Remaining Issues

Proclaiming

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

(Of both blood and body aspects)

Part 2 - Complementary Issues

Ken Walker

September 2002

Updated March 2003

This is not the main study of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but does include many important complementary aspects of the basic study. What has been done so far in the first part of the study completes the basic teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, covering both blood and body effects resulting from the death and resurrection of Christ. In that study we have already covered how our sins are forgiven and how sin is defeated so that we may reign in life. That study is located at http://home.vicnet.net.au/~gnaust/life/index-gr.html

However, there are a significant number of related issues that are now addressed, in order to extend and complement the whole study. I realized that it would be necessary to explain some of these, because in part they underpin the understanding of the Gospel itself. Perhaps this document should even be read first. This study will be written in a question and answer format. Please note that most of these explanations are brief, and are not meant to be comprehensive or complete in nature, only addressing the central issues of each question. However, further references will be given in either books or Internet addresses where readers wish to pursue a greater understanding on a particular issue.

Issues related to this study – in question and answer format

Here are the questions to be addressed.

1. What is the nature of man? What differences are there between believers and unbelievers? Do believers have two conflicting natures?

2 How are God and man (now) different given that we were created in His image? Given man’s fall in Eden, how can it be said that man and God can now still have union and communion?

3. How does God provide real guidance to believers? How does such guidance relate to our spirit, soul and body? How do we avoid the confusion that comes from thoughts and feelings in our soul? How are these things related to the rest mentioned in Hebrews 4. What effect does the Holy Spirit and Satan have on the spirit, soul and body of the believer?

4. What is real faith? In what realm does it operate? How can it be learned and implemented? How does one see beyond evil and difficulty?

5. What is sanctification? Is it sometimes described or interpreted incorrectly?

6. What is the role of adversity in life according to God? How is it that a God of love can send or permit suffering, difficulty and persecution and use it as a means of growing faith in us?

7. As the Bibles says that Christians are freed from sin, do they actually sin?

8 Using Romans 7:14-25, explain how some Bible commentaries can confuse rather than enlighten?

Here is a discussion on each issue – in question and answer format.

1 What is the nature of man? What differences are there between believers and unbelievers? Do believers have two conflicting natures?

Let the reader be reminded that these notes are intentionally brief, just to give guidance as to the general idea of what is being said – a pointer if you like. Further references are given where readers can extend their knowledge of each point by further study.

1.1. What is the nature of man?

Let us start with two scriptures from the New Testament that talk about our nature. The main way the word nature is used in the New Testament is to describe the natural disposition or condition of man. This is the Greek word phusis, Strong’s 5449. In the KJV only two of the thirteen verses that use the word nature actually use an adjective to describe the noun (nature). All the others just refer to being as per man’s general state, as a believer or unbeliever. (There are 4 other Greek words for nature, not here relevant-the meanings of the word nature in these cases is as follows – nature is either a constituted order of God in the natural world, a natural birth or condition, or a kind or species of living creature) So in these two verses we have described for us the two possible natures that a human being can have. Either we are by nature children of wrath (before our regeneration ) or children of the divine nature (after our regeneration)

“by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Pet. 1:4 (NKJV)

“among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” Eph. 2:3 (NKJV)

The New Testament does not talk about any other state, or any state in between these two. There is no independent state which man can have, as many would believe. We are either one or the other. Please see the expansion of these ideas below.

1.2 What differences are there between believers and unbelievers?

Believers, those referred to as born again or regenerate, have the divine nature. In scripture they are referred to as being temples, vessels, parts of a body, branches, and slaves.

Temples. “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

1 Cor. 6:19-20 (NKJV)

Vessels. “What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, Rom. 9:22-23 (NKJV)

Parts of a body. “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

Eph. 1:22-23 (NKJV)

Branches. “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. John 15:5 (NKJV)

Slaves. “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” Rom. 6:17-18 (NKJV)

Temples need to have the true God as deity living within them, as a permanent resident, give them direction for their lives. (otherwise, in the absence of the Spirit of God, either the independent self of the person, or Satan as an alternative deity, or some combination of both self and Satan will reign)

Vessels need to be filled in order to be useful.

Parts of bodies need a head to control them.

Branches need a vine or trunk to get sustenance.

Slaves need a master to direct them.

So all human beings were designed to be filled with the deity of the Spirit of God. To be filled with the Spirit of that deity, they need that deity to be a head for their body, they need to be connected to a source (trunk) and they need someone to direct them. Human beings are not some independent entity separate from a deity, although this is the way many people unknowingly live. They either belong to the true God, through His Spirit, or they live their live through there own resources of an independent self, even being partly directed by Satan. Believers prior to their regeneration, were children of wrath and sons of disobedience because of the Fall. However, they have been removed from Satan’s ownership through having taken the opportunity to be children of the true and living God when they switch from being in control of themselves and Satan, to being in control of the true and living God.

On the other hand, unbelievers are not born again and therefore unregenerate, not having the Holy Spirit of God indwelling them. Satan and their own fleshly appetites are still their master and head, even if they do not know it; they are operating under the spiritual direction of their own soul and the enemy, and as such are sons of disobedience. And they are still subject to God’s wrath.

1.3 Do believers have two conflicting natures?

In one sense this question has already been answered. No, they do not have conflicting natures, despite the readiness of much of the Christian church to teach this. They either have one nature or the other, ruled by the true God or themselves and Satan. When born they have the nature which attracts the wrath of God. When saved, born again, or regenerate, (all meaning the same thing ) they are given the divine nature. In order to fully answer this question we will now provide some details on the fact that there are only two sides of the spiritual world and therefore only two natures.

There are in fact only two sides to the spiritual world. Remember that the spiritual world is that part of our world that in effect controls all other physical parts of the world, and is administered by God. These include all things we call nature, all nations, kings and rulers and all spiritual powers and authorities. The spiritual control is also over our own bodies, souls and our spirit. God is over both sides of the spiritual world and Satan is granted temporary and conditional control over parts of it.

It is quite clear that here is no neutral position somewhere in-between where a person can be, not fully committed to either. Either we are on one side or the other. Jesus said this when He remarked:

"He who is not with Me is against Me, ....” (Mat 12:30) and:

"For he who is not against us is on our side. (Mark 9:40)

There is no sitting on the fence. Consider the following comparisons. The Bible mentions no middle ground between these extremes.

Every persons life:

* is with God or against Him. Luke 16:13

* is in the Kingdom of God or of Satan. Acts 26:18

* is in light or darkness. Acts 26:18

* uses the Spirit of truth or spirit of error. John 4:6

* is as slaves of righteousness or of lawlessness. Romans 6:19

* is with sin dwelling in us or free from sin and death. Romans 8:2

* is as a new man or as the old man. Col 3:9-10

* is lived by the Spirit or under the Law. Gal 5:18

* is either everlasting life or a life corrupted. Gal 6:8

* is lived by the power of God or Satan. Acts 26:1

* is as a child of God or a child or wrath. Eph 2:3, Rom 8:16

* is lived as peace or as dead in trespasses. Eph 2:5, Rom 8:6

* is justified or condemned. Romans 5:18

* is lived from God’s wisdom or man’s wisdom. 1 Cor 2:12-14

1.4. Relationship to Romans 7

So from what we have looked at here, all people are in a position of either being not of God - or of God. There is no other position or anything in-between the two. Paul, while he was having his Romans 7 experience had been confused about what was happening, until the Holy Spirit gave him the wisdom and knowledge he needed to see the truth. He was really operating back in Satan’s realm through the deception of Satan by trying to live by the Law he knew so well. Because he was saved, he could have operated fully within the realm of God, but because he did not know he was fully in that realm already, he allowed his sin to confuse him and make him doubt his true state.

But for Paul this was a temporary state, until the Spirit of God taught him his true position in Christ. Consequently, present day Christians who do not realize the full implications of a wrong interpretation of Romans 7, thinking they are operating in both spiritual realms, can never truly get into the fullness of life offered, that is inherent in a full understanding of the passage. There are several articles explaining Romans 7:14-25 listed at: http://www.goodnews.org.au/life/index-gr.html

We close this section with an apt quotation from Dan Stone, who provides Christians with some advice about the difficulty of seeing these truths.

“Choosing to believe that you are not both good and evil can be difficult. All the external proof, all of the apparent evidence, all of the sight, supports the opposite: that you have two natures. You are good, yes, a little good, but boy, you are still wicked; you are still evil. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal to you that you only have one nature, not two. In the core of your being you are NOT both righteous and sinful; you are only righteous.” (Stone pp 90)

1.5. Why this issue is important

Finally, it might enlighten the reader further if something is said about why a knowledge of the nature of man and the two spiritual realms is important. Without the wisdom of God, both through His Word and through the guidance of the Spirit of God, mankind can and will get everything in life screwed up. That is easy to see. So if we do not realize that there are only two spiritual states in which a man or woman can exist, then our imagination may result in some sort of error into our lives – it is almost inevitable.

If there is one section of scripture that might cause an error like this to occur it is Romans 7:14-25, which on the surface, seem to indicate that Paul did not have control over what he did, as though God was not enough or that Satan was just too much for him. We know that Paul’s life was not like that at all. It was a magnificent victorious life. Readers should refer to articles about Romans 7 listed at http://www.goodnews.org.au/life/index-gr.html Articles such as The Phantom of Romans 7 and Romans 7 – Another Look. They fully explain Paul’s life and how that period of Romans 7 was really Paul reporting on a short period of his life whilst the Holy Spirit taught him the whole truth.

The trouble is that many Christians are still believing from the one section of scripture that Paul did not have control over his life, when all other sections said that he did. So Christians who believe that Paul had trouble with two apparent natures, still believe that we also might experience this same thing today. And we do. But it is only because we have not realized by faith, the full value of the cross, as Paul himself did - as he learned his lesson from the Holy Spirit.

Paul acted as though he was some separate self who could fight against sin and who could do right if he chose to do so. But, as he found out, he could not. But when he found out that he was only a vessel with no power in himself, he said “what a wretched man am I”, realizing that Satan had deceived him into believing that he could live by his own power from this supposed separate state. It was then that he found out the ultimate mystery of God – that the life of Jesus Christ was actually in him and could control his life. He did not have to try to produce life himself. Christ my life, as scripture says. The God that was in Paul was greater than the god who was in the world, as John remarked in his letter,

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 (NKJV)

Paul did not have to try to produce life. The life of Jesus was already in Him. It was just that he had not fully realized it yet. The Holy Spirit had to set him aside for 3 years in Arabia and Damascus in order to teach him these truths.

Many Christians of my acquaintance (including myself until 1999) still consider themselves to be independent selves and having a human nature of their own. The truth is that we don’t have any nature at all. We only express the nature of the deity which resides in us, and manifest the nature of whatever deity controls us – Satan in our unregenerate state and God in our regenerate state – it’s just that we have not realized it! As we said, there are only two sides to the spiritual realm, one controlled by Satan under God’s supervision and the other entirely controlled by God. Scripture does not provide any other option or alternative. The references given here explain this far better than we can here in this short article. Each of those books are quite brilliant. However, I believe every word I have written here – it is from my heart – not taken from books. It is now hard to see how we could not see this profound truth much earlier in our life, so simple, profound and wonderful as it is.

Many Christians are confused on this whole issue. Readers should consider taking time out to study this and related topics.

Further reading may be done from the following resources.

Yes I Am by Norman Grubb. Christian Literature Crusade, Fort Washington, Penn, 19034 or on the internet listed at http://www.goodnews.org.au/life/index-gr.html Chapter 8 – Humans have no nature and Chapter 9 – The Only Two Natures.

The Rest of the Gospel by Dan Stone and Greg Smith. Published by One Press P.O. Box 832442, Richardson, Texas 75083. Chapter 8 – One Nature.

Contact details listed at http://www.goodnews.org.au/life/index-gr.html

Treasures of Darkness Sylvia Pearce. Chapter 1 - What is Man? Published by Not I but Christ Ministries, Louisville Kentucky. Contact details are listed at: http://www.goodnews.org.au/life/index-gr.html

Man as God Intended by James A. Fowler. Published by CIY P.O. Box 1822 Fallbrook, CA 92088-1822 USA. Chapter 4 - The Natural Man. James Fowler’s Web Site is at http://www.christinyou.net/

1. How are God and man (now) different, given that we were created in His image? Given man’s fall in Eden, how can it be said that man and God can now still have union and communion?

Again, this is intended to be only a brief introduction to this topic – to whet the appetite. Extensive references are supplied for readers to further their understanding from writings with far more depth and breadth than mine.

2.1. Man was created in God’s image

The following verses explain the creation of man by God, and in the image of God.

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Gen. 1:26-27 (NKJV)

So there can be little argument that in the beginning, man was fashioned in the image of God. We do know from scripture that if Adam and Eve had not sinned by being deceived by Satan, and utilized their given freedom of choice more wisely, they would have lived forever. However, that was not to be, as it was foreordained by God that they would follow the pathway of sin, and set in motion a vastly different world where Satan, overseen by God, would become the god of this world, until God again reigns in His fullness.

2.2. How are God and man now different?

The fall of man changed mankind and the nature of the world forever. Man’s choice of eating from “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” was being disobedient to God’s directive. God said of this choice,

“Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil.”— Gen. 3:22 (NKJV)

In essence, the first man and woman attempted to become god’s in their own right. As a result, whilst God is still God with all His infinite attributes, the state of man drastically changed at that point in history. Man could have continued to trust and rely on God totally and be cared for forever by virtue of his continued obedience, but chose an independent way that would leave him open to the sin and evil that was now evident in the world. Adam’s choice revealed that he did not know that mankind could never be an independent self and rely on himself to manage his life, because in that act of disobedience, man moved from being filled with the Spirit of God to being a son of disobedience, because Satan was now his master – as per Paul’s writing to the Ephesians.

“….according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,” Eph. 2:2 (NKJV)

Satan is that prince of the power of the air, who, as the verse says, works in all unbelievers. One very serious aspect of this is that man, influenced by Satan now lives on earth in a self-centered state - the hallmark of Satan’s character. There is no doubt that Satan tricked and deceived Adam and Eve into this changed state. James Fowler said that:

“they (Adam and Eve) had been duped by the humanistic premise of humane self-potential and self-sufficiency.” (Fowler p 32)

As has been written in Part 1 in this study, all mankind are vessels that are either filled with one deity or the other – with Satan or God. Man under God knows this truth (or should know it) but man under Satan has been deceived into believing that he is independent and can act according to his own opinions and decide how to live his life. In effect, all that does is that the man puts himself under the control of Satan. That deception of man is revealed in Paul’s writings of Romans 7:14-25 and explained in several articles at http://home.vicnet.net.au/~gnaust/life/index-gr.html

So in summary, God is still God with all his infinite attributes and man has been moved from being under the control of God to under the control of Satan, whilst still under the deception that he controls his own life.

2.3. How can it be said that man and God can now still have union and communion?

Is all then lost for the first sinful man? Is man then under this evil influence forever?

2.3.1 Adam and Eve

Fortunately, there is and was a remedy, even for Adam and Eve. God forgave the sin of Adam and Eve, providing them with a salvation that lasts forever. This is represented and symbolized by the garments he provided to cover them, these garments coming from a blood sacrifice.

“Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” Gen. 3:21 (NKJV)

In effect God had covered their sin, the equivalent of forgiveness in today’s terms. This salvation God provided gave Adam and Eve an acceptance before Him. Just as any present day person who becomes regenerate and a child of God, Old Testament people such as Adam and Eve, enjoy the same protection from God’s wrath, cleansing from sin and restoration of the previously lost fellowship with God. By the grace of God, Adam and Eve were restored to fellowship with God very soon after their sin. However, they had lost the opportunity to live forever, would eventually experience physical death, but would be resurrected with other saints from both Old Testament, New Testament and present day times – to live forever with God. So for the period of time that Adam and Eve lived they had union and communion restored to them by God, and although this was far more limited than their former perfect state of communion, God was still their God and they were still His children.

2.3.2. New Testament and present day peoples.

Present day peoples not only have the Old Testament experience to learn from, but also the historical evidence that Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people for all time. Present day peoples have the evidence of the New Testament, where the life of Jesus Christ is described in detail, where His life, death and resurrection can still provide the way to eternal life and fullness of life on earth.

However, there is also a choice to be made here for all potential believers. Moreover, it is a choice to be made from a very difficult and confusing state – because mankind without God and under Satan’s control sees himself as an independent being not needing God and wanting none of Him. From this apparently helpless state, God through His Holy Spirit can still draw people to Him, convict them of their sin and save them unto eternal life. Sometimes, the witnessing of Christian believers either with the witness of their life or their words may be the catalyst for this to happen. Mature believers may be called upon by God to stand in the gap as intercessors for those who do not yet believe.

When this process leads an unbeliever to submit themselves to God’s will, confessing their previous disobedience and sin, God can regenerate them, which brings the new life of Jesus Christ into the believer, replacing the old life which is now dead. In this state a new believer then has complete union with God and can therefore communicate with Him through their human spirit on the basis of faith through this new relationship, and bearing in mind all of God’s extensive range of provisions and promises.

So, although man was made in perfection and fell from grace through his sin, restored man is again able to communicate with God through his spirit.