" As is the earthy, such are they that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such are they that are heavenly" 1 Cor. 15:48. Lately I have been made more aware of how our present personally embodied first Adam-self image controls our life. While I'm sure it seems, I have talked endlessly about the old man, and his effect on our spiritual understanding and therefore self image, I believe it is all important we continue to delve into the image he portrays in our Christian life. Just where does the rubber meet the road? How can we escape his power? We carry deep inside us fears, anger, and so called psychological weakness that are seemingly always present. We seek healing through groups and therapy, which is not necessarily bad. The church book store is filled with books on the 10 steps to a better you and smiling white toothed, long curly hairdo faces sincerely gaze into our living rooms promising happiness and prosperity, if their latest book is only read. If all this is working and if the latest road to purposes we are driving on is being paved successfully for us by the seeker friendly clergy, then why has our contemporary American christian culture come to what the latest studies all show, widespread biblical illiteracy, and a wordily life style? Something is clearly wrong. Do we take our Lords sacrifice and only enjoy the forgiveness, taking it for granted? Does the world of psychological helps offer more than the Word? Or can one read and derive true meaning and be internally changed by a scripture such as; " If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things [the controlling self image of our weak sin nature] are passed away; behold ALL THINGS are become new" 2 Cor. 5:17. If all things means, all things, then our self image is included, and that is where my Christian new nature needed help the most.
"Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory" 2 Cor. 3:18. Well my friends there you have it directly from God's mouth to your mind, we are changed into the very same image as the Son of God in Heaven! The trick here is to be able to behold and then live out that image. How do we do that? Well of course that can only be accomplished by the Spirit reveling this true image of ourselves to our spirit/mind. And how does that work? Why it can only be by the Word of God, and that by faith! How do we then receive it and realize it? By our spirits being attuned to Him.This requires what the Bible calls, walking in the Spirit. That would not be, being merely grateful for the grace of our salvation, or a goose bump feeling at church; we can get goose pumps at a Seline Dion concert. It would not be accomplished by a act like building a house for poor people, a good work. Its not even found in the intellectual knowledge of the scriptures alone that will provide this great gift. No, the image of us in Jesus Christ will be identified in our own self perception by faith, and our self perception of being positioned in Him in Heaven. The answer folks then is simple: we find out who we are in Christ and thereby in faith obtain His image, by being able to define Him, and our position in Him, becoming the occupation of our mind. The scripture teaches we cannot be in any other place but positioned and identified in Him in order to be with the Father. Yes we have other objects before us found in the old Adam personality, we can describe that as a poor dead mans self image, our sin. Do we really want to stay in that place? We have available to us a new image, by the understanding of Gods Word, when we acknowledge and count as true, our identification in Christ. In that revelation, The Lord Jesus will fill the vision of our souls image of ourselves with His personal being and personal image. I know this is true, because it happened to me!
It strikes me as very reveling that the church has discarded so much of the Word of God, found in Paul's teaching on the image we must carry as the Father's only means of relationship with us; that of our life positioned in His Son. Paul's Gospel says; "You are NOT in the flesh [God does not see us in our Adam personality it is dead], but in the Spirit [His Holy Spirit which can only glorify the image of Jesus], if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you" Rom.8:9. As we can see this positional image is contingent upon the Spirit dwelling in us. This could be thoughts of as a place of containment of the new natures self image we occupy by faith in the Word of God written by Paul, and is simply a fact for all true Christians. Then why do we not easily appropriate it in our daily life's self portrayal?
"For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal" This should give us a hint as to the problem. Then we read " Even though we have know Christ according to the flesh [in His earthly ministry], yet now we know Him thus no longer." So Here we have a answer. If we look at our Christian life from the platform of the natural man, things seen, there is no lasting image to behold: so in the contrary we must see our relationship with the Father with spiritual understanding, as that is unseen and therefore eternal. After all Jesus is no longer here in person, so where else are we to look but in His unseen presence before the Father and that by faith only? The second verse is telling us we can not even know Jesus in a natural earthly seen way. There is a new way which resulted from the Resurrection, a way of spirit, which is really our mind learning to understand our position and thereby we, are realizing how we are conformed into His image.
The problem for me to begin to understand these very real and livable positional truths was; I for many years viewed and studied Biblical teaching from a place of death, the material things seen, natural first Adam personality, which we all must know was condemned to death at the Cross by Jesus Christ yet we still carry it, for we do sin. So how do we stop seeing things with Adam eye's and began to see who we are in the Eye's of God? The answer is simple, we pay attention to God's Word on the subject. Is there anything of us that is impossible for God to accept? It might come as a surprise there is. God cannot receive ANYTHING from the natural man, and here is the bad news; we all, even Christians are predisposed to living out our lives in a worldly natural fashion, which can never have eternal value before God. Yes God loves us, yes we are justified[saved] if we have been born again, yes He hears our prayers, and His grace flows upon us. But we
in the natural man personality are not sanctified in our minds as to our presence in His Son. The deal is done were just not aware of it. For me I came to discover in my despair, and then by a need which brought me to my knees, and it was then that The Holy Spirit displayed His Son, in opening the door to growth and maturity by my beginning to see the image of my life in the objectification of Jesus Christ in my minds vision of Christian reality. My new natures image now being imagined and taking on a present reality in my everyday walk.
For me looking back at my life; being a Christian and not to have carried the image of Jesus Christ in my minds understanding, as to being positioned in Him, is like a man who buys a lottery ticket puts it in a drawer and then forgets it, in the mean while his number is drawn, he wins millions but never knows it. My friends it is my hope that you will be motivated enough by these blogs and mostly your own need to reach out to God in requesting He reveal Himself to you in your new natures understanding. The prayer of our Saviour was "And this is life eternal, that they might know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" John 17:3. To know God and His Son is Jesus prayer for us, to know means much more than a emotional devotion are mere awareness of salvation, the defining answer of that knowledge is found in our realized position in Christ. " But you are not living the life of the flesh [us now as Christians in the new nature], you are living the life of the Spirit[positioned in Christ], if the Spirit of God [really] dwells within you-directs and controls you, Rom.8:9 amp.
I will end with a quote from J.B. Stoney, which say all that is necessary. "That sin in its root is in the flesh, I entirely admit; but my position now is, that I have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in me, and He manifests Christ in me, We find that Christ, according to the will of God, has brought to an end, judicially,, in His own death unto sin, the old man-and thus the believer is not in the flesh, but in the Spirit; and the Lord Jesus Christ is the exclusive delight and object of his heart".
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Saturday, August 24, 2013
DEATH THE ONLY LIFE LEFT
When I think back to my history in Christ, I see a very clear pattern. First the blush of joy and relief to have found a Saviour, then the search to know Him. How grateful I am to have been accepted into His family. Anyone who knows me can I'm sure see, and certainly when I look in the mirror, I have no trouble to recognize, a man who sins. And it was this very nature that brought me closer to my Lord. To think that God used who I am in Adam, the very sin nature that we carry, which turned away from Him, to show me my new creation in Christ, a new nature. In those early days of course I did nor see that positional truth, I simply struggled along, as we all do, looking forward to going to Heaven. It seems to me, that is more or less the message the institutional church reinforced. By that I mean, there was no teaching of how we might come to see ourselves in the image of Jesus Christ, He was held up and displayed, admired, but there was no sense of our being His very nature, us in Him, except from a sort of admiration for what He had done in our life, for us. Now that I can look back with new knowledge I think, oh if only I had been challenged to think of entering into the new creation defined in the person hood of Jesus Christ, perhaps all the suffering of trying to develop my dead old man into what the church held up as an example of the christian ideal would have been unnecessary. Now I know this suffering was in fact used by God, and therefore, quite necessary!
My friend J. B. Stoney said it best. " My taste is formed in glory, and there it is nurtured and strengthened, and as it is so I find nothing here in keeping to my taste. Association with the Son of Man, the One most perfect, and in every way the most beautiful, develops my new nature, which is the same as His. Where He is, is my home, there I feed and rest; but here on earth, I am learning to set aside in death everything which hinders the manifestation of the life of the Lord Jesus." The key words here my friends are "setting aside in death." My human nature is far from one which could be recognized as that of the Heavenly Jesus and my works here could never measure up with the image and works of His life when He was on this earth. It is for this reason, the church being in much the same condition, I believe is why it has fallen short in guiding us to our true abode.They, in their institutional well meaning manner tried to form a more perfect union with displays of grandeur, good works and feelings to be experienced. All of which will never satisfy us in our understanding of that which God has accomplished in His Son; because the church often defined christianity by a understanding which was most pleasing to a worldly audience. No my friends, it is in the Knowledge of our death in Christ, formed in our conscious mind [ spirit/soul], where our home will be found, which will then display our new creation life, in these mortal bodies.
It always struck me as a fascinating phenomena how the natural man clings to this life. The truth is, if the Bible is to be believed, all of man kind will be always alive; some will however live that existence forever outside of Gods presence; this the Bible defines as death, the condition Adam [and we] found himself in his natural fallen state. Where as eternal life is enjoyed in the presence of The Father, the condition Adam was in before the fall [and us, now positioned in Christ] in his mortal body's. But what about the present experiential condition we find ourselves in; still so very influenced by the condition of the natural man in our flesh? And really, now is the only experience we can relate to. I have no idea what Heaven is like and when I look closely at myself I see I do not deserve it. So my question and need to discover is how can I have that realized experience of eternal life and Heaven now?
" For we who live are always, delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in out mortal flesh" 2 Cor. 4:11. To me this verse says it all, we who live are those of us with a born again spirit and the delivered UNTO,[ not to] speaks of a permanent condition of the believer. The for Jesus' sake is not for His need, but because of what He accomplished in His death on the Cross, death UNTO mankind's sin nature. In our awareness, understanding, and knowledge of this position we find our spirits as defined in, "the life of Jesus" and by this we will find ourselves living out the glories of freedom of our identification in Him. But lets not leave out the most important part! How are we delivered [brought to knowledge of, or the place of] to this permanent condition in our understanding and way of life here now?
Every believer is regarded by God as alive from the dead. The Adam personality and condition [sin] can not be even considered as a effect in relationship with the Father, as it is dead. God has completely dealt with it by putting it into a dead condemned position on the cross.The question is not forgiveness for our sins here, they are impossible to be seen by God in a dead man, no judgment ever for the Christian, freedom, joy and peace our our permanent gift, by Christ's representative act. "He died UNTO sin for us all." How then shall we live? Well this my dear friends is the million dollar question is it not? If "we died and our life is hidden in Christ" Col. 3:3, it surely cannot be our works, could it be a feeling, how about church and bible study attendance? Perhaps we can derive a feeling of accomplishment from these things; but if those things and feelings are carried by the dead man they cannot be the answer! My friends, the answer is clear and written down for us all. If we are to know Jesus Christ, and move about on this earth in His Glory, in all that we do, including the above church activities, and not be just hearers of the Word; we must develop a mind which can appropriate from the Son, a mind where we define our very being as identified and positioned in Him. The condition in the depth of my heart must be "alive in Christ." And that will only be found by faith in what the Word so prominently displays, our death realized, unto the Adamic natural man as the only life left, and that can only be found and lived in Jesus Christ, who on the Cross died representing us, in our natural sinful state, and we were set aside by that act in the economy of The Father's view of us now and forever. We the Christian, if we do not grasp this positional Biblical truth will live out a life of death [in the flesh] on this earth, not life [our Heavenly position], if we do not come to realize that is is our identification in Jesus Christ, which is the defining depth of our personal being!
My dear blog buddies, I'm going to get a bit personal here. Its hard for me to write this blog and not encounter my resentments. Why? Because these writings are the result of a deep personal struggle with my flesh and sin for some many years now; but today I can I thank my God for showing me the truth of position/identification and I'm very aware I have a long ways still to go. But all of this struggle, and relief found, leaves me in a place of heart break for my fellow Christian, as I observe their struggles and even their satisfaction with the status quo. In the early days of this blog that pain came through, as I wanted and expected some acknowledgement by seeing some fruit coming my way, in the form of a hoped for response from my readers. However, it was in the absence of the kind of attention my ego desired that I found my calling was simply to glorify my Lord by studying to show myself approved. I now write for Him, I am not a teacher, minister are care to hold any responsibility for the growth and challenge to grow, are lack there of, by you my blog victims. Don't get me wrong, oh how I hope you will take to heart the necessary deep contemplation and study God requires of us all in realizing the truth of His Word, and maybe, just maybe, I will have played some role in that. May God bless you with the depth of His wisdom and knowledge in your search for His identification in you!!
My friend J. B. Stoney said it best. " My taste is formed in glory, and there it is nurtured and strengthened, and as it is so I find nothing here in keeping to my taste. Association with the Son of Man, the One most perfect, and in every way the most beautiful, develops my new nature, which is the same as His. Where He is, is my home, there I feed and rest; but here on earth, I am learning to set aside in death everything which hinders the manifestation of the life of the Lord Jesus." The key words here my friends are "setting aside in death." My human nature is far from one which could be recognized as that of the Heavenly Jesus and my works here could never measure up with the image and works of His life when He was on this earth. It is for this reason, the church being in much the same condition, I believe is why it has fallen short in guiding us to our true abode.They, in their institutional well meaning manner tried to form a more perfect union with displays of grandeur, good works and feelings to be experienced. All of which will never satisfy us in our understanding of that which God has accomplished in His Son; because the church often defined christianity by a understanding which was most pleasing to a worldly audience. No my friends, it is in the Knowledge of our death in Christ, formed in our conscious mind [ spirit/soul], where our home will be found, which will then display our new creation life, in these mortal bodies.
It always struck me as a fascinating phenomena how the natural man clings to this life. The truth is, if the Bible is to be believed, all of man kind will be always alive; some will however live that existence forever outside of Gods presence; this the Bible defines as death, the condition Adam [and we] found himself in his natural fallen state. Where as eternal life is enjoyed in the presence of The Father, the condition Adam was in before the fall [and us, now positioned in Christ] in his mortal body's. But what about the present experiential condition we find ourselves in; still so very influenced by the condition of the natural man in our flesh? And really, now is the only experience we can relate to. I have no idea what Heaven is like and when I look closely at myself I see I do not deserve it. So my question and need to discover is how can I have that realized experience of eternal life and Heaven now?
" For we who live are always, delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in out mortal flesh" 2 Cor. 4:11. To me this verse says it all, we who live are those of us with a born again spirit and the delivered UNTO,[ not to] speaks of a permanent condition of the believer. The for Jesus' sake is not for His need, but because of what He accomplished in His death on the Cross, death UNTO mankind's sin nature. In our awareness, understanding, and knowledge of this position we find our spirits as defined in, "the life of Jesus" and by this we will find ourselves living out the glories of freedom of our identification in Him. But lets not leave out the most important part! How are we delivered [brought to knowledge of, or the place of] to this permanent condition in our understanding and way of life here now?
Every believer is regarded by God as alive from the dead. The Adam personality and condition [sin] can not be even considered as a effect in relationship with the Father, as it is dead. God has completely dealt with it by putting it into a dead condemned position on the cross.The question is not forgiveness for our sins here, they are impossible to be seen by God in a dead man, no judgment ever for the Christian, freedom, joy and peace our our permanent gift, by Christ's representative act. "He died UNTO sin for us all." How then shall we live? Well this my dear friends is the million dollar question is it not? If "we died and our life is hidden in Christ" Col. 3:3, it surely cannot be our works, could it be a feeling, how about church and bible study attendance? Perhaps we can derive a feeling of accomplishment from these things; but if those things and feelings are carried by the dead man they cannot be the answer! My friends, the answer is clear and written down for us all. If we are to know Jesus Christ, and move about on this earth in His Glory, in all that we do, including the above church activities, and not be just hearers of the Word; we must develop a mind which can appropriate from the Son, a mind where we define our very being as identified and positioned in Him. The condition in the depth of my heart must be "alive in Christ." And that will only be found by faith in what the Word so prominently displays, our death realized, unto the Adamic natural man as the only life left, and that can only be found and lived in Jesus Christ, who on the Cross died representing us, in our natural sinful state, and we were set aside by that act in the economy of The Father's view of us now and forever. We the Christian, if we do not grasp this positional Biblical truth will live out a life of death [in the flesh] on this earth, not life [our Heavenly position], if we do not come to realize that is is our identification in Jesus Christ, which is the defining depth of our personal being!
My dear blog buddies, I'm going to get a bit personal here. Its hard for me to write this blog and not encounter my resentments. Why? Because these writings are the result of a deep personal struggle with my flesh and sin for some many years now; but today I can I thank my God for showing me the truth of position/identification and I'm very aware I have a long ways still to go. But all of this struggle, and relief found, leaves me in a place of heart break for my fellow Christian, as I observe their struggles and even their satisfaction with the status quo. In the early days of this blog that pain came through, as I wanted and expected some acknowledgement by seeing some fruit coming my way, in the form of a hoped for response from my readers. However, it was in the absence of the kind of attention my ego desired that I found my calling was simply to glorify my Lord by studying to show myself approved. I now write for Him, I am not a teacher, minister are care to hold any responsibility for the growth and challenge to grow, are lack there of, by you my blog victims. Don't get me wrong, oh how I hope you will take to heart the necessary deep contemplation and study God requires of us all in realizing the truth of His Word, and maybe, just maybe, I will have played some role in that. May God bless you with the depth of His wisdom and knowledge in your search for His identification in you!!
Saturday, August 17, 2013
IDENTITY'S RECONCILIATION
The other morning in church our pastor spoke of the conscious mind, as the place where we develop our Christian Christ character, beginning the moment we are born again. I have used similar expressions to remind myself that it is in the conscious mind that our spirit is realized. The pastor, that day also made use of the word sub-conscious, as where the sinful Adam's natural nature is formed and lives in us all. Using this line of thought he expounded on the unique power of the conscious mind, by the information it takes in, to influence and reform the sub-conscious, not that the sinful nature departs, but that it can be changed, at least as to influence and control, by the knowledge received in the new Holy spirit influenced conscious mind. This made a lot of sense to me and provided a platform to see my Identify, as it were, under construction. We know the old nature must take a back seat, in order to live a victorious life in Christ. He, the sinful man, therefore goes to the back of the bus directly in concert to The Holy Spirit's teaching, taken in by us, as the drivers of the conscious mind.
Surely it should not be hard to see this metaphor at work. After all we have many so called character defects, which come from deep within us, and seem to drive our thoughts and actions. How are these less than desirable forces to be contained? They can only be dealt with in a practical manner, in the depth of our mind, and we spend many years and a lot of money trying to drive them from their influence over us. While I do not have a easy answer to controlling these fores, it seems to me perhaps a likely place to start might be found in learning our identity by what the Father has done in reconciling us to Himself in His Son, and that knowledge being taken in and used in the forming of a new nature by its input to our conscious mind.
When I think back to my years as a solider in the US Army, I can see a parallel to this concept, I was inducted during a time of war; if asked on the first day of my forced service to describe myself, I would have said something like; I am a young man who wants peace and would nor hurt another purposefully. However the new identity the army wanted for me was one of a killer, and they attempted to form in me their ideal machine, and I saw them succeed with many men in that effort. Now I think of the Identity we have in the Bibles description of what we have become in the Fathers New Man, a identity imparted to us by Christ's identity, reconciled to Him standing as described before Him, in His Son. If these, faiths facts, are taken in to our conscious mind, perhaps the old man whispering from the basement power over us would weaken, and the new solider we would become would be one recognizing ourselves identified living in the personal identity of Jesus Christ. This is my true hearts hope for all I know and love. If only they might see the clearly defined path in scripture laid out for us and by that gain the knowledge and then desire to have the very image of Jesus Christ written on the wall of their self conscious mind and thereby defeating the lie of the world that we allow seek to control from below.
I believe I have used the word reconciliation in other blogs and even defined it, but I would like to look at this Gods work in reveling our new nature under the banner of Identity, and define reconciliation to mean; bring into agreement or harmony, to make compatible or consistent. " For if when we were enemies [the natural man] we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled we shall be saved by [in the awareness of our identity] His life" Rom. 5:10. If the requirement of the perfect law of life, that is the nature of God, would require the death of His perfect Son to bring us into agreement or harmony with the Fathers unalterable being, perhaps we should take note and examine ourselves. Is this, the sacrifice of God's Son, simply God's way to make us better specimens of the sinful Adamic man, content to admire what He has done and be influenced by the natural sub-conscious man, as if Jesus death was for our happiness and enjoyment on this earth? No the Word is clear; The Son died to do away with the Adamic man, not for us, but for the Father, so that the Fathers love and grace could function in relationship with us as new creatures, with a acceptable nature, that of His Son, our newly acquired identity.
I said in my last blog, and it bears repeating; the basis upon which the Holy Spirit carries on His Work in us is the Death of Jesus unto sin and His life unto God. We are included and personally identified in His Crucifixion, Burial, Resurrection, and Ascension. These are not mere symbols for us to admire, as something which was done "for" us; no they are, in the economy, mind, reference, and our relationship with The Father accomplished and done to re- identify us in substitution and representation, by and in the image of His Perfect Son. This, if believed in faith can ONLY mean we in the eye's of The Father are identified in Jesus, it is not passive, but a actual way and spiritual form we are to occupy in our self identity, and has been thoroughly presented in the Bible as the definition as to how we are to see ourselves. I am convinced, with all my Heart, this is true, and if accepted as a fact by faith, the old mans sinful sub-conscious control will diminish, and from that will arise the true role and mission of our Christian lives; living a conscious existence in the life of Jesus Christ, acted out in our life, on this earth!
Our struggle according to the Bible is not against flesh and blood, but spiritual powers. This would not be red eyed demons creeping around your house at night as portrayed by Hollywood, no need to cast them out or claim the blood, we simply need to go to the battle ground of our minds, with Gods word. I have said many times this blog is not a Bible study, but is my attempt to exercise my mind for my growth. And there can be no other fact that has impacted me more than discovering the reality of my Christian Identity in the Man Jesus Christ. So in the next paragraph I will use another far more qualified mind [Miles Stanford] to give a condensed, to the point Biblical explanation of perhaps the most critical of all subjects for Christian growth!
" As by one man [Adam] sin entered the world, and death by sin [a perfect God cannot except sin] and so death passed upon all men [eternal loss] for all sinned [in Adam who is our earthly federal representative] " Rom.5:15 Unlike its product our personal sins, SIN [the thing itself] could not be forgiven, for it would still be SIN. A forgiven thief is still a thief. Hence sin had to be condemned to death [done away with in Gods sight]. " God sending [to die] His only Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh [ as a human man] and condemned [by His death as representing all men] SIN in the flesh" Rom. 8:3.
Our sins were forgiven via the principal of substitution, i.e., " Christ died for our sins according to Paul's Gospel " 1 Cor. 15:3. But our SIN [the thing itself] was condemned [ killed dead, the principal of sin] via the principle of identification, i.e." For He [God] has made Him [Jesus], who knew no SIN to be SIN for us" 2 Cor. 5:21.
The Saviour did not die only for sin,[the thing itself], but for sins[our personal sins] too. But, He [Jesus] was MADE SIN, [took on our human nature] our sin. He was judged, condemned [ death to the principal of sin itself], and crucified[in our place]. He in Himself being the sinless one, died unto sin--out of the realm of sin [ human ], having paid the price [ Gods judgement on us] in full. Hence He was free to rise from among the dead into "newness of life [representing us]," heavenly, glorified, a "new creation [representing us] life."
Please note here my friends the different meanings between sins,[ our personal sins which He died for and we are forgiven of] and SIN, the thing itself, as a stand alone condition man found himself to be in, as to our nature, a unforgivable position, Our Father had to find a way to do away with that condition to accept us whom He loved, so He identified His Son as one of us and accepted His death [as a perfect sinless man] as condemnation in full, of the very principal of SIN; which mankind found himself identified in before a perfect Judge and God. Now we no longer need to live under that sub-conscious condemnation influence [Adam,human, natural], as God has accepted His Sons death and made Him our identity, not guilty by His act, therefore no condemnation for us ever.
I found that for me to live a life of peace, joy and victory over the human condition I had to work hard at understanding these concepts. 35 years of contemporary Christian Church teaching and influence did not even come close. I would assume most of you reading this still do not get it. You see something worth knowing or you would not still be reading this weak effort of mine. I don't have all the answers by far, I haven't arrived at a elevated mental/'spiritual mountain top in any way shape or form. But I now, by identification/positional truth studies am experiencing a true liberty, never before thought possible. My prayer for all you, my blog victims, is that freedoms light might shine in you . The book that by far, other than the Bible, that opened that door of pure freedom and joy was, Romans Verse By Verse, by William R. Newell. Please order the paper back today from Amazon and go to chapter 5 and work slowly thorough Romans 8. You will be glad you did, your life will change, I promise.
Surely it should not be hard to see this metaphor at work. After all we have many so called character defects, which come from deep within us, and seem to drive our thoughts and actions. How are these less than desirable forces to be contained? They can only be dealt with in a practical manner, in the depth of our mind, and we spend many years and a lot of money trying to drive them from their influence over us. While I do not have a easy answer to controlling these fores, it seems to me perhaps a likely place to start might be found in learning our identity by what the Father has done in reconciling us to Himself in His Son, and that knowledge being taken in and used in the forming of a new nature by its input to our conscious mind.
When I think back to my years as a solider in the US Army, I can see a parallel to this concept, I was inducted during a time of war; if asked on the first day of my forced service to describe myself, I would have said something like; I am a young man who wants peace and would nor hurt another purposefully. However the new identity the army wanted for me was one of a killer, and they attempted to form in me their ideal machine, and I saw them succeed with many men in that effort. Now I think of the Identity we have in the Bibles description of what we have become in the Fathers New Man, a identity imparted to us by Christ's identity, reconciled to Him standing as described before Him, in His Son. If these, faiths facts, are taken in to our conscious mind, perhaps the old man whispering from the basement power over us would weaken, and the new solider we would become would be one recognizing ourselves identified living in the personal identity of Jesus Christ. This is my true hearts hope for all I know and love. If only they might see the clearly defined path in scripture laid out for us and by that gain the knowledge and then desire to have the very image of Jesus Christ written on the wall of their self conscious mind and thereby defeating the lie of the world that we allow seek to control from below.
I believe I have used the word reconciliation in other blogs and even defined it, but I would like to look at this Gods work in reveling our new nature under the banner of Identity, and define reconciliation to mean; bring into agreement or harmony, to make compatible or consistent. " For if when we were enemies [the natural man] we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled we shall be saved by [in the awareness of our identity] His life" Rom. 5:10. If the requirement of the perfect law of life, that is the nature of God, would require the death of His perfect Son to bring us into agreement or harmony with the Fathers unalterable being, perhaps we should take note and examine ourselves. Is this, the sacrifice of God's Son, simply God's way to make us better specimens of the sinful Adamic man, content to admire what He has done and be influenced by the natural sub-conscious man, as if Jesus death was for our happiness and enjoyment on this earth? No the Word is clear; The Son died to do away with the Adamic man, not for us, but for the Father, so that the Fathers love and grace could function in relationship with us as new creatures, with a acceptable nature, that of His Son, our newly acquired identity.
I said in my last blog, and it bears repeating; the basis upon which the Holy Spirit carries on His Work in us is the Death of Jesus unto sin and His life unto God. We are included and personally identified in His Crucifixion, Burial, Resurrection, and Ascension. These are not mere symbols for us to admire, as something which was done "for" us; no they are, in the economy, mind, reference, and our relationship with The Father accomplished and done to re- identify us in substitution and representation, by and in the image of His Perfect Son. This, if believed in faith can ONLY mean we in the eye's of The Father are identified in Jesus, it is not passive, but a actual way and spiritual form we are to occupy in our self identity, and has been thoroughly presented in the Bible as the definition as to how we are to see ourselves. I am convinced, with all my Heart, this is true, and if accepted as a fact by faith, the old mans sinful sub-conscious control will diminish, and from that will arise the true role and mission of our Christian lives; living a conscious existence in the life of Jesus Christ, acted out in our life, on this earth!
Our struggle according to the Bible is not against flesh and blood, but spiritual powers. This would not be red eyed demons creeping around your house at night as portrayed by Hollywood, no need to cast them out or claim the blood, we simply need to go to the battle ground of our minds, with Gods word. I have said many times this blog is not a Bible study, but is my attempt to exercise my mind for my growth. And there can be no other fact that has impacted me more than discovering the reality of my Christian Identity in the Man Jesus Christ. So in the next paragraph I will use another far more qualified mind [Miles Stanford] to give a condensed, to the point Biblical explanation of perhaps the most critical of all subjects for Christian growth!
" As by one man [Adam] sin entered the world, and death by sin [a perfect God cannot except sin] and so death passed upon all men [eternal loss] for all sinned [in Adam who is our earthly federal representative] " Rom.5:15 Unlike its product our personal sins, SIN [the thing itself] could not be forgiven, for it would still be SIN. A forgiven thief is still a thief. Hence sin had to be condemned to death [done away with in Gods sight]. " God sending [to die] His only Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh [ as a human man] and condemned [by His death as representing all men] SIN in the flesh" Rom. 8:3.
Our sins were forgiven via the principal of substitution, i.e., " Christ died for our sins according to Paul's Gospel " 1 Cor. 15:3. But our SIN [the thing itself] was condemned [ killed dead, the principal of sin] via the principle of identification, i.e." For He [God] has made Him [Jesus], who knew no SIN to be SIN for us" 2 Cor. 5:21.
The Saviour did not die only for sin,[the thing itself], but for sins[our personal sins] too. But, He [Jesus] was MADE SIN, [took on our human nature] our sin. He was judged, condemned [ death to the principal of sin itself], and crucified[in our place]. He in Himself being the sinless one, died unto sin--out of the realm of sin [ human ], having paid the price [ Gods judgement on us] in full. Hence He was free to rise from among the dead into "newness of life [representing us]," heavenly, glorified, a "new creation [representing us] life."
Please note here my friends the different meanings between sins,[ our personal sins which He died for and we are forgiven of] and SIN, the thing itself, as a stand alone condition man found himself to be in, as to our nature, a unforgivable position, Our Father had to find a way to do away with that condition to accept us whom He loved, so He identified His Son as one of us and accepted His death [as a perfect sinless man] as condemnation in full, of the very principal of SIN; which mankind found himself identified in before a perfect Judge and God. Now we no longer need to live under that sub-conscious condemnation influence [Adam,human, natural], as God has accepted His Sons death and made Him our identity, not guilty by His act, therefore no condemnation for us ever.
I found that for me to live a life of peace, joy and victory over the human condition I had to work hard at understanding these concepts. 35 years of contemporary Christian Church teaching and influence did not even come close. I would assume most of you reading this still do not get it. You see something worth knowing or you would not still be reading this weak effort of mine. I don't have all the answers by far, I haven't arrived at a elevated mental/'spiritual mountain top in any way shape or form. But I now, by identification/positional truth studies am experiencing a true liberty, never before thought possible. My prayer for all you, my blog victims, is that freedoms light might shine in you . The book that by far, other than the Bible, that opened that door of pure freedom and joy was, Romans Verse By Verse, by William R. Newell. Please order the paper back today from Amazon and go to chapter 5 and work slowly thorough Romans 8. You will be glad you did, your life will change, I promise.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
POSITION'S POWER PERCEIVED
Our human action is a purposeful behavior, our will put into operation, and then transforming us into a form of existence. This is our minds[soul,spirit] meaningful response to stimuli and self perception incurred by information received and contemplated. Therefore it is our conscious adjustment to the state of our internal spiritual knowledge gained, that determines our Christian life.
The doctrine of position and identification in Christ are well established schools of theology, but unfortunately not presented to the Christian audience in a challenging formant very often, by the institutional church. The reason, I believe, is because the church leaders do not comprehend its significance, as they, as I once did, are working out their salvation understanding in the old Adam personality "the flesh" not understanding the Bibles teaching and true meaning regarding us in our Christ identity, in their perceptual understanding when it describes us as hidden in Christ to mean; all that we can and will ever be to the Father is represented by the Son in His person hood both in His suffering and death unto the sin of the unacceptable old man here, and in His Resurrection and standing by that death before the father representing us. Knowing this in a intellectual way is of little value, but when trusted by the saint as a truth, applied by faith, to define our very being, it results in the beginning of a wisdom and faith in full trust of life eternal, spiritually reckoning [counting as true] our life both here and hereafter as that which can be only identified and positioned in Jesus Christ. As Christians we are seen by the Father, in no other way, according to the Bible.
In order to help us see our position, we might look at it in terms of objective and subjective. The Bible says, "Abide in me, and I [Christ] in you." This is a divine order. The subjective is our Faith, to abide [live our life's only true eternal value and reality] in Him, Christ. The object is of course Himself, our Lord. The Bible also shows us this positional /identification concept truth in 2nd Cor. 3:18, " We all beholding the glory of the Lord are transformed into the same image". Our beholding is subjective, and the image we have become by Gods divine will is The Object Christ. That's position perceived, when contemplated and understood. The more clearly we see by faith into this objective truth, or that which is true of us in the risen Lord the more experiential and practical will be the subjective growth in us.
It is by the objective reality of us in Christ, that we walk in His Spirit and realize our position there." this I say walk in the Spirit and you will in no way fulfill the lusts of the flesh" Gal. 5:16. The lusts here are not only our sinful natural propensity to desire worldly sensual objects. No the subject here is our walk, the object is The Holy Spirit, the lust of the flesh, is us living our reality outside of a defined and know position, or identifying in our Christian understanding with the natural mans mind. Walking in the spirit is NOT a feeling that arises at a moment of charismatic delight. The Holy Spirit does not come and go. He is in us and of us, and was always there, even before the foundation of the earth, for those predestined to be in Him. We are positioned and identified in Him, the Holy Spirit is Jesus Christ alive in our minds[spirits] in us, and only our worldly attitude, remaining in the old Adam personality keeps us from realizing it. Then walking in the Spirit is to be in communion with the Father, in dependence upon the Spirit, identified in the Lord Jesus Christ, as my one and only object which defines my Christianity, entered into the very mind of God. Position perceived.
The Question I might ask myself; is that which we call real, nothing more than the external confirmation of ourselves and of our expectations, in the visible world? Or is there a deeper invisible reality not defined by my form and function, and if I believe there is, how must I approach it? A Biblical definition of faith is" the evidence of things not seen." So we know to please God we must have a faith in that which is non visible, the very opposite of my former perceptions of my Christian condition, which was mostly feelings based, on seen and experienced evidence impacted and defined by my natural man [works], which failed to provide lasting joy and peace. Now before me, by the Word of God, is provided a hope given by grace in a life not visible, but by faith of my Christian identity being hidden in His presence before the Father, and by that faith, in Jesus Christ, a position perceived
When we perceive the position we hold, we enter into God's rest. " Come unto me all you that labor [under law ,works, duty and satisfaction in the visible] and I will give you rest." When we enter into that rest we are ceasing from all self effort, and we are yielding to full faith in God's mind working in us.
In the following I will quote from Miles Stanford [somewhat condensed and paraphrased] regarding the rest we must come to rely on. " We are positioned in glory before the Father; not in the flesh, not in the body, but in spirit [ our mental consciousness] a new creation in Christ Jesus. By faith we must learn to actualize this truth, God chose us to be in that personalized position. In our faith we need not depend on any sense of His presence in us, but we by the Word, gain knowledge of positions facts. Thus faiths facts draw us into His presence not our own works or feelings. Our fellowship with the Father is now a oneness, by faith in His life and nature, human-divine newness re-birth; beloved of God, fully accepted in His Son. We have a responsibility by this knowledge, to rest in His presence. We have no other place, the world is not our home, we sit in a heavenly place in Christ, Who is our life. All this was given to us the moment we received Jesus.We must now develop a sound doctrinal foundation of our identification with the Lord Jesus Christ in His death unto sin and life unto God. The basis upon which the Holy Spirit carries on the subjective work in us, is the objective truth of eternal completeness in the Lord Jesus, crucified, buried, risen, and ascended."
And finally I will end with a direct quote from my friend and brother J. B. Stoney. "When I look at this place, He is not here; and when I look at myself naturally, I am not fit for Him. How happy then to know that I belong to the place where He is; and that through grace I have been made suited to Him in that new position; so that I set my mind and affection there, as a place where my deepest joys are realized."
The doctrine of position and identification in Christ are well established schools of theology, but unfortunately not presented to the Christian audience in a challenging formant very often, by the institutional church. The reason, I believe, is because the church leaders do not comprehend its significance, as they, as I once did, are working out their salvation understanding in the old Adam personality "the flesh" not understanding the Bibles teaching and true meaning regarding us in our Christ identity, in their perceptual understanding when it describes us as hidden in Christ to mean; all that we can and will ever be to the Father is represented by the Son in His person hood both in His suffering and death unto the sin of the unacceptable old man here, and in His Resurrection and standing by that death before the father representing us. Knowing this in a intellectual way is of little value, but when trusted by the saint as a truth, applied by faith, to define our very being, it results in the beginning of a wisdom and faith in full trust of life eternal, spiritually reckoning [counting as true] our life both here and hereafter as that which can be only identified and positioned in Jesus Christ. As Christians we are seen by the Father, in no other way, according to the Bible.
In order to help us see our position, we might look at it in terms of objective and subjective. The Bible says, "Abide in me, and I [Christ] in you." This is a divine order. The subjective is our Faith, to abide [live our life's only true eternal value and reality] in Him, Christ. The object is of course Himself, our Lord. The Bible also shows us this positional /identification concept truth in 2nd Cor. 3:18, " We all beholding the glory of the Lord are transformed into the same image". Our beholding is subjective, and the image we have become by Gods divine will is The Object Christ. That's position perceived, when contemplated and understood. The more clearly we see by faith into this objective truth, or that which is true of us in the risen Lord the more experiential and practical will be the subjective growth in us.
It is by the objective reality of us in Christ, that we walk in His Spirit and realize our position there." this I say walk in the Spirit and you will in no way fulfill the lusts of the flesh" Gal. 5:16. The lusts here are not only our sinful natural propensity to desire worldly sensual objects. No the subject here is our walk, the object is The Holy Spirit, the lust of the flesh, is us living our reality outside of a defined and know position, or identifying in our Christian understanding with the natural mans mind. Walking in the spirit is NOT a feeling that arises at a moment of charismatic delight. The Holy Spirit does not come and go. He is in us and of us, and was always there, even before the foundation of the earth, for those predestined to be in Him. We are positioned and identified in Him, the Holy Spirit is Jesus Christ alive in our minds[spirits] in us, and only our worldly attitude, remaining in the old Adam personality keeps us from realizing it. Then walking in the Spirit is to be in communion with the Father, in dependence upon the Spirit, identified in the Lord Jesus Christ, as my one and only object which defines my Christianity, entered into the very mind of God. Position perceived.
The Question I might ask myself; is that which we call real, nothing more than the external confirmation of ourselves and of our expectations, in the visible world? Or is there a deeper invisible reality not defined by my form and function, and if I believe there is, how must I approach it? A Biblical definition of faith is" the evidence of things not seen." So we know to please God we must have a faith in that which is non visible, the very opposite of my former perceptions of my Christian condition, which was mostly feelings based, on seen and experienced evidence impacted and defined by my natural man [works], which failed to provide lasting joy and peace. Now before me, by the Word of God, is provided a hope given by grace in a life not visible, but by faith of my Christian identity being hidden in His presence before the Father, and by that faith, in Jesus Christ, a position perceived
When we perceive the position we hold, we enter into God's rest. " Come unto me all you that labor [under law ,works, duty and satisfaction in the visible] and I will give you rest." When we enter into that rest we are ceasing from all self effort, and we are yielding to full faith in God's mind working in us.
In the following I will quote from Miles Stanford [somewhat condensed and paraphrased] regarding the rest we must come to rely on. " We are positioned in glory before the Father; not in the flesh, not in the body, but in spirit [ our mental consciousness] a new creation in Christ Jesus. By faith we must learn to actualize this truth, God chose us to be in that personalized position. In our faith we need not depend on any sense of His presence in us, but we by the Word, gain knowledge of positions facts. Thus faiths facts draw us into His presence not our own works or feelings. Our fellowship with the Father is now a oneness, by faith in His life and nature, human-divine newness re-birth; beloved of God, fully accepted in His Son. We have a responsibility by this knowledge, to rest in His presence. We have no other place, the world is not our home, we sit in a heavenly place in Christ, Who is our life. All this was given to us the moment we received Jesus.We must now develop a sound doctrinal foundation of our identification with the Lord Jesus Christ in His death unto sin and life unto God. The basis upon which the Holy Spirit carries on the subjective work in us, is the objective truth of eternal completeness in the Lord Jesus, crucified, buried, risen, and ascended."
And finally I will end with a direct quote from my friend and brother J. B. Stoney. "When I look at this place, He is not here; and when I look at myself naturally, I am not fit for Him. How happy then to know that I belong to the place where He is; and that through grace I have been made suited to Him in that new position; so that I set my mind and affection there, as a place where my deepest joys are realized."
Saturday, August 3, 2013
ME MY NEIGHBOR AND I
In Mark 12 we read, Jesus answer to the scribes [lawyers] question; which is the first commandment? Jesus answer was as follows; "The Lord our God is one, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,with all your soul, with all you mind and with all your strength and the second is like it, [the first] you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than this." The scribe continued the dialog and evidently answered correctly, as Jesus said "by your answer you are not far from the Kingdom of God". What the scribe had was knowledge of Kingdom law, not nearness to salvation.
We often hear in Christian circles the love your neighbor as yourself, not often that which comes before. To be honest I hope most would admit failure at accomplishing any fulfillment to these commandments. I once heard a pastor say just fulfill these commandments and then feel free do do what ever you want, because you would for sure be in Gods favor and under His guidance if you were following them, and I agree! What I have learned about the Gospels is that while they were written for us they were not written entirely too us; meaning Just as Jesus was a Jew living under the law, His ministry and therefore His statements as recorded in the Gospels were to Jews also under the law. Just read the sermon on the mount and then try to apply the concept of living out our Christian lives under their precepts, the Sermon represents a human responsibility, no justification by faith here, no room for the grace of God ever abounding for the saint. The fact of a new creation [us] procured and secured in the Resurrection of Christ is in no way even hinted at in this address. I won't go on with a dispensation study, as this blog is about me and my growth. I'll leave the book learning to you. However if I may offer a hard learned lesson, no study no growth, its your call.
We are called to a much greater accomplishment, in the new creation than mere commandments, which we can not follow anyway, and praise God the yoke and burden of our new calling is light. We are caught up in the very nature of that which is of Christ, which includes being dead to any need to follow the rules, and precepts of a narrow path, even though we actually do.
I've heard it said a man may die for a lie he believes is true, but no man would die if he knew it was for a lie, According to my understanding, all but perhaps one of the Apostles were killed for their teaching of Christianity. When I think of Jesus on the Cross, as a man with the same feelings as I, suffering in that mans personality for the justification of a people not yet even born, and that He as a man, could not know, the sacrifice becomes overwhelming. His place on the cross was not one of Godly understanding as to His suffering, but rejection by the Father who's power and oneness he had walked and taught in and was confident of. He however knew before the cross that the burden was all His as a human son of man, a Adam. The strength He carried was in the Joy that was set before Him. What was that joy? His presence at the Throne of God in fulfilling The Fathers will, as a Glorified Resurrected New Adam in representation of us, including dieing in the flesh, as a Man. The realization of this leads me to see the love for my neighbor as myself as insufficient under the shadow of Christ on His Cross. It is no longer about me are my neighbor, but now I must see by the understanding of my presence under that same reproach as Christ. A new calling indeed.
The man here [me] and as portrayed in Mark's Gospel, is a man under the law, the me, a man in the flesh, with the nature of the first Adam . My neighbor are all those encountered. The I, in my life now, is the new man, the spiritual man, and that man can only be established in the presence of God by The Son. The Son occupies me by His Holy Spirit, which can only glorify the Son, as the Son can only glorify the Father. The Son before the Father as our Representative has suffered and died, as a man, giving all for his neighbor, a complete sacrifice and therefore, we as grafted in members of the very blood of that sacrifice, also have our presence before the Father under the mantel of the very same circumstance as our Saviour. In other words, the I of us, now as born again Christians are to see our life in the light of that sacrifice. We too live by dying, but to ourselves, the old me, the natural Adam in his sin nature, by seeing this truth. This is the heart of your actual position in the spirit [your mind] and the only hope of glorifying God, in action and deed , function and form in a conscious appropriation of that which we have, but must seek to experience, by knowledge of the positional doctrine. That was where my weakness kept me hidden all those years, lack of knowledge of the identification I held in Christ, my Christianity was cloistered in a self centered me.
" But rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that, when his glory shall be reveled, you may be glad also with exceeding joy." Its amazing how the Bible makes clear where the Christian's attributes are to be found, that is, in all that Jesus Christ is now and in all that he suffered on earth. So I ask myself, must I take on a voluntary life of suffering, a humble place such as perhaps Mother Teresa, are as displayed so well in scripture, the extreme suffering of a Paul? If I remain in the me of Marks Gospel, I must love my Adamic self, which would insure my neighbor receives the same benevolent treatment I would enjoy a most self centered position. That is the posture of the old [pre. salvation] personality when defined in those terms. But hold on, If Christ came to do away with the old man which must be rejected by a Holy God, and was on the Cross, then that cannot be where our perception of our Christian life should be defined.
Just where are we to find ourselves, if our value to God is seen in His Sons earthly humbled stature, a man who was destined for abject rejection, and now is glorified at the Fathers Right Hand? All that we are to the Father is found in Christ and He is in Heaven. Our spiritual position and identification is there also, since we are existing in Him, but we remain here on earth, the land of His persecution, a place where all was against Him. So under this Biblical definition we must see ourselves under the same reproach as our Lord, thus rejected, as we are as He was, dwellers on the earth. The realization of this truth places us In two locations at once, spiritually in Heaven, our glorified position, and in our bodies which hold the old Adam personality, we are subjected to rejection and the evil in of the world, where He suffered. In the Adamic me this is my condition. In the" I " I am in His Company, now and forever held hidden in Him by that which He suffered.
If you are having a tough time understanding these concepts, please click back to my earlier blogs where I build on these deeper concepts. I have been told my writing is becoming more profound and therefore more difficult to perceive. I say, thank you Lord I must be growing! Next week I will attempt to explain position/identification in a Biblical conceptual yet simpler terminology.
We often hear in Christian circles the love your neighbor as yourself, not often that which comes before. To be honest I hope most would admit failure at accomplishing any fulfillment to these commandments. I once heard a pastor say just fulfill these commandments and then feel free do do what ever you want, because you would for sure be in Gods favor and under His guidance if you were following them, and I agree! What I have learned about the Gospels is that while they were written for us they were not written entirely too us; meaning Just as Jesus was a Jew living under the law, His ministry and therefore His statements as recorded in the Gospels were to Jews also under the law. Just read the sermon on the mount and then try to apply the concept of living out our Christian lives under their precepts, the Sermon represents a human responsibility, no justification by faith here, no room for the grace of God ever abounding for the saint. The fact of a new creation [us] procured and secured in the Resurrection of Christ is in no way even hinted at in this address. I won't go on with a dispensation study, as this blog is about me and my growth. I'll leave the book learning to you. However if I may offer a hard learned lesson, no study no growth, its your call.
We are called to a much greater accomplishment, in the new creation than mere commandments, which we can not follow anyway, and praise God the yoke and burden of our new calling is light. We are caught up in the very nature of that which is of Christ, which includes being dead to any need to follow the rules, and precepts of a narrow path, even though we actually do.
I've heard it said a man may die for a lie he believes is true, but no man would die if he knew it was for a lie, According to my understanding, all but perhaps one of the Apostles were killed for their teaching of Christianity. When I think of Jesus on the Cross, as a man with the same feelings as I, suffering in that mans personality for the justification of a people not yet even born, and that He as a man, could not know, the sacrifice becomes overwhelming. His place on the cross was not one of Godly understanding as to His suffering, but rejection by the Father who's power and oneness he had walked and taught in and was confident of. He however knew before the cross that the burden was all His as a human son of man, a Adam. The strength He carried was in the Joy that was set before Him. What was that joy? His presence at the Throne of God in fulfilling The Fathers will, as a Glorified Resurrected New Adam in representation of us, including dieing in the flesh, as a Man. The realization of this leads me to see the love for my neighbor as myself as insufficient under the shadow of Christ on His Cross. It is no longer about me are my neighbor, but now I must see by the understanding of my presence under that same reproach as Christ. A new calling indeed.
The man here [me] and as portrayed in Mark's Gospel, is a man under the law, the me, a man in the flesh, with the nature of the first Adam . My neighbor are all those encountered. The I, in my life now, is the new man, the spiritual man, and that man can only be established in the presence of God by The Son. The Son occupies me by His Holy Spirit, which can only glorify the Son, as the Son can only glorify the Father. The Son before the Father as our Representative has suffered and died, as a man, giving all for his neighbor, a complete sacrifice and therefore, we as grafted in members of the very blood of that sacrifice, also have our presence before the Father under the mantel of the very same circumstance as our Saviour. In other words, the I of us, now as born again Christians are to see our life in the light of that sacrifice. We too live by dying, but to ourselves, the old me, the natural Adam in his sin nature, by seeing this truth. This is the heart of your actual position in the spirit [your mind] and the only hope of glorifying God, in action and deed , function and form in a conscious appropriation of that which we have, but must seek to experience, by knowledge of the positional doctrine. That was where my weakness kept me hidden all those years, lack of knowledge of the identification I held in Christ, my Christianity was cloistered in a self centered me.
" But rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that, when his glory shall be reveled, you may be glad also with exceeding joy." Its amazing how the Bible makes clear where the Christian's attributes are to be found, that is, in all that Jesus Christ is now and in all that he suffered on earth. So I ask myself, must I take on a voluntary life of suffering, a humble place such as perhaps Mother Teresa, are as displayed so well in scripture, the extreme suffering of a Paul? If I remain in the me of Marks Gospel, I must love my Adamic self, which would insure my neighbor receives the same benevolent treatment I would enjoy a most self centered position. That is the posture of the old [pre. salvation] personality when defined in those terms. But hold on, If Christ came to do away with the old man which must be rejected by a Holy God, and was on the Cross, then that cannot be where our perception of our Christian life should be defined.
Just where are we to find ourselves, if our value to God is seen in His Sons earthly humbled stature, a man who was destined for abject rejection, and now is glorified at the Fathers Right Hand? All that we are to the Father is found in Christ and He is in Heaven. Our spiritual position and identification is there also, since we are existing in Him, but we remain here on earth, the land of His persecution, a place where all was against Him. So under this Biblical definition we must see ourselves under the same reproach as our Lord, thus rejected, as we are as He was, dwellers on the earth. The realization of this truth places us In two locations at once, spiritually in Heaven, our glorified position, and in our bodies which hold the old Adam personality, we are subjected to rejection and the evil in of the world, where He suffered. In the Adamic me this is my condition. In the" I " I am in His Company, now and forever held hidden in Him by that which He suffered.
If you are having a tough time understanding these concepts, please click back to my earlier blogs where I build on these deeper concepts. I have been told my writing is becoming more profound and therefore more difficult to perceive. I say, thank you Lord I must be growing! Next week I will attempt to explain position/identification in a Biblical conceptual yet simpler terminology.
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