LIFE IN THE SON - Part IV
Think seriously about this, for it
is mission critical that we recognize, reverence and receive JESUS CHRIST, THE
SOURCE OF ALL LIFE. Why? Because whoever takes THE SON…GETS EVERYTHING!
I John 5:11-12
And this is the record…that GOD hath
given to us eternal life, and this life is in HIS SON. He that hath THE SON hath life; and he that
hath not the Son of God hath not life.
Ephesians 4:13-15
Till we all come in the unity of the
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That we henceforth be no more children,
tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the
sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
but speaking the truth in love may GROW UP INTO HIM in all things, which is the
head, even CHRIST.
What is the contemporary dilemma of
the institutional church, contrasted with the predicament of those who fully
embrace the standards of the world?
Consider this. Most UN-believers
are unfulfilled [they harbor lost and empty feelings] because they long for the
Christ-Word to be poured into their souls.
On the other hand, many believers also appear to be unfulfilled. But in our case, it is not the empty feeling
that is derived from being so full of the world. It is a bloated feeling that we have;
because, although we are so full of the Word, we somehow fail to empty
ourselves into this generation! We are
pregnant with so much purpose and so much destiny; but instead of giving birth,
we go through an endless gestation period, and relatively few spiritual babies
are being birthed! That’s why WE
BELIEVERS sometimes feel listless or restless and out-of-sorts! Are you ready for this?
In the Garden of Eden, God came looking
for Adam – not because God did not know where Adam was – but because ADAM did
not know where ADAM was! And what is our
current state of affairs? Today, a large
number of men and women are LOST, both outside and inside the church! When GOD cried out, “Adam, where art
thou?”…He did not mean which BUSH are you hiding behind? Quite the contrary. He meant…there IS a PLACE BY ME that at one
time you occupied…and now I am painfully aware that you have departed from MY
PRESENCE. Only in My Presence is fullness
of joy. Only at My right hand are
pleasures forevermore!
After Satan launched those same
primal temptations against THE SECOND ADAM, JESUS CHRIST, the Bible says “he
[Satan] departed for a season,” which simply means he went away for a while,
but he came back. He returned – to
attempt again – to tempt again. That old
boy just won’t quit, will he? Consider
this: If Satan was bodacious enough to come again to tempt JESUS CHRIST, don’t
you think (after the fall), that he came again to Adam in an attempt to tempt
him again and to solidify his HOLD over him?
I can imagine the KIND of things Satan must have been trying to speak
into Adam’s life,even after his fall from grace: “I told you God was lying! He said the DAY that you eat of the tree you
would die. Yeah, you and Eve are lookin'
pretty good for ‘dead folks!’ You’re
800-years-plus now – and you ain’t dead yet!
And if God lied about that, how can you believe what He says about
anything else? That old ungrateful
Creator! You and your old lady work your
fingers to the bone…pruning His trees… picking His fruit…work-work-work…and do
you mean to tell me that GOD-JUST-THREW-YOU-OUT…just like that? After all you’ve done for God - you mean God
dissed you like that?”
Ephesians 2:1 says: “And you hath He
quickened [made alive] who were dead in trespasses and sins.” We were not physically present in our
fore-parents’ day. But when Adam fell,
WE WERE VERY MUCH ALIVE - LIVING [INSIDE] THE FIRST ADAM. Indeed, we were TRAPPED-IN-ADAM; and as such,
we were partakers of his fallen nature.
That’s why the Bible says that MAN is born IN sin…not born TO sin…but
born IN sin! (Psalm 51:5) That is, when
God told Adam “The day that you eat of the tree, you shall die,” God was
simultaneously speaking to ALL FUTURE GENERATIONS THAT WERE
LOCKED-UP-INSIDE-ADAM. Yes, Adam, the
day that you decide to eat of the tree…you are dead…but THANK GOD FOR
CALVARY! Thank God for THE BLOOD OF THE
LAMB, without which there is no remission of sin! (Matthew 26:28) Do you know what THE CROSS OF CALVARY
actually means? Jesus Christ, the
Anointed One, freed us from the curse that we were LIVING under (and DYING
under). And because of His shed blood, “IN
HIM WE LIVE, and move, and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) Henceforth, we are alive, liberated and we
are covenant “PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE.” (II Peter 1:4) You better believe it! You and I are WINNER-BELIEVERS and our
victory is assured!
Stay tuned…more to come tomorrow.
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