The Christian may read the scriptures and gain light from them, come to believe more and more in Christ Jesus as Lord: but it does not take form and power unless by faith he sees Him [Christ Jesus] where He is. "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" Rom. 8:14. He then by faith learns his own identification with Him in His heavenly glory. As His glory not only attracts but forms the Christian into His [Christ's] image in a conscious awareness within the Christian's mind upon the earth. This is all accomplished by the Spirit within our mind. Which then may lead to a change in morals and character. "For me to live is Christ" Phil. 1:21.
However it is the unconscious being within us, the constant natural mans message, that holds us down: keeps us in the earthly condition and mind set and stops our growth. Who and what we are in the natural mind is simply ego, it arises from the unconscious and shapes our views of all things. Few will escape its entrapment! "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" Rom. 8:7.
In Christianity we give much credit and apply ourselves toward faith; a immaterial God, and a hope for the unseen. We envision a unknowable place in which we will someday dwell in bliss, a vision God has supplied us. But many also count on a new millennial kingdom in which they will co-rule with Jesus the messianic king of the earth. Others look forward in great relief and anticipation to a rapture of their physical body out of this place, then a new heaven and a new earth in which to dwell in a transfigured [heavenly] body. The earth and heaven we now know will be re-made after a great apocalyptic event on the present earth, of course from which they, the newly transfigured, will be saved from any suffering by being instantly translated to heaven in their new changed bodies. All of this is arguably biblical.
And all of this might also be counted as true, but none of us can possibly processes these concepts, accurate or not, with any godly value toward a true spiritual identity. Nor can we use these thoughts in any way that will enhance our ascension to what we are in Christ as a true spiritual Christ identity. Because there is no value within the corrupted Adam egocentric mind. We make these concepts corrupt and earthly by the mere attempted explanatory thoughts of them as implication to our Christian identification and defining thoughts. At best we simply hold these thoughts, perhaps containing sincere biblical reckoned truths, as dogmas; a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true. They therefore, in that sense, may add sustenance for the religious self, the ego, the carnal man we are. It is thus we are corrupted or held to the ego and the earth.
How then do we, victims of the Adam mind, gain the apprehension of the very mind of God and our freedom from the egos assault on the truth? Not merely to know securely a principle, a dogma or a doctrine, perhaps a accurate one. But one that is often really simply directed toward our own ego. To enter His life here we need to know and carry the identity of Christ Jesus Himself. He was selfless, one with God in trust even to His death. He who left here a Man, the First born from the dead, to be in glory at the Fathers right side and returned a Spirit in order to continue to live His heavenly life living through His brothers and sisters still on earth. Those who have followed Him in the same new birth as He. Now both alive from death. This is the only life the Christian need seek, and it is His [Christ Jesus'] own they must find. A spiritual life and therefore a heavenly life. "For all of the promises of God in Him [Christ] are you and in Him Amen" 2 Cor. 1:20. But how then will He be manifested in us?
Our greatest liability in finding God's life is self confidence. The bible tells us that the self confident man must have his conscience purged in order to enter the heavenly sanctuary, the spiritual life the father has provided the believer. "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts [carnal ego]that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God" Heb.9:14. Then by the acquired death of the old mind, truth weakness or dependence is the door to life; found in the purging of the ego onto death itself. That which is the old natural mans predisposition must be dealt with! The new conscience must be appropriated. "Since the worshipers had once for all been cleansed, they would no longer have any guilt or consciousness of sin" Heb:10:2.
The Truth is far more all-encompassing than the old mind could ever comprehend. Our projected thoughts within our mind is in fact a barrier to a life in Christ. The active existence of our spirit directed heavenly spirit is held back by our own non-conscious internal natural pre-disposed self assessment. Really to live and know His heavenly life lived through us we must become conscious of a all new reality. "But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the [law, works actions, bible dogmas, doctrines] written code" Rom. 7:6
A conscious thought life without the old thoughts of past natural experiences, prejudices, short comings, quilt, desires, even reliance upon bible truths and doctrines, interfering. This is the realm of simple faith. Really of non-thought. That is why the bible directed us to embrace Christ's death [dead men need nothing of this life including earthly defining thoughts] as our own. We are here but we are dead. Really now alive in another. Therefore we do not need to ponder or search, as to what makes up His new reality, which often result in a academic work. No that kind of radical thought requires faith for reliance upon for life and only faith will do it. In death there is no sin and no consciousness of sin, the old man is dead, no regrets no worries. We as Adam men are annulled and therefore the condition we remain in here [in self centered thought] is to be entirely discounted just as it is by the Father; so as not to interfere with faiths growth in the new spiritual man we are and must become as we live out His life on earth. "Not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of a endless life" Heb. 7:16
Every Christian will become what his desires have made him. Independence was the ruin of the first man, dependence is the normal characteristic of the new spiritual man. The more conscious we are of our gains on this earth, the more we are driven by our desires, the more we need constant assurance that they will last. Our conscious ego constantly tells us we need this or that, it forms our opinions and colors all our thoughts. Even our firm relied upon biblical favorite dogmas become food for self elevation.
We cannot connect any blessing or spiritual thought with the natural first man, the ego conscious man. The truth must be conferred by God Himself...our very thoughts of ourselves is the impediment to this however. Therefore we must come to know His mind about us. Then all that we have or given and become is know to be acquired from Him. The knowledge of the Word comes first in application for His life to be ours, this awareness is all important. But many know the word in matriculation but have not transferred their thoughts to His thoughts of them, and are still defined by the ego of the first man, even in their Christian virtue's and self analysis of themselves as believers. What is to be done then?
All must be connected to the Lord Jesus to have life. There is simply no other way. But first we must become convinced we have no value in and of ourselves and that the very thoughts which emanate from our minds are roadblocks to learning to value the new life we have in Christ. We must do that to have a unbroken correspondence with Him, a new consciousness. When our thought dwell upon the programed opinions of the natural mind, the dysfunctions and self centered needs within us, we simply cannot know Him in a way which is life. "As you have therefore received [spiritually] Christ Jesus the Lord so walk in Him" Col. 2:6.
The new value in Him for life is found when we realize we, in and of ourselves, have no value what so ever. We will not be converted to a better more God pleasing position by our thoughts or our works nor doctrines, or dogmas, ever! We must abandon the first man just as He has. He in fact has relegated him to death, ashes to ashes dust too dust. "Not I but Christ" Gal. 2:20. We must come to begin to know we are strictly spiritual beings. However beings with power; not for accomplishments here to change the culture, or simply be happily entertained, but for life in conscious alignment [union] with His Son in heaven who is in us by Spirit. By this we can be faithfully sure good works on earth will flow as a natural fruit from God. To Him be all the Glory! "Who Comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them who are in any trouble, by the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God" 2 Cor. 1:4.
This is not a mind trick or a psychological exercise. We acquire His heavenly/spiritual life down here by His will. He will make us into Himself by Spirit. But only when we gain the faith that His Word is true about us and stop thinking our own thoughts. Then because we know His new truth [we and He are now alike; spiritual] we may have a chance to live as we are "Hid in Christ". Only our thoughts of ourselves, which are dedicated to ourselves, hold us back from experiencing His life.
A change of consciousness cannot be imposed, it has to be invited in by the willing. Our Mind is incessantly looking for food for its identity, its sense of self. This is how the ego comes into existence and continuously re-creates itself. The I who we are has a story, dislikes, fears and desires that are never satisfied for long. We are conditioned by the past and are always seeking fulfillment in the future. Our Christian identity is commonly aligned to the old man of the ego. But We must have a new man to know who we are in the spiritual identity of Christ Jesus Himself.
A awakening is coming however, a new voice has spoken and it is God's. First to hear Him we must recognize that the voice in our head is the unconscious I of the ego. When we can discern that voice we have a chance to know that that old voice is not us any longer. When we are able to live no longer trapped in the old force of I, the Adam man of condition. We may then come to know that another Man has gained identity within us, we will have a new freedom, by that Godly awareness. We are not ourselves, we are God's.
The new man we have become is Christ living through us; a Spirit making His home within a spirit. But in our Adam condition we are restricted by the ego to express Him. Therefore we may have Him only for the moment. The moment is His by faith in His Word. He has declared us sons and daughters, inheritors of the very status of His Son Christ Jesus! We therefore must be present in that very moment, that is be identified with Christ in a conscious awareness for life. We will accomplish this by giving our full attention to the moment [be present] as we have found Him through faith in his Word. Then an intelligence far grater than the old egoic mind may enter our life by His will. He will continue to reside within our mind as life as our moment by moment awareness may apprehend Him. "For to me to live is Christ" Phi. 1:27.
With a new awareness comes transformation and freedom. Its your decision. How will you choose is the only question. Your new life will require work, sacrifice and a profound humbleness, of that you can be sure. A life in Christ is not a easily aquired virtue. Whose life will you choose, His or yours?
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