One's standards are based on principals to which one is committed, and determines one's capacity to understand and assimilate knowledge which thereby give significance to ones actions. One's answers to questions asked are limited to preconceptions of the questioner, marked by his standards. The concepts we hold which are influenced by our personal standards will limit, or expand, our ability to process information to a logical and fact based conclusion.
Taking on the Mind of Christ as a standard is not just conforming to a pattern of behavior. Taking on the Mind of Christ is not merely a set of beliefs. It is revelation and enlightenment, attunement to God. It is seeing God, as God actively present in our mind and at work in all circumstances. Taking on the Heart of Jesus Christ is not simply a matter of conscious conviction; it is experiencing and responding to the world and our human nature with a faith that we are included in all that is the Son Himself. We thereby partake of God's will for us and enter into the spirit centered self, the economy of God. By this incite we will gain entrance to a solid standard upon which to stand.
Today in church we had a guest speaker a likable man known well to the community. His message was one of restoration. He spoke of the need for believers to take action, and thereby receive what God had ready to give in the way of recovery from our ills. His primary overt method of getting the message to his audience was a sort of cheer leading; having the flock repeat out loud affirmative mantras. Then we were encouraged to be positive in having received, while going on our way. Most encouraging for the moment. Afterward I wondered how many of those troubled souls would still have anything to hold onto in a hour after this feel good well meaning performance? There was no mention of how one might receive a specific biblical incite to insure victory and receive revelation of God's Word; which is necessary to stand on a platform which would supply a solid standard for the faith needed to have a lasting recovery, to triumph over the human condition. This kind of approach, is in my view, a institutional inherent weakness built into much of contemporary christian culture.
Well then you may ask: What is it specifically that will give us a standard of understanding which will honor what God has given to us in His Son? My fellow seekers, the answer is found very clearly in His Word. "If therefore you have been raised with Christ, seek the thing which are above" Col.3:2. For now lets just think of being raised with Christ, as our born again experience. If we are to by God's command, seek that which is above, He must mean heaven, where Jesus is; this standard if held, will be indicated by our acts, and the occupation of our heart, and that by a knowledge of truth. Evidently it is not here, or by the worlds natural standards, even; "so called good ones" we will find our place of relief, nor by a church which encourages us to by our own feelings and power to grab by our own bootstraps a self effort determination of accomplishment. The Lord is not here, He passed into Glory touched by our weakness, He knew of our infirmities, He was a man, but without sin. This, His condition, gave Him the power to supply from Himself the grace we need to set a new standard of a life here in our body which enables us to walk as He walked, not in duty or religious works or mere feelings, but one with The Father and that by His Holy Spirit. In other words by us in realization of so great a work we may be transformed into His image. For a Christian to act down here with the mind of Christ he must come to a place of great need, and then form a desire to engage in Him above, this will open the door to our souls rejection of defining our self by a natural standard. All will be determined by the direction we allow our heart to take. The robber of our godly standard is the ignorance of biblical facts and our choosing to remain clouded by a institution which often obscures the truth out of their own opaque understanding or even worse by providing a selfish worldly church experience, however well meaning, so that the weak flock will remain in donation mode on their comfortable nests.
I think a problem, and hence the unfortunate lack of understanding by the church, is the assumption that most in attendance at services are members of the Organic Body of Christ. This may or may not be true; God knows! In my observance the overseeing powers have simply designed a system whose primary goal is to make all the audience comfortable and happy more our less aping the world and falling into a pattern or ritualized presentation where most will not be offended, this is marketing 101, and yes I know there are exception, thank God! There is no presentation of the need for conviction of our sin nature, no encounter with the heavenly nature of the believer, no challenge to discover identification of ourselves in Christ death, and no positional teaching leading to a challenge to live or find a deeper existence in the Body of Christ. Yes they might teach some biblical truths and even offer some challenge to the seekers present, but I have yet to encounter a mainline church which teaches the fundamental need to understand that the standard of the believer is to know by biblical revelation of his very presence in the Holy Son of God and by this understanding be called to a radical unworldly self perception, which is made ardently clear simply by reading the Word of God, and then believing what it says!
The concept which has invaded my heart these past two years, is the transitive property of Christ in us; which was never taught in all my active 38 years of Church attendance. Oh yes I was told Jesus was a friend next to me, even in me, but the biblical revelation of that truth was not hammered into my souls understanding by a substantial positional teaching that we were to count ourselves as dead, and understand what that meant, and alive in Christ understanding myself as a new creation in Him with all of my mind and souls personality. I never was challenged to gain a concept of the truth that God's entrance into humanity gave me power to be a completely new man and the old Adam is entirely dead in the economy of my God and Father, and in that I was completely spiritually free from the world, in it but NOT of it, and knew the difference!
Just what does the new man look like? What is the standard that God has commanded by His perfect will? Mr Stoney had much to say on the subject. I will use his inspirational writing to make the following commentary: "Consistency is being true to a given standard". It seems however the lower standard is often taught and preferred, making the law, performance, religious duty, feelings, accomplishments, the rule of christian life. Admittedly this procedure will show a obvious and consistent pattern and make a more reverend appearance than one who chooses to make Christ in their life everything, a humble lowly approach. We must remember that the law of performance addresses the man in the flesh; Whereas the Lord is only know by His own Spirit. If we mark our standard by works etc. we cultivate the old and the dead. But if we count ourselves as dead truly, by seeing and defining our life as in Christ we will fulfill the Bibles mandate to "Walk in the Spirit, and then you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh" Gal. 5:16.
The difference in these two standards is vastly different as to effect and demand. In the first we are required to exalt men to a power or divine elevation. In the second we must see ourselves as dead men and accept another as our life-- Christ Jesus, bless His name forever! The difference is immeasurable! On the surface the one who shows his works is seen and respected by the world and the church and seems to be the most consistent in his standard. Whereas the one who has set aside his Adam-life, in respect to his self conscious understanding, walking outside of his flesh, in the Spirit of Christ will go unnoticed. He is a heavenly man, not of this world. There is no doubt the second man surpasses the former when he is consistent with his standard, but this can only be in proportion as he is held in the power which transfers him from his old nature into Christ. He has no place to fall back to, as the man of performance, and hence would appear worse off in that event, because the man in Christ must live outside himself; where as the other finds a safety net in the law, church attendance, programs and traditions etc. as he is living for and in himself.
It is plane to see, if we wish to make our self appear with a observable purpose we will study to exhibit a pleasing appearance. The whole legal church religious system has been set up from the beginning to honor the carnal, first Adam. But if we seek to live in the Lord Jesus Christ which is the new system set up in His Blood, as our life, we might not appear as pristine, and if we fall from so great a elevation as a heavenly life we will be far worse off than the man who is comfortable with his patterns and self centered platform. The new nature is a infinitely higher calling and requires a diligence as to being positioned in Christ and a deep inward humble self assessment. The example being the lowly position Jesus took upon Himself, in coming to save us.
To quote Mr Stoney directly sums up the battle for a standard, which will please God and honor our Christian commitment, not to mention if his advise is followed will provide exceeding joy and freedom in its message: "The man who cultivates himself obtains commendation from men in a measure that the one who cultivates life in the Lord Jesus Christ will never receive or elicit. The one cultivate what exults man, and therefore what suits man; the other, that which ignores man and which rises above him. We must not forget that, that which is highly esteemed among men is a abomination in the sight of God". My friends it only remains for us to choose the standard upon which we will stand before the living God!
No comments:
Post a Comment