Seeing Yourself in Christ

We have been studying through the book of Romans at church, and it has been wonderful to have a better grasp of what Jesus Christ has accomplished for believers.  Knowing the spiritual reality of receiving the Gospel, our minds are renewed to live for God with more clarity and focus.  A married person does not need to wear a wedding ring to remain married, but wearing the ring can be an intentional acknowledgment of marital status everyone can see.  When our minds are renewed by what Jesus has done and our privileged position in Him, it impacts the way we see Him and desire to serve Him.  He has not saved or blessed us anonymously, and the indwelling Holy Spirit guides us to live to please and glorify our Saviour in particular.  My relationship with my wife is special because we uniquely belong to one another, and through the Gospel we have a marvellous relationship with God because He loves us, saves us and lives in us--and we in Him.

The Bible opens our eyes to see what Jesus has done and is doing for us, and it also reveals the truth about ourselves.  In McGee's commentary, he shared several quotes from Dr. Newell that illustrate the practical, personal changes of perspective the Gospel brings:

"'To hope to do better is to fail to see yourself in Christ only.'  You say, 'I hope to do better.'  You know you're not.  You need to see yourself in Christ today and realise that only the Spirit of God moving through you can accomplish this.  And then Newell says again, 'To be disappointed with yourself means you believed in yourself.'  Somebody says, 'Oh, I'm so disappointed in myself.'  Well, you had better be disappointed in yourself.  You know no good thing is going to come out of the flesh, friend.  Stop believing in yourself, and believe that the Spirit of God today can enable you through the new nature to live for God.  Also Newell says, 'To be discouraged is unbelief.'  My friend, that means you don't believe God.  God has a purpose and a plan, a blessing for you.  And you need to lay hold of it.  Here is another statement: 'To be proud is to be blind.'  We have no standing before God in ourselves.  Oh, my friend, see yourself as God sees you.  Here is the final gem:  'The lack of divine blessing comes from unbelief, not a failure of devotion.'...My friend, the lack of divine blessing comes because we do not believe God  it is not because of a lack of devotion.  Oh, to believe God today!" (McGee J Vernon. Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Volume 4. Thomas Nelson, Inc, 1981. pages 698-699)

Why should a believer in Jesus Christ be beating themselves up with self-condemnation when there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ?  So you have failed!  The Bible tells us all have sinned, and that includes me and you.  Our call as failures and sinners is to humble ourselves, repent of our sin, and do what pleases God.  Feelings of disappointment and discouragement are indications our expectations have not been met, our will has not been done, that we have put our trust in ourselves or something that is not God.  As long as we rely upon ourselves and hold our belief we are able to do what only God can do, the cycle of disappointment will be perpetual.  Believing our old man has died with Christ and we have been raised to new life in Jesus Who lives forever, the shield of faith extinguishes the fiery darts Satan or people throw at us.  When we see ourselves in Christ because it is Gospel truth, through God's eyes it changes the way we see everything.

Trusting the Life of Christ

Christians are saved eternally by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and we are also called to walk by faith in Jesus today.  Since we are willing to trust Jesus forever, it follows we ought to seek, trust and obey Him today.  The work God has begun in us He is faithful to complete, and we can take God at His word regarding our lives and other believers as well as it is written in Philippians 1:6:  "...being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ..."  Though Jesus has not yet returned in glory, His glorious life is in us and lives through us today.

In the book Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness, Cook and Baldwin make a good point of our need to trust the power of the Gospel as well as the life of Jesus in other Christians.  From the perspective of one in church leadership, Cook wrote:  "Besides lacking faith in the gospel, there is among us a tragic distrust of the life of Christ in other believers.  We are scared to death they are going to goof things up, whether through incompetence or moral or spiritual failure.  So we don't release them to minister." (Cook, Jerry, and Stanley C. Baldwin. Love, Acceptance & Forgiveness. GL Regal Books, 1984. page 70)  Later in the same chapter, the authors went into greater detail about trusting the life of Jesus in others:

"Besides a basic mistrust of people's competence, I think I also see among many Christians a tragic mistrust of the life of Christ in His people so far as their moral and spiritual commitment is involved.  Some seem to think we must put all kinds of hedges around Christians to keep them on the "straight and narrow."

I don't understand that.  My people don't want to sin.  They love Jesus and they are trying to follow Him, just as I love Him and try to follow Him.  My people don't need a warden to guard them; they need a shepherd to guide them.  And when they do sin, they need love, acceptance and forgiveness, not suspicion and rejection...

The life of Christ is incredibly tenacious in a believer, and we need to trust it more. I'm sure someone could tell stories on the other side--how believers were drawn away by evil surroundings.  That's where the fellowship of the believers comes in.  That's what the collective gathering of the Body is for--to restore and strengthen one another.  But that restoration and strengthening is so that we can then go back out as lights into the world, not so that we can stay insulated and isolated." (Ibid, pages 72-73)

Reading this passage reminded me we are saved by faith and to live by faith--and this means trusting God is doing a good work in the lives of other people in the church right now.  It is entirely possible to be saved by faith and then lean on my own understanding, to follow my own thoughts or rely on what I see rather than seeking God and yielding to Him in trust and obedience.  Cook pointed out the error of insulation and isolation within church ministry or a church building.  While this can happen, the more common occurrence is insulation and isolation from meeting with other believers as the church, the Body of Christ, and when they fall there is no one around to help them back up.  Online teaching keeps a person spiritually fed, but a lack of Christian fellowship leads to spiritual weakness, dullness and drifting coupled with self-confidence.

When we gather together as Christians, it is a wonderful opportunity God has provided to seek and worship Him together, to examine our hearts, to love and listen to others.  There is opportunity to learn, grow, exhort, rebuke, correct and stand corrected, and all this is edifying for us.  Just being in the same room or speaking in a conversation with other Christians does not mean we have experienced fellowship, for this happens when both or all parties before the LORD are willing to humbly receive from one another and to share with one another from the heart.  This requires humility by the Holy Spirit, transparency about personal difficulties, willingness to share what the LORD is teaching us, and to love one another.  Praise the LORD because Jesus is alive and at work in each one of us, He empowers us to do His will to love others as He loves us.

Gift of Abundant Grace

After God gave His people the design of the tabernacle, the wise-hearted among them gave of their goods to provide the materials to build it.  I was intrigued by a verse that revealed the source of the brass for the laver crafted by Bezaleel in Exodus 38:8:  "He made the laver of bronze and its base of bronze, from the bronze mirrors of the serving women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting."  Peering through the door of the tabernacle, immediately one saw the altar for sacrifices that likely obscured the view of the laver--the vessel for priests to ceremonially wash their hands and feet--because it was located between the altar and door to the holy place.

It is ironic the women gave brass mirrors they used to see themselves with to construct a laver they could not touch or see.  They were not permitted to enter the inner court of the tabernacle, yet their generous gifts made the work of the ministry possible.  Every time the priests used the laver to wash, these women literally helped facilitate obedience and sanctification before the LORD by their gift.  It was to their benefit this ministry was accomplished, and it seems they understood the value of the laver and worship of God because they parted with something personally prized and precious.  It is not vain to observe your reflection, to wear makeup, style hair and attend to personal hygiene, but many women who served were willing to forgo this luxury (and some might say essential) to give unto the LORD as He had given freely to them.

The women who were no longer able to view their faces in brass gave them to the God Who saw them and loved what He saw:  people who joyfully and willingly gave in service unto Him.  Brass mirrors were of no use to clean their faces of smudges of dirt, yet when melted down together it made one laver that was filled with clean water needed by priests to minister unto the LORD and bless the people.  Mirrors of brass needed to be buffed and polished to provide an adequate reflection, and it was God who made a way for sanctified priests to offer sacrifices to cover and cleanse the sins of the people.  Water from the laver made this essential task possible, and it must have been a thrill for the women to see their combined gifts serve a necessary and wonderous purpose that benefitted everyone.

This passage hits me personally because I have been the recipient of generous giving by people near and far who have provided financially for me and my family to serve as a pastor, immigrate to Australia and preach the word of God.  Many who have gladly given have never been to Australia:  they were like the women who gave their prized mirrors without even seeing the finished product.  Those who give so another can go will receive rewards from the LORD even as those who go, and God loves such givers.  Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 9:7-8:  "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work."  What can we give that compares with all the grace God causes to abound towards us today that always has all sufficiency in all things?  Praise the LORD for the gift of His grace He makes abundant toward us.

Trivia Isn't Trivial

I have always enjoyed Bible trivia as a test of knowledge, yet it is good to take the next steps to grow in personal understanding and application.  Trivia or rote recitation is of little practical value when information is stored in our heads and stops short of our hearts.  Looking at pictures of food or reading about nutritional content does nothing to sustain our bodies with energy for strength and growth.  In a similar way, the word of God benefits us spiritually and practically when we receive it by faith and live according to God's revelation.  When we come to God hungry and open our mouths wide in faith, He is faithful to fill us.

For instance, Hebrews 9:4 tells us what items were placed in the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies:  a gold pot of manna, Aaron's staff that budded, and the 10 Commandments written by the finger of God on two tablets of stone.  All these items were significant in the history of Israel and also provide insight concerning the child of God today.  God told Moses to gather an omer of manna to be kept for their generations in memory of God's provision of bread in the desert (Ex. 16:33).  Aaron's staff that miraculously budded and produced almonds overnight was to be kept as a token to stop rebellion and silence murmurings before the LORD (Num. 17:10).  It showed without a doubt God had chosen Moses to lead the people and Aaron to be high priest.  Finally, the 10 Commandments were kept in the Ark, for above the mercy seat the LORD would commune with His people and give His commands (Ex. 25:21-22).

With the establishment of the new covenant by the shed blood of Jesus, God made a new and living way for everyone to have a relationship with Him.  When Jesus died on the cross, the veil of the temple that separated the Holy of Holies from the holy place tore from top to bottom, signifying the access sinners have into the presence of God by the atonement Jesus provided.  The articles contained in the Ark of the Covenant foreshadowed Jesus, Who He is and what He would accomplish.  He identified Himself as the Bread of Life, for all who eat of Him (receive Him by faith) will live forever (John 6:47-51).  We do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.  We were spiritually dead and fruitless like a dead branch, yet Jesus has raised us to new life and makes us fruitful for His glory by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus is the Vine are we are the branches He causes to bear fruit (John 15:5).  God would make a new covenant and write His laws on our hearts (Jer. 31:33), and by the Gospel we are no longer under Law but grace.  Rather than looking to the 10 Commandments to govern Christian living, we now look to our living Saviour and LORD Jesus.

The wisdom, plans and purposes of God are awesome beyond reckoning!  Not everyone who watches movies will notice or appreciate foreshadowing, but those who are wise to it gain insight into the intent of the director.  In a similar way, knowing God put those items in the Ark to point to Jesus and our relationship with Him, our faith in strengthened in our Saviour.  Jesus is faithful to provide for our physical and spiritual needs daily and guides us with His word (manna).  We can know He has chosen and called us to be His adopted children, and He will miraculously cause us to bear fruit for His glory (staff).  He also has given us new hearts, having regenerated us within by the power of the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth and empowers us to do God's will (tablets of stone).  He has taken away our heart of stone and given us a heart of flesh that lives as He does, for Jesus now lives His life through us.  Encouraging, isn't it?