There could be no greater testament to God's grace [unmerited favor] toward us than the declaration of the above bible verse! But can that very grace act as a stumbling block to our progress in the spiritual godly life we are so directly instructed to gain; from a intelligent appraisal of His Word? "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" 2 Tim. 2:15
There is a condition common to man, that is, "the truth hurts". Could this be the case with our reception of grace? Yes we need all the grace we can get granted, but we might not be in a very good position to receive it. That is a question whose answer we must seek, a problem we must solve, for any hope of growth in a Christ centered life.
The more precious the truth brought to us by the Spirit the greater the injury; when presented to those not in a state of spiritual knowledge to profit by it. Yet His grace covers all of our deficiencies regardless does it not. Unfortunately so many simply remain basking in its warm waters quite comfortably. Having long dined upon his grace sumptuously allowing it to fatten up the old nature, having little understanding of the new.
"For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus" Eph. 2:10. Our old nature, the one which requires so much grace, the basking one, cannot be His workmanship, that should be very apparent. Then what are we to do about it? Just continue to rest in His grace? Or maybe get comfy with ourselves, our sins, and let the socialization and entertainment aspect of church assure us toward eternity. Or worse, simply give up and say I am in the world, it is what it is, I am what I am, God will work it all out.
Well the fortunate truth for us is His grace covers even this sort of standard Christian approach to life; as His grace is the product of His Love covering us from the moment we first believed. For me however there must be more. Why? Because I learned something from the bible, and so did Paul; "In me; that is in my flesh, resides nothing good". What does that mean? It means that all that is emanating from our self centered nature [the one under grace] is considered sin and therefore God cannot, as restricted by His Holy nature, accept anything from it. Well how then has God accepted us? How has He shown His glory in us? By recreating us into a new spiritual creation, which qualifies for His Holiness that's how. Now He may fellowship with us. But is our grace comfort holding us back from our reception of His reception of us? "You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit [of the mind], if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him". Rom. 8:9.
First for us to benefit or even acknowledge His new creation, we must come to consider the old one dead. How? The only way possible, His way....His criteria for evaluating the Christian life: "For we are alive though we are continually surrendering ourselves [us in the flesh condition] to death for the sake of Jesus" 2 Cor. 4:11. In other words we must consider ourselves dead as Adam men just as He does, "in faith". Dead as self centered individuals for relationship purposes with God, having had the crucified Adam man personality put to death in His perception; all within and by the action of His Son Christ Jesus. Then upon seeing this we may perhaps learn that all He has for us; the wonderful truth of our existence in His sight, is to be held in a intelligent responsible faith of His Words declaration of the new creation we became by His [Christ Jesus] act. As seen by the Father Himself. His estimation of us as seen in His Son only. This is the positional truth and identification doctrine exclusively taught by Paul. Really God's message to Christians for their own personal apprehension of their new creation identity.
His Word is clear; it is not our soul that is changed for His reception, but our mind. His Son by the example of His very death has identified us as what we are to identify ourselves as, really "dead men walking" as to this world. Our new abode is accessed by a realization in spirit or mind that we are all new resurrected heavenly creatures. A thought to be held firmly by faith only, never by merely feelings or even intellect. And certainly not justified/displayed by our actions. "The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace" Rom. 8:6.
Yes moral changes take place in our soul/flesh under His Grace; we become better in behavior, i.e. language, honesty, pay most of our taxes, embrace family unity, do not watch R rated movies a lot, give our money to the church and perhaps even adopt some modern newly learned conservative values. Maybe even consider a little flag waving for a christian nation as a rallying cry. These worldly accepted Christian traits when described as our Christian nature really declare us as in the flesh. After all that is what is expected by the world and we meet their expectations well. Which only proves one thing; the old nature can be influenced, is trainable. Many see this altered behavior as the primary marker and function of the church, a earthly mission if you will of re-making the flesh. In other words the spiritual or the immaterial is not the definer of their life.
We all should bear in mind however the flesh nature is never changed into something acceptable or holy. Yet many have come to expect this sort of a chosen portrayal. Which really features a dependence upon or the opportunity at least for stumbling spiritually and in fact is actually made available to us by His Grace. We take His mercy for granted as byproduct of His love for us. Which we in the flesh take selfish advantage of quite liberally. His kindness in love allows this, as He knows we are of the flesh condition while upon this earth. And we can never escape it while here, except in the faith of our mind. "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him' Ps. 37.7.
However it is the very presence and failure of our earthly self which grace covers and which directs our will toward His will. The suffering which emanates from that failure is His allowance for our benefit. A failure very necessary for us to live in realization of, and thus a driving force toward Him. Then the beginning of opening the door to a new creation life lived consciously comes, awareness of our heavenly existence, the spiritual life, the mind's effort. Above all that is of the world, a immaterial existence governed in thought. To go there we must come to know the total inadequacies of our own efforts. There is but one Man, one Object before God, in the Flesh, fully accepted: Christ Jesus the Lord. If we are to believe the bible is God's true word we must come to know we simply do not qualify. At least by anything we might do and certainly never in the flesh. But oh how hard we try! "God is a Spirit all who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth".
This worship is not simply waving your hand while lookin above when singing a song. It is acquiescing to His Lordship over all that we are. The spirit in us is our thoughts as developed toward His identification in us made before Him by His Son. And the truth is what He has declared in His word about our co-relationship with Christ Jesus the Lord in heaven, at His right hand. When we know Him as life in this way the stumbling road is made smoother toward a Christian reality.
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