Identity in Christ - 27 (Forgiven)

We are forgiven. In the original language, the word means “to release.” Before Jesus died, before we gave him our allegiance, God held onto our sins. They were counted. They were weighed. They were assessed. They were evaluated. God knew more about our sins than we did.

 

Then, Jesus died. Punishment for all sins fell on him. And then, we gave him our allegiance.

 

We had lived in the kingdom of the enemy. We lived for his interests. Jesus sent a rescue mission. He delivered us from the enemy’s kingdom. He gave us membership in his kingdom and family. And – the point of this post – he released us from our sins.

 

When I think about releasing, I get this mental picture of an event – the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the World Cup final – where organizers have thousands of doves or pigeons in cages at the event. At the right time, all of the cages are opened, the birds are released, and they fly away.

 

Did you ever wonder,  how are they going to get all those birds back into the cages?

 

As far as God is concerned, that’s the point. The birds are never going back into their cages. They are gone. No one will worry about them anymore. No one will feed them. No one will need to clean the cages.

•  God’s Perspective

There is a passage of Scripture where it says the all-knowing, all-seeing God does not remember our sin. Our Father has so released our sin, it is gone from his memory. In his current dealing with us, it is not a factor. He does not deal with us according to our failures. He deals with us according to our lack.

 

God’s sovereignty, holiness and authority gives God the perfect right to punish our sin. Forgiveness means God has released any claims to exercise this right.

•  Living My Life

First, I need to approach God on the basis of this releasing. If I treat my sin as if God has not released it, then I approach God with fear. Maybe I could be punished again. Maybe I am living in disfavor. And I become more focused on how I am living. And my living cannot affect my acceptance by God. I cannot earn forgiveness. I cannot earn right standing. And if God has released my sin, and his right to punish my sin – in Christ, on the cross – then I cannot by my sin get the “pigeons” back in the cage.

 

By no means, does this mean that God takes how I live, how I conduct myself lightly. But he does not approach me through my failures. He approaches me to rebuild me life, my character, to live as I was designed to live.

 

If I am free of fear, I am free to love, to serve, to pray, to act by faith.

 

Second, I need to approach people and their failures as God approaches me. I need to open the “cage doors” and release their sins. I need to release my rights to demand punishment. This does not mean I take their actions lightly. But God does not deal with me with a view toward punishment. Rather he deals with me seeking redemption, transformation and reconciliation. This is what the focus and intent of my heart needs to be.

 

Sometimes God allows the consequences of actions to occur, so people will realize they do not live in agreement with God’s design. So, people will turn from trying to fill their lives with false fuels. We may find ourselves in the same position. It breaks God’s heart to see people like this. It should break our hearts too.

Identity in Christ - 26 (Foreknown)

Or as one version puts it: "knew his people in advance."

One of the logical, philosophical quagmires people can get into is trying to wrap their brains around the fact that the all-powerful, all-knowing God, who hates sin, has given his created beings free choice. He knew before creation who would choose him. He knew before creation who would refuse him. He knew before creation who would totally mess up and who would succeed.

This could start a chain-reaction of unanswerable questions. In order to answer these questions, we would need to read God's mind. And no one but God's Spirit knows what's in God's heart fully. And he lets us know what's on God's heart, but not answers to those types of questions. He tells what he knows to be sufficient for us to trust him, to choose relationship with him, to seek to obey him.

God knew his family in advance. And he chose them, but not just for salvation. He chose them to be like Jesus. (Jesus is now the first-born of a very large family.) He chose them for relationship ... a close relationship.

And if they chose his invitation for relationship, he chose to give them, not only relationship, but right standing. He chose them to become his possession, his nation and his family. He redeemed them and forgave them. There is peace between God and his children. He does not hold their sin against them. He chooses not to remember it.

And, now that his children have right standing, he chooses to share his glory.

• God's Perspective

It is practically impossible to approach this area from God's perspective. God expresses himself pretty thoroughly in most other areas. He is pretty much silent about this. Hence, the unanswerable questions.

We do know:

1. God created the world to be perfect.
2. God designed people. God provided fuels to power their bodies, their minds and their spirits.
3. The main fuel was a relationship with the Father of All. And the Father's love is the main component of the relationship.
4. Man sinned. Sin broke Man's design. People are cut off from their main fuel.
5. God loves people. God hates sin, because it breaks the relationship with people. It breaks his design of the world and people.
6. God knew it all before it would happen ... and he went and did it anyway.

He even went through extraordinary lengths to re-connect with people. He goes through extraordinary lengths to "fix" his design.

 

I certainly am not in a position to explain how all this makes sense. In part, we experience God's choice of re-connection and "fixing." And, in this, we experience God's glory now.

• Living My Life

It is hard to see how this can have any practical impact on living. The only thing I can say about it is God knew me. God knew my heart. God knew my motivations. God knew my successes. God knew my failures, my weaknesses, and the areas I am still failing in, and will continue to fail in. And still:

1. He pursues relationship.
2. He chooses to work with me.
3. He chooses to work through me.
4. He delights in me.
5. He loves me.
6. He includes me in his family.
7. He includes me in his mission and purposes.
8. He has a place for me that gives one purpose, meaning and heart satisfaction.

And I can enter into and experience all this as I trust him, are open to his communication, and seek to follow that communication.

Identity in Christ - 25 (Fellow Citizen)

At one time, God chose to demonstrate his nature, to invite people into relationship with him, through the nation of Israel. Israel was given his revelation, his promises, his mission, his commission as his agents.

The Bible documents how Israel moved to "least favored nation" status with God. Not that God hates them. God loves them as he loves all people and nation. But Israel consistently chose not to follow God.

God gives limits to move people to live in congruence to their design. Israel consistently went beyond those limits. So, God apparently changed his plan, and chose a different "group" to fulfill his mission.

(Some would argue that God was not caught by surprise, and using an international family was his plan all along. Certainly, Jesus was his plan. And Jesus was an Israelite. So, God still used the nation to provide the Messiah.)

• God's Perspective

Israel, like many people groups, had an us/them identification. "Us" was Israel. "Them" was everyone else, or the gentiles. There was a definite separation of the groups in Israel's thinking.

Then, Jesus came. He tore down the walls. He made one people. He created a new family. His family. And everyone in his family had access to his revelation, his promises, his resources, his presence. Everyone in his family had a part in his mission.

More, the Spirit of God used to "come on" his servants. He would empower people to live for him "temporarily". Astounding work and miracles were done. Then nothing. Now, the Spirit dwells with people. There is potential for works all the time. There is a sin-wall that blocks the Spirit from flowing from a person's heart into the world. God's work in the lives of his family to weaken, break down and dissolve that wall. Eventually, there is breakthrough, and God's Spirit flows unchecked into the world.

• Living My Life

The word for "fellow citizen" in the original language means "possessing the same citizenship with others." It is in contrast with two other words: strangers and aliens. "Strangers" refers to "no knowledge, no share." "Aliens" refers to "living in or near, but without rights." So, as citizens, we have knowledge, a share and rights.

We are one of God's people, God's family, God's chosen. We have intimate access. We have the right to request resources, and should expect to receive resources. We can use the "family car." We are the Father's favorite. We have his attention and concern 24 x 7 x 365. Every minute of the day. Any time. Any place. Nothing is too trivial.

No doubt many reading this are concerned that some will spend the riches of God on the mundane, the trivial, or the sinful, even.

Remember, our original design was to be like Jesus. When we gave our allegiance to Jesus, he gives us citizenship, puts us in his family and puts his Spirit in our hearts. And the Spirit works to break down the sin-wall around our hearts. We were designed to be holy. We were designed to love. The Spirit works to unlock our lives to live as we were designed. And sin is not according to spec. Sin goes against our design. Putting the resources of heaven in our hands should be like putting them in Jesus' hands. Sin only brings loss and death. Grace brings love, joy ... and yes, holiness.

Identity in Christ - 24 (Friend of Christ)

Jesus said that even though we are "enslaved" to Christ, we are not slaves. As we mentioned before, everyone gives their heart to someone or something. And we serve whatever we give our hearts to.

We are not treated like slaves. Slaves would never know the heart and intentions of their master, but the Father has revealed his heart to us. He has asked us to call him Father. Slaves would be told what to do. The Father has invited us to be partners in his mission. True friends will be concerned with one another's hearts.

time.

Of course, there are times we do not act like friends. We do not seek our friend's good. We are selfish. We do things that hurt and displease, sometimes purposefully. True friends will make it right and get right. Friendship is too valuable to waste.

• God's Perspective

God says we demonstrate our friendship when we do what he says. This is not some complaining attitude on God's part. This is not a thundering pronouncement of doom and gloom.

God is holy. Everything he does and says is expressed from the foundation of his holiness.

God is love. Everything he does and says is expressed from the foundation of his love.

People want to separate. They love to empathize one over the other. But, God is both. He is motivated by both. He acts on the basis of both at the same time.

God created the world to demonstrate his nature. God created people to expand his family, and have relationship (friendship) with them.

(1) God designed people to live a certain way. Authentic living comes when people live as close as possible to God's design. So, God is motivated to convince as many as possible to live as he designed. So, he communicates that way, drawing our hearts back to him, motivating us to extend allegiance to him, and pointing our hearts to his lifestyle.

Doing what God says gets people more in line with their design. Doing what God says moves people to authentic, abundant living.

When God urges people to obey him, he is urging them to live in ways that more health and happiness.

(2) God is immutable. That means his character does not change. His actions may change. His strategy in solving problems occasionally change. But his motives and his values do not change. His ultimate goal does not change.

God seeks to create a family to share his love with. But God cannot live with sin. So, God acted -- and continues to act -- to remove the barrier of sin. As it is removed, God can establish relationships with people. And as its presence is removed, God can move deeper into these relationships.

(Or perhaps God is already "all in" with his relationships with people. And the presence of sin prevents people from moving closer, or blocks them from experiencing their relationship with God more.)

• Living My Life

If the Father is "all in" with me, it creates an urge, a motivation in me to go "all in" with him. I wonder if what I do currently is sufficient to being a good friend. Usually, I conclude that it is not.

Of course, the set-new-rules, try-harder, failure cycle does nothing to resolve the issue. This cycle only brings self-induced guilt. God doesn't want more guilt. He wants you. He wants us. He wants his children, his family, to be around them. He does want them living in agreement with his word, because there will be no barriers between him and his children. Moreover, his children will be living according to their design.

I read an article recently, concerning an interview with psychologist Julie Gottman. Dr. Gottman was studying what leads to long lasting, healthy relationships. What is the difference between married couples, who get divorced, and those who remained happily married for 30 years. I don't plan to get into an in-depth analysis at this time. But I will mention that Dr. Gottman did some research and concluded that there are two responses that build long-term, happy relationships:

1. Responding positively to any attempt to connect by the other person.
2. Being alert for "things" in the other person's life to appreciate and be thankful for.

Practicing these things lead a positive cycle being established in the couples relationship. But what about the God-man relationship?

1. God is always seeking to connect with us. What if I was more alert to God's voice, and more inclined and really listen?
2. What if, instead of being distracted by my failures, I concentrated on being thankful for what God has done in and through my life? What if, instead of being consumed by what is not, I am thankful for what is? And look more for the good that is helping between me and God?

Identity in Christ - 23 (Elect)

The term, “elect,” has gotten difficult to understand. Largely, this is due to its association with the theology of John Calvin. Most of the people who use the term are followers of John Calvin.

 

First, I am not a follower of John Calvin. I probably would not use the term as he did. To be 100% honest, I am not sure I even understand what he meant by it. Second, the Bible does use the term. In the original language, it means “chosen”.

 

Jesus told a story to illustrate what his kingdom was like. There was a king, who was hosting a big party. He planned and prepared for a long time. He worked on the guest list, the decorations and the menu. He consulted with the chef. He assigned and delegated. He sent the invitations. Finally, when everything was ready, he sent another message to everyone on the guest list. And nobody came. So, he sent waves of servants to those he invited. And they either ignored the servants or, in some cases, abused them.

 

So, the king told his servants to go out and invite everybody else. And they came. But some people did not dress appropriately. So, when the king saw one of those, he had them ejected from the party.

 

Jesus ended the story with this punchline: “Everybody is invited. Not everybody is chosen.”

 

I am always a little leery of convoluted explanations of Jesus’ stories. Most of his stories were parables, that is, stories with a punchline, or only one point to them. But he did tell some allegories. That is, stories where the characters were symbolic of something else. And I do think this one is allegorical.

 

It is pretty easy to see God as the king, those on the quest list as Israel, and everybody else as “everybody else.” The party becomes the kingdom of God.

 

So, God chose Israel to become part of his kingdom. He sent his servants to invite them, but they did not come. They chose not to follow, or give their allegiance to God. So, he invited everybody else. And there was a huge response. Some people wanted to be part of God’s kingdom, but they did not do so in an appropriate manner. Since, I referred to following God above, the initial conclusion would be “not appropriate” means “not wanting to follow.”

• God’s Perspective

God invited Israel into his kingdom, to represent him to the world. For some reason, they consistently chose not to follow him. (To be sure, some individuals did. En masse, as a nation, they did not.)

 

So, God invited a different group of people (everybody else) to be his kingdom and his representatives. Anyone who responded to his invitation and chose to keep his ways, he let them come into and stay at  the  “party”. God’s chosen (God’s elect) are people, who come to God, give him their allegiance, set their hearts on him and in obedience to his ways.

 

At least, according to this story. I can say I know how this all plays out in relationship to God's omniscience. But, in relationship to this story, God's chosen are those who choose God.

 

God's love is given to everyone. God's heart is focused on everyone. But not everyone is a member of his family. That's not God's choice. That's the person's choice. God nudges, pokes, whispers to everyone. Hopefully, he gets someone's attention and that person chooses to start a relationship with the Father, give allegiance to him and join his family.

 

It was with this intention that God created the world. There should have never been any separation between God and people. And God, on his part, seeks to redeem and reclaim his family.

I have made the point before that God is sold out for his children. He paid an immense price for them. The death of Jesus reveals that the Father will go to tremendous lengths for his children. He went that far, will he withhold necessary provision? Physical or otherwise? Will he not accept and protect those he has chosen? The mark of that choice is the blood of Jesus wiping away our sin, and the Spirit in our hearts -- teaching, revealing, renewing and providing.

• Living my Life

The extent and solidness of his choice, the all-in nature of his giving, which demonstrates his love and acceptance, ought to provide an amazing freedom and confidence to our living.

It ought to make us fearless in loving people. We ought to become totally transparent and vulnerable. We ought to act with huge faith.

Ultimately, our hearts, faith and love are not big enough. We are , at best, small seeds, germinating, exposing our faces to he sun and rain. Maybe we bear fruit. We take small baby steps of love and faith.

I don't think this worries our father. He celebrates each step, each small victory, each micron of growth. He is patient. He does not watch the failures. He focuses on where we will wind up.

He chose us. He knew exactly what he was getting. And he is not bothered by it in the least.



 

Identity in Christ - 22 (Expression of Christ)

Paul begins by reminding us that we are Christ’s. He purchased us with his blood. Therefore, he has a right to have expectations about how we live and behave. As a result, he urges us to focus our hearts and minds on God’s kingdom.

 

We have a new heart and a new life. It is the life of Christ in us, giving us new motivations, new values, and new power. It is Christ in us that should flow out of us. (Not perfectly. Remember the presence of sin.)

 

Now, people live inside out. What fills their hearts gets expressed. And it is Jesus who fills th4e hearts of those who give allegiance to Jesus. So, it is Jesus who they should “express”.

• God’s Perspective

When God looks at us, he sees us in Christ. He looks at us through Jesus-colored glasses. When God looks at us, he looks at our hearts, and he sees Jesus in our hearts. No matter how God looks at us, if we have given our allegiance to Jesus, God sees Jesus. And what he expects is Jesus living in the world, in each of his children.

• Living My Life

And we should expect Jesus (at least, more of Jesus) to be seen in our lives too. And it shouldn't be this big burden. We are naturally expressing our hearts.

 

The presence of sin means our hearts (and therefore our actions) malfunction much too often. People pursue "unrighteous" behavior like taking aspirin for a headache, when the real problem is brain cancer. The grit their teeth and try harder. They establish rules.

 

What is needed is more Jesus flowing from our hearts -- God breaking down the sin wall, allowing more of Jesus to come out.

 

What is it that breaks down the sin wall. God uses a number of tools. But, as far as people are concerned and can control, engaging in practices that give God permission to flow through their hearts. Things like: worship, prayer, meditation. Being with others of like-mind, even if it's just for pizza, can facilitate God-consciousness and God-connection. Living, loving and serving can deepen channels that God has already broken through., weakening the whole structure.

 

It is a matter of one's heart. Words and deeds ultimately get changed -- profoundly and truly changed, forever -- in the depths of the heart.

Identity in Christ - 21 (Enslaved to Christ)

In the 70's, Bob Dylan wrote a song with the lyric "you gotta serve somebody." It is a rather terse phrase that expresses a Biblical idea. Every human being gives his/her heart to something. We serve whatever we give our hearts to. It doesn't matter what kind of human being we are -- male, female, black, white, republican or democrat -- we are all slaves of something.

At one time, each of us gave of hearts to something other than Jesus. Which means we were slaves to that thing. Because life flows from the heart, and our hearts are filled by whatever we give them to, we did not live as we were designed. Such a life always leads to unrighteousness.

Then, we gave our allegiance, our hearts, to Jesus. Christ filled our hearts, and our lives flowed with Jesus. Moreover, we set our hearts on Jesus, we leaned into Jesus, and we took steps to learn God's ways, to agree with them, and to complete them.

● God's Perspective

We have freely given our hearts to God, and he has become our master. He has delivered us from the penalty of sin, and from the power of sin.

If we were not delivered from the power of sin, we would have no hope of obeying God. Sin would hold our hearts. Obedience would be impossible. Growth would be impossible. We must still deal with the presence of sin. It is because sin is still present that we fall into its trap.

But our hearts are given to God, and he fills them with his grace and love. Therefore, our .ives will flow with grace, love and God's nature. We will speak and act in ways that honor our Master. We will avoid practices that we are ashamed of.

● Living My Life

This underscores why our relationship with the Father is so important. It is the regular connection of hearts that enables a regular flow of grace from his heart to our hearts to continue.

It is this flow which fills our hearts and empowers us to follow God. To live in ways that honor God. To live in ways that love and give grace. We become like a stream, receiving grace from God, passing it along, giving refreshment and life to those downstream.

Identity in Christ - 20 (Dead to the Law)

There are a lot of people who think that the way to please God is to keep the rules. Either they keep the Ten Commanments, or some other list of rules.

Paul points out that the Law has jurisdiction over a person's life while he is still alive. He gives the example of a marriage. When two people are married, the covenant holds. If one of the people gets involved with another person, that person breaks the Law. But if one of the couple dies, the other person is released from the Law and is free to get involved with another person. Death gives a release from the Law's requirements.

People seem to forget that those who give their allegiance to Jesus are dead. God, not only places people into his family, he places them into his body. That way, they go through what he goes through.

We have discussed here some of its parts: died with, crucified with, buried with, alive with, baptized into. There is another aspect. Jesus died, so he is released from the requirements of the Law. We are 

in Christ, so we are released from the requirements of the Law.

● God's Perspective

The power to condemn and punish sin comes from the Law. In Christ, we are released from that power, when we died with Christ. We are given to a new power: the power of the resurrection, the power of the Spirit.

The Law was not to show us how to live. The Law was to show us our need for a savior. To show us that we cannot live as God designed us to live by keeping the rules put down in the Law.

God's standard is perfection.  And the Law cannot make anything perfect.  It can only condemn.

● Living My Life

So why bother? If we can't keep the Law, if it does nothing to bring us closer to God, does it matter if we even know what the Ten Commandments are?

The Law is God's Word.  It does express his mind and heart. The Bible says love keeps the Law. So, it is instructive to know that the Law says "be content" (my paraphrase) then being content is part of loving.

Moreover, we were designed to keep the Law ... naturally. It is,  in part, an expression of how God designed us.

For those in God's family,  for those giving allegiance to Jesus, the basis, the power,  and the motivation for every day living is not the Law. It is the Spirit of God,  the nature of God injected into our hearts,  that provides these things.

People live from the overflow of their hearts. God breaks up the hardness of our hearts to let the Spirit flow from it, into our minds, hands and voices, in ever greater measure.

God may use the Law as a reference of growth, or an indicator of an area needing work. But God's children do not live trying to keep the Law . They live according to God's original plan and design,  God's nature in them, imperfectly expressed now because of sin, but increasing day by day, leaking out into their world.

Growth and Change

No Christian group or organization has it exactly right. No one has God's total understanding, or heart. Which means God is going to change all that.

He is going to change the way we do stuff. Which means he is going to change the way we think about stuff. Which means he is going to change the way we see stuff. Which means he is going to change our motivations. Which means he is going to change our hearts.

One of the main hindrances to God giving us new stuff is that we like the old stuff too much. We like our traditions. We like the familiar. We like our comfort zones. If we are open to God transforming us, we need to be prepared to move beyond these things.

The Jews were told since Abraham (2000 years) that the world would be blessed through Israel. They were God's representatives. They had the way to please God. And they believed that the way for the world to come to God was to come to them. The world pleased God by joining them in a life of obedience. The Jews had problems when they didn't obey God in the ways he gave them. So, many felt to really please God, they needed to become hyper-obedient. And hindrance to that obedience resulted from being too influenced by the world. So, they avoided contact with the world.


Then, Jesus comes. He provides the final solution to sin. He appoints messengers and entrusts them with the mission. And they follow Jesus' methods.

Then, one day, one of the messengers, Peter, is praying. God gives him a vision. A sheet falls from heaven. On the sheet are many animals. A voice says, "Here Peter! Have lunch!" For hundreds of years, and many generations, the Jews have been following rules about diet. Some animals are OK. Many are not. And the Jews got into trouble by not following these rules, among others. And "not OK" animals were on the sheet. So, Peter says, "I can't! That's against the rules." God gives the vision two more times.

God was changing the way Peter saw stuff, so he could change his heart and motivations. God was changing the way Peter saw right and wrong. God was changing the way Peter was going to do stuff.

Gods was calling Peter to inject himself into the world and its life, contrary to generations of custom, practice, established thinking and tradition. God grabbed Peter by the scruff of the neck and the seat of the pants, and threw him out of his comfort zone.

What did Peter feel like, having lunch in a gentile home, when he had been told all his life that if one followed God faithfully, one never, ever had lunch in a gentile home?

Identity in Christ - 19 (Died with Christ)

In one of Paul's letters, he described how God uses the cross to pour grace on us. Grace wipes away our sin. He goes on to pose question, perhaps rhetorical, perhaps one people were asking.

God pours our grace when we sin. Grace is a good thing. More grace is a better thing. So, why don't we continually sin, go into full time grace production, and get the most grace possible.

Fire is a good thing. It gives heat and light. We use it to cook, to purify, and to manufacture. That does not mean if we drop a tanker full of gasoline on the fire, that it's a good thing. Fire is a good thing if it is controlled or channeled.

Sin is not good at any time. It moves us against our design. It moves us away from God. And there is more than one way to receive grace. (Refer to the last two posts as an example.)

Baptism is a representation of a person being immersed into the life of Christ, a complete identification of our lives with Christ, complete dependence on him.

Baptism is a representation of what a person goes through, whether there is a subjective experience or not, when they give their allegiance to Jesus.

They are identified with Jesus. They are put in Christ. As he was crucified, they were crucified. As he died, they died. As he was buried, they were buried. As he rose, they rose.

• God's Perspective

We are looking particularly at the dying with Christ. Israel felt the law was very important. Rome felt the law was very important. The law was important. It showed where people went astray. Moreover, the power to punish wrongdoing comes from the law. Sin broke the law. Sin was condemned and punished by the law. And God sought to give mercy. To save people from condemnation.

But God created the law. It could not just be ignored. It needed to be satisfied, regarding each person alive now, in the past or in the future. So, God sent Jesus. And God punished Jesus for our sin.

And God put each person, who gave their allegiance to Jesus, in Jesus. So, as Jesus was nailed to the cross, all those people were getting nailed with him. As Jesus fought for each breath, all those people were there with him. As Jesus comforted the thief, declared forgiveness, and cared for his mother, all those people were there. As he died, and the Roman soldier thrust a spear under his ribs, all those people were there.

Jesus, as perfect sacrifice, satisfied the requirements of the law for all those people, who were there with him. And the Father declared that they were justified. He redeemed them. He adopted them into his family. He was reconciled to them. He could establish a relationship with each one.

• Living My Life

Foremost, as I give my allegiance to Jesus, I am accepted by God, establish a new relationship with him and given a new identity. It is this identity that we have been exploring in these last several posts. The lynch pin to all of this is Christ's death ... and our "experience" of it.

I say "experience," because it is precisely the point of Jesus' crucifixion and death that we do not experience the punishment of sin.

We dishonor God by our sin and rebellion. We honor and give glory to him by beginning a new relationship with him, seeking to know him and to live by his rules, standards and example. (Rule #1: Love! Love! Love!)

Identity in Christ - 18 (Devil's Enemy)

The Bible urges us to keep prepared and alert for Satan's attacks. Satan wants to entice us to sin, to discourage us, to make us miserable. All of this, to convince us that it is not worth it to follow God. To get us to quit.

It seems a little far-fetched to conclude that Satan is exerting a tremendous amount of time, energy and resources to cause the downfall of one lowly individual. 

"I am no high powered Christian. I am not a pastor. I hardly shared the gospel or pray. I forget to read the Bible most days. Why does Satan seem so worked up?"

(1) God's mission in the world is to restore his glory by re-establishing his kingdom. He accomplishes this by renewing relationships with people, transforming their lives, so they live as they were designed to live, and mobilize his family as his agents. As the members of his family love, share his message, and demonstrate his nature, many will be motivated to join his family.

If Satan can bring pressure on God's children, he might be able to short circuit the process. If a person does not follow God any longer, he does not act as God's agent. There is less love, less evangelism, and less demonstration of God's nature., Or better, there are distortions of these behaviors in God's agents. Lives are not transformed. People are not stirred to consider beginning a relationship with the Father.

The ultimate aim of Satan is to hinder the expansion and restoration of God's kingdom. And with it, the magnification of God's glory. Satan began to be Satan, when he decided that he wanted the glory that only God deserved. If he couldn't have it, he made sure God couldn't have it either. Satan seeks to disrupt the restoration of God's kingdom, because he believes it robs God of glory.

(2) There is a phenomena happening in different parts of the world. And there are people studying it. The name that they give this phenomena is "Church Planting Movements." (CPM)

CPM's occur when the gospel is introduced to an area, impacting the people, and there is a massive proliferation of churches, involving tens of thousands of people in a short time. It is a multi-megaton nuclear explosion of God's kingdom.

This explosion begins with one person. And that is what Satan is afraid of. Each explosion brings God tremendous glory. Each person who chooses to give their allegiance to Jesus (even each person who becomes open to Jesus) has the potential to set off a movement that will sweep a whole people group into God's kingdom.

• God's Perspective

Each person was designed originally by God to live like Jesus. And, though, each person is unique (different gifts, perspectives and motivations), each person has the potential to turn society and culture upside down. All that is required is faith, love, the Holy Spirit in a person's heart and an active relationship with the Father.

•  Living My Life

I'm sure the Father would like all of us to ignite an explosion of the gospel in, at least, one people group in the world. Certainly, if a person does not start his own fire, he would like him to add to the conflagration. To position ourselves to complete this type of work:

•  Participate in a relationship with the Father. Last entry, I mentioned the idea of focusing one's heart on the Father. This focus creates a channel between a person's heart and the Father's heart. Love and grace flow from the Father's heart to the person's heart, healing and strengthening our lives. We give God the opportunity to work in our hearts as he wills.
• Act in faith and love. These two take truth, as God sees it, and the flow of God's heart, grace and love, and introduce them to the world.
• Cooperate with the Spirit. People have no power over the human heart. It is the Spirit who takes the flow from the Father's heart, expressed in faith and love by God's family, and creates impact in human hearts. 

In this way, the Father impacts the world, expands his kingdom, receives glory, and his family puts the fear of God into Satan's heart.

Identity in Christ - 17b (Dearly Loved)

In the passage I referred to in the last post, the writer points out that the process we discussed (perseverance, character, hope) is powered by the Holy Spirit. He guides and enables. He encourages and motivates. He corrects and reproves.

The Father works continuously to help us live as we were meant to. He is always speaking to us. And the Spirit is his willing and ever ready partner in this. He is working deep in the core of our being to produce good in us. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts is one of the foremost demonstrations of the Father's total, sold-out love for us.

• God's Perspective

The Spirit is given to reside in the hearts of human beings for a number of reasons:

• Power and guidance for service.
• Instruction for transformation.
• Relationship building.

Specifically, the Spirit dwells in us to communicate God's love straight to our hearts. God's love is the primary motivation to pursue God's mission. God's love is the primary force behind our transformation. God's love is the primary thing God want people to know about him.

The world was not created for sin; therefore, the world was not created for judgment. The world was a place where God's love -- and therefore, God's glory -- ought to be on display.

God's love is displayed -- in Jesus, on the cross. God shows his love. But because of sin, people are cut off from God's love. 

Receiving Christ is important. Just as a baby being born is important. But it is only the start. God intended to communicate his love to us 24 x 7 x 365 from eternity past. And he could not until we were born. At the point of salvation, God is now in the position he wanted to be in from the beginning.

And the Spirit becomes God's channel of love to our hearts.

• Living My Life

I mentioned an idea promoted by Mike Bickle earlier this year. When we focus our hearts on the Father, the Father focuses his heart on us. And he begins causing a flow of grace and love to our hearts, filling our hearts. with both.

Given this, prayer and meditation take on a whole new meaning. Prayer and meditation (and worship -- as a type of combination of the two) become major channels of growth, healing and transformation. And God's love becomes the catalyst of wholeness and restoration.

Perseverance

One passage of Scripture begins by reminding us that we can rejoice, because we have been placed into Christ, a unique and favorable position. And we can rejoice as we anticipate God revealing his glory. And we can rejoice when we encounter trouble.

We do not rejoice because we encounter trouble; we rejoice because of what God will accomplish in us and through us. We will all experience trouble of one sort or another: sickness, unemployment, bad relationships, accidents. We will all need to deal with the fall out of trouble.

People deal with trouble in all sorts of ways. They flee – avoiding anything and anyone involved. They explode – attacking anything and anyone involved. The solution given in Scripture … persevere.

“Perseverance” is a patient pursuit of goals or objectives in spite of  difficulty, obstacles or discouragement. It is important in life to put first things first. It sounds sort of unspiritual, but people need to know their priorities. Priorities are not unspiritual. The first priority is “put God first.” The Bible uses other language to express this, but the message comes down to this. Fleeing or exploding puts something else first.

We know from other parts of Scripture that perseverance is part of God’s nature. When we patiently persist in the face of a negative force or environment, we are expressing God’s nature. We are living out our original design. Perseverance is more than keeping one’s priorities. It is also demonstrating God’s nature.

Maintaining our priorities (putting God first) can have a number of practical results. There can be a temptation to avoid practices that are intended to build our relationship with the Father: worship, prayer, reading and meditating on Scripture, gathering with members of the family. There can be a temptation to postpone pursuing assignments that complete God’s mission.

If a person continues to pursue their relationship with the Father, to pursue God’s mission and the place in the mission in the face of trouble, they take steps in building habits and practices that flow from how the Father designed people. The word that is used to describe these habits and practices is “character.”

Character, especially in the face of trouble, demonstrates God’s character and God’s reality. It gives us confidence in God’s words – it works the way it says it does. So, we have a positive expectation of the future – God will continue to do and to work as he said he will. So, we will never be disappointed in him, or in our life with him.

Identity in Christ - 17a (Dearly Loved)

I have been becoming convinced over the last few months that the most fundamental fact is "God is love." God created the universe to show his glory. But God created people to show his love ... which does show his glory. (I have read recently, at least according to one person, that God's holiness, justice and punishment of sin is really a demonstration of his love.)

I have previously said that I was given this list of identity traits. Each trait had a Bible verse associated with it. When I first read the Bible passage for this trait, I wondered if it was a misprint of the reference.  As a result,  I looked for another verse.  But I also thought about the given passage. Ergo, 17a and 17b.

 

The passage begins by reminding us that, although Jesus had lived among us, he is no longer here. He is with the Father in heaven.

 

When we gave our allegiance to Jesus, we were placed in him. Our position is in Christ. So, our position is "where" he is. He is in God's kingdom,  seated with the Father. We are in God's kingdom, seated with the Father. Since, we are with the Father, we are not in the world. So, we should not think like we are in the world. 

 

The passage continues by stressing that we are separated from the world.  The separation is so total and complete that it can only be compared to death. And to the same extent that we are separated from the world, we are connected to Christ. The separation is total and final.  The connection is total and final. Scripture goes one step further.  We are concealed in Christ. The Father declares how much he values his children by creating them like buried treasure.

• God's Perspective

 

Our lives are concealed in Christ.  People do not put valuable items in insecure places. People put valuable items in safe places, so they won't be lost, stolen, damaged, or  misused. The more valuable the object is the safer the place it gets put.

 

Collectors put unique, valuable art in vaults that have strong locked doors, are temperature, humidity and UV controlled. Procedures for allowing people into the vaults are developed. Is there anywhere safer than next to the Creator of the universe, on the throne with the Son, surrounded by millions of angels?

The Father demonstrates his love for his children by treating them as if they were more valuable than Rembrandt's and Van Gogh's It says in another place that we are his masterpieces. He treats us like masterpieces because he loves us.

• Living My Life

The passage says that since we are concealed in Christ, we need, first of all, to develop different patterns of thinking. We have a new life. We are no longer citizens of the world system. We need to learn the standards and expectations of our new home, God's kingdom. We need to learn the behaviors that flow from those standards and expectations.

 

If we are in Christ, seated on the throne at God the Father's right hand, then access to the Father is easy, immediate and complete. The Father is close to Jesus, and always listens to him with 100% focus and attention, and will act on his behalf. So, the Father will listen and do for us.

 

If we are God's valuable and beloved masterpiece:

1. We need to remember that God has gone to extraordinary lengths to protect and preserve us. We should be wise in what we give ourselves to. 
2. We need to hold God’s opinion of us. We are his masterpiece. It is impossible for him to lie. 
3. We need to hold to God’s view for failure and discipline. They are not for making our lives miserable, but to purify and facilitate our growth. God sees us the same way in success or failure.

Identity in Christ - 16 (Chosen in Christ)

Here is a mystery. At times, Scripture says things like this, and people can only go "huh?" Humans are limited by time and space. God exists outside of both. So, he knows what happens at one end. He knows what exists at the other end.

When we looked at "adopted by God," we saw that God chose us to be his children. Scripture also says he chose us "in Christ." He did not choose us, because we were the best behaved, or the cutest. We were chosen based on our response to Jesus.

The confusion stems from the fact that God saw of time from outside of time, and before any process of history. God knew everyone's choice before they made it. God could have written the Book of Life before the creation of the universe.

God saw us, knew us, loved us and chose us before creation.

• God's Perspective

This gives a lot of people problems. If God saw, knew, loved and chose those who responded to Jesus, he also saw, knew and did not choose those who rejected Jesus. To many, that means God did not love them.

Love does seek inclusion. Love does not guarantee it. Ask anyone who has experienced unrequited love.

Still, many ask some version of the question: if a person knows something bad will happen, as a result of their action, should not common decency indicate the person should choose a different action? When such a question is applied to God, with such things as love, eternal judgment, and eternal blessing taken into consideration, a person find themselves stepping into a quagmire. I am not going to deal with such questions here. Others do a much better job of it than I would do. (for example)

I would to consider me though. There are times I consider my life and I am amazed at how black my heart is. Most people would generally consider me a pretty good guy. Yet, I see bad things no one else sees. And God, who sees much more clearly and completely than I do, must see much more.

So, the amazing thing is that he still chose me. Given what I know of my failures, I don't know if I would choose me. He still affirms his choice, his love and his acceptance of me. He still works to bless, to strengthen, to help me grow and to use me as his agent in the world.

• Living My Life

Knowing that God sees and knows me, and still loves and chooses me, in spite off what he knows fills me with amazement.

The fact that God does not give up on me is one of the main motivation factors of my life. I submit my life to his expectations, training and discipline. I choose to embrace my role as his agent and representative. I organize my life to pursue worship, learning, transformation, prayer and service.

His choice before the creation of the world that he is totally committed to his children, his plan and his purposes. Which means among other things, he is totally sold out for me.

Identity in Christ - 15 (Complete in Christ)

Scripture says that when we are seeing Jesus, we are seeing the Father. We don't physically see the Father, but we do see Jesus. So, one way to know what the Father is like is to look at Jesus. They have the same attitudes, motivations, habits and goals.

When Jesus lived in the world, he had the same personality as the Father, but he lived a human life. He lived a life in submission to the Father, in dependence, by faith. All that he accomplished in life, he did in faith, in the authority granted to him by the Father. And because we have given Jesus our allegiance, we are united with him before the Father. And because we are united with him, all the resources available to him are available to us.

● God's Perspective

We have stated here beflre, the key component of our identity is: we are "in Christ." God the Father sees us, treats us and reguards us through Jesus. It is like we are in an airplane. If we are in an airplane and it's flying, we are flying, but it's not really us. It is the airplane. So, whatever Jesus u dergoes, we undergo. Whatever Jesus receives, we receive. Jesus died, was buried, was raised and went to heaven. And we went with him. Jesus had a close relationship to the Father. We have one available. Jesus had all the resources of heaven available to him.  So do we. He was complete. So are we.

● Living My Life

We are complete. We need nothing, because God has given everything. But we will probably not experience everything, because creation is still broken. God is restoring it, but it is still not complete. We live in a "here, but not yet" kingdom.

Part of "not yet" is: we are learning to approprate God's grace.  It is available,  but we have hearts that cannot receive. We don't have faith for it.

Part of "not yet" is: the world is in rebellion. We are at war.

There are no doubt other factors involved in "no yet" that I don't know, perhaps no one does. The question becomes: how do we live in completeness?

Scripture says Jesus gave his disciples authority to do what he did, live as he lived, to become like him. We can pursue that. Pursue:
● our relationship with the Father.
● transformation of heart.
● keeping our hearts tuned to his voice, his guidance.
● walking in love and faith.
● praying BIG.
● obeying BIG.

And living with failure, realizing that we are partners with God. The plan is his. The strategy is his. The results are his.

Identity in Christ - 14 (Circumcized in Christ)

"Circumcision" is a surgical procedure. It is a removal of skin. God commanded Israel to follow this procedure to make them district from the people groups around them.

But it is not obvious.  You can't walk down the street and see that someone is circumcised; and that someone else is not. God directed Israel to institute an un-obvious distinction.

If God wanted everyone to see this distinction, he would have done something else.  Israel would have had a different hairstyle or clothing. The distinction is not obvious for a purpose. The distinction is communicated to the hearts of Israel. Distinction based on undergoing a surgical procedure is no different than a distinction based on a different hairstyle. If it doesn't get into the heart, there is no difference.

The distinction was not obvious, but each Jew knew it was there. And that was the point. It was intended to create that awareness. The mark in the flesh was designed to make a mark in the heart.

● God's Perspective

Israel was chosen as God's people to demonstrate his character to the world. God worked in Israel's history, in their culture,  so he would become more real, and his works would become more real. As he becomes more real, more solid,  we learn to lean on him, trust in him, and live in obedience to him. We confidently live out his purposes.

Does God want us to speak to those, who have no relationship with him, about him? Of course he does. When was the last time? When it comes down to it, there are very few reasons why people do not obey God in this.  It comes down to love (God and people) and trust (God).

I am not accusing. I am just as guilty. It is just obvious that if we loved him, knew and trusted him, and believed what he said, we would move naturally into situations where revealing Jesus to people would be as easy as falling off a log, as simple as ABC, and as natural as organic granola.

● Living My Life

Scripture says anyone, who gives his allegiance to Jesus, is circumcised with Christ -- whether they have undergone the surgical procedure or not. Anyone in Christ undergoes a procedure of the heart. There is a removing of "flesh" from the heart.

The process of being identified in Christ's death (crucifiction, burial and resurrection) is a metaphor of how sin's power is crushed in our lives. Circumcision is another metaphor of sin's defeat. Just as flesh is removed from a human body, sin's power is also separated from us.

We will always live with sin's presence. We will unfortunately also sin. But without the defeat of its power,  any hope of growth is in vain.

The penalty of sin is paid. The power of sin is defeated. Only the presence of sin remains. It will be defeated, but only in the fullness of God's kingdom.

We now have the authority to choose. We can choose love, trust and obedience. We can choose humility and generosity. Right choices breed right choices. Which breeds right character. Which breeds fruit in our lives and the lives of others.