Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul wrote 2Corinthians 5:17 (Amplified) which says, "Therefore, if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creation altogether); the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed away: Behold, the fresh and new has come."
Notice this scripture says that "it has come" and not "will come someday." We've mostly viewed our relationship with God, as new creations, as one that happens after we go to be with the Lord. What we've missed by walking and believing this, is the fact we didn't need to go be with Him because He came to be with us. Jesus said in John 17:21-22 (Amplified), "That they may be one, (just) as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us; so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me. I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one (even) as We are One."
This happened the very moment we received Jesus as our Lord and Savior and were born again. At that moment, we became new creations that never was or had been before. Even the glory that the Father gave to Jesus, was now ours too. 2Peter 1:3 (Amplified) says, "For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that (are requisite and suited) to life and godliness through the (full, personal) knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His Own glory and excellence (virtue)."
This isn't the knowledge that "puffs up," that Paul talks about, but the knowledge that allows us to be what He says we are now as new creations. 2Peter 1:2 (Amplified) says, "May grace (God's favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you in (the full, person, precise and correct) knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."
The Holy Spirit will show us the true meaning of the above scripture, if we will allow Him to. If this scripture is true (and it is), then the Holy Spirit will use it to help us better understand the Lord Who called us into it. Peter said, "This grace, favor, peace, well-being, freedom from fears from moral conflicts and the agitating passions, will be multiplied to us in the (precise and correct) knowledge of Him Who called us into this new creation."
"Precise and correct knowledge" is something we must listen closely to, through the Holy Spirit. He will never reveal Jesus or the Father in anyway, but the truth. When Jesus told His followers about the day the Holy Spirit would come, He spoke of Him in the following manner in John 14:26 (Amplified) saying, "But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Stand-by) the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name (in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf) He will teach you all things (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you)."
When man teaches us God's Word without the Holy Spirit guiding him, he teaches only what man can observe in his carnal mind. Without the Teacher (Who is the Holy Spirit), man can only teach carnality and regulations of the flesh. Romans 8:7 (Amplified) tells us, "(That is) because the mind of the flesh (with its carnal thoughts and purposes) is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God's Law; indeed it cannot."
We might be born again and have already become a new creation, but without the Holy Spirit revealing what Jesus has truly done in our lives, we will continue operating in the carnal mind of the flesh. Our carnal mind can never believe that what God has done for is give us complete freedom from all things, even here. Most of us are familiar with Romans 10:9-10 and this is the basis we lead others to the prayer of salvation. We put faith in what that scripture says and believe that it works, and so it does. We don't always reflect on the verses just prior to that. In Romans 10:2-3 (Amplified) Paul speaks about the Jewish people and their covenant with God, saying, "I bear them witness that they have a (certain) zeal and enthusiasm for God, but it is not enlightened and according to (correct and vital) knowledge For being ignorant of the righteousness that God ascribes (which makes one acceptable to Him in word, thought and deed) and seeking to establish a righteousness (a means of salvation) of their own, they did not obey or submit themselves to God's righteousness."
There are many in the Body of Christ today, who are in this exact place. We've followed church traditions throughout the years, that are just as carnal as the ones that Paul addressed. We had a "zeal for God," like they did, but we were without knowledge. We've tried becoming righteous through regulations and traditions, for centuries and no matter what we did, we still felt like we fell short of achieving right standing with God. We walked in the feeling of unworthiness and saw ourselves as still sinners. There was very little peace or "perfect well-being" in our lives. We were always more self-conscious, rather than God-conscious.
Even though God's Word declared we have been made to be the "righteousness of God in Christ Jesus," we failed to walk in it. 2Corinthians 5:21 (Amplified) says, "For our sake He made Christ (virtually) to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become (endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of) the righteousness of God (what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness)."
Many read this and say, "It's too good to be true" or "That's too easy," so they set out to improve on it by their own interpretation of what we think righteousness is. This doesn't mean that we aren't supposed to live a righteous lifestyle or that what we do doesn't matter. We're not to live "any way we choose to," but we're also not to live under condemnation of the flesh, every time we make a mistake. These are the very things Peter spoke about when he said that, "All these things will be multiplied to us by the (full, personal, precise and correct) knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord," in 2Peter 1:2 (Amplified).
The carnal minded Christian can never come to the "full truth" of what God has already done and cannot live in peace and well-being in it. We always want to add something of our own to it, in order to make us feel like we have done it ourselves. We've fashioned religious customs and laws, designed to make us feel righteous or to improve our right standing with God. Feeling like you're righteous, is the carnal mind of the baby Christian at work. Believing your are righteous (by faith in what Jesus has already done), is the maturity of the new creation believer.
This might seem contrary to what we've always heard, but this is what the Holy Spirit came to teach us about our Father. When you know that you're already acceptable and pleasing to God, it makes your faith in Him more sure and stronger. Hebrews 11:6 (Amplified) says, "But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him, For whoever comes near to God must (necessarily) believe that God exists and He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him (out)."
No comments:
Post a Comment