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.
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