posted
Fruit that causes death and reproduces death has a tree as it's source.
At the beginning of the Word of God, we are shown two trees, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2). In order to understand God's plan in Scripture, we must be thoroughly clear about these two trees and what they represent. After God created man, He placed him before these two trees, and man's whole life and walk was pictured as a matter of feasting upon one tree or the other. God instructed man to be very careful about partaking of these two trees. If man dealt with them in a proper way, he would have life; otherwise, he would have death. It was a matter of life or death. How man would live and walk after his creation depended entirely upon how he dealt with these two trees. God instructed man clearly: if he partook of the second tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would have death; but if he partook of the first tree, the tree of life, he would have life.
What do these two trees signify? According to the revelation of the whole Scripture, the tree of life signifies God Himself in Christ as our life. The tree of life stands as a symbol of the life of God in Christ. The Old and New Testament present the Lord Jesus many times as either a "tree" or a "branch" of a tree. The Lord has the special title of "Branch" in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah. Many trees are also in Scripture to signify that Christ is our portion and our enjoyment. For instance, the Lord Jesus, in the second chapter of the Song of Solomon, is likened to an apple tree: "As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under His shadow [the apple tree] with great delight." We can sit under Him as the shade—under His covering and shadow—and enjoy all His riches, the fruit of the tree. Another example of Christ as a tree is the vine-tree in John 15: "I am the vine, you are the branches..."
What is the significance of the second tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? This tree represents nothing else than Satan, the source of death. The second tree brings death, because it is the very source of death. The first tree is the source of life, and the second tree is the source of death. In the whole universe only God Himself is the source of life, and only Satan is the source of death. A verse showing that God Himself is the very source of life is Psalm 36:9: "For with thee is the fountain of life"; and a verse showing that Satan is the source of death is Hebrews 2:14: "him who has the might of death." The power of death is in the hand of Satan. Thus, from the very beginning of time, these two trees represent two sources—one, the source of life, and the other, the source of death.
In the beginning, there were three parties—God, man, and Satan. Man in innocence, created by God, was neutral to life and death. Since it was possible for man to have either life or death, he was standing on neutral ground. But God was standing on the ground of life, and Satan on the ground of death. Man was created neutral to God and Satan. It was God's intention for this neutral, innocent man to take God into himself, that God and man, man and God, would be mingled together as one. Man would then contain God as his life and express God as everything. Created man, as the center of the universe, would then fulfill the purpose of fully expressing God. Another possibility, however, was that man would be induced to take the second tree, the source of death. As a consequence, man would then be mingled with the second tree. Oh, that our eyes might be opened to see that in the whole universe it is not a matter of ethics and of doing good, but a matter of either receiving God as life or Satan as death. We must be delivered from the ethical and moral understanding. It is not a matter of doing good or evil, but of receiving God as life or Satan as death. It is important that we clearly see these three parties! God, standing on one side, is the source of life, as represented by the tree of life; Satan, standing on the other side, is the source of death, as represented by the tree of knowledge; and Adam, standing in the middle, is neutral with two receiving hands. He can either take God at his right hand or Satan at his left.
But, as we know, Adam was induced to take the second source, the tree of knowledge, into himself. This was not a matter of merely doing something wrong. No! It was much more serious than transgressing God's law and regulation. The significance of Adam taking the fruit of the tree of knowledge was that he received Satan into himself. Adam did not take the branch of that tree, he took the fruit of the tree. The fruit contains the reproducing power of life. For example, when the fruit of a peach tree is planted in the earth, soon another little peach tree will sprout up. Adam was the "earth." When he took the fruit of the tree of knowledge into himself as the earth, he received Satan, who then grew in him. Oh, this is not a small matter! Not many Christians have realized the fall of Adam in such a way. The fruit of Satan was sown in Adam as a seed in the soil; thus, Satan grew in Adam and became a part of him.
Now we need to discover into what part of Adam Satan was taken. Satan not only came into Adam when he fell in the garden, but he still remains in the human race. Where is he located in the human race? We are a tripartite being: spirit, soul, and body. Look at the picture. When Adam took the fruit of the tree, into what part of his being did it come? Of course, it came into his body, because he ate it. Although this is logical and reasonable, we need scriptural ground to confirm that something of Satan is in our body. Read Romans 7:23: "But I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind." The word "another," in the King James Version, is not a good translation. It should be "a different law"—i.e., a law of a different category. You may have three laws of the same category, e.g., the first, and "another" two. But the Greek here means a law of a contrasting category. "But I see a different law in my members [the members are the parts of the body], warring against the law of my mind, and making me a captive in the law of sin which is in my members," that is, the parts of the body.
What is the law of sin? Paul said, "...no longer I...but sin that dwells in me" (Rom. 7:20), and, "...no longer I...but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). Here we have the contrast between "no longer I...but sin," and "no longer I...but Christ." Christ is the embodiment of God, but sin is the embodiment of Satan. The word "sin" in Romans 7 should be capitalized, for it is personified. It is like a person, for Sin can dwell in us and force us to do things against our will (Rom. 7:17, 20). It is even stronger than us. Romans 6:14 says: "For sin shall not have dominion over you." It is better to translate it: "For Sin shall not have the lordship over you," or, "for Sin shall not be lord over you." Sin can be lord over us; hence, Sin must be the evil one, Satan. Through the fall, Satan came into man as Sin, and is ruling, damaging, corrupting and mastering him. In what part? Satan is in the members of man's body. Man's body as originally created by God was something very good, but it has now become the flesh. The body was pure, since it was created good, but when the body was corrupted by Satan, it became flesh. Paul said, "...in me, that is in my flesh, nothing good dwells" (Rom. 7:18). By the fall, Satan came to dwell in our body, causing our body to become flesh—i.e., a damaged, ruined body.
The book of Romans uses two terms, "the body of sin" (6:6) and "the body of this death" (7:24). The body is called "the body of sin" because Sin is in the body. The body simply became the residence of Sin, which is the embodiment of Satan. What, then, is "the body of this death"? The source and power of death is Satan. Sin is the embodiment of Satan and death is the issue or effect of Satan. This corrupted, transmuted body is called the "body of sin," and the "body of this death," because this body became the very residence of Satan. Both sin and death are related to Satan. "The body of sin" means that the body is sinful, corrupted and enslaved by Sin; "the body of this death" means that the body is weakened and full of death. The body is something satanic and devilish, because Satan dwells in this body. All the lusts are in this corrupted body which is called the flesh. The Word reveals that the lust is "the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16). The flesh is the corrupted body full of lusts, indwelt by Satan. Now you see that the fall of man was not just a matter of man committing something against God, but of man receiving Satan into his body. Satan, from the time of the fall, dwells in man. This is what happened when man partook of the second tree.
Since Satan and man became one through the second tree, Satan is no longer outside of man, but in man. The prince of the air, Satan himself, is working in the disobedient people (Eph. 2:2). Satan was joyful, boasting that he had succeeded in taking over man. But God, who was still outside of man, seemed to say: "I will also become incarnated. If Satan wrought himself into man, then let Me enter man and put man upon Myself." Do you see the complicated situation? God put on this man—Satan being in him—through incarnation. When God became incarnated as a man, the kind of man He put on was a man corrupted by Satan. Man, at the time of His
incarnation, was no longer a pure man, but a man ruined, corrupted by Satan. Let us read Romans 8:3: "God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin"—not "sinful flesh," as in the King James Version, but "the flesh of sin." When the Lord Jesus incarnated Himself in flesh, He was "in the likeness of the flesh of sin." There was no sin within Him, but there was "the likeness of the flesh of sin." Sin was within the corrupted man, but there was no sin within the Lord Jesus; there was only the likeness of the flesh of sin. The Old Testament illustrates this in the type of the brass serpent on the pole. That serpent, made of brass, was a type of Christ (John 3:14). When Christ was on the cross, He was a man in "the likeness" of the serpent. The serpent is Satan, the devil, the enemy of God, but when Christ was incarnated as a man, He had even the likeness of the sinful flesh, which is the likeness of Satan. It is rather difficult for anyone to understand this easily. It is really quite complicated. Let me repeat. Man was made pure, but one day Satan came into man to possess him. Satan was joyful, thinking he had succeeded in taking over man. Then God put upon Himself the man with Satan within him.
After God became a man and put that man with Satan within him upon Himself, He brought that man to the cross. Satan thought he had succeeded, but he only gave the Lord an easy way to put him to death. For example, if a mouse is loose in a house, it is rather difficult for the owner to catch it. But if he sets a trap with a little bait, the mouse will then be tempted to catch the bait. The mouse at first will think he has succeeded in getting the bait, but will not realize that he has been trapped until it is too late. Then, since he is trapped, it is so easy for the owner of the house to come and put him to death. Similarly, Adam became a trap to catch Satan. Satan was the "naughty" mouse running loose in the universe. When Satan came to possess man, he thought he was so successful, but did not realize that he fell into a trap. Satan thought man was his home, but did not know that man was a trap. He thought man was his food, but man was only the bait. By taking man, he was caught and imprisoned in man. Subsequently, the Lord came and put man upon Himself to bring him to the cross, that "through death He might destroy him who has the might of death" (Heb. 2:14). Man was the trap, and the devil was trapped within him. Through incarnation God put the corrupted man upon Himself and brought this man to death on the cross. At the same time, Satan within this fallen man was put to death also. Thus, it is by this death on the cross that Christ destroyed the devil. This is why Satan is afraid of the cross, and this is why the Lord told us to take up the cross. The cross is the only weapon for us to overcome Satan.
Where is Satan? Satan is in me—in my flesh. But where is my flesh now? Look at Galatians 5:24: "...crucified the flesh with the passions and lusts." My flesh, with Satan in it, is on the cross; thus, Satan is put to death on the cross. Praise the Lord! But is this the end? No, burial follows death. But even the grave is not the end! After the burial, there was the resurrection. Israel went into the Red Sea with Pharaoh and his army, but they were resurrected from the death-water without Pharaoh and his army. Pharaoh and his army were buried in the death-water. Christ brought man with Satan into death and the grave and brought man without Satan out of death and the grave. He left Satan buried in the grave. Now this resurrected man is one with Christ.
Let me ask you, When was it that you were regenerated? In 1958? That's too late! You were regenerated by the resurrection of Christ (1 Pet. 1:3). When Christ was resurrected, we too, those who believe in Him, were also resurrected. This can be proven by Ephesians 2:5-6: God has "...made us alive together with Christ...and raised us up together." At the time of Christ's resurrection, we also were resurrected with Him. Oh, we must be impressed! Man was ruined by Satan when Satan came into him. But God, by incarnation, put this man with Satan within him upon Himself, brought this man to the cross, put this man including Satan to death, and buried this man in the grave. He then brought man into resurrection, and through this resurrection man with God became one. Now God is in man's spirit.
We have to be joyful—but not overly joyful. Why? Because we must always bear the cross daily. Whenever our flesh is away from the cross, we will find that Satan is alive again. We have to say "Hallelujah," because the Lord Jesus is in our spirit; but we must also be on the alert, for we are still in the flesh. When the flesh gets off the cross, the devil will be alive again. This is why we must live in the spirit all the time and apply the cross to the flesh. Though Satan by the fall got into man, he was dealt with by the Lord, and now by the resurrection the Lord is within us. From now on our responsibility and business is not to try to do anything good. Good will only deceive and blind us. We must simply follow the Lord in the spirit and apply the cross to the flesh. This will spontaneously put Satan to death. Learn to practice this one thing with these two aspects. Follow the Lord in the spirit, and put the flesh, including Satan, to death on the cross.
Then what will be the ultimate issue? Simply this—on the one hand, there will be the New Jerusalem, and on the other, the Lake of Fire. The New Jerusalem is the Triune God mingled together with the resurrected man, and the Lake of Fire is Satan's ultimate destruction. The Lake of Fire is the place for Satan. All which is not related to the Triune God and the resurrected man will be put into the Lake of Fire with Satan. We need to remember that a Lake of Fire is water mingled with fire. The Spirit of God is typed many places in the scriptures as water, a spring of water, a river of water all forming a lake of water. We need remember that God is a consuming fire, that the Lord came to kindle a fire on the earth, that we are to have fiery trials, that we will suffer loss as thru fire but our soul will be saved, that fire is for refining, purifying the gold until only the gold remains, that the Lord came to baptize us in water and fire, that the chaff that is thrown into the fire is of the wheat that is taken into the store house of God. The chaff is not a separate crop, chaff is from the wheat or of the wheat. Remember all things were and are created by God. The Lake of Fire is a creation of God, it is of God. God created all things, nothing exists that He did not create, just as it is written some were in the Old Testament: "I God, created evil and darkness". It is accomplished, an everlasting Kingdom in which the Lord reigns until all His enemies are subjected to Him, enemies we were once. God has a desire that all will be saved. God can and is able to have His desire, God will have His desire. What God wills is accomplished. There will be only one tree in the New Jerusalem—the tree of life. The other tree will be in the Lake of Fire. This is the ultimate conclusion of the whole Scripture. The Scripture began with three parties, but the ultimate consummation will be the New Jerusalem with only the first tree at the center of the city and the resurrected man as the expression of the Triune God. The second tree will be cast into the Lake of Fire. All things and all people related to the second tree will have the same destiny as Satan—in that Lake of Fire. The Lake of Fire is the second death. We die once to sin, we must die again to self. These who have died a second time to self will not be hurt by the second death, the Lake of Fire for they have all ready died to self.
In conclusion, the meaning of this picture to us today is that the normal Christian life does not consist in doing good. The normal Christian life is simply taking Christ and living by Christ (the Anointing) which puts the flesh with Satan to death all the time. It is to follow Christ in our spirit which puts our flesh to death. Then the day will come when the Triune God and the resurrected man will be one expression—the New Jerusalem with the tree of life as its center.
The flesh cannot be evil itself because Jesus was the Word made flesh. He was God incarnate and took upon himself the likeness of our sinful flesh. Yet, He did no sin. He did this so that he could provide a way of escape for the human race. He overcame where the first Adam failed.
I agree that Satan tempts us to sin but he does not possess us such that he can force us to sin. The only person I know of that taught that Satan could make us sin was Geraldine, who said, "The Devil made me do it." However, the Devil cannot make us do anything. He does put temptation in our path which causes us to fall. Yet the temptation only reveals what is already in the heart. It does not cause the sin. Even the Holy Spirit does not force us to do things. We must yield. "Don't you know that whomever you obey you are the servant of the one which you obey?"
I want to share something from a lesson I recently studied.
quote: Although now affected by sin, the human body can't be evil, because Jesus Christ assumed a human body. But what about those New Testament texts, especially in the writings of Paul, that seem to pit flesh against the spirit, such as Romans 8:4, 5; Galatians 5:24, 25; 6:8?
The basic issue here is not that our body, our flesh, is of itself bad. Again, Christ's humanity proves this point. Paul's emphasis, instead, deals with control of our flesh, the keeping of its desires under the control of God. Ephesians 2:3 helps clarify this point: "Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." Paul talks about not letting the things of the flesh, that is, the carnal nature of fallen beings, dominate the Christian, who has died to this carnal nature, where passion and lust rule, and who now lives in the "spirit," that is, in an attitude of faith and submission to Christ.
Part of the problem stems from the use of the word spirit, which, in Paul's writing, isn't this eternal holy entity that lives in constant tension or battle with the flesh. In the Bible, spirit can mean "mood," "attitude," or "feelings." Oftentimes in the New Testament, flesh is simply the word used to symbolize the fallen carnal nature, while spirit symbolizes the attitude of submission and obedience to Christ. Those who live in "the spirit" are those who have yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit, which brings the desires of the flesh under control."
This lesson study can be found at Lord of Our Desires. I encourage you to check it out.
BTW, I enjoyed your post on the Sabbath topic. I believe I agree with what you wrote, at first reading.
quote:In conclusion, the meaning of this picture to us today is that the normal Christian life does not consist in doing good. The normal Christian life is simply taking Christ and living by Christ (the Anointing) which puts the flesh with Satan to death all the time. It is to follow Christ in our spirit which puts our flesh to death. Then the day will come when the Triune God and the resurrected man will be one expression in the New Jerusalem with the tree of life as its center.
Living by Jesus Christ, that says it all, brother! Good words!
Yet we are created in Christ Jesus to do... good works. Ephesians 2:10. Jesus, Himself, went about "doing good." Acts 10:38. Doing good is better than doing evil or doing nothing. Of course, doing good does not justify us before God. I suppose that's the point.
And yes, the flesh is one of the biblical word vessels to convey the idea of the nature of corrupt man. Jesus said that it "profits nothing" and Paul encouraged his readers to "put it to death." Granted Jeff, from the beginning it wasn't so.
Just thinking outloud, offering my two copper coins worth. Much to consider here.
Acts 10:38 "with respect to Jesus from Nazareth, that God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him"
In this verse we see Jesus doing good works, but we also see the how: God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and He (Jesus) did these things "because God was with him". Hard for God to deny someone if He is with that one. It would be hard for the Lord to say in the future; I didn't know you, if He "was with" him. In this verse we see Jesus went around doing good by the Holy Spirit and power and God was with Him. Clearly, Jesus walked by the Spirit and went around doing the will and works of the Father. If Jesus had went around doing any good works apart from the Spirit, apart from God, we would still be waiting for a Savior.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Eph 2:10 says we are "created in Christ Jesus unto good works". The interesting thing is that it doesn't say the good works are ours. Then look at the last word in this verse translated "them". This is Strong's #846 translated "him" more then any other way in the N.T. It's the Greek for Self: him, her, it. Are we to walk in good works or are we to walk in Him? This verse is saying the good works are not ours because it says "created in Christ Jesus". Here we see that we have been "created" in Christ Jesus. This word "created" implies a transformation in Christ Jesus unto good works, again which are not our good works, but His. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in HIM. Are we not told many other places to walk in Him. The proof is in the word translated "walk in". We are never told an were else to walk in good works, but to walk in Him. In this verse Paul used the Greek for "walk" and not do or practice or some other such. If we were walking in our own good works, what would these good works be? Dirty rags. But, if we walk in Him, we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, but not of ourselves, but of Him, which God hath ordained that we should walk in Him.
It's man's perspective to think that there is some redeeming quality in himself, other then Christ within him. Man's perspective that he can please God or do something good in himself. The Lord's example was by the Spirit, by the Father, by God who is Spirit. The Lord's perspective is that He, God gets all the glory.
In this verse we see Paul's good work of preaching was not Paul's, but the Spirit. 1 Cor 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
In these verses we see that the two churches, the two lampstands, the two olive trees, the two witnesses do not by themselves, their power or might, but by the Spirit.
Zec 4:2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: 3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. 4 So I answered and spoke to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? 5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 6 Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying, This is the Word of the Lord (Jehovah) unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. 7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, Grace unto it. 8 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. 10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth. 11 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? 12 And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? 13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Rev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
The two olive trees are the two witnesses, which are the lampstands, which are the churches. Who not by might, nor by power (theirs), but by My Spirit saith the Lord of hosts. They empty the Golden Oil (Spirit of God) out of themselves. Not there own works or power, but the Spirit.
posted
Interesting that you should bring up John's Revelation with regard to works.
Revelation 2:2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: Revelation 2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Revelation 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. Revelation 2:19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. Revelation 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Revelation 3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Revelation 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Revelation 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. Revelation 2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
Also: 1 Peter 2:12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
SS, it appears you may be trying to separate man from any works. Is this true? There are many works. There is a work man does for himself apart from God. Then there is a work man does thinking to earn salvation. Then there is a work man does after he knows God. Could you be a bit more specific which you are speaking about?
The work that God accepts is that done in faith which comes from a heart yielded to God and the power of the Holy Spirit. As Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." If our attitude and effort is because we love Jesus and desire to obey him then he accepts our work as inadequate as it may be. But because we are his, he makes up for our deficiencies with his own Divine merits making our offering acceptable to God. After all, it is the Holy Spirit which works in us to desire to obey and gives us strength (power) to obey. This is hiding in Christ and abiding in God.
Make no mistake. There is a difference between the children of God and the children of disobedience. That difference is willing obedience by a faith that works by love. The children of disobedience are also referred to as the children of wrath. Why wrath? Because God will pour out his cup of indignation upon them for their willful disobedience in defiance of God's command to live peacefully with all men and to treat each other with respect, kindness, forgiveness, compassion, long-suffering, and patience which are traits of a godly love.
quote:SS, it appears you may be trying to separate man from any works. Is this true? There are many works. There is a work man does for himself apart from God. Then there is a work man does thinking to earn salvation. Then there is a work man does after he knows God. Could you be a bit more specific which you are speaking about?
...If our attitude and effort is because we love Jesus and desire to obey him then he accepts our work as inadequate as it may be. But because we are his, he makes up for our deficiencies with his own Divine merits making our offering acceptable to God. After all, it is the Holy Spirit which works in us to desire to obey and gives us strength (power) to obey. This is hiding in Christ and abiding in God...
...Because God will pour out his cup of indignation upon them for their willful disobedience in defiance of God's command to live peacefully with all men and to treat each other with respect, kindness, forgiveness, compassion, long-suffering, and patience which are traits of a godly love.
Does God really except what is not Christ? What I am speaking of does not separate man from any of the Lord's works. Yet, the work I am speaking of does not appear to fall into any of the categories you mentioned in your first paragraph.
Man is a vessel, a branch to contain God and express God. That God might be glorified in man, have His image in man, have His dominion on this earth through man. Part of God's goal is to work His way into man and be formed in man, Gal 4:19. In this verse in Galatians, these brothers needed to have Christ (the Anointing) formed in them. For in verse 21 it say they were returning to the law (O.T. written code) and Paul ask them do you not hear the Law (Law of the Spirit, for the law is spiritual, Rom 7:14). Verse 21, Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law (dead letters), do ye not hear the law (Law of the Spirit)? Then Paul goes on in Galatians to show them that it is through the Spirit, the Promise, the Freewoman, those born of the Holy Spirit as Sarah's son was. God wants to sanctify man spirit, soul, and body and preserve him, 1 Thess 5:23. To transform man into the same image as the Lord, 2 Cor 3:18. Here is one of a few better translations of this verse; (NET) 18 And we all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, which is from the Lord, who is the Spirit. Man is transformed by beholding and reflecting the glory of the Lord. The glory of the Lord is the essential essence or element of the Lord. The key here is beholding the Lord, abiding in Him as the Lord Spirit, and then reflecting Him, some translations state it this way "beholding and reflecting as in a mirror". Beholding the glory of the Lord and reflecting that glory of the Lord. Others look at us and see the Lord. This transformation is by the Lord who is Spirit, as it says the Lord Spirit or the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Last Adam who became a Life Giving Spirit. The transformation from one degree of glory to another or from glory to glory is not our glory, it is the glory of the Lord. We, if we behold Him, are transformed into His glory, His essential essence or element, His expression or image on earth. We are to abide, dwell in Him. Our example, the Lord's example to us, is do as we see Him doing, speak as we hear Him speaking, reflect Him. Apart from Him we can do nothing, that is nothing of value, nothing of the Lord who is the Vine, Joh 15:1 “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. 2 He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me. He prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit. 3 You are clean already because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me—and I in him—bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing. We need to see that it is Christ who is to be glorified, to be formed in us, that we are to be sanctified completely by Him and for Him, that He is to have dominion on earth, that it is to be His image, not the image of the beast, not our works (dirty rags), but His, not our fruit, but the fruit of the Spirit. Remember that the branches that do not bare fruit, the fruit of the Vine are placed in the Fire. Remember what the Fire is.
quote:Then there is a work man does after he knows God...Because God will pour out his cup of indignation upon them for their willful disobedience in defiance of God's command to live peacefully with all men and to treat each other with respect, kindness, forgiveness, compassion, long-suffering, and patience which are traits of a godly love.
Now, I don't know if this is what you intended to say, but this is what I see in these two statements of yours. "Then there is a work man does after he knows God" and according to your last statement this work would appear to be obey God's commands to live peacefully with all men and to treat each other with respect, kindness, forgiveness, compassion, long-suffering, and patience which are traits of a godly love. I understand the ones who take this approach to be workers of lawlessness. They "know God", they have been regenerated, turned to God, and then knowing good and right, because we are infected with the knowledge of the tree of right and wrong or good and evil, they then proceed to live by rules, laws, codes, dead letters, etc., just as seen in the old law, which only magnifies sin to them, shows them there sinful state, and which can not be kept, but in fact as Romans points out only arouses this source of death. They know good and proceed without Him as the Spirit to copy His example, to imitate Him or His example. Yes, I know some translations use the word "imitate" and not follow as others, and some may say to imitate is defined the same as follow. But, lets be clear in our minds, one can be an effort in our own power to copy God. God says love your brother, be kind, long-suffering, etc. So I must do these things, I must obey God, I must keep His laws. The other (follow) is to dwell in Him, to do only what we see Him doing in any situation, to only speak what we see Him speaking in any situation, to turn to Him for all our works and doings, that is the Lord who is Spirit. This is being under the Law of the Spirit and not being lawless ones. Not our speaking, not our doing, but His speaking, His doing, us speaking what He is speaking and doing what He is doing as His example. It is written many places that not only does He dwell in us, but that we are to dwell in Him, to follow Him, this is following Him, the Spirit in Person, and not just drawing from our knowledge or the source, the tree of good. In one case we may come across a brother who appears to need compassion, we know, we have been infected with the knowledge of what is good, we know compassion is good, so we say I will be compassionate to this brother. It may even be a big struggle for us to be compassionate to this brother, it may take allot of effect on our part. Were on the other hand His burden is lit, His ways are not ours, He is Rest or the Sabbath. Yet, us knowing that compassion is good, that we are to be compassionate, and so being compassionate to this brother, well, this is lawlessness and lawlessness is being without the Law of the Spirit. And without the Spirit we can still accomplish compassion, still know what is good, yet from the source that brings death. In the other case or from the other source, we turn to the Lord Spirit, we dwell in, follow, draw on the source of Life, the Life giving Spirit, the Tree of Life. We listen for the speaking of the Spirit and see what the Spirit is doing in this situation, and what if anything the Lord would speak or do through us, an open and willing vessel, completely sanctified to Him, and open to Him, to His works, to producing His fruit from the Life of the Vine through the branches (us), who just bare the fruit, His fruit, the fruit of the Spirit. If we turn to the Lord we will not be lawless, the Lord knows best, this brother may not need compassion. Instead this brother may need correction. Not sympathy, but to be restored from the error of his ways. In one case the lawless ones were not known by the Lord even though they did many wonderful, good, correct, moral works allegedly in His name. In the latter example He can not say He does not know them for He bore fruit through them. It was the Lord, His glory that was reflected to this brother, it will be the Lord that is glorified in us, the church. Apart from Him, apart from dwelling, abiding in Him, He can say I didn't know you, you workers of lawlessness. It is not that the Lord does not know all or have knowledge of all, or is not in all, as it is written. It is that they are doing apart from Him, operating under the law, as lawless, apart from the Law of the Spirit, apart from Him.
If we examine the scriptures we see that great works and wonders, fruit, prophesying, even casting out of demons can be accomplished apart from Him in the other source. Just recall the verses about how these lawless ones did these things, how the deceiver will do these things to even deceive the elect if that were possible, how the many false prophets and false christs will do these things. It is interesting to note also, that the false christs, is plural here for "christs". On the other hand there is to be many little christs, God is in the business of birthing and rising many brothers of Christ, transforming many into His Son's image, giving them the right to be son's of God, etc. To become His Son in life and nature, but not Him as in the God-Head. Then when we see Him we will know Him because we will be like Him.
We have to remember that anything that is a replacement for Christ, that is not Christ is antichrist. By default, if it is not Christ come and coming in the flesh it is antichrist, and there has been many many antichrist, the many are false, the few are the faithful, operating by the Spirit again, the Spirit of Faith, and chosen. By default if it is not Christ it is the fallen, infected man, it is the wrong source, the source that knows good and produces death, not the source that produces Life, produces Christ, for the Lord said "I am the Life", He is the Spirit of Life, the River of Life, etc.
1 Peter 2:12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Why do the Gentiles "glorify God in the day of visitation" if they are your good works? Why do they not glorify you for they are your good works? In all our works why do we give the glory to the Lord? Why is God glorified?
In Revelation and many other places in scripture it says "thy works". Yet, we know that our works are dirty rags, so how do we reconcile this? How is it that God receives all the glory? Yes, it says "thy works", but are we going to claim it is our works apart from Christ? It better not be our works, it better be Christ, no longer I, but Christ.
It is recognition of were all our good works come from and it is even deeper then this. Christ has to be the source of them (our works). It is that they are not to be our works, but His works, His fruit, etc. The gifting you receive is it not of God? The measure you receive is it not of God? The power you receive is it not of the Holy Spirit (God)? The grace you receive is it not of God? The fruit you bare is it not produced from the Vine, is it not of the Lord who is the Vine, who is the Spirit?
Through the scriptures we can trace all the power, the works, the gifts, the fruit, to the Spirit. For example our love for the brothers, our long-suffering for or with the brothers, our kindness, etc., is the fruit of the Spirit, not our fruit. Yet, I might thank a brother for his (thy) kindness, his (thy) love, his (thy) long-suffering with me. If a brother finds me in some fault, error or what ever, and restores me, I might thank him for correcting me or for his correction. Yet, according to Gal 6:1 it was he that was spiritual and restored me in the Spirit of Meekness. This meekness is also the fruit of the Spirit, Gal 5:23. Let's look at the measure we receive. According to Eph 4:16 it is "according to the effectual working in the measure" of every part. It is the "effectual working", this effectual working is IN the measure. This is not our working, but the effectual working that is in the measure. According to Eph 4:7 we are given grace according to the measure. According to the measure of what? According to the measure of the gift of Christ. Christ gives us a measure, we receive grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ, it is of Christ. It is the effectual working or the operation in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of Himself in Love. "itself" is the Greek for "Himself" and God is Love. The body is Christ's. The making of increase of the body is of Christ, Christ will build His church. Christ "maketh increase of the body". It should read "maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of Himself in Love. Yet, we say they(us) are doing the work of building the church. They are building the church. We come to meeting with the brothers (sisters are brothers too), and we each have some work, some ministry, some speaking, some song, some prayer. We might say that sister's song was a beautiful song, in that sister's speaking the Lord spoke to me. Yet, we call it her speaking, and still we know that all we have for the meeting is to be of God, of the Spirit. 1 Cor 12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11 But all these worketh that One and the Selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. What we have of the Lord, we offend refer to as ours, yet it is by "One and the Selfsame Spirit", by "the same Spirit", by "the same Lord", by "the same God" according to Paul in Corinthians. Someone might remark he cast out demons, he did the work of casting out a demon. Yet, it is by the Spirit of God we cast out demons, Matt 12:28. Someone may prophesy, we say they prophesied, yet it is to be by the Spirit, 1 Cor 12:10. They may do all kind of mighty signs and wonders, we might say he preformed a miracle, yet it is by the Spirit, Rom 15:19. If it is not by the Spirit, if it is not the Lord, then it is not of gold, silver, and precious stone, it is instead wood, hay, chaff, stubble, etc.
So we say that they are our works, yet not of us, God is glorified, not us. It is ours, but in reality it is Christ in us working through us. Call them our works, but it better be the Spirit, the Lord Himself, or we are lawless and it is from the wrong source. We have a Source, a Person, a Possession, a Tree in us to draw on and that is Christ. We speak at meeting and yet what did we speak? Hopefully only what the Spirit spoke to us, only what we received of the Spirit. We did some works, hopefully did what we saw the Father doing. We have some helps, some administration, some service, but hopefully only what we received of the Spirit and what we see the Spirit doing. Hopefully, our source is the Lord, the Life, the Tree of Life, the Spirit, the River of Life. For there is another source within us that is not Christ, that would like to be a replacement for Christ, that wants to be like the Most High, to ascend to the thrown of the Most High, to deceive us into doing what we know is good, but not Life. One that brings death.
I enjoyed the web page you referred me to. We must remember that Jesus was not born of a man or the will of a man, but of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was made in the "LIKENESS" of sinful flesh, that is just the likeness of it, He was not made in or into sinful flesh. He was without sin and as He said the devil had nothing in Him. Jesus did not except the praise of men for He knew what was in man. No man can say he is without sin and not be a liar. Only Jesus was without sin and did not sin. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, he was as the first Adam before the fall, created or birthed by God. He did not sin, our sins were "put upon" Him. He was not created in the flesh of sin, but in the likeness of sinful flesh. Jesus was not born of a man or the will of a man, but of the Holy Spirit. Mary's child (Jesus) was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Joh 1:13 has been mistranslated. Look for yourself at the literal of the Greek text. Joh 1:12 ....to the ones trusting into the name of him 13 Who (referring to Jesus) not out of bloods but not out of want of flesh but not out of want of man but out of God begotten (Strong's #1080). Strong's 1080. gennao; contracted genno, fut. genneso, from genos (1085), generation, kind, offspring. To beget as spoken of men; to bear as spoken of women; pass., to be begotten or be born. We can not say we were not born of a human father, of a human father's will, of human bloods. Jesus, however was not born of a human father, not born of bloods (plural both male and female), and not born of the want of the flesh. Jesus is the only begotten of God. Jesus was made in the "LIKENESS" of sinful flesh, that is just the "likeness" of it. He was not made in or into sinful flesh. He was without sin and as He said the devil had nothing in Him. Jesus did not except the praise of men for He knew what (Satan) was in man. No man can say he is without sin and not be a liar. Only Jesus was without sin and did not sin. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, he was as the first Adam before the fall, created or birthed by God. He did not sin, our sins were "put upon" Him. He was not created in the flesh of sin, but in the likeness of sinful flesh. Through this we also see that sin is passed from generation to generation through the man, not the woman. Jesus, like the first Adam had no earthly father. Mary was a virgin. Joseph was only referred to as Jesus' father, Joseph had not been with Mary until after Jesus was born. That is why it says sin passed to all through Adam, through the man.
I agree that the flesh itself as created by God in the first Adam before the fall, and as seen in Jesus birthed by God and not man, is not evil in itself. We see God in Geneses created man naked and placed him before two trees. Man was neutral. Adam partook of death and this is the fallen flesh we see today, not the perfect creation of God. The Lord was created perfect and partook of only the source of Life, He did not sin, nor was there any sin in Him. We however have to die, take up our cross so that we can live in newness of Life.
2 Thes 2:4 ...so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. This is an interesting verse because, no matter what so called "temples" there maybe, there is only one "temple of God" and we are that temple of God. God is not building a temple of God today with stones cut with human hands, but of living stones. We are "the temple of God". In this verse we see the "son of perdition" sitting in the "temple of God". This is the lawless one. To be seated is to be enthroned, he is seated or enthroned in the temple of God and we are the temple of God. To be seated or enthroned is to be king, to reign. We see that Death reigned from Adam until Moses. Christ came to transfer us from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light. This world is the present darkness that the Light came into. John not only calls the Pharisees in one verse little vipers, but in another verse all the crowd vipers. Jesus called them sons of your father the Devil. The ones in the O.T. that were bitten, had the poison of the vipers injected into them, had to come and bow down (submit) to the image of the bronze serpent on the cross in order to be saved. This is the image of the serpent placed on the cross, the symbol of death. Christ was a type of this example, for He was a man in which the sins of the world were put upon Him and He as the image or in likeness of the serpent, sinful man, needed to be put on the cross and die. That there could be resurrection, freedom from death. He said "I am the resurrection", Paul refers to Him as the Resurrection of the dead, that he (Paul) may some how obtain to.
The word "spirit" in Romans means spirit. Two spirits within us warring. Each a law. The spirit of the antichrist or the Spirit of Christ and not attitude of faith and submission to Christ. If we live in the Spirit let us walk in the Spirit means just that. Yes, it entails submission to Christ and not submission to the other spirit.
Understand the "I". The "I" is the neutral man, the perfect creation of God, the creation of God in the garden before the fall, the creation of God that we were to be plus Christ, the "I" is created us, before the fall or before partaking of the fruit of death. The "I" comes from God. We were to have partaken of the source of Life. Which God intended us to partake of in the fruit of the Tree of Life, in Christ, the Life, operating by, feeding on the source of Life. We were created naked, we did not have the relization that we were naked until the fall. But, the "I" fell in the garden by partaking of the fruit of death and not the source of Life, bringing in death. Now, again we have been reconciled to God in Christ. Now, we are to be much more saved in His Life, Rom 5:10. The "I" is reconsiled neutral and is to partake of Christ. The "I" operates from the source of death or the source of Life. We still have two trees before us, two sources to chose from. It is a war for the ground, you are the ground, the dust of the earth, it is a war over who will be formed in you. What source you will live by. You are a vessel, a branch in which one source or the other will be lived out, have it's image, be glorified, be expressed, take dominion. If it is not Christ, then there is the default source, you have been infected with. God's intention was for man to partake of and live by Him, the source of Life, the Tree of Life. The "I" in Romans or Gallatians is either mingled or living by the source of Life or the source of death. Therefore it is either Christ or the other source.
Understand the "law". When we read the word "law" we must understand there are differant laws. The "law" is not always refering to the O.T. objective law, the law in letters. There are three different laws in the three different parts of the believer's being. These three laws derive from the three parties in the universe. The law of sin and death in the believer's members, that is, in his body, derives from Satan, who as sin dwells in the believer's flesh. The law which is neutral or good in the believer's mind, that is, in his soul, derives from the natural human life, that is, from man himself as created by God. The law of the Spirit of Life in the believer's spirit derives from God, who as the Spirit dwells in his spirit. These three parties with the three laws are now present in the believer in much the same way that they (God, man, and Satan) were present in the Garden of Eden. In addition to the three laws within the believer, there is the law of God outside of him which is objective and was a type for the spiritual. For the law is spiritual.
Geraldine said the devil made me do it. Can we not think of many examples of people doing things against their own will. People who have been taken captive or people who have submitted themselves or been submitted to an authority or institution or a man. When we are under a king and within a kingdom, that king and kingdom has laws that we are subject to. Take for example this earthly kingdom; if you were to take up a bucket of stones and hold them straight out at shoulder level, no matter how much you willed them to remain in place, no matter how strong or how much of your strength you exerted, it is only a matter of time before the bucket of stones will move toward the earth. Because you are under the law of gravity in this kingdom. These two natures within us are a law. When you sooner or later dropped the bucket of stones, could you not say gravity made me do it, that is drop the bucket of stones? We are told to run from sexual temptation. If we don't run from it, it will overcome us. If a man is submitted or allows himself to submit, he can be raped against his will by a beautiful woman and maybe not even that good looking of one. Look at the ones in the N.T. possessed of demons. One is thrown into the fire, is this not against his will. It says it (the demon) has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him. Another continually cuts himself, is this not against his will. Did Judas not do what was against his will, because he was of the evil one, and latter regretted it. What king and kingdom had Geraldine given himself over to? Could he not say my king made me do it. The devil made me do it. Granted, at some point permission was given or a shift in king and kingdoms was effected by disobedience to God. But, Paul clearly said in Rom 7:17 But now it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me. Paul also said in Rom 7:6 ...because we have died to what controlled (held) us... I am not sure. Maybe Geraldine should have said; the devil in me made me do it or sin in me did it or the devil did it. If Paul could say "no longer I, but Christ that lives" maybe Geraldine was saying; no longer I, but Satan that lives in me. Maybe, it is more correct to say the one without the Law of the Spirit did it or sin, which is lawlessness did it. As Paul stated it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me.
Satan is also the master deceiver. We have seen master magicians and hypnotists, they deceive. Before I knew the Lord, I studied for a week under a master hypnotist. He told me he could not give a man on stage that he had hypnotized a gun and tell him to start killing people in the audience, the man would not do it. However, he could hypnotize the man, give him a gun and deceive him by telling him he was in Vietnam and that the audience were Vietnamese trying to kill him, in that case the man would return fire. He would hand the man an empty gun not letting him know the gun was empty. You would hear the click of the hammer and watch the man go into a panic trying to figure out why the gun would not fire. Anyway, I really am not sure. I am just not convinced at this point a man can not be forced to do something against his own will or that his will is not just a reflection of one of two sources within us. I remember once in a split second doing something, I would have considered totally foreign to me, if I had not did it. At the time I did it, it was not my desire to do it, nor did I approve of it after I did it. I had at the time been most definitely living by the flesh nature. As I did this thing I had no thought or desire to do, as it happened, it was like I was watching it happen, and it was just not me. I am not excusing it or not not excepting responsibility for it, but I don't know how to explain it, other then it was just not me. As it worked out, even this act, by whatever took control of me, worked eventually to my own good to turn me to God. At the time this incident occurred I was drawing on the wrong source for my living and I had consented to doing some things I knew were not right, I had a desire for doing this that at the time I couldn't control, I had not learned to take the Lord as my life, but no way did I consent to or think to do what I did. I can honestly say it was no longer me doing it, but sin that lived in me.
It is true that whomever we obey we are the servant of the one which we obey. So if we have obeyed one other then God, as Eve and Adam did, are we not then servants to that lord and we then obey that lord. It is interesting to note that Jesus said to Peter "Satan get behind me". At a minimum Jesus acknowledged that Peter's speaking was Satan's speaking, that Peter's will in that situation was Satan's will. Could we not say that Satan was in Peter or possessed or dwelt in Peter. Could we not say that Satan spoke and not Peter. I would agree that in order to be under a king or in a kingdom we would have to at one point, have had to of submitted to that king or entered that kingdom. Would disobeying God, by default, have placed us out of His kingdom or subjected us to the punishment of violating the law of that kingdom? For the day you eat of it you will surely die. By default would that have placed us under another king and within another kingdom? Would we not then be subject to obey our new king and the laws of his kingdom, even against our own wills. Let's look at the opposite Kingdom and it's law. 1 Joh 3:6 Everyone who resides in him does not sin; everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him. 1 Joh 3:9 Everyone who is fathered by God does not practice sin, because God's seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God. 1 Joh 5:18 We know that everyone fathered by God does not sin, but God protects the one he has fathered, and the evil one cannot touch him.
Yes, I am speaking of a higher doing, of a higher works, of Christ Himself, no longer I, but Christ that lives in me.
We tend to treat Christ as very objective to us. We tend to view Him seated in the heavenly. However, we need to see we are seated in the Heavenly in Him. The overcomers are to be seated on His thrown as He is seated with the Father on His thrown. He dwells in us and we need to dwell in Him. He needs and desires to be very subjective to us. Very living and active in us, very real, very much in Person, and daily. Very much in Person guiding, leading, working in us daily.
If we don't see Christ as our works. If we don't see Him and hear Him in person daily, for it is daily we follow Him, then we need to examine whether we are really obeying His commandments and sayings, as He would have us do, not in our own doing or working. Are we holding anything between us and Him? Have we replaced Him with anything that is not truly Him in Person? Have we returned to the old law?, the dead letters, dead because they are not Life. He is the Life. Have we established His sayings as a new law, as like unto the old law, to replace Him in Person? Are we operating in Him or in the source of knowledge of good or right to do, in the old infected man? Are we just satisfied with the scriptures or are we hearing Him, the Lord Spirit in Person each day? Now, if you have read my previous posts, you know I hold the scriptures as inspired, and by all means speak the scriptures to. For as it is written every expert in the law who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old. Just don't forsake the new. Remember it is the lawless one, the son of perdition, that sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. And you are God's temple.
Is there really no law? The purpose of the law is not to save us, we are saved by grace through faith. The purpose of the law is to show us our sin. If there were no law, then there would be no sin. But if we say we haven't sinned then we call God a liar. But if it were true, then we would not need a Savior. God was very gracious to give us the law so we could know our true condition.
A speaker once illustrated what Jesus did for us with this simple story.
If you were playing with your rubber ducky in a pool of water six inches deep and a tall, blonde, lifeguard splashed into the pool, grabbed you up, set you on dry land and proclaimed, "I've rescued you!" You would be irritated by his interruption to your otherwise leisurely afternoon bath and would most likely return to the pool.
However, if you fell into the ocean and the sharks started to circle and there was no help in sight and this lifeguard grabbed you up, set you on dry land and proclaimed, "I've rescued you!" Then you would be very appreciative because you came to realize the gravity of your situation and your utter helplessness to save yourself.
Jesus illustrated the same story in this way.
"There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?"
Jesus knew that Mary loved him as her Savior. He told her to "Go, and sin no more." Jesus tells everyone who loves him, "If you love me, keep my commandments." So it is that they who are forgiven most will love their Savior the most. But those who view their sins as barely worth mentioning will not value their Savior appropriately. The entire difference between the two examples is their perception of their condition. Yet, any sin of any degree is worthy of death. It is the law that puts sin in its proper perspective.
God knew that we would not desire a Savior unless we realized our need. He knew that we would not appreciate him paying our debt unless we knew how large a debt we had been forgiven. So he gave us his law so that our sins would abound. Not that the law creates sin in us but that it exposes the multitude of sins. Paul said he would not have known covetousness was sin unless the law told him. Without the law he was ignorant of his condition and felt alive. But when he comprehended the commandment he saw that he was actually dead. Then he cried out for a Savior, "Who shall save me from the body of this death?"
Today, the biggest problem in the church is that it is lukewarm. We have lost our first love. Our first love was when we felt our need and fled to Jesus unabashed, surrendering all that we might obtain his mercy. We lose that degree of love when we lose sight of our true condition. Do we think we are "rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing?" That repulses God who sees our true condition. Have we lost sight of our true condition because we have forgotten the law, which exposes our sin, and therefore no longer feel our great need for Jesus as our Savior? I think it is a very likely scenario since Jesus said that when he was lifted up on the cross he would draw all men to himself.
Whenever we think we are doing alright we tend to rely too much upon our own righteousness, rather than resting in Jesus as our only righteousness, and thus we feel no need of a Savior. So the law has behind it the purpose of causing us to flee to Jesus as our righteousness. But it is effective only if we compare our lives to it so that we can see our blindess, nakedness, and poverty. The law is not at enmity with the cross but rather leads us to Christ as our Savior. The law is just and holy. It is only when people teach the keeping of the law as a means of salvation is its purpose perverted and we become aggitated with the law. Those who would destroy the law are the enemies of the cross because the true purpose of the law is to cause us to flee from it to embrace Christ.
If we keep the law in its proper perspective then we are using it lawfully. To push the law into the forefront as a means of salvation is using the law illegally; against the law. But to place the law in front of people to reveal their need of a Savior is in harmony with the purpose of the law. Something I have not been able to properly convey is that when we accept Jesus and rely upon his merits as our only hope then he gives us his life of sinlessness. When we walk in the same spirit in which Jesus walked then our life will be like his. Then will the righteousness of the law be fulfilled in us as Paul states in Romans 8:1-4, with an emphasis on verse 4.
Jesus said he came not to destroy the law but to fulfil it. The Bible is the written word of God. Jesus is the Word made flesh. While the Bible tells us how we should live, Jesus showed us. If we live our life focused on Christ and obey him by faith because we love him then we walk in the spirit and not in the flesh. But the law will ever be there to define sin and condemn sinners. Hopefully, if we see that the law condemns something in our life we will return to Jesus for cleansing and forgiveness. So the law repulses us because it condemns us but the cross draws us to Jesus for mercy and forgiveness. This is proper that the two should work in harmony according to God's purpose.
But tell me why YOU love Jesus so much and what drew you to him? You didn't just wake up one day and turn your life around. How did you learn you needed a Savior? Why did you flee to Jesus as your Savior?
Email this page to someone.
