Now Faith Is, Chapter 12

 

 In the last chapter I shared with you that John made an interesting statement in 1 Jn. 5:11-15,

 

"And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son of God has not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God.

 

How many of you know today without a doubt that you have eternal life? Not that you will have eternal life when Jesus comes back but you are experiencing eternal life right now. Notice that John said that God has given to us eternal life and that this life is in His Son. I know that it is hard for your mind to grasp the significance of this. How can the Father and Jesus live inside us and at the same time we live in Him? Jesus prayed in John 17:20-22,

 

"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, are in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that you have sent me. And the glory which you gave me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them, as you have loved me."

 

The reason this is so hard to understand is because such a thing is impossible in this body of flesh that we are presently living in. I can't live inside of you and you live inside of me physically. Then how is such a thing possible because if it is impossible then Jesus would have been a liar to make such a statement.

 

To answers this question let's take a look at what Paul had to say about this. He said in 1 Cor. 15:50,

 

"Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption."

 

This body that we are living in now is corruptible and is destined to go back to the dust in which it came from. In like manner the real you and me which is spirit must return to that from which it came. We came from God and will return to God. Jesus said in John 3:6,

 

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."   

 

This is why I say unto you that we are spirit. I don't have a spirit, I am spirit and as such I can worship our Father in the realm of the spirit where I am one with His spirit having been born of Him and that makes me one with His Son, Jesus Christ who also was born of Him. You must learn who you really are if you are to worship Him in spirit. You are spirit and you have a soul which is composed of your mind, your will and your emotions and you are presently living in a body of flesh but Praise be to God a time is coming when we will have a new body not made of flesh which is eternal and without the limitations of the flesh. Paul said in 2 Cor 5:1-5,

 

"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in (body of flesh) is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. (Not given birth to by flesh)   Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,    because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.    For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.    Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."

 

 

When Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden they were clothed with the presence of God and did not know that they were naked. Gen. 2:24 says,

 

"And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed."

 

However, when they did what God had told them not to do they were guilty and found themselves to be naked and quickly sought to hide themselves from God.

 

You say, "Well, what has this got to do with eternal life?" It very important for you to understand who you are if you are to be successful in your worship of God. You have been given birth by God and He is your Father. Since He is Spirit then it stands to reason that you also are spirit. Are you the Father? NO! Are you the Son Jesus Christ? NO! Are you also a son of the Father and a brother to the Lord Jesus Christ? YES!!!! Why is this so? Because you have been born of God and Jesus told you in Matt. 23:9,

 

"And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven."   

 

Your earthly father may have planted the seed and your earthly mother gave birth to your flesh which is destined to return to dust but God gave birth to your spirit which is eternal and will live forever because spirit cannot be destroyed. Jesus said in John 4:23-24,

 

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”   

 

Have you ever noticed that nothing is said in the New Testament about the salvation of your spirit, however, there is a lot said about the salvation of your soul? Why is this so? I know that you probably have been told like I was that the soul and the spirit are the same thing, however, Paul doesn't agree with that. He said in 1 Thess. 5:23-24,

 

"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.    He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."

 

He also said in Heb. 4:12-13,

 

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.    And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."

 

He also said in Rom. 12:2,

 

"Be not conformed to this world: but be transformed (changed) by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

 

From these verses of scripture it is obvious that there is a difference between the spirit of a man and his soul. Mary, the mother of Jesus, understood this to be true because she told her cousin Elizabeth in Luke 1:46,

 

"And Mary said, My soul does magnify the Lord,    And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour." 

 

In the parable that Jesus told about a certain rich man in Luke 12:10 the rich man said,

 

"And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry."

 

The point I am making to you is that we are spirit. We have a soul, that is, a mind, a will and emotions. Our spirit does not sin! Let me say that again, Our spirit does not sin and cannot sin because it is born of God.

 

You may say to me, "Boy, David, I now know that you have lost your mind!" I know that you have not been taught this but bear with me and let me show you what the Apostle John had to say about this. In 1 John 3:4-9 he said,

 

"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abides in him sins not: whosoever sins has not seen him, neither knows him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that does righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sined from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; because His seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."

 

Well, how can this be because the same John said in 1 John 1:7-10 and continues in 1 John 2:1-2,

 

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleans us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

 

I am about to say something to you that will probably come as a shock to you because you have been told to constantly ask God to forgive you of all of your unforgiven sins. No where in the New Testament after Jesus went to the cross are we ever instructed to ask our Father to forgive us.

 

Notice that John did not say for us to ask our Father to forgive us if we should sin. He said for us to confess our sins. James said the same thing in James 5:16,

 

          "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you   may be healed."

 

David, are you saying that we don't have to ask the Lord to forgive us if we should sin? NO! I did not originate that saying! John and James did! Listen to what they told us to do and not what some man tells us to do! They both said to confess our sins. Why, then, do we not have to ask the Lord to forgive us? Because Paul quoted what the Lord had to say about this in Heb. 10:16-18,

 

"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;    And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.    Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin."

 

Let me again say to you that when Jesus died on the cross sin was dealt with once and for all time! Sin entered this world through the first Adam and sin was dealt with once and for all by the second Adam, Jesus Christ. You can read about what the Apostle Paul had to say about this in Rom. chapters 1-8.

 

Listen once again to what the Apostle John said about this in 1 John 2:2,

 

"And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

 

I know that this is hard to accept because of what we have been taught and believed and practiced all our lives but it is time to accept the truth and allow the Holy Spirit to teach us what the will of our Father is.