Chapter Two

What is a Jew?

During the time of the Old Testament, Israel was considered to be the people of God and the Gentiles were as the heathen. But Israel failed to fulfil the covenant and so the kingdom was taken from them and given to a nation bringing forth the fruit thereof. Paul goes into details as to what constitutes a Jew. He says,

“He is not a JEW who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. But he is a JEW that is one INWARDLY, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.” Rom 2:28-29.

In the light of this definition, we must conclude that we who have entered into covenant relationship with God and have been circumcised in our heart by the Spirit, ARE THE REAL JEWS. Let us consider what Paul says about the Gentiles in the flesh.

Eph 2:11-12. “Remember, that you being in times past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands. That at that time you were WITHOUT CHRIST, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having NO HOPE, and WITHOUT GOD in the world.”

Paul’s definition of the Gentiles surely fits the description of many of those who claim to be Jews by natural birth in this our day. How incredible it is that God said to the Prophet Hosea,

“I will call them my people which were not my people, and her beloved that was no beloved, and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, You are not my people, there shall they be called the children of the living God.” (Rom. 9:25, Hosea 2:23)

Israel who sought relationship with God on a natural level failed to qualify, but those who now seek relationship with Him in the realm of spirit, being circumcised in the heart are indeed the Children of the living God. If you have ears to hear what the spirit is saying, you should have already discovered the wonderful truth that is called reconciliation, and also the way by which it can become your own personal experience. We must remember that all these things are in the Spiritual Realm, and so must be spiritually discerned. What we are in the natural cannot change the reality of our true being that was created in Christ Jesus.

In the beginning, when we were created in Him, we had no spot or wrinkle. Having come out of Christ, we were even as He is in the likeness and image of God, and clothed in the glory of God. I want you to know you were not created in ADAM the man of dust, who was but a figure of the one that was to come, (Jesus Christ) who also was clothed in a physical body of dust, that acted like a disguise concealing His true identity.

Remember when Jesus asked the disciples who the people thought He was, and they said, they do not really know who you are. So He asked the disciples who had close contact with Him who they thought He was, and Peter having received revelation from God said, “Thou art the Christ the son of the living God.” Peter could never have penetrated His disguise, if God had not revealed it to him. It is for the same reason that we have trouble with our own true Identity. Looking at ourselves with natural eyes, we will never see any more than ADAM, especially when combined with our behaviour. But let Father open our eyes and we will discover our IDENTITY is also CHRIST.

So we understand that our origin was not out of the dust, but out of GOD, created in Christ Jesus. This is so important for us to realise, if we want to enter into the reality of our being. So from the beginning there were no opposites present within us and therefore no conflict. We entered the battleground of life when we were birthed in mortal flesh through our natural parents. Scripture says, we were born in sin and shapen in iniquity, meaning we were born into mortality and that predisposes us to sin. Ps. 51:5 says,

“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

Most of our life is a battle against an unseen “enemy” that seeks to dictate our behaviour, having a distinct bios towards wrong or evil. This battle becomes much more intense once we come to Christ, and we begin to understand what is required of us. This conflict is very well expressed by Paul in Romans 7. Now we understand that our conflict only began when we were birthed into this world through our natural parents, so the whole problem is one concerning our mortal life. We are living in a world of opposites, such as righteousness and sin, good and evil, light and darkness and a whole lot more. We run into conflict when we choose one and try and ignore the other. However we were trained to make these choices when we were introduced to “law.” It was law that told us to DO certain things and not to do other things.

You may be amazed to know that it was God that joined these opposites together, and Scripture says, “What God has joined together let no man put asunder.” Yes, it can apply to marriage but just as much to all that God has joined. In the midst of the Garden of Eden God planted a tree called, “The tree of the knowledge of GOOD and EVIL.” These two opposites that are probably the basis of much of our internal conflict, were put together IN ONE TREE. It only had one kind of fruit on the tree and not two. You could not pick one fruit that was GOOD and another one that was evil, for every fruit of that tree was GOOD and EVIL.

Tell me how can we then try and eat the GOOD without tasting the evil. You cannot, because it is impossible. Now God said to Adam, do not eat of that tree and do not touch it or you will die. But our natural mind says it is all right to “eat” the GOOD, but it is wrong to “eat” the EVIL. This is the way so many Christians live their lives, by doing that which is GOOD and refusing that which is evil. However you cannot know GOOD unless you know EVIL for the word “Good” is a comparison word and only has meaning when compared to “Evil.” A man came to Jesus and said to him, “Good master, what shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” And Jesus replied, “Why do you call me GOOD, or to what are you comparing me in order for you to decide I am good, there is none good but ONE, and that is God.” Matt 19:16-17.

In creation it says that “Darkness” was on the face of the deep, but God commanded the LIGHT to shine OUT OF THE DARKNESS. Did you know that light would have no significance were it not for the darkness? You may turn on a light in the middle of the day and hardly be able to distinguish it because of the available light around it. But if you want to see how bright that light is take it into a dark place and then you will see the contrast.

All the stars remain in the sky both day and night but we can only see them at night when the sun has set providing a dark background. How can you define Light except there is also darkness, for again it is a term of comparison? Christians complain about how difficult it is to walk in the Spirit, because they say that the Flesh is so strong. But you would have no idea if you were walking in the Spirit unless you had a knowledge of the flesh with which you could compare your actions.

The Adamic consciousness functions in the negative realm where darkness is the “default” as in the computer. If you want “light” you have to deliberately choose it, for it is not the natural choice. Likewise flesh is the natural setting for our life, but to function out of the spirit requires a definite choice. However, when we enter into a state of Christ consciousness we discover the reverse is true. Light becomes the natural choice for our life, and darkness must be specifically desired for it to function. Likewise we naturally respond to spirit, but flesh requires a definite choice. It is for this reason that Paul says, “Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

Adam once dwelt in perfect LIGHT in which there is no darkness at all, but when he took of that forbidden tree a whole new world opened up to him. But it was a world of darkness, sin and death, and now his life was filled with the contradictions that were unknown to him while he was in the Garden. The “snake” was right when it said, “your eyes will be opened,” but he never mentioned the bitterness he would suffer because of the things he would see that would enter into his life.

To move from the positive to the negative is very easy, but to seek to reverse the process requires a New Birth. The downward spiral only needs us to assume a false sense of identity, to open our eyes to that other negative world, called the cosmos. This is what Jesus spoke about to Pilate when he said, “My Kingdom of not of this world.” There is no conflict in God’s Kingdom.

Now we understand the inconsistencies in what many call the Christian life. How foolish it is to seek the help of Jesus Christ to do the good and to shun the evil. But so much of our “prayer” life is devoted to asking for help to overcome the negative aspects of our life, and strength to do what is right. It is pure foolishness to expect God to help us take apart that which in the beginning he has joined together. Then we come to a new solution to our problem that has been suggested by people who sell books to those in trouble.

The book is called “What would Jesus do?” The idea is that every time we must make a choice we stop and think, what would Jesus do if He were here in this situation, or which path would He choose? Having made a decision based upon what we think He would do, we follow that direction. But I do not believe Jesus lived His life making decisions like that. There was a far deeper motivation than that in His life. He said, “Lo in the volume of the book (that Father was writing in him to be expressed in his life) it is already written, I COME TO DO THY WILL O GOD.”

He declared, “Sacrifice and offerings thou didst not desire, but a body thou hast prepared me.” God is not asking us to be good, or to sacrifice our time or give Him our tithe, but He wants our body. If we give him our body then HIS LIFE will control all its actions and we will perform His will perfectly. Our body is his dwelling place, for within is the Most Holy Place which is the abode of God. Jesus never made a decision based upon external circumstances, for His life was a true expression of the Father.

If we are still vacillating between good and evil, spirit and flesh, then we must be still functioning out of a false sense of identity, while at the same time trying to live as a Christian. Every man on earth must find their identity in one of two men, either in ADAM or in CHRIST. In Adam we will remain mortals and the law of sin and death will govern our life. But if we are IN CHRIST, then the law of the spirit of LIFE has made us free from the law of sin and death, releasing us from the gravitational pull of “this present cosmos.”

There is no such thing as being half in Adam and half in Christ. That would only produce a religious monster that is totally confused, and would spread confusion to everyone about them. Paul says, “If any man be IN CHRIST he is a NEW CREATION, the old lusts and desires for the negative world is passing away, and behold all things are becoming new.”

Paul says, “God has reconciled us to himself by Christ Jesus.” Now we must remember that “Christ” is not the surname of Jesus. When we look at Jesus we are looking at a composite being, consisting of a FORM, that is the body we can actually see giving Him identity in this world, but within that body God has His own dwelling place in the Most Holy Place. So now you have FLESH and SPIRIT dwelling together in perfect harmony, for he was truly the GOD MAN.

All of our struggle has been to try and reconcile these two aspects of our being, the flesh that is our outer form or mortal body that identifies us in this world, with the Christ dwelling within in the Most Holy Place, who is SPIRIT and our true identity. This is the only way we can resolve this seemingly impossible situation. We must see Jesus Christ as our own true identity. When Peter looked into the eyes of Jesus with spiritual vision, he not only saw that He is the Christ the son of the living God, but also he saw in Jesus a reflection of himself. John tells us, “As He is so are we in this world.” That is who we are, for He is the “mirror” that we look into, and see within ourselves the glory of God, just as it was in Jesus Christ. In 1 Cor. 13 Paul said:

“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

This is a revelation by the Spirit and not just a verse in the Bible that we must embrace for ourselves before it will become reality for us. But Paul said in 2 Cor. 3:17,

“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”