“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth” (Philippians 2:10 KJV). Evangelical Christianity still believes Jesus is the essence of all True Religion, and “no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6). Sinners are still repenting. Disciples are being baptized. But, converts are leaving through the back door, when the motions of social church life become a disciplined but slow grind of attempting to live life in the face of all the pressures any person has, coupled with the special demands of disciples trying to propagate their faith.
Just as insects develop a resistance to pesticides, Professed Christianity seems to have developed a resistance to Jesus. Is that really possible? Actually, no, but our understanding and presentation of Jesus as the answer to everything necessitates a Spirit taught awareness of…
Who is Jesus?
First, the Spirit of God has the unique place of revealing Jesus to everyone, especially to His disciples. “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me” (John 15:26). “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come” (16:13).
Second, the centrality of Christ to both our physical and spiritual existence, gives us absolute dependence upon Him. Our physical existence: “And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:17). Our physical sustenance: “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Our spiritual sustenance: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).
Third, our necessity of Spirit inspired action is not well known, understood, or appropriated. Disciples have been commanded to make disciples of all nations “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). And, we have been commanded to teach others to obey Christ. “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:20). However, if we simply assume, we will obey because we choose to obey, then we are likely to assume our obedience is due to our good intentions resulting in our obedience. Yet, we have been plainly made aware, our obedience is due to God inspiring us to obey, i.e., “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
A- The whole purpose of the New Covenant was to give us God’s Spirit to indwell us to inspire us to obey Him. “And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27).
B- The first sermon of the New Covenant was Peter explaining what we must do to receive God’s Spirit. “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).
C- We were then reminded, The Holy Spirit is given to them that obey Him, i.e., obedience to the command to repent and be baptized (2:38). “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him” (Acts 5:32).
Fourth, we should obey God and require others to obey God; but, our complete expectation of anyone’s obedience — self included — is God’s faithfulness through His Spirit. “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain” (Psalm 127:1). Again, our expectation is of God. “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him” (Psalm 62:5).
Fifth, Christ is our Preeminent Paradoxical Example as Almighty God, yet truly the Son of Man. “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps” (1Peter 2:21). Christ’s perfection is to be imitated, though we are too often prone to sinning. “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Thessalonians 5:23). Faith is required (John 3:18; 1John 3:23), yet faith is a gift (Ephesians 2:8). Repentance is required (Acts 26:20 NIV), yet repentance is a gift (2Timothy 2:25). “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17).
Sixth, Jesus is our All-In-All Salvation. “God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Thessalonians 5:9). He is our Justification (Romans 3:24). He is our Sanctification (Acts 26:18). He is our Glorification (1John 3:2). Significantly, all the different relations of Christ to the Believer are also proofs of His Divinity and essential unity with the Almighty.
A- Good Shepherd. Yahweh is not simply a shepherd for His people, but He is the Shepherd of Israel. “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). Christ’s claim to be the keeper of His sheep made Him the keeper of my soul. Anyone claiming this priority makes Himself God and becomes responsible for my spiritual preservation. “11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth His life for the sheep. 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. 29 My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one” (John 10:11, 28-30). Guidance and shepherding are ours, if we are His sheep.
B- Door. The point of entry into the Kingdom of God is Jesus. Whatever is the entry controls who is allowed entrance. God is the Gatekeeper. “I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (John 10:9). We forget that entry is a privilege and can be denied — for our own good. “All that ever came before Me are thieves [by night] and robbers [by day]: but the sheep did not hear them” (10:8). Entry and protection are ours, if we are numbered among those who trust Him.
C- Way of Salvation. Christians were early known as followers of the Way (Acts 19:28), since Jesus declared Himself “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The definite article “the” identifies Jesus as the unique way to God. Giving Jesus the saving attributes belonging only to Yahweh makes Jesus God — and, necessitates our understanding of the Trinity. Understanding Jesus’ uniqueness makes our clinging to Him in faith a single mindedness toward our salvation.
D- The Truth. The tendency for everything to point to Jesus as the equal of the Almighty was understood by the Son of Man. “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39). And, of course then, Jesus is “the truth” (14:6), to the aggravation of the skeptic. Either, everything points to Jesus as God, who is our Truth, or nothing does.
E- The True Light. God is the essence of True Light. “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). Even physical light has a connection to God, who is a spiritual, non-material being. “This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1John 1:5). Everything we identify with physical light corresponds to the True Spiritual Light, e.g., illumination, clarity, discernment. The Creator is the only being capable of manifesting all the essential characteristics of light. Humanity’s capacity to sense God’s spiritual presence results from God’s illumination of all mankind, so that we “are without excuse” (Romans 1:20) for rejecting Him. “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9). When we come into the New Birth, we are in the presence of the True Light. “Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in Him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth” (1John 2:8).
Seventh, being led by the Spirit is not optional, but Is a characteristic of the Children of God. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14). Tenderness or sensitivity to the leading of God’s Spirit is an unavoidable consequence of True Godliness, which separates Mainstream Christianity from New Testament Christianity.
What happens when we are instructed, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Romans 8:13)?
A- We make up our mind to “mortify the deeds of the body” (8:13), which is understandable.
B- We pray that God’s Spirit would indeed “mortify the deeds of the body” (8:13), which is appropriate.
C- We expect that the Holy Spirit will “mortify the deeds of the body” (8:13), which He must.
D- We, too often, do not wait upon the LORD to fulfill His Word to “mortify the deeds of the body” (8:13), which is impatient, shortsighted, and tragic.
E- We, run the risk of becoming shipwrecked in our walk, if the Spirit of God does not “mortify the deeds of the body” (8:13).
F- We, however, have the potential of achieving the satisfying consistency of living the life of Christ because the Holy Spirit does “mortify the deeds of the body” (8:13).
G- We may actually achieve the Spiritual Ecstasy of a Normal Christian Life, when the Holy Spirit does “mortify the deeds of the body” (8:13). “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out” (Romans 11:33).
Heavenly Father, everything we do is under Your watch care. We can see how You have been developing our understanding of how we are to live the life of Christ here below, while we wait for His soon appearing. Grant to us the understanding, faith, patience, and overcoming that gives You the glory for everything achieved in our lives. Teach us to wait on You. Grant Jerusalem Your peace. Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Your name, we pray. Amen and amen.
We Need A Miracle 