The New Creation
A
message from the
author
Dear Reader:
This Bible study is the fourth in
a series
designed to teach you the basics of the New Testament. Because of
the importance of this study, and the explosive Biblical concept
which it sets forth, it is our fervent prayer that it will
accomplish its purpose.
The basic conclusions reached in
this study are
as follows:
- It is possible for the
Christian, because he is a new creation following His immersion into
Christ, to become like Christ.
- This new creation must be
developed in a continual process of renewing the mind - by seeing the
picture of the resurrected Christ, developing the picture of the
resurrected Christ, and keeping focused on the picture of the
resurrected Christ.
- God’s purpose through
the ages was to send the Holy Spirit to those who are faithful to Him,
so that fellowship with God may be restored, and the faithful may
become perfect like their heavenly Father. God communicates this
exciting concept, in words such as promise, mystery, glory, and
mirror, that we might better
understand His
purpose. Forgiveness of sin is a vehicle to the indwelling Spirit, and
as a key concept of God, must be understood in comprehending the
message of the New Testament. The message of the Old Testament is not
merely Christ, but Christ in you. In the mirror of the perfect
revelation of God - the completed New Testament and the perfect law -
we see the image of the resurrected Christ, and in consequence are
being transformed into the same image.
- The Holy Spirit helps the
Christian to become perfect, to crucify his flesh. The Spirit leads him
that he might be a son of God, and intercedes for the Christian in
prayer.
- Christians are exhorted to be
filled with God’s Spirit, not to grieve the Spirit, nor
quench Him, and to make our bodies our slaves.
- Life in Jesus is freedom from
the old way of thinking. The Christian joyfully does what God wants in
a concentrated effort to be like Christ. He believes that God is able
to do exceeding abundantly beyond what he asks or thinks, by the power
of the Holy Spirit who works within.
Understanding the concept of the
new creation
is the central point in understanding Christianity. Only the
vision of what we can be in Christ, and a sincere desire to carry
out that vision, will give us the motivation to be what God wants
us to be. This is what the good news is really all about.
Once again, we remind the reader
that the
author of this booklet is not inspired, and is subject to error,
ignorance, and prejudice. You must go to the Bible itself for
answers - all we can do is challenge your thinking.
The New American Standard Version
of the Bible
was used in preparation of this study, and is quoted throughout.
Your servant,
Jay Wilson
"The
Bible only...
makes Christians only..."
INTRODUCTION
The "good news" of Christianity is
not centered on forgiveness of sin. That a lost and
damned-to-hell sinner may have forgiveness of sin is certainly
good news, but forgiveness of sin obtained through repentance and
immersion in Jesus’ name is only to take care of the past.
Once his past is buried, the Christian’s problem is to live
today for Christ, spotless and without sin. He must "turn
over a new leaf," or as Jesus said it, "You must be
born again" (John
3:7).
In order to live
his new life in Christ, the Christian finds that he needs help.
This help is available through the Holy Spirit.
The apostle Paul stated the
importance of our
subject in this way: "For neither is circumcision anything,
nor uncircumcision, but a new creation" (Galatians
6:15). The essence
of Christianity is found in understanding the new creation.
Unless we understand what God envisions us as being, Christianity
is nothing more than an extremely burdensome set of rules which
are grudgingly obeyed. Such obedience is death.
I.
THE MEANING OF THE NEW
CREATION
The
New
Birth
"Therefore
if any man is in
Christ, he is a new creature; the old
things passed away; behold, new things have come" (II
Corinthians 5:17).
We
have seen (in
the study entitled God’s Plan of Salvation)
that an individual enters into Christ through
immersion in water (Romans
6:3; Galatians 3:27).
In immersion - by virtue of being placed into Christ - the
individual is now a new creature. In answer to Nicodemus’
question about how to be born again, Jesus answered, "Unless
one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God" (John
3:5).
Being born again
consists of being born of both water and Spirit, as Peter said on
the Day of Pentecost: "Repent, and let each of you be
immersed [in water - Acts
10:47,48] in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts
2:38).
In this new birth, the past is
buried with
Jesus in immersion (Romans 6:4); but the real importance of the
new birth lies not in burying the past, but in sharing in
Jesus’ resurrection. "Behold, new things have
come!" (For more detail on the new birth of water and
Spirit, see the study The
Holy Spirit, the section
dealing with the
indwelling Holy Spirit.)
What is this new creature? What
are the old
things that have passed away? And, more importantly, what are the
new things that have come?
The
New Potential
In
the sermon on the
mount, Jesus told His followers: "Therefore
you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew
5:48).
Various weasel-worded explanations
have been
given in trying to blunt the thrust of Jesus’ statement.
Some speak of "perfect love" (as if perfect love
without perfect behavior were possible) as what Jesus desires.
But Jesus is very clear - we are to be perfect (complete, mature)
as our heavenly Father is perfect (complete, mature). We are to
be like our heavenly Father in every respect.
The
same thought is
emphasized in the epistles. Paul speaks of our
predetermined purpose as becoming "conformed to the image of
His Son" (Romans
8:29).
"Be
imitators of me," he wrote, "just as I also am of
Christ" (I
Corinthians 11:1). Peter
drives the point home in these words: "For you have been
called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who
committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth" (I
Peter 2:21,22). We as
Christians are to become conformed to the image of Christ, to be
imitators of Christ, and to follow in His steps. In simple terms,
we as Christians are to be like Christ.
But is this possible? Has God set
for us a task
that is impossible to complete? Has He set for us a goal that is
impossible to achieve? Has He laid upon us a yoke which neither
we nor our fathers could bear?
The answer to these questions, as
we shall see,
is "No!" God has opened the doorway of perfection to
us. But the process of becoming like Christ is much like the
process of picture taking. The picture of perfection must be
"snapped" - it must be implanted in the film of the
brain. Then it must be "developed" - the fleeting
snapshot must be developed into a permanent picture. And the
picture must be kept constantly in front of us, or it is soon
forgotten.
The
New
Picture
Our first step, then, is to take
the picture to
understand that we can be perfect, as our heavenly Father is
perfect. How, we ask, can these things be?
We
begin with the words
of Jesus: "Truly I say to you, among
those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John
the Immerser; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is
greater than he" (Matthew
11:11).
John
is described by
Jesus as the greatest ever born of woman (it will be
evident shortly how Jesus exempted Himself from that statement).
He is described as "more than a prophet" (Matthew
11:9).
To get the full
impact of Jesus’ point, consider the long list of Old
Testament greats. Men such as Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, David,
Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Zerubbabel, and Zechariah cross our
minds. These are those "who by faith conquered kingdoms,
performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the
mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of
the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war,
put foreign armies to flight" (Hebrews
11:34).
That is an impressive list. But
John, the last
of the Old Testament prophets (the New Testament took effect at
the death of Christ - Hebrews
9:16,17), was the
greatest of them all. It seems clear that God looked down through
the ages and selected the very best to be His forerunner, His
messenger to prepare the way for the coming Christ (Matthew
11:10). John was
greater than everyone from Abel to Zechariah.
Then Jesus makes this statement:
"Yet he
who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than
[John]." What is the kingdom of heaven?
It
can be shown from
other scripture that the kingdom of heaven is used
interchangeably for the church
(see the study
entitled Christ’s Church - the section
on the
church as the kingdom).
For example, in Colossians
1:13, Christians
(those delivered from the domain of darkness) are described as
already in the kingdom of Christ; the kingdom of Christ is
equivalent to the church - which consists of all Christians. A
comparison of Matthew
16:28 and its
companion scripture, Mark
9:1,
will show that the
kingdom of Christ is the same as the kingdom of God. And
comparing Matthew
13:11 with Mark
4:11
will show that the
kingdom of heaven is the kingdom of God. It is therefore clear
that the kingdom of heaven is the kingdom of Christ - the church.
Now back to the statement that the
least in the
kingdom of heaven is greater than John. What Jesus said was that
the least Christian is greater than John
the
Immerser. To bring that into clearer focus: the least
Christian is greater than Moses, or David or Elijah. The least
Christian is greater than everyone from Abel to Zechariah,
greater than the greatest born of woman - John the Immerser.
Again we - humbly born that we are - ask, how can this be?
In being born of woman, we were
born with
limited potential. Sin, for example, overpowered us, and we fell
short of the glory of God (Romans
3:23).
Such is the
history of all who are born of woman.
But
a hint of God’s
solution is given in the opening of the gospel of John.
When Jesus came into the world, the world which He created did
not recognize Him. He came to His own people Israel - and His own
people did not receive Him, but rejected Him. But there were some
who recognized Him as the Messiah when He walked in the flesh. Of
these it is written: "But as many as received Him, to them
He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who
believe in His name, who were born not of blood,
nor of
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God"
(John
1:12,13).
Those who
recognized His Messiahship were given the right to become sons of
God at some future date - following His resurrection, when the
Spirit would be given (see John
7:37-39).
John the Immerser’s
heritage, greatest
though he was of those born of woman, was limited because he was
born only of the flesh. But the least Christian is greater than
he, for the Christian has been born again - this time not of
woman, but born of God!
We can now begin to understand why
Jesus’
command of being perfect is within our reach. In becoming new
creatures, we have a new Father, and the limitation of being born
of earthly parentage is now shed. (Jesus, in the context of Matthew
11:11, regarded
Himself, not as born of woman, but as born of God.)
Dead
To
Sin
This picture is driven home by the
apostle Paul
in Romans
6.
He first asks the
question, "Are we to continue in sin that grace might
increase?" The answer obviously is "No!" He then,
in two stages, shows us how we can live in the state where we do
not sin. Both stages deal with the picture we have of ourselves.
The
first picture is
that the old man is dead and buried - done away
with. "Or do you not know that all of us who have been
immersed into Christ Jesus have been immersed into His death?
Therefore we have been buried with Him through immersion
into
death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead
through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness
of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness
of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of
His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was
crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with,
that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has
died is freed from sin" (Romans
6:3-7).
Let’s visit the morgue
(we are dealing
with death, remember). Lift the sheet from one of the corpses.
Try to tempt him. What images can you flash in front of him that
would generate sinful thoughts? What titillating sensations can
you use to sway him? What fears can you strike in his heart?
"None," you answer. Why not? You
reply, "Because he’s dead!"
That is precisely how a Christian
is to view
himself. In his immersion, the old self was actually crucified,
and done away with. The word of the Lord is, "He who has
died is freed from sin."
One
of the important
Biblical principles is that every individual carries
out his inner picture of himself. Self image is
the
modern term used to describe this inner picture. The Bible
phrases it in this way: "For as he [a man] thinks within
himself, so he is" (Proverbs
23:7). As we picture
ourselves, so we act. The key to actual change in behavior, then,
is to change the inner picture.
In
dealing with men,
God goes right to the heart of the problem. His first
point is to establish that, in one form or another, we view
ourselves as failures and act accordingly. "For all have
sinned," He says, "and fall short of the glory of
God" (Romans
3:23).
But rather than trying to work
with the failure
- rather than trying to reconstitute or restructure him - God
simply buries him. Such is the first picture driven into our
minds by the hammer of God’s word - "He who has died is
freed from sin!" The old things have truly passed away!
Alive
To
God
In
the first seven
verses of Romans
6
the apostle Paul is
primarily stressing the burial of the old man. In verses 8-11 of
the same chapter he now gives us a new picture. "Now if we
have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with
Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is
never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the
life that He lives, He lives to God" (Romans
6:8-10). In dealing
with us, the inspired apostle draws upon the resurrection of
Christ.
Jesus
in His resurrected
state is described as "dead to sin,
but alive to God." We ask the question, "How much power
did the devil have over Jesus after His resurrection?" The
answer, of course, is "No power at all." In raising
from the dead, Jesus did "render powerless him who had the
power of death, that is ,the devil" (Hebrews
2:14).
Although the
devil could tempt Jesus while He was in the flesh, Jesus - having
smashed the devil’s head in His resurrection - is now beyond
temptation. He now "cannot be tempted by evil, and He
Himself does not tempt anyone" (James
1:13).
Death truly is no
longer master over Him, and in this resurrected state is
"dead to sin, and alive to God."
We are now prepared for verse 11,
which is
specifically written for us. "Even so consider yourselves to
be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." When we
recall that the words "dead to sin and alive to God"
are descriptive of Jesus in His resurrected state, we understand
that God has just exhorted us to picture - consider is the word
he uses - ourselves as already resurrected! We are to
view ourselves as Jesus was when He came out of the tomb!
In our immersions, not only did
God arrange for
the burial of the old man, but more importantly, He arranged for
the resurrection of a totally new creature! This new creature -
by the command of the Almighty - is to view himself as already
resurrected!
The significance of this
resurrection cannot be
overstressed. A person who views himself as a sinner or failure
will continue to act in that way. God’s solution to
man’s problems is to give us self images as those who are
beyond the reach of Satan. Only by viewing ourselves in this
fashion can we live the life of Christ and not continue in sin.
"As a man thinks within himself, so he is."
This is why Paul is so emphatic:
"For if
we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly
we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection" (Romans
6:5).
Just as we
participate in the likeness of Jesus’ death (immersion) now,
so we also participate in the likeness of Jesus’
resurrection now! If temptation and fear
have no
effect upon a dead man, how much less effect do they have on a
resurrected man?
These
same points are
stressed throughout the New Testament. "If
then you have been raised up with Christ, keep
seeking
the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of
God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that
are on earth. For you have died and your life is
hidden
with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed,
then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Therefore
consider the members of your earthly body as dead
to
immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which
amounts to idolatry. For it is on account of these things that
the wrath of God will come, and in them you also once walked,
when you were living in them. But now, you also, put them all
aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from
your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside
the old self with its evil practices, and have
put on
the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge
according to the image of the One who created him - a renewal in
which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised
and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but
Christ is all and in all" (Colossians
3:1-11).
"But
you did not learn
Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard
Him and have been taught in Him, just as the truth is in Jesus,
that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay
aside the old self which is being corrupted in accordance
with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the
spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the
likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of
the truth" (Ephesians
4:20-24).
The new creation has the new
potential of being
like Christ. The first step in the development of this new
potential is a dual new picture - that of the old self being
dead, and that of the new self being already resurrected with
Christ. It is truly-exciting "new things have come!"
Our Picture - that we can be in
Christ - is
imprinted in our minds like physical pictures:
- We take the snapshot, the image
of the Glorified Christ
- We develop the picture
- We keep the picture before our
eyes
Summary
It is possible for the Christian,
because he is
a new creation following his new birth, to become like Christ.
II.
DEVELOPING THE NEW
CREATURE
We
Must
Believe That We Can Be Like Christ
Christianity is somewhere between
your eyes and
the back of your head. I know that the Bible says that you must
"believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the
dead" (Romans
10:9),
but the same
apostle, in the same epistle, seems very concerned about the
"set mind" (Romans
8:5).
The
message of God
begins with an appeal to the anguished adult:
"Come now, let us reason together" says the Lord (Isaiah
1:18).
"Faith
comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ" (Romans
10:17).
In the same way, the development
of the new
potential begins with "reasoning together" with God and
believing that we can be what He says we can. We must believe
that we do have the potential of being like Christ. If we do not
believe that we can, it is certain that we won’t. Consider
carefully the following scripture:
"For
what the Law could
not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God
did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as
an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order
that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us,
who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the
Spirit" (Romans
8:3,4).
What is the requirement of the
Law? Sin is
defined as breaking the Law, or lawlessness (I John 3:4). The
requirement of the Law is sinlessness, or perfection. Who is
going to fulfill the requirement of the Law? Jesus? The Holy
Spirit says that Christians fulfill the requirement of the Law!
The Holy Spirit says that Christians are going to live perfect
lives by walking according to the Spirit rather than according to
the flesh.
The Law (the Old Covenant) could
never generate
the kind of people who could keep it. But the gospel can generate
the kind of people who can be as righteous as the Law required!
God did two things which condemned sin in the flesh, and which
made it possible for us to meet the requirement of the Law,
through the Spirit.
- He
sent His Son as an offering for sin. One of the
exciting characteristics of
God’s grace is that Jesus paid the full price for our sins.
When a person is immersed into Christ, the past is completely
obliterated, as the writer of Hebrews quotes from Jeremiah: "For I will
be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no
more" (Hebrews
8:12).
One of the important characteristics of this grace is that it is
applied, not only to a person’s immersion into Christ, but
whenever he needs it in his Christian walk. "We have obtained," Paul
writes, "our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand" (Romans
5:2).
We need to realize that grace is designed by God for the Christian -
there are no other people on the face of the earth who stand in
God’s good graces. For the older, more mature Christian, as
well as for the dripping wet immersee, yesterday is gone. It was nailed
to the cross with Christ. He came as an offering for our sins.
With that bit of good news, however, God also wiped out one of our
excuses. "I can’t be perfect today," we say, "because I
wasn’t perfect yesterday."
What happened to yesterday? It was nailed to the cross with Christ, and
with it our sins. But also nailed there was our excuse that we cannot
be perfect today because of yesterday. He condemned sin in the flesh by
His offering on the cross that we might fulfill the requirement of the
Law.
- He
sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. When
Jesus walked in the flesh, how human was He?
In emphasizing the divinity of Jesus Christ, we sometimes forget that
He also came as the Son of man, that He "emptied Himself, taking the
form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men" (Philippians
2:7). But Jesus was 100% human. He became hungry, He
got tired, and He wept. He came in the likeness of sinful flesh.
Did Jesus ever sin? "For we do not have a high priest who cannot
sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all
things as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews
4:15).
Jesus was tempted in every way that we are, yet He never yielded to
temptation.
Why didn’t Jesus sin? Our initial tendency is to respond,
"Because He was God." Notice, however, that this answer begs the
question of why Jesus didn’t sin when He existed in human
form. Our answer comes from Paul’s letter to the churches of
Galatia: "For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the
Spirit against the flesh, for these are in opposition to one another,
so that you may not do the things that you please" (Galatians
5:17). Sin occurs when the flesh wins the battle with
the spirit - when the flesh does what it pleases. Jesus never sinned
because His Spirit did not, for even the smallest fraction of a second,
allow His flesh to dictate to His Spirit.
In coming in the likeness of sinful flesh, and being tempted in all
points like we and yet without sin, Jesus destroyed our second excuse
for not being perfect. Our second excuse is this: "It can’t
be done." Our excuse is gone - Jesus proved, in the likeness of sinful
flesh, that it can be done!
The
first point in the
development of our new potential is to really
believe that we can fulfill the requirement of the Law - that we
can be tempted in all points like Jesus and yet not sin. We must
believe with Paul: "I can do all things through Him who
strengthens me" (Philippians
4:13).
We Must
Set Our Minds
"For
those who are
according to the flesh set their minds on the
things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit,
the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but
the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it
does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even
able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please
God" (Romans
8:5-8).
Once we realize that we can be
like Jesus and
believe that we really have that potential, our next step is to set
our minds toward being like Him.
Any athlete knows that in order to
win a race
or ball game, he must first set his mind toward winning. If he
does not set his mind - if he is not mentally "up" - he
will lose.
So the Bible warns us - the mind
set on the
flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.
What does it mean to set the mind
on the things
of the Spirit? The whole New Testament is designed to help an
individual in these matters - to give him guidelines and
instructions as to how to set his mind on the things of the
Spirit, and what these things are - "All Scripture is
inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God
may be adequate, equipped for every good work" (II
Timothy 3:16,17). The
following scriptures, however, are especially important in
showing us what to set our minds on:
- "But
seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these material
things shall be added to you"
(Matthew
6:33).
One of the biggest concerns of many Christians is "where is the money
going to come from?" Jesus allays our fears by telling us that God will
provide. Our main item of business is to seek first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness.
This means that the church comes first.
That shouldn’t surprise us - Jesus died for the church and
purchased it with His own blood.
It is very important to our growing to be like Christ that we set
our minds to attend every possible church function -
Bible school, morning assembly, evening assembly, fellowship dinners,
etc.
More important than our attendance at such functions is our attitude
toward doing so. Jesus said that it is more blessed to give than to
receive (Acts
20:35).
We must come with the idea of giving ourselves to encourage "one
another to love and to good deeds" (Hebrews
10:24). We must set our minds
to be givers of life and enthusiasm, rather than "wet blankets and cold
water throwers."
- We
must remember that Jesus came to "seek and to save that which was lost"
(Luke
19:10).
Jesus died on the cross and has left the work of seeking and saving the
lost to Christians. Jesus has commissioned us all, through the
apostles, to "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
immersing them into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew
28:19,20). Lest any should say that only the apostles were
to fulfill the commission, we note that disciples are to continue to be
immersed into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even to the
end of the age. Fulfilling the commission is something every Christian
can do, if only he will.
Jesus has commissioned us to:
- Go
- Make disciples
- Immerse them into the name
of the Father, Son, and Spirit
- Continue to teach them
We must set our minds
toward carrying out each of the four parts of that commission. It is
designed to make us like Jesus, as we carry out His purpose of seeking
and saving the lost.
- Paul
told the church at Philippi: "Work out your salvation with fear and
trembling" (Philippians
2:12).
Salvation is a contract between us and our Master. The terms of the
agreement are simple - He agrees to save us from the fires of hell on
the day of judgment; and we agree in turn to live every minute of our
lives here on earth for Him.
Paul wrote, in explaining this to us: "I have been crucified with
Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians
2:20).
Jesus expressed the same concept: "If anyone wishes to come after Me,
let him deny himself; and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For
whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his
life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man
profited if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself [his
soul]?" (Luke
9:23-25).
We must set our minds
to working out
our contract of salvation. The terms of the contract are guaranteed to
make us like Jesus.
- In
becoming like Jesus,
as we labor and strive here on earth, it is possible for a person to
become discouraged if he focuses his attention in the wrong direction.
A person can be disappointed in himself for failing to be like Jesus,
and he can be disappointed in others for failing to receive the message
of salvation.
We must recognize that Jesus walked this earthly pilgrimage before us,
that He faced every problem that we do, and that He overcame. They
hated Him (John
15:25),
rejected His message (John
6:60),
and killed Him.
But we must follow the inspired advice of Paul in focusing our
attention in the proper direction: "Set your mind
on the things above, not on the things that are on earth" (Colossians
3:2).
A Christian must recognize
that he has the potential of being like Christ. He must then believe
that he really can be like Christ. Then he must set his
mind toward achieving that goal.
The Christian sets his mind on
being like
Christ by setting his mind on the things of the Spirit. These
include:
- Putting the church first.
- Personally seeking and saving
the lost.
- Working out the contract of
salvation.
- Setting the mind on things
above.
Keep
Focusing The Mind On God’s Things
Once the Christian has set his
mind to be like
Christ, he faces another problem - the tendency to lose his
resolve.
We
are warned against
such loss of resolve: "And do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that you may prove [test] what the will of God
is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans
12:2).
Again,
the Spirit says,
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true,
whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any
excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind
dwell on these things" (Philippians
4:8).
The mind is in constant need of
renewal. The
only way to be transformed or changed is by the process of
renewing or reprogramming of the mind. Many people pray for God
to change them - God has told us how to be changed: Renew
the mind! Failure to reprogram the mind will result in a
person’s being conformed to this world.
It is extremely important that the
Christian
control his mental environment. Outer actions are the reflection
of inner attitudes. That is why the Holy Spirit has exhorted us
to make sure our minds dwell - live - on excellent thoughts.
We also need practical ways to
keep our minds
focused on Christ. God has so designed the church that all the
basic activities of Christianity are perfect for the purpose of
helping us keep our minds set!
- The
Lord’s Supper is one of the most important practices in
keeping our minds set on being like Christ. The night in
which Jesus was betrayed, He took
both the bread and the cup (which was filled with juice from the fruit
of the vine) and of both He said, "do this in remembrance of Me" (I
Corinthians 11:24,25).
The early church participated in the Lord’s Supper (which
they also called "the breaking of bread" - I
Corinthians 10:16) every first day of the week as their
primary
purpose for meeting together (Acts
20:7).
The remembrance of Jesus is central in our purpose for meeting together
- we should be motivated by that remembrance!
The importance of the Supper is stated this way by Jesus: "Unless you
eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life
in yourselves" (John
6:53).
Isn’t that what we want - life?
- The
assembly of the saints is designed to help us keep our attention
focused on being like Christ.
As Jesus went about doing good (Acts
10:38),
so we are to "consider how to stimulate one another to love and good
deeds" (Hebrews
10:24).
God knows the value of teamwork and the mutual encouragement that
arises when a good team works toward the same goal. For this reason
"God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He
desired" (I
Corinthians 12:18).
Working with the local church should not be a drudgery - rather it
should be a joy to meet with and work at helping each other to become
like Christ.
- Prayer
is also designed to focus our attention on being new creatures.
Notice how carefully God works with our attitudes
and desires before He consents to answer:
- He answers prayers in
Jesus’ name (John
14:14).
This again draws our attention to the fact that we cannot come to God
on our own, but only through Him who died that we might become like Him.
- He also works with our
attitude in really believing. "And all things you ask in prayer, believing,
you shall receive" (Matthew
21:22). This again triggers the thought in our minds
that we must not only recognize the potential we have in Christ, we
must really work with our belief level in every respect!
- Prayer also works with our
inner motives. "You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong
motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures" (James
4:3).
Are our inner motives to be like Jesus and to work for the spread and
growth of His kingdom?
- God uses prayer to develop
persistence within us. "Now He was telling them a parable to show that
at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart" (Luke
18:1).
Jesus was in constant fellowship with the Father in prayer; yet the
Father did not always answer His prayers the way His natural desires
would have them answered: "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup
pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will" (Matthew
26:39). This persistence and submission to the will of
the Father makes it possible for us to carry our crosses down the way
of life in the footsteps of Jesus.
- Studying
and memorizing the scripture is also very important to the formation of
the new creation.
Paul wrote that it is "the word of God which also performs its work in
you who believe" (I
Thessalonians 2:13). Jesus said, "The words that I have
spoken to you
are spirit and are life" (John
6:63).
The only way to be transformed is by "the renewing of the mind" (Romans
12:2).
The best way to be renewed is to be continually working in
God’s word. His thoughts can never become our thoughts unless
we read and become familiar with the Bible.
Mere reading and studying the Bible will not do the job. Sooner or
later we must all realize that in order to become like our Lord we must
memorize it. Recall how Jesus answered the devil in the wilderness (Matthew
4:1-11) - with memorized scripture! Even at the age of
twelve He amazed the doctors of the Law with His knowledge and grasp of
God’s word. Part of Jesus’ being human is that it
was no easier for Him to memorize the scriptures than it is for us.
Let’s go to work.
Jesus stressed the importance of having the scripture memorized in this
way, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you
wish, and it shall be done for you" (John
15:7).
Or does a man live by bread alone?
- Singing
psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs is part of developing to be like Jesus. Colossians
3:16 makes it clear that such singing is a way of
teaching and admonishing one another and of letting the word of Christ
richly dwell within us. Ephesians
5:19 points out that this is the way of being filled
with God’s Spirit.
- Becoming
a teacher of God’s word is an effective means of being
transformed. A
principle of which we are all aware is that we have not really learned
anything well until we have reached the point at which we can teach
others. The repetition, the answering of questions, the enthusiasm
required to spark others’ interest, and the hard work of
preparation all make us more like Him who was known as the Teacher (John
13:14)
In becoming teachers, James warns us: "Let not many of you become
teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter
judgment" (James
3:1).
We are encouraged to become teachers (Hebrews
5:12),
but we are cautioned that we don’t move too fast, for the
teacher is responsible to God for what he says, and he must always be
accurate in his handling of the word of truth.
God wants us to commit ourselves
to
disciplining our thinking, that we might become like Jesus. He
has given the church various activities designed to help us focus
and keep concentrating our attention on His Son and that we might
continue to enthusiastically press on.
It
is plain that keeping
our minds on the things of the Spirit requires driving
dedication and humble desire. There are no half-way programs, no
short-cut ways to becoming the new creatures that we can be.
It’s all or nothing, as Jesus said, "He who is not with
Me is against Me . . ." (Matthew
12:30). Let’s
press on in working out our contract with enthusiasm!
Summary
The new creature is developed by a
continual
process of renewing the mind. The individual’s mind must be
persuaded that he can be like Christ, then he must be determined
to do so. God helps the Christian to maintain his determination
by providing the assistance of the church.
III.
GOD’S PURPOSE
Body,
Soul, And Spirit
"Now
may the God of peace
Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your
spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (I
Thessalonians 5:23).
The human being consists of three
parts - body,
soul, and spirit.
- The body is that physical part
of us referred to in the Bible as "the flesh" (Galatians
5:16) and our "earthly tent" (II
Corinthians 5:1). It is our temporary home, and is not the
real
"us" - it is only the place in which the real person lives while on
earth.
- The soul is the "living" part
of us. It is the soul which sees, feels, hears, and thinks - forever!
Physical death is the separation of the soul from the body (see
Acts 2:27). Though the body is dead - though the eyes no
longer see, for example - the soul continues to see in Hades (the
temporary resting place for the souls of the dead). In Luke
16:23
the rich man is described as "in Hades he lifted up his eyes"- a figure
of speech meaning that he continued to see.
The soul is the life of the human being. When the soul leaves, the eyes
no longer see and the ears no longer hear. The eyes and ears were
merely physical means through which the soul operated while on earth.
- The spirit is the deep inner
part of a person. When God made man in His image (Genesis
1:26),
He made him a spirit being. Since God is Spirit (John
4:24),
neither the physical part of man, nor his soul, is in the image of God.
It is in being a spirit that man is made in God’s image.
It is in being a spirit that
distinguishes man
from animals. Animals are body and soul, but not spirit. In being
a spirit, man is a moral being. He is not to operate by instinct
as unreasoning animals do (see
II Peter 2:12), but he has
a choice of doing right or wrong.
This spiritual part of man might
be described
as his will - his desire to press on - his desire for deep
fellowship.
The
Promise
Of The Spirit
Sometimes God, in His inspired
word, uses words
with special emphasis or meaning which can be derived only by a
study of those words in their contexts. I call them
"cipher" words or "code" words. Once the
meaning of a "cipher" word is understood, then the
message of the passage in which it is used can be
"deciphered." If the meaning of the "cipher"
word is not understood, then the main thrust of that passage of
scripture is lost upon the student of God’s word.
One such "cipher" word is promise.
Sometimes promise refers to eternal life (I
John 2:25). Promises,
for example in II
Peter 1:4,
talks about many
blessings found in Jesus Christ as revealed in the New Testament.
But what we want to show is that the promise
when
it stands alone, is generally a reference to the indwelling
presence of the Holy Spirit (why
it has to be the indwelling Spirit rather than
the
immersion in the Spirit or the gifts is clear from the study
entitled The Holy Spirit). And
then, with that key of understanding, we want to unlock some very
important conceptual doors of the New Covenant.
In
his letter to the
Galatians, the apostle Paul writes: "But
the Scripture has shut up all men under sin, that the promise
by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who
believe" (Galatians
3:22). What he calls
the promise - which comes by faith in Jesus - is so important
that God shut up all men in the jailhouse of sin so that they
might receive it. In other words, the reason for God’s
binding men under sin is so that they might receive this promise.
The important question is: What is the promise?
Earlier
in this same letter,
the apostle defined the promise for us. "Christ
redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for
us - for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a
tree’ - in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of
Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise
of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians
3:13,14). The
promise is the Spirit, in the same way as in Acts
2:38,
where the gift is
the Spirit. Paul emphasizes the same point in his letter to the
Ephesians: "In Him, you also, after listening to the message
of truth, the gospel of your salvation - having also believed,
you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the
redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His
glory" (Ephesians
1:13,14). The Holy
Spirit is the promise!
Having defined our "cipher" word,
we
can now decipher the message of Galatians 3, and discover there
an extremely important foundational point of the New Covenant. It
is clear from Galatians
3:22 that God’s
reason for shutting us up under sin is so that we might receive
the promise. The same point is clear in Galatians
3:13,14. He says,
"Christ redeemed us," and then he says, "in order
that." Redemption - salvation, or forgiveness of sins - is
for another purpose. What is that other purpose?
The importance of purpose can be
illustrated in
this way. Suppose you drive your car downtown "in
order" to buy groceries. Notice that your purpose is to buy
groceries - the automobile is simply the vehicle you have chosen
to get you there.
God’s purpose is
expressed in these words:
"in order that" the blessing of Abraham might come;
that is, that we might receive the promise of the Holy Spirit.
The purpose is the promise of the Spirit.
Note, then, that
forgiveness of sin -
redemption - is simply the vehicle God has chosen to carry out
His purpose.
That forgiveness of sins is the
vehicle, and
that God’s purpose is the indwelling Holy Spirit has two
very important corollaries. The first is that the central message
of the New Testament is not forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness of
sins is a very important vehicle and it’s wonderful that
forgiveness of sins can be obtained through Christ our Savior -
but the vehicle is always subordinate to the purpose. When
forgiveness of sins is the central focus of preaching, that
preaching misses the mark of the New Testament. Forgiveness of
sins must first be preached to the lost - that is the only
message that carnal man first understands. But following
immersion, the Christian’s attention must be turned from the
"have to" of the Law to the "want to" of
perfection offered through the Spirit. Understanding that
forgiveness is the vehicle, and that the promise of the Spirit is
God’s purpose is the difference between life and death, and
the difference between the Law and the Faith!
The second corollary deals with
the importance
of the indwelling of God’s Spirit. God first deals with men
on the plane of their guilty consciences and forgiveness which He
offers. The fleshly mind apparently cannot grasp the significance
of the indwelling Spirit, so to move men’s understanding to
the proper point, God uses the scripture to shut us in the jail
house of sin. (Being shut up in a jail house is a drastic
measure, but it is the only one which communicates.) Having been
locked up, and having recognized our condition, we are now ready
to listen to the voice of the Almighty.
In recognizing how important
forgiveness of
sins is - the difference between glory in heaven and eternity in
the lake of fire - and understanding that forgiveness is the
vehicle to a more important purpose, we now understand how
important the promise of the Spirit is. This is God’s way of
communicating to a still groggy - but awakening - mind the
significance of His indwelling Spirit. "Awake, sleeper, and
arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you" (Ephesians
5:14).
The central
message of the New
Testament is the promise - the indwelling Holy Spirit!
Listen,
then, to the
inspired words of Peter on the day of Pentecost, 30
AD. "Repent," he says in proclaiming for the first time
in the history of the world the terms of the New Covenant,
"and let each of you be immersed in the name of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you
and your
children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our
God shall call to Himself" (Acts
2:38,39).
The thrust of Peter’s
reply was not
forgiveness of sins - although forgiveness of sins is involved.
The driving point of his answer was the promise!
Forgiveness of sins is clearly here the vehicle to the promised
gift of the Spirit.
Note too those to whom the promise
was made.
The promise was for "you and your children," an Hebraic
expression for the Jews. But the promised Spirit was also for the
Gentiles (Peter himself would not understand his own words for
another ten years until he preached to the Gentile soldier
Cornelius) - "for all who are far off." Paul defines
this term for us in explaining the Jew - Gentile relationship in
Christ to the Ephesians: "And He came and preached peace to
you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for
through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the
Father" (Ephesians
2:17,18). The
promise, then, from the day of Pentecost onward, was to be for
both Jew and Gentile!
Now
we are ready to
examine a very important statement by the author of
Hebrews. "And all these [the Old Testament great men of
faith], having gained approval through their faith, did not
receive what was promised [literally, the
promise!],
because God had provided something [Someone] better for us, so
that apart from us they should not be made perfect" (Hebrews
11:39,40).
We recall that Jesus had said that
the least
Christian would be greater than John the Immerser (Matthew
11:11). We also
established that John was the greatest of all the Old Testament
greats, and from that drew the conclusion that the least in the
kingdom of heaven was greater than all the Old Testament greats.
We asked the question, "How can that be?" and came to
the conclusion that the least Christian had been born of God,
whereas none of the Old Testament greats - including John - were
able to be born again of water and Spirit. The writer of Hebrews
makes the same point - all those who died in faith did not
receive the promise! They were never born
of
the Spirit. The least of us can be greater than any of
those in the Old Testament because we are indwelt by God’s
Spirit!
The central message of the New
Testament is the
promised Holy Spirit. Those who have received that promise can
exceed what any of those in the Old Testament were able to
accomplish.
The
Mystery
Another "cipher" word is mystery.
A mystery is a secret, or more specifically, a mental puzzle in
which the pieces have been hidden earlier, and then put together
in the final chapter.
Like promise,
the word mystery
sometimes is used in different ways. For example, the apostle
Paul speaks of "the mystery of lawlessness" which was
already at work (II
Thessalonians 2:7). But God
uses the term the mystery for a special purpose.
Paul
tells us in straight
forward fashion what the mystery is,
although it is easy to stumble over the importance of his
definition. "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,
and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the
church, in filling up that which is lacking in Christ’s
afflictions. Of this church I was made a minister according to
the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, that I
might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the
mystery, which has been hidden from the past ages and
generations; but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom
God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery
among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the
hope of
glory" (Colossians
1:24-27).
The apostle tells us that the
mystery - which
was hidden from the past ages and generations - is "Christ
in you." What is Christ in you?
We
recall the words of
Paul to the Romans: "However, you are not in
the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit
of
God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit
of Christ, he does not belong to Him. And if Christ
is
in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the
spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit
of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who
raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your
mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you"
(Romans
8:9-11).
Note the names given to the Holy
Spirit in this
passage:
- The Spirit
- The Spirit of God
- The Spirit of Christ
- Christ in you
- The Spirit of Him who raised
Jesus from the dead
- His Spirit who indwells you
Another name for the Holy Spirit
is Christ
in you! The mystery is the same as the
promise - The
indwelling Holy Spirit!
In order to fully carry out the
preaching of
the word of God, we must understand and preach the mystery. We
cannot claim to have restored New Testament Christianity unless
the mystery is at the center of our preaching, and we are making
known the riches of the glory of this mystery among our
present-day Gentiles.
The apostle said that the mystery
was hidden
from the past ages and generations. Where were the pieces of this
mystery hidden? They were hidden in the pages of the Old
Testament, and revealed to us by the holy apostles and prophets
in the pages of the New. Let’s examine one of the pieces of
this mystery, and note how carefully it was hidden in the Old
Testament, and note as well how easy it is to miss how it is
revealed in the New Testament.
Way
back in the early
stages of God’s revelation to man, He
blessed Abraham (while he was still Abram). He said, "And I
will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will
curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be
blessed" (Genesis
12:3).
Does that look like a prophecy of
the Holy
Spirit? Look closely, because it is.
Genesis 12:3 is commonly thought
to be a
prophecy of Christ. Through Abraham Christ would come - not for
just the Israelites, but for all nations. But Christ in the flesh
only was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
But let Paul explain: "Christ
redeemed us
from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us - for it
is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a
tree’ -
in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing
of Abraham might
come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the
Spirit through faith" (Galatians
3:13,14).
There are only two valid
possibilities as to
what the blessing of Abraham is. One possibility
is
salvation; the other possibility is the Holy Spirit. It is easy
to eliminate salvation as a possibility, because in verse 13 he
says, "Christ redeemed [saved] us," and verse 14 says,
"in order that." The blessing of Abraham is the
promised Holy Spirit.
The prophecy of Genesis 12:3 is
fulfilled - in
the Spirit, Christ has blessed all the families of the earth!
There are many other examples of
pieces of the
mystery hidden in the Old Testament. Our point here, however, is
that the message of the Old Testament is not simply Christ. In
fact, if the Old Testament were boiled down to one drop of pure
elixir, the name of that drop would have to be The Mystery.
The message of the Old Testament
is not simply
Christ, but Christ in you!
To some, that distinction may seem
like a minor
point. But the difference between Christ and Christ
in
you is somewhat like leaving the football at the 10-yard
line
and thinking that you have scored a touchdown. The message of the
Old Testament is Christ in you., and that is
another of
God's ways of communicating to a still groggy - but
awakening-mind the importance of His indwelling Spirit!
Listen
again to the apostle
to the Gentiles as he ties together for us
the promise and the mystery in writing to the church in Ephesus.
"For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for
the sake of you Gentiles - if indeed you have heard of the
stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you; that by
revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote
before in brief. And by referring to this, when you read you can
understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other
generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now
been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to
be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow
members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in
Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister,
according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me
according to the working of His power" (Ephesians
3:1-7).
Notice that here Paul defines as
the mystery
that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body,
and fellow partakers of the promise. This dovetails perfectly
with his definition in Colossians
1:27 that the
mystery is Christ in you. Here, by being a fellow partaker of the
promise - the Holy Spirit - a Christian is a fellow heir and
fellow member of the body. What was hidden from the past ages and
generations was made known through the apostles and New Testament
prophets, and recorded for us in the foundational New Testament
scriptures!
The
mystery - Christ in
you, the indwelling Holy Spirit, the
promise - is the culmination of God’s plan for the duration
of the earth. "To me, the very least of all saints, this
grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable
riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration
of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who
created all things; in order that the manifold wisdom of God
might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the
authorities in the heavenly places" (Ephesians
3:8-10).
In
our teaching and
preaching, as
imitators of Paul, what
is to be our emphasis? "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping
alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying for us as
well, that God may open up to us a door for the word, so that we
may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which
also I
have been imprisoned; in order that I may make it clear in the
way I ought to speak" (Colossians
4:2-4)! "Pray
on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of
my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery
of the
gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in
proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak" (Ephesians
6:19,20)!
The mystery of the gospel - the
pieces of which
were hidden in the Old Testament scriptures - is Christ in you,
the promised Holy Spirit. The message of the Old Testament, as
well as the New, is this mystery and promise. This mystery is to
be proclaimed clearly and boldly, that the manifold wisdom of God
might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the
heavenlies.
Glory
Our next "cipher" word is glory.
"Glory" is a word that is commonly used, in contrast to
"mystery" and "promise." But its real meaning
is only vaguely understood. We want to focus in on the specific
concept which "glory" represents, and thus open more
exciting doors into the unfathomable riches of Christ. What we
want to show is that "glory" is a description of the
resurrected state, and any meaning of "glory" as
"shining" or "elevated" is derived from that.
In a
heated discussion
with the Jews, Jesus said, "If I glorify
Myself, My glory is nothing; it is my Father who glorifies
Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God;’ and you have
not
come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know
Him, I shall be a liar like you, but I do know Him, and keep His
word" (John
8:54,55).
Our point here
is an obvious one - that in order for Jesus to enter a state of
glory He had to be resurrected to unapproachable light.
The
apostle John
describes an earlier event, when Jesus was at the
temple for the feast of tabernacles: "Now on the last day,
the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying,
‘If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who
believes in Me, as the Scripture said, "From his innermost
being shall flow rivers of living water." ‘ " John
then explains what Jesus is talking about: "But this He
spoke of the Spirit*, whom those who believed in Him were to
receive: for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was
not yet glorified" (John
7:37-39).
Jesus was
glorified in His resurrection; then the Holy Spirit came on the
day of Pentecost. "He who was revealed in the flesh, was
vindicated in the Spirit, beheld by angels, proclaimed among the
nations believed on in the world, taken up in glory"
(I
Timothy 3:16).
* Here is another piece of the
mystery. John
tells us that the rivers of living water;
referred to by
Jesus as from Old Testament scriptures, is another name for the
Holy Spirit. To check the Old Testament references for the pieces
of the mystery, see Zechariah
14:8 and Ezekiel
47:1-12.
The resurrection and glorification
of Christ is
the most significant event of history, the proof that God’s
word is sure, and the anchor for the soul. One example from the
Old Testament is necessary here to illustrate the significance of
Jesus’ resurrection, and the meaning of glory.
"In
the year of King Uzziah’s
death, I
saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the
train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him,
each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two
he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to
another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of Hosts,
the whole earth is full of His glory.’
And the
foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who
called, while the temple was filling with smoke."
"Then I said, ‘Woe is
me, for I am
ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen
the King, the LORD of Hosts.’" (Isaiah
6:1-5).
The word spelled Lord is the
Hebrew word
adonai, which means master. The word spelled LORD is the
tetragrammeton YHWH, which is usually pronounced Yahweh or
Jehovah.
We are now prepared to ask, "Whose
glory
was it that Isaiah saw?" The answer: The LORD - Yahweh or
Jehovah of Hosts!
Let’s continue with this
passage from
Isaiah for a few more verses: "Then one of the seraphim flew
to me, with a coal in his hand which he had taken from the altar
with tongs. And he touched my mouth with it and said,
‘Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is
taken away; and your sin is forgiven.’"
"Then I heard the voice of the
Lord,
saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for
Us?’
Then I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’
"And He said, ‘Go, and
tell this
people: "Keep on listening, but do not perceive; keep on
looking, but do not understand." Render the hearts of this
people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, lest
they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with
their hearts, and return and be healed.’" (Isaiah
6:6-10). Remember what
the LORD told Isaiah.
Now
we turn to the
writings of the apostle John: "These things
Jesus spoke, and He departed and hid Himself from them. But
though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were
not believing in Him; that the word of Isaiah the prophet might
be fulfilled, which he spoke, ‘Lord, who has believed our
report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’
For this cause they could not believe, for Isaiah said again,
‘He has blinded their eyes, and He hardened their heart;
lest they see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and
be converted and I heal them.’ These things Isaiah said,
because he saw His [Jesus’] glory, and
he spoke of
Him" (John
12:36b-41).
Note that John
12:40
is the quotation of Isaiah
6:10.
We now ask,
"Whose glory was it that Isaiah saw?" The answer:
"Jesus’."
The fact that it was
Jesus’ glory that
Isaiah saw makes two things clear. The first is that Jesus is
Yahweh (or Jehovah). The second is that what Isaiah saw was Jesus
in His resurrected state.
What
Isaiah saw was the
glory of Jesus as He was seated on the throne. Listen
to Peter explain a prophecy of David’s, and make the
application to the throne which Isaiah saw. "Brethren, I may
confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both
died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because
he was a prophet, and knew that God had
sworn to
him with an oath to seat one of his descendants upon this
throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the
resurrection of
the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did
His flesh suffer decay. This Jesus God raised up again, to which
we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right
hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of
the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and
hear. For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he
himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My
right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your
feet."’ Therefore let all the house of Israel know for
certain that God has made Him both Lord and
Christ -
this Jesus whom you crucified" (Acts
2:29-36).
Jesus is declared to be
both Lord (Yahweh)
and Christ (King) by His resurrection! And that is precisely
whom Isaiah saw - the King, Yahweh of Hosts, on the throne!
With this clear picture of glory
etched in our
minds, it is easier to visualize what Moses saw when the glory of
the Lord passed by, or what Solomon saw when the glory of the
Lord filled the temple. We also understand what it means to
glorify or exalt the Lord, as Jesus said, "By this is My
Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My
disciples" (John
15:8).
Glory,
then, is a
description of the resurrected state. "For our
citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our
humble state into conformity with the body of His glory,
by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all
things to Himself" (Philippians
3:20,21). "So
also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable
body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor,
it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it
is
raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a
spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a
spiritual body" (I
Corinthians 15:42-44).
The
desire to be
resurrected - the desire for glory - is the driving
hope of the Christian. "For I consider that the sufferings
of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the
creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For
the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but
because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself
will also be set free from its slavery to corruption into the
freedom of the glory of the children of God" (Romans
8:18-21).
This state of glory is called the
salvation, or
redemption, of the body. Salvation in the Old Testament meant
deliverance from the physical enemy. For example, when Moses
prepared to open the Red Sea to save Israel from the chariots of
Pharaoh, he said, "Stand by and see the salvation
of the Lord" (Exodus
14:13).
With this
concept, it is easy to see how they would misunderstand the
prophecies of the coming Savior, Redeemer, or Deliverer of
Israel. With the inauguration of the new and living way
accomplished through Jesus’ death, there was a shift in
emphasis. Christians are spoken of as "saved" (Titus
3:5),
"redeemed" (Galatians
3:13), and
"delivered" (Colossians
1:13). Our souls
are "saved," redeemed," and "delivered."
But there is a salvation, or redemption, which we yet await.
Of
Jesus’ second
coming, the writer of Hebrews states: "Christ
also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall
appear a second time for salvation without
reference to
sin, to those who eagerly await Him" (Hebrews
9:28).
If Christians
are already saved, why is Jesus coming a second time for
salvation? Or, as Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: "But
since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the
breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of
salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining
salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I
Thessalonians 5:8,9).
The
hope of salvation
which we have - the salvation which we await - is the
redemption of the body. "For we know that the whole creation
groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first-fruits
of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting
eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not
hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? But if we hope
for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for
it" (Romans
8:22-25).
The
guarantee that our
bodies will be redeemed is the indwelling Holy
Spirit. "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of
truth, the gospel of your salvation - having also believed, you
were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given
as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to
the redemption
of God’s own possession, to the praise of His
glory" (Ephesians
1:13,14). Our
bodies, which are the temple of the Holy Spirit, are the
possession of God, which He will redeem at Christ’s coming.
Because our redemption is our earnest desire, and because this
redemption is guaranteed by the Holy Spirit, the mystery - Christ
in you - is called the hope of glory! (Colossians
1:27). "If you
are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit
of glory and of God rests upon you" (I
Peter 4:14).
As
we look "for the
blessed hope and appearing of the glory
of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus" (Titus
2:13),
we are to view
ourselves as already resurrected, as those whose citizenship is
in heaven, as those who are already seated at the right hand of
the throne of God, as already in a state of glory. As we do so,
we will be conscious that "now our salvation is nearer to us
than when we [first] believed" (Romans
13:11).
Glory is a description of the
resurrected
state. The Holy Spirit within is our hope of glory, as the
guarantee that God will redeem our bodies.
The
Mirror
Our last "cipher" word is mirror.
In examining the passages connected with the mirror
we
will be able to tie up in one neat package the purpose of God.
"Love
never fails; but if
there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done
away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is
knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part, and we
prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be
done away. When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think
as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I did away
with childish things. For now we see in a mirror
dimly,
but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know
fully just as I also have been fully known. But now abide faith,
hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love"
(I
Corinthians 13:8-13).
We established in an earlier study
(The Holy Spirit, the
section on the duration of the gifts)
that the partial that will be done away are the gifts of the
Spirit, such as prophecy, tongues, gift of knowledge. The
perfect, or complete, in contrast to the partial that will be
done away, is the completed New Testament. In the absence of the
completed word, the church in its infancy had to resort to the
"childish" - the gifts - in order to function. But in
coming to maturity with the written word, the childish could be
done away.
Paul and the Corinthians could
only see in the mirror
dimly, but those who would come later would be able to see as if
face to face. Paul could only know in part, but those who would
come later would be able to know fully just as they have been
fully known.
It is clear that the mirror is the
completed
New Testament. Our question is, "What do we see in the
mirror?" Whatever it is, we can see it as if face to face,
and what we see reveals us fully.
"For
if anyone is a
hearer of the word and
not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;
for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has
immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks
intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides
by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual
doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does" (James
1:23-25).
Again the mirror
is used, this time in
reference to the perfect law. There are two kinds of lookers -
those who look, then turn and forget, and those who continue to
look intently into the mirror and act on what they see.
The completed New Covenant is the
same as the
perfect law, as contrasted with the Old Covenant, which made
nothing perfect. Our question is, "What do we see in the
mirror of the perfect law?"
"But
we all, with
unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the
glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from
glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit" (II
Corinthians 3:18)!
We - if we have an unveiled face -
see in the
mirror of the New Testament [and perfect law] the glory of
the Lord - the resurrected Christ!
The result of the intent look into
the mirror,
and abiding by what is seen, is that the effectual doer is
transformed into the same image - that of the resurrected Christ.
Note that from the very beginning - from our immersions into
Christ - we were to view ourselves as already resurrected. If a
person’s picture - held intently in front of him - is that
of the glory of the Lord, that is what he will become!
From our present state of glory -
that of
participating in the likeness of Jesus’ resurrection - to
our future state of glory when Jesus comes again, the
transformation process will be occurring. And at the last
trumpet, when this mortal puts on immortality, then we shall be
like Him. The body of this humble state will be changed into
conformity with the body of His glory! We are being transformed
into the image of the glory of the Lord, from present glory to
future glory.
And note who is the driving force
behind all
this transformation - the Lord, the Spirit. This is why He - as
the promise - is the central message of the New Testament, and as
the mystery, the central message of the Old Testament. As the
hope of glory within, He is the guarantee of our ultimate
transformation to be like Christ.
Summary
And Conclusion
In
the beginning man
lost his fellowship with God because of sin. That
fellowship was never capable of full restoration until Jesus came
to reconcile us to the Father. Man as a spiritual being has deep
inner needs which can only be met in fellowship with the Father.
It is through the promised Holy Spirit that our fellowship is
restored: "If anyone loves Me," Jesus said, "he
will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will
come to him, and make our abode with him" (John
14:23).
It
is by working
within - with our
spirits - that the
Holy Spirit, Christ in you, the hope of glory, makes us to be
like Christ. For "though our outer man is decaying, yet our
inner man is being renewed day by day" (II
Corinthians 4:16). It is
this renewing action that continues to save us - the washing of
regeneration wiped out past sins, the renewing of the Spirit
takes care of our present: "He saved us, not on the basis of
deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His
mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the
Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus
Christ our Savior" (Titus
3:5,6).
God’s purpose, then, is
to conform us to
the image of the resurrected Christ. To arrive at that
conclusion, we examined the following "cipher" words:
promise
mystery
glory
mirror
In "deciphering" the passages of
scripture where these words were found, we reached the following
conclusions:
- Forgiveness of sins is not the
central message of the New Testament. It is the vehicle to the promise
of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
- The message of the Old
Testament is not simply Christ - but the mystery of Christ in you.
- Glory is primarily a
description of Jesus in His resurrected state.
- In the mirror of the completed
New Testament and perfect law we see the image of the resurrected
Christ, and by looking intently into that image are transformed into
the same image.
IV.
WHAT DOES THE SPIRIT
DO FOR THE CHRISTIAN?
He
Enables Us To Be Like Christ
Jesus, when He walked in the
flesh, consisted
of body, soul, and spirit, just as we do. His body hung on the
cross, His soul descended to Hades, and to His Father He
commended His Spirit. Who is the Spirit of Jesus? The Holy
Spirit, or the Spirit of Christ (see Acts
16:7).
Note, then, that the Spirit who
has come to
live in our bodies and make them His temple lived in flesh once
before. And in that body, He proved what He can do. "For God
has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and
discipline" (II
Timothy 1:7). The same
Spirit of power - of dynamic determination - that once set His
face resolutely to go to Jerusalem, that drove the men, sheep,
oxen, and doves out of the temple - now lives in us. The same
Spirit of love - who said, "Father, forgive them, for they
don’t know what they’re doing" - now lives in us.
The same Spirit of discipline - who not for the smallest fraction
of a second ever let His flesh control His actions - now lives in
us. Is He somehow less capable in our bodies than He was in His
own, or is the problem with us?
"For you have not received a
spirit of
slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of
adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba!
Father!"’ (Romans
8:15).
Fear no longer
has any grip on us. As God’s sons, we are free to press on
to perfection.
He
Helps
Us Crucify The Flesh
"For the flesh sets its desire
against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in
opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that
you please" (Galatians
5:17). It is clear
that we have a war going on within us. The opposing armies are
the forces of the flesh (the body) against the forces of the
spirit. If the flesh wins, we will experience eternal death; if
the spirit wins, we will experience eternal life (Romans
8:5-8).
In such a war, it is important
that we have
little tests by which we may look within ourselves to see how the
battle is going.
First Paul lists the works of the
flesh:
"Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are:
immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities,
strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions,
factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like
these" (Galatians
5:19-21). He then
points out "that those who practice such things shall not
inherit the kingdom of God." It is important to note that
the Holy Spirit uses the word practice. We may
stumble
and exhibit the works of the flesh on occasion, but when such
deeds become our practice, it is a definite warning that the
flesh is winning the war; and only strong measures of repentance
from a sincere heart will turn the tide.
In contrast, Paul lists the "fruit
of the
Spirit" (Galatians
5:22,23). Such fruit
consists of "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
It is important to note a common
quality of all
such fruit. Love, for example, is commanded by the Lord Jesus
Christ. "This I command you, that you love one another"
(John
15:17).
Christian love is
a quality which we achieve by mental effort, and Jesus commanded
us to make the mental effort. The same is true with joy (James
1:2)
and the other
fruits of the Spirit. Such qualities result from a transformed
mind - those who live by the Spirit will walk by
the
Spirit.
It is also important to understand
the word
picture he uses - fruit of the Spirit. An apple
tree
blossoms in the spring; it does not bear fruit until fall. After
a person is born again, it is some time before the blossoming new
creature bears the fruit of the Spirit. We must understand this
so that we don’t get too impatient with ourselves.
God’s patience while we grow makes the New Covenant the
"perfect law, the law of liberty" (James
1:25),
with
opportunities to make mistakes without our errors condemning us.
"Now those who belong to Christ
Jesus have
crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Galatians
5:24). By helping us
to bear such fruit, the Spirit helps us to crucify the flesh with
its passions. Without His help, we couldn’t begin to
accomplish that great task.
The
Spirit Leads Us
"For all who are being led by the
Spirit
of God, these are the sons of God" (Romans
8:14).
- The
primary manner in which the Spirit leads us is through the Bible.
Jesus said, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the
flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken
to you are spirit and are life" (John
6:63).
In another place He said, as a driving point in an argument with some
recalcitrant Jews, "the Scripture cannot be broken" (John
10:35).
God simply will not do anything contrary to what the Bible says. Hence,
Paul writes, "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for
teaching [doctrine] for reproof, for
correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be
adequate, equipped for every good work" (II
Timothy 3:16,17).
- The
second way in which the Spirit leads us is through our consciences.
Paul told Timothy to keep "a good conscience" (I
Timothy 1:19). Christians are warned, for example, about
"wounding the conscience" (I
Corinthians 8:12) of a weaker brother. The scripture also
speaks of
those who are "seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron" (I
Timothy 4:2). The conscience is a guide given by God and a
Christian is to follow his and not weaken another’s.
The conscience is not a totally reliable guide, however. The written
word is clear, precise, and perfectly delineates between right and
wrong. The conscience by comparison is unreliable, as Paul makes clear:
"I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this
acquitted" (I
Corinthians 4:4).
- The
Spirit leads through events over which we have no control. In Acts
16:7,8,
Paul was trying to preach the gospel in certain areas of what is now
Turkey. But in every case the Spirit prevented him, arranging instead
for him to go to Macedonia. So today "God has placed the members, each
one of them, in the body, just as He desired" (I
Corinthians 12:18).
The Christian should be cautioned
against
relying too heavily upon (2) and (3). The Bible is written as
God’s means of communicating to us. God expects us to
"be diligent" in studying His word, and in this way
becoming imitators of Paul and especially the Lord Jesus. Jesus
died on His own initiative (John 10:18), and God expects us to
follow in His footsteps in acting on our own initiative also.
The
Spirit Intercedes For Us
"And in the same way the Spirit
also helps
our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but
the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for
words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the
Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the
will of God" (Romans
8:26,27).
One time my family and I had been
to visit my
parents some 50 miles away. It was late at night as we were
coming back and a snow storm had just coated the highway with an
inch of ice. As we came over a hill I could see the flashing
lights of a snowplow down below. At first it looked to me like it
was on my side of the road, so I touched by brakes - it was so
icy it seemed like I gained speed. As we came closer, I could see
that the plow was sitting cockeyed in the middle of the road. I
knew I couldn’t stop, so I tried to go to the right. As we
went past, there wasn’t quite enough room for the car and
the right front wheel went off the edge of the road. I remember
saying (I had rolled a car once before, and this felt like it was
going to do the same), "I pray, Father, I pray!"
As I said those words the car hit
a bump that
turned us perpendicular to the road, and we took a "bobsled
run" to the bottom of the hill. When we went out the next
morning to look at the place where we went off the road, we could
see - in the words of the officer who checked out the accident -
that "it was a miracle you didn’t roll."
I have no way of knowing for sure
whether it
was just coincidence or whether the Holy Spirit "interceded
with groanings too deep to be uttered." But I believe this
is a good example of the way He would apply this verse of
scripture if it were His choice.
Summary
We received the same Spirit in our
bodies as
lived in Jesus - the Spirit of power, love, and discipline. He
helps us to crucify the flesh, He leads us that we might be the
sons of God, and He intercedes for us in prayer.
V.
EXHORTATIONS FROM THE
SPIRIT
Be
Filled
With The Spirit
We have been given the command:
"And do
not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled
with the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians
5:18). How are we to
be filled with the Spirit? Paul gives us three things we can do
to be filled with the Spirit of God.
- "Speaking
to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and
making melody with your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians
5:19).
Singing is a way of being filled with the Spirit! Before Jesus crossed
the brook to the Garden of Gethsemane, He and the apostles sang a hymn (Matthew
26:30). When Paul and Silas were locked in the jail
house in the Macedonian city of Philippi, at midnight, in the inner
prison "Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God"
(Acts
16:25).
Paul and Silas had positive mental attitudes! Many others in the same
situation - locked in the dungeon - would have been saying, "Why me,
Lord?" But they were singing praises to God!
To be filled with the Spirit, we must speak to one another in psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs. And the times when
we least feel like singing are especially the times when we must sing!
God says - be filled with the Spirit. The exhortation comes - sing! The
Dale Carnegie course (which specializes in helping people have a
positive mental attitude) teaches its students this principle: Act
enthusiastic and you’ll be enthusiastic!
If we’ll sing, we will be filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit wants us to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
Only in this way can we be filled with the Spirit. If we insist on
confusing our minds with rock-and-roll music, or with country-western
music, we will never be able to be filled with
the Spirit. It’s not a law - it’s a choice. Do we
want to be like Jesus?
- "Always
giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to
God, even the Father"
(Ephesians
5:20).
A second important practical way of being filled with the Spirit is to always
give thanks for all things. Suppose that
it’s 20 degrees below zero, the wind is blowing, and
it’s snowing outside. It’s absolutely necessary
that you be able to go downtown for some important appointment.
You go out to start the car. It won’t start. Do you give
thanks to God from the very depths of your heart, remembering that to
be filled with the Spirit we give thanks for all
things - always? Or do you say to yourself "Why me, Lord?"
Remember Joseph - the lad with the coat of many colors?
Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt. He was
doing well for his master when the master’s wife got wrong
ideas into her head. Joseph ended up in jail - innocent, just trying to
do a good job.
While in jail, because of his spirit - his attitude - he was placed in
charge of all the other prisoners. But when he interpreted the dreams
of the king’s butler and baker (telling the baker that he
would be hanged, but that the butler would be restored to the service
of Pharaoh) things took a downturn. He asked the butler to remember him
before the king. And the butler forgot him!
Was Joseph in the jail house saying, "Why me, Lord?" No, he
wasn’t! He was still trusting God, and God rewarded him by
eventually placing him in charge of all Egypt.
We need to remember Romans
8:28:
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to
those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
And then we need to give thanks for all things!
- "And
be subject to one another in the fear of Christ" (Ephesians
5:21).
What has being subject to another to do with being filled with the
Spirit?
On the night in which Jesus was betrayed, as they were eating the
Lord’s Supper together, "there also arose a dispute among
them as to which of them was regarded to be the greatest" (Luke
22:24).
While this dispute was going on, Jesus girded Himself with a towel and
was washing their feet. When He had finished, He explained to them: "I
gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you" (John
13:15).
Jesus came to serve, not to be served (Matthew
20:28). And He had joy in so doing: "These things I have
spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made
fun" (John
15:11).
There is great joy in serving voluntarily. We must serve - we must be
subject to one another and be each other’s slave - in order
to be filled with the Spirit and to be like our serving Savior.
Do
Not
Grieve The Spirit
The
Holy Spirit is our
Helper, but He can be grieved. So He warns,
"Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were
sealed for the day of redemption" (Ephesians
4:30).
If
we grieve Him long enough,
as an unwanted guest in our lives, He will leave; or at least no
longer seal us for the day of redemption. "For in the case
of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the
heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to
come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them
again to repentance..."
(Hebrews
6:4-6). There are
those who have once been partakers of the Holy Spirit, but He is
so grieved that it is now impossible to renew them to repentance.
Perhaps the song children sing in
Bible school
expresses it best:
"Be careful little
eyes what you see.
Be careful little eyes what you see.
For the Father up above is looking down in love,
So be careful little eyes what you see".
The same holds true for the ears,
the hands and
feet, the mouth, and the mind. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of
God!
Do
Not
Quench The Holy Spirit
A fire is quenched when someone
throws cold
water on it to put it out. There are many people who are throwing
cold water on the Holy Spirit’s ideas. But He warns,
"Do not quench the Spirit" (I
Thessalonians 5:19).
There are people who claim that
they can’t
pray in public because they are too shy. There are people who
claim that they can’t talk to others about Christ because
they don’t have the personality for it. There are women who
claim they can’t be in subjection to their husbands because
they aren’t made that way. Such people do not understand the new
creation.
When we were buried with Christ in
immersion,
we buried our old personalities and natures. And we became new
creatures with new personalities and new natures. And we can do
whatever the Bible says we can do. Let’s not quench the
Spirit!
Making
The
Body Our Slave
In I
Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul
emphasized the importance of mental control over the body.
"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but
only one receives the prize. Run in such a way that you may win.
And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in
all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but
we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without
aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I
buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I
have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified."
The body always wants to do the
easy thing. It
is our former nature to look for the easy job, to want more
vacation time, more time to relax. The body wants to quit early
today and to stay in bed a little longer tomorrow.
But we need to treat our bodies
like children -
they need buffeting occasionally. If we let our bodies get by
without doing what they are supposed to today, they’ll press
for an easier time tomorrow.
Any runner knows that he must give
it all
he’s got in order to win the race. The Holy Spirit tells us
to so run!
Any athlete knows that he must be
in rigorous
training at all times to be in condition for the Olympics. The
Holy Spirit tells us that the prize in the Spiritual Olympics is
much more worth the rigorous training.
A football player must run the
right direction
to make his points count for the right team; a boxer knows he
must make his punches count. The Christian must set goals for
himself - he must run the right direction, and he must make his
punches count.
The Holy Spirit will help us to
make our bodies
our slaves if we’ll follow the directions given in the
Bible. But it is going to take the mental discipline and training
that a coach requires of his team. And if we refuse to make our
bodies our slaves, even though we may have preached to many
others, we will be disqualified. Let’s go, team!
Summary
The Holy Spirit exhorts us to be
filled with
the Spirit, telling us how to do so:
- Singing and making melody in
our hearts to the Lord.
- Always giving thanks for all
things.
- Being subject to one another in
the fear of Christ.
The Spirit warns us not to grieve
Him, not to
quench Him, and to make our bodies our slaves.
All these exhortations from the
Spirit involve
mental discipline. The Holy Spirit does not miraculously change
us so that we are instantly like Christ. He lets us have the joy
of making ourselves be like Him, with His coaching help.
VI.
LIFE! IN JESUS
"In
Him was life, and the life
was the light of men" (John
1:4).
John also records
that Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life;
no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John
14:6).
Life is in
Jesus Christ. But we
sometimes have a difficult time understanding what life
is.
One
of the most important
verses of scripture is Romans
8:2,
"For the law
of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the
law of sin and death." What is the law of the Spirit of
life, as contrasted with the law of sin and death?
A law states a cause and effect
relationship -
in the physical realm, expressed usually in mathematical form.
The law of sin and death (codified by the Ten Commandments) is a
very clear cause and effect relationship - You sin, therefore you
die. Its important corollary is that if you do not sin, you will
live.
The law of sin and death, however,
is the
ministry of death (II
Corinthians 3:7). By
continually forcing the individual’s attention back into the
stone tablets, the inner picture which develops is that of being
a sinner. And if the individual continues to view himself as a
sinner, that is precisely how he will act. The focus of our
thoughts is to be turned from the "push" of "what
not to be" to the "pull" of "what to
be."
This
is the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. In being born
again we now have the potential of being like Christ! We are
pressing on, following "the upward call of God in Christ
Jesus" (Philippians
3:14). We have a
new attitude - we want to be like Christ! We
don’t
have to worship God - we want to! We don’t have to go to
church - we want to!
Many Christians have never seen
the vision of
enthusiasm of wanting to do things for God. They are still
laboring under the law of sin and death. So they think they have
to go to church. They think they have to talk to
others
about Jesus. There are a lot of things they think they have
to do, and Christianity is a real burden to them. Their problem -
their attitudes!
To
this point the apostle
John writes: "For this is the love of God, that we
keep His commandments; and His commandments are not
burdensome" (I
John 5:3).
His commandments
are not burdensome - if they are becoming burdensome, we need to
look deeper for help! "For whatever is born of God overcomes
the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world -
our faith" (I
John 5:4).
Our
faith has overcome
the world. For us there is no situation too hopeless,
no problem too complex, no mountain too big to move. For us it is
simply a matter of developing our faith, increasing our belief
level to joyfully understand that God "is able to do
exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according
to the power that works within us" (Ephesians
3:20).
With the power of the Spirit
within, we can
turn this world upside down as we one by one strive mightily to
present every man perfect in Christ. We can give desperately
needed life to the dying world around us. "He who believes
in Me," Jesus said, "from His innermost being shall
flow rivers of living water" (John
7:37,38).
We have seen
that He was speaking of the Spirit, whom we have received.
Let’s let those rivers flow!
Summary
There is joy in living in Christ
because we
know that God will do great things through us when we commit
ourselves to keeping His commandments. God can do more than we
can even ask or think through the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
CONCLUSION
The basic conclusions reached in
this study are
as follows:
- It is possible for the
Christian, because he is a new creation following his immersion into
Christ, to become like Christ.
- This new creation must be
developed in a continual process of renewing the mind - by seeing the
picture of the resurrected Christ, developing the picture of the
resurrected Christ, and keeping focused on the picture of the
resurrected Christ.
- God’s purpose through
the ages was to send the Holy Spirit to those who are faithful to Him,
so that fellowship with God may be restored, and the faithful may
become perfect like their heavenly Father. God communicates this
exciting concept, in words such as promise, mystery,
glory, and mirror,
that
we might better understand His purpose. Forgiveness of sin is a vehicle
to the indwelling Spirit, and as a key concept of God, must be
understood in comprehending the message of the New Testament. The
message of the Old Testament is not merely Christ, but Christ in you.
In the mirror of the perfect revelation of God - the completed New
Testament and perfect law - we see the image of the glory of the
resurrected Christ, and in consequence are being transformed into that
same image.
- The Holy Spirit helps the
Christian to become perfect, to crucify his flesh. The Spirit leads him
that he might be a son of God, and intercedes for the Christian in
prayer.
- Christians are exhorted to be
filled with God’s Spirit, not to grieve the Spirit, nor
quench Him, and to make our bodies our slaves.
- Life in Jesus is freedom from
the old way of thinking. The Christian joyfully does what God wants in
a concentrated effort to be like Christ. He believes that God is able
to do exceeding abundantly beyond what he asks or thinks, by the power
of the Holy Spirit who works within.
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