Difference between revisions of "Be Born Again 9"

Latest revision as of 21:14, 16 February 2011

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. (Luke 9:24-NIV)

It is impossible, apart from the direct assistance of the Spirit of God, for the soul to conform to the Words of the Lord Jesus. But if the soul sets itself to diligently and consistently do what is written in the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit will give assistance (which is His role) and the new man will be formed in the soul.

The new man serves God by nature. He cannot sin. That which the godly soul longs for, the ability to serve God in holiness and righteousness, is made possible by the Substance and Virtue of Christ that have been formed in it.

Peter speaks of the soul adhering to the Scriptures until Christ is brought forth:

We have also a more sure word of prophecy (the Scriptures); whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: (2 Peter 1:19)

At some point in our experience the old man, the Adamic nature, may decide to attempt to preserve his life. He may desire to serve God and be blessed of God. But the concept of setting aside his appetites and desires so the newly conceived man may come to full term may prove to be offensive to him. He may rebel at the deaths that are coming upon him from the Lord and decide to enjoy himself in an outward show of religion, or to abandon Christ altogether.

This soul centeredness, the desire of the old man to make Christianity into a religion that saves and blesses him, is the motivation behind the current emphasis on serving the needs of the human being, the welfare and fulfilment of the person being central. Jesus will help me do this, that, and the other thing.

The concept that Jesus has assigned our first personality to the cross, to death, and that a new man has been conceived in us and is coming to the day of birth, must be brought into prominence in Christian thinking if people are to enter eternal life, into the Kingdom of God .

The difference between Christ being conceived in us, and bringing to birth a new son of God, is revealed in Paul's admonition to the church in Galatia :

My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, (Galatians 4:19 )

The Galatians had been saved. The Galatians had received the Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:2). Christ had been conceived in them. But Christ had not been formed in them. Here we can observe plainly the difference between Christ being conceived in us and Christ coming to the level of maturity required for the full achievement of God's plan for us.

Jewish teachers had followed Paul into Galatia and were demanding that the Christian converts adhere to the Law of Moses, particularly to the rite of circumcision. Paul knew once the new creation had been formed in the Galatians they would understand why neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is essential to the Kingdom of God ; that only the new creation is of eternal significance.

For in Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature (creation). (Galatians 6:15)

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-But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. (Luke 8:15-NIV)
+For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. (Luke 9:24-NIV)
-Our first personality, the living soul, may have many excellent characteristics. Our soul may bless the Lord and may be blessed by the Lord. Our redemption begins with the desire of our soul to be saved. However, in order to destroy the "body of sin" that is in us, God has assigned our soul to the cross with Christ.
+It is impossible, apart from the direct assistance of the Spirit of God, for the soul to conform to the Words of the Lord Jesus. But if the soul sets itself to diligently and consistently do what is written in the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit will give assistance (which is His role) and the new man will be formed in the soul.
-There is an important concept concerning the human soul that is not always stressed when our crucifixion and resurrection in Jesus are being taught. It is that our salvation depends on the faithfulness of our soul. If our soul does not do its part we cannot please God.
+The new man serves God by nature. He cannot sin. That which the godly soul longs for, the ability to serve God in holiness and righteousness, is made possible by the Substance and Virtue of Christ that have been formed in it.
-When Christians come short of the Glory of God it is not because the engrafted Life of Christ has failed, it is because the soul was not willing to let go of its own life and desires. An individual who does not have integrity can never make a success of the victorious Christian life.
+Peter speaks of the soul adhering to the Scriptures until Christ is brought forth:
-In order for the new creation to be brought forth successfully, to come to the fullness of birth, the soul must adhere to the commandments of Jesus. Most of the work of serving Christ and doing His will is performed by the soul. It is the soul that must pray, must read the Word, must set aside time to commune with the Lord, must willingly give itself to crucifixion. It is the soul that must serve God faithfully, enduring to the end. Only then can there be a successful bringing forth of the new creation.
+We have also a more sure word of prophecy (the Scriptures); whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: (2 Peter 1:19)
-It is not unusual for the believer to make a fine start and then to fall by the way. Why is this? It is because his soul was attracted to God by the promise of walking on a street of gold, of entering Paradise , of eternal joy. When the time came that the Lord Jesus began to make deadly demands on him, demands that required the painful or even agonizing loss of some treasured relationship or possession, his soul refused to obey God.
+At some point in our experience the old man, the Adamic nature, may decide to attempt to preserve his life. He may desire to serve God and be blessed of God. But the concept of setting aside his appetites and desires so the newly conceived man may come to full term may prove to be offensive to him. He may rebel at the deaths that are coming upon him from the Lord and decide to enjoy himself in an outward show of religion, or to abandon Christ altogether.
-Unless we have an honest and good heart, unless there is integrity and faithfulness in our soul and a willingness to serve the Lord no matter what He requires, it is impossible for us to bring the eternal life that has been conceived in us to the maturity needed for participation in the revelation of Christ (Colossians 3:4).
+This soul centeredness, the desire of the old man to make Christianity into a religion that saves and blesses him, is the motivation behind the current emphasis on serving the needs of the human being, the welfare and fulfilment of the person being central. Jesus will help me do this, that, and the other thing.
-In order for our soul to be saved it must be transformed into a new creation, much as a caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly. The soul must understand this fact and, as was true of John the Baptist, must insist that Christ increase while he himself, the soul, continually must decrease.
+The concept that Jesus has assigned our first personality to the cross, to death, and that a new man has been conceived in us and is coming to the day of birth, must be brought into prominence in Christian thinking if people are to enter eternal life, into the Kingdom of God .
-The task of the soul is to keep the words of Jesus diligently, praying for the grace of God in order to perform God's will, meanwhile submitting to death as the Divine Seed begins to grow into a new personality. The soul must sternly obey the Lord to the best of its ability if it is to bring forth permanent fruit. It must be "an honest and good heart" (Luke 8:15 ).
+The difference between Christ being conceived in us, and bringing to birth a new son of God, is revealed in Paul's admonition to the church in Galatia :
+My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, (Galatians 4:19 )
+The Galatians had been saved. The Galatians had received the Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:2). Christ had been conceived in them. But Christ had not been formed in them. Here we can observe plainly the difference between Christ being conceived in us and Christ coming to the level of maturity required for the full achievement of God's plan for us.
+Jewish teachers had followed Paul into Galatia and were demanding that the Christian converts adhere to the Law of Moses, particularly to the rite of circumcision. Paul knew once the new creation had been formed in the Galatians they would understand why neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is essential to the Kingdom of God ; that only the new creation is of eternal significance.
+For in Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature (creation). (Galatians 6:15)
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