Union with Christ

 
It is an amazing thing that God should unite Himself to those who believe in Him. It is a difficult and life-long process to learn that this is not only true but how to put it into practice — by living in His power instead of my own.

My friend LS said last week that our problem is discernment. Knowing the difference between ‘my will’ and His voice. For both of us, being a Christian most of our lives means that we have many good thoughts and ideas, yet we realize not all of them come from Jesus. Sometimes our ideas are just our ideas, not something the Lord is saying to us. Discernment between what is flesh and what is Spirit becomes more difficult as we age. He weeded out the obvious but that sinful self combined with the enemies lies seems to become more subtle.

That said, the Scriptures are so necessary. My old self will even try to twist them if I don’t keep  checking my ‘good ideas’ out before acting on them. On the other hand, there are some occasions when the difference is obvious. The will of God is so impressive and I know that I could never have thought the amazing ideas that He puts in my mind.

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:14–16)

Learning the difference — that is discernment, but having the mind of Christ and the Word of God makes the difference.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:12–13)

God did not leave me to figure this out with my own resources. Otherwise, clueless me would never know what is from Him and what I dream up. In my union with Christ, I can draw on His mind to help me discern what is what. Not only that, He already knows. I cannot hide anything from Him. I simply need to let Him and His Word do their job.

If this sounds like something only for mature believers, today’s reading points out that the following passages were spoken to new believers who were still very fleshy…

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? (1 Corinthians 3:1–3)

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19–20)

This indwelling God is the possession of even the weakest and most immature believer in Christ. It is for babes in Christ as well as those who have been Christians for decades. Every believer is a “temple of the Holy Spirit” and all of us have access to the mind of Christ and to the Word of God to help us understand His will.

I’m thinking, the problem is not in having the ‘tools’ but not having the desire. That old sinful nature is dead, separated from God, yet it still tries to run my life and be glorified instead of yielding to God. Sin wants to be comfortable not disciplined, and do its own thing rather than the will of God. This is why we say our enemies are the world, the flesh, and the devil.

PRAY: God, I can resist the world, and I can realize the devil’s schemes, but my old flesh is somethings more subtle. Thank You that You gave me Jesus, the Holy Spirit and Your Word to help me discern the flesh and also say NO to it.

God does not make identical cookies . . .

My mother left me a box full of letters. They are a novelty in these days of texting and other means of communication, but a precious record of life when she was alive. Some of them have dates but a few are not dated. With a bit of work, I can use the content to figure out the approximate times those undated letters were written. For instance, if they mention that a certain child was just born, the year is easy to find. If they mention some world event, that is also easy to find.

Dating the books of the New Testament is done that way. I’m not sure how many scholars decided James is likely the earliest book of the New Testament, written about A.D. 45, but most of the other books/letters are easy to date.

For instance, the content gives clues to 1 and 2 Thessalonians by mentioning they were written from Corinth before or during the time of Gallio which would mean A.D. 50 or 51. Galatians could have been written as early as A.D. 47/48. These books show struggles with faith issues such as the place of good works in the life of Christians and the return of Christ.

Some of the writings from John the apostle are considered the last of the books to be written. Tradition and indications in the books themselves reflect problems the Church faced near the end of the first century. John deals with the identity of Jesus Christ as well as salvation issues including how a person can know if they are a child of God.

How important is the order in which the NT was written? I’m not sure. In its present form, it is not in chronological order, which does hint at a major truth concerning my Christian experience. That is, how I or anyone else grows as a Christian is not in a tidy ‘step one, step two, step three’ sequence. This is important when I start comparing my progress to others, when I realize new Christians have a better handle on certain virtues than I do, or when God shows me something that I should have realized years ago. The Christian life if not that orderly. God brings truth to me in the sequence and time that He knows is right for me. I might take years to learn what others understand quickly or I might get it right away but others fail to grasp what I already know.

For instance, the Christians in Thessalonica were quick to get it . . .

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

On the other hand, the Christians in Corinth were slower to respond to truth as they struggled with their problems . . .

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? (1 Corinthians 3:1–3)

And the church in Galatia struggled with a different problem:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. (Galatians 1:6–7)

Being a Christian and growing is faith is not a cookie-cutter process. I might have one problem that disappears as soon as it is confessed while another person struggles with a similar issue for a long time. The reverse is also true. No wonder God tells us to stop comparing ourselves with one another, but to keep our eyes on the goal:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1–2)

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Lord Jesus, it is easy to use others as a measuring stick for my spiritual life, but that leads either to pride or self-pity. Instead, enable me to keep my eyes on You, reading Your Word for what You want to say to me, that I might be obedient and become more like You.

The importance of growing up

Mothers know that very small infants require milk not steak. However, as soon as a child is able, she will graduate him to pablum or fruit or something a bit more solid. If she does it too soon, the child cannot deal with it, but if she leaves it too long, the baby will suffer setback.

This is the language Paul uses as he writes to the immature Christians at Corinth:

“But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?” (1 Corinthians 3:1–3)

In this and in other contexts, milk and solid food are contrasted:

“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1 Peter 2:2–3)

When a person is newly born into the family of God, the ‘milk’ of God’s Word is vital to their spiritual growth. This applies only to those who know Jesus for without a relationship with Him, there is no life and no desire for this milk.

At one point, Jesus told His disciples, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now." (John 16:12) He gave them milk (meaning the basic principles of the faith) but since they were still infants in their walk with Him, they were not ready for steak. The writer of Hebrews echoes this:

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:12–14)

Those who first read this epistle had been Christians for awhile and should have been beyond the basics, but they were still acting like children. In their immaturity, they could not discern good from evil the way they should so were told they needed more of the basics until they grew up.

What is the difference between a babe and a mature Christian? Those verses in 1 Corinthians say that a babe is one who operates in the flesh and behaves like an unsaved person more of the time than he walks in the Spirit. This person lives more like he once did and is not consistent in living a Spirit-filled life. For the Christians at Corinth, this was identified in the way they fought and were jealous of one another.

There are many markers of babyhood. From my experience, I can identify some of them, such as not realizing my own immaturity. Full of milk, I’ve been content for short times without realizing that milk (knowledge) was not enough. I had to go for more solid stuff that only comes when obedience shows I’m ready for it.

Another marker is self-focus. A babe might interact with others but is mostly concerned about having his or her own needs met. I can be a baby in that way too.

A baby also wants its own way; ‘I want what I want when I want it.’ That impatience reveals the lack of an eternal perspective, a focus on this life only. Maturity is more concerned with eternal matters and becoming more like Jesus. A baby does not even think about those things, caring only for personal comfort, personal attention, and earning the smiles of those around them.

Tozer says that our Father wants me to prove in my life that all things written in His Word are true and that His words become a “new and living edition of flesh and blood” in me. This phrase is totally meaningless to a baby Christian. I have talked about being a good person while consuming milk, but the Author of life has far more to put on my plate.

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Jesus, I get it. The steak is sometimes called ‘heart’ knowledge compared to milk’s ‘head’ knowledge, but the meaning is the same. Knowing what You say is not the same as having all of it become part of the way I think, talk and live. Growing up is about feeding on You so that everything I do and say is done in total reliance upon You. Milk may produce some growth, but steak produces energy, muscle and the spiritual power of a grownup!