When the soul of a Christian is truly delivered and made new it does not think of its condition, except to judge itself when it turns back to its sin nature. If one is in fact a new man [internally, spiritually] in Christ, as the Word so clearly declares we are and must be, then we must find a new place of abiding other than our natural Adam self, to face and deal with our own old natural state. A nature which constantly assaults the new by its mere presence. Where then will a man or women who believes find their sanctuary for a consistent walk in what they have been newly made to be by God in Spirit?
The believers life is a new creation, not a change, and the Holy Spirit is the creator of a entirely new creation who must be reckoned with. It is not because we have this new creation life that our bodies are made the temple of God but because the Spirit dwells therein. Thus assigning us to a new position, other than our natural man. As the Father now sees us just as He sees Christ Jesus Himself. Of course He is sovereign always but we are now contained in Him. The light from the Spirit comprises the course and entire work of our occupied bodies and it is His Spirit that illuminates the way. Therefore it is not us but Him that is shown, as we have inherited His [Christ Jesus] position before God in spirit by God's decree. It is too His glory always that we live this new spirit life as we ourselves of ourselves have no power or standing whatsoever. But we now have the Gospel of the glory of Christ in identity before God to live out in faith; and therefore His Spirit is in true function on earth simply by the knowledge of our new position. Our works have no value toward achievement in Spirit.
Few Christian are ever taught that there is more than one gospel or good news to learn of and find a identification in. Of course we know of the good news in regards to Christ's work on earth to bring us salvation taken from the synoptic gospels as a narrative to our self proclamation of salvation. But what do we know of the Gospel of Paul in displaying the heavenly/spiritual quality of life for the church as he declares it in his inspired message he called "my gospel"? Do we even know of the heavenly Pauline teaching of the gospel of the glory of Christ which gives divine life to our conscience while we walk upon the earth?
There are biblically three Gospels that are all important to the believers growth, but seldom acknowledged as to their direct effect upon the believers understanding of just who and what he is before God. The first is the gospel [good news] that most churches today are comfortable with which was and is the Kingdom Gospel offered to the Jews and only the Jews. Jesus said; "the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the Gospel" Mark 1:14,15. The effect of this Gospel presented to the Jews was made clear in the prayer He taught His disciples, the so called Lords prayer [really the disciples prayer], "thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven". This prayer reflect the state of the soul of the Jews who believed in Him as Messiah and their need for repentance in order to welcome Him their earthly Messiah come to restore Israel to prominence and freedom. A earthly Gospel or good news of a earthly kingdom. They were correct of course in this belief. But He was rejected from the earth by His own thus bringing about a entirely new Gospel.
This rejection brought about a Gospel never before contemplated, one of Spirit or the faith a man holds in his mind alone. The Kingdom Gospel still overshadowed the Spiritual Gospel and often still does. The Kingdom Gospel prevailed as to the understanding of many earthly believers conscience at that time, and to many still today. But His rejection brought about a new Gospel to be reckoned with which is Spiritual only; "It shall come to pass that, whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" Acts 2:21. This Gospel still did not present heaven before the soul, nor did it separate men from the earth however if the synoptics [Matt, Mark, Luke] only are held and taught, as a Christian world few, then the earth and a kingdom to be built here including the attempted remaking of men to be like Jesus will be the main thought taught and followed even though we now have the spirit of faith to go and live by. A noble thought perhaps but as history has proved a life impossible to obtain as Adam creatures on earth; even though Grace prevails and the expression of the togetherness in faith, service, and works of believers reflected Gods love for all.
Paul made this all very clear that the Spirit would progressively reveal a entirely new way, in his redefining [making individual private spiritual truth known] of the Gospel as he received it in direct revelation from Jesus Christ Himself. He also made it quit clear the even he could not accomplish [Rom. 6] as a Christian a earthly Gospel life to please God. One in which he saw then, as we surly can now, the failure of man to do anything of value for God in our works of the flesh. As we are not here now to bring things back in order or make Adams sin into a good thing by work and service but to bless God in acknowledgement of His Son and we in Him wholly as new creations.
Paul used the term for the Spirit life referring to it as "my gospel" Rom. 16:25] or "the Gospel of God" [Rom 1:1] "the Gospel of His Son". One cannot read Paul's letters without seeing that this new way is of Spirit only. Rejecting all that is earthly and assigning us to heaven with Christ Jesus, hid in Him with God [Col:3]. A new order of existence now is established by Paul's revelations. Not only are we saved but Christ Jesus lives in us and we in Him, a heavenly calling of the spirit of the mind. "Abide above". Believers must seek out Paul, find their place in Spirit, begin to see our new creation as positioned in heaven and ourselves found as identified by the Father in Christ. This was Paul's Gospel. The earth is lost forever for the Christian, it will not improve, nor will man. We must be formed by God's Spirit ourselves in our conscience by faith, in Paul's reveled truth. And develop a attitude of looking down from God's abode, where we are held forever in Gods thought, and live above the circumstances of this evil worldly life just as Paul taught. By spirit held and afforded in the knowledge of God's Word. All service and church works must proceed from this consciousness in order to truly honor what God has wrought within His Son.
