Emancipation from the old dad – existence vs. spiritual eternal life

2. The old dad represents vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams!

This is an exciting topic, This is the battle between the old mans vision and the new mans vision. Our blindness verses the fresh sight Jesus Christ gives us. New eyes vs the old eyes, It’s a beautiful moment when we trust in our new eyes but it takes time and understanding which we get from applying ourselves to God’s Word and trusting in His Grace.

Let’s set the tone – “Carnal existence” this is all things carnal, so it goes beyond the pleasures but to placing the high value on our own existence. So it’s a survivalist mentality, phrases like “survival of the fittest” fit into this belief easily because it encourages that survival is key and chief above all else. It’s essential seems to me (by my reading and understanding) self above all, even the apparent betterment of self.

“Spiritual pipe dreams” – This for us Christians is the eternal life that Christ promised us, this is that beautiful revelation of Him. John 17:3 Jesus says “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” Our dreams or vision is set on the Eternal Father and the Heavenly things. Colossians 3 speaks about this beautifully which we will read at the end.

So the question is this… Are you carnally minded or spiritually minded? Is your mind set on survival or set on Eternal Life?

It’s a hard question for some, I believe many Christians are carnally minded I was and battle with the carnal mind often. I know that the carnal mind is lacking and when my vision is set on the carnal lower things, I lose focus of what is truly important. It is like momentarily stepping back into darkness. Maybe not as dark as it once was but certainly not the same brightness and brilliance that comes from looking onto Jesus Christ.

So why did that old dad teach us this? This is speculative thought, but I think it stands to reason. If we are set primarily on our own survival and our own benefits we will not purposely seek out God. Jesus taught us that if we want to seek after Him we must first deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him (see Luke 9:23). In essence place death in our beings and seek Him for life but if we seek after our own life then we will never seek after God’s Eternal Life.

Scripture shows us that we were never seeking after God.

Romans 3:11 “There is none who understands, there is none who seeks after God.”

Every believer in Christ is the product of Grace from start to finish, not one single person can say that they are a seeker after God by their own hand, it is God’s Grace working in us that begins that desire to seek after Him.

So how do we battle with this insecurity of our own life and seek after God’s Eternal Life?

First we need to acknowledge the frailty of our own life. Whether it be a baby or old man, we all have an appointed time to die. We in this world but a breath before we come before God. Our lives in this world have meaning and purpose but they are not found in this world.

We have absolutely no control of the world around us, we have absolutely zero sovereignty over what goes on around us, We can not even control our own lives let alone another’s. What can man do by himself? We can create nothing, we can destroy nothing, we understand that which is unimportant and that which is important we neglect.

We are frail in our beings, but secondly to that is that God has purpose and meaning for us, our greatest source of power is our weakness. Not that our weakness is powerful but that God is powerful in our weakness, We boast in our weakness not to boast in ourselves but to boast in God’s work within the frailty of ourselves.

So the old dad taught us to trust in our own survival and prize it above all else but God taught us to deny our own survival and trust in Him above all else.

Colossians 3:12-15 says

“12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”

How beautiful, this is not a survival mentality but one of service, one of love, this is what God has called us to, to walk in His image just as Jesus Christ being God and revealing God has enabled and showed us to do. Therefore let us do what the verse above says.

Colossians 3:1-4 says

 1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

There we have it, seeking those things above, some may mock our “spiritual pipe dreams” but we know that this Eternal Life of knowing the Father and the Son, to know the True God is by far worth any death we may face in this world. Trust Christ above all else.

I hope this message has challenged and encourage you, it has been a blessing for me to write and challenge me in our day to day living. May God continue to Bless you!,
Chris

Emancipation of the old dad - Leave that fool!

Before we move on to the second principle, I think it’s good to take a moment and share what the Word of God says about the old man in relation to our new life in Christ. So it’s a few verses I wanted to share more than anything speaking about how we have left the past in the past and those of us who haven’t how we should leave the past in the past and move forward in Christ.

Romans 6:6 –

4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

“our old man was crucified with Him”, We have no reason nor right to bring back the old man into our lives, he was put to death with Christ. The sins, the troubles, the shame, the guilt, the hatred, the abuse whatever it may be, they all died with the old man. We need to understand that things of past have past and by stepping into Christ we are born again in the fullness of His resurrection.

We hold onto things in the past often because we don’t trust that they are dealt with, but listen to those words again “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”(rom 6:6), not held by those things of old but stepping into the freeness of Christ.

Let’s look at another verse -

Ephesians 2:14-16 -

14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

This is a bit more complicated but in essence saying that what was separating us from God and keeping us outside of having peace with God – Sin, was put to death in Christ, and through Christ now we have peace with God but more so that which held is back is destroyed and we are made new in Him.

There is nothing that can hold back in the newness Christ has for you, if Christ has given you a new life, you won’t experience a new death. His life is eternal life, therefore forget about the things of held, let God be judge of those things and deal with anyone who has hurt you. As a Child of God you must forgive those who have hurt you and move on because God has great things for you, why keep you mind on such matters?

Let’s look at another verse Ephesians 4:22-24 -

22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

“that you put off”, let us put away those things of old, those childish things, those old hates, those old enemies and walk in forgiveness, let us put off those former lusts and be “renewed” by the “spirit of your mind” that is Christ’ working in us, that we may set our minds on the things the new man was created for. That is us being born again, walk in that new birth, that we died with Christ and put off all those things of old, so being born in Christ put on all those things of new. We are the new wine that is placed in new wine skins. “that you put on the new man which was created according to God” not created by our own will by created in the will of God, for His good pleasure!(Eph 1:5) what a beautiful thing it is dependent on the will of God and He is “well please”!

“in true righteousness and holiness”
These some of the foundations of the new man, Righteousness and Holiness, these both come from God. God says “be Holy for I am Holy”(1 Peter 1:16) we could not be Holy if God was not first holy, He leads us into holiness and how can we be righteous? Only by the gift of God’s salvation in Christ. It is Christ’ righteousness that makes us righteous and our obedience that makes us holy and our obedience is empowered by God’s grace so we can fulfill it. It is all God working in us and us cooperating with Him.

The last verse, We spoke about putting away the old man, putting on the new man and briefly on cooperating with God’s grace.

Colossians 3:9-11

9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

There is this relationship between the old man and “his deeds” what the old man does, this is the most noticeable way we put away the old man, through what we do. If we learn to control our tongue by grace, speaking’s the right words not lying to one another nor being deceitful in our words, the rest of our being will fall in place as we trust in God’s Grace.

The new man, the glory that has been set before us as believers and born-again Children of God. “put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him”, Let us renew our minds in the knowledge of Christ who made us, let us set our minds and hearts on Him who cared enough about us, that loved us so dearly that He gave His life for us, that we may have life and opened a way for us through the Cross for God purposed that we would be born again by His power by His strength, that we may rest securely in the blessed place of His rest.

Do not despise God for opening this blessing but rather embrace Him for it because there is nothing you could of done for it but God did all that was necessary. Now the verse says “where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.” There is neither a slave no free man, black nor white man, Asian nor Hispanic man, English nor Scottish, There is none except Christ in all and all in Christ. Amongst you and your brothers and sister, there is no distinction except Christ! How beautiful, there is nothing that separates you from those who have truly been born again of God because “Christ is all and in all” He is the very substance of our being. How precious!

Beloved, I hope this helps you to look forward toward God and away from things old, forgive that which you need to and continue to embrace God’s Love. He has set before you Christ to be the substance of every single detail of your life, how can you not be of great value? Heading towards Great things!

May God truly Bless You!,
Chris.