ALL THINGS OUT FROM GOD (HGM 23 JULY 24)

A New Birth 

 A. As noted, when we are joined to the LORD, and become one spirit with Him, there is a BIRTH – a new creation in Christ Jesus is born. This is another way of saying that we have been born from above. We have received Christ from the outside of us into us -- new life is not born into us naturally – we have received Him from above. In short, God does NOT act upon us and change us into a new creation. Rather, He joins us to Christ and because we are then IN CHRIST we are new creations. HE is the source of all that makes this possible. 

B. Now please note that this does NOT mean that the old man in Adam – our natural man; our flesh – ceases to exist. That is not what Paul means when he says, “old things have passed away.” What he does mean is that our life is now Christ, and not the old. He means that all things that constitute true life are from out of God in Christ. The rest is under death. Eventually – at the resurrection of the body – the old will cease to exist. But for now, only the power of the old creation is broken. It remains present, and thus, possible to us to yield to it. Thus, we have in each believer two natures. 

C. The Bible speaks much about these two natures as the separation of soul from spirit in the believer. If we have received Christ there is this division between soul and spirit. The presence of Christ in us immediately creates this division. There is, on the one hand, Christ in us and all that is in Him. But there remains, on the other hand, all that is of the natural. And not only is there this division and great distinction, but there is a great conflict. The natural and the spiritual are against each other. 

D. Let’s lay this out: If you could take a pencil and draw a circle around the new creature in Christ – a circle around our resurrection union with Christ – all that is INSIDE this circle would be NEW. All that is INSIDE of this circle would be FROM OUT OF GOD in Christ. Inside of that circle would be LIFE, light, Truth – it would be Christ in us and all that constitutes the new birth. But outside of that circle would remain all that is OLD – the natural man and the flesh – outside of the circle would be that which is from out of the old man in Adam. 

E. Now hook this up with the statement of Jesus from John 3:6: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” The conclusion is that flesh cannot birth anything that is of God. Flesh can birth only flesh – and even if what the flesh births is highly religious or looks holy, it is still flesh. Only God can birth that which is of God. In short, only that which is from out of God is of God; is of the spirit. All that is from out of the natural can never be anything but natural. 

F. Once we begin to understand this Truth and realize that each believer has TWO natures – one within that circle in Christ, and one outside that circle of Adam – we should realize that only that which finds it’s source from Christ is of God. Anything that finds its source in the natural man is not of God. Only God can birth what is spiritual and of Christ. The rest must pass away. 

G. If Christ is in us -- then all that is in Him is from out of God as the source. Thus, this tells us who ought to be the source of all things for the believer: Christ. This is why Jesus said, “abide in Me,” and, “without Me you can do nothing.” Now, obviously, people can do plenty without Christ. It’s just that they can do nothing that is God’s will, or that is eternal. Indeed, the problem is that even Christian people do plenty that is not OUT FROM CHRIST – but rather, from out of themselves as the source, power, and intent. And where that is the case, what they are doing is part of that which is going to pass away. 

H. Again – we have Christ in us, and we have our natural man. God wants us to abide in Christ – to draw from Christ for all that we are, and all that we need. Christ IS our life – that covers everything. Thus, instead of drawing upon our natural resources, and using our natural man, we are to draw from Christ. 

I. Now, we are not going to do this unless God teaches us. And the way that God teaches us is not merely through information or directions. Those things help and we must find what God is doing in scripture. But God teaches us Christ, and guides us into all Truth, usually through experience. God will often allow us to try to live our lives on the basis of natural man – we tend to do this without realizing it. He will often allow this to prove to us the completely futility of it. He may even allow us to crash and burn. Why? So that we may see, through experience, yes, the emptiness of natural man, but more than that, so that we may have proven in us that in Christ alone are all things that are from God. 

J. When Paul said, “old things are passed away, behold, all things have become new – all things that are from out of God,” he was stating a finished fact. But then God will prove it to us if we are open to the Truth. We must still be brought into this finished Truth and will need to discover that all that we need is Christ, and what it means to abide in Him for all that is from out of God. 

K. What does it mean to ABIDE in Christ? It means, “to live from out of,” Christ as our source. It means that if we are already joined to the Lord and are one spirit with Him, that we must – by faith – live in Him and draw from Him all that we need. We are already joined to Him – now believe it, see it, and live like it. Christ is to BE our life. To function as if He is our life speaks to what it really means to abide in Him. He is the Vine. We are a branch. 

L. To abide in Christ as a branch abides in the vine is exactly what it means to enter His rest by faith. It means that I know IT IS FINISHED – and now I’m going to turn and live like it is finished – I am going to abide in the Christ who is my life, and in whom are all things from God. Of course, there is nothing here that I can do, or need to do, to make something happen. It is not a matter of getting God to do something. It is a matter of seeing who Christ is and of surrendering ourself to Him as Lord. A branch does not need to try to convince the Vine to help him. A branch need not to struggle to drag life from the Vine. A branch needs to abide in, and rest in, the Vine. If we do that, by faith, we will find that we are indeed already one with Him.

ALL THINGS OUT FROM GOD (HGM 18 JUNE 24)

Paul writes to the Church as Corinth and to us. “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (II Corinthians 5:17) In the Greek, it reads, “behold, all things are out from God.” Which is so true, “ALL” things are out from God.

 A. In this passage we find a description of Christianity or what constitutes a Christian. A Christian is someone who is “IN CHRIST” or as Paul says in Colossians 1:27, Christianity is, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Christ in us, or us in Christ, this is Christianity and a Christian and if we are in Christ, we are a new creation. 

B. How is Christ in us? How are we in Christ? Paul writes, “He that is joined to the Lord is ONE SPIRIT (with Him.)” (I Corinthians 6:17) Salvation takes place when the LORD joins us to Himself and He makes us ONE SPIRIT with HIMSELF. Paul elsewhere describes this joining as being, “baptized into Christ.” (see Romans 6:3-5) He says we are PLANTED into His death, and thus, His resurrection. Christ is in us through the joined of our human spirit to Himself through His Spirit. 

C. An essential to see about this joining is that we are not generally given THINGS from the LORD aside from, or added to, Christ. For example, we are not given a THING called “salvation” because of Christ. Oh no. We are given all things IN CHRIST. We are joined to Jesus Christ Himself, IN WHOM there is all life. Much difficulty in the Christian life arises from trying to get things from God instead of receiving and living out from the Christ in whom are all things. 

D. God has wrapped up ALL THINGS in His Son, and He has freely given all things IN HIM. (Romans. 8:32) Thus, there is nothing that God has for us except it be found in His Son. So, we cannot receive the THINGS of God except we receive the Christ in whom are all things. The fact that God is sometimes merciful to bless people aside from what is in Christ does not diminish this overall Truth. 

E. Now what this ought to tell us is that if we are joined to the LORD, we have in Christ all that God has, indeed, all that God is. The goal, at that this point, is not to receive MORE from God or other THINGS and it is not to obtain more experiences. Oh no. The purpose of God once we are saved is that Christ be formed in us (Galatians 4:19) and that we be formed together with Him. (Romans. 8:29) If that is happening, then all that is IN Christ will likewise come into our experience. Christian growth or sanctification is never the result of getting more of Christ. Rather, it is a matter of the Christ we have already received being made manifest in and through us: 

F. Paul writes, “That no flesh should glory in his presence. 30But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31That, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the LORD.” (l Corinthians 1:29-31) 

G. This brings us back to our passage from II Corinthians. 5:17. You will note that it is our joining to the LORD that makes us a new creation. You will also note that everything that is of the new creation is, well -- NEW. And just as importantly, all of this newness that constitutes the new creation comes FROM God. Again, the Greek actually reads, “and all things (that constitute the new creation) are OUT FROM GOD. 

H. So, what we have is this: When we are joined to the LORD and become one with Him in spirit, what is birthed is a new creation in Christ Jesus. We become one with Christ in both His death and His resurrection, old things are passed away through His death and all things have become new. Note that we do not bring anything new into this relationship. Christ brings all and IS ALL, to us in this spiritual joining. That is why Paul says, “ALL THINGS ARE FROM OUT OF GOD.” In contrast, nothing new is from OUT OF US. 

I. A Christian is one who has been joined to the LORD made one with Him, and thus, has received all that Christ IS, and all that Christ has done. Despite the fact that it will take a lifetime and more for Christ to be unfolded and experienced, it still does not negate the fact that we have already received all things freely in Christ. Our joining to the LORD not only births a new creature, but immediately negates the old. All that we are in Adam, the natural and the flesh, the old Adam life is now under the work of the Cross. It has no place in the new creature. It is passing away. 

J. Notice that a Christian is not one who is made to LOOK LIKE JESUS or merely ACT like Jesus by following certain principles. Oh no. That is not sanctification. Rather, a Christian is one who is joined to the LORD and THROUGH WHOM Jesus Himself wants to live. When Paul said, “Christ, who is our life,” (Colossians 3:4) he was pointing to the fact not that Christ has given us a life to live for Him, but that HE IS OUR LIFE and wants to live in and through us. 

K. God is not making Christians into little Xerox copies of Jesus. Rather, He wants each of us to manifest through us the Christ who dwells in us and to be living evidence of the fact that we are joined to Him.