Reflections
But we
all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord. (2 Cor 3:18)
September
By
David A. DePra
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The One Elect |
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Complete in Christ |
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The Fullness of God in Christ |
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Hid With Christ in God |
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If Christ Be in You |
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The Family of God |
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The Devils Believe and Tremble |
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The Light of Men |
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The Light of His Life |
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Jesus Is Come in the Flesh |
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The Spirit of Anti-Christ |
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Is Jesus Accursed, or Lord? |
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Spiritual Gifts vs. Natural Gifts |
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Stewards of the Mysteries of God |
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Wrath Will Praise Him |
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Christ Made Unto Us All Things |
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What is Sanctification? |
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Holiness vs. Unholiness |
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Religious Natural Man |
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Walking in the Spirit |
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The Spirit of His Life |
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The Lusts of the Flesh |
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The Message of the Cross |
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The Essential of His Life |
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The Essential of the Cross |
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Willing to Do His Will |
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The Grapes of Eschol |
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The Perfecting of the Saints |
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The Unity of The Faith |
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Every Wind of Doctrine |
The One Elect
According as he has chosen
us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and
without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure
of his will. (Eph. 1:4-5)
There is only ONE elect of God – Jesus
Christ. You will note that everyone else
is chosen IN HIM – and that this election is unto, not salvation – that is
already settled at that point – but unto a purpose FOR the saved: “that we
should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” The notion that God elects some to salvation,
and other to damnation, and that this was settled before any of us were born,
is not only nonsense, but heresy. It is
another gospel, and misrepresents the character and purpose of God through
Christ.
We are chosen, not – to BE in Him – but
chosen BECAUSE we are in Him. In other
words, God must taken the initiative to draw someone to Christ (Jn. 6:44), and
because God is doing it, that person will, “arrive,” (Jn. 6:37) at a point
where they can either embrace Christ by faith, or refuse through unbelief. If the person comes to Christ then they are
IN CHRIST. And if a person is IN CHRIST
then they are chosen IN HIM for all of the plan and purpose of God that is in
Christ. All that God has given and is
doing is IN CHRIST. As the only begotten
Son, He is the one elect of God. The Father,
the Son, and all who are in the Son – this is the plan of God in terms of
inheritance.
Complete in Christ
For in him dwells all the
fullness of Godhood bodily. And you are complete in him, which is the
head of all principality and power.
(Col. 2:9-10)
In Christ dwells ALL of the fullness of
DIETY bodily – this is the correct translation and a direct statement to the
effect that Jesus Christ, The Son of Man, is nevertheless fully God. But Paul not only says that in Christ dwells
all the fullness of God, but he also tells us that Christ dwells in US. Thus, we are COMPLETE in Him.
To be complete in Christ is not the same
as being mature in Christ. The saint has
to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ.
(II Pet. 3:18) Christ must be
formed in us (Gal. 4:19), and we must be formed together with Him. (Rom. 8:29)
But none of that could happen unless we were already complete – have ALL
-- in Him.
Those words, “you are complete in Him,”
carry tremendous ramifications. Indeed,
most of Colossians 2 is a warning against those who would suggest we are NOT
complete solely in Jesus Christ. This
Truth means that the moment Christ comes to dwell in us we have ALL that God
has to give. Paul affirms by saying,
“God has freely given us all things in Christ.”
(see Rom. 8:32) It also means
that there is NOTHING left to receive – if we are complete in Christ we do not
continue to need to receive some other gift, or dimension of life, to come into
the full purpose of God. No. IN CHRIST dwells the fullness of God – and
Christ is IN US. Now, He simply needs to
be unfolded.
The Fullness of God in
Christ
For in him dwells all the
fullness of Godhood bodily. And you are complete in him, which is the
head of all principality and power.
(Col. 2:9-10)
Christianity is, “Christ in you, the hope
of glory.” (Col. 1:27) This is because IN CHRIST dwells the fullness
of God, and in the believer dwells Christ.
This makes us complete in Christ – not incomplete, or lacking, in any
resource that God has for us.
So much error in the Christian church is
the result of neglecting or denying this one Truth – that the believer is
complete SOLELY in Christ. Instead, we
have added additional experiences to Christ, saying only then do we have all
that God intends. We have mandated that
believers belong to a church or to a group – saying only then can they be
complete. Or we have demanded obedience
to laws and rules as the means of completing the believer. No. If
Christ is in us, we are complete – in HIM.
It is only because we are already complete
in Christ that it is possible for Christ to be formed in us. Since we are already complete in Christ, it
is possible to discover, “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” that are,
“hid in Him.” (Col. 2:3) You will note
that there is nothing ADDED to Christ.
No. All these things are FROM HIM. He is all.
Hid With Christ in God
You are complete in Him…for
you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then
shall you also appear with him in glory.
(Col. 2:9, 3:3-4)
Christ has not merely given us a new life
because He died, but He has given us HIMSELF – if we are in Him, HE IS our
life. This is how we are complete in
Him. Everything is within life, and
nothing is outside of it – and the Person of Christ constitutes the very life
of the believer.
It is difficult for most of us to get away
from the idea that because of Christ we are given a thing or classification
called LIFE. Or that because of Christ,
we are given a thing called, “forgiveness.”
But in reality, we are given CHRIST HIMSELF. We are joined to Him and have become ONE with
Him in spirit. (I Cor. 6:17) Thus, it is IN HIM that we have life – HIS
LIFE – indeed, in Him we have all things freely. (Rom. 8:32)
If Christ is our life then, “we are dead
and our life is hid with Christ in God.”
Practically speaking, this means that we are dead to living from out of
ourselves. We are no longer the source
of anything. But rather, we are alive to
living by faith FROM OUT OF Christ – He is our resource for all things
spiritual and material. Much of the work
of the Spirit of God is geared to showing us we are dead and that Christ is our
life, and in teaching us how to live by faith in this reality.
If Christ Be in You
And if Christ be in
you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life
because of righteousness. (Rom. 8:10)
This is another way of describing the
separation in each believer between the new creature in Christ and all that
remains outside of that new creation -- and remains carnal. When we are saved, we are planted into His
death – and we find that our body of sin is dead because of His death for our sin. We are also planted into His resurrection,
and this joining of our spirit with Christ makes us alive with Him. The rest of the Christian life is a matter of
us coming to walk in the Truth of these finished realities – we have to lose
what is dead in order to find Christ as our life.
Note that all of this is the result of
CHRIST IN US. Until Christ is in us,
there is no separation between life and death in us – but there is only
death. Until Christ is in us, there is
no means by which we can be set free from untruth, because there no Truth in
us. In Christ are all things that are of
God, because all of the fullness of God dwells in Him. What an amazing Truth: God is in Christ and Christ is in us. The plan of God: The Father, the only begotten Son, and all of
those who are in the Son.
The Family of God
For this cause I bow my
knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family
in heaven and earth is named. (Eph.
3:14-15)
God is not a family. But God has a family. Note that this means that God is NOT reproducing
Himself by making us all, “little gods” -- and that this constitutes a family who
IS God. No. That is the basis of some terrible
heresy. Rather, believers will never be
God, little gods, or divine. We are
partakers of Divine nature -- not because we have been given a divine nature of
our own -- but we are partakers of
Divine nature only if we are partakers of Christ. In short, there is Father God, then His only
begotten Son, who became God incarnate, and finally, there are all who are IN
the Son. We are in the family of God
only because we are in the Son, and the Son is in the Father.
The phrase, “ye are gods,” (John 10:34)
must be taken in context from where it is quoted, Ps. 82:6-7: “Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men.” Clearly, this is just an expression – and the
context shows it means, “children of God.”
This is verified by the rest of scripture. A child of God is not a little god, but
exactly as stated above, as one who is a child of God in Christ. In short, He is the only begotten Son, and we
are children of God only if we are IN HIM.
The Devils Believe and Tremble
Do you
believe that there is one God? You do
well. The devils also believe, and
tremble. (Js. 2:19)
There is a common misconception among
Christian people – perhaps unspoken – that if I believe the right things, that
this is equal to being right with God.
But Satan and his demons know every doctrine of the Bible. Satan quotes scripture – he knows what it
says. For Satan to deceive people with
error, he has to know the Truth. Thus.
Satan, “believes,” the right things. But
has rejected the Truth.
People gather together a statement of
faith and assume that doing so means they have the faith of Jesus Christ. Yet it is possible to do all of that and not
even be saved. Or to not really know
Jesus. For true faith is not merely
belief in the right things or right facts about Jesus. It is surrender and reliance upon Christ
Himself. This is what the phrase,
“Believe ON the Lord Jesus,” means.
It is possible to hold to sound Biblical
doctrine, but to do it in an unloving or even militant way – to condemn others
who don’t see the Truth you see.
Ironically, this is a great blindness TO Christ, all the while holding to
doctrines that speak OF Him. But none of these kinds of motives are the outcome
of faith, but rather, the result of unbelief.
God wants us to know and believe true doctrine. But He wants us to obey it and know Christ
Himself. If we do, we may speak the
Truth, but we will do it in love.
The Light of Men
In him was
life; and the life was the light of men.
(John 1:4)
How does a person receive LIGHT – which is
the true knowledge of God in Christ JESUS?
John says that the LIGHT is in His LIFE.
Sure. Jesus is a Person who is
both the LIGHT and the LIFE. Both are
found in Him alone. Or, to put it
another way, if Christ is in us, He is our life. And this is why it is then possible to grow
to know Him.
Paul used a phrase that captures Jesus as
both light and in the believer: He said,
“I travail until Christ be FORMED in you.”
(Gal. 4:19) In the original
language, the phrase, “formed in you,” means, “to be inwardly realized and
expressed.” That shows that if Christ is
in us as our life, that God wants to bring us into a realization of Him. I that happens, Christ will not only be our
LIFE, but what will emerge from Him is also a growing LIGHT, or knowledge of
Him.
Resurrection life in Jesus Christ is not a
static life. Once Christ is in us, His
life will seek to push through our natural makeup until Christ is
manifested. Of course, we can abort this
process, but it is nevertheless the will of God to form Christ in us so that He
can be known. This is really the meaning
when Jesus promised that the Spirit of God would, “guide us into all
Truth.” If Christ is alive in us, then
the light of Him can emerge.
The Light of His Life
In him was
life; and the life was the light of men.
(John 1:4)
The Light of the world, Jesus Christ, is
also The Life. Thus, since Jesus Christ
is a Living Person, it is correct to say that His Light and His Life are
ONE. If you want the Light of God you
have to have Jesus Christ as your LIFE: “This is life eternal, that they might know
thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ.”
(John 17:3)
One of the great errors of Gnosticism that
infiltrated the early church, and remains today, is the idea that knowledge, or
light, is a THING to obtain – and that doing so will get you closer to God. In a Christian context, this would be the
error of saying that the more you know about Jesus, or about doctrine, the
closer you are to God. Or it would be to
say that you cannot abide in Christ until you first find some secret, hidden
light. No. Scripture makes it clear that, “all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid IN Christ.” (Col. 2:3)
Thus, light is not a THING to obtain separate from Christ so that you
can abide in Him. Rather, in order receive
light, we must FIRST abide in Christ by faith.
Then, as we abide in Him for all our life – He will also be our
light. IN HIM is life – and that life IS
the LIGHT of men.
All that God has for us is found IN HIS
SON. And God has freely given all things
in Jesus Christ.
Jesus Is Come in the Flesh
Hereby know
you the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof you
have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
(I John 4:1-4)
The Bible as a whole is the written
standard for Truth. But in the Bible
there are given several direct tests for Truth, and this is one of them: “Jesus is come in the flesh.” This test for Truth is actually saying that
the very definition of Christianity is the basis for all Truth: “Christ in us,” (Col. 1:27) – i.e., the Truth
of Jesus Christ as one in spirit with flesh and blood human beings who are born
of God. All that is of the spirit of God
will tell the Truth about the relationship of the Living Christ with flesh and
blood.
Gnosticism, against which this test is
given, taught that Jesus did not become a real human being – the Word did not
BECOME flesh. Rather, they taught that
Jesus merely appeared as a man.
Gnosticism taught that God would never have anything to do with the
material world, let alone actually become one of us. As it pertains to the saint, this would mean error
will deny or distort the Truth of Christ in us – error will make it mean
something it does not mean, or minimize it; blind people to it in favor of
something else. The Spirit of God will
always bring out the Truth of the Jesus Christ who lives in us. and continually
reveal Him to us, in us, and through us.
Note the tense: Jesus Christ IS COME in the flesh. It is because Jesus Christ DID come in the
flesh dwelt among us – that now, He IS come to dwell in us: Christ in us, the hope of glory. God once became man so that God could now live
in man.
The Spirit of
Anti-Christ
…and every spirit that
confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is
that spirit of antichrist… (I
John 4:1-4)
The spirit of antichrist will always
distort or deny the Truth of Jesus Christ IS come in the flesh. The definition of Christianity, “Christ in
us,” (Col. 1:27) will either be twisted, or believers will be blinded to the
reality of Christ within.
One common ploy of the enemy is to distort
the separation between the Christ who is in us and our natural man. Despite the
fact that we are joined to the Lord and one spirit with Him (I Cor. 6:17), we
are never Christ and Christ is never us.
Likewise, Christ is the source of all – we are not the source of anything. But there are many teachings today that
suggest that Christ died to bring out OUR greatness, or that God wants us to,
“look like Jesus.” No. God wants US to come under the work of the
Cross so that CHRIST might be made manifest. (II Cor. 4:10) We must be made conformable to His death, so
that HE might be seen through us – this is the Truth of Christianity.
Is Jesus Accursed, or
Lord?
…that no man speaking by the
Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus
is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. (I Cor. 12:3)
Paul is referring to
something that was common to heathen religion and idol worship – which would have
been familiar to the Greek Corinthians.
In those heathen religions, an “accursed,” person was one who was
devoted to destruction by the worshipper into the hands of a pagan god. The sacrifice was devoted to the wrath of the
angry god as a substutute for the worshipper – in other words, once the pagan
god accepted the blood of the accursed sacrifice, any wrath or punishment could
be lifted from the worshipper.
Now, if you are honest,
you recognize that this is exactly the kind of redemption that many Christian
people believe – except they paste on the scheme the names of Jesus as the
sacrifice, and the Father as the God.
Many believe that Jesus was the accursed sacrifice, devoted to the wrath
of God as a substitute for us, so that God could then lift from us that wrath,
and forgive us. And yet this is
precisely what Paul says is NOT the Truth – indeed anyone who teaches it cannot
be speaking by the Spirit of God.
The Truth is that Jesus
is Lord – and the context is the Redemption.
Jesus did not become accursed – He did not die to bear God’s wrath so
that His wrath could be averted from us.
Rather, Jesus bore OUR SIN. Yes,
He bore the judgment for sin for us, but having done that, was raised out of
that death. This made Him Lord of all.
Note that there are two completely
contrasting pictures of the Redemption involved here – because there are two
contrasting pictures of God Himself. Did
God SO LOVE the world that He gave Christ to die for us so that we could be
saved from our sin? Or was God SO MAD at
the world that He gave His own Son so we could be saved from His own wrath? Two different gospels. Two different Saviors.
Spiritual
Gifts vs. Natural Gifts
Natural gifts are of
the natural birth – that which is born of flesh IS flesh. (Jn. 3:6)
But spiritual gifts are of out from the birth from above. It is good and right to take a natural gift
and offer it from ourselves up to God -- and let God use it to His glory. But a spiritual gift is not given from
ourselves to God. It is given of God to
us. God GIVES spiritual gifts. They are not of the natural makeup. They are of Christ.
Now, of course, when a
gift operates through a saint, it operates THROUGH the saint. The Spirit of God does not BYPASS us. But this is why there is often
confusion. The spiritual gifts are not
from out of natural man. There are
merely through us. The spiritual gifts
are outward expressions of the life of Christ through us by the Spirit of
God. Their purpose is always to build up
others in Christ – the purpose of the Spirit of God, according to Jesus, is to
testify, glorify, and bring us into a knowledge of HIM.
Stewards of
the Mysteries of God
Let a man so account of
us: As the ministers of Christ, and
stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards,
that a man be found faithful. (I Cor. 4:1-2)
In the first century, a
steward owned nothing. But he was in
charge of his master’s possessions. A
FAITHFUL steward would be faithful to his master – he would treat his
possessions according to this fact – that all belonged to his master.
FAITHFULNESS, before it
means anything else, speaks of a RELATIONSHIP.
If I am faithful, I have to be faithful to some standard or person. Thus, a minister who is a, “faithful steward
of the mysteries of God,” is one who is first faithful to God Himself –
everything he does emerges from that -- and this results in that steward never
taking ownering over what belongs to God, but always freely giving to others –
as God directs -- what God gives to him.
Faithfulness, as noted,
is never taking personal ownership over that which belongs to God and using it
for myself. To say that positively,
faithfulness is allowing what always belonged to God to continue to belong to
Him – I treat His possessions accordingly with reverence. This definition of faithfulness is also the
definition of holiness. A faithful
steward never puts the hand of flesh to that which belongs to God.
Scripture tells us that
we do not even belong to ourselves. (I
Cor. 6:19) Therefore, the faithful
steward will not take ownership over even himself. This is the RELATIONSHIP with Christ which
ought to govern all – I am faithful over THINGS because I am faithful to the
One who is Lord of all.
Wrath Will
Praise Him
The wrath of man shall
praise thee: the remainder of wrath You shall restrain. (Ps. 76:10)
Some have made this
verse to mean that if God allows evil then evil is God’s will. That is error. Evil is never God’s will. But it is often God’s will to allow evil – it
is often God’s will to allow that which is NOT His will. This is not a contradiction. A sovereign God is perfectly free to allow
that which is against His will. The free
will of humanity, and the eternal purpose of God, demand this.
God allows sin. But by definition, sin is AGAINST the will of
God. Therefore, it is folly to say that
sin IS the will of God. Psalm 76:10 is
simply declaring that God will have the last word. He will eventually make even wrath or
rebellion against His will to praise Him – even if it does nothing more than
prove that the will of God was the only Truth, and the only way to life. The wrath of man may take it’s best
shot. But in the end, God will be
praised.
That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord. (1 Cor. 1:29-31)
Passages like this one
are intended by God to show us that Christianity is not a matter of us being
made to look like Jesus. Rather, it is a
matter of us being crucified so that the Christ who is in us might be
seen. God does not make us, or give us,
THINGS like wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. No.
God gives us Christ, who is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption. This is
so certain that Paul says, “He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.” In short, this is Christ in us – it is not us
trying to be like Jesus.
Religious man always
tries to do from out of himself, in himself, and through himself, what only
Christ can BE and DO through Him.
Why? Because he has side-stepped
the Cross. The Cross will crucify ALL of
that – we must lose our natural self to the Cross, in order that Christ be
manifested as our life. Obedience will
be the natural outflow of Christ as our life – we will not be trying to make
Him our life through human effort.
The person through whom
Christ is manifested is not TRYING through human effort to look like
Jesus. Rather, the person has left
themselves alone, and is abiding in the Vine by faith. Someone once said that those who manifest
Christ the most are aware of it the least.
This would always be the result of losing one’s life to Christ – we
would no longer be trying to be something – even if we say it is for God. “Yet not I, but Christ…”
Sanctification is Jesus
Christ in us, coming to be seen through us.
(I Cor. 1:30) It is NOT us made
to act like Jesus. Sanctification
happens as the outcome of our choice of faith.
But that choice of faith is not so much that we read about Christ and
try to be like Him. Rather, we lose our
lives, and find Him as our life. The
result is not human effort, but His life flowing through us – and we move with
Him.
Sanctification is, of
course, holiness. But holiness means
that I belong to God, and not to myself.
Thus, holiness is not a matter of me taking ownership over myself in an
attempt to be like Jesus. That is of the
flesh even if I convince myself that I am doing it FOR GOD. No. True
holiness is the result of leaving myself – indeed, losing myself – to Christ,
that He might be in me all that He desires.
In short, sanctification is HIS LIFE being seen through me, which is
impossible, as long as my life – even if it is religious and well-practiced –
is in tact.
One of the greatest
hindrances to real santification is not sin, but religious man alive and well,
trying to sanctify his own life. Jesus
Christ in us is the only holy life.
“Holiness,”
“sanctification,” the name, “saint,” all come from the same Greek root. That root means, “to be set apart for God’s
use.” In more modern terms, this simply
means TO BELONG TO GOD.
The SAINT is a person
who belongs to God – we are not our own, but are bought with a price. (I Cor. 6:19)
Normally, what this means is that we must not sin. We must not use ourselves for anything that
is contrary to the will of God. But
whether we realize it or not, it also means that we must not belong to
ourselves at all. Jesus told us we must
lose our lives to Him – this would mean we belong to Him and are therefore
holy. But this also means that if we do
not lose our lives fully to Him that we continue to belong to ourselves. This would be unholiness.
It is possible to
continue to belong to yourself in a religious way – trying to make yourself
look like Jesus; trying to be what you think you have to be to get something
from God; trying to bring yourself into spiritual maturity through your own
efforts. Most people who do these things
think that are doing God’s will. But
what they are doing, and how they are doing it, is secondary. The real problem is that they have never lost
their lives to Christ – and thus they are governed by the spirit of
self-ownership. This is unholy.
The spirit of
self-ownership is unholy because, by definition, I don’t belong to God, but to
myself, even if I say it is for His will.
And if that is the case, I cannot be holy, because the basis of my life
is on an unholy foundation.
Religious, natural man
owns himself – and it is out of that self-ownership that he tries to live for
God. Then he laments when God won’t help
him. Indeed, it is even possible to
offer to God a faith, simply because we think doing so will get something from
Him. None of this is Christianity. Indeed, it is the outcome of being blind to
the Cross; of neglecting the Cross; or of refusing it. The Cross applied in the personal life will
absolutely expose and bring to an end all of the attempts of natural man to
live for God.
Jesus told us that
there is only one thing we can do with our natural lives: LOSE them by picking up the personal
Cross. Then abide in Christ. Until we do we are going to try to live for
God on the basis of ourselves. But if we
will lose our lives for the sake of Jesus by picking up our personal Cross,
then we will find, and be able to live from OUT OF, Jesus Christ as our life.
The blindness of the
church to the essential of the personal Cross, coupled with the blindness to
the fact that Christianity is CHRIST IN US – the two always go together – this
blindness accounts for the spiritual sickness of the last two-thousand years.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Gal 5:25)
What does it mean, “to
walk in the Spirit?” It means to live
from out of Jesus Christ as my life – drawing upon Him for all things. If we are saved, we are joined to the Lord
and made one spirit with Him. (I Cor.
6:17) But since Jesus Christ is THE
LIFE, then if I am one with Him in spirit, then I am alive with HIS life –
indeed, Christ IS my life. (Col.
3:4) Thus, to walk in the Spirit is to
walk in that spiritual union with Him, living from OUT OF HIM by faith.
Jesus Himself said that
the purpose of the Spirit of God was to reveal HIM to us, in us, and through
us. His words to that effect are all
through John, chapters 14 thru 16. The
purpose of the Spirit was never to create a Christianity, or a movement, centered
around the Spirit. (see John 16:13) This has minimized the Person of Jesus
Christ, and has blinded millions to the fact that Christianity is Christ in us
(Col. 1:27), and that the purpose of God is to, “form Christ in us.” (Gal.
4:19) Indeed, Paul stated, “Now the Lord
is that Spirit…” (2 Cor 3:17) All of
this is important because many today have made, “walking in the Spirit,” a
matter of something other than walking in Christ. They have made it a matter of following
leadings, signs and wonders, and what amounts to psychic sensations. No.
The Lord IS that spirit, and to walk in that spirit is to walk in Christ
– living from out of Him as our life.
The Spirit
of His Life
Walk in the Spirit, and you
shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. (Gal. 5:16)
How do we, “NOT fulfill
the lusts of the flesh?” Not by turning
in upon the flesh and beating it down.
Not by coming under laws intended to keep us from walking in the
flesh. Not through emotions, intellect,
or any human effort. The only way to NOT
fulfill the lusts of the flesh is by, “walking in the Spirit.”
Note that we step out
of the flesh by stepping into the Spirit – rather than try to defeat the
flesh. This is because the victory is
already won in Christ -- we are already dead to the flesh, and aiive in God. The Spirit in which we are to walk is, “the
Spirit of LIFE in Christ Jesus.”
Paul also said, “If Christ is in you, the body is dead
because of sin, but the Spirit IS LIFE because of righteousness.” (Rom. 8:10)
Note: The body is dead and the
Spirit is LIFE – because Christ is IN US. Thus, to walk in the Spirit rather than the
flesh means to step outside of ourselves – our natural life – and into His life
which is in us by His Spirit. The key to
victory in the Christian life is not to win a victory. No. It
is, by faith, to abide in Christ.
The Lusts of
the Flesh
Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the
flesh. (Gal. 5:16)
In scripture, the
phrase, “the lusts of the flesh,” refers to the nature of self-ownership and
all of it’s working. “Lust,” is a desire
to own or control. This lust is found,
through birth, In Adam -- our old life seeks to own SELF. The key to victory over this lust is therefore
to LOSE the old life in Adam. Lose your
SELF to Christ, pick up your Cross, and all the power of lust that comes from
the old nature it will be broken.
When Jesus Christ joins
us to Himself by making our human spirit one with His Spirit, there is
introduced another LIFE into our makeup – one that is God-centered, and
therefore, totally contrary to the flesh.
Thus, the core issue here is not what we DO. The issue is who is our LIFE – to whom do we
belong? It is absolutely impossible to
walk in the Spirit, let alone walk free of the lusts of the flesh as long as I
am seeking to possess myself. I must
LOSE my life and find Christ as my life to even get started in this matter. Then I must abide in Christ as my life.
Self-rule is the ground
upon which all of the other lusts of the flesh can govern me because self-rule
is THE FLESH -- is that old Adam nature.
It is from this self-rule that all other sin emerges. But if I lose myself to Christ, then the old
life – the ground upon which all the lusts of the flesh are built – will lose
power. I will be able to grow to walk in
the Spirit of life in Christ.
If we want the lusts of
the flesh out of our lives, then we have to LOSE the life from which those
lusts draw their power. We can to put on
Jesus Christ – in Him that victory is already won – and it is by faith that we
enter into it.
The Message
of the Cross
The message of the
Cross is NOT that I put my faith in the Cross.
It is not that I put my faith merely in a WORK Jesus finished
two-thousand years ago. The message of
the Cross is about the One who died on the Cross and finished that work – my
faith is to be in Jesus Christ NOW – faith that will abide in Him as my life.
Jesus Christ IS Christ
crucified. Jesus Christ is the Risen
Christ. Thus, if we put our faith in the
Person of Christ, we are putting our faith in all that He has done. Indeed, today Christ Himself emobodies the
Truth and power of His death and resurrection.
The death of Jesus
Christ ENDED the old creation. His death
was our death. When Christ died, all
that separated us from God died in Him.
But that alone did not make anyone alive. We are indeed, “reconciled to God by the
death of His Son” – and any gospel that omits or minimizes the Cross is a false
gospel. But we are, “saved by His
life.” (Rom. 5:10) Christianity is CHRIST IN US – now. Christianity is new LIFE.
The
Essential of His Life
If you then be risen with
Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand
of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then
shall ye also appear with him in glory.
(Col. 1:3-4)
Omit or water-down the
Truth of the Cross – whether it be the Cross of Chirst, or the essential today
of the personal Cross -- and you have a false gospel. But there is also a way of turning the Truth
of the Cross into the whole of Christianity.
Usually where this is done, there is much celebration as to what Christ
accomplished on the Cross – and rightly so.
But often there is a blindness to Christ Himself – and a failure to
recognize what the Cross made possible for each of us: Christ in us, the hope of glory.
Jesus continually said
“I AM……” Paul says, “Christ, who is our
life…” (Col. 3:4) Paul travailed, “until Christ be formed in
you.” (Gal. 4:19) Paul said, “We are saved by His life.” (Rom. 5:10)
And finally, the root of Christianity is, “Christ in us.” (Col.1:27)
All of this was made possible by the death of Christ – and our being
personally planted into His death. But
the Christian life is ultimately a walk in His resurrection life.
What is a
Christian? One in whom Christ
dwells. A new creation in Christ
Jesus. Yes, one who has been crucified
with Christ, and one who is picking up his Cross daily. But all unto HIS LIFE. Paul said, “We are always bearing about in
our body the dying of the Lord Jesus, so that the life also of the Lord Jesus
might be made manifest.” Thus, the Cross
MUST be preached – Christ crucified is the answer for everything that is
outside of Christ. But the bulk of the
NT is focused upon the Living Christ who is in us – how to walk with Him and
come into the fullness of all that He is.
The
Essential of the Cross
The Cross was the end
of the old creation, and thus, the end of the Adam race. Through His death and resurrection, Christ
has birthed a new race in Himself. Thus,
once we neglect or deny the Cross, we open the way for a false Christianity
that is built upon and implimented by that old Adam race. Most professing Christians would never
directly deny the Cross of Christ. But
blindness to, or the refusal of, the personal Cross today, is a deniel of Him. It will absolutely keep us on the ground of
the old creation.
Much of what is called
Christianity today is the result of side-stepping the Truth of the Cross, and
thus, NOT living from out of new life in Christ Jesus. Religious people have created another gospel
and another Jesus – fueled by the old life.
Some of this even appears spiritual – much emotion, supposed signs and
wonders, etc. But it is not of
Christ. It is of the soul realm of
natural man. This is the outcome of any
supposed Christianity that minimizes the personal Cross. There is no resurrection life – but only
destructive substitutes based upon natural man.
Willing to
Do His Will
If any man will do his will,
he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
(John 7:17)
If we want to know the
will of God, we must be willing to do it.
Therefore, it is the heart of man – our willingness for God – that will
either open the door for light, or keep us in darkness.
There are other ways to
say the same thing. If we truly want God
and His will, are we willing to say, “Lord, do whatever it takes to bring to
pass Your will and purpose in my life.”?
In other words, some of us may doubt whether we are willing to abandon
ourselves to God, and we may have little idea as to how to do that. But even if we doubt our willingness, we can,
“be willing to be willing.” Be willing
to allow God to make us willing. This
might seem like a very risky prayer, but it is no risk at all. The alternative is a conditional relationship
with God, which is really unbelief.
Jesus also said, “The
light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body
shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be
full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great
is that darkness!” (Matt.
6:22) This is the SAME Truth. Once God takes the initiative to bring us
light – that same light will enable us to choose. That choice does not begin by choosing a
THING or choosing a PATH. It begins by
choosing a PERSON. This is faith – a
reliance upon God to be faithful if I am willing to abandon myself to Him.
The Grapes
of Eschol
And they came unto the brook
of Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and
they bore it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates,
and of the figs. (Num. 13:23)
Jesus Christ is our inheritance. But there is a huge difference between spying
out Christ and actually giving ourselves to Him. There is an immense difference between eating
the grapes of Eshcol, and actually entering the land by faith and living there.
God’s light is UNTO salvation. Light is conviction of the Truth so that we might have a choice before us -- between that light and the darkness. But note that light is NOT salvation at that point for the unsaved -- light that is given does not equal light that is embraced for the saved. No. Those, “who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift…” (Heb. 6:4-6), are not those who were saved, but lost their salvation. No. They were enlightened and tasted, but refused salvation, or what God had for them. You must have some light to be accountable for refusing it. This is a certainty taught all through the Word of God. God beckons us to, “taste and see that theLord is good,” but to be saved, we must, “eat and drink,” of Christ – that is, He must live in us.
The
Perfecting of the Saints
And he gave some, apostles;
and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers; For the perfecting of the saints…(Eph. 4:12)
The KJV often uses the word, “perfect,”
or, “perfecting,” in a way that is today outdated. No one will ever be perfected on this
age. The Greek word in this verse, which
occurs no where else in the NT, actually means, “the setting of a bone in place
for the purpose of mending.” See also
Heb. 12:12 for a similar picture.
If a bone needs to be set in place so that
it can mend, then that is only because it is already OUT of place. Thus, the purpose of ministry is to discern
this and set it back in place. But what
does it mean for ministry to set the spiritual bones of the Body of Christ back
in place? Colossians 2:19 tells us the
problem that this will correct: “And not
holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having
nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of
God.” Believers in Christ are out of
place when they are not, “holding fast to the Head.” They are not individually and personally
living from out of Christ, walking with Him, picking up their Cross daily,
looking to Him alone as their personal Mediator unto God. Thus, it is the job
of ministry to get those folks back into adjustment with Jesus Christ as
individuals – which will result in the Body being brought back into place under
Him as the Head.
You will note the suggestion in this
picture – the entire Body is not adjusted to compensate for a bone that is out
of place. No, the bone must be put back
in place. In short, ministry is to
individuals, that they might hold fast to Christ. Then, if they do, the collective individuals
that are holding fast to the Head will comprise a healthy body.
The Unity of The Faith
Till we all come in the
unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man,
unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. (Eph. 4:13)
One of the tenets of the modern latter
rain movement is based on the phrase, “till we come in the unity of the faith.”
Their error is to take this as a promise that all will unite in Christ – under
modern day apostles and prophets.
Indeed, they say Jesus cannot return until we do. This is not what the verse is teaching.
First of all, Paul does not say, “unity of
faith.” No. He says, “unity of THE faith.” In other words, the only real unity is unity
in Jesus Christ; in the true knowledge of Him.
All other unity is unity in error.
Secondly, this unity will not be achieved through the unity of believers
with each other – but through the unity of each believer to Christ Himself,
which is the only basis for unity with each other. That can happen if there is only one believer
united with Christ. Thus, this is
already being fulfilled – without the need of a movement, or imposition by law.
Every Wind of Doctrine
Till we all come in the
unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man,
unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children,
tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the
sleight of men, and cunning
craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. (Eph. 4:13-14)
The reason believers remain children who
are easily swayed and taken in by every new teaching that comes along is stated
in this passage: There is no knowledge
of the Son of God. The only means by which we can discern error is if we know
the Person who is the Truth. If we don’t
know the genuine article, we will never recognize the counterfeit when it comes
along. That is why it is the job of
ministry to preach the Truth of Jesus Christ.
Christianity is, “Christ in us.” (Col. 1:27)
The purpose of God is to, “form Christ in us.” (Gal. 4:19)
This is what Paul is talking about in this passage. But today many believers have never once
heard about, “Christ in us.” Many are
completely blind to what it means for Christ to be formed in us. Thus, they are easily swayed by some new
angle that makes them feel closer to God, or that makes them feel good about
themselves. You have, “seeker friendly
churches,” “purpose driven churches,” “contemplative prayer,” “getting back to
our Jewish roots,” and whole movements like Word of Faith. Challenge these and you will be labelled a
negative trouble-maker. But if we
realized that Christianity is Christ in us, and began to know Him, all of these
would be exposed for the error they are.
The Truth in Him is the solution for these problems.