a joy to be me: indwelling Christ

Showing posts with label indwelling Christ. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Personified Principles.......

You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me, and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life. John 5:39, 40

A couple of years ago I completed the syllabus for a Christian growth seminar which I entitled "The Designer's Blueprint For Happiness." Based on the eight qualities of life listed in II Peter 1:5-7, I had developed a practical systematic theology using a multitude of Scriptural insights. The mimeographed materials that were to be given to students consisted of over three hundred pages of principles, illustrations and readings.

Only recently I saw that to try to see Scriptural principles without seeing Him who is The Principle is to try to see truths without seeing Him who is Truth. To try to see life without seeing Him who is life is like trying to see love without seeing Him who is love. The entire emphasis and approach of my syllabus had to be scrapped.

There is a wonderful emphasis today on the principles of Scripture. Those who are called to this emphasis (as I was for many years) are heeding the admonition to "Teach and preach these principles" (I Tim. 6:2). When properly seen as witnesses to Him who is The Principle of life, principles are great. But these principles must not degenerate into a new law. Man has al ways gravitated toward the law, because there is always that lingering hope that in our "separated selves" there dwells some good thing (even though Romans 7:18 says unequivocally, "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh"). The songwriter brother of the evangelist John Wesley was Charles Wesley. He bordered on union life truth when he capitalized the word "Principle" in his song, "I want a Principle with in." But "want" is a word of separation and unbelief, instead of a word of faith. Another song needs to be written with a title that is a positive acknowledgement: "I have a Principle within."

Unless we come to Christ when we come to the Scriptures (or to a Bible study, a church service, a "Jesus" rally, a Seminar on principles, or any other meeting or fellowship), we will not receive life. We might receive mental comprehension, have our ears tickled, or experience a subjective "high," but we will not receive life which manifests itself in love to others.

"Let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day - things which are a mere shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ" (Col. 2:16, 17). As mature, free spirits, we have a single eye on Him who is The Principle, and we do not have to look to human advice or even Scriptural principles for our decisions. Though some sincere people are involved in the current "shepherding" emphasis in some Charismatic circles, the failure of the leaders to adequately help the "sheep" see their full competency in Christ will retard their growth and reinforce feelings of guilt, inadequacy and incompetence. It would not be inaccurate to say that the shepherding emphasis is turning many legitimate groups into "cults."

Many of us have been challenged for years to study the Scripture because of the admonition of II Timothy 2:15: "Study to show yourself approved unto God." We interpreted this to mean that the more we studied the Scriptures, the more approved we would be of God. Once again we erroneously assumed that performance based on principles would gain God's approval. But the primary purpose of the Bible is not to underscore our need. It is to reveal the fact that Infinite Supply is available within each individual, that we might live as the approved person that we already are in Christ.

What is your reaction when people interrupt your Bible study or devotional times? Would your spiritual temperature drop substantially if you couldn't have those times for a couple of weeks? As important as the Scriptures are, they are still just a witness to He who is inner Truth. We must have an inner consciousness of union and oneness with God when we come to the Bible, or we will not experience His life, which is love.

When we are exposed to someone who really "knows the Word," most of us tend to be very impressed. We wrongly assume that there is a correlation between how much one knowsabout Scripture and how one's life reflects Christ. If only we knew more, we too would act more "Christ-like." If only we read our Bible more, memorized more verses, and meditated more on the Word, we too would have more faith, more power, and more love. But all head knowledge, even knowledge of Scriptural prin ciples, is merely wisdom of this world, which Paul classified as "foolishness before God" (I Cor. 3:19).

Since I am a lawyer, it is not surprising that for years I catalogued the commandments of the principles of Scripture, just as lawyers catalogue the legal rulings of the various courts of law. Only a proverbial Philadelphia lawyer can understand some of the fine-line distinctions which courts have drawn to justify their decisions. And only a Philadelphia-type theologian can distinguish all of the principles of the Bible and apply them in a proper context. Consider the following opposites:

Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee. Mark 5:19. (Share your testimony with others.)

And he charged them that they should tell no man. Mark 7.36. (Do not share your testimony with others.)

Carry no purse, no bag, no shoes. Luke 10:4. (Take no provisions.)

But now, let him. who has a purse take it along. Luke 22:35. (Take provisions when you go out.)

Undoubtedly, some readers will have no trouble reconciling such principles based on historical context, or on another translation of the Greek, or on dispensationalism, or on Old Testament prophecy, or on something. But most reasonable men would have difficulty.

In any event, we must learn that none of the above principles nor any others, are meant to be absolutes that are to apply to every comparable situation. The fact is that it is just as impossible to delineate the principles. Have you ever noticed how often godly men with different persuasions and contrary advice come up with a reasonable Scriptural basis to justify their approach to the same problem? Who and what are we going to listen to? Any attempt to make decisions based solely on the outer application of supposedly objective principles of Scripture is foolishness.

Man's desire to classify truth and automatically apply principles to life's questions is just another manifestation of his love for creeds and mental beliefs. I'm surprised that some enterprising Christian has not devised an IBM computer program which would "Scripturally determine the will of God" as to any question fed into the computer. With the advent of computerized dating and mating, why not a computerized will of God?

I am convinced that God purposely introduced the contrast of seemingly conflicting principles in the Bible so that in his frustration man would turn to the inner Source for his answers. Inner knowing, not head knowledge, is the proper basis for making a decision. Both wisdom and understanding are given to man by intuition and revelation. "If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously" (Jas. 1:5). The wisdom comes in an attitude of Christ-consciousness. With such an awareness we have confidence that our decisions are His decisions.

God's advice is, "Be still and know that I am God" (Psa. 46:10). Man has changed it to, "Become something on earth by knowing more principles about God who is in heaven." Instead of just "being" (experiencing unified existence), we stress "becoming" (attainment). Instead of inner knowing with the heart, we stress outer knowing with the mind. Since our premises are based on a separated outlook (we are earthbound and God is in heaven), our final conclusion is also separated. Instead of coming to the truth that "I am an expression of the unified God right now," we conclude that he wants us to be quiet and worship Him as an external God; with the hope that someday (presumably after the rapture) things will be different.

John 5:39, 40 could well be paraphrased, "You search the Scriptures for principles, as if in the principles you have life. Though the principles do bear witness of me, you must see through the principles to Me if you really want life." It is the awareness of our union with Christ and His expressions here on earth that brings life, not the mental absorption of principles. Face the truth that even Scriptural principles are foolishness un less we see through to The Principle within.

- By Bill Volkman

Friday, November 14, 2008

Heaven on Earth.......

I live in heaven on earth. Yup! That is how it should be. We don't have to wait 'til we die! Although, our future in heaven will be wonderful indeed and I can't wait! We are the temple of God! We have the very life of Christ being carried around in us, and Jesus is seated in heavenly places, so are we!! HELLO~!!! Lord, let your kingdom come on earth more and more! Let the truth of our lives as christians being hid in you, with you, as you become revealed to the body across the earth!! (check out Rob's latest message)

I have been singing this oldie by Belinda Carlisle for some time now, I though it was yet another secular prophetic song that needed to be shared! (by the way, I had the same hairdo and dress back in the early 90's, yup I did!!)

Sunday, December 30, 2007

There is so much more to the Gospel, than just the Cross!!

For most of my Christian life I lived believing that the Gospel was about believing that Jesus died on the cross to satisfy God's wrath for sin, so that I could have a way to be in a relationship with God. God being a just God, a holy God, had to have sin punished - so He sent His only son Jesus to live and to die for me, so that I could come to God and be cleared of my sin and have a relationship with Him and one day go to heaven. So to me salvation meant I was saved from my sin so I could now be free from God's wrath and one day I would get to go to heaven. Essentially, that is what I believed and what I thought summed up the Gospel. However, this version of the gospel left me in a confused state as to what do I do in the meantime. I mean it's great that Jesus saved me from going to hell, which was what I thought God's wrath represented, and that I would be with him in heaven for all eternity, but what about now...now what do I do, what does life me for me now??? Well, as you know I have shared what my life was like for many years, trials, confusion, struggles, striving, condemnation.....but no Victory, no peace, you know that deep inner peace that I was supposed to have. Well, thankfully, there is more to the gospel than what I had understood. SOO much more...I won't even be able to really scratch the surface in this post, but I will try. What I didn't understand, in my heart, although I had heard it here and there, was that God's wrath that was satisfied, didn't just mean I was rescued from hell. It means that God poured out all his wrath for all sin on Jesus and it was fully satisfied...allowing Him to forget my sin, and see it no more..it is gone, as far as the east is from the west...and God made a promise, through the prophet Isaiah (see Is. 54) to never be angry with me again! Wow!!! I do not have to fear that I am not in right standing with God anymore! Also, I learned that when Jesus died He became sin for us, so we could become the perfect righteousness of Christ....this is a supernatural exchange....and by Faith I believe it, not that I look like the perfect righteousness to anyone else, but that is how God sees me, and this is true because I, in the spiritual sense died, my spirit that is, with Christ and rose again and now I am a new creation in Christ, I now have the very life of Christ in me.....wow....So I died to sin, myself...and one more thing....the Law...I am not under the curse of the Law, the tutorship of the law in my life is now over....I know have it written on my heart, and I have the gift of righteousness along with the Holy Spirit, my helper and I have and indwelling Christ......I also want to say, the cross is important, but Jesus rose again...ascended to Heaven and now sits at the right hand of the Father, He is alive and we can serve a risen Lord.....these are amazing truths that unfortunately get glossed over because as Christians we don't get it....we don't feel righteous, we don't necessarily look righteous so we think we still have a sin problem...yes, we will sin a bit......but if we lay claim to these truths and take them by FAITH and trust that God isn't lying to us, because this is all in His Word...we can then begin to see victory and we can have a peace deep in the very core of our being..because that's where Christ lives and we begin to KNOW it, really KNOW it, not Know about it...but sense it ....I suppose I could go on there is so much more to speak of.....I just want to say also, our feelings aren't the greatest thing to rely on when it comes to believing this, and other people's opinions and wary words do not change the fact that this is true....after all it is clear in the Scripture!!!!