The Bible says we need to become Christ like.
Rom 8:29 NIV - For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.
How can we become Christ like in every thing we do if we are all sinners. I will try to show you by God’s Word how this is possible through God’s grace filling up and working in your life. With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
We can never be Christ because there is only one Christ. We will never be God, with all the infinite knowledge, wisdom, majestic power that God possesses, but from His Spirit we receive everything we need to live a perfected righteous life before God. We don’t need to be Christ to live a perfect Christian life. God sends just the right amount of grace we need to live the life God expects us to live. (This part of grace is the Holy Spirit working in and through us)
When someone has come to the point of being Christ like, it’s because God has filled that person with an extra filling of the His Spirit. It is this extra filling of the Sprit that enables them to ward off any temptation of sinning. This enables the Christian to live a sinless life before God and his fellow man as long as that person stays living by the Sprit. This perfection of our heart has been called “Entire Sanctification”, “Christian Perfection”, and “Victorious Living” depending on the denominational belief.
But, how can we still call ourselves sinners and live a life without sin? It’s because we realize we still live in this fleshly body which will continue to tempt us with selfish and prideful thoughts, but with the Holy Spirit’s empowerment in us we can stop any temptation before it manifests into a sin. You can think of this empowerment as the armor of God.
Eph 6:11 NIV - Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
Living our life without sinning is not of man’s nature but only of God’s nature in us. Think about this hypothetical example: lets take a man living a sinless life by the power of the Spirit and then if God would decide to take His Spirit away from this righteous man, temptation would easily overtake him and that man would be totally lost and a slave to sin as much as any unbeliever. This is why we have to live by the Spirit and only by the Spirit.
Rom 8:6 NIV - The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.
Our fleshly physical body will always be corrupted with the nature of sin and this corrupted body must end in physical death, but the body is only a temporary housing for our spiritual soul. If our spirit and soul has been totally cleansed and sanctified by God’s Spirit, we will have the power to take control over the body even though the body is spiritually dead in Christ.
Rom 8:10 NIV - But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
What enables a person to live a life without sin is a full filling of His Spirit and living continually by the Spirit to persevere to the end. To be truly born again and receive this extra filling of the Holy Spirit, a person must become a true Christian by dedicating all of themselves to God. This extra filling of the Spirit is not the Spirit that comes upon an individual when they first believe (justification); where God’s seed is planted and with the Spirit’s help it grows to a mature plant. This extra filling of the Spirit happens after a person has let God’s Spirit sanctify them into a mature holy plant ready to produce Godly fruit. (I will talk more about this in another message, which is “Becoming a true Christian is a process”.) The Bible says that a person that is still struggling with sin has not yet come to the point of being a total living sacrifice for God. Where that person is not yet willing to spill his/her blood for His Glory.
Heb 12:4-5 NIV - In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
1 Peter 4:1-2 NIV - Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.
Most people have been taught and believe that living a life without sinning is not a possibility in this life. I want to crush that deception and have people’s faith become full so everyone will not be hindered anymore by this lie of the devil. If anyone continues to believe this lie, they might not ever mature to the point of true and total faith in God. Faith in God’s truth is what unlocks the Spirit’s power. When a person does not have enough faith to believe in this “Entire Sanctification” concept, they are really saying they don’t believe in God’s Word or the power of God. The Bible says when a person is truly born again, that person will not sin.
1 John 5:4 NIV - For everyone born of God overcomes the world.
1 John 5:18 NKJV - We know that whoever is born of God does not sin.
1 John 3:9 NKJV - Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
When we are truly born again believers, we will not sin because we no longer will have the desire to sin. The Holy Spirit changes our desires of our heart so our desires are no longer selfish and of worldly intensions, but only desires to love God and others exist in our heart. Selfishness is gone. When the only thing that exists in our heart is God’s love, there is no room left for wanting anything sinful. Because of this total change of desires from evil to good, we are then no longer controlled or slaves to sin, but have become slaves to loving God and others.
Rom 8:9 NIV - You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
Rom 6:18 NIV - You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Because we are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness, we now have no choice but to live righteous lives. Just as before we were born again, we were slaves to sin, now after being born again we can’t help our selves but to do God’s good work he calls us to.
Rom 6:14 NIV - For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
Luke 6:43 NIV - No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
When we are true Christians or born again, we are no longer bound to the old self/sinful nature. We are set free from the power of sin. This is the great news of the gospel. We are finally able to be free from the bondage of sin. By our willingness to be totally devoted in obedience to God by the power of His Spirit, He is then able to nail our old sinful nature to the cross.
John 8:36 NIV - So if the Son sets you free , you will be free indeed.
Rom 6:6-7 NIV - For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Rom 6:11 NIV - In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
There are many, many more scriptures encouraging us that living a perfected life is possible in Christ. This life we are currently living on earth is the place God has setup for us to make the choice to follow Him and be sanctified to the point of Christian perfection that He requires to be worthy of His eternal kingdom.
Matt 10:38 NIV - anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
1 Thess 2:11-12 NIV - For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
May God’s grace be with you – Michael Reid
Showing posts with label second filling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label second filling. Show all posts
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Don't Count Your Chickens Before They're Hatched
Most people think salvation unto eternal life is a one stop fixit shop of God that we only have to visit once. Don’t be fooled by your desires to have it the easy way.
God’s Word says we must be obedient and do our heavenly Father’s will to enter the kingdom of heaven. See the verse below.
Matt 7:21-27 - "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!
We must be obedient to God’s will before the Father gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 5:32 - We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."
But since we are not saved by works – but by grace, how can this be true? Aren’t all good works (obedience) done by the Father’s Spirit and not of our own accord? The answer to this question is an emphatic YES. So how does any of this make sense? Doesn’t God’s Word say that we can be sure of our eternal salvation by the deposit (installment) of the Spirit? See the verse below.
Eph 1:13-14 - Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession — to the praise of his glory.
So if we can only be obedient by the works of the Spirit, doesn’t that guarantee our inheritance of God’s heavenly kingdom - since any obedience we have towards God’s commandments can only come from the Spirit working inside us? The answer to this question is NO. You are now probably saying to yourself – what is this double talk.
I will explain this mystery to you. It is really very simple. There are two main Spiritual fillings that happens to every born again believer. The first Spiritual filling we receive is in measure of God’s Spirit. This Spiritual filling is what allows us to become obedient and grow in faith through the gifts of the Spirit that are measured out to us by God.
When we receive this first Spirit fulfillment - we then start receiving the gifts of the Spirit in proportion to our willingness and the Father’s will. These gifts of the Spirit are what gives us the ability to grow in faith and be sanctified by God’s Spirit. If we are willing to die to our self, we will come to a full faith in Jesus by the power of the God’s Spirit inside us. When we come to this full faith, by turning all our love and dependence towards God (the Father and Jesus) – we
will then want to be totally obedient to His commandments because of this love for God. It is upon this full faith which is demonstrated through our willingness to be totally obedient that we receive another Counselor (the Holy Spirit - Jesus Spiritual nature). This Spiritual filling is permanent. See the verses below.
John 14:15-17 - "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth.
Only after we love Jesus and obey His commandments (which are also the Father’s commandments) does Jesus ask the Father to give us His Spirit of truth, which is Jesus’ Spirit. Jesus is the truth (the Spirit of truth) and the way. This is the second main Spiritual filling.
John 14:23-24 - Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.
It is only upon this second filling that the Spirit of Jesus and the Father make a home with the believer.
It is at this second filling of the Spirit, that the seal unto eternal salvation is realized. If there is a specific point in which a person cannot loose their eternal salvation it is at this point or anytime after this second filling. Most or all of the many scriptures about falling away from the faith are referencing the times before this filling of the Holy Spirit (Jesus’ nature imparted in us).
Jesus says He is the only way to the Father. It is only after we are converted with Jesus’ very nature (the Holy Spirit) that we have access to His heavenly kingdom and will be able to see (know) the Father. Jesus’ Spirit living inside us is the key that unlocks the doors of God’s eternal kingdom.
Matt 16:19 - I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven
So to put it as plainly as I can – It is the Father’s Spirit that calls and brings us to a full saving faith in His Son and it is by the Father depositing His Son’s Spirit inside us that we are eternally saved.
Please don’t let yourselves be fooled by the teachings of scholars that have not yet entered the kingdom. These people may even have a doctorate degree in theology, but if they haven’t been given the key to God’s heavenly kingdom, it is impossible for them to teach the truth about the kingdom of God.
Luke 11:52 - Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.
God Bless - Michael Reid
God’s Word says we must be obedient and do our heavenly Father’s will to enter the kingdom of heaven. See the verse below.
Matt 7:21-27 - "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!
We must be obedient to God’s will before the Father gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 5:32 - We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."
But since we are not saved by works – but by grace, how can this be true? Aren’t all good works (obedience) done by the Father’s Spirit and not of our own accord? The answer to this question is an emphatic YES. So how does any of this make sense? Doesn’t God’s Word say that we can be sure of our eternal salvation by the deposit (installment) of the Spirit? See the verse below.
Eph 1:13-14 - Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession — to the praise of his glory.
So if we can only be obedient by the works of the Spirit, doesn’t that guarantee our inheritance of God’s heavenly kingdom - since any obedience we have towards God’s commandments can only come from the Spirit working inside us? The answer to this question is NO. You are now probably saying to yourself – what is this double talk.
I will explain this mystery to you. It is really very simple. There are two main Spiritual fillings that happens to every born again believer. The first Spiritual filling we receive is in measure of God’s Spirit. This Spiritual filling is what allows us to become obedient and grow in faith through the gifts of the Spirit that are measured out to us by God.
When we receive this first Spirit fulfillment - we then start receiving the gifts of the Spirit in proportion to our willingness and the Father’s will. These gifts of the Spirit are what gives us the ability to grow in faith and be sanctified by God’s Spirit. If we are willing to die to our self, we will come to a full faith in Jesus by the power of the God’s Spirit inside us. When we come to this full faith, by turning all our love and dependence towards God (the Father and Jesus) – we
will then want to be totally obedient to His commandments because of this love for God. It is upon this full faith which is demonstrated through our willingness to be totally obedient that we receive another Counselor (the Holy Spirit - Jesus Spiritual nature). This Spiritual filling is permanent. See the verses below.
John 14:15-17 - "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth.
Only after we love Jesus and obey His commandments (which are also the Father’s commandments) does Jesus ask the Father to give us His Spirit of truth, which is Jesus’ Spirit. Jesus is the truth (the Spirit of truth) and the way. This is the second main Spiritual filling.
John 14:23-24 - Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.
It is only upon this second filling that the Spirit of Jesus and the Father make a home with the believer.
It is at this second filling of the Spirit, that the seal unto eternal salvation is realized. If there is a specific point in which a person cannot loose their eternal salvation it is at this point or anytime after this second filling. Most or all of the many scriptures about falling away from the faith are referencing the times before this filling of the Holy Spirit (Jesus’ nature imparted in us).
Jesus says He is the only way to the Father. It is only after we are converted with Jesus’ very nature (the Holy Spirit) that we have access to His heavenly kingdom and will be able to see (know) the Father. Jesus’ Spirit living inside us is the key that unlocks the doors of God’s eternal kingdom.
Matt 16:19 - I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven
So to put it as plainly as I can – It is the Father’s Spirit that calls and brings us to a full saving faith in His Son and it is by the Father depositing His Son’s Spirit inside us that we are eternally saved.
Please don’t let yourselves be fooled by the teachings of scholars that have not yet entered the kingdom. These people may even have a doctorate degree in theology, but if they haven’t been given the key to God’s heavenly kingdom, it is impossible for them to teach the truth about the kingdom of God.
Luke 11:52 - Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.
God Bless - Michael Reid
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