LIFE IN THE SON - Part IV

LIFE IN THE SON - Part IV

Think seriously about this.  It is mission critical that we make a complete commitment to the recognition and reception of JESUS CHRIST, THE SOURCE OF ALL LIFE and THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH.  Because whoever gets THE SON…GETS EVERYTHING!  

Let’s review the pertinent scriptures:

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.

Exactly 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 so many cases, it is not the empty feeling that is derived from being full of the world.  Instead, it is a bloated feeling 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, many of us are experiencing a seemingly 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 desperately needed to know where ADAM was!  What is our current state of affairs?  Today, a significant 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.  And only in My presence is fullness of joy.  Only at My right hand are pleasures forevermore! (Psalm 16:11)

After Satan launched the exact 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 would return – 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 to tempt him again and to solidify his STRONGHOLD over his life and family?  I can imagine the KIND of things Satan must have been trying to speak into Adam’s life, even after his original 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 have worked your fingers to the bone…pruning His trees… picking His fruit…work-work-work…and do you mean to tell me that GOD JUST DISSED YOU AND THREW YOU OUT…just like that?   After all you’ve done for God - you mean God treated you like that?”

The Word of God declares, “And you hath He quickened [made alive] who were dead in trespasses and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1) We were not physically present in our fore-parents’ day.  Nevertheless, when Adam fell, WE WERE VERY MUCH ALIVE - LIVING [INSIDE OF] 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 spiritually 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 means?  Jesus Christ, the Anointed One, freed us forever 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 permanent victory is assured!

Stay tuned…more to come tomorrow.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!