Christ's Power to Save to the Uttermost

"Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who    is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;  who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. (Hebrews 7:25-27 NKJV)" 

I have often thanked God for saving me from the sin that separated me from Him. Sin that would have consumed my life if I had no Savior. Sin that results in death, eternal death. Yes, I and many who know our Lord Jesus cannot thank God enough for saving us from sin through His Son Jesus Christ.

As we reflect on salvation in Christ, let us take an even closer look at what it means to be saved out of our sin. We have come to understand what it means...at least in part...but have we come to understand what power has now been granted to those who have received His Spirit as a result of that salvation? For those who have received Christ's sure promise of the Spirit of Truth, our ever-present indwelling Helper...there is even more to understand about what it means to have been saved out of our sin.

Much of my life, I have thanked God for saving me from my PAST sin.  Many of God's children have come to that point of worthy gratitude, for we once stood in our past sin without the curse being removed...a place separated from God. We are right to thank and praise Him for saving us from those specific past sins. But as we grow in knowledge and depth of insight into God's Word, we learn that not only have we been saved from past, specific sins, but that we are saved from SIN, that is the sinful nature that once ruled our bodies. We come to understand that on our best day, where we did far more good than bad, that at the end of that day, we were still sinful because the sin nature of Adam had been transmitted to us upon birth, for we are descended from Adam. We come to realize that as a human born after the fall of man, a disease is now carried by the entire human species that takes life away from every one who was otherwise created in the image of a holy God...and Christ's finished work on the cross has now provided the one and only way to be cured from that disease we know as sin. We come to know that the specific sins that our consciences were so preoccupied with (a blessed conviction) are the symptoms of the much deeper disease. Treating the symptom may make the patient feel better for a time, but if the patient is to live...and not just live but have life to the full!...he must be completely healed of the disease. We come to realize that even when the sinful symptoms have been suppressed, that the disease of our sin nature remained. The proof of this is the very next day when we once again sinned in a specific manner...demonstrating the symptoms once again of this dreadful and cursed disease.

This is a turning point for any Christ follower--the recognition that Christ has not only come to take away our bad records and blemishes, our sins of the past, but He has won the victory of destroying our very sinful nature and the Evil behind it. For every 1 pharmaceutical medication that cures a disease, there are probably tens or hundreds that treat disease, proof that a disease is much harder to cure than to simply treat. Is the same not true of our sin?!  Oh how we strive to treat our sin! But our Father has administered the cure. How many times have we focused our finite human strength on conquering a specific sin or sinful habit? Only to find ourselves soon struggling with sin in another area, or even repeating sins that we thought we once conquered? Have you not experienced this yourself? I suspect that any measure of introspection will lead to this discovery for the regenerated in Christ. Why is it not enough? Why do we continue to fight sin? Because we have tried to conquer in our strength instead of the strength granted by our Lord through His ever-present Spirit. Because in those times when we have worked in our strength to conquer a specific sin, we have been lured into treating a symptom instead of curing the root of the disease. The Evil One is content to tempt and plague the child of God with the next available sin. He is not overwhelmed by us, walking in our strength alone, sending all of our troops and forces, so to speak, to fight one division of His army of temptation...for it gives Him an open attack on the unguarded areas. Hear this vital truth of the spiritual battle: The Holy Spirit has been sent to be enough. The Holy Spirit is not a scarce resource. The Holy Spirit never makes a decision to send some of His energy to fight one battle at the expense of another--our God is infinite! When we invite our Lord to be our everything, only then do we have the ability to conquer our enemy at the root, and to conquer the sin nature that so tenaciously tries to cling to our flesh. We require a Savior who can save to the uttermost, to the core. We require a Savior who does not simply clean us off every time we sin, His power limited to things we've done in the past...a perpetual eraser. Perhaps you and I have thought of our Lord Jesus as such. No, our Lord has the power to save us from the very disease of sin, and from the Evil One. 

Back to the question: Why do we continue to fight sin? If I sinned today, why have my efforts not yielded a total conquering of the sin nature such that the specific sins have ceased? One reason: I am not fully yielded to the Spirit of The Lord, I am not yet fully crucified and identified with Christ. Oh to be fully yielded to the Spirit of Truth, in whom there is only righteousness and no deceit! Oh to be walking in the Spirit, truly praying without ceasing! Oh to love our Lord such that we had only the desire to obey His commands and worship Him! Oh to be fully surrendered to the cross of Christ, such that our entire self identity has died a gruesome death, leaving behind only an identity in Christ! That day is coming for all who have received the Promised One, being sealed for the day of salvation. That day is coming. But if just now you have sinned, let that spur you onward to seek The Lord all the more. To proclaim once again that you are His and His alone. That you are chosen and accepted, cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, once a slave to sin, now a slave to righteousness (Rom 6:16-18)! And therefore you have only 1 master and no other master can claim you: you are Christ's. Though you and your Savior be besieged by Evil, though the battle grows fierce, though you suffer harm and feelings of shame--you cannot be separated from Christ! Our Kingdom stands! The battle is won! "Though the righteous falls seven times, they rise again" (Prov 24:16). This is the power of our Lord granted to those who have been saved by Christ. And not only that, we carry within us the Power not to sin, which is the only true measure of being saved from sin--that we would "go and sin no more" (John 8:11). If we do not hold that power to go and sin no more, than we have only partial salvation, only saved from sins past, but not from the nature of sin that would cause us to sin again. Oh, but we have Christ who does indeed save to the uttermost.

We have carried the Holy Spirit in us since we received Him willingly, yet we have sinned since then. Why? The self is not yet fully conquered, fully surrendered, fully crucified with Christ. And how gracious is our Lord to send us His Spirit to live in communion with us, though we are still not fully sanctified to Him?! If man had conceived of a plan of salvation, surely he would have determined that the Spirit of God could only be granted to those who were fully worthy of perfection. But who would ever qualify? Truthfully, we need God to meet that qualification. Perhaps man would have then decided that instead, upon receiving the Holy Spirit, that the temple must then never be defiled again. That either he no longer had the capacity to sin or if he did sin, he would lose the Spirit of God. We know by observation that the first assertion is not true, for we have retained the capacity to sin after receiving Christ! Even the Apostle Paul cries out in his distress over this truth (Rom 7:14-8:2). And the second assertion that the Spirit would remove Himself from any vessel not still perfect would leave us hopeless...and once again we see perhaps the best scriptural example in the Apostle Paul, for he surely retained the Spirit such that he was empowered to write scripture to tell on himself and his ongoing battle with the flesh.

No, man could not conceive of this plan of salvation on his own. This is a divine master plan. That our perfect God would willingly come to aid us, who are plagued with disease and not fully sanctified to Himself. That He would seal us with the promise of full sanctification and unity. And that He would provide us the power not to sin though granting us such an intimate union with the Spirit that He is said to live within us. Coming to a conclusion, regardless of specific theology regarding salvation and the Holy Spirit, for the sincere in repentance and crying out to God for salvation through Jesus Christ, there is an overwhelming and blessed implication: We have been saved from sin. Not just a sin or sins, but SIN. Not just our pasts, but our futures! Do not misunderstand this: This is not a license to willingly sin knowing that The Lord will, in the future, cleanse us of our future sins after they have been committed (he would still only be an eraser in that case)...this is the opposite...that He has empowered us not to sin, to go and sin no more. He has given us the assurance of being saved from ever sinning again...but He has done it in a way that allows us to reciprocate and be co-laborers with Him. He has not made us robots or forced us not to sin, but instead, through His Spirit, He has empowered us with the strength to defeat the full sinful nature that once reigned over our bodies and to defeat the Evil One altogether.

As Christ-followers, we have each received the full armor of God (Eph 6). We have received the power and divine tools to completely conquer the enemy. But too many of us have taken the armor God has given us and placed it neatly on display in our rooms. We admire it, we may kiss it goodnight and good morning, we may take pride in it and tell our friends so that they can admire it, but too many of us refuse to wield it. I encourage you as Paul did, to PUT ON your armor. It is yours, given to you by our Lord. This is what it means to have received the Power to never sin again AND to choose to use it.

He has empowered us, but we must embrace Him, taking up our cross daily. We must learn to fully surrender to Him. We must learn what it means to truly love Him. So as we give thanks to God for saving us out of sin, let us remember to thank Him for giving us access to the Power to go and sin no more and for saving us from the curse of sinful flesh to the very uttermost. And because of that blessed grace, nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ (Rom 8:35-38). Amen.

Finishing Christmas in India

Phil 1:6 – “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Well, my Christmas week this year is one of the most unique I have experienced. After all, this is my first Christmas outside the US!

I had the privilege of preaching in church on Christmas morning. I realized that although I don’t preach much in the U.S., I get the opportunity often in India, and this year I preached both on my birthday and Jesus’ observed birthday. Pretty cool. The topic was “Missing Jesus,” and it went as well as I could have hoped, given the minimal amount of time I was able to prep.

But the best part of my Christmas was spending several days away from the city and very near to our oldest girls’ home. Sitting on top of the guest house in the cool mornings or evening, taking in the peaceful scenery or crystal clear night sky, getting ample rest and peace and quiet…to quote the Christmas carol: these are a few of my favorite things. And on the evening of Christmas, as well as the days that followed, the Lord blessed me abundantly with quality time with our girls.

For 3 days, I was 2 things: older brother and teacher. On Christmas day, I gifted our girls a world globe and told them about when I was growing up and I had a globe. I would close my eyes and spin the globe as fast as I could, then plunge my finger down onto the surface, abruptly stopping the speeding globe, often pointing to some fanciful, exotic place that I had never known existed nor ever hoped to see. Sometimes my finger would stop on India. As I recalled that portion, they gave out an “ooo” of delight, which I had not expected. I told them that I had wondered what India was like and decided that I would never go there. Wrong!

Finally, I told them that a person never knows where God might send them. Then they each took turns spinning the globe, eyes closed, and “discovering” where the Lord might take them.  Russia, Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, many African countries, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada were of those that were “discovered” with curiosity and delight.  And even a couple of girls landed on the U.S., bringing the biggest smiles and exclamations. It was a wonderful time.

The rest of the week, in addition to playing many games, I tutored our 5^th-12^th graders in the subjects of algebra, geometry, chemistry, physics, general science, and English. I’m not sure who enjoyed it more. Below is a picture of the board at the end of the physics session. Nerd alert: I must say that to my eyes, there is a certain beauty in meaningful equations and theorems written on a chalkboard!

 

Finally, on my last evening with them before having to travel back into the city, we were down to our final hour together. I told them, “We have one hour. What would you like to do?” To my surprise, “message” was the popular response. They wanted me to preach? (You should know that this wasn’t because my sermon on Christmas was particularly powerful or special. I rated it a C minus.) Many thoughts ran through my mind. How many teenagers would you expect to ask to be preached to if they only had 1 hour with a person who is not a preacher?  It soothes my heart to see how hungry our girls are for the Word of God and how readily they receive it.

Well, if you know me, you know that if anyone voices a desire for Biblical teaching, I can’t help but at least try. So I thought for about 30 seconds and realized this was very similar to our littlest girls asking for a Bible “story” unexpectedly a few weeks ago. So I decided to go with Gideon again. Except this time, we could dive into it a little heartier than just story telling.

The easiest way to preach in the whole world, in my opinion, is a scripted sermon through an interpreter. While they are interpreting, you can read your next line, look up, and deliver every word that you have chosen exactly. It’s virtually unnoticeable. But easiest doesn’t mean best.  Now, I took several hours to prepare for the Christmas sermon (though much less than normal). I wrote every line prior to speaking (well, most of the lines). And on this night in our girls’ home, I took 30 seconds to prepare and went completely off the cuff…and it was better by leaps and bounds than my Christmas sermon. Sure, with a few hours of prep it could be polished and improved, cross-referenced and summarized with punch, word-smithed and flow established.  But the Lord reinforced something in me through that experience. He is enough. His Spirit is present. He is ever faithful. He is the Teacher.

I don’t know if I’ll go scripted or go extemporaneous in my next sermon in India. Both have been blessed by the Lord at different times, and I’ve struggled with both at different times. But I do know that whatever the approach, it is God who makes the sermon powerful. It is also comforting to know that there is at least one sermon that I can go to “in season and out of season,” (expected or unexpectedly): Gideon. I must thank my Sunday School teacher and classmates back in the U.S. for allowing God to use them to burn the application of Gideon’s life into my brain in such a way.

Finally, since I’m on the topic of preaching. I am often asked in the days leading up to a day that I am preaching, “Have you finished your sermon?” My response has come from experience, “It’s never finished.” What I mean by that is that even when I think it’s finished, the Lord never ceases to change it. Every day and especially the night before, it changes. In fact, it also always changes somewhere between standing up to approach the pulpit and the words leaving my mouth! I thank the Lord for that. I think being a little “out of control” ensures that the Holy Spirit is still taking the control. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t for lack of trying to get it all done and perfect beforehand! But thoughts enter my mind while delivering the sermon that illuminate points that I hadn’t even thought of before. That is a lot of fun to experience, but also a little unnerving because I’m not always sure how it’s all going to tie back in together. And sometimes (I chuckle as a write) it does dead end and I have to reset back on track.

But the Lord hit me with a realization the other day, after being asked yet again if my sermon was finished. I started praying about that. And I had a revelation. I had told the person that the sermon is only finished when the last word is spoken, as we both chuckled. I meant it. But what a sad ending if that is where it ends! No, my prayer now is for an ever-unfinished sermon. A sermon that Lord continues to finish in the hearts and minds of the listeners as they walk through life that week, month, or even years. In fact, the sermons that have impacted me most…they still aren’t finished…as the Lord continues to use them in my life.

My personality type has a quest for conclusion. Finishing. Completing. Achieving. Marking off the list. And so I have always approached preaching in the same way. I search with my whole soul for the end of the sermon and have an almost restless inner stirring until it has been spoken. My prayer has often been for the Lord to help me finish it. Well, I now pray the same words, “Lord, help me finish this sermon,” but with an entirely different meaning.  I now look expectantly to give unfinished sermons. I pray that every sermon, teaching, and interaction I have with another human being remains unfinished…simply because God is still working in them through it.

And such is life with Christ. Ever being finished, never finished. Ever being sanctified, awaiting that glorious day when we enter our Lord’s perfect rest and completion in Heaven. Our Lord Jesus cried out on the cross before His last breath, “It is finished.” What a glorious declaration! And as Jesus has completed His redeeming work on the cross, as He completes every work He begins (Phil 1:6). I want to encourage you today to know that in the bounds of time, you and I may not yet be finished, but in the timeless existence of our Lord, He is proclaiming over you, “It is finished.” May we walk in such assurance and liberty with our Savior. Amen.

Relating to a Dimensionless God: The Conclusion

Continued from Relating to a Dimensionless God: Part 1...

"My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV)

...One day, the most gloriously peculiar thing began to happen. It all started when the Sphere once again entered flat space fully. In flat space, the Sphere appears as a circle, just like everyone else, except it is the only perfect circle without a single irregularity. Yet, it maintains its properties as a sphere existing beyond the dimensions of flat space. Therefore, we see that the Sphere exists as fully circle and fully Sphere at the same time.

The Perfect Circle points out some of the most obvious imperfections of many prominent irregular circles, beckoning them to draw near again to the Sphere. In fact, the Perfect Circle slowly begins to reveal that he is the Sphere! However, except for a very few, most of the irregularity ridden circles despise the Perfect Circle, convinced that he is not indeed as perfect as he claims and certainly not their Creator the Sphere! Eventually, all but a few imperfect circles come to hate the Perfect Circle and plot to kill Him, but they cannot, for they have no power over the Sphere. Instead, inexplicably, the Perfect Sphere/Circle submits Himself to erasure and allows the irregular circles to erase his apparent imprint on flat space. The sinister, perfectly irregular entity has never been nearer to the Sphere than now, cackling and insulting the Perfect Circle until finally the last of him is erased from flat space. The last Perfect Circle. The only Perfect Circle. Gone.
...

But what is that?! Something previously unseen! Has that been there the entire time or did it just appear? Flat space is not alone! Below it are two more sheets like it! But they seem as peculiar as flat space in many ways. The bottom layer is black space, and in it is the imprint of multitudes of very irregular circles, almost unrecognizable as circles…yes, their irregularities seem to be amplified compared to those in flat space. But between black space and flat space exists a most wondrous red space. And look! There! The Sphere! It is now residing in red space, perfectly cross-sected just as it once was in flat space! And it seems to be surrounded by a great number of circles…but wait, these circles are all perfect…and at times they occupy the same red space with the Sphere, such that they are indistinguishable from each other and the Sphere. What is this place? A place of restored perfect unity not seen since the very beginning!
...

Back in flat space, the Perfect Circle looks as erased as any circle ever has been...except those in flat space still don’t comprehend that his nature is truly a sphere, external to the 2D flat space that he in fact created. Even still, flat space has never seemed so irregular, so ugly, so full of certain and utter erasure. That is, until the most amazing thing happened…

It is the third day since the erasure of the Perfect Circle, the Sphere in flat space. Suddenly, MMMP! The Sphere slams the black and red spaces together against flat space! And just as suddenly, the Sphere appears again in flat space, a perfect circle! But there is something different, the Sphere is different…no, he is the same…but his appearance is now red. He seems to have somehow connected the perfection of red space with flat space!

A few irregular circles that once followed the Perfect Circle come near and seem almost magnetically attached to him, yet most of the flat space circles stay far away. In only a short time, the Sphere leaves flat space again, to the disappointment of the circles that had clung so closely to him. But again, a most peculiar happening: all who had connected to the Perfect Circle after His erasure have been changed…they have received his red color! What could this mean? They do not fully know, but it becomes apparent that those who know the Perfect Circle can be easily distinguished from those who never knew him.

Furthermore, slowly, but surely, all irregular circles that have been colored red begin to lose their irregularity. It is almost imperceptible…but yes, it is there! The irregularity is being healed! Meanwhile, as the healing, not-so-irregular circles mill about, some irregular, non-red circles begin to have contact with the red ones and they too become red. Others never become red. It is all a bit mysterious, but the red circles recall the Perfect Circle’s instructions to “Go and make red circles of all nations. I am with you always, to the very end.” As mysterious as it sounded, it seems to be true! That by simply carrying the Red Gift of the Perfect Circle, they have the power to share his healing Red Power with all who will receive it. What an amazing course of events!

Something good seems to be happening to these still irregular spheres with the Red Gift, because they are becoming less irregular every day. As good as that may seem, most shockingly, these red circles still begin to fade or suddenly disappear from flat land...the same as all irregular circles, whatever their color. But as they are erased, we see the red space receive their image—but look, this is perhaps the most amazing part! They are instantly transformed to a perfect red circle! And in the center of the red space? The Sphere, in majestic perfection and glory.

All circles that have not received the Red Gift at erasure are transferred to the black space, never having received the only passage to red space that comes through the Perfect Circle alone. Conversely, as many as have received the Red Gift at erasure are transferred to red space. In the black space, all irregularities are enhanced...in fact, they are perfectly irregular, just as the dreadful, perfectly irregular entity that now resides in the center of black space. In the red space, all irregularity is gone. And amongst them is the Sphere, the Perfect Circle, and the Red Gift is everywhere. In fact, they have all come to occupy the same space, such that you can no longer perceive one circle from another, nor any circle from the Sphere...they are as one! All circles are as one, and the Sphere is as one with all circles. Perfection, just as it was created in the beginning.

All praise to the Sphere, the Perfect Circle, and the indwelling Red Gift. All praise to God the Father, Jesus Christ our Savior, and the Holy Spirit of God. Forever and ever. Amen.


*Disclaimer: I acknowledge that this metaphor is not theologically perfect, omitting some of God’s character, and imperfectly representing other parts of his character. It is meant to articulate a greater perspective and help to understand God, Creation, Man, Sin, Heaven, Hell, Substitution, Intercession, and Sanctification…but it is not meant to explain each of them fully.

Relating to a Dimensionless God: Part 1

"My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV)

Borrowing the old preacher's metaphor of humans as two dimensional circles and God being a three dimensional sphere, I am inspired to build upon that imagery more thoroughly, for I believe that it is useful for understanding, if only slightly better, man's relationship to and infinite God.

We exist in a three dimensional world, four if you count time, as some do.  If there is a supreme God, then He created this three dimensional world and time itself, therefore being superior to any created dimension.  We cannot adequately describe anything that exists in dimensions beyond ours (though many have fun trying, and I enjoy the genre of movies and stories that spring forth from such creative thought); therefore, we may seek to build our understanding in reverse, placing our world anecdotally as the highest dimension and exploring the relationship to a created world with fewer dimensions.  We can then take our understanding of that scenario and place ourselves in the perspective of the world of fewer dimensions, God in the "world" of greater dimensions, and understand more fully our relationship to God.

Imagine a sphere existing in open space.  There is a sphere and nothing else but black space.  This sphere sheds what looks to be an outer covering and spreads it flat in the open space below.  Peculiarly, this sphere enters into this flattened out used-to-be-covering, such that it perfectly cross-sects the sphere.  MMMP!  A burst of light and the paper is gloriously stained.  The sphere moves sideways in the flat space, leaving behind the imprint of a perfect circle.  But that is not the end of this peculiar scene.  The sphere and this created circle have a strange interaction, with the ability to occupy the same space such that the sphere and the created circle cannot be distinguished from one another.  Even still, even greater peculiarity awaits.

Next, the sphere extracts a small portion of the created circle, such that it fades ever so slightly.  With this small extracted ink-like material, the sphere moves sideways in flat space and MMMP!  Another circle is created.  Now there are two circles and the flat space cross-sected sphere existing together, each abiding in the same flat space, with the ability of full overlap such that they are indistinguishable from one another.

If that wasn't intriguing enough, what happens next is quite disturbing.  Another entity, three dimensional and of abnormal shape...in fact, perfectly irregular if there ever was such a thing, with no two sides the same length, no two angles the same, and honestly ugly compared with the perfect circles...this entity descends to newly created flat space, entering such that it cross-sects just as the space did with the sphere.  This entity lacks the Mmmp! power to create its image in flat space...but this perfectly irregular entity has other, sinister power.

The perfectly irregular entity begins to encroach upon the two perfect circles.  The entity convinces the circles that if they allow it to be a part of their circles that they will know what it is like to be three dimensional!  They can become just like their creator, the sphere, he says.  Further, he says that the sphere does not want them to share that privilege, but that he can grant it, if they will embrace him.  Tricked, both spheres embrace the perfectly irregular entity.  Mmmp!  What's that?!  Horrifically, the once perfect circles look at themselves and see large, jagged imperfections!  They are still circular in nature, but their borders are characterized by irregularities.  "What a terrible thing has happened!" they cry, as the perfectly irregular entity cackles and flees the scene.

The sphere comes near.  The once perfect, now irregular circles seek to hide themselves, but they cannot.  As the sphere comes near, it becomes painfully obvious that with their jagged irregularities, they can no longer occupy the same space as the sphere.  The sphere desires to share the perfect unity again, as do the circles, but without being made perfect again, they simply cannot.  In fact, the sphere now withdraws itself such that it is no longer perfectly cross-sected by the flat space, but instead maintains a tangential relationship with constant contact to flat space, but much less intimate space sharing. The sphere, though unable to unite with the irregular circles as they once did, remains near, guiding them as closely as their irregularities allow. However, the irregular circles inexplicably begin to slowly fade.  This is quite disturbing and they grieve as they realize that only by their prior unity in flat space with the sphere were they able to remain fully vibrant in color.  But they are helpless against the fading that slowly persists.

The imperfect circles begin to multiply and multiply, until much of the once seemingly infinite flat space becomes occupied with imperfect circle after imperfect circle.  They find, heartbreakingly, that the circles they produce together carry imperfections, and no perfect circle is ever seen again.  Still, the sphere remains near to the imperfect circles that will remain near to him.  He never leaves, yet no circle, nor the sphere itself experiences the blissful unity they shared in the beginning.

Even worse, since receiving irregularity, the spheres seem to continually fade until one day they completely disappear, never to return again!  Furthermore, that dreadful, perfectly irregular entity continues to wreak havoc, amplifying the irregularities of the once circular that remain the farthest from the sphere.  Interestingly, the perfectly irregular entity dares not come near the sphere.  Worst of all, the perfectly irregular entity wields what every circle fears most: The Eraser.  Suddenly, and without warning, circles are erased, never to be heard from again!  It seems that whether by slowly fading away or suddenly, all circles are erased in time, and the cumulative irregularity of the flat space circles continues to grow. In fact, some circles become so jagged, so marred, that they are hardly recognizable as circles at all, much more closely resembling the perfectly irregular entity that seems to be at the root of everything imperfect in flat space.

With such irregularity and separation from all that was once perfect, many circles lose hope.  But others remember the promise given by the sphere throughout their generations: the promise of one that has the power to restore the circles to the sphere.  But when?  How?  And so they waited...

...To be continued...

Find the Conclusion here: Relating to a Dimensionless God: The Conclusion


*Disclaimer: I acknowledge that this metaphor is not theologically perfect, omitting some of God’s character, and imperfectly representing other parts of his character. It is meant to articulate a greater perspective and help to understand God, Creation, Man, Sin…but it is not meant to explain each of them fully.

Flesh and Spirit: Evidence of a Raging War

This is meant to be a partial examination of the war between the flesh and the Spirit, and I hope that at a minimum it leads you to ask deep questions of yourself and of God, and to search the Word for those answers.

(Written Saturday)

Today was softball day with my Sunday School class.  We play in a league through our church and have a great time, win or lose.  After every game, we always go somewhere to eat lunch together.  At lunch today, a few of my friends and teammates engaged in a conversation that accidentally drove to the heart of the war between flesh and Spirit.

One of my teammates had gotten upset during the game and thrown the bat in frustration at the fence…a seemingly benign outlet of less-than-controlled anger; however, unfortunately, the bat came a little too close for comfort to an opposing player.  The throwing of the bat was quite intentional...it being anywhere near another human being, quite unintentional.  Nevertheless, he had to leave the game and was full of godly conviction immediately after the incident, seeking out the opposing players, officials, and all of our team to own up to his mistake and apologize.  It was great to see everyone forgive and restore him immediately, and I love my brother in Christ today more than ever.

Later at lunch, one of my friends mentioned the scriptural truth that “out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matt 12:34, Luke 6:45), asserting that whatever things he or anyone utters is a direct reflection of what is inside of us.  We may not want the ugliness of sin to be inside of us, but our mouths give us away.  He therefore concluded that when people say, “I didn’t mean that,” when referring to an action or word spoken, they are incorrect…for in the moment, they did mean it, for their heart meant it, because out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.  Interesting train of thought that I could neither reject, nor wholly accept.  And my response erked me slightly and made me perk up and search deeper as to why.  Additionally, my teammate who had thrown the bat used his experience from a couple hours earlier to counter the argument, asserting that he by no means meant to hit the opposing player or to throw the bat whatsoever in any display of anger.  He found within himself, in that situation or any other, that the person he believes himself to be is not in tune with those actions and therefore, he could say accurately, “I didn’t mean that,” when referring to an action or word spoken…the opposite contention of my other friend.

As we debated and chimed in, never reaching a satisfying conclusion, it dawned on me that the Word of God speaks exactly to this point.  It is found in Rom 7 and 8, and it must be read slowly, hanging on every word and clause, in order to understand clearly (at least for me, reading it quickly easily leads to getting a little lost and running in a circle):

Rom 7:15-23 - “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”

In this passage, Paul stunningly and transparently reveals his own personal struggle with sin, an ever present battle, a violently raging war within him.  If this is true of Paul, is it not also true of us and anyone who calls Christ Lord and Savior, being indwelled by the Holy Spirit?

In this passage, I do not want to miss many of the critical truths.  Firstly, Paul astutely recognizes something within him at his core that agrees with God in good (v. 16).  Secondly, he quickly claims this part of him to be his truest self, asserting that it is not him in his truest identity that carries out the sinful act, but instead the sin that dwells within him carries it out (v. 17).  Next, he mentions that the portion of him that is flesh contains nothing good, and that it is distinctively and utterly separate from the part of him that is good, which is the ability “to will” anything contrary to that corrupted flesh (v. 18).  Also, in v. 18, he concedes that within this conflict, he finds no solution on how to conquer the flesh with the will and do what he knows is good, of God, and his deepest desire. 

Going further, verse 21 is perhaps the most insightful because of its careful construction.  Mentioned first is a law…that evil is present within him—the one who wills to do good.  Notice that in this construction, the one who wills to do good is the self.  He has identified and separated his truest self as the part of him that wills to do good, and the evil portion (the flesh) as the imposter, residing simultaneously, but being the counterfeit “self,” and therefore not the self at all.  He reveals next that the “inward man” is his true identity (v. 22), the portion that delights in the law of God.  And finally, the “members”—that is, the flesh—is at war with the “mind”—that is, the inward man, the true identity—and that he is in a certain captivity to this struggle for the time being.

Within this complex communication of ideas is an overwhelming and unmistakable truth: we carry within us as humans on earth, this side of Heaven, warring identities—the flesh versus the Spirit.  Only in the assertion that I am a complex being—made up of multiple parts, distinctively and utterly separate from each other, yet intertwined…flesh and Spirit—only in this view of myself can I claim all that Paul has claimed here.  And once we have fully embraced this truth, we can easily see why both contentions of my friends are true in a sense: “out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks,” and when my mouth speaks sin it is because I myself have fallen to the evil that resides “in my members,” but also “I didn’t mean that” because the truest meaning of the word “I” is my real identity, which is in Christ and the Holy Spirit alone.

Please do not misunderstand me: this is not a cop-out.  “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Rom 6:1b-2)  The point of all of this is to come to realization of 1. Our true identity as Christ followers is Him alone, made possible by Him alone, and therefore “there is no condemnation” for those of us who are His, and 2. We are being attacked, invaded, and even overwhelmed on a daily basis and therefore, we must fight actively against this law of evil within our present bodies.

Finally, lest we become discouraged, we are affirmed again in chapter 8 of victory and our unassailable identities in the Spirit of Christ, our Lord.  And the power of the passage and exclamation point is what follows next:

Rom 7:24-8:2 – “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! 

8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

We would be right to conclude that Paul has revealed that we can easily lose this war and that as long as we live, we will fight it.  Additionally, according to v. 18, we are powerless to be victorious at all in our own strength.  But as we read on in this passage as we have done and hold it up in the light of the Word in its entirety, we see much more clearly that we are “more than conquerors” in Christ (Rom 8:37). 

As long as you and I live on this earth and not in Heaven, we will never cease for evil to reside side-by-side with the Spirit within us, a conflict so violent that without the hand of God to hold us together, it would tear us into a million pieces.  Thus we feel the tension, the conflict, making us cry out in anguish as we sin yet again…and we even have a hard time knowing if we are truly evil or good.  Ah, but the Word is equally as clear about the final outcome, for we know that the law of the Spirit is stronger than the law of evil in the flesh. 

Rom 8:9-11 – “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Until our flesh has died and raised up again in Jesus Christ, that flesh will war against the Spirit.  But that’s just it: “Until!”  For the “Until” is not yet present, but is presently coming!  We are assured of victory!  Only because Christ has been raised after death, his flesh united with Spirit as the firstfruits of all to come who believe in Him (1 Cor 15:20,23)…only in that do we have hope of being raised to eternal life.  For in this living body, the war rages, the law of evil within me fights on…but in death of the body, yet alive in the Spirit, we have the assured hope of resurrection to eternal life, a plainly asserted claim of truth in v. 11 of chapter 8.

I hope that through this study, you are encouraged of your true identity if you call Jesus Lord and Savior.  Your identity is the Holy Spirit within you.  Your enemy is the evil that resides in your flesh.  And every day you live in the fiercest battle zone taking direct hits, for we have willingly accepted this battle by receiving a new identity in Christ.  Before knowing Christ and receiving the indwelling Spirit, we had a single, fleshly identity, being fully captive to evil.  But upon receiving Christ in the Spirit, we have immediately declared civil war on the flesh, to the death.  And in this, we have been assured victory at the completion of our lives, such that in final death, we are given full eternal life, according to the covenant promise of our Father God through Christ.  If you believe this, you have already won; though you must still fight the raging battle to the day of your death and wonderful entry into the eternal rest and peace of Heaven.  May we each embrace these truths and be transformed by the renewing of our minds this very day (Rom 12:1).  Amen.

Patience and Lust: An Unexpected Conviction

A person that I respect was recently making a good point when he said, “Satan is patient. He will wait to strike at the right moment. We must be on our guard.” The message behind his point was accurate and good for edifying the group. However, a few days later, I find matching the word “patient” with Satan difficult.

We know that patience is a fruit of the Spirit (1). We know that Satan is not of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must be using the same word, “patient,” to describe two different things. Or the word “patient,” as we are accustomed to defining and accepting it, does not carry the full meaning of the fruit of the Spirit that is manifested in patience, as identified in the Bible.

When we think of the word patient, we usually think of the ability to wait, to delay gratification. To desire something currently unfulfilled or unattained, but to wait in doing so, and without grumbling. Someone says to us, “be patient,” and we say, “yes, I must be patient,” as our chest tightens and we count the seconds and minutes that pass, determined to be silent and show the outward appearance of patience. We traded true patience for an appearance of patience, and though we may have fooled the other person (and likely not), we have not practiced true patience whatsoever. Authentic patience of the Spirit goes much deeper, much purer, to the core of our will.

And that’s just it: patience is a matter of our will. In order to better grasp the depth of patience of the Spirit, it is useful to examine its opposite: impatience. What defines impatience? The idea that I must have something…a feeling, an object, a task completed, a destination reached, etc…and that I must have it sooner than I am receiving it. I submit the following previously unimaginable truth: impatience is lust. Consider the definition of lust as astutely noted by Oswald Chambers:

“Lust means – I must have it at once. Spiritual lust makes me demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Who gives the answer.” (“My Utmost For His Highest,” Feb 7)

Wow, to think that lust would even penetrate into our Spiritual lives! Oh, but it is true, isn’t it? We usually conceive of lust as a purely sexual term…that is it’s most common and accepted application, though less commonly we will see it used as an extreme desire for something such as power (i.e. “a lust for power”). It is the idea of desiring something outside of an appropriate means, and I find perhaps no better definition offered than, “I must have it at once,” whatever “it” may be; and this happens to define impatience, as well. Therefore, interestingly, impatience…is lust. Impatience just got a whole lot uglier in my perception, and I am personally convicted.

What are you pursuing today? Is it marriage or family? A job? Success? Perhaps the Lord Himself or His blessing? An answer to prayer? Is there any hint of impatience in you, concerning that desire? I know that it is hard to admit that the lust of impatience could widely permeate so many spheres of our lives. But realize this truth: conviction is not the presence of guilt for the regenerated in Christ, it is the proof of the presence of the Holy Spirit and His sanctifying action within us. So do not suppress conviction, embrace it! The ignorant would call you out in guilt for your conviction—nonsense! I contend that your conviction is the gateway from guilt into the grace of Christ. How could we repent if we were not convicted? How could we call on our Savior if we do not repent? How can we be saved if we do not know our Savior? Therefore, conviction is a glorious and holy thing. I encourage you to embrace it and let Him run His full course in your heart and soul.

So as we receive the Spirit and fruit of patience, let’s not stop at merely waiting for a specific desirable outcome to materialize. Even Satan does that as he lies in wait to devour the lost and vulnerable, as a prowling lion (2). No, let’s begin to practice patience in the Spirit by setting aside our wills. Any form of patience that ends short of sacrificing my will to God is incomplete. Let us “work out our salvation (3),” that has been granted to the regenerated in Christ, and become valiantly, humbly patient. May our Father God and the Holy Spirit breathe patience into your soul this day, conquering the lust that seeks to ensnare us, for we are “more than conquerors through...Christ Jesus our Lord (4).” Amen.

1 – Gal 5:22-23 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
2 – 1 Peter 5:8 – “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
3 – Philippians 2:12-13 – “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
4 – Romans 8:37-39 – “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Do You Want to Be a Better Christian?

John 15:4-5 (Jesus speaking) – “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

“Better Christian.” Likely, you have either said this phrase yourself or heard it many times from others. Today I was half listening to the radio when I heard the phrase, and it sent me into introspective thought.

There are many good follow-up questions, such as how do you become a better Christian? Or what does a better Christian life look like? But for now, I will focus more on the motivation and mindset of the desire to be a better Christian and suggest that when we consider relationships of any kind, with man or with God, we might start replacing the word “better” with “closer.” What if instead of becoming a better husband or wife, a better friend, a better mother or father, we pursued being closer to our spouse, a closer friend, or closer to our children or other family members? What if instead of becoming a better Christian, we pursued simply being closer to our Lord and knowing His character? What if instead of seeking to love better, we sought to love closer, more intimately? I believe this reset in perspective and pursuit will make all the difference in the world.

When we resolve ourselves to be better at something, the truth is that the focus lies squarely on ourselves. We may want to be better for someone else’s benefit, but at the core of our action is a focus on ourselves. Furthermore, in order to feel progress or success, we will have to be analytical and judge whether or not we are better. This leads to a lot of self-focus. However, if instead we refine that desire and replace it with the desire to be closer in any relationship, we will find our focus squarely on the other person. To be closer to someone is to know them better, to perceive their heart, to share what matters to them. As we do this, our eyes, desires, and actions will turn outward. This is true of human relationships, just as it is true of our relationship with our Father, Creator, and Savior God.

The root of the desire “to be a better Christian” can actually be very good. To desire to be a better Christian is often derived from a conviction of incompletion or separation from God. It is a recognition and admission that we need to be changed. It is a desire to live out our lives as Christ, yet a realization that we currently are not doing that well. These are sound convictions that the Holy Spirit works in and through. The twist comes when we begin to focus on ourselves and our shortcomings, desiring to be better, when in reality our truest and deepest desire is simply to be closer. Closer to our holy God, loving Savior, and trustworthy Counselor.

After all, what is the outcome of a life lived in the pursuit of being a better Christian? Or a better anything? I will affirm that learning discipline, especially in spiritual things, is quite good and right; but it is the underlying mindset and approach that I am seeking to divide joints and marrow, truth and error, with the scalpel of the Word (Heb 4:12). Take for instance the desire to be a better husband. This may be lived out in any of a number of tangible ways. Perhaps a man desires to be a better husband and begins to buy his wife flowers on a regular basis. Perhaps he gives other gifts, acts of service, gives his time, offers words of love, or seeks to embrace more often. Whatever he does, as he sets out to be a better husband, he will likely succeed…at least for a little while. But if the desire to be a “better husband” does not meet up with a desire to be a closer husband, closer to his wife, then these languages of love will soon grow dull and meaningless. Months later, dozens of bouquets given without thoughtfulness, acts of service done begrudgingly, time spent with other things preoccupying the mind, repetitive words spoken, embraces given as the new “more” routine…if none of these things are of the heart, they are meaningless. What good are any of these actions that represent our perception of a “better husband” without growing nearer in relationship with your spouse? The true reality is that if we start with the desire to grow closer, we will find ourselves being better. If we grow closer with loved ones, spouses, friends, family, even co-workers, bosses and subordinates, or the man on the street…if we seek to grow closer to the individual, as we do grow closer, we begin to care for them better. And just as this is true in human relationships, it is true in our relationship with God.

Have you ever tried to please someone without knowing them well? It can be very difficult. Have you ever tried to please God (be a better Christian) without knowing Him well? It can be very difficult. “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb 11:6). I will submit that without knowing God, it is impossible to have faith. For who has faith in something of which they know nothing about? Can I have faith that the sun will rise if I have no knowledge that it exists and no one has ever told me? Can I have faith that a light bulb will turn on if I’ve never known that it exists? Can I have faith that a seed will grow into a plant if I’ve never seen a plant or a seed, nor have I ever heard of such a thing? Ah, but upon hearing, I can begin to wonder. The power of revealing the truth of Christ to someone who does not know anything about Him! But to truly know our God, is to have faith. And to have faith, is to please our God. To please our God is, so to speak, to be a better Christian. Therefore, if our aim is to be better, our means is to know Him, to be closer to Him. And as we make that our aim and desire, our pursuit is no longer to be better afterall; yet, that is exactly what we become. When we grow closer to God, being “better” simply flows from the relationship. We must let go in order to apprehend. We must step back, to be brought forward. We must surrender in order to be set free. This is the way of our Lord, and how gracious is He to grant us the abundant blessing of knowing Him more closely.

If we set out to be better Christians, there exists a danger of our lives soon becoming all about works and less about faith. If our focus in on ourselves, we begin to strive to earn sanctification and even salvation through works. We did not start there…we were saved by grace and fully aware of it. We then desired to be changed and in our fleshly foolishness, sought to be better in order to get closer. But we have it backwards when we approach the Lord that way, for we can only be “better” by being closer, and being closer to our Lord is a far richer experience than any self-realization of being a “better Christian.”

Zech 13:9 - This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.'"

Job 23:10 - But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

Oh to be refined in the refiner’s fire! For the dross to be burned away! To come forth as pure gold! Let us willingly come before our Refiner, and let our desires to be better Christians melt away, "setting our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:2). May we discard our pursuits of being better, and embrace the pursuit of being closer. May we do this in our marriages, our friendships, our families, our work environments, in everywhere we go. And may we do it unswervingly in an abiding relationship with our Father, Creator, Savior, Defender, Counselor God. Amen.