A Closer Look @ The Man In Christ – Part 4

… AN APPRAISAL ON THE FIRST ADVENTURE INTO THE EPISTLES THAT STILL AWAITS MOST BELIEVERS

Dearly Beloved,

It may interest you to know that it is possible to know and love righteousness much more than we once knew and loved sin. In like manner, it is possible to know the person of the Lord Jesus like the writers of the epistles did. We can receive, internalize and naturalize with the Light called Christ such that He becomes our personal possession, and this is the goal of the New Testament.

Through the new birth of our human spirit, we were exposed to the same power that raised Jesus from the dead (Col. 2:12/Rom. 8:11) and our spirit sat together with Christ (Eph. 2:5-6). But for our souls to sit like our spirit is seated, we must receive from God the Father, what Jesus received from Him – in the days of His flesh. We must gradually experience in our soul, what our spirit experienced in a split second! How and when does this commence? Let’s see!

Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus years after his previous journey, and commended them for their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love unto all the saints (Eph. 1:15). THEY BELIEVED IN THE LORD JESUS (Eph. 1:12-13) and generated exploits that were rear in many Christian circles today (Eph. 1:15c), but unknown to them, THEY HAD NOT KNOWN HIM (EPH. 1:17-18/2TIM. 1:12C).

THE VEIL UPON THEIR SOULS HADN’T BEEN PIERCED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OR LIGHT THAT SAVES (1TIM. 2:4/LK. 1:77). THEY HAD KEPT FAITH WITH THE MILK OF THE WORD OVER YEARS BUT THE ACTUAL TEACHING OR PREACHING OF CHRIST HAD NOT YET COMMENCED (ROM. 16:25B/1THES. 2:9/COL. 1:28), AND THIS COULD ONLY TAKE PLACE WHEN THEY HAVE THE EYES OF THEIR SOULS RECOVERED OR RESTORED (LK. 4:18E/EPH. 1:17-18).

Like it was with many believers in the early church, so it is with many believers till date:

1. They have received the Holy Ghost (Eph. 1:13) but the actual ministry of the Holy Ghost which is to download Christ into their souls has not begun in them (Eph. 1:17c).
2. THEY ARE IN CHURCH (Acts 20:28a-c) but THEY HAVE NOT BEEN FED WITH AND SEPARATED from their known and unknown fears (Jer. 23:4/ Acts 20:28D) BY THE KNOWLEDGE THAT SAVES (Lk. 1:77/Jn. 17:3/), and as such, THEY ARE NOT YET IN CHRIST (Rom. 8:1-2/2Cor. 5:17).
3. They have been added to the church, and have received a good measurement of the necessary MILKY ASPECT/FOUNDATION FOR FAITH (the Holy Ghost – Matt. 28:19e/Eph. 1:13-14) but have not received the MEATY ASPECT/BUILDING OF FAITH (the Son – Matt. 28:19d/Eph. 2:20/Heb. 3:3-6/Acts 20:32), so they are yet to have their first adventure of eternal life – i.e. Jesus Christ (Jn. 17:3)
4. THEY HAVE BEEN REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD (1Pet. 1:18-19) BUT ARE YET TO FELLOWSHIP OF THE BLOOD, I.E. FELLOWSHIP WITH THE DIVINE DEPOSITS OF LIFE AND ABUNDANT LIFE KEPT IN THE BLOOD (EPH. 1:7/1Pet. 1:2)

So after many years of professing faith, Paul, for the first time, could only speak to the Ephesian believers as unto spiritual (1Cor. 2:6/3:1) after his third missionary trip. TO SPEAK TO A BELIEVER AS UNTO SPIRITUAL IS TO SPEAK CONCERNING CHRIST, OF THINGS THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN OR UNSEEN TO HIS EYES; IT IS TO SPEAK CONCERNING HIS SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS THAT WOULD MAKE HIM TRULY BLESSED (EPH. 1:3). When such ministrations of the Spirit/of righteousness is received and digested, they heal the scattered state of our souls and strengthen us to begin and/or appreciate in our walk in the Spirit (Eph. 3:16/Col. 1:9-11), and to do so, we need our first two spiritual eyes replaced. IN A NUTSHELL, WE NEED OUR FIRST SPIRITUAL EYES CALLED WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING (EPH. 1:18/COL. 1:9C/PROV. 7:4)

So when God through a minister or fellow believer can only teach or reach another believer with the carnal promises or provisions concerning his natural life (food, clothing, shelter, health etc.), such a believer is carnal and is on course to repeat the history of Esau – a believer of his day who through his carnal senses (Rom. 8:6-7), mortgaged his inheritance in God.

God through the epistles has packaged the reagents for the cleaning and healing of our souls. He wants to deal with things or conversations we do not see as sin, because we are lacking in our knowledge of God’s Faith. While doing so, the first prescription administered by the Holy Ghost (which is meant to kick start the process of this healing) starts when a believer is given with the first pair of eyes of the Holy Ghost (Isa. 11:2b/Rev. 4:5); the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding (or revelation).

Without this enlightenment (Eph. 1:17), a believer cannot attain the fellowship of the Son (1Cor. 1:9/1Thes. 1:10), neither can he endure the intensive demands that the teaching and preaching of Christ (Acts 20:31/1Thes. 2:9/Rom. 16:25b/Col. 1:28) place on our flesh (ask Eutychus – Acts 20:7-10). Without this eyes, our comprehension would remain as veiled as those of Old Testament faithful who prophesied concerning New Testament secrets/blessings but did not understand it (Matt. 13:17/1Pet. 1:10).

• 1Cor. 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ (where the man in Christ is raised) our Lord.

So Job was right by saying in 28:7-8, “There is A PATH which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen: The lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it”, and Job’s apt answer to this is found in Job 28:12/20, “only WISDOM knows THE PATH (that leads to life; i.e. Christ – Matt. 7:14c/Jn. 14:6) and only UNDERSTANDING knows THE PLACE”.

The Church today lacks power because she is yet to acquire the actual knowledge of God, which is the actual adventure for the soul of man. Through the knowledge fetched with these eyes, we would break into things hidden from the eyes of all living and kept from the all other creature – however glorious they may be (Job 28:21)

LIKE THE EPHESIAN BELIEVERS IN EPH. 1:15, LIKE THE BELIEVERS IN COLOSSI (COL. 1:4), AND LIKE NOT A FEW BELIEVERS TILL DATE, OPERATING IN THE MOUNTAIN MOVING FAITH CALLED “YOUR FAITH” (EPH. 1:15/MK. 11:22-23/ROM. 1:5) CANNOT DEAL WITH THE BARRENNESS OR UNFRUITFUL OF OUR SOULS IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS THE CHRIST (2Pet. 1:8). THE NEW TESTAMENT PRESCRIPTION PROMISES TO UPGRADE “OUR FAITH” INTO “HIS FAITH” (ACTS 26:18E/PHIL. 3:9/GAL. 2:20).

We can believe and receive the healing of his body, claim our material needs, can cast out mountains etc. – but according to truth, all that profits not our soul (1Cor. 12:1-3/1Tim. 4:14-16). Our profiting or nourishment comes by walking; by defying the laws of the flesh and thereby ascending from the earth (Jn. 3:13). It comes by being immune to sin so we can acquire the stature and nature called divine power (2Pet. 1:3) so we can ultimately confront the last enemy called death – and all that starts when our souls are populated with spiritual eyes.

Peter the Apostle beautifully explains how potential God-comers are strengthened to walk until they can run (Isa. 40:31/Col. 1:10/Heb. 12:1d). In 2Pet. 1:5-7, He broke down the ingredients of divine life (power) to us, and enumerated the various dealings and dimensions of walk that would cause “our Faith” to morph to become “His Faith”.

This is the faith of eternal life that the Patriarchs could not partake in (Heb. 10:39). This is the Faith that Christ Jesus patented (Heb. 12:2). This is the faith for suffering long (enduring Christ in the holy place) so that every carnality in our souls can be deprogrammed; so we can be raised above worldly lusts and turned into godly souls.

Blessings!