Everything He [Christ] did, we can do: but only through the mystery of this miracle of identification—which means that we can do it only as HE DOES IT in and through us. Charles S. Price

 

Everything He [Christ] did, we can do: but only through the mystery of this miracle of identification—which means that we can do it only as HE DOES IT in and through us. Charles S. Price

GRACE WORKS: Once we have received God’s faith by hearing His Word, we must continue into the works that spring from grace since faith without works is dead. (Ja. 2:17) And He supplies His grace through faith (Ep. 2:8) so His grace says His words and does His works through us. (1 Co, 15:10) In other words, Jesus saves us from sin by grace. (1 Jn. 1:7) This is the true Sabbath Day rest when we cease from our own works as God ceased from His works. (He. 3:7-4:8) Righteousness is Jesus doing His works through us, which is how Jesus authors and finishes our faith. (He. 12:2) Since He is the Finisher, He finishes our faith by His grace. Our part is to yield our tongues, hands, feet, and our entire beings to His free gift of righteousness. (Ro.6:13)

RIGHTEOUSNESS UNTO HOLINESS: Righteousness is unto holiness. (Ro. 6:19) Holiness is Christ formed in us. It’s a transfiguration from what we now are into what we are becoming. God is transfiguring us individually and as a body into the image of Christ. (2 Co. 3:18) When the Holy Spirit plants the Seed (the Word, which Christ), He builds up (edifies) Christ in us. Christ is the light, and when He grows in us, darkness (that rebellious fleshly nature) is diminished and has less power over us. Our natures change, and the veil is removed from our eyes little by little.

WHATEVER IS NOT OF FAITH IS SIN: Sin is whatever is not of faith. (Ro. 14:23) To state it another way, any thought, word, or deed not authored by and finished by Jesus is a sin. While righteousness by grace through faith builds Christ and diminishes the fleshly nature, sin reverses the process. The Path of the just is a shining light growing brighter and brighter until that final day of completeness, progressively improving our discernment (Pr. 4:18, He. 5:14). In contrast, sin steps off that path to blur our vision and dull our spiritual senses. That’s why it’s so important that we focus on Christ and what He’s saying. Following visions other than the heavenly vision damages God’s temple, so we look to Jesus as He forms Himself within us.

CHRIST IN US CAN’T SIN: Christ, Who is forming Himself within us, cannot sin. (1 Jn. 3:9) The flesh can’t do righteousness. (Ro. 8:8) Righteousness is God’s grace saying God’s words and doing God’s acts through us. It’s an action. Holiness is a state of being that progresses from glory to glory. It’s Christ formed in us and the veil removed. In a very real sense, we are putting on the Lord, Jesus Christ without any provision for the flesh. (Ro. 13:14) The flesh fights against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. (Ga. 5:17) The word for flesh in Greek is “sarx,” and it means the human body and our animal nature. Without Christ in us, we can be very clever like raccoons, but we are brute beasts merely reacting to what we sense around us and without any truth. (2 Pe. 2:12, Jd. 1:10) Without truth, there can be no rational thought. If Holy Spirit were not leading us, we would be lost, but now we are on the Path and are coming to know Christ.

THE INTIMACY OF KNOWING CHRIST: Jesus spoke of a day when He will have to say to some, “I never knew you.” (Mt. 7:23) The word “knew” can mean to perceive. However, it has a second meaning that makes more sense in the context. It refers to marriage and creating new life. The Father speaks the Living Word. And you, by grace through faith, submit to the Father to the point that He plants His Holy Seed (Christ) into your heart. Marriage is a type and shadow of this deep intimacy with Christ since intimacy in marriage produces new life. You then know Him in the sense that He creates new life in you. Christ is formed in you. In this intimacy, you are engaged in spiritual warfare, the battle for the mind.

HAVE A NEW MIND: We often think of repenting as changing our attitude or changing our direction, and that’s an acceptable way to think about it. However, God wants so much more than just a change in our attitudes or behaviors. The word “repent” in Scripture is literally “have a new mind. He intends to transfigure us into the very image and likeness of Christ. He speaks to us through our spirits to our minds and transfigures our minds from fleshly minds into the mind of Christ little by little and moment by moment throughout every day. God isn’t just looking for us to change our attitudes but to exchange our minds for His. He sows the Seed of His Word into our hearts repeatedly to accomplish this.

THE SOWER: In the Parable of the Sower, the Seed is the Word. That Word or Seed is the living Christ sown into our hearts. (Mt. 3:3-23) This Parable is about being born again, but it’s also about growing in Christ from glory to glory until the final day of His Parousia or Coming. That final day is about Christ the body coming into its own. Wisdom is this same Word from the Lord forming Christ in you. (Ja. 1:5-8) God’s wisdom is the river of God’s Word (Jesus) flowing in righteousness and holiness, delivering us from the darkness of sinful nature into the light and life in God’s presence. (1 Co. 1:30)