milk is unskillful in the Word of righteousness; for he is as babe. But meat belongs to those that are mature, who by reason of use have their (spiritual) senses exercised to discern both good (truth) and evil (error). Therefore, leaving the (elementary) principles of the doctrines of Christ, let us go on unto maturity . . .” (Hebrews 5:11-6:1a)
You see how important this is. The restoration of fellowship with God through the confession and forgetting of sin is not an end in itself. It resolves the guilt issue if it is believed and applied, but its intent is simply to keep the believer in right relationship with God so continued growth can occur. Confession keeps us under an open heaven so we can hear and learn and grow without the stronghold of guilt holding us down.
Eventually, hopefully, young Christians in churches who do not teach in a way that moves from milk to meat will realize they are starving and need much more than the elementary teachings of the Bible or simply “daily devotions” or inspiring sermons to insure real spiritual growth. Our minds must be renewed daily moving from basic teachings to the deeper things of God if we are to stay on top of things, remembering what we’ve learned and remaining able to use it in real life but also moving forward.
“Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind . . .” (Romans 12:2)
This renewal can’t come from perpetually staying in the realm of milk and simply rehashing the same basic truths over and over again from new and creative angles. Just as in the natural world, the things we learned and lived as a child will never sustain us as an adult. When we see adults who have “never grown up” we don’t think that’s cute or normal; why would we think we could be infants in our knowledge of God’s Word and not end up in the same position spiritually as the natural man who remains an emotional teenager into his 40’s or 50’s or 60’s?
If we really saw God as Who He is, we would have no doubt of His love, His forgiveness. Our doubts are not as much based on weak faith as they are on a distortion of our view of God. Faith isn’t strengthened by trying really hard to strengthen our faith, it’s strengthened by becoming more familiar (accurately familiar) with the object of our faith. Growing in grace and the knowledge of Christ is what strengthens faith (2 Peter 3:18 cp. Romans 10:17). Faith becomes increasingly solid, strong and supportive as we grow spiritually. It’s the natural consequence of moving from infancy to maturity.
“If you continue in my Word . . . you will know the Truth and the Truth will make you free” (John 8:32). “Continue” means “continue”, moving from the elementary to the more advanced truths of God’s Word throughout our life, never stopping or stagnating (as did the Corinthians and the Hebrews).
The Lord came to bring us life and freedom, not shame and guilt. When we know, believe and apply the truths He’s given us, we will see the development of inner freedom, and guilt will be a thing of the past (where it belongs).
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Final Stand
We realize, with intense sorrow of heart, that all is not well with that which ostensibly represents the Lord here... and that there is a state of things widely prevailing which does not truly accord with the revealed desire of God.
Christianity has become so largely a matter of doctrine and creed; the test of Christian life is very much a matter of subscribing thereto. Christian experience has become largely limited to a matter of being saved followed by service, without the great eternal and universal relative factors and issues. Christian service is resolved far too much into a matter of enthusiasm in a great enterprise, apart from an adequate apprehension of what the Lord is really after... and the indispensable energy and equipment of the Holy Ghost.
The Christian "Church" is very largely reduced to earthly institutions, societies, denominations, buildings, activities, and orders; and spiritual revelation and apprehension is, for the most part by far, lacking. Christian teaching has very largely become - at best - a matter of giving addresses and preaching sermons with a presentation of "the letter of the Word" - a giving forth of truth as truth, but lacking in "revelation in the knowledge of Him"... that true inwardness of meaning which reaches the heart and meets the deepest spiritual need of the hungry.
The result of all this is that the impact, upon the world... and particularly upon "the world rulers of this darkness," of that which stands for God is almost nil, or a minus quantity.
Missionary leaders who are in a position to speak with authority are almost of one mind and voice in saying that the only hope of an adequate movement amongst the heathen lies in the direction of a new spiritual movement amongst God's people in the home countries.
As we get nearer the close of this age, the contact with... and impact of... the forces of Satan are going to be such that only those who know the full testimony of Jesus and stand experimentally in it will be able to go through without being paralyzed. The aspect of things is fast changing. The past twenty years has seen a movement into a realm where the old methods and means no longer prove effectual. We shall soon find a tremendous pressing down of the powers of darkness upon this earth, using the world-powers to such a degree and in such ways as to eclipse anything which has hitherto been. This is in full accord with the Word of God.
There will be one, and only one, hope for God's people: their spiritual and empirical knowledge of Him in Christ... and the power of His resurrection as a present spiritual reality. Not their activities, enthusiasms, organizations, enterprises, creeds, "churches," orthodoxy, etc., but HIMSELF. That time, which is now coming upon us – is increasingly imperceptible to so many who are preoccupied with plans, activities and programs.
The bringing in of the ministry of the prophets of old had its occasion in the breakdown of the Lord's true order. Theirs it was to keep before His people what that order was... and to call back to it... against a day of fire. We are in such a time, and what the Lord needs is that instrument by which He can keep His mind about things in view... and call back to it - an instrument which will pay the price of being refused a hearing, of ostracism, of false imputations, slander, and cruel calumny. This needs faith, boldness, and preparedness to leave all vindication with the Lord.
Beloved fellow members of Christ, will you have it urged upon you to seek the Lord for "a Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him" - a pure spiritual unveiling of the Lord Jesus as God's representation of His thought concerning all these things; and as He gives you light, will you seek grace to stand for Him in the day of His need... with all boldness, and whatever the price? All other questions will answer themselves as you do this.
T.Austin Sparks
Christianity has become so largely a matter of doctrine and creed; the test of Christian life is very much a matter of subscribing thereto. Christian experience has become largely limited to a matter of being saved followed by service, without the great eternal and universal relative factors and issues. Christian service is resolved far too much into a matter of enthusiasm in a great enterprise, apart from an adequate apprehension of what the Lord is really after... and the indispensable energy and equipment of the Holy Ghost.
The Christian "Church" is very largely reduced to earthly institutions, societies, denominations, buildings, activities, and orders; and spiritual revelation and apprehension is, for the most part by far, lacking. Christian teaching has very largely become - at best - a matter of giving addresses and preaching sermons with a presentation of "the letter of the Word" - a giving forth of truth as truth, but lacking in "revelation in the knowledge of Him"... that true inwardness of meaning which reaches the heart and meets the deepest spiritual need of the hungry.
The result of all this is that the impact, upon the world... and particularly upon "the world rulers of this darkness," of that which stands for God is almost nil, or a minus quantity.
Missionary leaders who are in a position to speak with authority are almost of one mind and voice in saying that the only hope of an adequate movement amongst the heathen lies in the direction of a new spiritual movement amongst God's people in the home countries.
As we get nearer the close of this age, the contact with... and impact of... the forces of Satan are going to be such that only those who know the full testimony of Jesus and stand experimentally in it will be able to go through without being paralyzed. The aspect of things is fast changing. The past twenty years has seen a movement into a realm where the old methods and means no longer prove effectual. We shall soon find a tremendous pressing down of the powers of darkness upon this earth, using the world-powers to such a degree and in such ways as to eclipse anything which has hitherto been. This is in full accord with the Word of God.
There will be one, and only one, hope for God's people: their spiritual and empirical knowledge of Him in Christ... and the power of His resurrection as a present spiritual reality. Not their activities, enthusiasms, organizations, enterprises, creeds, "churches," orthodoxy, etc., but HIMSELF. That time, which is now coming upon us – is increasingly imperceptible to so many who are preoccupied with plans, activities and programs.
The bringing in of the ministry of the prophets of old had its occasion in the breakdown of the Lord's true order. Theirs it was to keep before His people what that order was... and to call back to it... against a day of fire. We are in such a time, and what the Lord needs is that instrument by which He can keep His mind about things in view... and call back to it - an instrument which will pay the price of being refused a hearing, of ostracism, of false imputations, slander, and cruel calumny. This needs faith, boldness, and preparedness to leave all vindication with the Lord.
Beloved fellow members of Christ, will you have it urged upon you to seek the Lord for "a Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him" - a pure spiritual unveiling of the Lord Jesus as God's representation of His thought concerning all these things; and as He gives you light, will you seek grace to stand for Him in the day of His need... with all boldness, and whatever the price? All other questions will answer themselves as you do this.
T.Austin Sparks
Friday, October 8, 2010
Our Journey from the Cross to the Throne
The following is a series of excerpts from a variety of sources describing the process our Lord has used through our union with Him to deliver us from the old life to the freedom of our new life in Christ. I pray that what these authors say will help you see the glory of what has happened to us in Christ and how we can enter into the reality of what has been provided in Him.
All we will see in this study is summed up in all its parts in the following verse, so as you go through these notes, please re-read this verse frequently.
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
Jesus rose from the dead to give His life to me, to live his life through me; but He can only do that if I am prepared to die to my own program. There’s only Person capable of living the Christian life and that’s Jesus! If we try to do what only Jesus can do, we just do our best for Him and wear out.
Dying to self is a wonderful position to be in, because dead people do not have problems. Every time you give yourself the right to have a problem or the right to worry about something, you give yourself the right to live your own life. However, if you adopt an attitude of total dependence on the Life of the Lord Jesus in you, then no matter how threatening a situation may be, you can relate it back to Him. You can say, “Thank You, Lord! This is no longer my problem or my worry; it is Yours.”
This is the quality of life that gives you “the peace of God that passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). To be wholly and completely and exclusively dependent on the competency and sufficiency of Christ – that is the Christians life.
The Christian and the Savior are one. “He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:17). We are His body. The crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and session at the right hand of God, of one, was the crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and session at the right hand of God of the other. Here you have the backbone of Paul’s theology as regards the Christian life.
Even at their best (Christians) find the example of Jesus to be an ideal infinitely beyond their reach. The trouble lies in the fact that they are proceeding on the wrong basis. God does not expect them, as a result of their own efforts, to be like Jesus. He expects them to realize the utter impossibility of such a thing (see Romans 7, where Paul came to the end of himself). He expects them to receive Christ as their very Life, disowning any other. He expects them to realize their position of utter oneness with Christ.
The Christian no longer strains over an impossible role like an actor in a play who has failed to learn his lines. He simply lives quite naturally what his Lord and Savior directs. He walks as Jesus walked, for Christ is now his Life; “For me to live, is Christ” (Philippians 1:21).
In the Savior’s resurrection the life of the new creation was brought forth. Human merit or ability could not approach it in a billion years. It is of a divine order and source. Just as all men were involved in Adam’s fall; so those in Christ are involved in the Last Adam’s resurrection and ascension. All that is lacking for it to become actual in experience is faith.
The Christian’s position in Christ is of such a glorious nature as to beggar all description. He has been literally, actually, really enthroned in spirit with Christ his Lord. With Christ the Christian is now on the throne of heaven. When he accepts this by faith, the Holy Spirit makes it a reality in experience and he begins to reign in life, by one, even Jesus (Romans 5:17).
In the experience of the Christian, there cannot be one (the resurrection) without the other (the cross). We would all gladly share the resurrection and participate in the life of the throne. But we cannot have co-resurrection without co-crucifixion. The throne is not for our pride and self-life. The rivalry of the flesh must be consigned to the cross if we are to experience newness of life at the right hand of God. We must choose which life we will live.
Here are the two outstanding obstacles that keep Christians from the enjoyment of their heritage in Christ in the fullness of its possession. They are not willing to accept the humbling it details. The price is too great. The loss of our lives to gain a new life in Him. The admission of our helplessness and acknowledgment of His sufficiency. The cross which stands at the threshold makes too great a demand. They are not willing to be nothing that Christ may be all. They may be willing that the “bad” of the old life go, but they desire to keep the “good”. But it all must go; every hair and feather.
On the other side, what an obstacle that overwhelming sense of unworthiness can be. How can one so wretched as I merit so exalted a position? But let us halt and consider. Were it a question of human merit, of course, it would be ridiculous to think of such a thing. But it does greatly honor my God out of His exceeding great goodness to put me there. It is all of grace.
One final comment on entering this life empirically: Regarding what we have been saying, does it work? No “it” doesn’t. This is not an “it”. This is a Person whose life we share. This is not a theology, it is a relationship of faith and dependence on the life of Another Who indwells us to “work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
All we will see in this study is summed up in all its parts in the following verse, so as you go through these notes, please re-read this verse frequently.
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
Jesus rose from the dead to give His life to me, to live his life through me; but He can only do that if I am prepared to die to my own program. There’s only Person capable of living the Christian life and that’s Jesus! If we try to do what only Jesus can do, we just do our best for Him and wear out.
Dying to self is a wonderful position to be in, because dead people do not have problems. Every time you give yourself the right to have a problem or the right to worry about something, you give yourself the right to live your own life. However, if you adopt an attitude of total dependence on the Life of the Lord Jesus in you, then no matter how threatening a situation may be, you can relate it back to Him. You can say, “Thank You, Lord! This is no longer my problem or my worry; it is Yours.”
This is the quality of life that gives you “the peace of God that passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). To be wholly and completely and exclusively dependent on the competency and sufficiency of Christ – that is the Christians life.
The Christian and the Savior are one. “He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:17). We are His body. The crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and session at the right hand of God, of one, was the crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and session at the right hand of God of the other. Here you have the backbone of Paul’s theology as regards the Christian life.
Even at their best (Christians) find the example of Jesus to be an ideal infinitely beyond their reach. The trouble lies in the fact that they are proceeding on the wrong basis. God does not expect them, as a result of their own efforts, to be like Jesus. He expects them to realize the utter impossibility of such a thing (see Romans 7, where Paul came to the end of himself). He expects them to receive Christ as their very Life, disowning any other. He expects them to realize their position of utter oneness with Christ.
The Christian no longer strains over an impossible role like an actor in a play who has failed to learn his lines. He simply lives quite naturally what his Lord and Savior directs. He walks as Jesus walked, for Christ is now his Life; “For me to live, is Christ” (Philippians 1:21).
In the Savior’s resurrection the life of the new creation was brought forth. Human merit or ability could not approach it in a billion years. It is of a divine order and source. Just as all men were involved in Adam’s fall; so those in Christ are involved in the Last Adam’s resurrection and ascension. All that is lacking for it to become actual in experience is faith.
The Christian’s position in Christ is of such a glorious nature as to beggar all description. He has been literally, actually, really enthroned in spirit with Christ his Lord. With Christ the Christian is now on the throne of heaven. When he accepts this by faith, the Holy Spirit makes it a reality in experience and he begins to reign in life, by one, even Jesus (Romans 5:17).
In the experience of the Christian, there cannot be one (the resurrection) without the other (the cross). We would all gladly share the resurrection and participate in the life of the throne. But we cannot have co-resurrection without co-crucifixion. The throne is not for our pride and self-life. The rivalry of the flesh must be consigned to the cross if we are to experience newness of life at the right hand of God. We must choose which life we will live.
Here are the two outstanding obstacles that keep Christians from the enjoyment of their heritage in Christ in the fullness of its possession. They are not willing to accept the humbling it details. The price is too great. The loss of our lives to gain a new life in Him. The admission of our helplessness and acknowledgment of His sufficiency. The cross which stands at the threshold makes too great a demand. They are not willing to be nothing that Christ may be all. They may be willing that the “bad” of the old life go, but they desire to keep the “good”. But it all must go; every hair and feather.
On the other side, what an obstacle that overwhelming sense of unworthiness can be. How can one so wretched as I merit so exalted a position? But let us halt and consider. Were it a question of human merit, of course, it would be ridiculous to think of such a thing. But it does greatly honor my God out of His exceeding great goodness to put me there. It is all of grace.
One final comment on entering this life empirically: Regarding what we have been saying, does it work? No “it” doesn’t. This is not an “it”. This is a Person whose life we share. This is not a theology, it is a relationship of faith and dependence on the life of Another Who indwells us to “work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
Monday, August 30, 2010
Exchanging Our Lives for His, Part 2
It should have taken Israel 11 days to go from Egypt to Canaan. It took 40 years. Even then most of them didn’t make it in. It should have taken me a few years at most to understand what it has taken nearly 40 years to understand. Good thing God is patient.
When I first heard the gospel I didn’t believe it. I was raised an atheist and even the concept of God, let alone the details of Christ’s coming to save a lost world, seemed not only distant and irrelevant, but to be honest, it sounded like religious fantasy. However, God repeatedly pounded the gospel against my brain from a variety of angles, eventually things began to make sense. I believed and received what believing brings – forgiveness of sins and the indwelling life of Christ.
The pieces of the puzzle came together. At first everything was foreign and unreal. Then it became interesting but still unclear. Eventually knowing the truth of the gospel became a survival issue. My life as an atheist wasn’t working so well and the promise of a Savior sounded increasingly appealing.
A similar process has happened with regard to living the life I entered 38 years ago. The puzzle was complex and the pieces never seemed to fit, but when my desire to understand how this life is to be lived moved beyond the pursuit of a curious theological concept to an issue of personal spiritual survival, the pieces started to fall in place. Had I been more receptive and less self-centered I believe lights would have flashed a lot sooner than they did. If they had, if I’d been more open than I was, I could have saved myself and many other people (including my family) a lot of pain. But I believe that as long as we are still alive, hope is an ever present reality. “Seek and you will find” is absolutely true as long as the seeking is somewhat desperate and we’re open to the possibility that what we find will be our undoing.
To understand what God is after we have to start at the end and work backward. For example, we have a huge advantage over the Old Testament saints in understanding the purpose of the Law because we’re looking back with 20/20 hindsight. We see the Law fulfilled in Christ. In Him it all makes sense. For the Old Testament believers everything was “partial” not full (Hebrews 1:1). They got glimpses but until Christ came, they couldn’t see the totality of God’s plan (John 1:14-17; Hebrews 1:1-2).
The same is true regarding the Christian life. If we try to understand this life simply by reading or hearing information about it our understanding will at best be limited. This was the experience of the disciples prior to the resurrection. They listened to the Lord’s teaching, but what He taught never fully registered until the Spirit came and “led them into all truth” (John 16:13). As Paul said, the early disciples knew Christ “after the flesh” in His humanity, but now that He is resurrected they, “no longer know Him in this way” (2 Corinthians 5:16). The veil has been lifted by the coming of the Holy Spirit and we are able to see Christ in glory – in fullness (2 Corinthians 3:6-18). We now know exactly what God had in mind for the Christian life, because we see that life expressed in the Son of Man. Christ is the Christian life – “for me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21) but more on that in a minute.
In 1 Corinthians 15 we see Paul’s breakdown of God’s original plan in creation. Humanity is divided into two categories: “In Adam” and “In Christ”. Adam represents the head of a fallen race. “In Adam all die . . . the first man is of the earth” (1 Corinthians 15:22, 47). Christ as the second Man represents the first born of a new race(literally, species) of humanity (Romans 8:28). In Him all shall be made alive; “The second Man is the Lord from heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:22b, 47b). As Jesus said, “You are from beneath, I am from above. . . Marvel not that I said unto you, you must be born again” – i.e “born from above” (John 8:23, 3:7).
Two humanities: one from beneath (in Adam) and one from above (in Christ). When we come to Christ we are removed from the Adamic race (the “old man”), and joined to Christ, the “new man” (Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 3:1-4, 9, 10; Ephesians 2:15). There are two races or species of humanity on this planet. All those in Adam make up the fallen race and all those in Christ comprise the new humanity created in His image. Jesus Himself is the “first born” of this new race which draws it’s life, character, purpose, image and destiny from Him (Romans 8:29-31). Though we still retain the flesh (the hold-over in our “members” of the fallen race, Romans 7:23) we are now a completely new creation. Old things have passed away, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
We would not have known Who Christ was had God not directly intervened in our lives and by spiritual revelation shown Him to us (Matthew 11:27). The same is true of who we are in Christ as part of His new humanity. The empirical implications of this come only by spiritual revelation. If it’s just information to us we will not experience its reality, we will only know ‘about it’ in our minds. Once we see by revelation who we are in Christ we can enter empirically into that reality just as we entered into salvation upon seeing by revelation Christ as Savior. All things spiritual are supernatural, they are miracles, whether in the new birth or in living by the Spirit in the Christian life (cp. 1 Corinthians 2:9-14).
Christ Himself has entered our spirit and has given to us His own life. He didn’t come only that we would be forgiven but also that we would have life (and that abundantly) – which presupposes that we did not have life until He gave His life to us (John 17:20-23). “He that has the Son has life, he that does not have the Son does not have life . . . “ (1 John 5:12). Again, it’s wonderfully simple. There are two humanities. One has life, one does not. One is destined for the Second Death (eternal separation from the life of God) and the other already has eternal life within them in the Person of the One Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).
God’s original intent in the creation of Man was to indwell this newly created humanity and become within them the Source of His own image. Christ, as the second Man, fulfilled this role perfectly. He was the exact image of the indwelling, invisible Father within Him (Hebrews 1:3). The Father literally “communicated” Himself in His Son; “. . . the Word (communication) of God became flesh and we beheld . . .” (Hebrews 1:2; John 1:1; 14). This is why Jesus could make statements like, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father” (John 14:9) and “He that believes on Me, believes not on Me but on the One Who sent Me” (John 12:44). To see the Son living in complete dependence on His Father was to see the Father living in and through the Son, “The Son can do nothing out from Himself” (John 5:19). From the miracle of His birth to the miracle of His resurrection, the Son of God was dependent upon His Father for all things. His life was explained not by His own power, but by the power of the Father in Him. Jesus was a Man “approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and sighs, which GOD DID through Him . . . “(Acts 2:22).
“As the Father sent Me, so now send I you” (John 20:21). We are to be to Jesus what He was to His Father – completely dependent on Him for all things so that He can live His life through us as the Father lived His life through the Son. “For we who live are always being delivered unto death (abandonment of the self-life) for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus might be made manifest through our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:11). "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). 'Glory’ is the outward expression of the presence of Christ within us. “For me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21).
This is the Christian life. Christ living His life in and through us. This is why the “yoke is easy and the burden is light” (Matthew 11:30) and why only those “who have ceased from their own works have entered the rest” (Hebrews 4:10). Only Christ can reproduce His own life. It’s His responsibility, not ours. It’s His life, not ours (“It is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me. . .”).
We need also to consider for a moment the incredible power of failure. Complete personal failure is absolutely indispensible in moving us from Law to Grace; from self-reliance to dependence on Christ. Whether we go all the way back to Abraham, Jacob, and David or jump ahead a few millennia to Peter’s three denials it’s always the same. Until we know in personal experience that we have nothing to contribute to this life but failure, we will never wholly trust in Christ. As along as we think we can help God in living this life we will produce only Ishmaels. God did not need our help in saving us and He doesn’t need our help in living the life He’s brought us into. “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of Laws or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit are you now made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3).
Faith doesn’t begin until we end; and we won’t ‘end’ until we are convinced in the deepest part of our soul that only Christ can live the Christian life. Fortunately, that is exactly what He has promised to do! He never asked us or expected us to live for Him – His appeal to us has always been that we would trust Him to do for us what we can never do for ourselves. When they asked Him “What shall we do that we might work the works of God”, He responded, “This is the work of God, that you believe on Him Whom He has sent” (John 6:28-29). Ours is meant to be a walk of faith. “The just shall LIVE by faith” (Romans 1:17; Habakkuk 2:4; Galatians 3:11). If you have any doubt as to whether we are to live by faith as over against sharing the load with God, take some time to read through Hebrews 11 and notice how the Spirit cites miracle after miracle to purposefully and emphatically declare our utter helplessness and God’s complete sufficiency. How can we think we can live HIS life?! We can mimic that life and in so doing give the world a picture of noble commitment to the teachings of Jesus (i.e. WWJD), but live His life? Impossible!
There is no other way to salvation than through faith in Christ; there is no other way to live the life we’ve entered than by faith in Christ. We had nothing to do with the first; we have nothing to do with the second. We begin by faith; we walk by faith. “For it is God Who works in you BOTH TO WILL AND TO DO of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
Once these things began to register in me, one question that came to mind was: If Christ is to live His life in me and my part is simply to trust Him to do so, then why all the commandments in the Bible addressed to His people?
The commandments in the Old Testament are “a ministry of condemnation” (2 Corinthians 3:9), a burden Peter says that neither we nor our fathers were able to bear (Acts 15:10). The Law simply exposes sin, “. . . by the Law is the knowledge of sin”, (Romans 3:2). It exposes sin and condemns it, but gives no help in overcoming sin. But the “Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets us free from the Law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2) so that “. . . the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk . . . after the Spirit” (Romans 8:4). Again, our only hope of righteousness is “not by power, nor by might, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6). It’s always been by faith in Him, not faith in us. How could we “rest” if it were up to us?
The commandments are simply instructions to the newly born Christian on how to move forward in the will of God. Though we are born again, we are born as babies and it will take us a lifetime to mature. We learn, we trust, we move by His direction in His power. That’s all we can do. The commandments were not addressed to the flesh but to the seed of Christ in us; “. . . he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:17). Our old man, the flesh, cannot please God(Romans 8:8). But the new creation (which we are) is indwelt and empowered by the Holy Spirit to express the life of its Creator. The commandments are simply a child’s schooling in understanding and expressing the nature of its Source of life. It is in this new man that we are “made partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). This seed is that which is born from above and cannot sin (1 John 3:9), but it is young and lacks maturity of understanding. We are little children before we are young men before we are fathers (1 John 2:12-14). We are to grow in grace and knowledge unto a perfect (mature) man. The Christian life flows and develops perfectly under God’s hand and guidance until that which He has begun is completed. The new man in maturity is “Christ formed in us” (Galatians 4:19).
The breaking of the outer man (the flesh) through failure, suffering and pressure is not meant to harm us but to release the inner man – to bring that which we are in Christ to ascendency over the world, the flesh and the devil. It is child training (Hebrews 12:5-11) and is designed to bring us into the freedom of righteousness, away from the slavery of sin. Just as Paul was given a thorn in the flesh and Jacob was touched in his thigh, pressure keeps us in that position of helplessness and dependence on God that allows Him to sustain us in grace and spiritual ascendency above those things which would pull us away from a walk of faith. Every step Jacob took reminded him of his weakness and great need for God. Prolonged suffering can be a preventative to the resurgence of the flesh – a protection against losing our spiritual momentum through pride or sin. God’s strength is actually perfected in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-12), “. . . when I am weak, then am I strong”. When the outer man is weakened the inner man is strengthened (see also 2 Corinthians 4:16).
As mentioned earlier, faith can’t begin until we end. God must bring us to the end of our selves, not in theory but in real personal experience so our dependence on Christ also becomes more than mere theory. When our dependence on the Lord becomes complete our confidence in ourselves is nil. He is the only One Who knows what it will take to get us to that position before Him – the place where we can honestly say, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me. . . I live by faith” in Him. I can do nothing out from myself. Complete renunciation of the self-life brings complete faith in God, which allows God access to us so He can “do of His good pleasure” without restriction or controversy on our part.
One of the incredible benefits of realizing our helplessness through weakness is freedom from self-condemnation and guilt. As one author put it, “Nothing marks so decidedly the solid progress of a soul, as that it is enabled to view its own depravity without being disturbed or discouraged . . . peacefully reaping the profit of our humiliation . . . when we have no sense of our need, we have no curative principle within; it is a state of blindness, presumption and insensibility . . . we must not be discouraged by our weakness.” As I’m sure you’ve noticed in the Bible, those who saw God did not have their self-esteem boosted: “I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6) “Woe is me, I am undone, I am a man of unclean lips . . . (Isaiah 6:5), “In me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good thing” (Romans 7:18). This is not a problem for those who know they have been crucified with Christ and are now new creations in Him. They will become what they have not been – like Christ. It will take a lifetime of learning and walking in complete dependence upon Him for everything; resting in Him to work within us to do all His will.
The glory of this life is that it is His life. If we want we can learn of Him and trust Him for living just as we learned and then trusted upon hearing the gospel. “As you have, therefore, received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. . .” (Colossians 2:6). “Faithful is He that called you, Who will also do it!” (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
Some people will let Him “do it”; others are determined to help. Some have entered into rest (having ceased from their own works) others through unbelief have not. It always ultimately comes down to who we trust, who we depend on, both for salvation as well as for living post-salvation. He has given us His life, His Spirit, His victory. Why would we choose less than simply taking Him up on His offer? It may take us a great deal of time, experimentation and personal failure to learn all we need to know to walk fully in Him,
But when we end,
faith begins
and the adventure starts!
When I first heard the gospel I didn’t believe it. I was raised an atheist and even the concept of God, let alone the details of Christ’s coming to save a lost world, seemed not only distant and irrelevant, but to be honest, it sounded like religious fantasy. However, God repeatedly pounded the gospel against my brain from a variety of angles, eventually things began to make sense. I believed and received what believing brings – forgiveness of sins and the indwelling life of Christ.
The pieces of the puzzle came together. At first everything was foreign and unreal. Then it became interesting but still unclear. Eventually knowing the truth of the gospel became a survival issue. My life as an atheist wasn’t working so well and the promise of a Savior sounded increasingly appealing.
A similar process has happened with regard to living the life I entered 38 years ago. The puzzle was complex and the pieces never seemed to fit, but when my desire to understand how this life is to be lived moved beyond the pursuit of a curious theological concept to an issue of personal spiritual survival, the pieces started to fall in place. Had I been more receptive and less self-centered I believe lights would have flashed a lot sooner than they did. If they had, if I’d been more open than I was, I could have saved myself and many other people (including my family) a lot of pain. But I believe that as long as we are still alive, hope is an ever present reality. “Seek and you will find” is absolutely true as long as the seeking is somewhat desperate and we’re open to the possibility that what we find will be our undoing.
To understand what God is after we have to start at the end and work backward. For example, we have a huge advantage over the Old Testament saints in understanding the purpose of the Law because we’re looking back with 20/20 hindsight. We see the Law fulfilled in Christ. In Him it all makes sense. For the Old Testament believers everything was “partial” not full (Hebrews 1:1). They got glimpses but until Christ came, they couldn’t see the totality of God’s plan (John 1:14-17; Hebrews 1:1-2).
The same is true regarding the Christian life. If we try to understand this life simply by reading or hearing information about it our understanding will at best be limited. This was the experience of the disciples prior to the resurrection. They listened to the Lord’s teaching, but what He taught never fully registered until the Spirit came and “led them into all truth” (John 16:13). As Paul said, the early disciples knew Christ “after the flesh” in His humanity, but now that He is resurrected they, “no longer know Him in this way” (2 Corinthians 5:16). The veil has been lifted by the coming of the Holy Spirit and we are able to see Christ in glory – in fullness (2 Corinthians 3:6-18). We now know exactly what God had in mind for the Christian life, because we see that life expressed in the Son of Man. Christ is the Christian life – “for me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21) but more on that in a minute.
In 1 Corinthians 15 we see Paul’s breakdown of God’s original plan in creation. Humanity is divided into two categories: “In Adam” and “In Christ”. Adam represents the head of a fallen race. “In Adam all die . . . the first man is of the earth” (1 Corinthians 15:22, 47). Christ as the second Man represents the first born of a new race(literally, species) of humanity (Romans 8:28). In Him all shall be made alive; “The second Man is the Lord from heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:22b, 47b). As Jesus said, “You are from beneath, I am from above. . . Marvel not that I said unto you, you must be born again” – i.e “born from above” (John 8:23, 3:7).
Two humanities: one from beneath (in Adam) and one from above (in Christ). When we come to Christ we are removed from the Adamic race (the “old man”), and joined to Christ, the “new man” (Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 3:1-4, 9, 10; Ephesians 2:15). There are two races or species of humanity on this planet. All those in Adam make up the fallen race and all those in Christ comprise the new humanity created in His image. Jesus Himself is the “first born” of this new race which draws it’s life, character, purpose, image and destiny from Him (Romans 8:29-31). Though we still retain the flesh (the hold-over in our “members” of the fallen race, Romans 7:23) we are now a completely new creation. Old things have passed away, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
We would not have known Who Christ was had God not directly intervened in our lives and by spiritual revelation shown Him to us (Matthew 11:27). The same is true of who we are in Christ as part of His new humanity. The empirical implications of this come only by spiritual revelation. If it’s just information to us we will not experience its reality, we will only know ‘about it’ in our minds. Once we see by revelation who we are in Christ we can enter empirically into that reality just as we entered into salvation upon seeing by revelation Christ as Savior. All things spiritual are supernatural, they are miracles, whether in the new birth or in living by the Spirit in the Christian life (cp. 1 Corinthians 2:9-14).
Christ Himself has entered our spirit and has given to us His own life. He didn’t come only that we would be forgiven but also that we would have life (and that abundantly) – which presupposes that we did not have life until He gave His life to us (John 17:20-23). “He that has the Son has life, he that does not have the Son does not have life . . . “ (1 John 5:12). Again, it’s wonderfully simple. There are two humanities. One has life, one does not. One is destined for the Second Death (eternal separation from the life of God) and the other already has eternal life within them in the Person of the One Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).
God’s original intent in the creation of Man was to indwell this newly created humanity and become within them the Source of His own image. Christ, as the second Man, fulfilled this role perfectly. He was the exact image of the indwelling, invisible Father within Him (Hebrews 1:3). The Father literally “communicated” Himself in His Son; “. . . the Word (communication) of God became flesh and we beheld . . .” (Hebrews 1:2; John 1:1; 14). This is why Jesus could make statements like, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father” (John 14:9) and “He that believes on Me, believes not on Me but on the One Who sent Me” (John 12:44). To see the Son living in complete dependence on His Father was to see the Father living in and through the Son, “The Son can do nothing out from Himself” (John 5:19). From the miracle of His birth to the miracle of His resurrection, the Son of God was dependent upon His Father for all things. His life was explained not by His own power, but by the power of the Father in Him. Jesus was a Man “approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and sighs, which GOD DID through Him . . . “(Acts 2:22).
“As the Father sent Me, so now send I you” (John 20:21). We are to be to Jesus what He was to His Father – completely dependent on Him for all things so that He can live His life through us as the Father lived His life through the Son. “For we who live are always being delivered unto death (abandonment of the self-life) for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus might be made manifest through our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:11). "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). 'Glory’ is the outward expression of the presence of Christ within us. “For me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21).
This is the Christian life. Christ living His life in and through us. This is why the “yoke is easy and the burden is light” (Matthew 11:30) and why only those “who have ceased from their own works have entered the rest” (Hebrews 4:10). Only Christ can reproduce His own life. It’s His responsibility, not ours. It’s His life, not ours (“It is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me. . .”).
We need also to consider for a moment the incredible power of failure. Complete personal failure is absolutely indispensible in moving us from Law to Grace; from self-reliance to dependence on Christ. Whether we go all the way back to Abraham, Jacob, and David or jump ahead a few millennia to Peter’s three denials it’s always the same. Until we know in personal experience that we have nothing to contribute to this life but failure, we will never wholly trust in Christ. As along as we think we can help God in living this life we will produce only Ishmaels. God did not need our help in saving us and He doesn’t need our help in living the life He’s brought us into. “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of Laws or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit are you now made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3).
Faith doesn’t begin until we end; and we won’t ‘end’ until we are convinced in the deepest part of our soul that only Christ can live the Christian life. Fortunately, that is exactly what He has promised to do! He never asked us or expected us to live for Him – His appeal to us has always been that we would trust Him to do for us what we can never do for ourselves. When they asked Him “What shall we do that we might work the works of God”, He responded, “This is the work of God, that you believe on Him Whom He has sent” (John 6:28-29). Ours is meant to be a walk of faith. “The just shall LIVE by faith” (Romans 1:17; Habakkuk 2:4; Galatians 3:11). If you have any doubt as to whether we are to live by faith as over against sharing the load with God, take some time to read through Hebrews 11 and notice how the Spirit cites miracle after miracle to purposefully and emphatically declare our utter helplessness and God’s complete sufficiency. How can we think we can live HIS life?! We can mimic that life and in so doing give the world a picture of noble commitment to the teachings of Jesus (i.e. WWJD), but live His life? Impossible!
There is no other way to salvation than through faith in Christ; there is no other way to live the life we’ve entered than by faith in Christ. We had nothing to do with the first; we have nothing to do with the second. We begin by faith; we walk by faith. “For it is God Who works in you BOTH TO WILL AND TO DO of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
Once these things began to register in me, one question that came to mind was: If Christ is to live His life in me and my part is simply to trust Him to do so, then why all the commandments in the Bible addressed to His people?
The commandments in the Old Testament are “a ministry of condemnation” (2 Corinthians 3:9), a burden Peter says that neither we nor our fathers were able to bear (Acts 15:10). The Law simply exposes sin, “. . . by the Law is the knowledge of sin”, (Romans 3:2). It exposes sin and condemns it, but gives no help in overcoming sin. But the “Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets us free from the Law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2) so that “. . . the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk . . . after the Spirit” (Romans 8:4). Again, our only hope of righteousness is “not by power, nor by might, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6). It’s always been by faith in Him, not faith in us. How could we “rest” if it were up to us?
The commandments are simply instructions to the newly born Christian on how to move forward in the will of God. Though we are born again, we are born as babies and it will take us a lifetime to mature. We learn, we trust, we move by His direction in His power. That’s all we can do. The commandments were not addressed to the flesh but to the seed of Christ in us; “. . . he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:17). Our old man, the flesh, cannot please God(Romans 8:8). But the new creation (which we are) is indwelt and empowered by the Holy Spirit to express the life of its Creator. The commandments are simply a child’s schooling in understanding and expressing the nature of its Source of life. It is in this new man that we are “made partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). This seed is that which is born from above and cannot sin (1 John 3:9), but it is young and lacks maturity of understanding. We are little children before we are young men before we are fathers (1 John 2:12-14). We are to grow in grace and knowledge unto a perfect (mature) man. The Christian life flows and develops perfectly under God’s hand and guidance until that which He has begun is completed. The new man in maturity is “Christ formed in us” (Galatians 4:19).
The breaking of the outer man (the flesh) through failure, suffering and pressure is not meant to harm us but to release the inner man – to bring that which we are in Christ to ascendency over the world, the flesh and the devil. It is child training (Hebrews 12:5-11) and is designed to bring us into the freedom of righteousness, away from the slavery of sin. Just as Paul was given a thorn in the flesh and Jacob was touched in his thigh, pressure keeps us in that position of helplessness and dependence on God that allows Him to sustain us in grace and spiritual ascendency above those things which would pull us away from a walk of faith. Every step Jacob took reminded him of his weakness and great need for God. Prolonged suffering can be a preventative to the resurgence of the flesh – a protection against losing our spiritual momentum through pride or sin. God’s strength is actually perfected in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-12), “. . . when I am weak, then am I strong”. When the outer man is weakened the inner man is strengthened (see also 2 Corinthians 4:16).
As mentioned earlier, faith can’t begin until we end. God must bring us to the end of our selves, not in theory but in real personal experience so our dependence on Christ also becomes more than mere theory. When our dependence on the Lord becomes complete our confidence in ourselves is nil. He is the only One Who knows what it will take to get us to that position before Him – the place where we can honestly say, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me. . . I live by faith” in Him. I can do nothing out from myself. Complete renunciation of the self-life brings complete faith in God, which allows God access to us so He can “do of His good pleasure” without restriction or controversy on our part.
One of the incredible benefits of realizing our helplessness through weakness is freedom from self-condemnation and guilt. As one author put it, “Nothing marks so decidedly the solid progress of a soul, as that it is enabled to view its own depravity without being disturbed or discouraged . . . peacefully reaping the profit of our humiliation . . . when we have no sense of our need, we have no curative principle within; it is a state of blindness, presumption and insensibility . . . we must not be discouraged by our weakness.” As I’m sure you’ve noticed in the Bible, those who saw God did not have their self-esteem boosted: “I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6) “Woe is me, I am undone, I am a man of unclean lips . . . (Isaiah 6:5), “In me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good thing” (Romans 7:18). This is not a problem for those who know they have been crucified with Christ and are now new creations in Him. They will become what they have not been – like Christ. It will take a lifetime of learning and walking in complete dependence upon Him for everything; resting in Him to work within us to do all His will.
The glory of this life is that it is His life. If we want we can learn of Him and trust Him for living just as we learned and then trusted upon hearing the gospel. “As you have, therefore, received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. . .” (Colossians 2:6). “Faithful is He that called you, Who will also do it!” (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
Some people will let Him “do it”; others are determined to help. Some have entered into rest (having ceased from their own works) others through unbelief have not. It always ultimately comes down to who we trust, who we depend on, both for salvation as well as for living post-salvation. He has given us His life, His Spirit, His victory. Why would we choose less than simply taking Him up on His offer? It may take us a great deal of time, experimentation and personal failure to learn all we need to know to walk fully in Him,
But when we end,
faith begins
and the adventure starts!
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