2Corinthians 5:16-17 (Amplified) says, "Consequently, from now on we estimate and regard no one from a (purely) human point of view (in terms of natural standards of value). (No) even though we once did estimate Christ from a human viewpoint and as a Man, yet now (we have such knowledge of Him that) we know Him no longer (in terms of the flesh)." Verse 17 says, "Therefore if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation ( a new creature altogether); the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed away, Behold, the fresh and new has come."
Most of us in the family of God (the Church), still mostly see Jesus as a Man. It's only the Holy Spirit Who can reveal Jesus to us as what He really is now on our behalf. Paul said that, "He no longer sees himself, or anyone else in the Church, only after the flesh. We've been trained by years of teachings to look at ourselves more than we do Jesus. We've much more conscience of our own shortcomings rather than Jesus' success. We still view ourselves after the flesh instead of the Spirit.
Paul also said in Verse 17 that, "Anyone who is born again or ingrafted in Christ, is a new creation altogether and our old, previous moral and spiritual condition has passed away because the new has come." If this is true (and it is), then why do we spend so much time meditating on the person we used to be rather than on who we are now?
We learned in a previous lesson that the "Word" is a mirror according to James 1"23-24 (Amplified) which says, "For if anyone only listens to the Word without obeying it and being a doer of it, he is like a man who looks carefully at his (own) natural face in a mirror. For he thoughtfully observes himself, and then goes off and promptly forgets what he was like."
James stated that when we look into the Word, we read what it says about being a new creature, we read what it says about being sons of God and then we go off and forget what we look like. The reflection of the new man is quickly lost as we begin to see ourselves after the old man again. A mirror only shows who you are and not who you used to be. It will never show you the old man you used to be. I would like to have my reflection be what Christ has made me into and not what sin had made me into.
Only the Holy Spirit can reveal the whole truth of Who Jesus is and who you are because of Him, to your spirit. Paul told us in 2Corinthians 5:16 (Amplified), "That we now (by the Holy Spirit) no longer just see Jesus as a Man and that we now have a deeper knowledge of Him by the Holy Spirit." We can now see Him as Lord of All, as our Great High Priest, as our Advocate and as our Intercessor before the Father. We now see Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, as more than the Man Who walked in Jerusalem. We see Him as the Risen Christ Who walks the Heavenly Kingdom on our behalf as as the Head of the Body (the Church).
It is only through the revelation of the Holy Spirit, that we can see Jesus as all those things. When the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to you as He is now, He will also reveal who you are because of Jesus. None of these things can ever become truth to you without the Holy Spirit. You can read the words of the scriptures without seeing the truth. Without the Holy Spirit and His ministry, they are just words. We read them, they show us who we are and we walk away, forgetting what we look like (James 1:23-24).
We have reduced the ministry of the Holy Spirit to where He has very little space to work. We limit Him in the revelation of the full ministry of Jesus in our lives. We can only see the Father by the revelation of Jesus, through the Holy Spirit. We somehow see Jesus and the Father as being different. If you wish to know God's will, then you must first allow the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to you in all His glory.
If you want to know if healing is God's will, then you need to follow Jesus among the sick and lame. Jesus and the Father are One. When we see Jesus, we see the Father. Even those who weren't covenant people, were healed when Jesus was among them. The only difference was that the Holy Spirit (God) was only presence in Jesus at the time of His earthly ministry and now God (the Holy Spirit) is present in all of God's family. Jesus said, "It's the Father in Me, that does the work." The same Father Who was in Jesus is now in you.
What have you got to lose by laying your hands on the sick in the Name of Jesus? You might say, "What if they don't get healed?" I would answer, "What if they do!" After all, it's not you, but the Father in you, Who does the work. It's His job to do the healing and it's your job to lay your hands on them. Let the Holy Spirit reveal Jesus to you as the "Father in you."
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