Cease from Sin
Quit sinning, stop sinning
end sin, no sin, sinless, perfection, be perfect, be complete
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“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God” (1 Pet 4:1-2).
Does this sound like a
good plan? Why don’t I just put on the mind of Messiah, quit sinning
and live for God? Unfortunately, we all know this is not just a matter
of going to the local Christian bookstore and ordering a mind
meld. Many claim to have been working on building the mind of
Christ for years, but have never quite been successful. They still
sin. Peter claims those who have the same mind as Messiah and suffer in
the flesh have quit sinning. Do we do that, or is it done for us by the
Spirit?
“And everyone who
has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:3)
“He who says he
abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” (1 John 2:6)
“Draw near to God
and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify
your hearts, you double–minded.” (Jas 4:8)
The instruction God
gave us exhorts us to clean ourselves. Our Creator doesn’t force us to
obey. He is looking for those who recognize that He has the answers and
knows what is best. Both James and John agree with Peter that the goal
is to be pure like Messiah is pure. Each of these exhortations assumes
we know how to do that. How do we do that?
“But you must
continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing
from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have
known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may
be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (II Tim 3:14-17)
Anyone serious about
purifying himself and walking as He walked would be helped by a careful study
of the Hebrew Scriptures. Of course, the New Testament tells us a lot
about Christ and His teaching. Knowing that is vital too. Timothy
was taught the Hebrew Scriptures from the time he was a child. The Jews
educational system revolved around the Hebrew Scriptures. Most
Christians today really have a lot of catch-up work to do. The average
person in Jesus audience was much more knowledgeable in the Hebrew Scriptures
than even the well studied today.
"Because this
is the covenant which I will covenant with the house of Israel after those
days, says the LORD, giving my laws into their mind, also upon their hearts
I will inscribe them; and I will be to them for God, and they shall be to Me
for people.” (Heb 8:10 EGNT)
The Creator is
especially interested in His people having His laws as part of their
nature. This particular translation, which is very true to the Greek
original, highlights that believers need to exercise their mind first.
His ways must be given into our mind first. Once the mind has a solid
grasp of them they can be written on the heart, made part of our
nature. We must participate in this. It will not happen without
our active involvement. We decide what goes into our mind.
Ultimately our Creator inscribes His laws on our heart by our own hand.
We cannot sit passively by and expect this will just happen to us.
Hebrew parallelism
tells us His Law is His covenant (Ps 78:10, Hos
8:1, Am 2:4). Anyone wanting to prepare his
heart for the inscription of His Law should feed His covenant to his mind.
Just because we can read
scripture that commends the New Testament believers for their changed lives,
doesn’t mean that we have attained to perfection. The Corinthians
illustrate this to a degree. Paul encouraged them, but he also pointed
out what was plainly unacceptable.
“I thank my God
always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ
Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance
and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in
you, 7 so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the
revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor
1:4-7)
“And I, brethren,
could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes
in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now
you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for
you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among
you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” (1 Cor 3:1-3)
The sad truth was that
the congregation in Corinth had some major problems. Paul was
determined to deal with them, but he was also intent on being gentle and
encouraging as much as he could. The reason is apparent.
“being confident of
this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it
until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6)
Fortunately, our
Creator is extremely patient. He gives us our whole lifetime to learn
how futile our own way is. Hopefully it won’t take that long, but if it
does the Creator can handle that, as long as we do learn the lesson. He
will not easily give up on us.
“Again, when I say
to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if he turns from his sin and does what
is lawful and right, 15 if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back
what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing
iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die.” (Eze
33:14-15)
Our merciful Creator
does give time for repentance. Notice here the individual items
highlighted: restore the pledge, return the stolen. Although reference
is made to upholding the statutes, which relate to both the Creator and man,
there is more focus on fair and honest dealings with other people.
Being supportive of each other is very important to our Creator, as it would
be to any parent.
Consider as well, Isa
58:5-6.
"Is it a fast
that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down
his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you
call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the LORD? 6 Is this not the
fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of
wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that
you break every yoke?”
The Creator does not
feel glorified because we fast and afflict ourselves for a day, if every
other day we oppress one another. We may not be keeping slaves beyond
their time of release or exacting usury. Do we cut others off in
traffic, make uncomplimentary remarks about others behind their backs, make
light of their difficulty or ignore the hungry? How we treat our fellow
man is extremely important. Paul indicated the whole Law was focused on
loving one’s neighbor.
“For all the law is
fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.” (Gal 5:14)
When asked what one
should do to inherit eternal life, Messiah answered “keep the commandments”
(Mat 19:17d). It is clear He focused on the commandments recorded in
Exodus 20. In the case of the particular person that asked, He
especially highlighted those commandments that directly relate to other
people. How we relate to our fellow man is extremely important.
CreatorsCovenant.org
is focused on highlighting the foundation of the Law of God. Finding,
pondering and living according to that law is the first step in being able to
avoid sin. It could have worked for ancient Israel (Ex 20:20).
Don't assume you already know it. Those who know it best will realize
there is still more to learn. Think about it as you go about your daily
life. Ask the Creator for insight. We have not only that
instruction, but also the example of the special representative of the
Creator, the Messiah. Is He unreasonable in asking us to purify
ourselves?
Mentality
There can be major
infractions and minor infractions that taint us. Some offences seem
more egregious than others. Does this mean that minor offences are
OK? Messiah is concerned about how we think (Mat 5:27-28). A
minor infraction involves the same mindset as a major infraction. Infractions
come as a result of putting our way first ahead of what our Creator would
have us do. Offences can also come as a result of ignorance or not
being aware of circumstances. If we are to love our neighbor as
ourselves, we would need to avoid all of these.
One who is thinking
about what he is doing will have a minimal number of ignorant lapses.
His mindset will lead him to continually evaluate how he interacts with
others and with the Creator. He will be alert to his surroundings and
careful not to offend. He will be considerate of others in all he
does. He will be examining his own actions continually. This is
not just a pre-Passover responsibility.
“Examine yourselves
as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves...” (II Cor 13:5a)
Being the representative
of the Creator is not like being in a daze or day dream. The mind
cannot be wondering off by itself. The son of God must be alert to what
he is doing and how he is impacting others. Messiah considered the
needs of others even when it was not his direct responsibility.
Mat 15:32 ‘Now Jesus called His disciples to
Himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have
now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want
to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."’
Being oblivious to the
needs of others could easily be equated to practicing lawlessness. "Whoever
commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness" (I John 3:4). The
Greek word for lawlessness is ‘anomia’.
This is a combination of ‘a’ and ‘nomia’, basically
meaning ‘without law’. Someone who is oblivious is unaware of his
surroundings and his responsibility in relationship with them, even though
there are indications of what his responsibility is. He is unaware of
the law, traditions or expectations with which he should comply. In his
own little world, he is without law. Being unaware, he is likely to
offend some expectation, yet he is unconcerned even though warnings
exist.
This is a mindset
issue. He may not be robbing people at gunpoint or throwing rocks through
windows, but he is not showing the kind of consideration the Creator expects
when He says “Love your neighbor as yourself”.
The enormity of the
exact offence may be a factor in how WE humans perceive things. How
important is the particular offence if one is talking about mindset? “He
who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is
unjust in what is least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10).
“For to be carnally
minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Rom
8:6)
The enormity of the
sin is not really the problem. The mind that is unconcerned with a
little offence is likely to overlook a major offence. The mind that is
diligent to avoid a small offence will reject the major offence too.
The end result is peace. The difference in the mentality is night and
day, darkness and light.
If one is primarily
concerned about taking care of himself or what he perceives as his own needs
or desires, he has a fleshly mentality. If one is more concerned about
properly representing his Creator and conducting himself according to His
higher way, then he will be carefully examining all his conduct. He
will be focusing on things of the spirit, the mentality and thinking about
why he does what he does. He will consciously do what the Creator
expects of a son rather than what that individual would normally do.
A “minor” offence
misses the mark just as sure as a “major” offence. Both can be
eliminated if we can be brutally honest about why we do what we do and determine
to be just as concerned about our fellow man as we are about ourselves.
“For if we would judge ourselves,
we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that
we should not be condemned with the world” (II Cor 11:31-32).
A May 26, 2012 article in the Wall
Street Journal (Why we Lie, Pg. C1) highlighted a study about our perception of little
offences. They found that people are actually more likely to cheat if the benefit is
reduced. We excuse ourselves if we cheat someone out of just a small amount whereas a
larger amount would begin to prick our conscience. As children of the Creator we must
reject any form of theft. Being attuned to minor offences is vital. We don’t need or
want to overlook this. He will provide for us.
Like Him
"But I say to
you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate
you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on
the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust...
Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
(Mat 5:44-45, 48)
Our Father wants us to
act like He acts. His thought processes control what He does and how He
does it. These are most important.
“For as the heavens
are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My
thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa 55:9)
‘Then God said,
"Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness”’ (Gen
1:26a).
Although He may well
present Himself in a form that is similar to human form, His shape is not
what is important about the Creator. How He thinks, His approach to
others is what is important. In spite of the vast difference in
mentality between us, His intention is to teach us to think like He thinks.
“And everyone who
has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John
3:3)
Mahatma Gandhi is
purported to have said, "I like your Christ. I do not like your
Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
If we claim to be
followers of Messiah, but do not conduct ourselves as He taught and expects,
our conduct is attributed to Him anyway and we bring shame on Him.
Instead of attracting people to the Creator, they are repulsed.
“by
which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that
through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through lust.” (II Pet 1:4)
The Greek for
‘partakers’ is ‘koinonos ‘
(Str. 2844). The primary meaning is ‘partners’. The goal
is that we willingly and wholeheartedly join with the Creator to think like
He thinks, to accomplish His purpose. A
significant characteristic of that nature is that it is void of corruption
normally due to various desires or lusts. If we are looking to the
Creator to care for us, there is no need to cut corners and elbow our way to
what we want. The scriptures have a lot to say about our desires.
Many have found that it is easier
to get forgiveness than permission. When they are not sure they can get permission
to do what they want to do, they do what they want and expect forgiveness. This is
not the mind of Messiah at work. This is the carnal mind working to further its
own cause.
John 6:38 "For
I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who
sent Me."
Luke 11:9 "So I
say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock,
and it will be opened to you."
If we seek the will
of the Father we will trust that we will receive permission. He will grant
permission if what is desired is something we should have or do. If it is
not, the mind of Messiah doesn’t want it. The problem could be any one of
many things, timing, self centeredness, ego or just plain old fleshly lust.
The scriptures have a lot to say about our desires.
Lust and Desires
Rom 6:12 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal
body, that you should obey it in its lusts.” We must actively
participate to bring this about. We cannot be passive or
oblivious. The best way to do this is not to work to avoid the
negative, but to engage in the positive. Our body wants to be
pampered. It seeks happiness in things, but this happiness is deceptive
and fleeting. The root cause of the problem is caving in to physical
desires to which we have no right.
Rom 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no
provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” Again, we actively
emulate Christ, with no concern for the pride or passions typical of the
human condition. This can be done if we are focused on properly
representing our Creator and His selfless approach. He did set aside
time for Himself, but when He was with others, He was considerate of
them.
Eph 2:3 “among
whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
children of wrath, just as the others.” Wanting to coddle the flesh
is standard for humans. Unfortunately, this approach and mindset stirs
up anger in others because sometimes we offend and leave victims in our
wake. We figuratively step on others to satisfy ourselves. This
is not the mind of Messiah. He came selflessly to support others.
Jas 1:14-15 “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away
by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has
conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full–grown, brings
forth death.” We are our own worst enemy. We become
distracted by something we think is important and focus on it, rather than on
representing the Creator. If we properly represent the Creator, He will
care for us. If we’re not representing the Creator, we’re on our own.
We think we deserve
something, or ought to have something or just plain want something and so we
take it, or do it. Often without thinking we negatively impact others
or misrepresent our Creator in the process. Buying something honestly
if we can afford it is not a problem. The question is, ‘Are we
expecting to find happiness in this thing?’ Did we need it to boost our
ego or prestige or to impress others? If these apply, we are seeking a
fleshly, earthy reward, not the glory of the Master.
Gal 5:24 “And those
who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
This often overlooked
verse follows immediately after a list of the fruits of the spirit.
They are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness”
(5:22-23 RSV). Sermons often focus on these things, but neglect the
above quoted verse that follows. It seems self evident there is a
connection between these three verses. Likely one will not have the
fruits of the spirit unless one crucifies the flesh with its desires.
Smashing these desires directly leads to having the fruits of the
spirit.
The bottom line: when
one is not looking out to preserve and coddle himself, he can show godly love
and kindness towards his neighbor. When he is not trying to keep up
with the Jones’s, he can have the joy that comes with contentment. When
he is trusting in his Creator to supply his needs, he can have the peace that
his needs will be met, and he will learn patience in the process. In
short, it is our insistence on caring for ourselves, #1,
that prevents us from consistently caring for others. If we
trust #1 to our Creator, we can walk in His ways and correctly represent
Him. Being the servant and son of our Creator requires faith. The
spirit seeking mind will consider these matters and despise the motivations
that center on ego and run contrary to the mind of God.
Faith
"For whoever
desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake
and the gospel’s will save it.” (Mark 8:35)
Coupled with faith,
the one focusing on the spirit will set his typical approach aside and
support his fellow man. Faith includes the confidence that the Creator
knows our needs. We are freed to show concern for others. A
believer will not be overly concerned about himself. That is the
Masters job. The Master likely will not always do things the way we
would like. His long range goal is our improvement. This is why
faith is faith. It requires patience and trust.
“Therefore do not
worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall
we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your
heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first
the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added
to you.” (Mat 6:31-33)
Our needs will be
met. Believers are not promised great wealth or a new BMW every
year. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to
you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mat
19:23)
"But God said
to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will
those things be which you have provided?’ 21 So is he who lays up
treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:20-21)
The question boils
down to: ‘Do you trust in this life and in your ability to provide for
yourself, or do you trust in your Creator and what He will provide?’ We
still need to work to support our self, but we must know the real source of
wealth (Deu 8:18). When Messiah walked the
earth He did invite some to give everything away and follow Him. He is
not asking each of us to do that. He does not ask us to quit our jobs
and preach in the streets. He does expect us to be concerned about
others as much as we are about ourselves. That requires being aware of
others and their needs and being willing to put ourselves at risk.
“Every good gift and
every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (Jas 1:17)
The Creator knows our
needs. He gives His children things that are good for them. We
don’t necessarily know what is good for us. We should ask and trust the
Creator to provide what is good. If we have to work the angles or step
on or over someone else to get what we want, it is most likely we are
grabbing for ourselves, not waiting on the Creator to give us what is good.
That doesn’t mean we
expect everything to be delivered to our door, so we exert no effort.
We are to work to provide for ourselves and to have something to give to
those in need (II Thes 3:12, Eph 4:28). He
prospers the work that His children do (Deu
28:12). Great wealth should not be our goal. There is nothing
wrong with wealth if we remember its true source and don’t put our long term
trust in it.
“No one can serve
two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he
will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
mammon.” (Mat 6:24)
Humility
Messiah willingly
risked His life for the opportunity to pay for our failures. In doing
this He showed His selflessness and the great lengths to which the Creator is
willing to go for us.
“Let this mind be
in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God,
did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of
no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness
of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself
and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
(Phil 2:5-8)
We are to think like
He thinks. We should seek to please our Creator and Master first.
We do not need to gain the praise of men. Not that we are arrogant
toward men. Messiah was not that way, although He did occasionally
accurately describe the self centered conduct of some. Obviously, we
need to show respect toward our fellow man.
The point is that
without any absolute guarantee of success, Messiah gave up a glorified spirit
existence and willingly made Himself human, knowing
the brutal murder that awaited. There was nothing striking about Him
that caused any special notice (Isa 53:2). As a child He was subject to
His parents like any other child (Luke 2:51). He was just like any
other person in His home town (John 6:42). Yet, He created our parents
thousands of years before (John 1:1-3, 14). Paul exhorts us to think
like Messiah thought. If He was selfless and humble like this, what
allows us to think that we are deserving of anything above our fellow
man?
Traditional
Christianity focuses on the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Certainly
there is a lot to examine in those areas. However, one can see these
qualities in the Creator in the Hebrew Scriptures. Time after time He
overlooked Israel’s shortcomings and the blatant disrespect shown by the
people and leadership. Messiah’s life recorded in the New Testament
illustrates something that was not obvious in the Hebrew Scriptures; His
selflessness.
“For to this you
were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that
you should follow His steps: 22 Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit
found in His mouth; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in
return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him
who judges righteously” (I Pet 2:21-23)
“how
much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve
the living God?” (Heb 9:14)
Our Savior knew who He
answered to. He was intent on accomplishing His Father’s cause.
We are not generally expected to suffer the way He did (Heb 12:4).
Messiah paid the price for our failures (I Cor
6:20). Our priority should be to do the Fathers will if we claim to be
His servant and son.
We can trust the
Creator to be faithful. He sent His special one, His firstborn, our
Creator, to die for us so that Messiah could take responsibility for our
error. Why would we doubt how much They both care?
Judging
“Judge not, and you
shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive,
and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37)
Our Creator has
incredible patience with us. How can we be impatient with
others? As long as we are alive our Creator is still working to improve
us. He is doing this with others too. We in effect condemn Him if
we cast aspersions on others. He hasn’t corrected them fast enough for
our liking.
Sometimes we feel the
need to denigrate people to others. As with all we do, we need to ask
why we do this. What are we trying to accomplish? Often we are trying
to lift ourselves in the mind of someone else, by putting some other person
down. This accomplishes nothing. It indicates that we are judging
another man’s servant, but also by trying to impress someone else, we show
that we don’t understand that Messiah is the only real judge.
“But if you bite
and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!” (Gal
5:15)
In scripture there are
a number of lists of distasteful qualities. Envy, whisperers and evil
speaking are on those lists (Rom 1:29, Eph 4:31, 1 Pet 2:1). These
ungodly practices go hand in hand with that “world of iniquity”, the tongue
(Jas 3:2-6). If we understand who the judge is, we will lose the need
to lash out, backbite or promote our self to others. This is a big part
of being complete (vs. 2).
“Every branch in Me
that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He
prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:2)
Likely our pruning
process will be continuing as the Creator nips off the pieces that don’t look
like Him. Expect to be tried. Wait on the Creator to show the way
of escape (1 Cor 10:13). In the meantime, do
what you can within what He allows. Pray for guidance and
understanding. Realize that He’s not finished with others either.
“Who are you to
judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he
will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.” (Rom 14:4)
With regard to your
own actions, consider that the Master sees. We can't fool Him. Do
what is right and there will be no reason for worry.
Messiah is the
judge. What other people think of us or what we think of others is not
of any critical importance. We do need to represent the Creator well,
by conducting ourselves as He would. Beyond that, other people’s
opinion is of little importance. Our opinion is not of any great
importance either. We need to evaluate how we conduct ourselves
based on the word of God. It is our Creator’s responsibility to judge
others. Leave it to Him.
Perfection
“till we all come
to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a
perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”
(Eph 4:13)
When scripture talks
of perfection it typically is talking of being complete or finished.
The Greek for ‘perfect’ in Ephesians 4:13 is
‘teleios’. The primary definitions
typically read: ‘1) brought to its end, finished’, 2) wanting nothing
necessary to completeness.
Ephesians 4:13 helps
us understand more clearly what completeness is. Through Hebrew
parallelism we can understand that a complete man is one who is complete to
the full stature or maturity of Christ. This is a pretty tall order,
but we are not on our own to achieve it.
“If you love Me,
keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give
you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever–– 17 the Spirit
of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor
knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
(John 14:15-17) “Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone
loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come
to him and make Our home with him.” (John 14:23)
Those who follow the
instruction of Messiah are qualified to receive some help. A helper can
be sent. Believers must prove themselves serious before the Helper will
live in them.
Actually, the one who
was with them and would be in them is Christ, who in spirit lives inside the
believer (vs. 23, above). “Now the Lord is the Spirit” (II Cor 3:17a)
Receiving the spirit
of God is not something that is done to us, but something a believer
diligently seeks. It comes through a combination of a willing obedient
servant and son, and a pleased Messiah and Father who are confident we are
committed to Their ways. A believer wants to understand the mind of
Christ. He acts on the instruction he already understands and searches
the scriptures as Paul recommended to Timothy.
“But when the
Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth
who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” (John 15:26)
What is known as the
'Holy Spirit', comes from the Father. All good things come from the
Father. The Son of the Father, our Messiah, receives it from Him.
Messiah administers it to those who obey. Not only is the nature of
Christ included in His spirit, but the Father’s nature is included as
well. Actually, the mentality is the same. As a human, Messiah
was only able to dwell with a few. As a spirit, He can dwell with many,
forever. The spirit will bear witness, clarify, the life and conduct of
Christ.
"And we are
His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has
given to those who obey Him." (Acts 5:32)
Messiah lives in us
and gives help to our own efforts to understand His ways and obey. We
must show ourselves to be serious first, with our conduct as evidence (Acts
26:20). When we step out in faith to do the will of the Father in
supporting our fellow man, Messiah will help us maintain the mentality that
is continually careful and aware of others.
This author is unaware
of any scripture that indicates the Holy spirit is given to those who usually
obey or mostly obey. The standard is higher than many would like to
think. The Helper may be anxiously standing by, nudging, but will not
be living in someone who is not obeying. The Father doesn’t like to
share our minds with darkness and neither does Messiah. There is no
common ground between light with darkness. (II Cor
6:14-15)
"I have been
crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal 2:20)
We are complete when
Christ is living His life in us. He can commit His spirit to us,
because we are obeying and are determined to continue obeying Him. We
have what we need to reflect the Father and be His image. In whatever
we do, we conduct ourselves in accord with His instruction and example.
Some details may still be fuzzy. Because we are complete, doesn’t mean
we do everything exactly as Messiah would do it or we perfectly understand
everything. However, we keep ourselves from offense (I John 5:18) and
evaluate continually our conduct toward better understanding the will of
God. We grow in the graciousness and understanding of the Messiah (II
Pet 3:18). We might still sin, but as a rule we do not (1
John 2:1, 3:6)
“For those who live
according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those
who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” (Rom 8:5)
Because a spirit
filled believer is complete does not mean improvements cannot be made.
When we continue to put our mind to the things of the spirit we will improve
our understanding of the mind of God. How to best apply love can be
challenging in some circumstances. As parents we don’t always know what
the best way to teach our children is. Even so, by pondering our
actions and comparing against the instruction of scripture, we can learn to
better represent the Creator. Our focus is no longer our own
preservation and comfort, but the promotion of the ways of God.
Perfection, in the sense that things cannot be further improved, is not a
concept taught in scripture.
This is what Paul is
encouraging in Philippians 3:9-16. Paul did not relax or become
complacent and consider that he was complete. He continued pursuing the
high calling of God for which Messiah chose him in the first
place. There is always more to learn. Paul expected “as many
as be perfect (complete, teleios)” to have that approach (vs. 15).
We can attain to the
yardstick of the maturity and fullness of Christ. Walking on water is
not necessary. Having His spirit, His mindset, working in our mind
is. The Creator is greatly desiring to support us (Luke 12:32).
We must continually do our part.
1.
Diligently study and ponder His Law. Ask for
understanding.
2.
Recognize that little things are important in correcting the
mentality.
3.
Brutally examine your conduct. Why do you do what you
do?
4.
Trust and accept that the Master will care for you.
5.
Follow His example of selflessness.
6.
The Master is the judge. Leave others to
Him. Examine yourself.
7.
Serve the Master, not yourself.
8.
Go back to step 1.