Right now, as I am writing this GN, Thru The Bible (TTB) with J. Vernon McGee is going through 1John. Dr. McGee is in chapter three and focusing on the believer’s “two natures.” I recommend McGee! He is a good source for learning and understanding the Word of God. However, there is a hazard in the dogmatic way He asserts, as fact, that we have “two natures,” even though it is God Himself who births us a second time in Christ Jesus!
Dr. McGee’s emphasis is misleading! It is not totally wrong but distorts and clouds the issue. Our identity in Christ Jesus is singular and only in Christ Jesus; it is the very righteousness of Jesus Himself! We experience conflict, of course, but our conflict is about culture, our habits and the things we have not judged correctly. When we are created new in Christ, it is a done deal; it is in the Greek aorist tense, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.
If you have been reading GraceNotes for any time at all, you know we place a heavy emphasis on Ephesians 4:24’s new creation. In this, in our new nature, we are called to be holy because we are created in Jesus’ righteousness and no one is be able to pluck us out of the Father’s hand; I and the father are one.
Being “in Christ Jesus” is a major theme of GraceNotes. In this context, we also focus on what our new identity looks like since it is, in literal fact, being in Christ Jesus. When we enter into Christ Jesus, we know within ourselves we are new, but this doesn’t mean we immediately are able to act out the righteousness of Christ Jesus. Knowing who we are in Jesus is one thing but being who we are in Jesus is quite another! The “two Nature” theme is an easy way of explaining this seeming paradox. It turns out not be a paradox at all, but a learning tool for us to grow spiritually!
We address our conflict issue by:
1. Knowing who we are in Christ Jesus.
2. Accepting God’s grace in Christ Jesus.
3. Being who we are in Christ Jesus.
It takes discernment on our part to recognize the difference between the grace culture of God and the natural culture of the world. It’s the difference between living with a World View compared to an Eternal View! It is knowing who we are, accepting grace by faith and living it out by being who we now are, created new in Christ Jesus.
This is the process of recognizing and accepting the scriptural explanation for conflict between being in our Lord Jesus and the hostility of sin still in our flesh. Being who we are in Jesus is a process of sanctification. We are called to separate ourselves to God while living on this earth in our unsaved body of flesh.
In the same way a new born infant needs to learn the skills of living through growing, we also need spiritual learning to grow in our Lord Jesus Christ. In this process of sanctification God provides a culture of grace requiring our faith to respond. His grace leads us into a spiritual knowing, allowing us access more fully into Him thru Jesus our shepherd and Lord. Knowing, Accepting and Being is one way to separate the process into individual steps.
Our new creation, within physical flesh, in this jar of clay, reveals how God’s surpassing, resurrection power belongs to Him and not to us. We experience it without really understanding it. We sometimes put it in the category of a “feeling.”
This new “feeling” is actually an open channel to the presence of God Himself through His Spirit dwelling within each believer. We now have a fellowship with God allowing us access to His throne of glory. Our new creation includes our “spiritual sense” enabling us to begin understanding things of God in addition to things of man. This is translated “discernment” in Hebrews 5:14.
If we interpret this new discernment as a “feeling,” as from our fleshly body which is not born again (old nature), we may corrupt our fellowship of faith by trusting ourselves for decision making rather than relying upon our new communion of fellowship within an intimate koinonia. This has the effect of interpreting the scriptures wrongly and we may begin to mingle our life in flesh, in our jar of clay, producing a fleshly result. If, on the other hand, we mash our “feeling” with God’s word, we begin discerning truth from error and not mingled with a corrupted theology.
If we continue in koinonia fellowship, living in His Spirit, rather than mingling our life in the flesh, we find hard choices have to be made concerning how we handle our behavior. We begin recognizing, or discerning, choices needing change in order to fully participate in our new life of being “born again.”
We actually are a new person, not in form but substance, from inside-out! We no longer see things in the same way. Our identity is changed because we are set free from slavery to sin! The “old nature” no longer reigns in our life. Paul tells us to “consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” We now live within the reign of God’s loving grace. We are now spiritually alive in Jesus; His Life in us! This is who we now are in Christ Jesus.
The conflict within our flesh, since being born again by God Himself, gives us this blessed opportunity of walking with God in Jesus! We experience and see God’s glory working, grace upon grace as God helps us build up our faith. Our growth in grace provides faith to walk as Jesus walked.
This is only possible because we now are children of God. This is our new true identity, sealed by God’s own Holy Spirit. It is not merely a change in status, it is New Life. Our spiritual identity is literally created new in each believer. This huge miracle testifies to the glory of God. It is also a glory opportunity, growing our personal faith as we accept God’s grace though our living, resurrected Lord Jesus.
We now reign in the righteousness of Jesus who put sin to death in His death, the shedding of His blood on that cross two thousand years ago. But He has not taken away our free choice. We can either sin or glorify our Father God by our daily choices. Each has its own consequences, fruit or no fruit. If we mingle in sin we loose much, if we drink divine living water, we gain much, including a walk in the forest of faith, also a grace gift!
Our two choices are now 1. Living in God’s culture of grace and truth, blessing and future gain. 2. Straying out of truth, denying the operation of God’s blessing on earth while experiencing the discipline of our Heavenly Father for His child; experiencing the loss of eternal reward, forfeiting some eternal fruit.
Being created new, it is now our nature and choice to live in agape love sourced in our Father God; it is not our “nature” to sin although we have this choice. If we live in the Spirit, we have the power to walk in the Spirit! Walking in the Spirit allows us to explore glorifying God and enjoying the fruit of salvation!
Having children born of God walking in earthly sandals itself glorifies our Father God. The miracle birth of Jesus inside our jars of clay opens our door to a whole new creation which was sitting out there all the time. But we now have the capacity of putting creation into our Father’s perspective. It is God’s desire we see everything from His point of view including our own natural flesh. Choosing to see everything from our Father God’s point of view not only brings glory to Him but we also begin sharing His glory with Him! This itself is a blessing for us!
One of the marvelous things we discover is opening the door to Romans 8 verse one, “No condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” What a declaration! This causes us to pause, lifting hands in thanksgiving with wonder! But following, immediately, without hesitation, a born again principle is laid before us! While in our worship of thanksgiving “for no condemnation in Christ Jesus,” our Father uses the “Law of the Spirit” to instruct us!
“The law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”
This is what a Father does! He parents His children, guiding them into His agape love; He wants us to understand we are “in Him.” Our life no longer needs to be hung-up on temporal issues, needing rather to invest our energy into our heavenly relationship. We are created new in Christ Jesus. He nurtures us into a rich provision of divine childhood thru His Spirit and our faith. It is God’s purpose to guide us into participation; this is how we grow-up Spiritually. His word contains both milk and meat; He is waiting to feed and teach, and so much more!
We need not only to hear, but be vulnerable to a small voice of the Spirit within us. We will learn to respond to our Spirit’s prompting voice once we begin recognizing it.
This is faith! If we process God’s word into our heart, the Spirit will renew our mind Spiritually so we can live in obedience to spiritual Life created within us! We have the mind of Christ! Grasping and consuming takes our heavy focus but is within grasp.
Our tendency, or sometimes habit, is to assign an earthly value to our Creator Father. Our natural world is no longer home-base but we are still cultured in it, cleaving to a few likes and longings. Even though we are set free thru redemption, we still tend to hang-on to a few creature comforts. Giving up some things seems hard and unnecessary but they can hold back the glory that is ours when we walk in the light as He is in the light, and this is so much better!
When we indulge our natural desires, we can quench the Spirit’s voice making it more difficult to hear and making it difficult to recognize His voice of instruction to us. This is not cultish or dabbling in the “spirit world,” this is recognizing God’s voice in His Spirit. Just because we don’t always hear this small voice does not mean He is not speaking. It might mean our “want to” needs an adjustment! Jesus said more than once: “He that hath ears, let him hear.”
God’s domain is on the other side of our creation. He already existed in order to make our “here and now”! He made us from the other side of our creation where sin does not corrupt. God’s existence is totally a different sphere than everyday corrupted space. It is out of His sphere that He comes into our clay vessel, into us. We have His righteous Life! “There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus” and His home is now our home!
He wants us to agape love Him! He wants us to choose Him. He woos us, waiting for our desire to match up with His Truth and righteous love. He doesn’t overwhelm us with the power of His presence, He is loving us with agape Love.
He is Spirit, creating union within our flesh and bone, His Spirit in our spirit. He creates in us His dwelling place. We still breathe earthly breath, we still see with physical eyes and touch with flesh fingers while at the same time living in His eternal Kingdom that we have yet to see. Prayer and song instructs our own soul and spirit, mind and heart, to focus on our union in Him rather than our natural human habitat.
God created us this second time Spiritually with access into His dimension of existence. God, thru Jesus, gives us Himself in the other side of our creation. This is what being “born again” is all about; we are created brand new with righteousness including God’s grace growing us into Spiritual Life. Growing “in Christ” is growing into Life and experiencing God. We actually experience Him where He is now, on the other side of our creation, as well as, where we are now in earthly creation. We are experiencing God where He is, and was before our physical world existed, as well as here and now. We are learning to be who, in Him, we are intended to be!
Not only are we now in Christ Jesus, Christ Jesus is now in us! Our Father God is alive, in us thru our resurrected Lord Jesus and growing us in His living Body. Our destiny is to rule with Him as King after physically setting up His earthly Kingdom. His purpose is to unite everything in heaven and earth in Him. We are part of this, His grand purpose!
The shorter catechism captures for us our primary purpose, “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” We are intended to reflect the glory of God, that is, we are to be who He made us to be! How do we do this? (Hint, Galatians 2:20)
The glory of God was given back to humanity through Israel. It was made visible when Moses met with God on the mountain. It was visible in the wilderness tabernacle resting between the two golden cherubim on the mercy seat of The Ark of the Covenant. It was in the cloud above the tabernacle and the fire burning at night. It filled King Solomon’s new Temple in Jerusalem. It was witnessed by Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration. This same glory departed from the Temple in Jerusalem and the Ark of the Covenant disappeared, although it was seen in a vision by John in heaven.
The King of Glory is now on the right hand of the Father giving each of us participation in His plan through a new creation in Christ Jesus. We are now his children growing into sonship so that we can share His glory, given to us for His sake.
A trace of His glory is in us today, because we have been created new in God’s resurrected Son. His glory depicts the magnificence of who God is and is now given back into humanity thru believers still present on God’s earth, until He removes His Church. We can now glorify Him by letting His light shine to others thru us but our shine time is getting short. The other side of our creation, created in us, is now our home!
Since we are now created at second time, by God Himself, we are seal by the Holy Spirit in Christ Jesus. The flesh nature is no long who we are although we can still sin. But our war against sin includes grace operating in us making us who we are intended to be. By grace we are saved through faith, it is our God’s gift and everything God does is good! Even though we frequently mess it up, God’s resurrection power cleans it up because we are literally in our loving Lord, Jesus Christ and God is our Heavenly Father!