In our last discussion we focused on the new creation each believer experiences when born from above in Jesus, God’s only begotten Son. It is righteousness, the risen life of Jesus, from the dead, gifted to us through our faith, by His grace. His LIFE, in resurrection power, is created in us. This powerful Life is what we need to release His life Inside Out. This is one degree of Glory!
Do we realize the glory of our Lord God has been created in us? The Lord, who is a Spirit, has placed His Shekinah glory within each believer but it is only a taste, it should whet our appetite.
God used His Shekinah glory to reveal His dwelling presence to Israel both in the temple and a cloud-fire providing visual assurance of His presence and power. Now, under the new covenant, we are His temple, and He has, literally, placed within us His abiding presence. This is who we now are and it is our eternal identity.
The temptation to think we now have two natures is a half truth. In other words, it is a lie. This lie hinders by distorting the riches already ours since we are in Christ Jesus our Lord. In Christ with an old Nature? Yes, we have a natural inclination to rely upon the habit of our temporal soul and flesh. The fact is, it is no longer our nature, we are no longer slave to its control. We are created new in the image of God and the old has passed away, Eph. 4:24, 2Cor. 5:17.
The world, the flesh and the devil are not just figures of evil. They are real and the Ephesian 6 armor is for a reason. We are not in a battle, we are in a WAR! The “mature” believer is just as vulnerable as the brand new Christian. The issues may differ, for a seasoned Christian, but he is still vulnerable and some issues may even be the same.
This Spiritual war has a vital spiritual purpose. The more Spiritual mature we become, the clearer we see the war itself and its purposes. This is how we become lovers of God and learn that the “reign of grace” is God’s structure for His Kingdom (Next GN will focus on the Reign of Grace). But the fact is, we are in this war and are not to give in to its battles by calling it “our nature.” Rather, we are to use God’s grace to learn what it is to walk by faith. This an opportunity to consume God’s grace!
Viewing our life in God’s larger context, including Jesus’ earthly ministry, His temptation, His defeat of death, His ascension, His coming kingdom and our reign with Him, we begin to understand the value of our on-earth Spiritual training in His righteousness.
Our purpose in this GN is to view a degree of glory as a measurement of our growth in God’s grace. Our glory is not ours, but God’s work in us, giving us discernment to see with spiritual eyes and hear with spiritual ears. Our proficiency to understand Spiritually is to personally participate in conflicts that condition our faith. Being changed is knowing this happens only inside-out.
I recently read the account of the infamous Blackwater warriors who were highly trained military providing security services our US government military was unable to provide. These were Navy Seals, Army Rangers and Special Forces people who were highly trained professionals. These skilled people are acquainted with threat and expert not only in recognizing danger but equipped, ready to engage the enemy as necessary to protect their charge. Blackwater became the go to guy for DoD and CIA because they were both ready and able to attack a task. This is a spiritual lesson about being Spiritually equipped and ready. When Blackwater was not engaged, they were in training!
Our spiritual enemy is not seen because we have not trained our Spiritual ears and eyes. We often don’t even recognize their threat let alone ready to attack. The only way to be alert and ready is to be disciplined. We are naturally trained to deal with temporal life because this is our apparent reality. Our spiritual life, the believer’s identity, is an absolute reality but not apparent so is not taken seriously. Our Spiritual discipline is absolutely vital!!
God is a Spirit and we are now born Spiritually. This is our new essence and pith. We must develop Spiritual skills. As we do, our enemy becomes visible. Our circumstances and subtleties of soul, i.e., desires, emotions and reason, make our adversary visible. Our enemy is an absolute reality and hostile to our eternal interests. If we do not engage by consuming personal grace it becomes a sin of omission and an extremely high expense item deducted from our eternal expense account. The loss of riches in Christ Jesus is a very high price while Spiritual engagement is a rich reward. The works of wood, hay and stubble are burned up in the fire of righteousness.
We have several challenges entering into the family of God. 1. A most critical aspect of our spiritual life is to understand Faith. It is much more than a sketch or an idea. Rather, faith is a product of being who we are in Christ, righteous! Faith is the verb for being in Christ. 2. We need to understand who we are in Christ. Knowing ourselves in Christ is more than doctrine and teaching, it is also accepting His grace so that we can be by His life operating in us. 3. We also need to understand how to function in God’s Kingdom as a member of His Body. We are called to minister being gifted to give to another’s needs, Spiritual and physical. 4. We need to understand the Reign of Grace. Grace is the structure of God’s Kingdom containing His power and promises. Grace is the means we experience the fullness of God and participate in His glory.
Our task is to be Spiritual instead of temporal. In other words, we need to be who we now are in Jesus, righteous. This consuming task is a life long journey. The effects changes us from one degree of glory to the next by growing us in grace and knowledge.
This learning task is a living charge as we need to be changed from one degree of glory to the next. It is a continuous organic choice. We are living to produce fruit and Jesus is our root, Revelation 22:16.
This task, being who we are in Christ, would be hopeless left to our own devices. In the futile pride of our humanity we are sucked into delusions of self competency. Our habit is to be self reliant, doing the things required by our own human strength. Spiritually, this is impossible, it virtually destroys faith.
The reign of grace comes to our rescue both through circumstances and revelation. We are not only righteous in Christ but have His resurrection power to be who we are called to be. We are not alone in this Spiritual war, we are in Christ! His word is our source for light.
It is God’s love providing our way and means to be a Spiritual person. His culture of grace provides the parameters in which we can grow and thrive Spiritually. His Body life provides the fellowship and means to draw upon others to participate with us in His purposes. Faith is that singular element primarily depending upon us but not exclusively. We are united in Jesus Spiritually. He is our guarantee we are secure to arrive complete in imHim. HH
Him.
We are Spiritually equipped for doing this impossible task. Our resources are internal, external, spiritual, temporal, subjective and objective. God faithfully attends to our vulnerabilities and sin that hinders us from glorifying our Savor’s redemption. God’s word, His Spirit and our faith are working to bring into conformity our soul’s wayward tendency to serve self. The patterns and dynamic of our soul’s interactions vary between believers but, praise God, we are in His care once we are in Him. Remember the old song, Lean on me, change it to Lean on Him!
The reign of grace is operating in love as we learn to make the switch from a temporal, fleshly life to living in the resurrection power of His Spirit. Love includes accountability just as a parent teaches a child. We become whom we are intended to be through discipline. There is path that leads us from one degree of glory to another but it may differ by who we are and God’s own purposes.
We have also been using our California redwoods to illustrate the grandeur of God’s power and work. We are repeating the same redwood scene but added a reflection because we are now talking about making His light in us visible by shining through us. Our humanity becomes a filter. We need constant filter management so we can change from one degree of glory to another:
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. -2Corinthians 3:18
God’s eternal purpose is to unite all things in heaven and earth together in Him, Eph. 1:10. He is doing the same thing in miniture within each of us as we unite into submission of His Spirit. His work joins us together exposing us so that others enjoy unity together in one body with Jesus Himself as our Head. Earth is a museum of wonder and praise but also boot camp for Spiritual living.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all, Revelation 22:21.
“No One Ever Cared for Me like Jesus
I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus
Since I found in Him a friend so strong and true;
I would tell you how He changed my life completely -
He did something that no other friend could do.
All my life was full of sin when Jesus found me;
All my heart was full of misery and woe;
Jesus placed His strong and loving arms around me,
And He led me in the way I ought to go.
Every day He comes to me with new assurance,
More and more I understand His words of love;
But I’ll never know just why He came to save me,
Till some day I see His blessed face above.
No one ever cared for me like Jesus;
There’s no other friend so kind as He;
No one else could take the sin and darkness from me -
O how much He cared for me!”