WBS.199
FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
WHO AM I?
– III
The New
Man - 2
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the
glory of IAUE, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by
the Spirit of IAUE
What we do is a manifestation of who we believe we are…We
look like our Father…Our job is to increase in the knowledge of the one who
created us and to look at ourselves in this mirror until our soulish man “gets
it.” When it does, we will be
transformed by the renewing of the mind.
It is easy to believe from even a shallow
reading of the Scriptures that man is made of spirit, soul and body. A deeper study of the Scriptures might add that
we are also “a heart” to that structure.
One thing that is evident is that we know how to evaluate what our body
looks like and to know what condition it is in. We can just look in the mirror
and see it. It is also readily available to us to know the state of our mind,
will and emotions…our soul. What is not
readily available to us is to know the state and condition of our spirit. We do not see our spirit. We do not feel it. Its thoughts, if it has any, are not readily
perceived by our minds. Its nature and condition
are absolutely alien to most of us.
We do know, however, that if the spirit leaves
the body…if we “give up the ghost” our body dies. Just that awareness alone should make us
understand how powerful the spirit is within us. Our spirit is our life force. It is what keeps us alive. Food and water are not what keep us
alive. The spirit is. If the spirit of man is the life force of
man, does it not make sense that it is far more than just a battery pack; and
when the charge runs out, we die? How
much greater an influence to the soul and body of man could the spirit make if
we understood it better?
The Scripture tells us that IT is the mirror
that shows us what is the nature and condition of our spirit. Herein lies the problem. We are not inclined to believe what the
Scripture shows us. It conflicts with
what our mind tells us.
2 Corinthians
5:21 For he hath made
him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness
of IAUE in him.
Our minds reel, even scoff, at the notion that
we are righteous. We know how impure our
thoughts are, how unacceptable our behavior is from time to time, etc. The idea that we have somehow become
righteous is foolishness to us; and that is the problem. Our minds refuse to accept the truth of
Scripture. We can believe the Scripture
when it says that all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of
IAUE. We can believe the Scripture when
it says that Yahushua died for us when we were yet sinners. We can believe the Scripture when it says that
Yahushua rose from the dead. We can
believe the Scripture when it tells us that our sins have been forgiven; but
that is where we draw the line. Why is
this?
I believe the disconnect lies with the false
gospel that is being presented Sunday after Sunday from most pulpits in the
world. Sinners are invited to ask “Jesus”
to forgive them of the very sins he forgave 2,000 years ago. They are told “God has a wonderful plan for
your life.” They are told they can “accept
the free gift of salvation.” They are told to “ask Jesus into your heart to be
your personal lord and savior.” All
such teaching is not Scriptural. It is
nowhere to be found in the presentation of the gospel in the Book of Acts. What IS in the Book of Acts is “REPENT,” and
be baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit.
You cannot put ON the new man until you put
OFF the old man. Repentance is the
commitment of mind and heart to turn from a life that rebels against the
authority of IAUE and His right to rule our life. Water baptism washes off the
stain of that rebellious life and frees man to receive and to walk in the power
of the Holy Spirit. Many professing
believers have never been baptized in water because they have been taught it is
just a symbol and has very little real meaning. Obviously, that belief was not
held by the first century church for they felt water baptism should occur as
immediately after one’s repentance as possible.
When our lives in Messiah are actually begun
in a manner consistent with his own instructions; it is not difficult to
believe what he tells us he has provided for us in the new man.
When we are born again, when we become a new
creature in Yahushua Messiah, we are made in the righteousness of IAUE. That is how we are created. That which was lost to the spirit of man in
the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden, was restored to the new man we become
by faith in Messiah.
Many can accept this as a “positional” truth;
but not in an actual reality. Many
theologians, pastors and teachers have relegated all that Messiah became to us as
“positional” truths that we have in Messiah; but none of it as experiential
reality. That simply is false
teaching. The words “position” and “positional”
are nowhere to be found in the New Testament.
This idea that we do not actually experience any of the things the
Scripture teaches we have become “in Messiah” is directly opposed to the mirror
of the Scripture that reveals to us that the new man, the new creature we have
become looks just like IAUE; and bears His nature and character and condition.
1 Corinthians
1:30 But of him are ye
in Messiah Yahushua, who of IAUE is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption:
If we could “see” our spirit, we would likely
be blinded by the light. Our spirit is
righteous, set apart, redeemed, and filled with the wisdom of IAUE. Yes, it is true that it is Messiah who has
become these things to us; but he is in us and we are in him. There is no way to separate or divide his
attributes from our own.
Imagine you are a soldier on a battlefield. You are a Sergeant in the army. Now picture a one-star General walking up to
you and ripping your stripes from your sleeve and placing a Captain’s insignia
on your shoulder. You haven’t been to officer’s training school. You haven’t graduated from a military academy
or a college ROTC program. You’re just a
simple enlisted man who has just been elevated to the rank of an officer. It wasn’t for anything you did; it was because
the Captain of your unit has been killed in combat; and you have been chosen to
assume his place.
Messiah died for us. The world IS a combat field. The Scripture tells us that the whole world
lies in the wicked one. When we repent
and give our lives to Messiah; what happens to us next elevates us beyond what
we can imagine. It isn’t rational. It doesn’t make sense. We do not “feel” worthy of what happens to
us; and the truth is, we aren’t worthy of it.
It happens simply because of the Father’s love for us. Regardless of how you look at it, you are now
a Captain in the army of IAUE. It isn’t
positional. It is real. The moment we understand this will be when we
can look into the perfect law of liberty and see what WE look like. We can see what the Scripture reveals that we
have become. Our new-born spirit is
merged into the spirit of Yahushua Messiah and we look like him and we ARE like
him.
What do you suppose would happen in our souls
and our bodies if we finally believed that what the Scripture says we have
become in Messiah is real?
Kingdom
heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the
performance of the will of IAUE.
No comments:
Post a Comment