1 John

, , , , , , , ,

BodyLife: The Three “L”s. (#3, Light)

, , , , , , , ,

Our three “L”s form a nucleus of Spiritual identity.  They speak to the essential Life of Jesus Christ, God’s Love shared in us and the Holy Spirit’s Light to guide our glorification in Jesus producing His fruit. 

In our last discussion of Christ’s Life in us, we described our created center in the knowledge of Jesus, receiving supernatural resources to grow God’s grace. Love, Life and Light are all part of our singular wholeness in Christ but each contributes qualitatively to our culture of Jesus’ grace in us. We want to now turn to  “Light” and see how God illumines our  natural soul and uses His word of truth.

, , , ,

BodyLife: The Three “L”s

, , , ,

We spoke to the issue of BodyLife in our last GN. BodyLife is an organic reality flowing out of every believer. A new life has been created inside our body and joined to God’s own Spirit becoming our new identity.

Problem! We are so rooted in our fleshly body we end up walking in flesh while living in our new spirit/Spirit. God’s resurrection power is thereby unavailable except in putting to death sin in the body … Jesus already nailed it to His cross!  We need to nail it to His cross also, using His resurrection power. Jesus paved the way for us to get it done.

, , , , , , ,

Grace Reigns: Our Identity

, , , , , , ,

Its in the 60s outside.  On naked arms the sun is warm and bright. Great weather for spiritual eyes. What a  creation God made for the man Adam! God gave Adam dominion over a rich diverse system of life and landscape. God created it and then and gave it to man. Why?

, , , , , ,

GRASPING LOVE BY FAITH: In Christ Jesus

, , , , , ,

Our faith is based upon our knowledge of the person of Jesus Christ and our relationship with Him as a person.  A regenerated believer, one who has been born again, knows what it means to have new life. It is easy to identify by our experience of faith when Jesus Christ came into our life. But this new birth is an embryo of life in Christ. It begins a gestation period introducing us into grace accessible by faith.  Being born again is receiving Jesus factually! We literally receive the resurrected life of the person, Jesus Christ.  How is this possible?  … Love!  What has love to do with it? ☺

In human terms it is ridiculously absurd. This reality contradicts natural laws and our sense of what is possible. The colossal nature of what God has done is a measurement of how gargantuan our God of love is!  The regenerate person has within “self” a witness and testimony of the saving power of Jesus Christ as well as God’s immense love which drives grace. Paul says it best in Romans 5, it is so “much more!”

, , , , , ,

In Christ Jesus - Nov 30

, , , , , ,

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus,
who became to us the wisdom of God,
righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 
so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”-1Corinthians 1:30-31.

Our life in Christ operates in two scriptural modes. One is grace, the other is faith. Grace is God’s love to us and faith is our response. It is God’s power that makes both effective. 

“But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1Corinthians 1:23-24).” 

We have been called by God to be His visible power and wisdom. This is literal context for our verse.  Humbling thought?  Humbling and sobering!

But, it is absolutely true, we are to be visible containers of God’s power and wisdom (2Corinthians 4:11). And what does this power and wisdom wisdom look like? It is righteousness, sanctification and redemption, or to put it another way, it is the resurrected person of Jesus Christ seen in us. It is Jesus Himself, in us, bearing His fruit of righteousness, sanctification and redemption through us, in our life. We need to soak ourselves in this reality!! This is why we added verse 31, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.