THE WAY TO LIFE
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In the "counsel" of God before the
creation of the world (Eph. 1-14), it has been decreed that man would
experience life by experiencing the source of life, the Son of God. Jesus
said, "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to
the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute
judgment also, because he is the Son of man" (John 5:26,27). The
Father has not only "given to the Son to have life within
himself," but He has also made ("given") the Son to be the
One that would enable man to experience that life ("authority to
execute judgment").
Therefore, with God being the only One that
has "life within himself," it would be necessary for the Son of
God to become the mediator (the Person of the Godhead which would be the
"go-between") of the God of the heavenly realm and the man of
the earthly realm (I Tim. 1:5). By being the One which bridged the gap
between Creator and creation, the Son has the authority to make the
decision ("execute judgment") who experiences life and who does
not.
With the limit being set in advance (the
meaning of the word translated "predestinated" in "having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ" of
Ephesians 1:5) and the limit being pre-arranged (the meaning of "hath
determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their
habitation" of Acts 17:26), man cannot experience life from within
himself. Therefore, it was necessary for the Son of God to become the Son
of man in order for man to experience the life that is only within God.
The Son of God became the Way by which man could experience life
"according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will" (Eph. 1:11).
John recorded this established fact
of creation when he wrote,
In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing
made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men .
. . that was the true Light, which lighted every man that cometh into
the world. (John 1:1-4,9)
Every man that comes into the world has the
true light and life of Christ dwelling within him.
DECEPTION OF PERCEPTION
How is it then that so few people actually
experience the "life of the spirit" that lights them from
within? Ultimately, the answer to that question lies in the revelation of
the
gospel of God concerning his Son Jesus
Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the
flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the
spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. (Rom. 1:4)
Understanding the revelation of the
"gospel of God," thereby understanding the fatal deception that
causes man not to experience Life, lies in the mystery surrounding the
twin statements concerning Jesus Christ: "made of the seed of David
according to the flesh" and "declared to be the Son of God with
power, according to the spirit of holiness." It is within this
"interplay" of the flesh and the Spirit that the deception of
perception spins its destructive trap: "And David saith, Let their
table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence
unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down
their back alway[s]" (Rom. 11:9,10). The failure to experience life
(one's back being bowed down by the pressures of life) is inseparably tied
to how one "sees" life. As will be "seen," it is the
"awakening" of man's perceived perception that destroys the life
that is found only in God.
Any temptation that would lead man away
from the Spirit of Life, God, has as its ground of being a faulty
perception of the "flesh." Moreover, because the Spirit is
"clothed upon" (Gen. 2:7; John 1:14) with flesh, the
susceptibility to fall from the Life of God is always present. As Paul
wrote to the Galatians, "Christ [life in the Spirit] is become of no
effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law [life in the
flesh]; ye are fallen from grace" (5:4). Having this "treasure
[of life] in earthen vessels," with the accompanying adversity (Gal.
5:17) between the Spirit ("treasure") and the flesh
("earthen vessels"), always makes man susceptible to the
deception of perception.
This susceptibility to the awakening of
man's perception (the awakening of his self-identity) is illustrated in
the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Although the temptation to deception did
not produce a faulty perception in Jesus, He nevertheless faced the same
temptation as Adam and Eve (who failed the temptation) and as all other
men. He faced that temptation because He was "made of the seed of
David according to the flesh" and "declared to be the Son of God
with power, according to the spirit of holiness." He was the Word in
an earthen vessel.
Jesus was "made of the seed of David
according to the flesh." He was true man in every aspect of what it
means to be man. He was born of the linage of David--"according to
the flesh." In all details of the birthing process (except for one),
He was born as all other men were born. His entire life was experienced in
the realm of humanity as all other men.
It is the conception of Jesus that sets Him
apart from all other men. He was conceived not by man but by the Holy
Spirit:
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this
wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came
together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her
husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick
example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on
these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a
dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee
Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS . .
. . (Matt. 1:18:21)
Born of a woman, clothed with flesh,
(thereby making Him totally man) and conceived by the Holy Spirit,
"begotten" of God, (thereby making Him totally God), Jesus alone
is One of a kind.
John recorded this "supernatural"
birth of Jesus as, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God, The same was in the beginning with God . .
. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us . . ." (John
1:1,2,14). The Son of God took residence in a tabernacle
("dwelt") of flesh. Although He is a resident of the heavenly
realm, He "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form
of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men" (Phil. 2:7) to
become a resident of the earthly realm. The Son of God, totally God, dwelt
among men, totally man.
Throughout the earthly life of Jesus there
were indications of both His humanity and His deity. A careful reading of
the accounts of His life will reveal all the ingredients of every other
man (with one exception-"[He] did no sin, neither was guile
[trickery] found in him" [I Pet. 2:22], which was the original
intention for all men). He fasted (Luke 4:2), became hungry (Luke 4:2),
and ate (Luke 22:8). He worked (John 5:17) or did things that fatigued Him
(John 4:6), became weary (John 4:6), and slept (Mark 4:38). He felt
anguish (John 22:44), indignation (John 11:33), agitation (John 11:33),
and wept (John 11:35). He felt satisfaction (Mark 1:11), contentment (John
17:4), and joy (Luke 10:21). Ultimately, His humanity is revealed in the
fact that He died (Luke 23:46). He was, as man, totally man.
There are also indications of His deity in
the accounts of His life: the voice of the Father from heaven declaring
"Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Mark
1:11); His transfiguration before Peter, James, and John (Matt. 17:2); His
own statements, "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58), "I
am the bread which came down from heaven" (John 6:41), and "My
Father worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17); and his closest
followers perceived Him to be the Son of God, "And the Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father" (John 1:14). Ultimately, His deity was
revealed in that He was resurrected from the dead (Luke 24:6). He did not
become the Son of God by His resurrection. He was resurrected because He
was the Son of God. He was, as God, totally God.
This is not to say that He was of two
persons. In the mystery of the Incarnation (a technical term that means
the One person is true man and true God), He is the ultimate union of the
flesh and the Spirit. He is what was "prefigured" in Adam
("who is the figure of him that was to come" [Rom. 5:14])--the
Spirit of God inbreathed into a body of flesh. He is the perfect
representation of a "treasure in earthen vessels" (II Cor. 3:7).
He, the One person of Jesus, is totally man and totally God.
Being totally man and totally God, He was
brought under the same temptation to deception, the awakening of man's
perception, that all men face. As the writer of Hebrews stated, "For
we have not an high priest [Jesus] which cannot be touched with the
feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are,
yet without sin" (4:15). Jesus was tempted (as all men) to perceive
that He had the capability from within Himself to produce life, He was
tempted (as all men) to awake to His "self-identity." He was
tempted to live of the flesh, the deception of perception.
TEMPTATION OF THE FLESH
The actual temptation to this deception
that occurred in Jesus' life has been preserved in the Gospels. Luke wrote
that after Jesus was baptized by John in the river of Jordan, the Holy
Spirit descended upon Jesus "in a bodily shape like a dove . . . And
a voice came form Heaven, which said, Thou are my beloved Son; in thee I
am well pleased" (Luke 3:22). Immediately, after this baptism,
"the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness" (Mark 1:12).
It is highly probable that the words of the
Father, "Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,"
were still fresh in His mind, when Satan said, "If thou be the Son of
God, command this stone that it be made bread" (Luke 4:3). It was a
strong temptation for He was hungry, after fasting for forty days.
Although Luke does not record when He
finally ate, it can be assumed that He did. Therefore, the temptation was
not a matter of eating, nor was it a matter of the food coming from the
stone being made into bread. The temptation was the perception of how or
who would produce the food. Would He understand that it would be a
production of the Father at work within Him, or would Jesus perceive that
He could produce the food from within Himself? Would He give
"thanksgiving" to the Father for the food, or would Jesus assume
that He was the One that put the food on the table?
Moreover, this tale of temptation is deeper
than just the perception of who does the work. The temptation would move
from tempting Jesus to think that He could do it Himself to why He would
even want to do it for Himself. Satan
taking him up into an high mountain,
shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And
the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory
of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give
it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. (Luke 4:5-7)
Jesus is now being tempted to
"overthrow" the Father's throne and kingdom for His own throne
and kingdom.
The issue was not the worship of
"Satan" as opposed to the worship of the Father. The issue was
actually between Jesus and the Father. Would Jesus attempt to find life in
the glory and the honor of His own kingdom as opposed to experiencing the
glory and the honor of the Father's kingdom? He was being tempted to be
moved out from "identity" in the Father to His own
"self-identity."
Finally, the tale of temptation brought
Jesus to the core of the deception. Satan
brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on
a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God,
cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his
angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hand they shall bear
thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. (Luke
4:9-11)
Again, Jesus was being tempted to preempt
Himself over the Father.
Satan was tempting Jesus to move Himself
out from living in, through, and by the Father. Instead of letting the
will of the Father produce His life, He was being tempted to fall to the
deception that He had the capability to get the Father to move according
to His (the Son's) will. By the results (if He had fallen to the
temptation) of Jesus' action (jumping off the pinnacle of the temple), the
Father would have to save him. By getting the Father to respond to Him (by
using the Father as a "resource person" for His own needs),
Jesus would then become the prime mover of His own life. His own
"self-identity" would be established.
The tale of temptation had run it course.
It began by tempting Jesus to quench (I Thess. 5:19) the True Spirit of
Life that dwelt within Him. It began with a simple test to get Jesus to
produce something that was obviously needed--to satisfy the basic need to
eat.
In reality, every created living thing can
be sustained only by the continual "digesting" of
"food" from outside of itself. The body (as with the life of a
person) has been created to always need nourishment, both physical and
spiritual. It will always experience hunger. The temptation is never the
question of should one eat or not eat (should one live or not live).
Rather, it is to be tempted to think that
the hunger can be satisfied by the "power" of the one who
hungers. The tale of temptation always begins with the deception that the
individual himself can make life happen.
However, the temptation to deception runs
deeper than just the desire to produce life. The desire to produce life is
grounded in the perceived glory and honor that will come upon the one who
can successfully produce his own life. It is this perceived glory and
honor that drives men into foolish, evil deeds (John 3:16-21). Going about
trying to establish their own life, they fail to submit to the life of the
Spirit (Rom. 10:3).
The perception that one can receive honor
of himself, thereby experiencing "life" from that honor, will
always frustrate the life that comes from experiencing the honor that is
of God. As Jesus said of those who were striving the most to receive honor
from men,
ye will not come to me, that ye might
have life. I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have
not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and ye
receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will
receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour not of another, and
seek not the honour that cometh from God only. (John 5:40 44)
The glory and the honor of men strikes at
the heart of man to move him away from the glory and the honor of God.
The tale of temptation, through the desire
to produce life itself for the glory and the honor, has at its core the
lifting of one's self to preeminence. It is the created one desiring to
make himself the measure of all things. It is as Lucifer expressed,
I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt
my throne above the stars of God: I will set also upon the mount of the
congregations, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the
heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (Isa. 14:13,14)
The heart of the temptation to deception,
the deception of perception, is the "big lie" that the creature
can become the preeminent one--that he can become a God. With his
"self-identity" firmly established (an illusion that comes with
the fall), he now perceives he can produce the good life, He has fallen to
the temptation of the flesh. He is on his way to the "chambers of
hell."
Although Jesus was susceptible to this
deception of an awakening self-perception, He lived His life knowing that
"the son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do:
for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise
['similarly, at the same place or time']" (John 5:19). Jesus lived
His life as Adam and as all men were supposed to live--by experiencing the
indwelling Spirit of life, "according to the spirit of holiness"
(Rom. 1:4).
Jesus did what no other man has ever done.
He did not attempt to preempt Himself above the "Treasure" that
dwelt within Him. He did not attempt to use the Father to enhance Himself.
He knew that the life He was [is], was [is] the Life of the Father (John
5:26,27). He lived as no one has ever, or will ever, live.
If anyone ever experiences the life that
Jesus lived, it will be because Jesus lives through him. If will never be
because man can live that life from within himself. The options are
simple. It is heaven or hell. Call on Jesus!
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