The Upward Call!

An angel is a messenger of God. But not all messengers are angels. The Vision Pt.1 concluded by looking closely at disciples of Christ, redeemed and regenerated believers, as being the messengers of God bringing forth visions to the Church. Most often the vision is the unveiling of a mystery, a hidden truth preserved in scriptures waiting to be revealed. These truths are preserved in the early writings of the Old Testament, being as shadows of their reality of the New Testament in Christ. If one sees my shadow they do not see me, they only see a vague, dark outline that precedes me. So too, though the historical elements of the Old Testament stands as facts, the mysteries of God’s plan and purpose for man are present in types and shadows awaiting their revelation.For other episodes, find us at https://ufsministries.com/podcast/Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/kw1nYkLc-DI?si=nGBbiM0AEzrtRMew

Our focus here is on the distinction between sin as an evil act and sin as a power or force, as a compulsion to act in its own behalf. The power of sin like gravity, is ever present at work to corrupt the inner nature of man; and when given into, man commits sins by his outward actions. The simple sentence, “I sin,” is a complete sentence because it has a noun “I” and the verb “sin” that implies the action of committing sins. If however, as Paul writes, “…the law of sin in my members,” (Rm. 7.23) here the word sin is a noun, not indicating the action of sinning but of a present power of sin. I believe the word “sin” appears over forty-one times in Romans 5-8, forty times as a noun, which identifies a thing present, such as a power, and only once as a verb, indicating the act of sinning. This is an important fact to remember.

We are now ready to build upon the foundation laid by those six scriptures in Part 1of the previous Episode: Eph. 4.20-24; 2 Cor. 5.17; Col. 3.10; Gal. 6.15; Rm. 6.4; and Rm. 7.6 and now attempt to establish the mystery of how those two wills that seemingly act independently of one another come together as one in the new man. Even as man has two eyes to see, both looking at the same objects and giving direction to our walk, in like manner the new man can see as one in the natural as well as in the spiritual and to make godly decisions in life⎯it is part of his or her new nature. After all, life is intended to be spontaneously experienced, as our souls interact with the natural world through our bodies and also interact with the spiritual world through our spirits, we are made complete as our spirits are now bonded in unity with the Holy Spirit; this was as promised by Jesus in Jn. 14.16 “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.”

I recently noticed a large billboard along the highway that read: “Where are you going? To Heaven or to Hell?” Is this the one thing, the goal for which Paul wrote? Does eternity and eternal life come down to being in the right “place” at the end of time? Is the grand purpose in all creation to save man from the destruction of hell for the bliss of heaven? Absolutely not! This is an extremely narrow and immature view that maligns and demeans the provision of God as revealed in the Gospel of Christ. It is a deception, a distraction propagated by fleshly thoughts and desires and perpetuated by the enemy of our God. It sends man into delusions and fantasies.

Qualifying for the Race — The single qualification to enter this race is having spiritual life; a man without spiritual life, zoe, has no vitality and is unfit and unable to run this race. For the believer, it is written in 1 Jn. 512 “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” Therefore God has chosen us in Christ (Eph. 1.4), He is our sole qualification; and furthermore, it is written in Jud. 1.1 “we are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ;” which may more broadly be interpreted as, “being called we have received an invitation to enter that race, and have been consecrated or set apart by God to be a runner in it, and that He watches over us attentively as we run the race before us, able to preserve us to the finish.” Heb. 12.1-2 continues,“let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus.”For other episodes, find us at https://ufsministries.com/podcast

The previous Episode began laying the foundation for understanding just what is the “normal” Christian life. The “normal” that we see today seems to fall far short of the normal Christian life revealed in scripture—where there is a higher standard set. It seems that over time the Church has evolved to what it is today, but its evolution has largely been guided more by the mind of man, in a religious way involving certain doctrines, rituals, and routine; and not after Christ which brings life to the inner man, life that is new and spontaneous. There is a vast difference between Christianity as a religion and Christianity as life. We will now further examine the remainder our Ephesian passage in more detail. For other episodes, find us at https://ufsministries.com/podcast

In a divine covenant, God sovereignly establishes the nature of the relationship between Himself and man. God binds Himself by His own oath to keep His promises set forth under the covenant. Still, there are conditions attached to the oath on the side of man; if he does not keep the covenant’s conditions there will be consequences. A clear distinction must be made between the conditions, promises, and consequences under the Old Covenant cut in the blood of goats and bulls and the conditions of the New Covenant cut in the in the blood of Christ. It is as Jesus said at the last supper, “For this is My blood of the ‘new’ covenant,…” Mt. 26.28 By emphasizing the word “new” He was affirming this divine covenant did not just add to the Old Covenant but it superseded it and was to completely replace the Old Covenant. The New is not the reconditioning of the Old like one reconditions a house, but is a replacement of the Old, a house built upon a new foundation, not one of “the Law” but a foundation which is Christ. It is confirmed again in scripture, Heb. 13.8 “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.”

The Law of the Old Testament on the prophetic side was perfect for it undoubtedly pointed to Christ. However, on the moral side the Law held a standard of righteousness no one, not the highest of high priests, could obtain. Sin was made known to them through the law and the need for a savior was made obvious through their inability to keep the Law. So too, my good friend Albert tried as he may to control his character: his temper, attitudes, selfish actions, religious devotion, and so on, but grew increasing frustration that any sense of obedience did not bring any change in character, or any degree of deliverance from the “old man of sin.” Then one day it all became abundantly clear to him, that a life lived in union with Christ is presented as being righteous before God. Legalism brought him no closer to God; but it is obtained “in Christ.”