Saturday, January 22, 2011

Growing With Ever Increasing Glory

Growing With Ever Increasing Glory

(The following lesson is taken from the writings of Steve Bray- “The Gospel of the Kingdom.”)

True growth in the glory or spiritual image of Christ will not begin until we have been lifted into the Sabbath-rest of God, where everyone rests from the work that comes from self-will. Before the baptism with the Holy Spirit takes place, there will remain a natural antagonism within our nature against God’s requirements of holiness. And if we are fighting against holiness, we will never grow with ever-increasing glory into the likeness of our glorified Lord. “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the {indwelling presence of the} Lord.” (Heb. 12:14)

The desert wilderness was intended be a time of putting off the old way of life. We are to come out from the ways of the world and touch no unclean thing. We are to put off the old self and its deceitful desires {all heart idols must be given up}. We also must allow our mind to be renewed as we turn from the self-directed way of life to the Spirit-controlled way of life. In this process, God will be bringing us to the end of our self-sufficiency, because only in perfect weakness are we able to perfect the power of God in our lives, “for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9) Only then are we able to begin putting on the “new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph. 4:24)

What we are saying is that all growth in glory, which is growth in the divine nature, takes place in the Sabbath-rest of God, where everyone rests from man’s way of human effort. When the Author and Perfecter of our faith has accomplished His work of entire sanctification, we are enabled to live wholly by faith in God. This is the land of superabundant fruitfulness. The Lord’s supernaturally imparted love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control will begin to flow naturally from our new nature.

The “light of life,” which has its source in the life of God, is infinite when related to our finite world. So once we are born of the Spirit with our willful nature cut off, we can know there is no limit to how much we can grow in the glory of the Lord.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is {in power}, there is freedom {from the sinful nature}. And we, who...all reflect the Lord’s glory {meaning His spiritual image}, are being transformed into his likeness, with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:17-18)

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect {in the life of the glorified Lord}, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. (Phil. 3:12)

The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple {as a continuous river of divine life}... As the man went eastward...he measured off a thousand cubits {which relates to God’s perfect order} and then led me through water that was ankle deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the {living} water had risen and was deep enough to swim in – a river {of life} that no one could cross {back over into the world – Praise the dear Lord Jesus! This is the level of divine life that provides the only true eternal security.}…Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows... Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water {of divine life} from the sanctuary flows to them… (Ezk. 47:1, 3-5, 9, 12)

The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring WHOSE WATERS NEVER FAIL...then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will CAUSE YOU TO RIDE ON THE HEIGHTS OF THE LAND AND TO FEAST ON THE INHERITANCE {which is the firstfruits of the eternal life}... (Isa. 58:11, 14)

…Whoever drinks the water I give him will NEVER THIRST. Indeed, the water I give him will become IN HIM A SPRING OF WATER WELLING UP to {the firstfruits of Christ’s} eternal life. (John 4:14)

…If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me {which implies following Him through the cross}, as the Scripture said, “FROM HIS INNERMOST BEING WILL FLOW RIVERS OF LIVING WATER.” (John 7:37-38 NASB)

Jesus did not come to merely offer us right doctrines to agree with in our mind. He came to give His life to us. We are to believe in Him with the kind of faith that seeks out a union with His divine life and nature. He is the gate into both the “Feast of Firstfruits” and the “Feast of Ingathering.” We are to receive the firstfruits of His eternal life in this world, and the whole harvest of His life when we receive our glorified bodies.

But we cannot gain access to the rivers of living water which are waiting to flow through our inner being by the power of the Holy Spirit if we do not die to self and enter into the firstfruits of the eternal life through Christ’s life. As the Scripture said, when we are drinking of His Living Water, we will never thirst again. He is able to satisfy our soul because His river of divine life comes directly from the throne of God in the heavenly realms. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in {the life of} Christ.” (Eph. 1:3) We are now able to feast on the firstfruits of the life we will experience throughout all eternity.

Are you still relying on a right belief in mere words and doctrines? If you are, it is time to turn from your religion to a faith that actively seeks out Christ’s life and nature. We are not questioning your belief in Jesus. But have you ever believed in the one Lord who is able to produce rivers of Living Water from within your eternal soul and keep you from ever thirsting again? “According to your faith will it be done to you.” (Matt. 9:29)

Have you become a fountain of divine life or are you still attempting to carry your Christianity around by human effort while believing the words in a Book? There are lots of people who think they know the word of God, and there are a few who have become great scholars of the Bible, but most of them have never turned to the Lord in childlike humility and truly depended on Him to turn them into a vessel of His ever-flowing river of divine life. Remember, the goal of our faith is to become a lamp that manifests the light of His life and nature in this world.

You diligently study the Scriptures because YOU THINK {in error} THAT BY THEM YOU POSSESS ETERNAL LIFE. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me {through the cross and a death to your self-life} to have {my divine} life. (John 5:39-40)

…I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me {through a death to self on the cross} will NEVER walk in {carnal} darkness, but will have the light of {divine} life. (John 8:12)

The apostle John described the never-ending river of life that is to flow from the throne of God through our soul as a work of the Holy Spirit. (John 7:37-39) In other words, this river of Life is made up of the fruit of His Spirit. There should never be a moment when we are not filled to overflowing with Christ’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The fruit of the Spirit is a result of Christ’s life being manifest within our eternal soul. It is no longer a burden to walk as Jesus did when His living water is continuously flowing out of our new nature. And for this reason, where the supernatural fruit of the Spirit flows like a river, there is no need for law. We should, however, remember how our entrance into the Lord’s kingdom-life through the new birth only begins as an ankle deep river. But, as we grow with ever-increasing glory, the river will eventually become so deep that it will sweep us away into the eternal life of the Lord.

I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs...so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it {into a whole new being}. (Isa. 41:18, 20)

And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that {new} Way {Spirit-led and Spirit-controlled}... They will enter Zion {into the presence of the Lord} with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. (Isa. 35:8, 10)

But now that you have been set free from sin {the self-willed nature} and have become slaves to God {through the New Birth}, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is {the presence of Christ’s} eternal life. (Rom. 6:22)

God did not lie or distort the truth when He said, “I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land {of Sabbath-rest}... I will SAVE YOU FROM ALL YOUR UNCLEANNESS.” (Eze. 36:27-29) God does not give false promises. This is the long awaited “Promise of the Father.” He poured out this Living Water for the first time on the day of Pentecost. SUDDENLY, in a moment of time, all the disciples who had received this baptism were changed in nature. While they had already given up everything to follow their Lord, they still needed to be clothed with power in order to be united with the submissiveness of Christ’s nature. They truly entered into the Feast of Firstfruits. It was not spiritual regeneration, but rather an entrance into the firstfruits of Christ’s eternal life.

We should not be shocked when we hear this gospel message. The preordained plan of God was to have many sons who would walk in the spiritual image of the firstborn Son, being conformed to His likeness. (Rom. 8:29) As promised, the glorified Lord came to manifest the firstfruits of His eternal life from within each of His disciples. In this way they were enabled to “walk as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:5-6)

As we said before, Jesus did not come merely to teach doctrines for us to believe in our heads. He came to provide each of His consecrated disciples with a new life from heaven. He came to enable the sons of God to have His same mind and thought processes. He wanted us to understand God’s perspective in all matters of life. Furthermore, this new life in the Promised Land is intended to satisfy our soul as with the “richest of foods.” (Ps. 63:5) When all our spiritual needs are met by the indwelling life of the Lord, the arrows from this world will no longer be able to reach into our soul. We can say with Paul, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation... I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:12-13)

Remember the time when Paul and Silas were locked in a cell in the middle of the night after a very “hectic” day? They had been whipped until their backs were nothing but open wounds and blood. Not only were they tortured, but it happened to them as innocent men. You might say their “rights” were extremely violated. But in spite of all this trouble, we find them singing praises to their Lord and worshiping the glory of their God. In contrast, many Christians today have a difficult time finding joy in their scheduled worship services whenever the worship team does not put together a really good hour of entertainment. And if someone has merely said something bad about them, they find it impossible to sing praises to their Lord with true joy from the heart.

The difference between Paul and most Christians today is related to the covenant they are living under. Everyone who is still living by human effort is still living under Old Testament principles. It is easy know this because they have not gone any farther in the faith than to begin waiting until physical death to enter into the glorious life of their Lord.

When Christians do not enter into the ever-flowing river of Christ’s divine life, they must live by their carnal emotions on a moment by moment basis. This carnal way of life will be greatly influenced by their current circumstances. Consequently, their Christianity is only as good as the current conditions surrounding their life. Paul and Silas were living under the new covenant way of life. They had a supernatural river of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control continuously flowing from within their new nature. They did not have to struggle to produce this Christlike life. It naturally flowed out of them regardless of their temporal circumstances. The explanation is simple: Everyone born of God overcomes the world and shares with Christ in His life and nature in the heavenly realms.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with {resurrection} power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ {with His divine nature} may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you...may have power, together with all the saints...to know this {supernatural agape} love that surpasses knowledge {which means it cannot be taught by human wisdom} – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his {resurrection} power that is at work within us, to him be {the} glory... (Eph. 3:16-21)

The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him {by a supernatural work of God’s grace}. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him MUST WALK AS JESUS DID. (1 John 2:4-6)

In this way, {selfless agape} love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, BECAUSE IN THIS WORLD WE ARE LIKE HIM. (1 John 4:17)

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of {supernatural, self-sacrificing agape} love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Eph. 5:1-2)

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