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Problem:
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Failure
to recognize who we really are has effectively prevented the Body
of Christ from rising up to maturity...
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The Religious Church System
(RCS) taught me (directly or by implication) that
- I have to die daily
- I have to put the ‘OLD MAN’ on the cross
- my soul is no good
- my flesh stinks and has to DIE
- since I am a 'Christian', I must act *holy and live
a clean life.
- I must strive to become a spiritual person and I MUST
NOT mingle with those that are unclean or I will pollute myself.
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*
Holy (in this case) really means a highly defined sense of morality)
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NOT NOT
NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT!!!
These ‘teachings’ sound so right and "feel"
so familiar that they must be right… They have been taught for many years.
All of those "men of God’ can’t be wrong…
2 Timothy 3:5
For [although]
they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and
are strangers to the power of it – their conduct belies the genuineness
of their profession. Avoid [all] such people – turn away from them.
<Start music>
"That ‘old time religion’ is good enough
for me." <end music>
The biggest problem with this kind of thinking is that
it simply doesn’t work. That is, it does nothing to honor God but only
serves to indulge the flesh. It produces a highly religious, extremely
moral, very pious person that feels the ‘salvation’ of the world is their
responsibility.
The fruit of it has no value in doing anything other than
causing one to "feel" self righteous and justified in "finger
pointing" and a ‘why can’t those "SINNERS" get their act
together’ attitude.
Col
2:8 20-23
- See to it that
no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by
his so-called philosophy and intellectualism, and vain deceit (idle
fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition—men’s ideas
of the material [rather than the spiritual] world—just crude notions
following the *rudimentary and *elemental teachings
of the universe, and disregarding [the teachings of] Christ, the Messiah.
- If then you
have died with Christ to material ways of looking at things and have
escaped from the world’s crude and *elemental notions and teachings
of externalism, why do you live as if you still belong to the world?—Why
do you submit to rules and regulations? [such as],
- Do not handle
[this], Do not taste [that], Do not even touch [them],
- Referring to
things all of which perish with being used. To do this is to follow
human precepts and doctrines.
- Such [practices]
have indeed the outward appearance [that popularly passes] for wisdom,
in promoting self-imposed rigor of devotion and delight in self-humiliation
and severity of discipline of the body, but they are of no value in
checking the indulgence of the flesh—the lower nature. [Instead, they
do not honor God] but serve only to indulge the flesh.
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*Stoicheion:
A small upright rod, a row or a series, to go up by steps, a first
beginning, first principle or element, a footstep, the first and
simplest component parts of the letters, the primary matter. It
indicative to the basic laws, in this case, the Laws of Moses… all
613 of them.
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I am NOT saying that
this pattern of thinking makes a person bad or mean. It is simply a "fleshly
interpretation of a spiritual concept. A
more correct way to say it might be ‘incorrectly focused or improperly
aligned’.
l Cor: 2:14
But the natural,
non-spiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit in to his heart
the fits and teaching s and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they
are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing
them—of progressively recognizing, understanding and becoming better
acquainted with them—because they are spiritually discerned and estimated
and appreciated.
This general line of thinking finds it’s basis going clear
back to the Garden of Eden. The command from God that they (Adam and Eve)
should not eat of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was never
receded. The RCS (like their predecessors going all the
way back to the Garden) continues to eat from that tree. The result of
eating that "Fruit" is a heightened awareness of Good and Evil,
Right and Wrong, Bad and Good, i.e. the Mosaic Law…. All *613 commandments,
not just the 10.
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* The
original language uses the same word for all for all of the 613
commandments of the Mosaic Law, not the just the traditional 10
commandments. That only shows even more why it is impossible to
"keep the law". That was the purpose of the law, to expose
sin… to show you that you cannot keep the whole law.
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Rom 10:4
For Christ is the
end of the Law—the limit at which it ceases to be, for the Law leads
up to Him Who is the fulfillment of its types, and in Him the purpose
which it was designed to accomplish is fulfilled. That is, the purpose
of the Law is fulfilled in Him—as the means of righteousness (right
relationship to God) for everyone who trusts in and adheres to and relies
on Him.
The crux of these issues revolves around one simple thing….
We (the descendants of Adam, whom we are all and we all share the inherent
sin nature) were told by God that there was no limit on eating from the
tree of life.
Gen 1:16 3:24
16 And the Lord
God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat of every tree of the
garden,
3:24 So [God] drove
out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubim,
and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep and guard the way
of the tree of life.
We have continued to eat from the other tree,
Gen 1:17
Except of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil and of blessing and calamity you shall
not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
The tree that brings death... Remember that was the curse
"in the day that you eat of it, surely you shall die…"
James
1:14,15
- But every person
is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil
desire (lust, passions).
- Then the evil
desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is
fully matured brings forth death.
We have been taught to identity with who we used to be,
not who we really are…
Rom
8:6,7,10,13
- Now the mind
of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is
death—death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both
here and hereafter. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and
soul-peace [both now and forever].
- [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.
- But if Christ
lives in you, [then although your natural] body is dead by reason
of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness
that He imputes to you].
- For if you live
according to [the dictates of] the flesh you will surely die. But
if through the power of the (Holy) Spirit you are habitually putting
to death—making extinct, deadening—the [evil] deeds prompted by the
body, you shall (really and genuinely) *live forever.
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*
Zoe (zo-eh); The perfect and abiding anti-thesis to death- Life
intensive as God has it!!!
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Gal 2:20
I have been crucified
with Christ—[in him] I have shared His crucifixion; it is no longer
I who live, but Christ, the Messiah, lives in me; and the life I now
live in the body I live by faith—by adherence to and reliance on and
[complete] trust—in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave himself up
for me.
1 Cor 15:49
And just as we
have borne the image of the [man] of dust, so shall we and so let us
also bear the image of the [Man] of heaven.
You will NEVER be MORE spiritual than you
are the moment that you are 'born again'. Fact is at that point we are
spiritual people and have to learn to live with a "soul" that is not yet
re-generated and a body that has a will of it's own....
Rom 8:13
For if you live
according to [the dictates of] the flesh you will surely die. But if
through the power of the (Holy) Spirit you are habitually putting to
death—making extinct, deadening—the [evil] deeds prompted by the body,
you shall (really and genuinely) *live forever.
"Salvation is a free gift from God that no man should
boast" vs. "work out your salvation with fear and trembling"...
Eph 2:8
For it is by free
grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment
and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And
this [salvation] is not of yourselves—of your own doing, it came not
through your own striving—but it is the gift of God.
Phil 2:12-14
- Therefore, my
dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not
only [with the enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much
more because I am absent, work out—cultivate, carry out to the goal
and fully complete—you own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling
[self-distrust, that is, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience,
watchfulness against temptation; timidly shrinking from whatever might
offend God and discredit the name of Christ].
- [Not is your
own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work
in you—energizing and creating in you the power and desire—both to
will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.
- Do all things
without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [against God] and
questioning and doubting [among yourselves],
The Word says to 'reckon the old man dead'.
Rom 6:6
We know that our
old (unrenewed) self was nailed to the cross with Him in order that
[our] body, [which is the instrument] of sin, might be made ineffective
and inactive for evil, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin.
Gal 2:20
I
have been crucified with Christ - [in him] I have shared His crucifixion;
it is no longer I who live, but Christ, the Messiah, lives in me; and
the life I now live in the body I live by faith - by adherence to and
reliance on and [complete] trust - in the Son of God, Who loved me and
gave himself up for me.
Paul says that the "old man" was crucified with Christ,
and that it is no longer he who lives, but Christ (the anointing or anointed
one, the pre-existent one) who lives in me.
Solution:
Reality looks like
this...
When we are 'born again' or 'wake up', as I like to say...
the Word says that we are a new creation, that we are seated in heavenly
places, the all things have passed away
Col
3:1-3
- If then you
have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection
from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that
are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
- And set your
minds and keep them set on what is above—the higher things—not on
the things that are on the earth.
- For [as far
as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life
is hid with Christ in God.
If the Word is true, then so are these statements, which
brings us to a DILEMMA, or so it would appear…
If we continue to identify with the Soul Man (who we used
to be), then WE MUST CONTINUE TO PUT THE OLD MAN ON THE CROSS DAILY
...continuously killing him and killing him and killing.
Does this smell a little bit like DEATH?
Which one sounds more like the Word? Choose
Life
or Death
...hmmm
But if we identify with who we REALLY ARE, who the Scriptures
say that we are, then everything does a 180-degree turnaround.
Then we can start *wooing the soul and the body
to join us in LIFE **(zoe').
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* court•ship
Pronunciation: (kôrt'ship, kOrt'-)
—n.
1. the wooing of one person by another.
2. the period during which such wooing takes place.
3. solicitation of favors, applause, etc.
4. Ethology.behavior in animals that occurs before
and during mating, often including elaborate displays.
5. Obs.courtly behavior; courtesy; gallantry.
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** Zoe (zo-eh)
The perfect and abiding
anti-thesis to death: Life intensive, as God has it !!!
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Jesus said, I have come that you might
have LIFE and that more abundantly!
NOT DEATH!
Flesh can never bring life to Flesh... Lower nature (psyche)
does not have the ability to bring forth LIFE...
It does have the ability to make it LOOK like life. The
realm of deception is the best copycat (faker) of all: innuendoes, pieces
of truth, angels of light, all manner of lying wonders and much deception,
even to his appearing in the temple proclaiming himself to be GOD…
2 Thes 2:7-12
- And then the lawless one (the Antichrist) will
be revealed and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of His
mouth and bring him to an end by His appearing at His coming.
- The coming [of the lawless one, the Antichrist]
is through the activity and working of Satan, and will be attended
by great power and with all sorts of [pretended] miracles and signs
and delusive marvels—[all of them] lying wonders—
- And by unlimited seduction to evil and with all
wicked deception for those who are (going to perdition,) perishing
because they did not welcome the Truth but refused to love it that
they might be saved.
- Therefore God sends upon them a misleading influence,
a working of error and a strong delusion to make them believe what
is false,
- In order that all may be judged and condemned
who did not believe—who refused to adhere to, trust in and rely on—the
Truth, but [instead] took pleasure in unrighteousness.
The term "Anti-Christ," in the
original language, brings with it the meaning of a very real anointing
(a real spiritual outpouring upon a person that comes from evil spirits)
that is against and opposed to the true anointing that comes from the
Holy Spirit.
Are we not the temple?
1
Cor 6:19,20
- 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
for a price—purchased with preciousness and paid for, made His own.
So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.
Does this not sound like the anointing that is the anti-anointing
- the ANTI-CHRIST SPIRIT that is already at work in the world?
It is critically important that we recognize who we used
to be in the flesh, the soul nature. That part of our lower nature that
has a natural tendency to gravitate toward fleshly things (and if we are
identifying with the soul at this moment, then that is who we are at this
moment! "Choose this day whom you will serve."
Heb 5:14
But solid food
is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are
trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is
morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine
or human law.
Realize that is NOT our true identity!
We MUST NOT STOP HERE!
Failure to recognize who we really are has effectively
prevented the Body of Christ from rising up to maturity.
Heb 6:1
Therefore let us
go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine
of Christ, the Messiah, advancing steadily toward the completeness and
perfection that belongs to spiritual maturity. Let us not again be laying
the foundation of repentance and abandonment of dead works [dead formalism],
and of the fruit [by which you turned] to God.
Matt 5:48
You, therefore,
must be *perfect, as your heavenly Father is *perfect
[that is, grow into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character,
having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity].
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*telious
– what has reached its end, term, or limit; hence complete, perfect,
full, wanting nothing; with special reference to the end for which
it was intended.
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It is the job of the whole
realm of deception to keep us from knowing who we are!
What threat are we if we never grow up? The realm of deception
says, "Just keep them all weak and sickly, always drinking the watered
down milk and they will never be a threat." Hmmm
Heb 5:12-13
12 For even though by this time you ought to be teaching
others, you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first
principles (stoicheion – see above) of God’s Word. You have come to need
milk, no solid food.
13 For everyone
who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled
in the doctrine of righteousness, [that is, of conformity to the divine
will in purpose, thought and action,] for he is a mere infant—not able
to talk yet!
Can you hear the religious mind-set (in your head) slamming
this even now? If so, is that surprising?
NOT…
The Word says that the natural man cannot receive the
things of the spirit. The "natural man" - that is the psyche, the mind,
the emotions and will - the OLD MAN! It is the Soul Nature, who we used
to be.
1
Cor 2:14-15
- But
the natural, non-spiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit
into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit
of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is
incapable of knowing them—of progressively recognizing, understanding
and becoming better acquainted with them—because they are spiritually
discerned and estimated and appreciated.
- But
the spiritual man tries all things—[that is,] he examines, investigates,
inquires into, questions, and discerns all things; yet is himself
to be put on trial and judged by on one. —He can read the meaning
of everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or get
an insight into him.
The natural man (as used above) refers in
the original to the psyche, which is our minds, emotions and will, i.e.
the soul…
Col
1: 9,10
- For this reason
we also, from the day we heard of it, have not ceased to pray and
make [special] request for you, [asking] that you may be filled with
the full (deep and clear) knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom
[that is, in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God]
and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things;
- That you may
walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord,
fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing
fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in (and
by) the knowledge of God—with fuller, deeper and clearer insight,
acquaintance and recognition.
- Now, does that mean that that we don’t need to die
daily? NO, we do… correct identity.
- That I don’t put the ‘old man’ on the cross? He was
already there… correct identity.
- That my soul is no good? God didn’t make any junk!
The only thing wrong with the soul is that ‘she’ wants to run the show,
‘she’ wants to be in control; that was the curse from the garden - that
the woman would want to be ‘over’ the man, but she would not be able
to succeed. Our soul is feminine in gender in the Greek, and our spirit
is masculine - in all of us. That is why the scripture
says for the women to be quiet in the church. The soul needs to be quiet
and in submission in us (the temple).
- That my flesh stinks and has to die? Again, the only
thing wrong with the flesh is that it wants (like the soul) to do it’s
own thing.
- That I must Act Holy and live a clean life? If you
are correctly identifying with who you really are, you will be Holy,
not just ACT HOLY. In the Book of Acts it says that we are to live and
move and have our being, NOT OUR DOING! If we are properly aligned with
who we really are, the ‘clean life’ is a natural byproduct of being.
Being HOLY is NOT some form of morality, although that is a byproduct
of true holiness. Holy-ness is wholeness, spirit, soul, and body: whole
and complete, wanting nothing.
- That I must be a Spiritual Person and not pollute myself?
You already are a spiritual person, you cannot get any more spiritual
than you are now. The Word says that we are to be the "salt of
the earth". That we are not to "hide our light under a bushel
basket". And yet, this is the very thing that we do when we ‘wrap
our holy righteous robes around us and refuse to get in the ‘real world’
and be a ‘true witness’. They who are well don’t need a doctor, the
sick do. And yet another - tongues are a sign for the unbeliever, not
the believer.
Allow me to say this in closing;
STAND
UP and BE WHO YOU REALLY ARE!
The body of Christ NEEDS
YOU TO DO THIS!
We MUST take our rightful
place in the ranks!
Feedback on this is welcome.
Please email me at wayne@4x4play.com
to ask questions or share your comments.
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