Christians need to know that God's work in them is COMPLETE. Many think that when they were saved, only their past sins were forgiven and they now have to struggle to keep the slate clean, this is simply not true.
ALL of our sins WERE forgiven in the mind of God even before we were born. When Jesus died, all of our sins were paid for. As Christians, we are no longer sinners, we are dead to sin and to this world. As Children of God we are alive in Christ and have become as Romans says "Servants of Righteousness."
God's word tells us that we are already in God's Favor and in His Grace because we are one with Christ. EVERYTHING is settled. God sees us just as He sees Christ. NOTHING can increase or decrease your favor with God. Why? Because POSITIONALLY your standing with God is PERFECT. Hebrews 10:14 says, "For by the one offering He (Jesus) made FOREVER PERFECT in the sight of God all those whom He is MAKING Holy". (LB)
Forgiveness is complete because ALL your sins were taken away. In Colossians we read (Colossians 2:13-15) "For He forgave ALL your sins, and blotted out the charges proved against you, the list of His Commandments which you had not obeyed. He took this list of sins and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross. In this way, God TOOK AWAY Satan's power to accuse you of sin, and God openly displayed to the whole world Christ's triumph at the cross where your sins WERE ALL taken away". (LB)
I hear Christians saying, "I'm a Christian and I love Jesus Christ, but I'm not without blame or blemish. I'm not spotless. I'm not Holy". God says, yes you are.. Positionally. God talks about our position in Christ, not our practice. We are Holy before God. Why? Because (Ephesians 1:3-4) "He hath chosen us in Him". We are "In Christ", and because we are in Christ, His Holiness, His Righteousness, His Spotlessness is imputed to us.
Let's look at the Truth of God that sums up the whole thing. In First Corinthians 6:17, God says, "But if you give yourself to the Lord, you and Christ are joined together as ONE PERSON". (LB) In other words, when we become Christians, we BECOME ONE with Jesus Christ. In fact, a Christian HAS NO TRUE IDENTITY APART FROM JESUS CHRIST. For example, in Philippians 1:21 Paul said, "For me to live is Christ".
In Galatians 2:20 Paul says, "I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me..." You see, he lost his own identity and took on the identity of Christ.
So, as we become one Spirit with Christ, all that He has is ours and all that He is we are. Look at Romans 8:16-17, "We are the Children of God: and if Children, then heirs - heirs of God, and JOINT (equal) heirs with Christ..." ALL that is His is ours because we are IN CHRIST. We are as rich as He is, as Holy as He is and as righteous as He is. ALL the resources HE HAS, WE HAVE.
His POSITION is my position (perfect and sinless), His PRIVILEGE is my privilege, His POSSESSIONS are my possessions; and His PRACTICE is my practice.
There seems to be a trend in Christianity today that I've heard called "THE QUEST FOR SOMETHING MORE". It is the idea that being in Christ is not sufficient, that it does not give you all there is so you have to seek for something more. Christians talk about getting MORE of Christ, MORE of the Holy Spirit, and MORE of His power. It is as if the resources of Jesus Christ are doled out like a pharmaceutical prescription...one dose at a time, or that you are qualified to receive them by some particular ritual or routine.
The implication is that salvation in Christ is not complete, that there is something more. Second Peter 1:3 says. "According as His Divine Power hath given unto us ALL THINGS that pertain unto life and Godliness through the knowledge of Him...", and Paul in Ephesians 1:3 writes, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with ALL spiritual blessings in heavenly places IN CHRIST...". It has already been done ("Blessed" is in the past tense) in Christ. Again Paul writes, in First Corinthians, "NOW you have EVERY grace and blessing EVERY spiritual gift and power for doing His will..." (LB), that is pretty clear. The Biblical view of the Doctrine of Salvation is that salvation grants the believer EVERYTHING in Christ.
There is no need to search for something more. In fact, to search for more is to undermine the essence of the Doctrine of Salvation. It undoes what Jesus said in John 19:30 immediately before He died. He said, "Tetelestai" (Greek), which meant, "It is completed, finished, done, accomplished, fulfilled, the debt is paid - you owe me nothing." So you see to seek for something more says that there is something missing in salvation.
There have always been, and always will be, people who say that having Jesus Christ through His marvelous act of salvation is not enough. They say, "You have to do this...not do that...and keep the other to get it all".
The key to the whole argument is in Colossians 2:9 -10, Paul says, "For IN HIM (Christ) dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead Bodily. And ye are COMPLETE IN HIM..." Is there anything missing in Christ? No! And since we are in Him we are complete. The essence of what Paul is saying is, "You don't need ANYTHING else, It is done, taken care of, settled, finished." In other words, we are COMPLETE in Christ. This is the Doctrine of Salvation that the Word of God teaches. It is not a question of finding something more, it is simply a question of using the available resources that are ALREADY resident in EVERY Believer.
So we've said, that when we were saved and placed in Christ, all of our sins were forgiven, we received eternal life, and we were made perfect through the Righteousness of Christ being imputed to us. That is our position before God. But what about our practice, what about our growth?
Our Christian growth has nothing to do with our position. Growth occurs in our practice.
Christians are not Spiritual Polliwogs. You are COMPLETE. All your parts are there -- it is simply a matter of maturing. When God does a work of salvation it is total and complete. You are perfect before God; now it is just a matter of growing to match your practice to your position.
Instead of seeking more favor with God, or trying to make God like us more, or trying to be more fit for Heaven, we should just thank GOD WHO HAS ALREADY "Made us fit to be Partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light (Colossians 1:12)". This WAS all accomplished by FAITH in Jesus Christ, by TRUSTING in what He says He has already done, and is continuing to do. It is the SAME with Christian growth. It is God who is doing the work. Just as a True Christian is not trying to earn his way into Heaven, because he knows there is ONLY one way - through FAITH IN CHRIST. So a True Christian knows that his works and growth must come the same way - through FAITH IN CHRIST.
Look at what Paul wrote to the Philippians, (Philippians 2:13) "For it is GOD which WORKETH in you BOTH to WILL and to DO of His good pleasure", and in Second Thessalonians 1:11, "That our God WILL MAKE YOU the kind of children He wants to have - WILL MAKE YOU as good as you wish you could be! Rewarding your FAITH with His power". (LB)
You see it is His work, His ability, His power, we are His workmanship as we put our trust and faith in Him. And just to make sure nobody ever got confused, He laid it all out before any human being was ever born.
"It was for HIS OWN Good Pleasure" (Eph 1:4-5) that God fit us into His body before the world began, to be the Praise of His Glory.
The real heart of living the "Christian Life" is simply learning to trust Christ for EVERYTHING (salvation, justification and sanctification) and know that the work He has done and is continuing to do in you is complete. "Tetelestai".
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Something Brand New and Different
"Perhaps no truth of the divine revelation has suffered more at the hands of interpreters than that concerning the kingdom. Protestant theology has very generally taught that all the kingdom promises, and even the great Davidic Covenant itself, are to be fulfilled in and through the Church. The confusion thus created has been still further darkened by the failure to distinguish the different phases of kingdom truth indicated by the expressions "kingdom of heaven," and "kingdom of God." In the light of plain Scripture all of these confusions are inexcusable, for at no point is the Biblical revelation more clear and explicit. Founded upon the covenant of Jehovah with David, a covenant subsequently confirmed by Jehovah's oath, the great theme of predictive prophecy is that kingdom. Even the order of the setting up of the kingdom, relatively to the great Gentile world empires, is declared. The events attending the setting up of the kingdom of the heavens on the earth are described. The New Testament carries forward the Old Testament’s view of the kingdom into greater detail, but without change. The very first mention of Christ in the first verse of the first chapter in the New Testament identifies Him with the Davidic Covenant, and the promise of Gabriel to His virgin Mother is a new confirmation in express terms of that covenant.
The New Testament reveals the present age as a parenthesis in the prophetic program during which the Church is called out from among the Gentiles, a stranger and pilgrim body, belonging to the kingdom of God, but in no sense identical with the kingdom of heaven."
Lewis Sperry Chafer
"It stands to reason, since five-sixths of the Bible is addressed to one nation to whom the kingdom promises are given, that any plan of study which avoids prophecy and ignores, or "spiritualizes," God's covenants with His chosen earthly people will be incomplete, misleading and subject to mere human assumptions."
Shadowhawk (who isn’t as smart as Lewis Sperry Chafer)
When the Lord was born into this world, He came to fulfill that which was covenanted with David. Just as was announced to Mary...
"And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." (Luke 1:31 33)
In being born into this world, the "God of heaven" had enfleshed Himself in the seed of David so as to be given the throne of David and to establish His kingdom on this earth. The "kingdom of heaven", therefore, was "at hand".
Not only was the King here, but the time schedule given by the prophets for the establishing of the kingdom of heaven was almost completed. (cf. Dan. 9:24-27) For this reason, as the Lord preached the gospel of the kingdom, He said,...
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of god is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:15)
This is what the program of God was all about when our Lord was here on this earth. Israel's long awaited and covenanted "kingdom of heaven" was "at hand". And with that being the case, as the Gospels describe, the Lord heralded beatitudes in view of it; taught the issue of entrance into it; declared who would be "least" and "great" in it; informed the twelve of their special positions in it; warned about the purging wrath that He would execute upon the nations and this world preliminary to establishing the kingdom, etc.
As God's kingdom program with His people Israel continued on following the Lord's resurrection and ascension back to heaven, the apostles eagerly looked for the restoration of the kingdom to Israel. (Acts 1:6) They, therefore, proclaimed to Israel the arrival of her "last days", (Acts 2:1-36), as spoken of in the prophets, and exhorted the people to respond positively to the offer of the kingdom. (Acts 3:12-26)
It is clearly evident that "the kingdom of heaven" has not yet been established on this earth. None of the aforementioned prophetic declarations concerning its establishment have been fulfilled, yet when the Lord was here "the time" was "fulfilled" for it, and so it was preached to be "at hand". What has happened? Why hasn't "the God of heaven" set up that covenanted kingdom?
Though many explanations have been set forth, God's own explanation concerning what He has done is the one that needs to be understood and appreciated.
God's explanation as to why He has not yet established Israel's "kingdom of heaven" has to do with the fact that He has temporarily set Israel and her program aside, and He has ushered in a new and different dispensation or program.
As the apostle Paul teaches us in Romans 11, when Israel "stumbled" at the testimony of Christ that was heralded unto her, God did something unexpected. He "blinded" the nation and turned unto the Gentiles.
"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in." (vs 25)
God has "blinded" Israel and has put her program and His special dealings with her aside. In so doing, God has turned to the Gentiles and He is now administering a dispensation of His grace. As the apostle Paul declares in Ephesians 3,...
"For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you ward: how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery;...which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel." (vs 1, 3,5, 6)
The dispensation, or program, of the grace of God for the Gentiles is what God is now working out, and has been working out since He raised up Paul as a brand new apostle and committed to him the revelation of it. During this present dispensation of grace God's program and special dealings with the nation of Israel are set aside. Again, as Paul teaches in Romans 11, God has "not cast away His people". He is not through with Israel. But rather, her "fullness" is yet to come. Since her "blindness" is "in part", "until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in", Paul goes on to say,...
"And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliver, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins." (vs 26, 27)
Israel's "fullness" is yet to come, and when it does, as Zechariah 14:9 says, "...the LORD shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one."
Also, as Isaiah declares to the redeemed and the delivered of Israel in that day,...
"...ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God:...For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations." (vs 6,11)
Israel's covenanted "kingdom of heaven" will yet be established on this earth, just as God's sure word states, and His covenants with her promises. But right now God's program with Israel is set aside. Right now God is working out "the mystery of Christ" in this dispensation of His grace and is forming the "new creation", the church, the body of Christ, for a purpose He has in the heavenly places.
Christians need to understand and appreciate this and realize that God's program with Israel recorded and described in the Old Testament, the Gospel accounts, and the opening of the book of Acts, isn't what God is working out today. But rather, in accordance with "the revelation of the mystery" having been given to Paul, it is in his epistles to us that we have the testimony from God concerning what He is doing today, and what He is doing with us, the members of the "new creation".
According to the scripture, God revealed through the pen of Paul that which had been "hid in God" from the beginning of the world, from all ages and all generations. The mysteries that God revealed through this Apostle was not contained in the Old Testament prophecies.
If you took Paul’s writings out of the New Testament, the Gospel of Grace, the truth about your salvation, your justification, your sanctification, your identity, your inheritance, your position, your righteousness, your preservation, and your standards for living the Christian life would all be completely different. These are not found in the Law or the Prophets, the Old Testament or even the Gospels, but must be searched out and found in the Epistles containing the truth about us, the Church, the mystery of God, "even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Col. 1:26,27)
From no one else, and no where else is this written. This truth is not found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, James or Jude. But yet is it the most basic fundamental truth of who and what a Christian is today. It’s no wonder that the church has so much trouble identifying the life of a Christian, they keep looking in the Law or the Prophets, the Kingdom Of heaven, the Old Testament or the Gospels and never get to the "all truth" that Jesus said the Spirit would guide them into. (John 16:12-13)
The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven never spoke of the kind of relationship with the Messiah that the church enjoys with the Christ. The Jews were never taught about the concept of the Messiah indwelling them. No Jew understood this because it was a unique character of the church.
In John 14:20, Jesus said, "at that day you shall know that I am in my father, and you in me, and I in you". The phrase, "at that day", indicated they did not know this yet, they couldn't conceive of it yet.
The Body of the Christ concept is a unique, mysterious, a brand new truth for a "new age"( though I hate to use that term these days). We are the body in which the Christ manifests Himself to the world. The church is not an organization, nor is it something that can be diagrammed on a structure chart, with services and programs --it's an organism, alive and real, functioning not by structure, but by the Holy Spirit in each one of us, the Body of the Christ. You can’t "go to church", you are the church. Wherever you are, the church is there.
The Body of Christ is not under any Law but under Grace, scriptures, any scripture, those concerning the Kingdom Law or those concerning the Mosaic Law are not meant to instruct the church on how it is to operate. The Church operates by the power of the Holy Spirit and is controlled by the same. We are not spiritual Jews, we are the Church, not just followers of the Christ but rather one with Him, His body. We are not what the New Testament saints will be or what the Old Testament saints where we are something different, something brand new, something hid in God from the ages, we are the Body of Christ.
There is a dangerous and entirely baseless belief which assumes that every teaching of Christ must be binding during this age simply because Christ said it. The fact is forgotten that Christ, while living under, keeping, and applying the law of Moses, also taught the principles of His yet future kingdom, and at the end of His ministry and in relation to the cross, He also anticipated the teachings of grace. If this three-fold division of the teachings of Christ is not recognized, there can be nothing but confusion and contradiction of the truth.
Christians need to understand that the Church in completely under the dispensation and Covenant of grace and that they are not to be any part of the "Kingdom of Heaven". Every teaching of the kingdom, which contemplates the responsibility of the individual, is based on a covenant of human works, and is purely legal in character. In this age God is dealing with men on the bases of His grace as it is in Christ. His dealings with men in the Kingdom age are based on a very different relationship. At that time, the King will rule with a rod of iron. There is no word of the cross or of grace in the kingdom teaching.
To rightly divide the Word of God is to understand that the Kingdom teachings being addressed in the Gospels, Acts, and the Epistles of Peter, James, John and Jude are not about the Church and are not meant to govern it.
We are something else, something brand new, hide in God from the beginning of the world. We are the Church, the body of Christ operating by the Holy Spirit under the grace of God through faith in Christ Jesus, and not of any law, Mosaic or Kingdom.
The New Testament reveals the present age as a parenthesis in the prophetic program during which the Church is called out from among the Gentiles, a stranger and pilgrim body, belonging to the kingdom of God, but in no sense identical with the kingdom of heaven."
Lewis Sperry Chafer
"It stands to reason, since five-sixths of the Bible is addressed to one nation to whom the kingdom promises are given, that any plan of study which avoids prophecy and ignores, or "spiritualizes," God's covenants with His chosen earthly people will be incomplete, misleading and subject to mere human assumptions."
Shadowhawk (who isn’t as smart as Lewis Sperry Chafer)
When the Lord was born into this world, He came to fulfill that which was covenanted with David. Just as was announced to Mary...
"And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." (Luke 1:31 33)
In being born into this world, the "God of heaven" had enfleshed Himself in the seed of David so as to be given the throne of David and to establish His kingdom on this earth. The "kingdom of heaven", therefore, was "at hand".
Not only was the King here, but the time schedule given by the prophets for the establishing of the kingdom of heaven was almost completed. (cf. Dan. 9:24-27) For this reason, as the Lord preached the gospel of the kingdom, He said,...
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of god is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:15)
This is what the program of God was all about when our Lord was here on this earth. Israel's long awaited and covenanted "kingdom of heaven" was "at hand". And with that being the case, as the Gospels describe, the Lord heralded beatitudes in view of it; taught the issue of entrance into it; declared who would be "least" and "great" in it; informed the twelve of their special positions in it; warned about the purging wrath that He would execute upon the nations and this world preliminary to establishing the kingdom, etc.
As God's kingdom program with His people Israel continued on following the Lord's resurrection and ascension back to heaven, the apostles eagerly looked for the restoration of the kingdom to Israel. (Acts 1:6) They, therefore, proclaimed to Israel the arrival of her "last days", (Acts 2:1-36), as spoken of in the prophets, and exhorted the people to respond positively to the offer of the kingdom. (Acts 3:12-26)
It is clearly evident that "the kingdom of heaven" has not yet been established on this earth. None of the aforementioned prophetic declarations concerning its establishment have been fulfilled, yet when the Lord was here "the time" was "fulfilled" for it, and so it was preached to be "at hand". What has happened? Why hasn't "the God of heaven" set up that covenanted kingdom?
Though many explanations have been set forth, God's own explanation concerning what He has done is the one that needs to be understood and appreciated.
God's explanation as to why He has not yet established Israel's "kingdom of heaven" has to do with the fact that He has temporarily set Israel and her program aside, and He has ushered in a new and different dispensation or program.
As the apostle Paul teaches us in Romans 11, when Israel "stumbled" at the testimony of Christ that was heralded unto her, God did something unexpected. He "blinded" the nation and turned unto the Gentiles.
"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in." (vs 25)
God has "blinded" Israel and has put her program and His special dealings with her aside. In so doing, God has turned to the Gentiles and He is now administering a dispensation of His grace. As the apostle Paul declares in Ephesians 3,...
"For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you ward: how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery;...which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel." (vs 1, 3,5, 6)
The dispensation, or program, of the grace of God for the Gentiles is what God is now working out, and has been working out since He raised up Paul as a brand new apostle and committed to him the revelation of it. During this present dispensation of grace God's program and special dealings with the nation of Israel are set aside. Again, as Paul teaches in Romans 11, God has "not cast away His people". He is not through with Israel. But rather, her "fullness" is yet to come. Since her "blindness" is "in part", "until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in", Paul goes on to say,...
"And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliver, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins." (vs 26, 27)
Israel's "fullness" is yet to come, and when it does, as Zechariah 14:9 says, "...the LORD shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one."
Also, as Isaiah declares to the redeemed and the delivered of Israel in that day,...
"...ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God:...For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations." (vs 6,11)
Israel's covenanted "kingdom of heaven" will yet be established on this earth, just as God's sure word states, and His covenants with her promises. But right now God's program with Israel is set aside. Right now God is working out "the mystery of Christ" in this dispensation of His grace and is forming the "new creation", the church, the body of Christ, for a purpose He has in the heavenly places.
Christians need to understand and appreciate this and realize that God's program with Israel recorded and described in the Old Testament, the Gospel accounts, and the opening of the book of Acts, isn't what God is working out today. But rather, in accordance with "the revelation of the mystery" having been given to Paul, it is in his epistles to us that we have the testimony from God concerning what He is doing today, and what He is doing with us, the members of the "new creation".
According to the scripture, God revealed through the pen of Paul that which had been "hid in God" from the beginning of the world, from all ages and all generations. The mysteries that God revealed through this Apostle was not contained in the Old Testament prophecies.
If you took Paul’s writings out of the New Testament, the Gospel of Grace, the truth about your salvation, your justification, your sanctification, your identity, your inheritance, your position, your righteousness, your preservation, and your standards for living the Christian life would all be completely different. These are not found in the Law or the Prophets, the Old Testament or even the Gospels, but must be searched out and found in the Epistles containing the truth about us, the Church, the mystery of God, "even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Col. 1:26,27)
From no one else, and no where else is this written. This truth is not found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, James or Jude. But yet is it the most basic fundamental truth of who and what a Christian is today. It’s no wonder that the church has so much trouble identifying the life of a Christian, they keep looking in the Law or the Prophets, the Kingdom Of heaven, the Old Testament or the Gospels and never get to the "all truth" that Jesus said the Spirit would guide them into. (John 16:12-13)
The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven never spoke of the kind of relationship with the Messiah that the church enjoys with the Christ. The Jews were never taught about the concept of the Messiah indwelling them. No Jew understood this because it was a unique character of the church.
In John 14:20, Jesus said, "at that day you shall know that I am in my father, and you in me, and I in you". The phrase, "at that day", indicated they did not know this yet, they couldn't conceive of it yet.
The Body of the Christ concept is a unique, mysterious, a brand new truth for a "new age"( though I hate to use that term these days). We are the body in which the Christ manifests Himself to the world. The church is not an organization, nor is it something that can be diagrammed on a structure chart, with services and programs --it's an organism, alive and real, functioning not by structure, but by the Holy Spirit in each one of us, the Body of the Christ. You can’t "go to church", you are the church. Wherever you are, the church is there.
The Body of Christ is not under any Law but under Grace, scriptures, any scripture, those concerning the Kingdom Law or those concerning the Mosaic Law are not meant to instruct the church on how it is to operate. The Church operates by the power of the Holy Spirit and is controlled by the same. We are not spiritual Jews, we are the Church, not just followers of the Christ but rather one with Him, His body. We are not what the New Testament saints will be or what the Old Testament saints where we are something different, something brand new, something hid in God from the ages, we are the Body of Christ.
There is a dangerous and entirely baseless belief which assumes that every teaching of Christ must be binding during this age simply because Christ said it. The fact is forgotten that Christ, while living under, keeping, and applying the law of Moses, also taught the principles of His yet future kingdom, and at the end of His ministry and in relation to the cross, He also anticipated the teachings of grace. If this three-fold division of the teachings of Christ is not recognized, there can be nothing but confusion and contradiction of the truth.
Christians need to understand that the Church in completely under the dispensation and Covenant of grace and that they are not to be any part of the "Kingdom of Heaven". Every teaching of the kingdom, which contemplates the responsibility of the individual, is based on a covenant of human works, and is purely legal in character. In this age God is dealing with men on the bases of His grace as it is in Christ. His dealings with men in the Kingdom age are based on a very different relationship. At that time, the King will rule with a rod of iron. There is no word of the cross or of grace in the kingdom teaching.
To rightly divide the Word of God is to understand that the Kingdom teachings being addressed in the Gospels, Acts, and the Epistles of Peter, James, John and Jude are not about the Church and are not meant to govern it.
We are something else, something brand new, hide in God from the beginning of the world. We are the Church, the body of Christ operating by the Holy Spirit under the grace of God through faith in Christ Jesus, and not of any law, Mosaic or Kingdom.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
“In Christ”
There is probably no word of scripture, which more clearly defines the essential fact concerning the New Creation, the Body of Christ than the phrase, "In Christ". This phrase with it’s equivalents, "In Christ Jesus," "In Him," "In the Beloved," "Through Him," "by Him," and "With Him," appears in the grace teachings of the New Testament no less than 130 times.
There is, nor ever has been, a hint of a possible position "In Christ" in any teachings of the law or of the Kingdom, the believer’s present position in Christ was not seen even in type or prophecy until the grace teachings of the Apostle Paul . In the ages past it was a secret hid in the mind and heart of God.
He who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus, " hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace ; Wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery (sacred secret) of His will, according to His good pleasure which he hath purposed in Himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of time He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him: in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will: that we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ." Ephesians 1:4-12
To be "In Christ" is to be in the position of His own infinite Person, power, and glory. He surrounds, He protects, He separates from all else, and He indwells the one "In Him". He also supplies in Himself all that a soul will ever need in time and eternity.
In His priestly prayer, Christ contemplating the glory of His finished work as having been already accomplished spoke of three unities within one relationship. In John 17: 20,23 we read: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their words; that they all may be one; as thou, father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us ….. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one".
Who can understand the depths of this revelation that the believer is related to Christ on the same level of oneness which exist between the Father God and His Son?
Considering the fact of this unity, the Apostle Paul likens Christ to the head and the believers to members of His body. So perfect is this unity between the head and the members of the body, that it is probable that Christ will never be seen in glory apart from His body, and the body will never be seen apart from Him (I Corinthians 12:12).
The unity between Christ and the believer is two-fold: The believer is "In Christ", and Christ is "In the believer". The believer is in Christ as to positions, possessions, safe-keeping, and association; and Christ is in the believer giving life, character and conduct.
There is no other work of God for the believer which seems to accomplish so much as does the baptism by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:13). For by it the living union with Christ is established forever, and by virtue of that union the believer has entered the sphere of all heavenly positions and all eternal possessions, which in grace are provided for him in Christ. To the believing Christian, Christ has become his very life and all that the Christian is and all that he does is done "In Christ".
The Christian has become as much an organic part of Christ as the branch is a part of the vine, or the member is a part of the body. Being joined to Christ in this way, the Father sees the saved one only in Christ, as a living part of His own Son, and loves him as He loves His Son.
Most Christians do not really understand their true relationship to God, or what the new creation is all about, or the truth about who and what God says we are in Christ.
If you were to ask most Christians if there is any sin in Jesus or any missing of the mark in Him as it relates to God, they would say "of course not". But then if you asked the same Christians if there is any sin in them or any missing of the mark as it relates to God they would answer "of course". Then tell me, if God in His Word says that when you believed and trusted Christ you where placed "In Christ" and that which was placed in Christ (you) is sinful, then there is something sinful "In Christ" isn’t there? You can’t have it both ways, either Christ’s work in you is complete or there is something more you must do by your own efforts to make yourself more holy and righteous. If Christians are not what Gods Word says they are, "made forever perfect" by Christ’s sacrifice (Hebrews 10:14) and "holy and without blame" (Ephesians 1: 4), then if we who are in Christ have not been (by His sacrifice) made the righteousness of God, holy and sinless, then there is something of sin in Him. So either you believe the Christian bumper stickers that say, "Christians are not perfect They’re just forgiven", or you believe God’s Word when He says that Christian are "made forever perfect" in Christ, because both can not be true.
There is, nor ever has been, a hint of a possible position "In Christ" in any teachings of the law or of the Kingdom, the believer’s present position in Christ was not seen even in type or prophecy until the grace teachings of the Apostle Paul . In the ages past it was a secret hid in the mind and heart of God.
He who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus, " hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace ; Wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery (sacred secret) of His will, according to His good pleasure which he hath purposed in Himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of time He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him: in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will: that we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ." Ephesians 1:4-12
To be "In Christ" is to be in the position of His own infinite Person, power, and glory. He surrounds, He protects, He separates from all else, and He indwells the one "In Him". He also supplies in Himself all that a soul will ever need in time and eternity.
In His priestly prayer, Christ contemplating the glory of His finished work as having been already accomplished spoke of three unities within one relationship. In John 17: 20,23 we read: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their words; that they all may be one; as thou, father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us ….. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one".
Who can understand the depths of this revelation that the believer is related to Christ on the same level of oneness which exist between the Father God and His Son?
Considering the fact of this unity, the Apostle Paul likens Christ to the head and the believers to members of His body. So perfect is this unity between the head and the members of the body, that it is probable that Christ will never be seen in glory apart from His body, and the body will never be seen apart from Him (I Corinthians 12:12).
The unity between Christ and the believer is two-fold: The believer is "In Christ", and Christ is "In the believer". The believer is in Christ as to positions, possessions, safe-keeping, and association; and Christ is in the believer giving life, character and conduct.
There is no other work of God for the believer which seems to accomplish so much as does the baptism by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:13). For by it the living union with Christ is established forever, and by virtue of that union the believer has entered the sphere of all heavenly positions and all eternal possessions, which in grace are provided for him in Christ. To the believing Christian, Christ has become his very life and all that the Christian is and all that he does is done "In Christ".
The Christian has become as much an organic part of Christ as the branch is a part of the vine, or the member is a part of the body. Being joined to Christ in this way, the Father sees the saved one only in Christ, as a living part of His own Son, and loves him as He loves His Son.
Most Christians do not really understand their true relationship to God, or what the new creation is all about, or the truth about who and what God says we are in Christ.
If you were to ask most Christians if there is any sin in Jesus or any missing of the mark in Him as it relates to God, they would say "of course not". But then if you asked the same Christians if there is any sin in them or any missing of the mark as it relates to God they would answer "of course". Then tell me, if God in His Word says that when you believed and trusted Christ you where placed "In Christ" and that which was placed in Christ (you) is sinful, then there is something sinful "In Christ" isn’t there? You can’t have it both ways, either Christ’s work in you is complete or there is something more you must do by your own efforts to make yourself more holy and righteous. If Christians are not what Gods Word says they are, "made forever perfect" by Christ’s sacrifice (Hebrews 10:14) and "holy and without blame" (Ephesians 1: 4), then if we who are in Christ have not been (by His sacrifice) made the righteousness of God, holy and sinless, then there is something of sin in Him. So either you believe the Christian bumper stickers that say, "Christians are not perfect They’re just forgiven", or you believe God’s Word when He says that Christian are "made forever perfect" in Christ, because both can not be true.
Monday, December 14, 2009
A Believer’s position in Christ
A Believer’s standing or position in Christ is the sole result of the work of Christ, and is perfect and complete from the very moment that Christ is received by faith.
This standing before God is provided by His grace through faith alone and has nothing to do with any good works a person may do. "For by grace are ye save through faith…."
Let’s look at your standing as a believer, your spiritual position in Christ:
You’re more then forgiven, you have been made perfect in Him.
YOU ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST, A SON OF GOD, AND SATAN HAS
NO POWER OVER YOU, (I COR. 12:27). FOR GREATER IS HE
THAT IS IN YOU THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD, (I JOHN 4:4).
YOU HAVE BEEN DELIVERED FROM THE EVILS OF THIS PRESENT
WORLD FOR IT IS THE WILL OF GOD, (GAL. 1:4).
YOUR BODY IS THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WHICH DWELLS
IN YOU, (ROM. 12:1). HE TEACHES YOU ALL THINGS. AND
GUIDES YOU INTO ALL TRUTH. YOU HAVE PERFECT KNOWLEDGE
OF EVERY SITUATION AND CIRCUMSTANCE THAT YOU COME UP
AGAINST. FOR YOU HAVE THE WISDOM OF GOD, (JOHN 16:13;
JAMES 1:5).
GOD IS ON YOUR SIDE, WHO CAN BE AGAINST YOU? HE HAS
GIVEN YOU ALL THINGS THAT PERTAINS TO LIFE AND GODLINESS.
YOU ARE A PARTAKER OF HIS DIVINE NATURE, (II PETER 1:3,4; ROM. 8:31).
NO MAN SHALL TAKE YOU OUT OF HIS HAND FOR YOU HAVE ETERNAL
LIFE, (JOHN 10:29).
YOU ARE A NEW CREATION IN CHRIST, HIS WORKMANSHIP. THE
RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS. (II COR. 5:17;
II COR. 5:21). YOU LACK NOTHING FOR YOUR GOD SUPPLIES ALL
OF YOUR NEEDS ACCORDING TO HIS RICHES IN GLORY BY CHRIST
JESUS, (PHIL. 4:19).
YOU HAVE BEEN MADE FOREVER PERFECT IN CHRIST JESUS (NO MATTER WHAT THE CHRISTIAN BUMPER STICKERS SAY, ( HEBREWS 10:14).
YOU HAVE BEEN MARKED AS BELONGING TO CHRIST BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND HIS PRESENCE WITHIN YOU IS GOD’S GUARANTEE THAT HE WILL GIVE YOU ALL THAT HE PROMISED: THE SPIRIT’S SEAL UPON YOU MEANS THAT GOD HAS ALREADY PURCHASED YOU AND THAT HE GUARANTEES TO BRING YOU TO HIMSELF. (EPH. 1: 13,14).
YOU HAVE BEEN ELECTED AND CALLED OF GOD (I THES. 1:4; 5:24, ROM 8:30). REDEEMED BY GOD THROUGH THE BLOOD OF HIS SON (COL. 1:14, EPH 1:7). RECONCILED TO GOD BY THE DEATH OF HIS SON (II COR. 5:19).
YOU ARE SHELTERED ETERNALLY UNDER THE PROPITIATION MADE IN THE BLOOD OF CHRIST (JOHN 2:2). YOU ARE JUSTIFIED FREELY BY HIS GRACE (ROM. 3:24). SANCTIFIED POSITIONALLY, SET APART UNTO GOD IN CHRIST (I COR. 1:30). YOU HAVE BEEN MADE ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED (EPH. 1:6). YOU ARE A CHILD A SON OR DAUGHTER OF GOD (JOHN 1:12; I JOHN 3:3).
YOU ARE NOW FREE FROM THE LAW (ANY LAW) AND DEAD TO IT ( ROM. 7:4). YOU HAVE BEEN DELIVERED FROM THE POWER OF DARKNESS (COL. 1:13). TRANSLATED INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD’S DEAR SON (COL. 1:13). YOU ARE GOD’S GIFT TO CHRIST ( JOHN 17:11, 12, 10:29). SEATED IN THE HEAVENLY IN CHRIST (EPH 2:6).
YOU ARE GOD’S INHERITANCE (EPH. 1:18). YOU ARE A CITIZEN OF HEAVEN (PHIL. 3:20), AND OF THE FAMILY AND HOUSEHOLD OF GOD (EPH. 2:19). YOU ARE COMPLETE IN HIM (COL. 2:10).
AS A BELIEVER YOU ARE BORN OF GOD (JOHN 3:6), BAPTIZED (I COR. 12:13), INDWELT (I COR 6:19), SEALED ( EPH. 4:30), AND GLORIFIED (ROM. 8:30)
Every one of these wonderful things is true of every person who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. And they are all Gifts of God. Not one of His gifts can be obtained by any good works a person may ever do, it’s all by God’s grace through faith in Christ. All these great positions and relationships in Christ are all gained, and all retained without struggle or trial; they are God’s gift in grace and come as a small part of His great and wonderful salvation.
Under grace the order is always that the believer is given proper standing in Christ by faith alone and then exhorted to let Christ live His life through him so that the believer’s practice will reflect his standing. The will of God is to be fulfilled ‘in’ the believer, never ‘by’ the believer.
Your practice, like your position, is still accomplished by Christ through faith. If you are a true believer it will always be Him and never you. It’s His righteousness, His faithfulness, His ability, His life and His grace that accomplishes God’s will in us..
As His new creation whenever we are exhorted to ‘do’ anything it is always to be done through faith in Christ and His ability to accomplish it in us.
We start by faith in Christ, we continue by faith in Christ, and we end by faith in Christ.
It is important to remember that your standing or position in Christ will never change. You did not receive it by being good enough or by keeping some law, it was a gift of God by grace through faith in what Christ has already done for you. Nothing you can ever do, good or bad, will ever change that. You need to keep that in mind as God works through your entire Christian life to conform you to your standing in His Son, matching your practice with your position.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
So you think you’re “Born Again”
Although the term "born again" has come into popular Christian usage, its Scriptural meaning and significance has been almost totally lost and unnoticed.
The basic issue involved in the new birth is not reformation, nor is it religion; the basic issue is the doctrine of regeneration. This is clear from Christ's words to Nicodemus in John 3:5,6,
"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
Notice how careful the Lord is to define the character of the new birth: It is not the reformation of the outward man, nor the education of the natural man, nor the purification of the old man for "that which is born of the flesh is flesh." Rather it is the Spirit of God giving birth to a new life--a divine life and nature. It is partaking of the Divine nature (II Pet. 1:4). Simply put, it is being born of God--"that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
Regeneration ( “born of the Spirit”) is a doctrine associated in Scripture with God's dealings both with the nation Israel and the Body of Christ. In fact, the word itself is found only twice in the Bible, once in relation to Israel's program and once in reference to the Body of Christ.
The first occurrence is found in Matthew 19:28, where Christ is speaking to His Apostles:
"And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, IN THE REGENERATION when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
Notice carefully the wording here: "In the regeneration WHEN the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of His glory." This is a future regeneration associated with the time when Christ sits on "the throne of His glory." Regeneration, then, for Israel is clearly a part of her kingdom program and hope.
The second occurrence is from the pen of the Apostle Paul:
"But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared.
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by THE WASHING OF REGENERATION, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Tit. 3:4,5).
Obviously the doctrine of regeneration is a spiritual truth which plays an integral part in God's purpose for both Israel's future kingdom program and the current administration of grace. Therefore we must be careful to distinguish the dual applications of this doctrine.
Too often the true significance of John 3:7 is overlooked due to a failure to appreciate its usage of the second person pronouns "thee" and "ye." Notice the verse carefully:
"Marvel not that I said unto THEE, YE must be born again."
To the modern reader this may seem unimportant since most of us do not understand the significance of the "thee, thou, ye, you" contrasts in the Bible.
"Thee, thou" and "ye, you" are respectively the singular and plural forms of the second person pronoun. While our modern English uses the pronoun "you" for both singular and plural, the older English was able to distinguish between the singular (thee, thou) and plural (ye, you). The "thee, thou" refers to an individual while "ye, you" refers to a group. This same distinction is made in many modern languages and, more importantly, is used by the Greek language of the New Testament.
If you are to understand how the words are used in old English you will understand that the Lord was in fact saying to Nicodemus,
"Marvel not that I say unto THEE [i.e., Nicodemus], YE [i.e., the nation Israel] must be born again."
The new birth spoken of by the Lord Jesus in John 3 is a reference to the future birth of the nation Israel when she is to be spiritually cleansed and then possess her land forever.
But then what about us the Body of Christ and the believer today? If the new birth refers to the future hope of the nation Israel, do saved individuals today experience a new birth or does God have something else for them? Remember: both Israel and the Body of Christ are regenerated--but into what?
There can be no doubt that today when a person places faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior--when you rely exclusively on what Jesus Christ did for you at Calvary when He died to pay for your sins and was raised as the author of eternal life to those who trust Him; when you trust Christ today, that very moment the Holy Spirit imparts His life to you.
Paul declares:
"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins'
"even when we were dead in sins, [God] hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace are ye saved)" (Eph 2:1, 5).
We are "His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2:10). But just what is it God is creating today?
This is the "new creation" which God is forming during the dispensation of grace. God has temporarily set aside the nation Israel and His program for her (Rom. 11:11-15) in order to form another agency (Eph. 2:11-16) through whom He will accomplish a purpose which He planned "before the world began." This other purpose is called "the mystery" because He kept it secret--"hid in God" (Eph. 3:9)--until He revealed it to that other apostle, the Apostle Paul. It is summed up in the words of Eph. 2:7:
"That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
Today God is creating a new species --"neither Jew nor Gentile." Just as Adam was not born but was rather created, so we go from the old creation into the new creation as we go from Adam into Christ!
What I’m trying to say is, Regeneration is associated with God's program for both Israel and the Body of Christ. Regeneration for a Jew in the kingdom program made him a part of a born again nation. Regeneration for a person in the dispensation of grace makes him a part of the Body of Christ. According to the biblical text ( not your domination bias ) Christians are not born again they are a new creation all together different, they are and will always be the Body of Christ. Not born again saints.
Comments or questions write Shadowhawk at vqcom@comcast.net
The basic issue involved in the new birth is not reformation, nor is it religion; the basic issue is the doctrine of regeneration. This is clear from Christ's words to Nicodemus in John 3:5,6,
"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
Notice how careful the Lord is to define the character of the new birth: It is not the reformation of the outward man, nor the education of the natural man, nor the purification of the old man for "that which is born of the flesh is flesh." Rather it is the Spirit of God giving birth to a new life--a divine life and nature. It is partaking of the Divine nature (II Pet. 1:4). Simply put, it is being born of God--"that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
Regeneration ( “born of the Spirit”) is a doctrine associated in Scripture with God's dealings both with the nation Israel and the Body of Christ. In fact, the word itself is found only twice in the Bible, once in relation to Israel's program and once in reference to the Body of Christ.
The first occurrence is found in Matthew 19:28, where Christ is speaking to His Apostles:
"And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, IN THE REGENERATION when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
Notice carefully the wording here: "In the regeneration WHEN the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of His glory." This is a future regeneration associated with the time when Christ sits on "the throne of His glory." Regeneration, then, for Israel is clearly a part of her kingdom program and hope.
The second occurrence is from the pen of the Apostle Paul:
"But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared.
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by THE WASHING OF REGENERATION, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Tit. 3:4,5).
Obviously the doctrine of regeneration is a spiritual truth which plays an integral part in God's purpose for both Israel's future kingdom program and the current administration of grace. Therefore we must be careful to distinguish the dual applications of this doctrine.
Too often the true significance of John 3:7 is overlooked due to a failure to appreciate its usage of the second person pronouns "thee" and "ye." Notice the verse carefully:
"Marvel not that I said unto THEE, YE must be born again."
To the modern reader this may seem unimportant since most of us do not understand the significance of the "thee, thou, ye, you" contrasts in the Bible.
"Thee, thou" and "ye, you" are respectively the singular and plural forms of the second person pronoun. While our modern English uses the pronoun "you" for both singular and plural, the older English was able to distinguish between the singular (thee, thou) and plural (ye, you). The "thee, thou" refers to an individual while "ye, you" refers to a group. This same distinction is made in many modern languages and, more importantly, is used by the Greek language of the New Testament.
If you are to understand how the words are used in old English you will understand that the Lord was in fact saying to Nicodemus,
"Marvel not that I say unto THEE [i.e., Nicodemus], YE [i.e., the nation Israel] must be born again."
The new birth spoken of by the Lord Jesus in John 3 is a reference to the future birth of the nation Israel when she is to be spiritually cleansed and then possess her land forever.
But then what about us the Body of Christ and the believer today? If the new birth refers to the future hope of the nation Israel, do saved individuals today experience a new birth or does God have something else for them? Remember: both Israel and the Body of Christ are regenerated--but into what?
There can be no doubt that today when a person places faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior--when you rely exclusively on what Jesus Christ did for you at Calvary when He died to pay for your sins and was raised as the author of eternal life to those who trust Him; when you trust Christ today, that very moment the Holy Spirit imparts His life to you.
Paul declares:
"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins'
"even when we were dead in sins, [God] hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace are ye saved)" (Eph 2:1, 5).
We are "His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2:10). But just what is it God is creating today?
This is the "new creation" which God is forming during the dispensation of grace. God has temporarily set aside the nation Israel and His program for her (Rom. 11:11-15) in order to form another agency (Eph. 2:11-16) through whom He will accomplish a purpose which He planned "before the world began." This other purpose is called "the mystery" because He kept it secret--"hid in God" (Eph. 3:9)--until He revealed it to that other apostle, the Apostle Paul. It is summed up in the words of Eph. 2:7:
"That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
Today God is creating a new species --"neither Jew nor Gentile." Just as Adam was not born but was rather created, so we go from the old creation into the new creation as we go from Adam into Christ!
What I’m trying to say is, Regeneration is associated with God's program for both Israel and the Body of Christ. Regeneration for a Jew in the kingdom program made him a part of a born again nation. Regeneration for a person in the dispensation of grace makes him a part of the Body of Christ. According to the biblical text ( not your domination bias ) Christians are not born again they are a new creation all together different, they are and will always be the Body of Christ. Not born again saints.
Comments or questions write Shadowhawk at vqcom@comcast.net
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