In writing my last blog, suffering being the subject matter, and prompted by the Spirit, I begun to see the vast and all important depth of necessity of understanding one must come to; to more clearly see their life in Christ, and to understand the sacrifice made by Jesus, as well as our seeing the wisdom of God, in the use of the very thing which resulted [ sin and suffering] from our failure in obedience as humans, to value and receive the love gift the Father presented us in the garden. Just think of it, we were placed in perfect harmony with God, with only goodness before us, we choose to turn away and seek our own self sufficient way, and by that act before a perfect God became unacceptable for fellowship once enjoyed. The Father certainly knew this would happen and it was a part of His plan , as we know we were predestined before the foundation of the world to be saved from this very thing. And in the overwhelming wisdom of God, He choose to use the very nature we found ourselves in by our own act, irredeemable in the flesh, sinful, and subject to suffering, to bring us to glory in heaven ,seen in His Son as perfect sons and daughters. How could this be? Only a perfect loving Father would devise such a work.
Since all the suffering we will find in our lives is experienced in the flesh and seems to rule there, perhaps we should look at what the flesh is, how it works and how to deal with it in order to find the freedom promised in the new birth. Paul wrote to the Galatians for the specific purpose to teach them that only in the spirit [ the faith developed in their mind] would they find the power to live the Christian life,and for them to realize that power , the flesh must be held inactive [ by that developed identification faith]. Well how can this be done? Paul answered; it is in the the power of the the crucifixion and death of Christ, for that is what freed us from sins dominion ,which is found only in the flesh. When we received Christ, we received a crucified Man and by that His power to overcome. We are united and identified with a suffering servant Christ, and Him crucified, one with Him in the Fathers sight. And by that gift we are called upon to intelligently and with self volition come to count upon that fact and be identified with Him. " They that are of Christ have in virtue of their excepting the crucified One as their life, given up their flesh to the Cross, which is the very essence of the person and character of Christ as He now lives in heaven; they have crucified the flesh with its passions and lust" Rom. 6:11. This my friends is the accomplished fact for every Christian . We only must learn to count it as true and then we will have the power to, even in weakness, and suffering, live in the victory of the Second Man, Jesus Christ.
As I write this blog, and see these truths to have been given more light in my own life, I struggle with what words I can use to help effect a life changing metamorphoses in my readers. I wish with all my heart for us all to know Him as their identity, not merely as a supplement, but a supplanting truth to live in. I know in my own Christian experience for many years I simple lived in struggle and sin not knowing in my conscious mind,[ my defined spirit] that I was held and hidden in Christ; that Biblical unavoidable truth, was simply not real to me. I guess you could say I was lost in the admiration of my justification, not intimately realizing my life in Jesus Christ. The thing that changed all that was need, my intense spiritual suffering as a believer, not seeing the promised change in my justified saved walk. It was at the bottom of that need spiral that the Holy Spirit began to revel the Son as life. Therefor I am grateful for suffering. I pray that you my dear readers not need the deep pain I was in, but that you realize the very real ever present weakness and propensity for sin found in the flesh life walk and use that understanding as a spring board to a life identified with the Holy Son of God, our true victory and life
We were designed and perfect from the beginning. Created to contain the image of the Tri-Union God. We are so like God that we have volitional free will, and it is us who are responsible for who and what we become. It is with great wonder that I have learned along the way that God has seen from the first how all the ups and downs of mankind, from the utter sinfulness of the antediluvian world, which He had to destroy in the flood, to the road traveled by Abraham, and Moses, and His Caring for the tribe which would bring the Saviour by establishing the Law and a mantel of protection over the Hebrews. And now we find ourselves, still in that very same self centered flesh condition as Adam.
Miles Stanford said it this way. " Our Father leaves the Adamic life and nature within for the same reason that He positioned us in Adam in the first place. Then, it was in order that we might have a personal and responsible part in our salvation, enabled by His Grace to choose the Saviour and thereby pass from death Into life. Now, that same Adamic life plays an important role concerning our spiritual growth. Satan's work in the garden contributes to God best. The personal needs generated by the indwelling sinful life are designed by the Father to turn us from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness".
Much of the first part of this blog was inspired by the writing of Andrew Murry. I now leave you with the beautiful word of J. B. Stoney. Regarding that which is available to us in our Adamic state of being. "I am a tree of a particular quality; that quality is a personal love to my Lord, and now I make all the elements-air, light, earth, water-cooperate with me in expressing and developing this quality. What a beautiful tree!May you allow nothing to hinder the growth of this tree of life, for sure I know that nothing short of it will meet the desire of your heart. Sometimes a tree seems to be hindered from the situation in which it is placed; but its vitality is proved as well tested by rough winds and cold shade to which it is disposed".
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Saturday, June 22, 2013
FEELING GOOD ABOUT FALLING DOWN
I was at a loss this week as to what to write about. But the other day the spirit moved me to think of my travels along the way, and most of all the adventures that contributed to my current attitude of identification with Christ. Oh what a bumpy road it has been . I wont get into the details of my testimony , many who have been reading from the beginning are familiar with it. I now so clearly can see in the rear view mirror, that pain and suffering was by far the biggest contributor to my growth and understanding in Christ!
I have recently been reading a book by William J. Havlicek, Van Gogh's Untold Journey, a very impressive book indeed. I have always been fascinated by Van Gogh, [ who was a Christian] not realizing exactly why. I remember vividly as a young man, standing for what seemed like hours, gazing at his paintings in the museum gallery, on my first trip to Holland. I now after reading of his life know that what I so related to was the suffering and compassion carried in Vincent's every brush stroke. Of course we all know pain and suffering is often even sought out by great painters, and this was what attracted me to his work ,as so many others. Vincent was a man acquainted grief and suffering, and like our Lord, embraced it as his lot in life,and used that very pain of suffering to send a message and example. The question for us, in light of the potential for growth through suffering is; how then can we paint a masterpiece on the canvas of our life ,by the example of our Lord, embracing our weakness and pain?
" For it became Him,[ The Father] for whom are all things, and through Whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation[Christ] perfect through sufferings, for both he that sanctified [Christ] and they that are sanctified [us] all are one" Heb. 2:10,11. This verse tell us that the Suffering we encounter along the way is allowed in our life by the Grace of God for a purpose, and brings us into the very presence of God as one, in Christ.
Jesus Christ in order to bring us to Glory emptied Himself from the Glories of eternity, which by His being humbled in this way brought us into that very glory . He became one with us as to guilt and sin. It is obvious that us coming to the place we now dwell in Christ, identified before the Father in Heaven, involved suffering. The most horrific of all; He was made sin for us, a curse, taking our place even unto death. Thus it became God to make the leader of our salvation perfect through sufferings. So it also would seem only natural that if we see our sufferings as being with Him, and that redemption is shown by His sufferings, it is also found in our suffering. The evil of the world systems spirit uses these very things to attack Christians, in temptation to doubt these truths, are at least in not apply them to growth in our walk, which would call to our attention a weak faith and inconsistent Christian life. Let us be reminded that these very sufferings to the death of the old nature by His Son, were, in His sight, accepted by the Father, and shown as such by His Son being raised from death. Growing in understanding of this truth will serve to strengthen a weak walk.
It was the Fathers choice to make His Son perfect through sufferings. Acts, 17:1 says," It behooved Christ to suffer, and rise again from the dead". The very foundation of the Word is found in suffering, as the suffering imposed upon the Son of God was necessary in the perfect economy of God in the judgement of sin unto the natural man, "in the flesh".And the Son by His obedience to this, found the will of His faith, even to death, was rewarded with a resurrected life in glory.All this taken on by Jesus Christ, should show us as an example, that for His Son suffering was the path to Glory; should it not also be considered ours? And by the example of Jesus, see that our own dealing with suffering, can be used to purge the very thing Christ died to and for, the all important necessity to a Holy God; death to the Adamic man,our human sin nature, that we all carry about in our body.
It goes without saying few indeed would ask to suffer, but we see in the Word, that a relationship with the very thing we strive to avoid, is the most important tool, to a life found identified in Christ. "Therefore since Christ suffered for us in the flesh,arm yourselves ALSO with the same mind [suffering] for he[us] who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no should no longer live the rest of his time in the flesh[natural man] for the lusts of men , but for the will of God" 1st Pet. 4:1-2. How do we apply this most obvious Biblical truth to growth in our Christian walk?
Little did I know what a large can I was opening here by this subject. I will attempt to wind down this blog and continue on in the next as the depth of this is quite overwhelming. But first let me comment on a few words in the above verse " he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin". Very interesting is it not? What do we make of it? Should we go out and jump off a wall do induce suffering in order to cease sin? No of course not! Perhaps by reflecting on the suffering of Christ, which was to fulfill a judicial requirement to a Holy God, in His Sons punishment and death for our sin in our Adam nature dying unto that very nature, might be a start. And we can see this more clearly by applying our own various weakness sin, and resultant suffering to the fact that we still live out our lives on this earth in that same sin place as Adam. The contrast being the Bibles clear mandate that we are to use that very weakness and insufficiency to more clearly see ourselves in a new nature adopted into Jesus Christ positioned and identified in heaven in Him.
In order to find what we are in the spirit in an eternal way we must understand what we are. Information, by itself, even correct, Biblical and orthodox, held in firm conviction, will not give us the indispensable quality and value needed to reach the depth of understanding found in the grace given to a suffering servant. It is Gods formula we are in, and His choice, is the lessons learned in suffering. A Christian must not only be in that message but he also must have that message in him; not only in mind and feeling, but in experience and being. The simple truth for the Christian is everything outside of Christ must be proven insufficient, and our time of suffering will show that.
I have recently been reading a book by William J. Havlicek, Van Gogh's Untold Journey, a very impressive book indeed. I have always been fascinated by Van Gogh, [ who was a Christian] not realizing exactly why. I remember vividly as a young man, standing for what seemed like hours, gazing at his paintings in the museum gallery, on my first trip to Holland. I now after reading of his life know that what I so related to was the suffering and compassion carried in Vincent's every brush stroke. Of course we all know pain and suffering is often even sought out by great painters, and this was what attracted me to his work ,as so many others. Vincent was a man acquainted grief and suffering, and like our Lord, embraced it as his lot in life,and used that very pain of suffering to send a message and example. The question for us, in light of the potential for growth through suffering is; how then can we paint a masterpiece on the canvas of our life ,by the example of our Lord, embracing our weakness and pain?
" For it became Him,[ The Father] for whom are all things, and through Whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation[Christ] perfect through sufferings, for both he that sanctified [Christ] and they that are sanctified [us] all are one" Heb. 2:10,11. This verse tell us that the Suffering we encounter along the way is allowed in our life by the Grace of God for a purpose, and brings us into the very presence of God as one, in Christ.
Jesus Christ in order to bring us to Glory emptied Himself from the Glories of eternity, which by His being humbled in this way brought us into that very glory . He became one with us as to guilt and sin. It is obvious that us coming to the place we now dwell in Christ, identified before the Father in Heaven, involved suffering. The most horrific of all; He was made sin for us, a curse, taking our place even unto death. Thus it became God to make the leader of our salvation perfect through sufferings. So it also would seem only natural that if we see our sufferings as being with Him, and that redemption is shown by His sufferings, it is also found in our suffering. The evil of the world systems spirit uses these very things to attack Christians, in temptation to doubt these truths, are at least in not apply them to growth in our walk, which would call to our attention a weak faith and inconsistent Christian life. Let us be reminded that these very sufferings to the death of the old nature by His Son, were, in His sight, accepted by the Father, and shown as such by His Son being raised from death. Growing in understanding of this truth will serve to strengthen a weak walk.
It was the Fathers choice to make His Son perfect through sufferings. Acts, 17:1 says," It behooved Christ to suffer, and rise again from the dead". The very foundation of the Word is found in suffering, as the suffering imposed upon the Son of God was necessary in the perfect economy of God in the judgement of sin unto the natural man, "in the flesh".And the Son by His obedience to this, found the will of His faith, even to death, was rewarded with a resurrected life in glory.All this taken on by Jesus Christ, should show us as an example, that for His Son suffering was the path to Glory; should it not also be considered ours? And by the example of Jesus, see that our own dealing with suffering, can be used to purge the very thing Christ died to and for, the all important necessity to a Holy God; death to the Adamic man,our human sin nature, that we all carry about in our body.
It goes without saying few indeed would ask to suffer, but we see in the Word, that a relationship with the very thing we strive to avoid, is the most important tool, to a life found identified in Christ. "Therefore since Christ suffered for us in the flesh,arm yourselves ALSO with the same mind [suffering] for he[us] who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no should no longer live the rest of his time in the flesh[natural man] for the lusts of men , but for the will of God" 1st Pet. 4:1-2. How do we apply this most obvious Biblical truth to growth in our Christian walk?
Little did I know what a large can I was opening here by this subject. I will attempt to wind down this blog and continue on in the next as the depth of this is quite overwhelming. But first let me comment on a few words in the above verse " he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin". Very interesting is it not? What do we make of it? Should we go out and jump off a wall do induce suffering in order to cease sin? No of course not! Perhaps by reflecting on the suffering of Christ, which was to fulfill a judicial requirement to a Holy God, in His Sons punishment and death for our sin in our Adam nature dying unto that very nature, might be a start. And we can see this more clearly by applying our own various weakness sin, and resultant suffering to the fact that we still live out our lives on this earth in that same sin place as Adam. The contrast being the Bibles clear mandate that we are to use that very weakness and insufficiency to more clearly see ourselves in a new nature adopted into Jesus Christ positioned and identified in heaven in Him.
In order to find what we are in the spirit in an eternal way we must understand what we are. Information, by itself, even correct, Biblical and orthodox, held in firm conviction, will not give us the indispensable quality and value needed to reach the depth of understanding found in the grace given to a suffering servant. It is Gods formula we are in, and His choice, is the lessons learned in suffering. A Christian must not only be in that message but he also must have that message in him; not only in mind and feeling, but in experience and being. The simple truth for the Christian is everything outside of Christ must be proven insufficient, and our time of suffering will show that.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
FINDING THE SHAPE WERE IN
It seemed natural to me to follow the last thoughts of my blog ,admiration vs. appropriation, with the subject of conformation. The dictionary defines conformation as; manner, form , structure, adaption, adjustment, the state of being conformed. As I gained momentum in my understanding of identification /position in Christ, I began to see a new consciousness form in my mind. Could this be my awareness of what the Bible calls us to do, be conformed to the image of Christ? In position, we find ourselves actually already formed in the blessed image. God would surely not send His Son to Die a horrible death,as our federal representative, thereby putting to death judicially by His Grace the totally unacceptable first man , us in the flesh, and then resurrecting The Man representing us in His sight, now seen by The Father, in the second Man Jesus Christ; thereby bringing us to be conformed to the image of His Son in His sight,and then leave us to work out this understanding by the works in the flesh of a rejected Adamic man. The paramount question in light of this truth, is why did it take so long to realize who I was and where I am found in my Christian experience? Why did I then, and often now, look to the world and myself for the definition of who I am?
I did not become devoted in a true sense , until I found who I was conformed too in the eyes of the Father. I was always looking to receive from Him,[admiration] being a object conformed to myself. As I was to discover I was a completed object to Him, seen in His Son, only then, was I free to make Him the object in my minds understanding, of my conformation, by the will of my faith! Just what does this all mean ,and what does it look like to live a conformed life?
I recently read a study on this very subject by a old timer, W. J Pearce. I will attempt to follow his logic ,in my own words as well as quotes from him ,in the hope of shedding more light on this important subject.
We as Christians have been predestined, marked beforehand, to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. This is simple Biblical truth. He purposed that there should be a vast expanding flock of human creatures for the soul purpose of His pleasure. We were to be under Him in subordination, which is as it should be , as He is God. We were made in His image, mind will and emotions, persons as is He, able to contemplate ourselves. This places us in the most intimate relationship possible with the Creator,God Himself fully responding to Him in such a way as to give satisfaction to Him. As we know from reading Genesis this, His loves very intent ,was corrupted by the fall of man into sin and made us incapable of answering the call of God to be conformed in the love relationship intended.
But found in the wisdom of God was a plan for redemption, for the conformation of fallen man to the original intent ,in the entrance upon the earth of His Son ,The Second Man; who became our Representative, and in His perfect obedience was to restore us to a acceptable position and identification conforming us in the sight of the Father to The Son. This place of conformation was found in His moral excellence, bringing God to earth subjecting Himself to manhood, then suffering and dieing, so that the full effect of the beauty and love the Father has for us might be fulfilled. Oh what Grace has fallen upon us , we of Adams sinful and fallen race have been marked from eternity's passed to be conformed to the image of this glories person Jesus Christ. He being the firstborn of many brethren, the second Adam our new identification. We now have been conformed to the moral perfection of His manhood in the sight of the Father by His sacrifice unto sin for us and the whole world. This is a completed fact for all Christians, we simply need to understand it and learn to live in that conformed place.
1st John says "It has not yet been reveled what we shall be, but we know that when He is reveled we shall be like Him". So we see here that our conformity even extends to the physical body. This is necessary to provide a new and glorious house [2 Cor. 5:1-5] to provide a place for what we have become inwardly conformed to Him in a moral sense. He now in heaven is in the resurrected body, the same one He appeared in on the earth. We will be brought into conformity to Him in that perfection, so that we will be suited to inhabit a body of glory [ Phil. 3:21], like unto His glorious body.
Looking at what we are to be conformed to, brings us also to what we are not to be conformed too. Romans 12:2 says " Be not conformed to this world". The same world which hated the Lord Jesus, and still does, the very same worldly system made up of people living in their Adamic natures to this day, who crucified Him. And despite the worlds rejection; He continued in His pathway of love, that we might by faith be conformed to His image. So shall we who have been called to be conformed to His image seek in any way to become conformed to a world which was so evil as to murder The Prince of Life? Are we admiring and assimilating to its ways, its world view, its spirit.? Or are we walking here as pilgrims and strangers, as those who desire to be conformed to the Son of God? We will find the answer in our depth of understand of His conformed image in us, reveled by the Word of God.
"Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.". If we are believers in Jesus Christ, then we have the Holy Spirit, which means we posses the Mind of Christ. The Holy Spirit ever lives in us to only and always display Jesus Christ. This glorious mind, if allowed by the believer, will renew the old mind of the natural man and begin to form in us a new mind fashioned after the Mind of Christ conforming us to His image. While this may appear in our actions and Christian efforts in a practically way, it must emanate from within by our new spiritual awareness of who we are in Him. Found by study of the Word and a desire to be as God intended , like His Son. This puts us in the place the Bible refers to as "presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, not doing our own Adamic will ,but pleasing the Father in fellowship as we become conformed by the will of our faith.
To some of my friends who have just begun reading this blog it may seem rather random. Remember as I've said, this is not a Bible study but a journey, my journey. I am writing it to grow in the image of Christ, with great hope that some will come along with me, to the place of overwhelming joy and peace, which we may enjoy here and now, and thereby glorify the Father, in the present, not waiting for the by and by, Heaven now is my goal. I learned that I must study seek out other believers who aspire to live a Christian life of position and identification with Christ, as intended by the Father, in His plan. Please if needed, go back and review my earlier blogs for introduction to the principals of identification I found on my way down the narrow path, and references to reading material. I would like to add to that list by recommending, The Normal Christian life, by Watchman Nee . It is my sincere prayer that we together will find our life in Christ, as we travel down the road of a newly conformed life, found only in Him.
I did not become devoted in a true sense , until I found who I was conformed too in the eyes of the Father. I was always looking to receive from Him,[admiration] being a object conformed to myself. As I was to discover I was a completed object to Him, seen in His Son, only then, was I free to make Him the object in my minds understanding, of my conformation, by the will of my faith! Just what does this all mean ,and what does it look like to live a conformed life?
I recently read a study on this very subject by a old timer, W. J Pearce. I will attempt to follow his logic ,in my own words as well as quotes from him ,in the hope of shedding more light on this important subject.
We as Christians have been predestined, marked beforehand, to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. This is simple Biblical truth. He purposed that there should be a vast expanding flock of human creatures for the soul purpose of His pleasure. We were to be under Him in subordination, which is as it should be , as He is God. We were made in His image, mind will and emotions, persons as is He, able to contemplate ourselves. This places us in the most intimate relationship possible with the Creator,God Himself fully responding to Him in such a way as to give satisfaction to Him. As we know from reading Genesis this, His loves very intent ,was corrupted by the fall of man into sin and made us incapable of answering the call of God to be conformed in the love relationship intended.
But found in the wisdom of God was a plan for redemption, for the conformation of fallen man to the original intent ,in the entrance upon the earth of His Son ,The Second Man; who became our Representative, and in His perfect obedience was to restore us to a acceptable position and identification conforming us in the sight of the Father to The Son. This place of conformation was found in His moral excellence, bringing God to earth subjecting Himself to manhood, then suffering and dieing, so that the full effect of the beauty and love the Father has for us might be fulfilled. Oh what Grace has fallen upon us , we of Adams sinful and fallen race have been marked from eternity's passed to be conformed to the image of this glories person Jesus Christ. He being the firstborn of many brethren, the second Adam our new identification. We now have been conformed to the moral perfection of His manhood in the sight of the Father by His sacrifice unto sin for us and the whole world. This is a completed fact for all Christians, we simply need to understand it and learn to live in that conformed place.
1st John says "It has not yet been reveled what we shall be, but we know that when He is reveled we shall be like Him". So we see here that our conformity even extends to the physical body. This is necessary to provide a new and glorious house [2 Cor. 5:1-5] to provide a place for what we have become inwardly conformed to Him in a moral sense. He now in heaven is in the resurrected body, the same one He appeared in on the earth. We will be brought into conformity to Him in that perfection, so that we will be suited to inhabit a body of glory [ Phil. 3:21], like unto His glorious body.
Looking at what we are to be conformed to, brings us also to what we are not to be conformed too. Romans 12:2 says " Be not conformed to this world". The same world which hated the Lord Jesus, and still does, the very same worldly system made up of people living in their Adamic natures to this day, who crucified Him. And despite the worlds rejection; He continued in His pathway of love, that we might by faith be conformed to His image. So shall we who have been called to be conformed to His image seek in any way to become conformed to a world which was so evil as to murder The Prince of Life? Are we admiring and assimilating to its ways, its world view, its spirit.? Or are we walking here as pilgrims and strangers, as those who desire to be conformed to the Son of God? We will find the answer in our depth of understand of His conformed image in us, reveled by the Word of God.
"Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.". If we are believers in Jesus Christ, then we have the Holy Spirit, which means we posses the Mind of Christ. The Holy Spirit ever lives in us to only and always display Jesus Christ. This glorious mind, if allowed by the believer, will renew the old mind of the natural man and begin to form in us a new mind fashioned after the Mind of Christ conforming us to His image. While this may appear in our actions and Christian efforts in a practically way, it must emanate from within by our new spiritual awareness of who we are in Him. Found by study of the Word and a desire to be as God intended , like His Son. This puts us in the place the Bible refers to as "presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, not doing our own Adamic will ,but pleasing the Father in fellowship as we become conformed by the will of our faith.
To some of my friends who have just begun reading this blog it may seem rather random. Remember as I've said, this is not a Bible study but a journey, my journey. I am writing it to grow in the image of Christ, with great hope that some will come along with me, to the place of overwhelming joy and peace, which we may enjoy here and now, and thereby glorify the Father, in the present, not waiting for the by and by, Heaven now is my goal. I learned that I must study seek out other believers who aspire to live a Christian life of position and identification with Christ, as intended by the Father, in His plan. Please if needed, go back and review my earlier blogs for introduction to the principals of identification I found on my way down the narrow path, and references to reading material. I would like to add to that list by recommending, The Normal Christian life, by Watchman Nee . It is my sincere prayer that we together will find our life in Christ, as we travel down the road of a newly conformed life, found only in Him.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
IS THE WORD'S WORD IN OUR VIEW?
"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made." That quote from John should reveal a great deal to us, about the man in whom we place our faith and in, whom we are identified in the Fathers sight. So the question I had to ask myself is, why do I find myself still so influenced by the world, if I am identified with the Man who created it? It could only be in how I view and understand this place where I dwell ,and its influence on me, "my world view".
I remember very well, in the first blush of my born again experience 37 years ago, in my reading of the Bible and the daily answers to prayer and the miracle of a changed life; I became aware of the need for a very different outlook on the definition of my life, over that which I had previously held. Early on I came across a book on discipleship and was so thrilled to discover the bible teaching of devoted service to Christ and The Word of God. Shortly there after attending church and Bible study with great regularity I began to look around, and in the light of what I had learned, about being a Christian, I started to wonder with a very disillusioned heart, where are all the Christians hiding? It was not to be for many years until after reading Francis Schaeffer's books on Christian world view and later Nacey Pearcey's Total Truth, did I realize the importance of having a defined understanding of how I looked at life and how that definition must be found , as a Christian in my intellectual/ spiritual understanding, as reveled in His Word. A Christian world view.
A world view can be defined as a framework from which we view reality and make sense of life and the world. For the Christian this would be our approach to understanding God the world and mans relationship to God and the world. According to studies I found on line, only 4% of the nation hold a Biblical worldview, and among born again believers just 9%. Those numbers for the world I am not surprised at, but is it possible that the host of Christians surrounding us at church, Bible studies etc. harbour a view of life not clearly defined by the Bible? Well my friends, if you have been following the theme of these blogs, you now are at least aware in the view of positional/identification doctrine studies, the Bible very clearly revels a presence of duality in redeemed Christians;the natural man, always with us, and the new man, found in Christ. So it should not surprise us that if we occupy our Christian life in the natural state and mind, not being renewed in Christs mind by the Word, our world view might be compromised by that which surrounds us, the world.
I will not go into a long rant as to what is wrong with the church, which if you read the Bible, always has been highly influenced by the world system,sin and evil. After all many of the Epistles were written by Paul to Correct worldliness among the people of God. The simple truth the church has failed as a institution, not only are most Christians unaware of who they are in Christ but the light we are called to shed upon the world is very dim indeed, as basic Christian truth is virtually unknown to a majority of our society, and I dare say ,if taking myself as a example in past understanding, a Biblical world view is indeed a very small part of Christian life. According to studies Ive found, 35% of Christians almost never read the Bible and most that do , do so only in Church. These figures do not offer much hope for our family's in a society dominated by a worldly culture. This leaves the question, how then shall we live and where will we find the power to develop a personal world view pleasing to God?
In looking back at my studies and attempt to adopt a Christian world view, even in the light of the great works on the subject by Schaeffer and Pearcey, I still failed in grasping a firm commitment of mind, as to living and seeing the world from a true Biblical perspective. Why? I think, the answer can be found in the fact that my Christian concepts were firmly anchored in admiration, and not appropriation!
Again I am here influenced by the incite of J. B. Stoney. As I look at my understanding of scripture I now am struck at how much I thought of the word of God as simply communications from Him, rather than as revelations of Himself to us. We might see them as beautiful concepts or picture which His grace has given us the privilege of seeing , rather than a truth of what we have to appropriate and adopt, in acquiring a Christian world view.
If I am seeing myself in the Lord Jesus as to identification, I see and admire everything that is of Him, not as apart from myself;I admire it with all the consciousness that is mine, because I am of Him therefore my view is adopted and appropriated by the will of my faith in that truth. I have in my mind understood that I have possession of all that He is, now and forever. You see my friends I now see that we can acquire what we admire in a practical world view sense. This view can be ours if we see ourselves in the new divine order in which the Father, by grace has positioned you before Himself seen only in His Son in His Sight. To appropriate that position involves the refusal and the renunciation of the old nature and world view, which Jesus died unto on the cross, and under which it was never possible to appropriate a new view of anything divine, even though we might rest in the mercies of justification , as saved ones.
You see my friends, the Bible clearly teaches there cannot be appropriation and hence a Christian world view unless the very thing [our old nature] which distanced us from it is consciously seen as gone at the Cross. It is this realization which opens the door to a new view. We do not even have the right to find who we are to the Father until we appropriate who we are in the Son. Stoney said it like this; You may admire truth like little children who are taken through a museum, but not allowed to touch anything, much less to take anything away.
Oh what a great joy to know of the establishment of our new world view as found in the understanding of ourselves as heirs of Christ with the full assurance that that this view is His, and we find it in ourselves. Yes we can admire truth but in adopting it we really possess it in a practical way. You may ask; how do we begin? By a serious , preserving and constant effort,and with a broken heart, you will appropriate what you admire!
I remember very well, in the first blush of my born again experience 37 years ago, in my reading of the Bible and the daily answers to prayer and the miracle of a changed life; I became aware of the need for a very different outlook on the definition of my life, over that which I had previously held. Early on I came across a book on discipleship and was so thrilled to discover the bible teaching of devoted service to Christ and The Word of God. Shortly there after attending church and Bible study with great regularity I began to look around, and in the light of what I had learned, about being a Christian, I started to wonder with a very disillusioned heart, where are all the Christians hiding? It was not to be for many years until after reading Francis Schaeffer's books on Christian world view and later Nacey Pearcey's Total Truth, did I realize the importance of having a defined understanding of how I looked at life and how that definition must be found , as a Christian in my intellectual/ spiritual understanding, as reveled in His Word. A Christian world view.
A world view can be defined as a framework from which we view reality and make sense of life and the world. For the Christian this would be our approach to understanding God the world and mans relationship to God and the world. According to studies I found on line, only 4% of the nation hold a Biblical worldview, and among born again believers just 9%. Those numbers for the world I am not surprised at, but is it possible that the host of Christians surrounding us at church, Bible studies etc. harbour a view of life not clearly defined by the Bible? Well my friends, if you have been following the theme of these blogs, you now are at least aware in the view of positional/identification doctrine studies, the Bible very clearly revels a presence of duality in redeemed Christians;the natural man, always with us, and the new man, found in Christ. So it should not surprise us that if we occupy our Christian life in the natural state and mind, not being renewed in Christs mind by the Word, our world view might be compromised by that which surrounds us, the world.
I will not go into a long rant as to what is wrong with the church, which if you read the Bible, always has been highly influenced by the world system,sin and evil. After all many of the Epistles were written by Paul to Correct worldliness among the people of God. The simple truth the church has failed as a institution, not only are most Christians unaware of who they are in Christ but the light we are called to shed upon the world is very dim indeed, as basic Christian truth is virtually unknown to a majority of our society, and I dare say ,if taking myself as a example in past understanding, a Biblical world view is indeed a very small part of Christian life. According to studies Ive found, 35% of Christians almost never read the Bible and most that do , do so only in Church. These figures do not offer much hope for our family's in a society dominated by a worldly culture. This leaves the question, how then shall we live and where will we find the power to develop a personal world view pleasing to God?
In looking back at my studies and attempt to adopt a Christian world view, even in the light of the great works on the subject by Schaeffer and Pearcey, I still failed in grasping a firm commitment of mind, as to living and seeing the world from a true Biblical perspective. Why? I think, the answer can be found in the fact that my Christian concepts were firmly anchored in admiration, and not appropriation!
Again I am here influenced by the incite of J. B. Stoney. As I look at my understanding of scripture I now am struck at how much I thought of the word of God as simply communications from Him, rather than as revelations of Himself to us. We might see them as beautiful concepts or picture which His grace has given us the privilege of seeing , rather than a truth of what we have to appropriate and adopt, in acquiring a Christian world view.
If I am seeing myself in the Lord Jesus as to identification, I see and admire everything that is of Him, not as apart from myself;I admire it with all the consciousness that is mine, because I am of Him therefore my view is adopted and appropriated by the will of my faith in that truth. I have in my mind understood that I have possession of all that He is, now and forever. You see my friends I now see that we can acquire what we admire in a practical world view sense. This view can be ours if we see ourselves in the new divine order in which the Father, by grace has positioned you before Himself seen only in His Son in His Sight. To appropriate that position involves the refusal and the renunciation of the old nature and world view, which Jesus died unto on the cross, and under which it was never possible to appropriate a new view of anything divine, even though we might rest in the mercies of justification , as saved ones.
You see my friends, the Bible clearly teaches there cannot be appropriation and hence a Christian world view unless the very thing [our old nature] which distanced us from it is consciously seen as gone at the Cross. It is this realization which opens the door to a new view. We do not even have the right to find who we are to the Father until we appropriate who we are in the Son. Stoney said it like this; You may admire truth like little children who are taken through a museum, but not allowed to touch anything, much less to take anything away.
Oh what a great joy to know of the establishment of our new world view as found in the understanding of ourselves as heirs of Christ with the full assurance that that this view is His, and we find it in ourselves. Yes we can admire truth but in adopting it we really possess it in a practical way. You may ask; how do we begin? By a serious , preserving and constant effort,and with a broken heart, you will appropriate what you admire!
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