“A Voice for the Gathering Saints”
Duane Stewart
www.avoiceforthegatheringsaints.org
“Look what God has done”
Part two of two
Rom. 6:6,
“Knowing this, that our old man [Adam – the sin nature] is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin”.
As man dies to the body of sin, which is the character of the first Adam nature, God’s heavenly body becomes available through accepting Jesus Christ, the last Adam, to become a part of God’s life-giving spirit.
1 Cor. 15:45,
“As it is written, the first man Adam was made [read Gen. 2:7] a living soul [a man of mind, will, emotions and desires]; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit [having a spiritual resurrected body]. “
Does not the Christ sacrifice make available to receiving man the same kind of resurrected body?
God’s life, sent and manifested through His Son Jesus Christ Who was the expression of that life in human form. The “word made flesh” was revealing to humanity an expression of what God calls eternal life. Humanity, each individually, can enter into that Christ life because Jesus died to make it available. Available to all those who receive Christ into their lives as they put on Christ. His life, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, begins forming and shaping from within the vessel the nature of Christ. Christ’s nature will put to death the sin nature as each vessel lives in obedience to the Holy Spirit that has come to live within man’s spirit. Remember, the life of Christ is not earthy, but a life manifesting according to His nature that is of the heavenlies. As a person yields to the Christ life, they are changed to manifest the heavenlies from within.
1 Cor. 15:46,
“Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual [things of the Divine sphere], but that which is natural [sensual – does not receive the things of God – read 1 Cor. 2:14]; and afterward that which is spiritual”.
Know that the things of the Spirit of God so indwelt Jesus that His spirituality was manifest in His daily soul life. This last Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the Son of God that historically manifested the heavenlies while on earth. This last man Adam is the prophecy and manifestation of what receiving men is going to be. In this note, Jesus Christ is not a being with two personalities, but as “the Son of God”, He is the exact expression and revealer of Almighty God.
John 14:9,
“Jesus said unto him, have I been so long time with you, and yet hast you not know me Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest you then, show us the Father?”
Jesus was also “the son of man”, He is the presentation of God’s normal man; He is the reflection of what receiving man will be like through God’s redemption plan. This redemption makes it possible for a perfect oneness between God and the obedient man.
Eph. 4:13,
“Till we all come [attain] in the unity [oneness] of the faith, and of the knowledge [full or perfect knowledge] of the Son of God unto a perfect [full grown – complete] man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”.
Know that the natural earthy life of man has no real life in itself, so true life only comes to man as he is born from above by the Holy Spirit. This means that receiving man dwells in heavenly places within his personal spirit as the Holy Spirit comes to abide within him.
This Holy Spirit, as He comes to abide in man, forms within what Jesus Christ did for fallen man. That is, in becoming a sacrifice, Jesus makes it possible for man to be “renewed”. The Holy Spirit, God’s agent for man’s renewal does not become man’s spirit, but He quickens man’s spirit to transform him into expressing the Christ likeness within the man. In this, maturing man becomes a new living soul. In obeying, the indwelling Holy Spirit, man’s living soul (mind, will, emotions and desires) will now progressively manifest according to the nature of Christ. This obedience causes God’s will, His life, to crucify the flesh nature with its affections and lusts.
Gal. 5:24,
“And they that are Christ’ [those becoming His body] have crucified the flesh with the affections [passions] and lusts”.
In Christ, we are now born again. This birth, as man continues living in Christ will cause the earthy image to change into His heavenly image. As the Holy Spirit makes man over again, He renews our bodies by dwelling within to manifest the nature of Christ.
2 Cor. 5:17,
“Therefore if [an actual fact] any man [a certain one] be in [being or remaining within] Christ, he is a new [freshly made] creature: old things are passed away; behold [calling attention to something external to one’s self] all things are become new”.
A pointing to the fact that redeemed man is to translate into another realm, another world where Jesus Christ now lives. This translation points to the man who now abides in God’s throne-room order, a new man, manifesting the Christ nature.
Because of Jesus Christ, man can know full redemption and inherit the kingdom of God. These become a people living in a different world, manifesting to bring forth God’s new heaven and earth. This means a people who have left the old fallen world behind. That is, the old nature no longer rules over them.
1 Cor. 15:50,
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood [the mortal human-being in contrast with God the Father of the heavens] cannot [are not able to] inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption”.
Flesh and blood with its characteristics, along with corruption moves in an independent and individual spirit. Its fruit is strong, emphatic and ugly, manifesting that which is not of God.
The nature of sin’s core law is living independent from God. Sin dwells in the human nature, now absent of God’s purpose and presence, allowing sin to continue dwelling there. But know that God designed man to manifest a nature as it flows and agrees with Him, while sin perverted and twisted the nature. Meanwhile, redemption delivers the human nature from sin and makes it possible for the receiving vessel to change and manifest the life of Christ who now dwells within. Christ saves the man by grace, and man must take care to receive God’s continual grace by spirit led obedience. This speaks of man’s natural life; his fleshly characteristics having a need to know deliverance through the cross of Jesus Christ. This sacrifice of the cross enables the vessel to know the process of transformation and come into agreement with the heavenlies.
Becoming what Christ has made available is the assurance needed to prove what God has done in vessels. The first Adam, now regulated to its place of death as the old Adam man, can now, through obedience, arise to manifest the new creation nature, the nature of Christ. These love God with all that they are.
Mark 12:29-31,
“And Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is, hear O Israel [today’s true church]; the Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul [all the power of one’s being], and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. And the second is like, namely this, thou shall love the neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater then these”.
While the corrupt natural man finds himself unable to fulfill these commandments, the new natured man, having the Christ nature within fulfills them naturally.
Herein, the call of God for fulfillment knows completion as the transitional work of the Holy Spirit has freedom to finish the work of transition that Christ began. In this, all the fruit of the natural man that manifest the works of the flesh ceases. All those things passed down from generation to generation, while having their place of importance in the natural realm, they must end. All the arenas of earthy life that has made us what we are must come to their completion.
Luke 14:26-27,
“if any man come to me and hate not [read Matt. 10:37] his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own live also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever does not bear his [his own] cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple”.
Herein, do we as a people qualify?
Let’s again remember the Apostle Paul. Called of God before the foundation of the world and birthed into the earth in his due season. The awareness of his calling became most evident as he grew up to pursue the ways of Israel after the course of the law. While this course was not the purpose of God’s call on him, it was the avenue that Paul, as Saul, chose to fulfill that calling. In this, Paul was faithful and obedient to fulfill a purpose construed as being God’s purpose for him. Scripture reveals for us that Saul advanced above his peers in his persecuting the new birthed church. However, God, knowing His purpose for Saul’s calling led him on a journey that allowed God the space to approach him. Time had come to take opportunity to transform Saul into Paul the Apostle and writer of much of the New Testaments new covenant. In this Damascus road experience, Saul was never to remain or be the same again.
In considering the Christian community, the church of today, they were called and purposed before the foundation of the world just as Saul. This purpose and call was for them to be a light unto the world. This church, after the passing away of the early Apostles, has like Saul, while having a zeal for God have persecuted the true saints and God’s true purpose. Why, could it be because they place their ministry into carnal understandings of their purpose in God? They, like Saul, stand against the pure truth of God’s word. They remain natural in all their works at the expense of persecuting those who desire to follow God in pursuing His spiritual heavens. That is, the apostate church pursues the works of their own hands channeled after the carnal understandings of the natural mind. Do they not spend much time trying to make God fit into their natural understandings while refusing to accept spiritual truths that fulfill God’s word and purpose? They try to make God and His words conform to their natural mind-sets while God is inviting His people to come into Him and manifest in the earth His world.
In this state of being, God shall take opportunity to lead the carnal church into a time of having a Damascus road experience. Herein, opportunity, if taken, shall awaken them from their blinded condition into true spiritual understandings. This opportunity given, when taken advantage of, shall remove the blinded condition that has made them prisoners. Was this not Paul’s problem? In this, an opportunity to see the Christ, as He truly is will bring healing. Those once blinded begin to see the Christ as He is now appearing. In this, the church shall either remain blind or receive their healing. In the healing of the church, like Saul becoming Paul, the church shall change the course of their purpose to become the light of God as they flow with God’s first-fruits in establishing the kingdom of God on the earth. Thus, the church fulfills its true calling, its true purpose. Therefore, it is declared and manifested, look what God has done.
Rom. 12:1-2,
“I beseech [to call aside, appeal to by way of exhortation, entreaty, comfort or instruction] you therefore [read Rom. 8:39], by [proceeding and passing out] the mercies [compassion] of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable [well-pleasing] unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed [read 1 Peter 1:14] to this world: but be ye transformed [transfigured – read Matt. 17:2] by the renewing [read Titus 3:5] of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect [that which has reached its end – mature], will of God”.
“Renewing” is a word suggesting a renovation, restoration, transformation, and a change of heart and life. This indicates a complete change for the better, an adjustment of one’s moral and spiritual vision. This stresses the work of the Holy Spirit in transforming the life. Therefore, lets understand as we look and see. Coming into a knowing of what God has done!