Beloved, the Bible teaches that God created the First or Old Creation man Adam in His own IMAGE and LIKENESS (see Genesis 1:26), but not in His own NATURE. In other words, God created Adam to look like Him in external physical appearance or external physical characteristics, but not innate or inherent constitution. Thus, contrary to what many believe, Adam was not a son of God (or born of God) the way Jesus Christ and all of us who believe in Him are. Adam did not have eternal life; nor did he have the Holy Spirit indwelling him. But all true children of God have eternal life (see John 5:24, 26; 1 John 5:12-13); and we also have the Holy Spirit (who is also known as the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, or the Spirit of God’s Son) in our hearts, the Spirit who cries out, "Abba, Father." (see Romans 8:9, with Galatians 4:6). That Adam did not have the Spirit of God (or the Spirit of Christ) in him means that Adam was not God’s. (see Romans 8:9). Many people have been erroneously taught that the Old Creation man – Adam – had the Holy Spirit indwelling him. But the Bible never said anything like that. The Bible calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Christ. (see Romans 8:9). Nowhere in the Bible is the Holy Spirit called the breath of God or the breath of life. People often confuse the breath of life mentioned in Genesis 2:7 with the Holy Spirit; but they are not the same. The Bible reports concerning the great flood in Noah’s day, that “all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. ALL IN WHOSE NOSTRILS WAS THE BREATH OF the Spirit of LIFE, all that was on the dry land, died” (Genesis 7:21-22 NKJV, emphasis mine). Of course, the Spirit of life is God the Holy Spirit (see Romans 8:2). And so clearly, the breath of the Spirit of life is a reference to the breath of God the Spirit. His breath is in every living creature. This verse is thus saying that all creatures that had life as we know it, perished in the flood in Noah’s Day. And life as we know it proceeded from the breath of the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Life). Every man alive today has the breath of the Almighty (see Job 33:4; Job 27:3) or the breath of the Spirit of life (see Genesis 7:22) or simply, the breath of life (see Genesis 2:7) in him; that is what is keeping us alive. That is what keeps every living creature alive. For man, it is called the human spirit, or the spirit of man; it is not called the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit. And so Adam did not have the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God.
Now, the Bible further teaches that the sons of God are led by the Spirit of God (see Romans 8:14), and that the sons of God do not and cannot sin because we are born of God and the seed of God remains in us. (see 1 John 3:9). Obviously, Adam did not measure up to this standard or meet any of these requirements either. As an earthy (or natural) man (see 1 Corinthians 15:47-48 KJV), there is no way Adam could've been led by the Spirit of God, because the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit, and cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. (see 1 Corinthians 2:14). Besides, Adam sinned. Need I say more? I hope you understand the point we're making here. You see, the fact that Adam wasn't born of God or wasn't the son of God doesn't mean that God created him as a bad or corrupted person. The Bible says Adam was created a very good man. After God made Adam, He saw everything he had made (including Adam), and “indeed it was very good.” (see Genesis 1:31). Therefore, God gave (the very good man) Adam free will and gave him the option to receive eternal life (and thus become the son of God) by simply eating of the tree of life that was in the midst of the garden of Eden. (see Genesis 2:8-17). That tree of life was Jesus Christ. Adam had to make the choice to believe in Jesus Christ and receive eternal life, or reject Jesus Christ and suffer eternal death. In fact, God has today given each one of us the same privileged choice He gave Adam; He has given us the option to eat of Jesus the (tree of) life and become sons of God. (see John 6:53-54; with John 14:6, John 3:16, and John 1:12). But unfortunately, many today reject the opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ and become the sons or children of God (see John 1:12), just as Adam did. Adam was the first man who rejected the opportunity to eat of the tree of life and become the son of God; Adam opted instead to become the son of the devil by obeying the devil (the serpent) and eating of the (forbidden) tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam chose Satan the author of death (see Hebrews 2:14) over Jesus the author of life (see Acts 3:15). By obeying the devil instead of God, Adam became the slave of the devil (see Romans 6:16). By eating of the (forbidden) tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam became the son of disobedience (see Ephesians 2:2; Colossians 3:6) or the son of the devil. (see John 8:44). Thus, Adam missed a great opportunity to have received eternal life and become the son of God.
Unfortunately and sadly, many of the translators of the New Testament inserted their own word “son” in Luke 3:38 thereby calling Adam “the son of God” and thus confusing many believers. The truth is that the word “son” is not in the original Greek text. The correct translation should’ve been “Adam of God,” which is how the Berean Literal Bible correctly renders it. However, we will not argue about long genealogies (in heeding to Paul’s advice to Timothy and Titus – see 2 Timothy 2:23; Titus 3:9); and so it must be pointed out here that calling Adam “son of God” is not wrong when one understands it correctly as meaning that Adam originated directly from God or was the first man God created. As the first man God created, Adam is figuratively called God's son, not because God literally gave birth to him the way God gave birth to Jesus and to us believers, but because Adam has no biological father or mother in the natural sense, and therefore traces his parentage or lineage directly to God. You would similarly notice that, in Acts 17:27-28, humanity is collectively referred to as the “offspring” of God (in a generic sense), simply because God created us all. In the strict or legal sense of sonship, however, the Bible says that humanity can be divided into two broad categories: the sons (or children) of God and the sons (or children) of the devil. (see 1 John 3:10).
Moreover, before Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, the Bible emphasizes that Jesus Christ was God’s one and only begotten Son (see John 3:16; John 1:14). This exclusive declaration of the Bible refutes any claim that Adam was also God’s begotten son. In fact, for anyone to maintain against the backdrop of this truth, that Adam was also a begotten “son of God” is for that person to claim that John 3:16 and all the other Scriptures that speak of Jesus as the one and only begotten Son of God are lies. But the Bible says, “Let God be true but every man a liar.” (see Romans 3:4). I choose to let God be true; I choose to believe the Bible (the power of God), and not the wisdom of man. (see 1 Corinthians 2:5). If Adam were, in truth, the son of God as many falsely believe, Adam wouldn't and couldn’t have sinned (or fallen) the way he did in the garden of Eden, because he would've been born of God and the seed of God would've remained in him, and so he couldn’t and wouldn't sin (see 1 John 3:9), just as Jesus didn’t and couldn’t sin. (see 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22; Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 3:5; 1 John 3:9).
The Bible says that Adam was earthy (or natural), and so were all those born of him (see 1 Corinthians 15:47-48 KJV). Today all those who are not in Christ are still in Adam; they are still earthy; they are still in the flesh; they are still sinners, and they are still dead because they have Adam’s fallen or sinful nature (see Genesis 3, with Genesis 4:1; Genesis 5:3, and Psalm 51:5, with 1 Corinthians 15:22). Don't expect to see Adam in Heaven, because Adam is eternally dead. In Adam, all die or perish; in Christ, all live or are saved. (see 1 Corinthians 15:22). This is a present tense reality. The first Adam brought ETERNAL death; the Second and Last Adam (Jesus Christ) brought ETERNAL Life. And so the truth of the New Creation man’s legal identity as the SON OF GOD who lives in the Spirit and is to walk in the Spirit, presents the single most significant difference between the New Creation (the believer) and the Old Creation headed by Adam. The New Creation folks (or believers) headed by Jesus Christ (the Second and last Adam) are the children of God (see John 1:12; Galatians 3:26), whereas the Old Creation folks (or unbelievers) headed by the first man Adam are the children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3), the children of disobedience (see Ephesians 2:2; Colossians 3:6), the children of the devil. (see John 8:44; 1 John 3:8-10). Therefore, it is not WHAT people do but WHO they really are (in their spirit) that determines whether they sin or not, and whether they will spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus and God the Father or in Hell with Adam and the devil; it is a question of identity. Your identity today as a goat (sinner – child of Adam and the devil) or a sheep (righteous – child of the God and Father of Jesus Christ the second and last Adam) is what will determine whether you will go to hell or to heaven if you should die right now. (see Matthew 25:31-46). Hence the Bible says that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of only one sin: the sin of not believing in Jesus Christ. (see John 16:9). This is the truth many people don't seem to get. In Adam, all die; in Christ, all live. (see 1 Corinthians 15:22). Every man today can and must come out of Adam and death, into Christ and life, by simply believing in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. “For as by one man’s (or Adam’s) disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s (or Christ’s) obedience many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19 NKJV, brackets mine).
That the New Creation man (or the believer) is the son of God whom God Himself gave birth to out of His own will (see John 1:12-13; James 1:18; 1 John 5:1) is the greatest and most amazing and glorious thing that ever happened to man. And thus John declares, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” (1 John 3:1 NKJV). God, by choosing to give birth to us as His own legal children through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and by the Word of truth (see James 1:18, with 1 Peter 1:3), has elevated us (from once being hopeless sinners) to being partakers of deity or the divine (God) nature. (see 2 Peter 1:4). Therefore, as a believer, you are not a mere man (see 1 Corinthians 3:3), just as Jesus wasn’t a mere man when He walked here on this earth; you are a god-man (see Psalm 82:6); you belong to the class of God or the God-Family; you are a member of the household of God, and you are a fellow citizen of heaven with all the saints. (see Ephesians 2:19, with Philippians 3:20). And so you can imitate God your Father. (see Ephesians 5:1). Today all believers belong to a whole NEW HUMANITY created in Christ Jesus (see Ephesians 2:10, 15) and born through His resurrection to be called the CHILDREN OF GOD. (see 1 John 3:1). God Himself gave birth to us out of His own will! (see James 1:18, with 1 Peter 1:3). And there are multitudes of us that no one can count, from every nation, tribe, people and language. (see Revelation 7:9). God gave birth to all these multitudes of children through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, by the Word of truth (see 1 Peter 1:3; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23) – children who are just as Jesus is in this world (see 1 John 4:17), who are eternally righteous (see 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 3:22; 1 Corinthians 1:30; with Daniel 9:24), and who can come boldly to God’s throne of grace at any time (see Hebrews 4:16), stand in God’s presence without any sense of guilt, sin, or inferiority (see Hebrews 10:1-3), call God “Abba, Father” (see Galatians 4:6), and fellowship with Him and with His Son Jesus Christ. (see 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 John 1:3-4). Hallelujah!
As a believer and a child of God, you have a legal right in the Father's presence; you have the same rights in the Father's presence as Jesus Christ (see Romans 8:17). And God is legally responsible for taking care of you and supplying all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (see Philippians 4:19; Psalm 23:1; Psalm 34:9-10), because you have been legally born into His Family. The Holy Spirit Himself bears witness with your spirit that you are the child of God. (see Romans 8:16). Therefore, trust God to fulfill all His fatherly responsibilities to you, because He is a good and loving Father.
Beloved, your true legal identity as the son or daughter of God – and all the rights and privileges that come with it – has been made possible solely by the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Just as it was only when the veil of the temple was torn that access to the Holy of Holies was granted permanently to all (sinful) men, it was only by the tearing of the veil which is Jesus’ flesh that access to God’s Holy presence was made permanently available to all of us by the blood of Jesus. (see Hebrews 10:19-20). Today, the believer is a completely new creation or new creature (see 2 Corinthians 5:17) who is able to fellowship permanently with God, because we have become eternally righteous (see 2 Corinthians 5:21), perfect (see Hebrews 10:14), sanctified (see Hebrews 10:10), holy (see 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 1 Peter 2:5, 9) and sinless (see 1 John 3:9), having been washed and redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus from the empty way of life handed down to us from our ancestors. (see Revelation 1:6; 1 Peter 1:18-19). We as the new creation are superior to the old creation. We have been created in Christ Jesus and are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. (see Ephesians 1:3). We have been created as world-overcomers (see 1 John 4:4; 1 John 5:4), as more than conquerors through Christ who loved us (see Romans 8:37), and as kings and priests to our God and Father (see Revelation 1:6). We have been created to reign in life or live a life of victory (see Romans 5:17; 2 Corinthians 2:14; 1 Corinthians 15:57) and a life of favor. (see Ephesians 1:6; Romans 5:2; Psalm 5:12). We have been created to have the power or ability to do all things through Christ who strengthens us. (see Philippians 4:13). Hallelujah!
As a new creation, you were created, not as a natural man or earthy man like Adam, but as a spiritual or heavenly man like Jesus Christ (see 1 Corinthians 15:46-48; 1 Corinthians 3:1). Your citizenship is in Heaven (see Philippians 3:20). Therefore, the mystery surrounding you is that you live simultaneously in Heaven and on Earth, as you sit in Heaven together with Christ and in Christ on the right hand of God, on the right hand of power – on God's very throne – (see Ephesians 2:4-6), at the same time as you live in this world without being of this world. (see John 17:16; John 15:19). Furthermore, as a new creation man or woman, not only do you bear the image and likeness of God, but also, you have the very nature of God (see 2 Peter 1:4; Ephesians 4:24). And so the Bible says you are to imitate God. (see Ephesians 5:1). You have been created according to (the inherent or innate constitution or character of) God – in true holiness and righteousness. (see Ephesians 4:24). In other words, you are holy and righteous by birth; and there is nothing you can do to change that. (I am talking here to sincere believers who will stand steadfast in the faith till the Lord returns or till you're called home by the Lord). Jesus Himself is your righteousness and your sanctification. (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). Having been born of God, you have the seed (sperma) of God in you and are, therefore, incapable of sinning or committing the treason of the Old Creation man Adam (see 1 John 3:9). As God’s own son, you also have the mind of Christ, and so you have the wisdom of God and you know the mind of the Lord. (see 1 Corinthians 2:16). Jesus Christ Himself is your wisdom (see 1 Corinthians 1:30), just as He is the wisdom of God. (see 1 Corinthians 1:24). And because Jesus in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (see Colossians 2:3) resides in you (see Colossians 1:27; Galatians 2:20), you have full access to divine knowledge and wisdom; and you will have the exact knowledge of God's will as long as you walk in the Spirit. (see Colossians 1:9-13).
Beloved, as a new creation and the child of God, God has sealed you with the Holy Spirit to guarantee that you belong to Him forever (see Ephesians 1:13; 2 Corinthians 5:5; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22), and that Satan cannot steal you, kill you or destroy you. Thus, He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (see 1 John 4:4). God Himself lives in you, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God (see 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 1 John 4:4, with Colossians 3:3). And so you and God are one; wherever God goes, you go, and wherever you go, God goes, because you are joined as one spirit with God. (see 1 Corinthians 6:17). God has also promised never to leave you nor forsake you. (see Hebrews 13:5). You are, therefore, a true champion and a spiritual giant in this world, just as Jesus Christ. (see 1 John 4:17). You just have to know and walk in (the consciousness of) this truth.
Now, unlike the First or Old Creation man, you as a New Creation man were created in the Spirit, so you are in the Spirit, (see Romans 8:9). The Bible says that, “they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” (see Romans 8:8). This does not apply to you because you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit (see Romans 8:9); so you can please God. The Spirit of God dwells in you (see Romans 5:5); you live in the Spirit and are to walk in the Spirit (see Galatians 5:25 NKJV) and NOT in the flesh. (see Romans 8:13). You as a spiritual man (or new creation man) cannot survive or live in the flesh (or Sense realm), just as the natural man cannot live in the Spirit. The Bible says that “if you live according to the flesh (or the dictates of your five senses), YOU WILL DIE; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, YOU WILL LIVE.” (Romans 8:13 NKJV, brackets, and emphasis mine). In other words, your natural habitat is the Spirit realm. (see Romans 8:9; Galatians 5:25). The new creation man cannot survive in the flesh or sense realm, just as a fish cannot survive on dry land. Walking in the Spirit thus simply means walking according to who you are in your re-created spirit (as revealed by the Word of God), and not according to your flesh (that is, your senses, the desires and dictates of your body, or who you see yourself to be in the physical realm); it means walking by faith and not by sight. (see 2 Corinthians 5:7). As a believer, all the capabilities and power of God has been imparted to you (in your spirit) through the new birth, so it behooves you to lay hold on it and imitate God (by walking in the Spirit or walking in love).
In fact, as a new creation man or woman, you are such a completely new and different creature from the Old creation man that, you even have a new body (see 1 Corinthians 15:50-54; Philippians 3:21), which you will receive when the Lord Jesus Christ returns. (see 2 Corinthians 5:1-8; Philippians 3:21). But, for now, you will still live in this old body of corruption (see 1 Corinthians 15:42, 50; 2 Corinthians 5:1), having this treasure in earthen vessel, so that the excellence of the power (you have) may be of God and not of you. (see 2 Corinthians 4:7). Indeed, it is because you still live in this old body of corruption that you are admonished to make a conscious effort to walk in the Spirit (or in harmony with your re-created spirit). It is also because you still live in this old body of corruption that the Bible urges you to (make a conscious decision and effort to) present your body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, and to not be “conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2 NKJV). And so this verse, in saying “be transformed,” is not talking about transforming your spirit, because your spirit is already transformed and is as perfect as Jesus (see Ephesians 4:24; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Hebrews 10:14; 1 John 4:17); this verse is talking about transforming your bodily conduct, mindset and manner of life so that your thoughts, speech and actions will conform to the righteous and holy nature of your re-created spirit, so that you can enjoy (in the body) the victorious and glorious life that your re-created spirit enjoys.
The transformation of your bodily conduct, mindset and manner of life is accomplished when you’re in full possession of your inheritance among the saints in the light, when you are mature, having attained to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ, when you are walking worthy of your calling in Christ. And the good news is that you can begin that transformation today (if you haven’t already) by starting to renew your mind (with the Word of God). It must also be noted that the mind that has to be renewed (in the context of Romans 12:2) is the mind of your body (and not the mind of your spirit), because the mind of your re-created spirit is already renewed and is actually the same as the mind of Christ. (see 1 Corinthians 2:16). Thus you have to renew the mind of your body to conform with the mind of your spirit; and thankfully you have the Holy Spirit to help you accomplish this through the study of the Word of God. The Bible says, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” (1 Corinthians 2:12 NKJV). The renewing of the mind of the body is done through reading and meditating on the Word of God (with the help of the Holy Spirit) to the point where the mind of the body aligns with or conforms to the mind of the Spirit, to the point where we know the things that have been freely given to us by God. The mind of the body has to agree or conform to the Word of God. The Bible says, “how can two walk together except they be agreed?” (see Amos 3:3). How can you walk with God while you're in this body, except the mind of your body agrees with the mind of God (which has been revealed in His Word)? Indeed, you have to renew your mind with the Word until Christ is formed in you – in your body. (see Galatians 4:19). When your mind is renewed, you won’t be what James calls “a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (see James 1:8); you will not doubt God, because you will have one mind with Him. Thus, the transforming of our bodily conduct, mindset and manner of life is fully accomplished when we consistently and continually put the knowledge and wisdom from the renewed mind of the body into practice, or when we become doers of the Word, as James 1:22 commands. The will and desire of your spirit – which, according to First Corinthians 6:17, is now joined as one with the Holy Spirit – has to rule or gain the ascendancy over the will and desire of your body, even as your body (or fleshly desire) wars against the Spirit for control and dominance. (see Galatians 5:17). And so your part is to subdue your body (by the Spirit) and submit it to the will of God as an instrument of righteousness to God. (see Romans 6:13). You have to crucify the body (or the flesh) by the Spirit (see Romans 8:13), so that you will LIVE, so that you will enjoy the victory which is in Christ. In other words, you have to die daily in order for you to live the victorious and glorious life that is in Christ. Paul said, “I affirm by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I DIE DAILY.” (1 Corinthians 15:31). The only people who are truly able to exercise authority over the devil and live the victorious life are those who choose the way of the cross and dying daily. In this regard, Paul also said, "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:27 NKJV). Crucifying the flesh or disciplining your body and bringing it into subjection is not something God does for you; it is something you do for yourself; and yet, you cannot do it by your own strength or effort. You cannot crucify the deeds of the body by self-will. You have to do it BY (the help of the) Holy Spirit who is in you. (see Romans 8:13).
Beloved, you will not live at your full potential in this life until you consistently discipline your body and submit your body to the leading of the Holy Spirit. You will not bear the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23) unless you abide in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. Bearing the fruit of the Spirit – love – is the evidence that you are walking in the Spirit, and are thus a spiritual man and not a mere man. (see 1 Corinthians 3:1-3). Walking in the Spirit, therefore, is an all-encompassing lifestyle that involves walking in love (see Ephesians 5:2), walking by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), walking in the Word of God or in the truth (see 3 John 1:3-4; Matthew 4:4; Ezekiel 36:27), walking in the light (see 1 John 1:7), walking in newness of life (see Romans 6:4), or walking in Christ (see Colossians 2:6). May you walk in the Spirit now and always. Remain blessed.
To learn more, order my glorious book, "Spirit Life"
No comments:
Post a Comment