I believe the greatest loss for the Christian may be when one day he realizes the theft he perpetrated upon himself; the loss of days not spent living a life in a cognizant perception, seeing himself in the Man who died in his stead, the potential life not apprehended gone unappropriated that resides in The Son! It is in His death where our life is found; how weakly I understood this for so many of my, not so fruitful years. I learned late in life that my true Christian experience consists of a measure of apprehension of that which is already true of myself in the Lord Jesus Christ. " For we which that live are always delivered unto death for Jesus sake" 2 Cor. 4:11. This is really saying: the life of our indwelling faith, the source of our liberation, is to be recognized by the means of the Cross, by us counting as true the finished work of His death on that Cross; and in that reckoning we will be dealing progressively with our self, our soul's personality changing to His image. On that basis alone then the life of Jesus will be manifested in our mortal flesh. Now I am also beginning to learn " It is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me" Gal. 2:20. And that,"the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free" Rom. 8:2. I must have read those verses a thousand time, with little impact, except for perhaps a momentary joyful feeling, or perhaps a renewed call to duty, or to no longer sin. Now the clouds are parting, I came to know that life lived for my self centered existence held no value, it did not really contain life, experience yes, not life! Then I became a believer in a revelation, by a new bold faith in the Words written by God as being true, and in which I could now live by, in the mortal flesh of my mind. This was accomplished by learning of and counting as true that Jesus death was indeed mine, me a Adam a self centered man; a new life was mine by His Resurrection. I was re- created, a new me, a new Adam, beheld in glory in the form of the One and only Man who could accomplish the desire of God for me, Jesus Christ. Thank you my God and Saviour for the unbound joy you have brought by my realization of the position I hold in heaven before you in your Son. And thank you Lord that position may be counted as my life here and now by faith! And that in my new perception of the loss of my Adamic old life you are becoming my new life.
The title of my blog, our identification found in Christ, in order to be realized, must be foremost and firstly considered by its application to the death of the natural life of our soul. "For if we have grown together in the likeness of His death, indeed we will also be in the likeness of His Resurrection" Rom. 6:5. In the intent of the Greek language here, this is not referring to a future resurrection at the end of times, but to the present process of growth, in likening ourselves to Him or how the Christian by applying Christ's death to our natural man we can live the life intended by God a resurrected life now in this place. How do we do that? Lets read on. "Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves" Rom. 6:6. The first word knowing, in the original language refers to a outward objective knowledge. As we gain this knowledge we will learn that the "old man" is referring to the natural life of the soul. The first Adam or mankind, created and loved by God, became fallen by his own volitional sin. We are not talking here of the soul's essential being/personality itself, but the life we manifested in and from that soul or the propensity to sin, which the bible refers to as the old man or flesh; which had to be rejected by God as hopeless and was put on the cross crucified with Christ. The bible therefore refers to this His representative act, as death unto the flesh. Please note, the word unto which the bible uses, not to. Unto connotes a sense of His entering into that very thing "sin", [He became flesh] and doing away with it completely by death, in a Judaical representative manner.Of course we are left with the capacity to continue in sin, as I am sure we all know. God could have certainly left us in another state, but He in His wisdom choose for us to remain with the reminder of sin, so that we would never fall victim to pride and would remain humble, as by our weakness He is made strong.
Let us continue down freedoms road with Rom. 6:6, and look at the reference to the "body of sin": Which by the original intent of definition here is meaning; not the sinning person, but the sinning instrument, a self centered mind set, utilized by the old man to express himself in sin. In this concept the propensity becomes reality or flesh a action man performs, carried in the body. So mankind was guilty of a crime, God cannot accept, so He proposed to crucify sin, and thereby sin was "annulled"; which means made jobless, inactive, because in God's economy, His view, it has been crucified, made dead by His Son. Thus we are free from sin, not under any bondage what so ever, sin has nothing to do in us in God' sight. Yes as we said it still exists, but remains unseen by the only eye's that count, God's.This fact has brought me great joy to realize and live by. In order to hold that place of freedom I must always and forever keep my mind centered on the object which made this true truth possible Jesus Christ!
This line of reasoning given to us by God leads to a conclusion, which is found in Rom. 6:11, " So also reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but living to God in Christ Jesus". The word reckon used here is not a mere technique, but a spontaneous believing fact to be recognized, we are in fact dead to sin and living to God. We may enjoy that, not by the reckoning, but by faith in Christs all inclusive death and His Resurrection and power, which we can know more of as we read on in Romans through Chapter 8. All this given by grace can be made real in practical experience, requiring our fellowship and enjoyment of Him as the object by faith. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" Rom. 10:17. So we read God's word and we see this faith which is required to enjoy freedom, and is made clear. When we understand this we may walk in the Spirit, this is really, I think best defined as maturity. In other words it is the mind of the Father which is influencing our life, and not the things surrounding us, including our own sin. All that we are, as to being left in this body of sin, including the worlds influence and occupation we have in it, is the rival of God; and we are not safe from it. That is why it is imperative the believer know His place, which is by God's Word spiritual, heavenly, "living to God in Christ Jesus". Chapter 8 of Romans has much to say about that.
In Romans 8:1 there is the all important reference to "now no condemnation" The word "now" is important as it refers to our position or standing, as seen in Rom. 6. But it also refers to our daily experience as regenerated new creatures in Christ, which is "now" our condition. "The law of the Spirit of life". Life is the issue, and the Spirit is the manifestation of the Triune God after he has manifested Himself through incarnation, death and Resurrection, and has now become a indwelling mind/Spirit which gives life to all believers. We are thus delivered from the law of sin and death, which dwells in our members our fallen nature our body. It is the spontaneous power of the Law of Life however that enables us to gain God and therefore freedom from our flesh. So my friends it seems by God's Words we have two laws working in us. It just remains for us to choose which we are to stand in. We know which one we want to have power in our life, this goes without saying. It cannot be denied evil is embodied in mankind, we know where that comes from, but how do we shed its control and influence? The Word of God says it is by entering into the loss of our life subjectively seen in the objective death unto sin of Jesus Christ, and coming to know Jesus as the resource of a new life to govern to us, a heavenly position. We as Christians are a entirely new kind of men and women, we have a new lineage found in Jesus Christ, who is the beginning of all-His very life. It is in the loss of our life where we will find Him. I must give credit to the Watchmen Nee Recovery Bible for opening up some of this truth. Many have gone before us in discovery of the simplicity of true Christianity and to them I am grateful.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Saturday, November 23, 2013
WHO'S SIDE ARE WE ON
The word Christian was first used to describe a follower of Jesus Christ at Antioch, in what is now modern day Turkey, noted in the book of Acts 11:26. This was really a nick name, actually a term of reproach hung on the disciples gathered there, because they were so distinct and peculiar in the eyes of the unbelievers living in the region. The term means little Christs, really a sort of put down, in terminology by the local populous. Now the word Christian is held as a banner over the moral creed followed by the Christian Church and its influence on society. The problem is, its become generic. I think Believer would be much more accurate for one who is born again; but of course the word Believer requires a refined and accurate definition in one's mind and the ability to explain what one believes and why when inquired of; unlike the word Christian, which is simply usually accepted by the world without the need for qualification or explanation.
Another overused word, I think, used to describe today's Christian seeker, most often a student of the Word is disciple, which as far as I can discern is a word used only in the the synoptic Gospels and Acts, which were written, in the case of the Gospels, and partly in Acts about and for the most part regarding pre-Christianity, and certainly none in that dispensation knew, they were of a heavenly nature in Christ until much later by Paul's revelations. A disciple was then a man who followed Jesus, a mere follower does not do justice to a Believer in my mind; any one may follow, but fewer will truly Believe; as many of Christ disciples deserted Him as troubles grew. In fact much more was yet to be shown as to truth and commitment to the remaining disciples/believers by what became known of Jesus from Paul, as to what He represents in God's estimation; all of which took place after the Gospel synoptic story, the Ascension being the final chapter for His disciples, but just the beginning for the Believer; with so much more to be reveled by the New Testament writers. Beside who in the pre- Resurrection, pre- Pentecost days, let alone later Believers could ever possibly live up to Jesus' definition of a disciple: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother and sisters, yes and his own life also he cannot be My disciple, And who ever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple" Luke 14:26, 27. We in these days and they in pre-Cross times simply did not, and do not qualify under these which are earthly terms and conditions; especially and if we do not see them as descriptive of the termination of our old natures [as the disciples could not] by Christ's action on the Cross, which the disciples or followers had no possible understanding of as their view was only earthly, or known in their natural flesh understanding, for they had not yet received the Holy Spirit, who reveled the heavenly nature of a Believer only later. We now have The Spirit reveling the mind of Christ in us. We today as Believers can know who and what we are. Where we belong. And now we must ask, who's side are we on?
Many Christians stand on their side only of the offering of the sacrifice; in other words, they see Christ sacrifice as their offering to the Father; He has accomplished much for us and that is where we rest, which is called justification, and is a good place to be, but there is so much more. As the Jews brought the offering to the alter, and therefore from their view or side they were made right. Now we likewise, even though aware by faith, of all being accomplished by Him on the Cross, still persist in going to Him with mans side alone presented, or occupied primarily with ourselves. We were not the one offended, it was God who was offended by our sin, so really it is not our feelings to be considered but God's. How many think of their belief in this way?Ask yourself this question: if from God's point of view He thought of you in a certain way, as to relationship, but you had no awareness of it, would it be of any practical value to you? I am quite certain the answer is no! Then ask yourself if it is possible that much of what I know, seen from my side of the relationship with God is limited, and therefore so is my worship and faith; because of a lack of appreciation and knowledge of The Fathers estimation of me seen in His Son? In other words do I have anything to learn beyond a self centered form of Christianity? Do I believe the Words of the Bible when they say, "we are being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ" and that we are in fact seen in that form according to The Word, in our spirit, by God the moment we first believe? And if we can answer yes to that because the bible says so, but cannot apply or appropriate this true truth in our minds perception of our self, which can only be seen as a position in heaven held by faith, then perhaps we should consider more deeply probing the side we are on, to see the alternative provided Believers by God's Grace, in His Son from His side.
I choose to digress slightly here, to expose the self centered side I often seem to find myself on; as it is my privilege as a blog writer to make expression as it pleases me. I wish to thank you, in advance, for your indulgence. The other day my side was brought into a new light by a beautiful messenger of God, who helped me realize, in her godly and gentle way, the depth of my critical spirit. I am so grateful God has brought such a one as she into my life, even if bearing fruit which opened a humbling door to my nature. I now can see I owe you my dear readers and fellow seekers for truth a sincere apology. I have been overtly judgmental and especially attacking, applying my own view of perceived weakness and my personal opinion, of supposed charter defects, of God's Church and His children, taking on a sarcastic overtone in my writing regarding them. Please my friends from the bottom of my heart I ask forgiveness! I will in further installments seek to concentrate only on gaining the knowledge of God, His word, and our mutual hope for growth into the life of Christ; leaving the foibles and triumphs of the human condition in the Church to be made obvious to us on their own merits, both good and poor.
Lets now get back to the side we must seek, God's. We all know that God saved us by the Blood of His son and our faith in that fact. And that Christ died unto our sin nature. We find much relief in that. But what about God's feelings His side? Our sin created a distance from God, which was removed, by His motivation and for His relief, and His love for mankind and the world. The distance or gulf was removed by that love, He was the first to be relieved, and that by the Man who was the only focus of His attention "not us" but His Son. His grace begun with His Son. Most of us are living in a place of such comfort that we have salvation, our side, that we seldom consider that all that we have was because the estrangement of man, from God was taken away by the judgement of our offence in the Crucified Man Jesus Christ and from God's perspective all has been removed, but it was His sacrifice, He suffered loss, " therefore now there is no condemnation" and all of that was accomplished from God's side, in order for Him to be able to accept us. All we need do now is rest in the representative work done by Him. We have nothing to offer from our side, it has all been done for us. We may have solid peace and rest if we find ourselves knowing and growing in this truth from God's view outward toward us. The alternative side, which is the position we actually occupy.
When we look to God we are to see everything accomplished to His complete satisfaction. But when we look at ourselves we find we still have sin. Well which side do you want to live on? Freedom from our place in His Son, or a constant awareness of weakness from ours? We have been given the power to choose. And who do we choose by? The place provided by Him; He has exchanged us, from His side, and now sees you with Him in Glory in His Son, our heavenly position, this is His only view of us. It is no longer Adam but Christ. The view is no longer us looking up to God, with a grateful offering, although we are grateful beyond measure. We may now look down from His Glory for that is where we reside, on His side.
Ask yourself this question. Can you discern the difference between your union in Adam and your union in Christ? You will never know and live in the freedom that you have died to sin until you effected a change in your mind set from Adam to Christ. You can never rise up to how you are seen before the Father, in His Son until you perceive the terms he has established from His side, by which He has accepted you. The Father has brought you to Himself, this is the true beginning. We must see this by being occupied only with the object in which the Father sees us, Jesus Christ. We live by the spirit in a heavenly place by God's will for us: "Hid with Christ in God". Much thanks goes to J.B. Stoney for inspiration on this a complex subject; a concept which Paul held dear, and a basic truth Paul strives to convey to his readers, in the reveled Word. Lets go there and meditate upon He in whom we dwell, where we will find our side
Another overused word, I think, used to describe today's Christian seeker, most often a student of the Word is disciple, which as far as I can discern is a word used only in the the synoptic Gospels and Acts, which were written, in the case of the Gospels, and partly in Acts about and for the most part regarding pre-Christianity, and certainly none in that dispensation knew, they were of a heavenly nature in Christ until much later by Paul's revelations. A disciple was then a man who followed Jesus, a mere follower does not do justice to a Believer in my mind; any one may follow, but fewer will truly Believe; as many of Christ disciples deserted Him as troubles grew. In fact much more was yet to be shown as to truth and commitment to the remaining disciples/believers by what became known of Jesus from Paul, as to what He represents in God's estimation; all of which took place after the Gospel synoptic story, the Ascension being the final chapter for His disciples, but just the beginning for the Believer; with so much more to be reveled by the New Testament writers. Beside who in the pre- Resurrection, pre- Pentecost days, let alone later Believers could ever possibly live up to Jesus' definition of a disciple: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother and sisters, yes and his own life also he cannot be My disciple, And who ever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple" Luke 14:26, 27. We in these days and they in pre-Cross times simply did not, and do not qualify under these which are earthly terms and conditions; especially and if we do not see them as descriptive of the termination of our old natures [as the disciples could not] by Christ's action on the Cross, which the disciples or followers had no possible understanding of as their view was only earthly, or known in their natural flesh understanding, for they had not yet received the Holy Spirit, who reveled the heavenly nature of a Believer only later. We now have The Spirit reveling the mind of Christ in us. We today as Believers can know who and what we are. Where we belong. And now we must ask, who's side are we on?
Many Christians stand on their side only of the offering of the sacrifice; in other words, they see Christ sacrifice as their offering to the Father; He has accomplished much for us and that is where we rest, which is called justification, and is a good place to be, but there is so much more. As the Jews brought the offering to the alter, and therefore from their view or side they were made right. Now we likewise, even though aware by faith, of all being accomplished by Him on the Cross, still persist in going to Him with mans side alone presented, or occupied primarily with ourselves. We were not the one offended, it was God who was offended by our sin, so really it is not our feelings to be considered but God's. How many think of their belief in this way?Ask yourself this question: if from God's point of view He thought of you in a certain way, as to relationship, but you had no awareness of it, would it be of any practical value to you? I am quite certain the answer is no! Then ask yourself if it is possible that much of what I know, seen from my side of the relationship with God is limited, and therefore so is my worship and faith; because of a lack of appreciation and knowledge of The Fathers estimation of me seen in His Son? In other words do I have anything to learn beyond a self centered form of Christianity? Do I believe the Words of the Bible when they say, "we are being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ" and that we are in fact seen in that form according to The Word, in our spirit, by God the moment we first believe? And if we can answer yes to that because the bible says so, but cannot apply or appropriate this true truth in our minds perception of our self, which can only be seen as a position in heaven held by faith, then perhaps we should consider more deeply probing the side we are on, to see the alternative provided Believers by God's Grace, in His Son from His side.
I choose to digress slightly here, to expose the self centered side I often seem to find myself on; as it is my privilege as a blog writer to make expression as it pleases me. I wish to thank you, in advance, for your indulgence. The other day my side was brought into a new light by a beautiful messenger of God, who helped me realize, in her godly and gentle way, the depth of my critical spirit. I am so grateful God has brought such a one as she into my life, even if bearing fruit which opened a humbling door to my nature. I now can see I owe you my dear readers and fellow seekers for truth a sincere apology. I have been overtly judgmental and especially attacking, applying my own view of perceived weakness and my personal opinion, of supposed charter defects, of God's Church and His children, taking on a sarcastic overtone in my writing regarding them. Please my friends from the bottom of my heart I ask forgiveness! I will in further installments seek to concentrate only on gaining the knowledge of God, His word, and our mutual hope for growth into the life of Christ; leaving the foibles and triumphs of the human condition in the Church to be made obvious to us on their own merits, both good and poor.
Lets now get back to the side we must seek, God's. We all know that God saved us by the Blood of His son and our faith in that fact. And that Christ died unto our sin nature. We find much relief in that. But what about God's feelings His side? Our sin created a distance from God, which was removed, by His motivation and for His relief, and His love for mankind and the world. The distance or gulf was removed by that love, He was the first to be relieved, and that by the Man who was the only focus of His attention "not us" but His Son. His grace begun with His Son. Most of us are living in a place of such comfort that we have salvation, our side, that we seldom consider that all that we have was because the estrangement of man, from God was taken away by the judgement of our offence in the Crucified Man Jesus Christ and from God's perspective all has been removed, but it was His sacrifice, He suffered loss, " therefore now there is no condemnation" and all of that was accomplished from God's side, in order for Him to be able to accept us. All we need do now is rest in the representative work done by Him. We have nothing to offer from our side, it has all been done for us. We may have solid peace and rest if we find ourselves knowing and growing in this truth from God's view outward toward us. The alternative side, which is the position we actually occupy.
When we look to God we are to see everything accomplished to His complete satisfaction. But when we look at ourselves we find we still have sin. Well which side do you want to live on? Freedom from our place in His Son, or a constant awareness of weakness from ours? We have been given the power to choose. And who do we choose by? The place provided by Him; He has exchanged us, from His side, and now sees you with Him in Glory in His Son, our heavenly position, this is His only view of us. It is no longer Adam but Christ. The view is no longer us looking up to God, with a grateful offering, although we are grateful beyond measure. We may now look down from His Glory for that is where we reside, on His side.
Ask yourself this question. Can you discern the difference between your union in Adam and your union in Christ? You will never know and live in the freedom that you have died to sin until you effected a change in your mind set from Adam to Christ. You can never rise up to how you are seen before the Father, in His Son until you perceive the terms he has established from His side, by which He has accepted you. The Father has brought you to Himself, this is the true beginning. We must see this by being occupied only with the object in which the Father sees us, Jesus Christ. We live by the spirit in a heavenly place by God's will for us: "Hid with Christ in God". Much thanks goes to J.B. Stoney for inspiration on this a complex subject; a concept which Paul held dear, and a basic truth Paul strives to convey to his readers, in the reveled Word. Lets go there and meditate upon He in whom we dwell, where we will find our side
Saturday, November 16, 2013
GETTING TO WHERE I AM
This week I have decided to write about me, where I am at now and the exciting road I have been on for almost two and a half years. I hope you will stay with me, as I feel the need to once again vent. My getting a little more personal was prompted by some feedback I got on my last blog, from a man I very much respect and have mentioned in my past blogs. Also he happens to be one of the very few who care to comment: even my close friends and fellow active positional truth doctrine compatriots seldom give feed back, advice or encouragement. I've sort of gotten used to the aloneness of my adventure, but I would be less than honest if I said I did not harbor some resentment, mostly by way of feeling sorry for myself. But enough said about my feelings and on to the subject brought to mind by my loan feedback blog victim.
As I've always maintained this blog is for me, but with hope that a light may be turned on in others minds as to the possibility of a conscious life lived in the position we have been placed in by God in His Son. I do realize that the concepts I attempt to discuss are difficult for most Christians, after all we are limited by our selves, our preconceptions, both right and wrong. In my new view, from heaven, seen in my new spiritual definition of Paul's teachings it seems so clear that we The Church are a completely new creation never before imagined in any previous biblical/spiritual setting, a heavenly placed creation, given the opportunity to live in the peace of the very Son of God, where He is, ascended and in heaven; by our acquiring faith in that biblical fact, and that God wants us to abide in that position as a mind set, right here on earth. I know from past experience that takes some doing. The mess Christianity is in is very apparent. Before the reformation in about 1550 there was only a few denominations, the catholic church being the main one, and a quick review of its history will revel a lot of poor, UN-biblical teachings if not down right heresy's. Now we have the supposed enlightenment, and Christianity is now patched together with over 200 denominations. The Apostles must be rolling over in their graves at the display of convoluted teachings now being carried on in the name of Christ. No wonder Christians are confused, and the unbelieving world remains in unbelief, at least partly I think by our poor example. Christianity seems to have thrown in the towel to a worldly carnal walk, despite a very clear account in the Word of how we are to conduct ourselves by faith as new creatures, and where our hearts are to be confined by definition, in the household of God, a radical path separate from others, finding freedom in the weakness we gain, in the death of our flesh in Christ, positioned heavenly in Christ, by our faith in that fact.
A perfect example of this problem was made very clear to me by the feedback responder; throwing me into a somewhat shocking realization of my apparent inability to make myself clear in the basic contextual meaning of my blog. Or could it be that my loyal readers simply don't get it, due to the confusion fostered upon them by today's church experience. Maybe its my fault; I haven't been articulate enough; I know there's some truth in that! I suspect the real truth however is the Holy Spirit has not found opportunity in their weakness. I fear it takes a broken spirit to receive a life in Christ. I am grateful for the humbled place I ended up in the recent past, which opened the door, at least for the beginning of spiritual maturity. Although I am still very much a work in process, and that's for sure, as we all are!
So lets set the record straight: I have come to learn that I as a Christian have a responsibility to know truth. I live in a sin racked body in a sin filled world, no doubt! My flesh is very real and I have a human nature, which the bible tells me is fallen from contact with God because sin resides in my human nature or flesh. That is simply who we all are. Becoming a Christian doesn't change that. This is our personal sinful Adam inherited presence, the bible refers to as the first Adam, he is us! God loves me despite that Adam existence, but can not accept me, because I have sin. He therefore sent His Son to Die in my place so that in The Fathers estimation we would be seen as dead to our flesh in spirit, our first Adam, the sin of human nature. The Father, when I was born again, gave me a gift, called faith, seen in the replacement image in His mind of us, He established in His Son, and that is where I now am seen by God; nothing less than I am in His Son's status before God, who is in heaven, I am included. Its hard to make that concept gain traction in this world, seen in a practical way, it cannot be experienced by a feeling or emotion or a religious duty; but only by pure faith rested in, which some call positional faith; this concept is spiritual, a non material mental condition we can only hold in our mind and which by The Fathers own will is carried in the very personal existence of His Son. Any other way is going back to the old first Adams way involving law and works,or human effort. Yes creation is good yes it is beautiful, yes we must live and be a part of this world. The flesh or human nature is the body all these concepts are held in, hopefully by faith, [the only way to please God] I will perform in a way which honors His sacrifice. But the body will go away and so will this creation, all things eventually deteriorate in the material realm, so hope can only be found in faith.
The premier example for us of positional faith truth in our total existence as being found in Jesus Christ is Shown in God's word. We may discover this absolute truth, when we read Acts 7:55: "But he [Stephen] being full of the Holy Spirit, looked steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God". If my friends you do not understand this, as Stephen did, as his his position, not only his hope, you will never be able to understand how you are to carry about your faith in function and form in the body in which your non material spirit dwells. He Stephen is consciously connected with the glory of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, which makes him personally qualified to announce where the Son of Man is; if He is seen there, then by that same vision we also are seen by God as being there, as we are in Christ. In other words,without the knowledge of your rest in position in Christ, defined by God as you in His Son seen from His side, you are subject to the world, which means by biblical definition, under this conceptual banner we are speaking of here, the system of Satan.
Please my good and faithful Christian friends, do not live your live in the hope of the next world only, or the coming new heavens and new earth, or the rapture, are consideration of world events leading to the tribulation/anti Christ or even biblical doctrines: which while they are good to study for edification and knowledge, but when relied upon of themselves often lead to sectarian strong holds. And not even your family and loved ones or the physical church functions or religious duty, and please, please do not rely on feelings are experience. While many of these things are of a biblical nature, and not to be ignored, they in and of themselves will not separate you unto Christ, who is our Christian reality in God's, plan. Remember,The Lord Jesus, as a Man [second Adam] glorified the Father on this earth, and the Father rests in that, as a Man [second Adam] He accomplished redemption. Now He has passed into heaven, as a New Adam, The second Man "us", to appear in the presence of God for and as representing us. It is our faith in Him as present there, for and as us in God's estimation, where will will find abiding rest to our souls, and not our thoughts or enjoyment of His creation, or duty's and experiences we have in ourselves, what ever they may be.
I observe three things which are the predominant characteristic of today's church/christian experience At least the churches which are filled and growing. The first, many churches are dedicated to busyness, works, activities, missions and programs. Second a emphasis on relationship, psychology, singles groups, couples workshops and recovery from bad habits. And the third the high energy emphasis on experience, emotion driven by loud music and a shouting, strutting, sweating, preacher calling for Jesus to enter in by The Spirit. Of course none today can leave out handsome people entertaining the flock with a contemporary music program and songs sung in seven verses repeated eleven times, to make sure the spirit moves, which today passes for worship. Don't get me wrong I enjoy some of these features in my flesh and even may receive spiritual edification. I am sure God can use many varieties of styles to accomplish His will, and I know the intent is good, and many of these activities are not bad in themselves, and probably even accomplish much good. But none of these types of experience will build strong mature saints, which is the main job of The Church, and the churches weakness is very apparent, by the embrace of a worldly christian culture by many of today's believers, who simply are not making their separation from the world very easy to see, remaining immature saints.Then what is our calling? How should we see ourselves to be seen, by this dark world?
For me my new life and calling started, like most Christian, being born again, and I came to believe He died for me, I was a new baby, where mostly I stayed for 36 years. We all remember that day! But how many can place the day they themselves saw that they died with Him as a new calling? Oh what a day that was for me. Being born again elicited much emotion, a pink cloud. But adopting His death as mine brought freedom, peace and joy; what better place is there? I came to realize that I must reckon [count as true] on that God ordained biblical fact,which accomplished a union of He and I, now held in my knowledge/mind of faith. It is not that I reckoned myself dead and therefore I will be dead: It is that, because I died in Him therefore I can reckon myself to have died. If you have just read that and it does not make sense to you, its because you have never been taught the most important fundamental truth of Christianity, by your happy church experience. A life changing radical realization! We do not reckon [know truth] toward death, but from death! The Bible says it: "We are dead and our life is hidden in Christ Jesus". If that's not a absolute livable truth and we do not know it or do not wish to make the effort, then I would say lets just eat drink and be merry! My prayer for us all is to gain the knowledge of our identification in Christ, and find our place positioned in Him! Thank you my friends for staying with me.
As I've always maintained this blog is for me, but with hope that a light may be turned on in others minds as to the possibility of a conscious life lived in the position we have been placed in by God in His Son. I do realize that the concepts I attempt to discuss are difficult for most Christians, after all we are limited by our selves, our preconceptions, both right and wrong. In my new view, from heaven, seen in my new spiritual definition of Paul's teachings it seems so clear that we The Church are a completely new creation never before imagined in any previous biblical/spiritual setting, a heavenly placed creation, given the opportunity to live in the peace of the very Son of God, where He is, ascended and in heaven; by our acquiring faith in that biblical fact, and that God wants us to abide in that position as a mind set, right here on earth. I know from past experience that takes some doing. The mess Christianity is in is very apparent. Before the reformation in about 1550 there was only a few denominations, the catholic church being the main one, and a quick review of its history will revel a lot of poor, UN-biblical teachings if not down right heresy's. Now we have the supposed enlightenment, and Christianity is now patched together with over 200 denominations. The Apostles must be rolling over in their graves at the display of convoluted teachings now being carried on in the name of Christ. No wonder Christians are confused, and the unbelieving world remains in unbelief, at least partly I think by our poor example. Christianity seems to have thrown in the towel to a worldly carnal walk, despite a very clear account in the Word of how we are to conduct ourselves by faith as new creatures, and where our hearts are to be confined by definition, in the household of God, a radical path separate from others, finding freedom in the weakness we gain, in the death of our flesh in Christ, positioned heavenly in Christ, by our faith in that fact.
A perfect example of this problem was made very clear to me by the feedback responder; throwing me into a somewhat shocking realization of my apparent inability to make myself clear in the basic contextual meaning of my blog. Or could it be that my loyal readers simply don't get it, due to the confusion fostered upon them by today's church experience. Maybe its my fault; I haven't been articulate enough; I know there's some truth in that! I suspect the real truth however is the Holy Spirit has not found opportunity in their weakness. I fear it takes a broken spirit to receive a life in Christ. I am grateful for the humbled place I ended up in the recent past, which opened the door, at least for the beginning of spiritual maturity. Although I am still very much a work in process, and that's for sure, as we all are!
So lets set the record straight: I have come to learn that I as a Christian have a responsibility to know truth. I live in a sin racked body in a sin filled world, no doubt! My flesh is very real and I have a human nature, which the bible tells me is fallen from contact with God because sin resides in my human nature or flesh. That is simply who we all are. Becoming a Christian doesn't change that. This is our personal sinful Adam inherited presence, the bible refers to as the first Adam, he is us! God loves me despite that Adam existence, but can not accept me, because I have sin. He therefore sent His Son to Die in my place so that in The Fathers estimation we would be seen as dead to our flesh in spirit, our first Adam, the sin of human nature. The Father, when I was born again, gave me a gift, called faith, seen in the replacement image in His mind of us, He established in His Son, and that is where I now am seen by God; nothing less than I am in His Son's status before God, who is in heaven, I am included. Its hard to make that concept gain traction in this world, seen in a practical way, it cannot be experienced by a feeling or emotion or a religious duty; but only by pure faith rested in, which some call positional faith; this concept is spiritual, a non material mental condition we can only hold in our mind and which by The Fathers own will is carried in the very personal existence of His Son. Any other way is going back to the old first Adams way involving law and works,or human effort. Yes creation is good yes it is beautiful, yes we must live and be a part of this world. The flesh or human nature is the body all these concepts are held in, hopefully by faith, [the only way to please God] I will perform in a way which honors His sacrifice. But the body will go away and so will this creation, all things eventually deteriorate in the material realm, so hope can only be found in faith.
The premier example for us of positional faith truth in our total existence as being found in Jesus Christ is Shown in God's word. We may discover this absolute truth, when we read Acts 7:55: "But he [Stephen] being full of the Holy Spirit, looked steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God". If my friends you do not understand this, as Stephen did, as his his position, not only his hope, you will never be able to understand how you are to carry about your faith in function and form in the body in which your non material spirit dwells. He Stephen is consciously connected with the glory of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, which makes him personally qualified to announce where the Son of Man is; if He is seen there, then by that same vision we also are seen by God as being there, as we are in Christ. In other words,without the knowledge of your rest in position in Christ, defined by God as you in His Son seen from His side, you are subject to the world, which means by biblical definition, under this conceptual banner we are speaking of here, the system of Satan.
Please my good and faithful Christian friends, do not live your live in the hope of the next world only, or the coming new heavens and new earth, or the rapture, are consideration of world events leading to the tribulation/anti Christ or even biblical doctrines: which while they are good to study for edification and knowledge, but when relied upon of themselves often lead to sectarian strong holds. And not even your family and loved ones or the physical church functions or religious duty, and please, please do not rely on feelings are experience. While many of these things are of a biblical nature, and not to be ignored, they in and of themselves will not separate you unto Christ, who is our Christian reality in God's, plan. Remember,The Lord Jesus, as a Man [second Adam] glorified the Father on this earth, and the Father rests in that, as a Man [second Adam] He accomplished redemption. Now He has passed into heaven, as a New Adam, The second Man "us", to appear in the presence of God for and as representing us. It is our faith in Him as present there, for and as us in God's estimation, where will will find abiding rest to our souls, and not our thoughts or enjoyment of His creation, or duty's and experiences we have in ourselves, what ever they may be.
I observe three things which are the predominant characteristic of today's church/christian experience At least the churches which are filled and growing. The first, many churches are dedicated to busyness, works, activities, missions and programs. Second a emphasis on relationship, psychology, singles groups, couples workshops and recovery from bad habits. And the third the high energy emphasis on experience, emotion driven by loud music and a shouting, strutting, sweating, preacher calling for Jesus to enter in by The Spirit. Of course none today can leave out handsome people entertaining the flock with a contemporary music program and songs sung in seven verses repeated eleven times, to make sure the spirit moves, which today passes for worship. Don't get me wrong I enjoy some of these features in my flesh and even may receive spiritual edification. I am sure God can use many varieties of styles to accomplish His will, and I know the intent is good, and many of these activities are not bad in themselves, and probably even accomplish much good. But none of these types of experience will build strong mature saints, which is the main job of The Church, and the churches weakness is very apparent, by the embrace of a worldly christian culture by many of today's believers, who simply are not making their separation from the world very easy to see, remaining immature saints.Then what is our calling? How should we see ourselves to be seen, by this dark world?
For me my new life and calling started, like most Christian, being born again, and I came to believe He died for me, I was a new baby, where mostly I stayed for 36 years. We all remember that day! But how many can place the day they themselves saw that they died with Him as a new calling? Oh what a day that was for me. Being born again elicited much emotion, a pink cloud. But adopting His death as mine brought freedom, peace and joy; what better place is there? I came to realize that I must reckon [count as true] on that God ordained biblical fact,which accomplished a union of He and I, now held in my knowledge/mind of faith. It is not that I reckoned myself dead and therefore I will be dead: It is that, because I died in Him therefore I can reckon myself to have died. If you have just read that and it does not make sense to you, its because you have never been taught the most important fundamental truth of Christianity, by your happy church experience. A life changing radical realization! We do not reckon [know truth] toward death, but from death! The Bible says it: "We are dead and our life is hidden in Christ Jesus". If that's not a absolute livable truth and we do not know it or do not wish to make the effort, then I would say lets just eat drink and be merry! My prayer for us all is to gain the knowledge of our identification in Christ, and find our place positioned in Him! Thank you my friends for staying with me.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
THE POWER OF NOT
"The lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" 1 John 2:16. This verse is a New Testament description of the fruit of the results of the biblical symbolic description of the tree of life which Eve was tempted to partake of by her own volition in the Garden, and the very thing which would separate mankind in a resultant lost state forever. Man has been partaking of its fruit ever since, including born again Christians. The book of Genesis tells us this tree was sought after because it was desired to make one wise, albeit in a worldly way. It therefore becomes very important for the Christian to distinguish what is of the world and what is not. Again I wish to thank J. B. Stoney for giving this concept legs when he said: "The distinction is simply this; when what is visible influences and controls our feelings or actions, it is the world; and when it is not seen, and faith is the evidence, then we have victory over the world". "This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith" 1 John 5:4. The question we must ask ourselves, is it the mind of God that is influencing me, or is it the order of things around me? The world system and the detraction it affords is after all the domain of the evil one and should be easily identifiable. Many Christians find safety for salvation in faith, but nevertheless are not safe from the world. Why is this so? And where and how is the power disclosed in us to be not of the world?
Mans efforts to live up to the bible command to not be of the world are quiet interesting and very reveling. Early on in Christian history men developed schemes and rituals to attempt to form, by their behavior, a settled place in the not of; think of monks, and priests closing themselves off behind walls from the things of the world and its temptations. Men even resorted to, and still do, to self punishment, to literally beat the world out of themselves. We could go on and on with examples; but what about us? What do we do to attempt to avoid the confrontation with this radical concept? I wish I could believe we use simple self delusional rationalization for our delving in the prince of the power of the air and his domain, perhaps there then would be some excuse. Or maybe we are under a false impression as to what it means to be not of the world, so we have a wrong definition. Then there's always the self contained selflessness of duty, busy helping others and good old church activities, by which we might define a feeling of being in the proper place. But alas my friends I am afraid its none of these or the many excuses and self deluded actions we involved ourselves in to form a supposed religious place to dwell in the not. No its simple profound ignorance of biblical facts and unbelief that the words we read there are true and apply to us here and now! So really then if this is true of us, the answer to enter into the not is simple; read and believe the Word of God! Here's what it says about where we are; "Set your affections on things above...for you have died and your life is hidden in Christ Jesus" Col. 2:2,3. "Alive unto God in Jesus Christ our Lord" Rom. 6:11. "If you are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God" Col 3:1. " As is earthly such are they which are earthy; and as is heavenly such are they also that are heavenly" 1 Cor. 15:48. "And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" Eph. 2:6. And last but not least the verse that unflinchingly describes your present location: "For our citizenship is in heaven FROM WHICH we eagerly await a Savior the Lord Jesus Christ" Phil 3:20. Note the place we are, where we wait, is heaven...not the world. A place where we are in spirit, which is unseen, requiring faith to live there now, from here. I firmly believe no man or women will be able to engage in the fullness of the joy God offers, until they abide in this true truth of the position we occupy in Christ by faith, of our presence in Him, in heaven; "This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith".
When we read the word "world" in the New Testament, we are reading the Greek word cosmos. As this word is used in the context we are dealing with here, the bible is referring to the inhabited earth, its people. Simply defined world refers to a system. Satan is the ruler of that system, John 12:31, 1 John 5:19. This should be forever in the for front of our thoughts as we analyze our dealing with it, our discernment of our presence in it. Its obvious God left us here, but He gave us the power to be aware of our plight and overcome, providing a new dwelling place by faith. Well where is that power found and why do we fail to live in it? In order to be free from the system a man must either remove it from his presence or he must remove the state he is in; that is he must be defined in his inward man as being above and outside his own nature. The only way this can be done is by presenting him to a alternative in which to believe, and the Word of God declares that alternative is available if we only have faith, but faith in what specifically? The word shows we must see ourselves relocated to overcome, we must be presented to a new definition of ourselves, becoming new men and women in our minds eye. A place is provided to do just that by God in the person of His Son Jesus Christ who is in heaven, If we believe that by faith, we may see that The Father has established by His estimation, that we are positioned there also. "Who is he that overcomes the world, he that believes Jesus is the son of God" 1 John 5:5. It is nor merely faith which effects our deliverance from the world system but a person, hence by that person, a position we occupy. Forever held and seen by The Father in Him, the power to enter the "not" by faith.
I hope my dear friends you can now see that it is not any specific physical or emotional action we take, by which we will gain entrance to the not of. Nor is it our thoughts, lust, sin, or improper religious attitude that prevents our obtaining this most precious gift of freedom from Satan's system. We dwell in freedom by a Man, The Holy Spirit has presented to us a Man, not a experience. He is our entrance, and it is how we perceive our self by God own definition; being found identified and positioned in that Man, His Son, that shows the way. We will gain the power to do this by adopting a godly attitude and trust toward His word which in a clear and certain declaration presents this absolute truth. Then we may remain in the place of not by faith and contemplation of the words which The Father wrote down for just that purpose.
I know this is not a easy concept to hold and make your life, it has been a huge struggle for me. However the more I live in belief in The Word, the more I believe it is true and find rest; I also realize few reading this will take the trouble to relegate there valuable time to search for freedom in faith, from the world, as they choose to remain captured for lack of knowledge. In pre- Pentecost times [before Christs Resurrection] faith was something which required proof, i.e. as Abraham trusted God he found results; in other words the faith based man in that time was by his belief holding a standard above the things in the world which surrounded him, by his flesh convictions of the provision of his faith, he only had his natural man to hold on to, he was not called to a higher standard, of things unseen. In Christ all that was set aside, for in His death on the Cross all to do with the former function of man in the flesh, for faith, was abnegated by God, which is the act of renouncing or rejecting a thing.
In the power we have been given by the rejection of man in the flesh, on The Cross, by the Father our separation from the world is no less than His. We, seen in The Son, are not of the world; "He has overcome the world', and therefore we too; as we are identified by God, in Him. Not by our own estimation only, but by The Father's! If, my good friends and fellow seekers for truth,we can just but see this reality by our faith, then we in what Jesus did, in His person-hood, representing us, will find the true meaning, as it was intended for us to understand. The Word has told us to; "Love not the world, neither the things in the world' 1 John 2:15. We must believe the bible to overcome, as we are declared by the Holy Creator of the universe that; "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation...all things have become new". It is by and in these truths we may live in the power of not!
"The Holy Spirit is the power to separate us from the world and its ways, because He gives the only enablement to preserve us from the flesh and its ways. If we walk in the Spirit we shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh Gal. 5:16. We are sustained by union through the Spirit with the heavenly Man. We move in the sphere of the first man, but our fellowship is with the Lord Jesus Christ above, therefore we walk down here by faith".---J.B. Stoney
Mans efforts to live up to the bible command to not be of the world are quiet interesting and very reveling. Early on in Christian history men developed schemes and rituals to attempt to form, by their behavior, a settled place in the not of; think of monks, and priests closing themselves off behind walls from the things of the world and its temptations. Men even resorted to, and still do, to self punishment, to literally beat the world out of themselves. We could go on and on with examples; but what about us? What do we do to attempt to avoid the confrontation with this radical concept? I wish I could believe we use simple self delusional rationalization for our delving in the prince of the power of the air and his domain, perhaps there then would be some excuse. Or maybe we are under a false impression as to what it means to be not of the world, so we have a wrong definition. Then there's always the self contained selflessness of duty, busy helping others and good old church activities, by which we might define a feeling of being in the proper place. But alas my friends I am afraid its none of these or the many excuses and self deluded actions we involved ourselves in to form a supposed religious place to dwell in the not. No its simple profound ignorance of biblical facts and unbelief that the words we read there are true and apply to us here and now! So really then if this is true of us, the answer to enter into the not is simple; read and believe the Word of God! Here's what it says about where we are; "Set your affections on things above...for you have died and your life is hidden in Christ Jesus" Col. 2:2,3. "Alive unto God in Jesus Christ our Lord" Rom. 6:11. "If you are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God" Col 3:1. " As is earthly such are they which are earthy; and as is heavenly such are they also that are heavenly" 1 Cor. 15:48. "And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" Eph. 2:6. And last but not least the verse that unflinchingly describes your present location: "For our citizenship is in heaven FROM WHICH we eagerly await a Savior the Lord Jesus Christ" Phil 3:20. Note the place we are, where we wait, is heaven...not the world. A place where we are in spirit, which is unseen, requiring faith to live there now, from here. I firmly believe no man or women will be able to engage in the fullness of the joy God offers, until they abide in this true truth of the position we occupy in Christ by faith, of our presence in Him, in heaven; "This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith".
When we read the word "world" in the New Testament, we are reading the Greek word cosmos. As this word is used in the context we are dealing with here, the bible is referring to the inhabited earth, its people. Simply defined world refers to a system. Satan is the ruler of that system, John 12:31, 1 John 5:19. This should be forever in the for front of our thoughts as we analyze our dealing with it, our discernment of our presence in it. Its obvious God left us here, but He gave us the power to be aware of our plight and overcome, providing a new dwelling place by faith. Well where is that power found and why do we fail to live in it? In order to be free from the system a man must either remove it from his presence or he must remove the state he is in; that is he must be defined in his inward man as being above and outside his own nature. The only way this can be done is by presenting him to a alternative in which to believe, and the Word of God declares that alternative is available if we only have faith, but faith in what specifically? The word shows we must see ourselves relocated to overcome, we must be presented to a new definition of ourselves, becoming new men and women in our minds eye. A place is provided to do just that by God in the person of His Son Jesus Christ who is in heaven, If we believe that by faith, we may see that The Father has established by His estimation, that we are positioned there also. "Who is he that overcomes the world, he that believes Jesus is the son of God" 1 John 5:5. It is nor merely faith which effects our deliverance from the world system but a person, hence by that person, a position we occupy. Forever held and seen by The Father in Him, the power to enter the "not" by faith.
I hope my dear friends you can now see that it is not any specific physical or emotional action we take, by which we will gain entrance to the not of. Nor is it our thoughts, lust, sin, or improper religious attitude that prevents our obtaining this most precious gift of freedom from Satan's system. We dwell in freedom by a Man, The Holy Spirit has presented to us a Man, not a experience. He is our entrance, and it is how we perceive our self by God own definition; being found identified and positioned in that Man, His Son, that shows the way. We will gain the power to do this by adopting a godly attitude and trust toward His word which in a clear and certain declaration presents this absolute truth. Then we may remain in the place of not by faith and contemplation of the words which The Father wrote down for just that purpose.
I know this is not a easy concept to hold and make your life, it has been a huge struggle for me. However the more I live in belief in The Word, the more I believe it is true and find rest; I also realize few reading this will take the trouble to relegate there valuable time to search for freedom in faith, from the world, as they choose to remain captured for lack of knowledge. In pre- Pentecost times [before Christs Resurrection] faith was something which required proof, i.e. as Abraham trusted God he found results; in other words the faith based man in that time was by his belief holding a standard above the things in the world which surrounded him, by his flesh convictions of the provision of his faith, he only had his natural man to hold on to, he was not called to a higher standard, of things unseen. In Christ all that was set aside, for in His death on the Cross all to do with the former function of man in the flesh, for faith, was abnegated by God, which is the act of renouncing or rejecting a thing.
In the power we have been given by the rejection of man in the flesh, on The Cross, by the Father our separation from the world is no less than His. We, seen in The Son, are not of the world; "He has overcome the world', and therefore we too; as we are identified by God, in Him. Not by our own estimation only, but by The Father's! If, my good friends and fellow seekers for truth,we can just but see this reality by our faith, then we in what Jesus did, in His person-hood, representing us, will find the true meaning, as it was intended for us to understand. The Word has told us to; "Love not the world, neither the things in the world' 1 John 2:15. We must believe the bible to overcome, as we are declared by the Holy Creator of the universe that; "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation...all things have become new". It is by and in these truths we may live in the power of not!
"The Holy Spirit is the power to separate us from the world and its ways, because He gives the only enablement to preserve us from the flesh and its ways. If we walk in the Spirit we shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh Gal. 5:16. We are sustained by union through the Spirit with the heavenly Man. We move in the sphere of the first man, but our fellowship is with the Lord Jesus Christ above, therefore we walk down here by faith".---J.B. Stoney
Saturday, November 2, 2013
A PLACE PROVIDED
"Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ loved you and gave Himself for us, an offer and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma" Eph. 5:1. By this verse we can see God's command to become like Him, and accordingly as we fail in this; God's will for us, we become more like ourselves, or we give our human sin nature more authenticity. The bible tell us we are to decrease, as natural men and women so that He might increase in His function and life in us, and thereby we become as He is, in this present life. Mr Stoney does a magnificent job of showing how this may be accomplished in our mind's understanding and in much of the following I was inspired by his writing to express how God in His plan and wisdom provided a place for us to abide, so that we would be imitators of Him who sacrificed all, so that we might live in the truth!
The word Atonement, which we have all heard many times, no doubt, is a Old Testament word not directly used in the New, but never the less it is appropriate for us. It simply means covering, as in the sacrifice is a covering for sin. That of course was what was accomplished by God's direction on our behalf, by Christ on the Cross. In the New Testament the word has been substituted using, reconciliation. "We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received the reconciliation Rom. 5:11. In Corinthians, reconciliation is used to indicate husband and wife reuniting after a separation. So we too are now reunited with Christ beginning with the the rejection of The Son of God from the earth by mankind; proving us wholly incapable of arising to meet any requirement of The Father for working out our own salvation. After all the rejection was performed by the Adamic earthly man, the same as us, which shows the utter inability of man for any case toward God. But then God in His mercy provided His Sovereign Grace as a covering. Thus His Atonement ushered in a new era. The Lord Jesus was placed in a position, one in which we belonged, namely death. But His Resurrection showed the world and the powers in heaven that God had brought in something new. The Believing Adam man could become a new spiritual man in Christ, who we will one day be like He was at His Resurrection, but which we are partakers of now, by His sovereign plan and Grace, becoming a new race of people here and now. A place provided for us to dwell in God's mind; in which we are seen by The Father as new men and women, not in our flesh, but in His Son. We are no longer under trial, the sentence has been accomplished by The Son. A positional place provided. Something I fear many in modern Christianity have been diverted from.
The bible speaks of the first man, Adamic earthy, and a second Man heavenly. There is very little emphasis on this important distinction in today's churches. Its not a mystery, the Word is clear: "The first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven" 1 Cor:45-47. It should be evident to all believers that since the first man [us] is no longer being judged or under trial by The Father, and as the second, the Lord Jesus is risen from the dead, a Spiritual Man, that we are inheritors of the Second Man a spiritual fact, we are no longer of the flesh, it cannot be the first, for he is judged as dead by God and we know this by faith in God's actions on our behalf, on the cross. So now by this sovereign plan and His grace we by faith are found identified and provided a place of position in The Son in heaven. Since He is in heaven there is no link to Him here, except by The Holy Spirit, by whom it is made know to our mind, the only place this spiritual truth can be held or even function, that our object is heavenly, and because He was rejected from the earth He must be known by the saints where He is and thus our heavenly status is made know to we who remain behind on the earth. A place provided
In Titus 3:5, Paul uses another important word, regeneration; again a subject seldom expounded upon by the church, at least in its paramount meaning defined in Paul's intended usage, and brought forth by the eminent bible scholar Lehman Strauss as followers. "To be an act of God's whereby He bestowed upon the believing sinner new life. This God's own life, the imparting of His own nature. God Himself is the source and Bestower of His life so that the believers are said to be "partakers of the Divine nature" 2 Peter 1:4, "created in Christ Jesus" Eph. 2:10, "born of God" John 1:13, "born again" John 3:3,7, "a new creation" 2 Cor 5:17. If we are to take this at face value and expounded upon with these word from Mr Stoney; "we would, or should see ourselves as connected to Christ where He is in heaven; hence, thorough the spirit, are of heavenly nature, and empowered to fill in a superior way the positional blessing by a relationship, appointed by God, for the earthly man; members of the organic Body of Christ, which is now determined by the ascended second Man".
If the Lord Jesus were here on earth now, we would walk in the grace of the law free from any hindrance to enjoy Him. But this is for another time which is called a dispensation during the millennium, or the thousand year earthly reign of Christ on His return to the earth, seldom mentioned in any church Ive ever attended. He is absent from this place rejected from the earth, which places the believer in a entirely different position; we are not where He is, and He is not where we are, we are not of the earth, but on the earth, we are of Christ in heaven. Christ was refused here, but the bible declares we are hidden in Him; then it is possible only by faith, to be where He is, in heaven, our true status. We walk this earth as new men and women by faith, in that place provided. The world is therefore entirely shut out, as to power and influence. My friends we simply must discover this true truth to live a Christian life pleasing to God!
Since my growth into the faith of my heavenly positional reality I must admit to a great sense of frustration, as I discovered the freedom and joy of the total truth and reliability of my place and life being hidden in Jesus Christ, I saw how the church has abandoned this truth and the lack of interest on the part of my fellow believers to embrace this biblical teaching. Then I discovered why. We it turns out, are voluntary victims.
For the most part the church treats Jesus as if He were still here, they do not acknowledge His rejection. Oh yes they own His Death and sacrifice but engage in a sort of legal works based formula as if we need to please Him by our actions. Of course if we truly acknowledged His rejection we would have to own up to our own failure; and this is not acceptable for prides sake. So as the roman church has done, we create a ritual called the mass which is nothing more than a continued sacrifice seeking continual forgiveness. Not accepting the old man is finished by the Cross the trial over, and by that we are to consider ourselves by faith as dead, instead it is as if the first man [us] was still under trial. This simply cannot be true. The second group we are probably most familiar with, protestantism or reformed theology, brought in after the reformation, which gave us anew the wonderful truth held back so long by the roman church, justification by faith, and thank God for that! However while it admits the sacrifice is sufficient it does not act with a consistency which would enable us to live in the freedom of the second Mans position, by faith; as the reformers and most churches today do not conduct themselves in a practical manner as if the the finished work of Christ has freed them; so they engage in ritual and works still holding the Law up as a guiding light; Thou shall not, come to the alter repent over and over, we must give a tithe, follow the seven guides to spiritual success, enjoy a charismatic feeling, etc. etc. In other words the first Adamic man is still looked at as being under trial for all practical purposes. What a trap, and most reading this are firmly caught in its locked jaws. May the acknowledgement of your position hidden in Christ by faith free you my brothers and sisters, and thereby you may find the place which was provide by the death unto sin for you, of Jesus Christ the Holy son of God.
I will end as I often do with a direct quote from J. Butler Stoney: "The father does not restore the Adam-life; He judged and condemned it on the cross of His Son, and in Him ascended and glorified, receives every returning prodigal in a new life and nature. Hence the position of the saint is now heavenly, united to The Lord Jesus in glory by The Holy Spirit sent down to indwell; through grace he acquits himself in a superior way in every duty incumbent in the first man, as God has appointed; but now the Christian has no link or place here, as the millennial man will have; for then the King will be reigning, and the saint will be with Him where He reigns, instead of, as now, where He is refused"
The word Atonement, which we have all heard many times, no doubt, is a Old Testament word not directly used in the New, but never the less it is appropriate for us. It simply means covering, as in the sacrifice is a covering for sin. That of course was what was accomplished by God's direction on our behalf, by Christ on the Cross. In the New Testament the word has been substituted using, reconciliation. "We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received the reconciliation Rom. 5:11. In Corinthians, reconciliation is used to indicate husband and wife reuniting after a separation. So we too are now reunited with Christ beginning with the the rejection of The Son of God from the earth by mankind; proving us wholly incapable of arising to meet any requirement of The Father for working out our own salvation. After all the rejection was performed by the Adamic earthly man, the same as us, which shows the utter inability of man for any case toward God. But then God in His mercy provided His Sovereign Grace as a covering. Thus His Atonement ushered in a new era. The Lord Jesus was placed in a position, one in which we belonged, namely death. But His Resurrection showed the world and the powers in heaven that God had brought in something new. The Believing Adam man could become a new spiritual man in Christ, who we will one day be like He was at His Resurrection, but which we are partakers of now, by His sovereign plan and Grace, becoming a new race of people here and now. A place provided for us to dwell in God's mind; in which we are seen by The Father as new men and women, not in our flesh, but in His Son. We are no longer under trial, the sentence has been accomplished by The Son. A positional place provided. Something I fear many in modern Christianity have been diverted from.
The bible speaks of the first man, Adamic earthy, and a second Man heavenly. There is very little emphasis on this important distinction in today's churches. Its not a mystery, the Word is clear: "The first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven" 1 Cor:45-47. It should be evident to all believers that since the first man [us] is no longer being judged or under trial by The Father, and as the second, the Lord Jesus is risen from the dead, a Spiritual Man, that we are inheritors of the Second Man a spiritual fact, we are no longer of the flesh, it cannot be the first, for he is judged as dead by God and we know this by faith in God's actions on our behalf, on the cross. So now by this sovereign plan and His grace we by faith are found identified and provided a place of position in The Son in heaven. Since He is in heaven there is no link to Him here, except by The Holy Spirit, by whom it is made know to our mind, the only place this spiritual truth can be held or even function, that our object is heavenly, and because He was rejected from the earth He must be known by the saints where He is and thus our heavenly status is made know to we who remain behind on the earth. A place provided
In Titus 3:5, Paul uses another important word, regeneration; again a subject seldom expounded upon by the church, at least in its paramount meaning defined in Paul's intended usage, and brought forth by the eminent bible scholar Lehman Strauss as followers. "To be an act of God's whereby He bestowed upon the believing sinner new life. This God's own life, the imparting of His own nature. God Himself is the source and Bestower of His life so that the believers are said to be "partakers of the Divine nature" 2 Peter 1:4, "created in Christ Jesus" Eph. 2:10, "born of God" John 1:13, "born again" John 3:3,7, "a new creation" 2 Cor 5:17. If we are to take this at face value and expounded upon with these word from Mr Stoney; "we would, or should see ourselves as connected to Christ where He is in heaven; hence, thorough the spirit, are of heavenly nature, and empowered to fill in a superior way the positional blessing by a relationship, appointed by God, for the earthly man; members of the organic Body of Christ, which is now determined by the ascended second Man".
If the Lord Jesus were here on earth now, we would walk in the grace of the law free from any hindrance to enjoy Him. But this is for another time which is called a dispensation during the millennium, or the thousand year earthly reign of Christ on His return to the earth, seldom mentioned in any church Ive ever attended. He is absent from this place rejected from the earth, which places the believer in a entirely different position; we are not where He is, and He is not where we are, we are not of the earth, but on the earth, we are of Christ in heaven. Christ was refused here, but the bible declares we are hidden in Him; then it is possible only by faith, to be where He is, in heaven, our true status. We walk this earth as new men and women by faith, in that place provided. The world is therefore entirely shut out, as to power and influence. My friends we simply must discover this true truth to live a Christian life pleasing to God!
Since my growth into the faith of my heavenly positional reality I must admit to a great sense of frustration, as I discovered the freedom and joy of the total truth and reliability of my place and life being hidden in Jesus Christ, I saw how the church has abandoned this truth and the lack of interest on the part of my fellow believers to embrace this biblical teaching. Then I discovered why. We it turns out, are voluntary victims.
For the most part the church treats Jesus as if He were still here, they do not acknowledge His rejection. Oh yes they own His Death and sacrifice but engage in a sort of legal works based formula as if we need to please Him by our actions. Of course if we truly acknowledged His rejection we would have to own up to our own failure; and this is not acceptable for prides sake. So as the roman church has done, we create a ritual called the mass which is nothing more than a continued sacrifice seeking continual forgiveness. Not accepting the old man is finished by the Cross the trial over, and by that we are to consider ourselves by faith as dead, instead it is as if the first man [us] was still under trial. This simply cannot be true. The second group we are probably most familiar with, protestantism or reformed theology, brought in after the reformation, which gave us anew the wonderful truth held back so long by the roman church, justification by faith, and thank God for that! However while it admits the sacrifice is sufficient it does not act with a consistency which would enable us to live in the freedom of the second Mans position, by faith; as the reformers and most churches today do not conduct themselves in a practical manner as if the the finished work of Christ has freed them; so they engage in ritual and works still holding the Law up as a guiding light; Thou shall not, come to the alter repent over and over, we must give a tithe, follow the seven guides to spiritual success, enjoy a charismatic feeling, etc. etc. In other words the first Adamic man is still looked at as being under trial for all practical purposes. What a trap, and most reading this are firmly caught in its locked jaws. May the acknowledgement of your position hidden in Christ by faith free you my brothers and sisters, and thereby you may find the place which was provide by the death unto sin for you, of Jesus Christ the Holy son of God.
I will end as I often do with a direct quote from J. Butler Stoney: "The father does not restore the Adam-life; He judged and condemned it on the cross of His Son, and in Him ascended and glorified, receives every returning prodigal in a new life and nature. Hence the position of the saint is now heavenly, united to The Lord Jesus in glory by The Holy Spirit sent down to indwell; through grace he acquits himself in a superior way in every duty incumbent in the first man, as God has appointed; but now the Christian has no link or place here, as the millennial man will have; for then the King will be reigning, and the saint will be with Him where He reigns, instead of, as now, where He is refused"
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