Part 2 (1/2)
No human being could have dreamt up the new birth and all of the realities that took place in our born-again spirits. It's just beyond our imagination that G.o.d would indwell us and that our spirits would be as He is in this world.
If you've received the revelation thus far, you can say, ”I see it! I'm a brand-new person in my spirit. Old things pa.s.sed away, and all things have become new. As Jesus is right now, so am I in this world. My spirit, the real me, was created in righ-teousness and true holiness.”
Many people who have seen these truths, who rejoiced over them, and who were immediately impacted have since sinned or gotten busy and forgotten. Something happened and they find themselves back in some of the same negative situations they were in before being born again (i.e., defeat, discouragement, etc.). Due to their own apparent failure, they feel, Maybe I was changed, but I've blown it...again. Regarding everything we've discussed thus far about what happened at salvation, they argue, ”That may have been so before, but I've blown it so much since then that it can't possibly be true of me now!”
I have good news-what G.o.d does in the spirit always remains constant and unchanging regardless of fluctuations in your performance!
Imprisoned Inmates are descriptive of us all. Everyone has prisons- problems in their lives that keep them bound up. It's just that our problems aren't always quite as obvious as those of someone who's been placed behind bars.
In jail, many people realize that they've been ruining their own lives. No longer wanting the mess they have, they look around wondering, How can I change? I need to get out of here!
Then some minister comes across their paths preaching, ”Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are pa.s.sed away; behold, all things are become new”
(2 Cor. 5:17). The thought that G.o.d loves them and wants to completely change their lives fits perfectly with what's going through most prisoners' minds. They desperately want to change, get out of there, and see their lives go in a different direction. So they pray and accept the Lord-not only for eternal benefit but for the purpose of immediate change as well.
A newly born-again prisoner will often become vulnerable to discouragement, doubt, and unbelief because they don't un-derstand that the change took place in their spirit, and the rest of the Christian life is renewing their mind to believe and release what G.o.d has already put inside them. The next morning they wake up to find themselves in the same cell, facing the same trials and the same penalties. Looking only in the physical realm, it's easy for them to conclude, ”It didn't work. The Word isn't true. G.o.d didn't change me because everything's still the same!”
This happens outside of jail too. Waking up the next morning, you find yourself still married to the same person, working the same job, facing the same sickness, and under the same moun-tain of debt. In fact, many times your problems intensify once you're born again. That's just the devil throwing everything he has at you because you're no longer on his side, and he wants to stop your witness. If you're not careful, you can become con-fused and think, I'm not sure anything really happened!
The change occurred in the spirit, not the physical realm. In fact, one-third of it is already complete! Your new man has been created in righteousness and true holiness (Eph. 4:24). You're not evolving into it because in your spirit, you already are.
Accepted Jesus became sin so you could become righteous. ”For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of G.o.d in him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus became what you were so you could become what He is. He took your sin and gave you His righteousness!
Most of the church today acknowledges that Jesus paid the price for their sin but don't really believe they have become righ-teous. They think this takes place in the future when they arrive in heaven. Second Corinthians 5:21 refutes this misunderstand-ing by declaring He took (past tense) your sin and made (past tense) you righteous. If you believe the first half of this verse, then you ought to believe the second half too-you are righteous!
G.o.d doesn't look at you the way you look at yourself. He looks upon your spirit and sees that you are righteous. Most people pray, ”O G.o.d, I'm so sorry. I've failed You miserably again. How can You love me? Have mercy!” They don't recognize the truth that the performance of their bodies and souls, either good or bad, has absolutely no bearing on whether or not G.o.d accepts them. If you're born again, it doesn't matter if you've rebelled or just aren't everything you should be. G.o.d sees you as righteous and truly holy because He's looking at your spirit!
G.o.d is pleased with you! ”Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, accord-ing to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the be-loved” (Eph. 1:5-6). ”Accepted” means more than just mere tol-eration. He's literally pleased with you! You might not be pleased with the shape your mind or body is in, but G.o.d sees you in the spirit. When you were born again, you became a brand-new crea-ture, and He's pleased with His workmans.h.i.+p!
”Accepted” in Ephesians 1:6 is the same Greek word trans-lated ”highly favored” in Luke 1:28. ”And the angel [Gabriel] came in unto her [Mary], and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women” (brackets mine). These are the only two places in Scripture that this particular Greek word is found. Therefore, as the woman who bore Christ was accepted, so you are highly favored of the Lord!
Preserved & Protected Once you believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit. ”In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13). Your born-again spirit was created in righteousness and true holiness (Eph. 4:24). As Jesus is, so became your spirit right here in this world (1 John 4:17). It became one with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17). Then, all of this goodness was immediately sealed tight with the Holy Spirit.
When a woman cans food, she seals the jar with paraffin. This makes an airtight seal that preserves and protects the food within. Airborne impurities are prevented from getting inside and causing the food to rot and spoil. That's how this word ”seal” is used in Ephesians 1:13!
When you were born again, your spirit was immediately encased-vacuum packed-by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of preservation. When you fail in any area of your life after being saved, the rottenness, uncleanness, and defilement that comes to your body and soul don't penetrate your spirit. This Holy Spirit seal keeps the good in and the bad out!
G.o.d doesn't look at sin the way people do. To Him, sin isn't only doing something wrong by violating a command, it's also not doing something right that you should have done. ”There-fore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). n.o.body loves their mate exactly like Christ loved the church. No one is as pa.s.sionate about ministering to others as they should be. None of us meditates on the things of G.o.d as much as we could. Therefore, according to G.o.d's defini-tion of sin, everyone constantly falls short!
If you don't understand that the Holy Spirit encased your born-again spirit, your conscience will eventually give you the impression that you've lost the righteousness and true holiness your spirit was created in. Your conscience, with its knowledge of right and wrong, constantly bears witness to your mind about your thoughts and actions. If you aren't careful, you'll allow the knowledge of your failures to affect you. You'll think, Well, when I was born again, G.o.d gave me a brand-new start, but I've failed since then. You may confess, try hard, and get back to where you feel like, Now 1 'm back on track and everything s fine, but it won't be long before your conscience shows you something else. If you go up and down like this day after day, year after year (which you
do), after a while, you'll think. What's the use?
Born of G.o.d I However, the truth is that your spirit was sealed. Sin, and its effects, cannot enter into your spirit. When you sin, your spirit does not partic.i.p.ate. It retains its original holiness and purity- and will for eternity! ”Whosoever is born of G.o.d doth not com-mit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, be-cause he is born of G.o.d” (1 John 3:9). This means you are as righteous and holy now, in your spirit, as you will ever be!
Many people struggle to understand 1 John 3:9 because its context clearly shows that Christians do sin: ”If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). ”If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:10). ”My little chil-dren, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the I righteous” (1 John 2:1).
These are three instances from the same letter where the writer, the Apostle John, talks about sinning. The first two communicate, ”If you say you haven't sinned, you're a liar.” He adds, ”I'm writing to you so that you will not (future tense) sin. But if you do sin, you have an advocate with the Father.” Then, in 3:9 he declares, ”If you're born of G.o.d, you cannot sin.” That sounds very contra-I dictory!
Both Scripture and experience reveal that Christians can sin. The context of 1 John shows that 3:9 isn't saying that it's impossible for a born-again believer to do something that's sin. Yet, it also clearly says that if you're born of G.o.d, you cannot sin. How can this be?
Big & Little Sins?
Some people take 1 John 3:9 to mean you can't ”habitually” sin. Several Bible translations now even render it this way. People who think along this line preach: ”If you were a drunk before you were saved, you might get drunk once or twice, but if you're truly saved, you won't habitually sin. Eventually, you'll see victory in that area, or you weren't truly born again.”
In order to embrace this view, you have to categorize sin- which G.o.d doesn't. To Him, there are no ”big” sins and ”little” sins. By His definition, we all habitually sin. We all habitually fail to study G.o.d's Word as much as we should. We all habitually fail to love others the way we should. We all habitually fail to be as considerate as we should. We habitually get into self-centeredness, and G.o.d has to habitually deal with us about it.
Sometimes, we also pa.s.s over things that G.o.d calls sin. For instance, the Lord views gluttony the same as drunkenness, adultery, and murder (Deut. 21:20). Gluttony is a sin that can only happen habitually. You can't become overweight by eating just one large meal. Even if you gorged yourself, it would only make a pound or two of difference. In order to gain an extra fifty to a hundred pounds, you'd have to do it again and again and again. Being overweight is a habitual sin. This isn't to condemn anyone but to put things in perspective.
If you interpret 1 John 3:9 to mean that you cannot habitually sin if you're truly born of G.o.d, then n.o.body would qualify because we all habitually sin! The only way this can be preached is to say, ”Well, you can't habitually do the 'big' sins, but the 'little' ones-yes, you can habitually sin.” That's not what this verse is saying.
If you understand spirit, soul, and body, the interpretation of 1 John 3:9 is obvious. Your spirit is the only part of you that's been born of G.o.d. Your soul and body have been purchased, but not yet redeemed. Therefore, your spirit cannot sin even though your body and soul can. This means your performance doesn't affect the purity and holiness of your spirit!
This truth is pivotal to your relations.h.i.+p with G.o.d! If you tie His acceptance to your performance, you'll always come short. You might do better than certain other people, but your own conscience will condemn you. Eventually, it'll keep you from enjoying G.o.d's love and blessings because you know that you've tried and tried but still have faults after all these years. When you understand spirit, soul, and body, you know that it was your spirit that changed. Created in righteousness and true holiness, it's been sealed by the Holy Spirit so no sin can penetrate it. The righteousness you were born again with stays uncontaminated. Since G.o.d is a Spirit, He always deals with you Spirit to spirit. No
matter how you're performing, you can always approach Him in your born-again spirit! That's awesome!
Chapter 7.
Eternal Redemption Hebrews 9 contrasts Old Testament Law with New Testament grace. What we've received through Jesus in the New Covenant is far superior to the Old. Old Testament sacrifices couldn't really set anyone free; they were put in place as an ill.u.s.tration and a reminder to the people until the real sacrifice came. Since they were symbolic and couldn't really purge from sin, Old Testament sacrifices had to be offered over and over and over again. But now that Jesus has given His life as the sacrifice for sin, it never again needs to be repeated. Through Christ, the perfect sacrifice for sin has been made once for all!
Your born-again spirit never needs to be re-cleansed, re-purged, or born again, again! ”But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Heb. 9:11-12). Your salva-tion is eternal!
”For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to G.o.d, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living G.o.d? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance” (Heb. 9:13-15).