(Adapted from "Not Knowing Where" by Oswald Chambers) |
Perspective:
Gen. 1:26-28
, 31
; 2:3
, 7
; 1 Cor. 15:47
- Man was made before
sin entered, and he was made of dust and divinity, his fundamental
nature. Made of the dust of the ground is man's glory because
in it man was to manifest the image of God. Sin is not in 'matter',
it was never planted. Sin is not part of human nature as God designed
it. Sin is not a 'disease', but a rebellion against God.
In John 6:56-58 Jesus says we should let the very corpuscles of our blood , every nerve and cell of our flesh, exhibit the new life that has been created in us, and to complete what the 1st Adam failed to do and that is to transform the natural into the spiritual through obedience.
Hope:
1 Cor. 6:19-20
:-Our temple is a fleshly one, not a spiritual
one. Being born-again and becoming identified with the death of
Christ, His life might be manifested in our mortal flesh, and
the life of the Son of God is born in us; therefore, the perfection
of that life enables us not only to know what the will of God
is , but to carry out His will in our mortal body.
Exodus 33:20 ; Rom. 6:23 ; Eph. 2:1 -We became subject to death not because we are finite beings but because of sin. Whenever we touch sin, death is the result. No one can see God and live, yet we do see God and live - but only by going through death. When we are born-again, we are also experiencing death. For to be born-again we must die-die to our claim to our right to ourselves. -and receive the gift of eternal life, which is "the gift of God in Jesus Christ Our Lord. "
Gen. 3:12 , 13 , 14 , 15 -Adam and Eve did not blame themselves, both evaded the moral truth, they admitted but did not confess. Either we refuse to say we have sinned or we admit we have sinned and refuse to let God save us.
Rom. 16:20 ; James 4:6-8 ; 1 John 1:9 ; Gen. 3:15 --Whenever the conviction of sin comes, we must pull it out into the light and confess it. When we realize the shame of sin and accept God's forgiveness, an inwrought energy replaces the energy spent in the sin, that energy is recovered in 'the fruits of repentance. 'Man must deal with Satan because man is responsible for his introduction into this world. It is man, through redemption, who is to overcome Satan and do that which would exhibit the perfect fulfillment of His prophecy regarding the serpent.
Gen. 6:5 ; Jere. 17:9 ; Matt. 15:19 ; 1 Cor. 2:9-16 ; Eph. 4:22-24 -Whenever we choose to disregard God, we are acting out of our depravity. We can never rest on the assumption that now that I am saved and sanctified, all that I choose and think are sure to be right. Not by any means. If our choices and our thinking do not spring from a determined recognition of God, we are depraved no matter what our spiritual experience has been.
We transform the natural into the spiritual by daily putting-off and putting-on, to reflect on the word of God, to learn the art of biblical meditation, to know the mind of Christ, and to 'apprehend all things' from His divine perspective.
Change:
Gen. 6:8-9
; 2 Pet. 1:2-8
-The only thing that keeps back God's
grace and favor is our sin and perversity. To walk with God as
Noah is the 'trial ' of faith. Spiritual character is only developed
as Noah's was-by standing loyal to God's character, no matter
what distress the trial of faith brings as with Job and with Noah,
the flood and the destruction of mankind. God in His infinite
mercy saves us by His judgment.
It is not judgment inaugurating salvation, but judgment that is salvation-with nations and with the human race. The natural life is un-moral and unspiritual. It is translated into the spiritual by obedience. We are to add to our lives all that character means. No one is born either naturally or supernaturally with character, it must be developed. Nor are we born with habits-we have to form godly habits on the basis of the new life God has placed within us.
Gen. 7:17 , 19 , 23 , 24 ; 8:10 , 15 , 18 ; 9:8 ; Luke 21:19 ; James 1:2-4 - Check the instincts, the impulses, the reactions to sight, sense and circumstances, but hold firm to God's covenant, His promises by faith, by the Word and by the Spirit. Noah exhibited the humility of patience . Patience is not the same as endurance, for the heart of endurance is frequently stoical, whereas the heart of patience which sees intuitively and waits God's time in perfect confidence. Noah waited for God's time to leave the ark. When He comes is a matter of indifference. What matters is that we walk with Him as we wait.
Gen. 2:2-3 ; 9:6-12 ; Phil. 2:12-13 -All great blessings of God are finished and complete, but they cannot be ours until we enter into relationship with Him on the basis of His salvation. Waiting for God somehow to do something in us means we have no faith in Him. We have to go out of ourselves to enter into the covenant of God, just as God went out of Himself to enter into His covenant with man.