Two Of The Seven Commands Of Jesus

Jesus commanded His disciples to go and make disciples, teaching them to observe all that He had commanded them.

Today, I will review two important commands Jesus gave that are incorporated into the New Covenant and are meant to be taught to those who come to know Christ Jesus as Lord.

1. Repent, Believe in the Gospel & Follow Jesus

Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

We are meant to have an awakening of realization that leads us to see the futility of doing life on our own terms that leads us to change our minds and renounce the former things and those things that are of this world's value system in order to embrace the values of His kingdom.  In other words, we change our minds to agree with what Jesus says, believe in who He is and what He has done, and receive how it applies to us.

We are to let go of our own way of thinking and embrace the good news and way of the gospel and His kingdom.  This is the starting point for every disciple.  We are to look to Jesus, put all our trust and hope in Him, and walk by faith in Him.  We are expected to receive His mercy, grace, and love, which He offers so freely, with the aim of knowing Him more fully.

2. Be Baptized

Matthew 28:19 ………, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Acts 10:44  While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, 47 “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.

If someone struggles with the idea of following Jesus in the obedience of being water baptized, how will they reckon the old man dead when it comes to other issues in the flesh?  Water baptism is like a first act of obedience to Christ.

Jesus Himself was water-baptized by John the Baptist.  This practice was so prevalent that when Philipp was joined to the chariot of the Ethiopian Eunuch and shared what Isaiah was saying concerning Jesus with him when the eunuch believed and then saw a little water, he asked to be baptized by Philipp.

Romans 6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life.

I’m not saying water baptism saves a person, but just because it isn’t the means of salvation doesn’t diminish its significance in a disciple’s life.

These are just two of the seven commands Jesus gave to His first disciples. We know they stand because the disciples practiced them and because they were taught to new disciples in the New Covenant.

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The Heart Desire Of Jesus

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Who has all the authority?  Jesus.  Where is His authority?  In both heaven and here on earth.

Now, when someone has all authority, it means they are in charge, and what they say goes.  Their word is to be uncontested. They get to call the shots, so to speak.  They have the final say.  As the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus communicated His heart's desire to His disciples when He commissioned them after telling them He had been given all authority.

Jesus wants disciples to be made in all nations. A disciple is someone who learns to master their subject. In Greek, it means becoming a pupil and enrolling to become a scholar.  In other words, this idea of disciple-making is taking those who are teachable and making sure they are equipped with the truth of the gospel and what it looks like to observe what Jesus had commanded His original disciples.

The love of Jesus for His disciples is tremendous and deep. In a similar way, the love of a loving parent is great and deep for a child.  However, we must not think that tremendous deep love means all expectations and desires are dismissed. A loving parent has desires for a child who is deeply loved and seeks to train that child to attain those desires.

In the passages just read, Jesus communicates this desire: He wants His disciples to make disciples for Him.

The way this is presented to the disciples has the tone of a command.  Desires can often carry that type of tone.  Deep desires can often be communicated in such a way as to be a command as opposed to just merely a good idea.  The reason this carries the tone of a command is because Jesus leads off with the fact of His authority.  His authority establishes His position and right to communicate and establish expectations that are meant to be fulfilled by those who are His disciples.

The exercise of His authority does not take away from His love in any way.  It is part of His love.  What loving husband or wife lives with no expectation of faithfulness and loyalty from the other who has entered into a covenant of marriage with them?  I have never heard a marriage vow at a ceremony that said, “I know you will cheat on me with others, and I know at times you will be a no-good lazy bum of a person,  but that’s okay with me because I have no expectations of you.”

If you attended a wedding and heard something like that, you would be shocked. Vows speak of loving each other and promise to bring something to the union that establishes expectations. Jesus did not leave His disciples in the dark about what He wanted them to do.

Again, Who has all the authority?  Jesus.  Where is His authority?  In both heaven and here on earth.  Jesus wants disciples who go and make disciples and teach them to observe all He commanded them.  He will be with us as we go and make and teach.  He will never leave us alone.  He will never abandon us.  This is not a desire rooted in numbers; it is rooted in right relationship and an acknowledgment of who He is in His authority.  It is the furtherance of His calling to bring many sons into glory—the glory of the New Covenant He established with His blood.  Do you know the seven things Jesus commanded His disciples?

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The Source Of Transformation

Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16  Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

Jesus wanted to know what the disciples had heard about Him for a reason.  Notice how wrong the testimonies of some people were.  Some had speculated that Jesus was merely one of the prophets. They drew wrong conclusions because they did not really know Him.  But we see a different testimony from Peter.  “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

All of a sudden, Peter knew Jesus as who Jesus was, and it captivated him with awe.  Merely hearing about Jesus does not change you. You need a real revelation of Him that exalts His worth and greatness in your heart and imagination. Peter would have never concluded who Jesus was on his own, just as others had already proven they couldn’t get it on their own.

It is why the Holy Spirit is so important to us.  His ministry is to reveal Jesus to us.

Having Holy Spirit revelation as to who Jesus is matters. Jesus is not just an ordinary man. He is the Son of God!  He is God the Son!  He is Almighty God!  He is the Word of God!  He is the Great High Priest of our confession!  He is the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world!  He is the One who was, and is, and is to come!  He is the Great I am!  He is the first and the last the Alpha and the Omega!  He is the Prince of peace and the King of kings and Lord of lords!

Unfortunately, some prefer having a certificate of accomplished studies about Jesus to truly knowing Jesus. That is religion.  The Holy Spirit desires that we know and encounter Jesus so that we are captivated in awe of Him.  The Holy Spirit wants to transform us by revealing Christ in His glory to us.

2Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

We need to see Jesus in ways that captivate our hearts and imaginations based on who He truly is.  Failing to grow in a revelation of Jesus risks becoming lukewarm and indifferent.  It can lead to forfeiting the continual transformation meant to be experienced by beholding Him.  It can also forfeit the drive to bear witness of Him to others. The sure pathway to being lukewarm is to put off allowing the Holy Spirit to wash the soul by bringing fresh revelation concerning Christ Jesus and His greatness.

There’s no devil, no sin, no circumstance, no problem, and no past too big or too powerful for Jesus to overcome.  The greater Jesus is in the imagination of the soul, the freer you become from all the things that would threaten your victory, peace, and witness for Him.

It is also very important that people see and hear of your very alive relationship revelation, not religious information.  I encourage you today to look to Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to give you an even greater revelation of Him to run on.

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The Right Glorying

When my youngest son was a little boy, he had a dream that seemed real. He spoke of having been at his mother’s and my wedding. We laughed about it and then helped him understand that he had seen pictures of our wedding and dreamed of such a thing, but it was impossible that he could have been at our wedding.

Sometimes, our minds can imagine things so vividly that they seem real. However, not every perception can be trusted.

What would you think if I were to tell a story that claimed that before I was conceived, I willed to be born?  I would be worried about you if you didn’t think that claim was absurd. No baby ever willed to be conceived. There is nothing there until conception occurs.  If I were to try to take credit for my natural birth in any way, you would be justified in thinking of me as being deceived.

If I were to take credit for my natural birth, I would be glorying in myself. I would be glorying in myself by taking credit for something I had nothing to do with.  The same is true when it comes to my spiritual birth.  I am not created to glory in myself in His presence.

1 Corinthians 1:29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.

This declaration is meant to remove the idea that anyone should imagine they had anything to do with their salvation.

1 Corinthians 1:26  For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,

We did not choose ourselves for this amazingly wonderful gift.  We did not qualify ourselves for it either.  God chose us on purpose for a reason.  He chose us when we were nothing, spiritually dead in our sins and trespasses.  He did this to bring to nothing the things that are.  In other words, to end any boasting on anyone’s part of having merited being selected.  If we read the Scripture about this further, we discover why.

1 Corinthians 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

All boasting in ourselves should end and be replaced with giving glory and honor to Jesus!

My belonging to Jesus had nothing to do with me being smart enough to choose Him.  I was not wise.  It had nothing to do with my pedigree in the natural. I did not have one.  By bringing someone foolish like me to Christ, He shames the wise in this world who trust in their wisdom and cannot seem to get it.  By choosing a weak person such as myself, He shames the strong, self-made people.  He chose me!  He saved me!  It was all by grace; even the faith I employed to turn to Christ was His gift.  I can only boast in Jesus and the love of the Father!

All glory to Jesus!  All praise to the Father!  Thank You, Holy Spirit, for opening my eyes, heart, and understanding when You made me alive in Christ!  Thank You for Your great love and mercy towards me and Your wonderful grace in Christ.

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Voiceless

Luke begins by telling us about Zechariah and Elizabeth—a man and woman who walked uprightly before the Lord and were said to be blameless.  We discover Zechariah was serving in the temple one day, offering incense and prayers, when Gabriel, the angel of the Lord, appeared to him.  Gabriel spoke of wonderful things in answer to Zechariah’s prayers regarding a son.  However, Zechariah struggled to believe the report, challenging the news with facts and reason.  Then Gabriel said to Zechariah the following,

Luke 1:19  And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. 20 But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

Zechariah’s doubt of the goodness of God promised to him and his wife cost him his voice until the time it would be fulfilled.

There is the powerful voice of faith, and then there is the horrifying silence of doubt in life.  Doubt leads to losing one’s true voice and renders a person subject to seeing the fulfillment before they can speak about it.  But it would be so much more powerful to have spoken of it in faith, and then it is fulfilled, and all are made to marvel even greater at the power of God to fulfill His word of promise.

Now, let’s contrast Zechariah with Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Like Zecharias, the angel appears to her, and like Zecharias, she is initially troubled and intrigued by the greeting.  Just as with Zecharias, a promise of a wonderful fulfillment of the word of the Lord is given to her that goes against all reason and factual understanding.  Notice Mary’s response,

Luke 1:38   Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Afterward, Mary went to visit Elizabeth. The way Elizabeth greets her is astoundingly prophetic.  Elizabeth recognizes Mary as the mother of her Lord.

Keep in mind that Mary has not had her baby yet, nor has Elizabeth, but look at what Mary is empowered to say in her heart.

Luke 1:46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. 49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. 50 and His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.  52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. 54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,  55 As He spoke to our fathers,  to Abraham and to his seed forever.”

Mary’s faith in what the Lord spoke to her empowered her to give thanks prophetically and magnify the Lord according to His promise.  Zechariah’s doubt kept him in silence until the manifestation occurred and broke it.  Zechariah forfeited nine months of the ability to magnify the Lord and proclaim His goodness, all because he struggled with believing such a good report.  Mary, on the other hand, was able to magnify the Lord and speak of His goodness even while she was being judged unjustly by others who misunderstood her condition.

Doubt seeks to render a follower of Christ voiceless until something manifests.  God is still praised, but He is not magnified as powerfully as He would have been had the declaration of faith gone before it.  I strongly encourage you today not to allow doubt to render you voiceless concerning the wonderful promises of God for your life.  Believe and speak according to His promise and trust that the manifestation will come in its own good time.

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The Power Of Perspective

How You View Is How You Do.  The perspectives of abundance and scarcity can both be correct.  One brings joy!  The other can produce want.  Perspective matters.  It will affect one’s sense of well-being or the lack thereof.

A father put a gold watch in one son's stocking and manure in the other son's...

The first son responded, “Dad, I'm unsure what to do with this watch. It's fragile, and I don't really wear watches."  Minutes later, the second son came running to his father excitedly and said, "Dad! I think Santa brought me a pony! Now I just have to go find it!"

At Christmas time, perspectives vary among people. Some are sad this time of year as it reminds them of what they feel they lack, according to the nostalgia associated with the holiday. Many others enjoy giving and receiving gifts according to the tradition of Christmas.  For others, much will be said regarding the greatest gift.  But Jesus coming as a baby is just the beginning of the greater reason for His appearance.  Our perspective needs to go further than just the manager to the place of understanding His finished work at the cross.  Otherwise, you can celebrate the birth and still have a sense of lacking.

Perspective is a powerful tool! However, it can be dangerous to build one on assumptions and worldly nostalgia, as perspectives can become strongholds if they remain unchecked by the truth of the gospel.

2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Wrong perspectives can become strongholds.  They can shape opinions and behavior.  They affect how we relate to God and others.  We should subject our perspectives to the right gospel.  The New Covenant gospel.  Thoughts need to be taken captive to the obedience OF Christ.  Embracing thoughts that are contrary to the obedience of Jesus as our means of righteousness by way of the cross is how disobedience is given birth.  It moves us to attempt to be righteous in the power of our flesh and think it is the means for our relationship with the Father.

The enemy wants believers to have more confidence in their strength and willpower than in Christ’s finished work.

The two-letter word “OF” in 2 Corinthians 10:5 is very important.  Many read that passage as saying bringing every thought into captivity to an obedience to Christ.  But that is not what it says. It should be read more carefully.

When we read that, we will punish all disobedience when our obedience is full. What obedience?  The obedience of faith in Christ. It does not speak of our getting our act together and finally obeying the law.  It means that when we learn to filter everything through the filter of Christ’s obedience and stand firm in the security of the righteousness of God Jesus made us to be, we punish all disobedience by eliminating its power over us through faith in Jesus alone. We put to death faith in ourselves as though we are our own savior.  Sin, shame, and condemnation lose their foothold over us when we know the power of His righteousness at work in us.

Just think of this.  Scripture testifies that He who knew no sin was made to be sin!  He didn’t just take on sin.  He became it!  Why?  So that we might become the righteousness of God in Him!  “He became sin so that we could become righteousness.”  But not just any brand of righteousness.  It is God’s righteousness, and knowing this is significant.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

It is the great exchange at the cross!  Jesus became what we were so we might become what He was.  He was righteous by nature. We were sinners by nature.  He was made sin at the cross so that we could become the righteousness of God!  We get to live our lives from the source of a new nature now that we are in Christ!

If you lack this view presented by Scripture, you lack the power to do.  How you view is how you do.  I encourage you to make certain you view things through the lens of the New Covenant Gospel of Jesus, where His obedience is magnified, His finished work is rejoiced over, and we are complete in Him. Perspective has power.  We must make sure Jesus is at the core of our perspective on righteousness and our relationship with the Father. This is why He is the greatest gift of all and always a good reason to celebrate any time of the year.  Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know!

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5 Grace Benefits Of Being In Christ

The New Covenant is centered on the reality of being in Christ and having Christ in you. The pinnacle of the good news is that it is centered on the reality of Christ in us as our source of eternal life. There are many benefits; in fact, they are all amazingly wonderful to consider.   Here are five primary benefits of grace to think about.

Faith & Love

2 Timothy 1:13   Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

Hope of Glory

Colossians 1:27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Being a Son

Galatians 3:26   For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Being One With All Who Are In Christ

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Possessing Wisdom, Righteousness & Sanctification

1Corinthians 1:30 But of Him (God) you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—

So consider again:

1)You have received faith and love in Christ

2)You have the hope of glory in Christ

3)You are a son of God in Christ

4)You are one with all who are in Christ

5)You have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption in Christ

Five is the number for grace.  This is the grace you have received from Him!  It is yours to walk in freely and fully.  It is yours to rejoice over and be thankful for.  It is not based on what you do. It is based on Who He placed you in.

Colossians 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

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Great Boldness

A person can have what I call fading boldness. That boldness exists until they encounter someone with a superior argument to the one they sought to defend.

When someone becomes absolutely convinced that what they have come to know is true, right, and good, they cannot be argued out of it.  They become very bold in their ability to speak out about what they believe and why they believe it.  They can’t help but unapologetically speak about it.  They are not ashamed of what they are convinced of. Persuasive words and eloquence of speech will not sway them.

2 Corinthians 3:12  Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— 13 unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. 14 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Moses hid his face behind a veil to hide the fading glory.  It was a fading glory because the glory of the Law was unsustainable.

Only those who know what it means to be in Christ can see the Laws’ fading nature. The Old Covenant’s glory was nothing compared to the glory of the New Covenant Christ Jesus established with His blood. Yet many preachers today preach the Old Testament as though its glory is still to be envied. They pine away for the former days of old as though that glory was something to be jealous of.  That kind of ministry only serves to make people more aware of themselves and look to themselves for change.

Whenever someone truly turns to the Lord, the veil is removed, and the diminished glory of what was becomes clearly evident and no longer appealing.  Those who are in Christ are privileged to look with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror.  We get to see a glory that does not diminish.  A glory so wonderful and appealing that even when it is revealed as a reflection in the mirror to us, it transforms us into the same image we are beholding.  Only Christ’s glory has transformative power.

We are taken from one glory to another glory.  We have moved away from the diminished faded glory to that of an ever-increasing glory.  Change does not come to the believer by means of the law with its faded glory.  It comes to the believer through beholding Christ.  The Holy Spirit’s ministry is to reveal the glory of Christ to us.  He will teach you all things pertaining to Christ.  He has not been given to us to teach us about the wrong covenant and the fading glory of that covenant.  He is very aware of our context and the Covenant that God is respecting and honoring at this time.

That is why where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Timidity, fear, apprehension, and doubt are demolished. Boldness is the fruit of truly knowing Him and having His glory revealed through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. When this type of relationship encounter is active in the life of the believer, the fruit of endurance and active faith is manifested.

2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Paul did not lose heart!  Notice what it was they were ministering.  It was the gospel!  Paul describes it as the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  It is not truth in general that is light Paul was interested in.  It was the light of the truth of the gospel of the glory of Christ.  The true knowledge of the glory of God can only be found now in the face of Jesus Christ.

The New Covenant glory is the greatest of all the covenants because it is the glory of Christ, as he prayed in John 17. The veil is removed to reveal that glory to us so that we might be transformed into His image as we behold Him. The kind of transformation it produces is not of the religious brand and, thus, of an inferior nature.  The New Covenant glory produces the fruit of great boldness by revealing Christ in all His glory to our hearts and thus showing us who we are now that we are in Him.  This produces the fruit of great boldness!

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The Way

Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

Have you ever been really convinced something was right only to find that it was wrong?

Saul, who later became Paul, was convinced in the Bible that he was right. He held everyone’s cloak while they stoned Stephen, a just man who loved Jesus. He zealously fought against the church and put believers in prison. Finally, he was given the authority to go further than just around Jerusalem, and while on his way to Damascus, he encountered Jesus.  This man who was so convinced he was devoted to God by being zealous for the law discovered he couldn’t have been more wrong.

Saul had spent his whole life preparing himself in one specific direction, but when he encountered Jesus, everything changed. He discovered that what he had been so zealous for had been fulfilled in Christ and that this was no longer the way God operated on earth. This totally changed his perspectives on righteousness and justification. So much was his thoughts changed that he said the following,

Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

Attempting to obtain justification or righteousness through the law or maintaining it through that same means is futile.

Galatians 3:10  For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”

The law cannot prepare a new creation for the Holy Spirit to inhabit. It can only show us how far short of the mark we are. Thus, if we look to it for any hope of being made righteous or maintaining righteousness, it ministers death and condemnation. Paul was not the only one who understood this.

Consider, if you will, what James stated,

James 2:8 Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 9 But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law. 10 For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. 11 For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So, if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.

Offending in just one part of the law is equal to being a violator of the whole law.  According to James, as soon as you show any preferential treatment to someone, you have violated the command to love your neighbor.  To not love your neighbor as is commanded does not require you to hate them or treat them badly.  Thinking that way would diminish the purity and integrity of the law.

If a person lies, they have violated the whole law in a sense because it only requires violating one command to be found guilty according to the law. One single act of selfishness is a violation of the two highest commands.

If we consider the greatest of all the commands, which is to love God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength, well, who claims a perfect record of that one other than Jesus?  The law cannot give us hope, produce new life, or make anyone righteous before God.  It is not the way for a believer to live.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

The law is not the way under the New Covenant.  Jesus is the way!  It is now by grace through faith in Jesus that we function.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. These three things are worth pondering deeply.

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What Are You Confident Of?

1 Thessalonians 5:18 In everything, give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I have violated God’s will for me many times by complaining about a situation instead of giving thanks for it.

So, it would be a very honest confession on my part to say that I have known many times when I have not carried out God’s will perfectly in the details of my daily life since becoming a believer. I can assure you that this is not the only will of God I have ever violated. Hebrews 10 reveals another specific will of God for me that I seek to own every day of my life and am most grateful for.

Hebrews 10:36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: 37 “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.  38 Now the just shall live by faith;  But if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”  39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.         

I am not drawing back on having my faith rest in the finished work of Christ!  He is my confidence and my righteousness. That is what I will stand on.  It’s not my hit-and-miss track record as it pertains to the specific revealed will of God for daily living that tells me who I am in Him or whether or not I stand accepted.  I will stand in faith that I might still approach.

I do not say this to diminish the value and importance of God’s will in specific areas of daily life. I share this simply to say that when we discover we have fallen short, we should not violate God’s major will, which is to believe and walk in faith in who Jesus is and what Jesus did for us.

Let’s allow our confidence to rest in Him and rejoice in the life He gives to us.  Let’s do His will that comes after failure or in the midst of struggle.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

It is of great value to have confidence in His goodness and His invitation to approach at all times. Jesus gave His life to establish us in a relationship with the Father as sons. He did not die to enable us to improve our behavior and become loved and acceptable through our performance.  Of course, knowing His love and being secure in it will definitely improve our behavior as we learn who he is and who we are in Him.  But that is different than trying to behave in order to merit or earn His love and acceptance.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

We can’t love Him without knowing His love first, and we definitely cannot love others without the security of being loved by Him.  I will confess I have not loved Him with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength and loved my neighbor as myself perfectly any more than I have given thanks perfectly.  I need Jesus all the time, every day.  I need His love and His merciful acceptance of me based on His finished work on my behalf.  In this, I have confidence!  He loves me all the time, and He has accepted me in the beloved (Christ).

We need to ask ourselves from time to time what we’re most confident about when it comes to our relationship with Him. If the answer we come up with isn’t His love and acceptance of us based on the completed work of Christ, then we need to preach the gospel of the New Covenant to ourselves again and possibly find someone preaching it to listen to over and over again until it settles in the depths of our souls concretely, restores our joy, and produces the fresh fruit of thanksgiving again.

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Shadow To Substance

Every shadow tells us that there is something of substance in existence.  There cannot be a shadow without a substance.

The Old Covenant is filled with shadows.  It was not the substance.  Here’s the thing about shadows. Shadows cannot replace the substance because they cannot do what the substance does.

For instance, I can see a shadow of a chair cast on the floor. However, if I go to sit in the shadow, I will fall on the floor because the shadow cannot support me.  The same thing would be true of a car or plane. If I were to try to travel by getting in the shadow of a car or plane, I would get nowhere.  I need the substance.

Some believers love shadows; they spend their time preaching the shadows of the Old Covenant and extracting principles from them, believing that if you just tell people how to live, they can, by their own strength and willpower, do so.  It’s like they are stuck celebrating the shadows.

Here’s something to consider.  I love my wife, Sheila.  I think she is beautiful.  I enjoy my time with her.  But wouldn’t it be weird if I preferred her shadow over her?  Who wouldn’t think me to be weird if I were always trying to hug her shadow, or talking to her shadow, or trying to hold the shadow of her hand?

We no longer need to be preaching shadows because the substance has come!  It’s time to stop looking at the shadows and start looking at the substance we’ve been given in Christ!  When we stop celebrating the shadows and instead celebrate the substance, it produces a certain type of living that expresses freedom.

Colossians 2:16 So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 17 For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. 18 Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, 19 and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.  20 You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world? For example, 21 “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? 22 Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. 23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires. 3:1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.

Often, there will be people who push others regarding their idea of what spiritual maturity should look like, and it often involves a certain level of devotion to certain things.  It is a performance-based mindset that they operate in, and they desire that others adopt the same mindset.  Their idea of devotion is often based on Old Covenant principles, which they think are hard, fast rules.  This kind of thinking is so caught up in the things of this earth that they cannot think of heavenly things, new man realities, and Spirit-governed living.

In Christ, we are called to live according to the Spirit because the substance that has come to us makes this type of living our new reality.  What was at one time out of reach and only casting a shadow is now within reach and desires that we partake.  Christ in you the hope of glory!  You are hidden with God in Christ and seated in the heavenly places with Christ!  We no longer see according to types and shadows. We get to see God in the face of Jesus Christ!  The substance (Christ Jesus) has come and revealed the Father! For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

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The Big Difference

When it comes to the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, there are a couple of major differences that set them apart and should forever bring an end to any argument for thinking the Old Covenant is meant in any way to be a part of a believer’s life.

The greatest separator is Christ Himself, no doubt.  The second major difference is the new creation.

Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.

Leaving behind any thought about the significance of new creation reality is a big mistake to make.

Think about it for just a moment.  Is there evidence of one single person being made into a new creation from Genesis to Malachi?

It is not until Jesus comes to earth, goes to the cross, rises from the dead, ascends to heaven, and then sends the Holy Spirit that we discover a heaven-born brand new species on earth in existence—a sanctified people from every nation, race, and language.  Sanctified means set apart. The thing that sets believers apart is being new creations filled with the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 6 tells us it is no longer about being under the law or having the heritage of the law as one’s history.  It is about Christ Jesus and the new life He offers to those who, by grace through faith, are born again.

Think about it; you will never find this kind of language in the Old Testament.

2Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

I dare you to search and see if you can find anywhere in the Old Testament a statement where the Law made a new creation, and old things passed away, and behold, everything became new.  It just doesn’t exist because the law was never given to make someone righteous or new.

Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

The law brings knowledge of sin, not hope of righteousness, but rather a keen sense of failure and not measuring up.  Alas, too many are accustomed to being told how they fail to measure up.  It makes them feel a certain way to be reminded continually that they fail to measure up.  In fact, they have been conditioned to think that anointed preaching is tasked with making sure everyone knows how miserably they have failed and that they need to repent for it.  So ministers continue to use the law to come against the saints and make them ever more mindful of who they are according to the flesh as opposed to preaching the gospel and reminding them of who they are according to the Spirit.

The gospel is sadly left out of the discussion in many churches because it is thought more anointed to make people feel bad and guilty over presumed failures than it is to set their minds on things above and the obedience of Christ Jesus on their behalf.  The church needs to know who she really is in Christ if she is ever to live according to the Spirit.  If the Spirit’s promise is conditionally based on her keeping the law, then there is no hope for a Spirit-empowered church on this earth.

Galatian 3:5 Therefore, He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—

The big difference is that only in the New Covenant, which is the Spirit covenant made possible by the blood of Jesus, can a new creation exist that is capable of receiving the Holy Spirit of promise and doing life according to the Spirit.  Life according to the Spirit was never the fruit of the law.  Jesus has come. He completed the work required.  By grace and faith in Him, we have now become something we could never have become by our own efforts under the law. We are now the very righteousness of God in Christ!  It’s a very big difference!

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Does Covenant Matter?

When I was young and had only recently come to know Christ, I was driving a 1969 Plymouth Road Runner.  It was red/orange.  It looked fast, and it was fast.  But I had come to know Jesus and had begun to drive the speed limit.

I was on my way home one night, and the stretch of road I was on had just had a change of speed posted on it.  It went from 45 to 55.  I was doing 55 when a policeman pulled me over.  He suggested I was speeding, and I respectfully disagreed. I told him it was a 55 MPH zone.  It took some convincing to get him to believe me, and he went back to check the sign to confirm it.  But since I was driving at the right speed limit, he had to let me go.

I had left behind the 45-mile-per-hour zone and entered the 55-mile-per-hour zone.  Even though he was a policeman with authority, his authority could not override the posted speed limit sign.  The sign established what he could or could not enforce.

That experience is what it is like to move from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant.  I cannot be punished for a violation of the Old Covenant because I am not under it.  I am now accountable to the New Covenant.

When driving on an interstate, a person can be ticketed for driving too slowly. If they are in a 70 MPH zone driving 40 MPH, they can be ticketed. They are in the wrong place to be driving that slow. That speed may work in a different time and place, but it will not work on the interstate. In fact, it is dangerous for those who drive slowly and all those who use the same highway.

Hebrews 8:13 In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Trying to live by the principles of the Old Covenant is a wrong application for the context we are now in after coming to Christ.  Things have changed.

The law was merely a tutor for a set time.

Galatians 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

I wonder if you caught the same thing I did.  After faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

The Law was a tutor, not a savior.  Had the Law been a savior, there would have been no need for Jesus to come.

Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

What was the tutor?  The law.  What are we no longer under?  The law.  That was Old Covenant terms.  We are in a New Covenant.  Trying to function under an Old Covenant mindset is like driving 20MPH on an interstate with a 70MPH limit.  The enemy does not have to respond to any attempt on the part of a believer who is trying to deal with him based on Old Covenant outlines. He knows which Covenant is in effect now and who it involves, and he knows he has to yield to the authority of that Covenant.

He can’t come and accuse me on the basis of that Old Covenant and seek to hinder or restrain me based on any violation of it.  I can say to him, you would be correct if I were under the Covenant you’re trying to use against me. However, your accusation is based on the wrong Covenant, and therefore, it is false and has no authority. I belong to Jesus, who shed His blood for me, and I testify that I am under His Covenant.

You see, Covenant matters!  Understanding which covenant you are in and what that covenant offers is very important.  How can someone really take a stand in His authority if they don’t know a thing about His covenant?  Covenant matters.

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Strongholds

In medieval times, strongholds were built to protect whoever was inside them.  These strongholds were castles surrounded by tall, thick walls of stone. They were fortified, too.

This is the idea behind what Paul is saying in 2 Corinthians 10

2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Strongholds are built in the soul through a process.  It begins with a thought suggested by the enemy through a false instruction.  The thought is made to be appealing and pleasing, and thus, it is not rejected but instead entertained.  That thought is a seed, and when it germinates, it will spring forth as a high thing in the soul.  A high thing is any thought that is given greater weight than the obedience of Jesus. Once it becomes a high thing, it demands to be protected, so in the soul, a fortress is built to protect it from attacks.  Now, the enemy has a protected holding place in the thought life.  It becomes well entrenched and can affect choices and decision-making.

But there is good news!  Even though we are human, we do not fight these battles as mere humans.  We have weapons that are mighty through God for pulling down such strongholds.  These weapons help us to cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.  They bring thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ!

Let’s think about this for a moment.  The arguments and high things that must be cast down have been exalted against the knowledge of God.  What exactly does that mean?

God knows something, and whatever it is, God knows it is more accurate and trustworthy than anything we can experience in the flesh or know according to human reasoning.  This brings us to the counsel of His word.  Whatever God has spoken in the context of the current covenant in force is the final say, and nothing should be allowed to be exalted above it.  This is why every thought must be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ!

Notice it says the obedience of Christ, not my obedience to Christ.  This is about His obedience and what it accomplished.  This is the essence of New Covenant truth at its core.  How many thoughts are to be brought into captivity according to His obedience?  Every thought!

This is where our obedience finally comes into play. Disobedience will be punished whenever we fulfill our obedience.  What is our obedience? Believe, stand firm on the truth He has spoken, and let God be true, and every man is a liar.  Apply the highest esteem and regard for what God has spoken to us in His word as it pertains to who Christ is, what Christ has done, and how that is now applied to us as His new creations.

What are these mighty weapons, the New Life we have received in Christ Jesus that places us in Christ and puts Christ in us (Our new identity), the New Covenant word of truth (without mixture of law), and the person of the Holy Spirit given to us as our promise from the Father.

Suppose we struggle to understand the New Covenant Jesus established with His blood and how it has brought us to victory in a way nothing else could. In that case, we will only be able to see how impossible a stronghold looks and fail to do anything about it.  But when we understand as we should, we realize just how frail these strongholds are, and we realize we can see them demolished easily by comparing their lie to the truth of Christ’s obedience and what it accomplished.  We use the weapons we have been given to cast them down!

Strongholds don’t stand a chance against the weapons that are mighty through God!

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Sin Shall Not

When I was in the seventh grade, I had just started a new Jr High School.  It took no time for trouble to find me.  During home group time, I was leaning back in my chair, and a boy used his foot to tip me all the way back onto the floor.  He laughed, and I got back up and sat down in my chair.  I thought it was merely an innocent prank.  So when I caught him leaning back, I returned the favor.  He got very angry about it and told me to meet him at the flag pole after school.  I shrugged it off as though he was just blowing off steam and being dramatic.  So I just avoided him, and for days, he would bump me in the hallway and say, “Meet me at the flag pole,” and call me a name.  One day, it was raining after school, and as a result, I got caught under the canopy in front of the school where the flag pole was, and there he was.  He decided to increase his antics and grabbed my favorite shirt, twisting it and breathing out threats.  I told him to let go of my shirt and leave me alone, or he would regret it.  At that, he punched me in the stomach and then just stood there.  When I straightened back up, I lit into him.  I was stopped eventually by an older, bigger guy who said the principal was coming and picked me up and tossed me over the crowd into the wet grass and said run, little man.  Once I got about halfway home, I began to cry, feeling bad I had so badly beaten someone up.  Needless to say, that boy wanted to be my friend after that and never taunted or tormented me again.

I’m not sharing this brag about some physical altercation I won.  I honestly felt bad about it once it was over.  I’m sharing it to demonstrate that I tolerated a season of being tormented in front of all my friends and classmates by someone who should have had no dominion over me.

Too often, those who have been born again tolerate torment and taunting for no good reason.  They put up with the idea that they should be subject to some sin that seeks to dominate them.  They listen to a lie from the enemy and subject themselves to the idea that they are powerless and have a sin problem. They seem not to realize what New Covenant Scripture says about them.

Romans 6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

No true born-again believer in Jesus is a slave to sin.  The New Creation is set free from the power of sin and the slavery to sin.  Sin has to be chosen and allowed.  This is all tied to our new identity in Christ.  Our identity is no longer a slave of sin but rather a slave to righteousness.  We are no longer under the microscope of the law, which magnifies sin and brings death. We are under grace, which magnifies the life of Christ in us and the power of the Holy Spirit working in us.  There is a power at work within us!

Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life.

The key is walking in what we received from Christ!  New life!

Romans 6:5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Instead of looking at sin as being powerful and thinking that our old self never truly died, we need to change our minds and agree with what Scripture testifies concerning us.  We died with Jesus, and when we went into the grave with Him with all our sins, just as He took sin with Him into the grave and left it there. We did likewise.  The sinful nature died and was buried with Jesus!  The old nature is no longer alive and in control.

This is why water baptism in the name of Jesus is an active faith obedience declaring the old sin nature is dead and gone, and a new life in Christ has been received.  That is why Paul, empowered by the Holy Spirit, can say authoritatively,

Romans 6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

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Cast Out The Bindwoman And Her Son

Galatians 4:21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written:  “Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear!  Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor!  For the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband.” 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless, what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

In these passages, we find that another gospel had been introduced at Galatia—another gospel involves applying the law as part of God’s plan for what completes one’s salvation experience or enhances it. To dismantle a false gospel, Paul explained the two main covenants in Scripture and how one is meant to be cast away.  He demonstrates how Gentile believers embrace the law after coming to Jesus, opposing the real truth that Gentiles without the law are part of the heavenly Jerusalem.

The poem from Isaiah in the passages foretells how Gentiles without the law have always been a part of God’s plan of salvation, too.  They weren’t an afterthought.  God planned for righteousness apart from the Law that involved Christ and His New Covenant.

Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,

Paul called the Galatians back to the New Covenant Gospel to dispel the deception.

Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

Anytime the gospel's simplicity and purity are challenged in a believer's perspective, it is bewitching.  In other words, there are demonic forces at work seeking to dilute the purity and simplicity of the gospel.  The most effective way they have found to do this is by using a mixture.  By mixing law with grace, they sully the gospel and make the promises a maybe instead of yes and amen in Christ.

The enemy is after your understanding of the gospel, Christ, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, and what has been done for you to enjoy their love, acceptance, and help.  Satan wants to skew your perspective about God.

Bewitched in Greek means to be fascinated with false representations.  It is the same practice the enemy used against Eve in the garden when he called into question whether or not God really said what she had been told He said.

Law and grace are like water and oil.  They do not mix.  Law has a place when dealing with arrogant sinners who oppose the truth and argue for their own right standing based on their own merit or reject the notion that they need the help of Jesus in any way.  But it has no place with saints who have come to Christ in full assurance of faith resting on His completed work on their behalf.  Have you cast out the bondwoman?  Or do you think she can help you become more acceptable to God than what Jesus has already done on your behalf?  It is no gospel that encourages you to put your trust in what you can do to gain acceptance with God as your Father at any time during your journey.  The real gospel calls you to faith in Christ alone.  Cast out the bondwoman and her son!

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Does Understanding Matter?

My wife homeschooled our kids until they graduated from High School. One important area of their studies was reading comprehension. It wasn’t enough that they could read words proficiently; we also wanted them to understand what was being communicated accurately. To read and not understand what one is reading is still illiterate.  Understanding what one reads is of great importance.

In the Bible, there was a church Paul had never met in person. Epaphras, his gospel coworker, planted it, and Paul had never been to it. But that didn’t stop Paul from caring for and being concerned for them.

As a true apostle of Jesus, Paul’s motivation to ensure the right gospel understanding was being achieved led him to write a letter that was also to be distributed to Laodicea. Just as reading comprehension was important to us regarding our children’s education, this church’s understanding was important to Paul.

Colossians 2:1 For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Have you ever found yourself caring about the well-being of someone you’d never met in person?

Paul’s motivation is made clear here.  He wants them to be encouraged in their hearts.  He wants them to be knit together in love, and he wants them to attain to all riches of the full assurance of understanding.

Rightly understanding can bring full assurance into a person’s life, and as Paul puts it, that is akin to riches.  The full assurance of understanding unlocks a treasure chest of riches in spiritual matters.

I want to stop there for a moment and consider how this one statement reveals the importance of understanding. Paul is not concerned with their ability to parrot information; he is concerned about their actual understanding. Another way to think about this is to consider taking ownership, receiving, embracing, and embodying.  This is the kind of understanding that fuels faith.

What is it he wants them to possess the full assurance of understanding about?

The knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ.  Why?

Because in them are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  This, in a sense, is saying you don’t really know anything or possess real wisdom until you come into full assurance of understanding the mystery of God—both of the Father and the Son.  What’s more than that is the fact that real faith is rooted in a person, not things.  The more you truly know the Father and Christ, the more active the mustard seed of faith you were given becomes.

In other words, you can have full assurance of understanding the New Covenant Gospel, which reveals the plan that was hidden throughout the ages until Christ appeared and accomplished His mission. It reveals the love of the Father, the love of the Son, and the work of Christ. When the title Christ is used, it describes function and purpose with a real depth of significance.

Paul wants us to know 1) Who Christ is, 2) What Christ accomplished, and 3) How that applies to us.

Why was this so important to Paul?

Colossians 2:4 Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. 5 For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. 6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. 8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

Not knowing the depth of the effect of who Christ is, what Christ did, and how it can leave a person in a vulnerable and unprotected state.  It makes persuasive words a danger and threatens one’s freedom in Christ.  Understanding matters, and it matters even more so when it comes to the New Covenant Gospel.

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Moving Forward

I have a challenge for everyone.  Try to pick a spot to walk to or ride a bike to a straight-line spot.  Then, while moving toward it, look to the left or right, or try looking backward as you move forward.  What do you think will happen?

There’s a rule about turning when riding a motorcycle.  Look to where you want to turn.  If you try to look straight, you will struggle to make the turn because your body wants to go where your head points.

This is also true spiritually. I do not make spiritual progress by looking backward or by being distracted by the right or left. I need to look to Jesus, not myself, and definitely not compare myself with others.

Although I am spiritually complete in Christ, soul development and a walk of faith-based obedience are the heritage of a true disciple of Jesus.  The Apostle Paul understood this, and this is why he wrote the following to the Philippians:

Philippians 3:12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

He knew that Christ had saved him for a purpose, that he had a calling on his life, and that he had not yet completed all that he was created to complete.  This calling to answer the purpose of God for one’s life is what Paul referred to as the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  It was becoming one with Christ.

Jesus came to this earth with a purpose.  He understood the calling of His life and persevered through trials and temptations to complete His mission.  The Father decreed the mission and declared His identity and purpose.  Jesus accepted it and faithfully fulfilled all that was His to fulfill.

We should be thankful that Jesus did not just declare His Father’s love for Him and then decide that meant He need not do anything at all that the Father desired.  What if He had reasoned that He was so loved that it didn’t matter what He did?  Would any of us be saved today?  What if He had declared I do not need to deal with the inconvenience and anguish of the cross to have my Father’s love?  It was not that He needed to perform to earn the Father’s love. It was that the Father’s love led Him to the cross for the sake of others.  The obedience of Jesus was to satisfy the Father’s desires for Him and to benefit all of us through His obedience.  This is also true for all of us.  We are greatly loved with the same love Jesus had and still has from the Father.  Our obedience in faith is not to earn anything or to somehow increase a love already unrestrained towards us.

Our obedience is to satisfy the Father’s desire for us and to benefit others by being one with Jesus.  It is our upward call of God in Christ Jesus!  It is truly what it means to press forward.  If Christ is being formed in me and I am being transformed into His image, this desire will find a home in my heart and soul, and I will find myself wanting to know the Father’s desires for my life.  It will bring me great joy to see the Father’s design and desires being carried out on this earth through my life.  There is a prize that comes from that upward call of God in Christ.  It is by being one with Jesus that His attitude and life find expression in and through me.  That is a great prize in and of itself.  Pressing forward is living well.

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The Appetite Of The Soul

Have you ever heard someone say, “I am so hungry I could eat a horse?”  We are very familiar with expressions describing physical hunger, which becomes very real through the sensations we feel in our flesh.

Ecclesiastes 6:7 All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not satisfied.

What about soul hunger?

When we are born again, our spirits are satisfied because we are filled with Christ in a new nature. He satisfies everything in the spirit. He can also satisfy the soul; however, that requires us to let Him do so.

Psalm 107 says something interesting.

Psalm 107:8 Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!  9 For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.

God our Father wants to fill our souls with goodness!  By faith, we need to prophetically thank Him for this even when things aren’t going as we would hope in situations of life.

When things are not as we would hope, our souls usually become hungry for goodness, for answers and solutions to problems and the emotional pain they can cause.

We find nourishment for our souls by giving thanks to God for His wonderful works and recounting His faithfulness throughout our journey with Him.  In times when the enemy wishes to challenge the faithfulness of God or the reliability of His promises, it can be to our advantage to tell our souls of His wonderful works not just to us but to others we love and have rejoiced to see Him at work in.

The enemy wishes to starve our souls by means of distraction.  The Apostle Peter pointed this out,

1Peter 2:11   Beloved, I beg you, as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,

When we get distracted by the things of this world, our souls starve for good things.  The things of this world are like trying to survive on marshmallows.  It’s nothing but fluff!  It can momentarily satisfy, but it cannot touch the deep longings.

It is as the Psalmist says,

Psalm 27:13 I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

Letting the faith we possess in our spirit invade our soul by speaking according to what we believe leads to giving thanks to God for what is yet unseen but promised.  This leads to the soul being filled with His goodness!  Soul appetite isn’t evil, just as being physically hungry isn’t evil. It is meant to be filled with His goodness.  Remember Philippians 4 “Think on these things!”

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No Rebuilding

What would you think if your neighbor came to you and said, “My house has served me well up until now, but to accomplish my vision and cannot contain all I plan to bring into it, I need a new house.” Then they tore down their existing house, but when they rebuilt a new home, it was exactly the same as the one they tore down.  It looked the same and had the same lines and boundaries as before.

Would you think they were a little out of touch with reality?

Galatians 2:18 “For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.

Paul says here that if he rebuilds the things he destroyed, he makes himself a transgressor.  Now, someone might read this and stop there thinking he means he does not intend to break the law.  To truly understand what Paul is getting at, you have to keep reading.

Galatians 2:19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

Paul is actually speaking of the destruction of the Old Covenant way of righteousness being destroyed.  The idea of any confidence in the law for righteousness at any point in the life of a believer in Jesus is what Paul destroyed.

Paul is saying that righteousness cannot be initially achieved or maintained through the law.

Paul goes on to say something to make it even clearer: “I do not set aside the grace of God!”

He explains what it means to set God’s grace aside: “If righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

My being in right relationship with God will never again be contingent on the law.  The law has nothing to do with my being in right relationship with God now.  The law was never able to make me a new creation capable of housing the Holy Spirit.  The law never made anyone fully righteous.  The law never took away sin; it magnified it.  That is why Paul makes the point regarding having been crucified with Christ.

When Christ died, I died. When Christ rose from the dead, I rose from the dead.  It is no longer I who lives!  It is Christ in me!  I am now living by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  I am a new creation in Him and His habitation!  He is my righteousness!

If I try to go back to the law with the idea that I can gain or increase my righteousness, I am rebuilding again something that was destroyed. That is setting aside the grace of God and, in a way, saying that Jesus died for no real reason at all.  Relying on the law is like spitting on the death of Jesus and treating it as though it were not needed.

The truth of not rebuilding is a major part of the New Covenant Gospel message.  To rebuild the law back into my idea of any means of righteousness is to become a transgressor of the New Covenant grace of God.  Believers need to be convinced and committed to not rebuilding again!

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