Today's Church is like those who remained in the Wilderness after being freed from Egyptian bondage, instead of entering God's Promised Land, because we don't recognize who we are and where we belong. The people in the Wilderness murmured and complained about their circumstances, even they they were already Blessed and had a covenant with God. They couldn't enter into His Rest, because of their unbelief. Through Jesus, we've already become the family of God and are heirs of everything He gave Jesus, because we are joint heirs with Christ. This isn't something we "will" inherit, but is already our inheritance while we're here on earth.
The Holy Spirit led Paul to write to God's children in 1Corinthians 1:30 (Amplified) saying, "But it is from Him that you have your Life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, revealed to us a knowledge of the Divine Plan of salvation previously hidden manifesting itself as our Righteousness, Thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God; And our Consecration, making us pure and holy, and our Redemption providing our Ransom from Eternal penalty for sin."
We must look closely to what God is saying about who we've become in Jesus, in the above scripture. Our relationship with Jesus has "bestowed God's Own Wisdom upon us, as well as the Revelation of God's Divine Plan of salvation that was previously hidden, manifesting itself as our righteousness." The manifestation of the Plan of salvation, is righteous or right standing with God and being made right in God's sight. We've been made able to and been restored the right to, stand in God's Presence.
God's Divine Plan of salvation that's now revealed to us, is something the devil and the world thought could never happen. Because Jesus bore all our sins and trespasses, mankind can now be made righteous and restored back into the fullness of son-ship rights again. This is the manifestation of the Plan that was previously hidden. Satan has lost his hold on those who were previously under his control, because Christ Jesus has restored mankind back to the Father. Jesus has "set at liberty, those who were bound."
Paul tells the Church that Jesus is not only our Righteousness, but through Him, we are consecrated, made pure and holy. The Church though, has failed to realize this and has remained in the Wilderness for too long. Who in the Church would dare to believe he/she is pure and holy and will enter into the Promise of God?
Those persons would be labeled, "Prideful and puffed-up with pride." The Truth is that when we deny what God says and continuing to believe our own things, is prideful. Only by faith in Jesus, are we pure and holy.
Paul goes on telling us about the Divine Plan of salvation, saying that Jesus is our Redemption and our Ransom from the penalties that befell mankind after Adam's transgression. Paul tells us that God has revealed to us Wisdom from God in the Gift of Salvation, which was previously hidden until now. Even though God has revealed all this to His family and has given us Wisdom, we still haven't understood what He said and did, in Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 4:7-8 (Amplified) says, "The beginning of Wisdom is, get Wisdom, skillful and Godly Wisdom. For skillful and Godly Wisdom is the principal thing." Now let's reread 1Corinthians 1:30 which says, "You have your Life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom." Jesus is our manifest Wisdom and "Wisdom is the principal thing." The above Proverb continues, saying, "And with all you have gotten, get understanding, discernment, comprehension, and interpretation."
When we received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, Wisdom from God, Righteousness, son-ship rights, Consecration, Liberty, and Redemption were imparted and revealed into our new creation spirits. The Church hasn't understood this, causing us to accept what the world says about us, instead of what God's Word says about us. You might say, "Well, I'm working on being pure and holy, but I haven't arrived yet." You will never arrive, so long as you're "working on it." It was imparted to you in Jesus and God already sees you as being pure and holy. This is what was previously hidden and what we're to understand now.
The Church's Identity Crisis has left God's people trying to be what He has already made us to be in Jesus. This is Grace in it's purest form. God placed all that we once were, on Jesus and has placed all that Jesus is, in us. It's just as True that we have His Righteousness, as He took our sins. We've believed that Jesus bore our sins and trespasses, but we haven't believed that we have become His Righteousness, Consecration, Redemption and His inheritance.
1Corinthians 1:27-29,30 (Amplified) says, "And God also elected (deliberately chose), what in the world is foolish to put the wise to shame, and what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame. And God also elected (deliberately chose), what in the world is low born and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are. So that no mortal man should have pretense for glorying and boasting in the Presence of God."
Verse 30 says, "No mortal man could dare boast that on his own he is pure and holy, or that in himself he is righteous, Nor can he say that he has redeemed his own self, or even that he has the Wisdom of salvation without the understanding of the Wisdom of God."
Proverbs 4:8-10 (Amplified) says, "Prize wisdom highly (Jesus, the Word), and exalt her; and she will exalt and promote you, she will bring you to honor when you embrace her. She will give to your head a wreath of gracefulness; a crown of beauty and glory will she deliver to you. Hear O my son, and receive My sayings, and the years of your life shall be many."
We've been so careful not to lift ourselves up in pride and have failed to humble ourselves to receive what Jesus has done for and in us. It takes mankind's own pride, to stand against God's Grace and Truth. If God says that, "You are pure and holy in Jesus," then would you question Him? Only a prideful person would dare tell God, "You are wrong." Knowing what we do about ourselves, while still believing what God says about us, requires our humbling ourselves under His Mighty Hand. He then will exalt us and make us pure, holy, righteous and call us His sons and daughters.
God's Church hasn't dared to believe what God has done for us, through Jesus. We've had a false humility and haven't dared to believe in the Truth of what God's Word says about us. It sounds humble to call ourselves "unworthy, beggars, and worms" in the Church, but if the world calls us "unworthy,, beggars, and worms" then we are ready to stand and fight.
The Father never calls you "a worm, or a beggar, or unworthy." Only the world and religion would say this about you. The Church can't yield to it in false humility. Can we really receive who God says we are and come boldly before Him, if we believe we're unworthy worms and beggars? We must do it in True and faithful Grace, accepting the honor He has lavished upon us, in Jesus.
Jesus never denied that He was the Son of God and He never denied that only God was Good. Jesus said that, "It is the Father in Me, Who does the Good works." How do you balance Truth and pride, believing who we are, while giving all the praise to the Father? You must believe that you are righteous, in order to have confidence the Father hears you. The True understanding of God's Grace says, "Lord, I know I don't deserve all the things you've done for me, but I receive them as a Gift of Your Love and receive them in Thanksgiving, praise and faith through Jesus. By faith in Your Truth, I surrender my carnal pride that would stand against Truth and I rejoice in who you've made me to be, in Jesus and Truth. Amen."
Paul writes to the Church concerning the personal convictions and personal faith that exists in all of us, in Romans 14:22 (Amplified). Some Christians still observed certain days and rituals as being more holy than others, while the faith of some went beyond these things. Paul didn't say whether having personal convictions was wrong or right. He says, "Your personal convictions of such matters, exercise them as in God's Presence, keeping them to yourself, striving only to know the truth and obey is will. Blessed,happy, to be envied is he who has no reason to judge himself for what he approves, who does not convict himself by what he chooses to do."
Saying we're pure and holy sounds foolish to some and boastful to others. To God, it only means that we're acknowledging the Awesome Deliverance Jesus provided to us. God sees that we're honoring and worshipping Him in Spirit and Truth for His Grace, which gives us a deeper understanding about the Glorious favor and mercy He shows us.
Believing that the Father looks upon me as being pure and holy, is far above what the carnal mind can think. Even the new creation believer might think it's prideful, when we receive a deeper knowledge of God's unconditional Love and see the depth of our salvation in Jesus. Every time God reveals more of His Grace, it opens the door for me to praise and worship Him. This makes me more sure of my ability to come before Him, in the assurance that I'm His son.
Jesus is the Only Sacrifice that could so completely cleanse a vessel, to where the Holy Spirit could live in and declare that it's the Temple of God. Believing that we're pure and holy enough to be temples of the Holy Spirit, shows us the depth of our salvation in Jesus. Paul asks in 1Corinthians 7:19-20 (Amplified), "Do you not know that your body is the Temple (the very Sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received as a Gift from God. You are not your own. You were bought with a Price, purchased with a Preciousness and Paid for, made His Own. So then honor God and bring Glory to Him in your body."
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